North Dakota
In District 42 and 18, incumbents back carbon-capture projects, but several others show skepticism
GRAND FORKS – The 12 candidates vying for seats in North Dakota’s District 18 and District 42 are split on whether the state should pursue investment in the carbon-capture industry.
In a survey sent to all of the candidates in the two districts – both of which represent Grand Forks and portions of rural areas near the city – the Herald asked: “North Dakota potentially has a future in the carbon-capture industry. Do you feel the state should push forward with investment in this industry?”
Five of the candidates answered with variations of “yes,” a few indicated they likely are against the idea and the others either seek more answers or showed skepticism in the industry.
North Dakota has been at the center of carbon-capture discussions in recent years, including a massive undertaking called Project Tundra, which seeks to capture carbon dioxide created by energy production and store it underground to reduce its effect on the environment. The proposed $2 billion project is delayed, however, due to evolving federal emissions regulations.
A portion of the funding for Project Tundra has come from the state, including approximately $250 million in loans, as well as other grants. Federal funds – upwards of $350 million in federal grants, for instance – have been sought as well.
Also in the news over the past year has been the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline, which seeks to capture carbon dioxide from ethanol plants throughout the Midwest and pipe it to North Dakota for storage. And some see CO2 as having a potentially large impact on the state’s energy industry as it’s used in a process called “enhanced oil recovery,” which would prolong the ability to extract oil in North Dakota’s Bakken formation.
The Herald’s question did not specifically mention any particular carbon-capture project.
All 12 candidates in District 42 and District 18 responded to the Herald’s survey.
They include District 18 Senate candidates Kyle Thorson, a Democrat, and Republican Scott Meyer; and District 18 House candidates Mary Adams, a Democrat; Nels Christianson, a Republican; Scott Nelson, a Democrat; and Steve Vetter, a Republican.
In District 42, they include Senate candidates Claire Cory, a Republican, and Democrat Rod Gigstad; and House candidates Sarah Grossbauer, a Democrat; Carol Hagen, a Democrat; Emily O’Brien, a Republican; and Doug Osowski, a Republican.
The election is Nov. 5.
Incumbents lean toward “yes” to the Herald’s question about the carbon-capture industry. For example, Vetter, an incumbent House member in District 18, said it’s in the state’s best interest to help the oil industry thrive.
“Carbon capture provides additional oil extraction, which translates into additional state revenue dollars. In addition, the customers buying our energy will pay more money for ‘clean’ energy,” Vetter said. “Regardless of how a person feels on the green agenda, carbon capture maximizes production and profit for oil companies. Therefore, if we can profit from this industry as a state and there is no harm caused by it then my question would be, why not?”
The incumbent Sen. Meyer agrees, adding that it’s important to be mindful of property rights.
“As the oil play in the Bakken slows down, carbon will be needed for enhanced oil recovery. The oil and gas industry supplies over 50 percent of our state’s revenue. We need to make sure the oil and gas industry can continue to extract oil from the Bakken,” Meyer said.
Research being done at UND’s Energy and Environmental Research Center, known as the EERC, will “hopefully keep North Dakota relevant” in the energy industry for decades, he added.
O’Brien, an incumbent House member in District 42, noted the EERC’s work as well.
“Right in our backyard, we have the EERC. They are working with the U.S. Department of Energy’s CarbonSAFE Initiative projects, focusing on developing geologic storage sites to store 50+ million metric tons of CO2 from industrial sources,” O’Brien wrote. “The North Dakota-based CarbonSAFE projects are part of ongoing regional efforts to ensure reliable, affordable energy.”
She said that 64% of North Dakota’s electricity generation and 67% of energy-related CO2 emissions come from coal.
“Carbon capture and storage are two options for managing those emissions, allowing North Dakota CarbonSAFE to gather information vital to permitting, operation, and monitoring – through local public and stakeholders. This initiative will help guide where regulation is appropriate, and the project will provide information on how to proceed best,” O’Brien said.
Cory, who currently represents District 42 in the House but seeks the district’s open Senate seat, also indicated she backs the industry and state investment in it.
“North Dakota has continually developed new technologies for energy production. By supporting carbon-capture innovation, we could increase the efficiency of oil extraction and production,” she said. “Our own local Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) estimates we could increase production by up to one billion barrels, which would be an estimated $7 billion in additional revenue.”
The challengers in the Nov. 5 race generally say they have questions or concerns.
