North Dakota

Health, Human Services changes likely, Armstrong says after first Cabinet meeting • North Dakota Monitor

Published

11 months ago

December 16, 2024

Health, Human Services changes likely, Armstrong says after first Cabinet meeting • North Dakota Monitor

North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong signaled a possible shakeup at the Department of Health and Human Services after his first Cabinet meeting Monday.

Armstrong appointed Dirk Wilke as interim director of the department last Wednesday and has yet to name a new state health officer. In November, Health and Human Services Commissioner Wayne Salter and State Health Officer Dr. Nizar Wehbi indicated they would not be continuing in their roles after Gov. Doug Burgum left office.

Armstrong appoints interim Health and Human Services director

Armstrong said the state health officer role could change.

“I have some ideas on restructuring that,” said Armstrong, who took office Sunday. “When we combined Health and Human Services, we really kind of created a position that, I think, we have an opportunity to do some unique things with that.”

He said he wants to work with the Legislature to look at Health and Human Services in a post-pandemic world.

“I think there’s some opportunities that may need some legislative fixes, so I need to build some consensus on what we have for ideas for that first,” he said.

Armstrong said he plans to name a permanent director after a robust recruitment and selection process.

He also said he plans to meet with legislators in coming weeks to discuss the more than 50 property tax measures that are expected to be introduced during the legislative session. He said he wants to make sure they can get as many lawmakers as they can on the “same page” during the early weeks of the session.

“It’s a priority for the citizens of North Dakota,” Armstrong said. “It’s a priority for the administration and it will probably be the biggest change from Gov. Burgum’s budget.”

Armstrong said he wasn’t opposed to the Legislature consolidating dozens of bills surrounding property tax reform into one or two larger bills aimed at tackling the issue.

“What we can’t have is paralysis by analysis,” he said. “Eventually we’ll have to get on the same page … it needs to be the most significant relief and reform we can deliver that’s durable.”

His definition of durable, Armstrong said, means the reforms must still work even if the prices of oil and agricultural commodities drop.

He said his budget will be available on Jan. 13 and submitted to the legislative appropriations committees two days later. Armstrong will address a joint session of the Legislature on Jan. 7.

Gov. Kelly Armstrong, left, speaks to reporters next to Lt. Gov. Michelle Strinden, right, after holding his first Cabinet meeting in the governor’s conference room at the Capitol on Dec. 16, 2024. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

He said Lt. Gov. Michelle Strinden will be a main point of contact on K-12 education and school choice. He added he plans to sit down with Strinden to go over possible additional responsibilities in coming weeks, which could include chairing the State Investment Board.

“Michelle is going to be a huge part of this entire administration, but a lot of it is going to depend on where she feels her time is best spent,” he said.

When asked if free school lunches could become a reality for North Dakota students this year, Armstrong said he wants to tackle the property tax reforms first so he knows what that overall cost is before addressing anything else.

Members of Armstrong’s Cabinet are:

Joe Morrissette, director of the Office of Management and Budget
Chris Schilken, commissioner of the Department of Commerce
Corey Mock, chief information officer of North Dakota Information Technology
Brig. Gen. Mitchell Johnson, adjutant general of the North Dakota National Guard
Col. Daniel Haugen, superintendent of the North Dakota Highway Patrol
Ron Henke, director of the Department of Transportation
Pat Bertagnolli, executive director at Job Service North Dakota
Dave Glatt, director of the Department of Environmental Quality
Art Thompson, director of Workforce Safety & Insurance
Colby Braun, director of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
Jeb Williams, director of the Game and Fish Department
Cody Schulz, director of the Parks and Recreation Department
Lise Kruse, commissioner of the Department of Financial Institutions
Brad Hawk, executive director of the North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission
Andrea Travnicek, director of the Department of Water Resources
Tim Karsky, commissioner of the Securities Department
Dirk Wilke, interim commissioner of the Department of Health and Human Services
Reice Haase, interim commissioner of the Department of Labor and Human Rights

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North Dakota

Area places four on North Dakota Class B all-state volleyball team

Published

15 hours ago

November 24, 2025

Press Room

Area places four on North Dakota Class B all-state volleyball team

GRAND FORKS — Langdon Area-Munich’s Hilary Haaven helped power the Cardinals to a North Dakota Class B state championship last weekend in Bismarck.

On Monday, she was one of four area players recognized with North Dakota Class B all-state honors.

Haaven and Park River-Fordville-Lankin’s Lauren Bell were all-state first team choices, while Drayton-Valley-Edinburg’s Elizabeth Fedje and Griggs-Midkota’s Kelsey Johnson received second team honors.

Haaven, just a freshman, recorded 23 kills and 39 digs in the state title match as Langdon Area-Munich repeated as state champions by pulling off a reverse sweep of Medina-Pingree-Buchanan. Haaven already surpassed 1,000 career kills in October.

Haaven was the only member of the 24-member all-state team who is younger than a junior in high school.

Bell, a junior middle hitter and repeat all-state choice from 2024, racked up 520 kills, 393 digs, 43 aces and 84 blocks this season.