Nelson, the Democrat seeking a District 18 House seat, said he’s in favor of the state pursuing carbon-capture projects, “but with caution,” he noted.
“This industry requires land and easements for roads, sites, pipelines and the like to build out the networks necessary to accomplish this. Private industries have to be respectful of the rights of property owners when they seek right of ways and easements, and be especially fair and honest in their dealings with them. CO2 gas is what we’re talking about most when we discuss carbon capture,” he said. “Our state’s Industrial Commission will have to do a much better job of regulating the operators of CO2 pipelines than they’ve done with oil, gas, and produced water storage and transmission lines to protect our lands, homes and lives.”
Said Grossbauer, a Democrat who’s running for a House spot in District 42: “In North Dakota, we should embrace innovation and explore new opportunities that can drive our state forward. Carbon capture may be one of those possibilities. However, as we evaluate its potential, we must ensure it respects the rights of landowners and addresses the long-term environmental risks posed by climate change. Based on what I’ve seen, I have serious concerns that the current carbon capture projects are falling short on both fronts. We also need to be cautious about using taxpayer dollars to fund projects backed by out-of-state billionaires – especially when they have the resources to fund these ventures themselves.”
She said she will “stand firmly against giving big handouts” to large corporations unless they can deliver a substantial return to the state.
Hagen, a Democrat running for a House spot in District 42, said more studies must be conducted on the art of capturing and storing carbon. She wants to be convinced that the process is safe and feasible.
“With the possibility of leaks that are not able to be detected but can still prove deadly, we need to be sure that this actually can be contained and attained. As recently as 2020, a leak involving a CO2 pipeline in Mississippi caused nearly 50 people to be hospitalized,” Hagen said. “We need to be assured that this is functionally viable before investing billions into another pipe dream.”
Thorson, the Democrat who seeks to unseat Meyer in the District 18 Senate race, also wants to learn more, but says he has a “healthy dose of skepticism” about carbon-capture’s effectiveness at reducing climate-warming gas, its economic return and its long-term impacts on the state.
“The issues relating to the granting of easements to the main and feeder pipelines needed to move CO2 from ethanol plants to the injection sites must be equitable for the landowners, and not rely on eminent domain to accomplish,” Thorson said. “There are several projects which have seen significant investment, but have yet to produce sustainable results. I am aligned with the intention to improve the environment and leave our land ‘better than we found it’ so that our future generations can enjoy this great state and its beauty.”
Christianson, a Republican running for one of the District 18 House seats, supports research and development in the carbon-capture field since he believes it will add value to the state’s energy industry.
“North Dakota should ensure that investors can pursue carbon capture and sequestration under fair and reasonable conditions to earn federal subsidies or meet demand for carbon-neutral products,” Christianson said. “However, we must diligently protect the rights of landowners and the safety of the public related to carbon pipelines and sequestration. I do not support additional state subsidies used simply to pump carbon into the ground and store it.”
Osowski, a Republican in District 42, said two questions come to mind.
“Is it affordable and a good investment for the state? And eminent domain? I cannot in good conscience support a land grab,” he said. “Property rights need to be protected.”
Gigstad, the Democrat taking on Cory in the District 42 Senate race, likely would vote no, he said.
“I recently toured the North Dakota Geological Survey Wilson M. Laird Core and Sample Library and learned some exciting information about oil containing formations and how non-porous formations trap oil and salt water. Formations of this type will also be used to trap CO2 gas,” Gigstad said. “I have two concerns about this type of carbon capture. 1) Will spending billions of dollars capturing a relatively small amount of carbon in relation to worldwide CO2 output make a difference? And 2) I am skeptical of 100% containment of the gas for centuries. I have an open mind to learning more about carbon capture technology and research but at this time I would vote no.”
Adams, a Democrat who previously held a spot in the state House, said she has spoken with residents about carbon capture. She said those residents – and even Adams herself – have more questions than answers about the industry.
“So many questions, so little explanation,” she said. “Investment in this project has come from out-of-state billionaires who have their own money to fund these projects, so I would really be cautious of where state tax dollars are used. That is why I take a skeptical approach to this project. If they can provide satisfactory answers to all my questions, I will give it fair consideration in Bismarck. But as it stands today, with them receiving federal dollars, I am opposed to investing state dollars into this project and letting these companies use eminent domain to seize private land.”
GRAND FORKS — A North Dakota composer’s dream is turning into a statewide invitation.