Fedje, a senior middle hitter, racked up 521 kills and 296 digs. Fedje, who has been the D-V-E kill leader each season since 2022, has more than 1,300 career kills in 347 career sets played.

Johnson, a senior outside hitter, finished with 255 kills this season and 353 digs. She also had 31 aces and 12 blocks.

Brynn Sorenson of Medina-P-B was named the Outstanding Senior Athlete, while her coach Jacie Connell was named Coach of the Year.

Miller has covered sports at the Grand Forks Herald since 2004 and was the state sportswriter of the year in 2019 (NSMA, NDAPSSA), 2022 (NSMA, NDAPSSA) and 2024 (NDAPSSA).

His primary beat is UND football but also reports on a variety of UND sports and local preps.

He can be reached at (701) 780-1121, tmiller@gfherald.com or on Twitter at @tommillergf.

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North Dakota

Yale, Harvard get bids in Ivy debut in FCS field

Published

1 day ago

November 24, 2025

Press Room

Yale, Harvard get bids in Ivy debut in FCS field

Nov 23, 2025, 06:32 PM ET

INDIANAPOLIS — The Ivy League is participating in the Football Championship Subdivision playoffs for the first time this season, and the conference will be well represented.

Yale, which defeated rival Harvard for the Ivy title on Saturday, and the Crimson are in the 24-team tournament field, which was announced on Sunday night on ESPNU. The Bulldogs (8-2) will play at Youngstown State (8-4), and Harvard (9-1) will play at Villanova (9-2).

“I am incredibly proud of our players and entire staff. They have poured their hearts into the work that brought us to this moment, and earning the opportunity to win a championship and become the first team to represent the Ivy League in the FCS playoffs makes it ever more special,” Yale coach Tony Reno said Saturday after the win. “Our players made a true commitment to one another and never stopped believing in our mission or in the goals we set together. This is an exceptional group of men, and I could not be prouder of everyone.”

In the 141st chapter of the rivalry known as The Game, Yale outlasted previously unbeaten Harvard, 45-28, as quarterback Dante Reno completed 15 of 19 passes for 273 yards and three touchdowns in the Yale Bowl in New Haven, Connecticut.

“Our defense is one of the best in the league,” Reno, a sophomore, said. “They’ve been proving that all year. It took us a little bit to start offensively earlier this season, and we kind of clicked over the last couple of weeks.”

TWO BID IVY.@HarvardFootball and @yalefootball have earned bids to the @NCAA_FCS playoffs.
🌿 Harvard vs. No. 12 Villanova
🌿 Yale vs. No. 15 Youngstown State pic.twitter.com/3Md5RlFGiJ
— Ivy League (@IvyLeague) November 23, 2025

At the top of the FCS board, defending national champion North Dakota State will lead a record-tying six teams from the Missouri Valley Football Conference into the tournament. The MVFC champion Bison (12-0) were named the No. 1 seed and will be making their 16th consecutive appearance.

All told, the field is made up of 11 automatically qualifying conference champions and 13 at-large selections. The first round begins Saturday with unseeded teams paired with teams seeded 9-16 primarily according to geographical proximity. The championship game is Jan. 5 at FirstBank Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.

North Dakota State has won 10 of the past 14 FCS titles. The Bison beat St. Thomas-Minnesota 62-7 on Saturday to extend their winning streak to 16 games.

Montana State (10-2), the runner-up to NDSU last year, earned the No. 2 seed after beating rival Montana 31-28 to clinch the Big Sky Conference championship. Montana (11-1) is the No. 3 seed. Tarleton State (11-1) of the United Athletic Conference is the No. 4 seed.

Patriot League champion Lehigh (12-0) is No. 5, Southern champion Mercer (9-2) is No. 6, Southland champion Stephen F. Austin (10-2) is No. 7 and the Big Sky’s UC Davis (8-3) is No. 8.

The top eight seeds receive a first-round bye and will play their second-round game at home.

The rest of the first-round games are: Illinois State (8-4) at SE Louisiana (9-3); Central Connecticut State (8-4) at Rhode Island (10-2); North Dakota (7-5) at Tennessee Tech (11-1); New Hampshire (8-4) at South Dakota State (8-4); Drake (8-3) at South Dakota (8-4); and Lamar (8-4) at Abilene Christian (8-4).

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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North Dakota

Native Culture, Arts Highlight North Dakota Native Heritage Showcase

Published

2 days ago

November 23, 2025

Press Room

Native Culture, Arts Highlight North Dakota Native Heritage Showcase

(Photo by Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) – Through the arts, stories, music and dance, North Dakota’s Indigenous community shared its culture at the Capitol in Bismarck on Friday during Native American Heritage Month.

The North Dakota Native Heritage Showcase, sponsored by the state’s Indian Affairs Commission, featured about a dozen vendor tables at the Capitol with handmade jewelry, paintings, books and other items.

Brad Hawk, executive director of the North Dakota Indian Affairs Commission, said the event is a way to showcase different Native cultures and give exposure to local nonprofit groups.

“It’s more than music. It’s more than regalia. We have different aspects of the culture in arts,” Hawk said. “It’s a communitywide event, a little bit for everybody, and that’s the way we set it up to be.”

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