Williston-based musician Emily Black-Driscoll was chosen as the North Dakota Music Teachers Association’s commissioned composer for 2026. She’s preparing an original composition that will premiere in August.
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North Dakota
Challengers declare victory after ND Supreme Court rules against Legislature’s attempt to alter term limits
BISMARCK — A constitutional ballot measure to amend the state’s term limits law as proposed by the Legislature will not appear on November’s ballot, the North Dakota Supreme Court ruled Thursday, siding with petitioners who argued the Legislature exceeded its authority and violated the state constitution in proposing the changes.
“The people’s voice was heard,” Grand Forks County Commissioner Terry Bjerke said in reaction to the news.
Bjerke was a member of the sponsoring committee behind the successful 2022 effort to pass a term limits initiative, which amended the state constitution by capping legislative term limits to eight years in the House and eight years in the Senate. The amendment, which became article XV of the state constitution, also included a clause barring the Legislature from making constitutional changes to term limits.
During the 2025 session, however, lawmakers narrowly approved Senate Concurrent Resolution 4008, in which the legislature proposed Constitutional Measure 1, a ballot measure to amend the term limits language to allow legislators to decide in which chamber they want to serve their 16 years, and to repeal the clause limiting the legislative assembly’s authority to propose an amendment to alter or repeal term limits.
Bjerke and former Minot legislator Oley Larsen brought the lawsuit challenging the validity of the Legislature’s action in January, and the state Supreme Court
heard oral arguments in the case
this spring.
“Those term limits may only be altered by a measure proposed by the people rather than the Legislative Assembly. And yet a few years later, the Legislative Assembly is doing what they are prohibited from doing,” attorney Zachary Wallen argued on Bjerke and Larsen’s behalf.
Tanner Ecker / The Bismarck Tribune
The Legislature’s attorneys argued the clause prohibiting legislative proposals to alter the constitutional term limits language “infringes on our republican form of government” by “limiting the people’s ability to vote on amendments proposed by their elected officials.”
Justice Jon Jensen seemed skeptical of that argument during the April 2 hearing, questioning whether a second vote was appropriate.
“The public did speak on this. The public spoke on it when it passed the original constitutional amendment and they said, ‘Legislature, you don’t even get to propose a change.’ They have already spoken on it,” Jensen said. “You want a second shot, or a second bite at the apple, not a first one, a second.”
In Thursday’s ruling, all five justices sided with Bjerke and Larsen.
“We … conclude the Legislative Assembly’s adoption of S.C.R. 4008 violated N.D. Const. art. XV … and declare S.C.R. 4008 and Constitutional Measure 1 void … We enjoin the Secretary of State from placing Constitutional Measure 1 on the November 2026 general election ballot,” the ruling said.
Bjerke thanked the legal team that worked on behalf of their lawsuit, and said he was grateful the court reached the conclusion it did.
“I’m thrilled that what the people voted on and approved has been validated,” Bjerke said.
He added that the Legislature had “multiple opportunities” to address term limits prior to 2022’s initiated measure and chose not to, and gave a nod to the country’s coming milestone and the process by which voters expressed their support for term limits.
“We’ve lasted 250 years,” Bjerke said. “I have two words for those elected leaders who think they aren’t: everyone’s replaceable.”
North Dakota
Fargo woman convicted in North Dakota fraud case now faces charges in Minnesota: A deeper dive
FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – A North Dakota woman who was sentenced to 180 days in jail in Cass County for defrauding healthcare providers and Medicaid programs is now facing additional fraud charges in Minnesota.
Christine Marie Pryor, 55, pleaded guilty in November 2024 to theft by deception involving more than $50,000. She was sentenced to first serve 180 days with a 3-year sentence suspended. She received credit for 44 days already served.
Pryor was ordered to pay $82,584.78 in restitution to Southeast Human Services in Fargo, where she worked between 2018 and 2019.
How the scheme unfolded
According to court documents, Pryor worked at multiple healthcare facilities in North Dakota and Minnesota between 2018 and 2023, using the identities and credentials of three licensed professionals without their knowledge. She submitted fraudulent Capella University diplomas and transcripts to gain employment.
Investigators say Pryor admitted she searched state licensing websites for therapists who shared her first name, then used those therapists’ last names and license numbers when applying for jobs.
At Southeast Human Services, where she worked as a Licensed Addiction Counselor, Pryor earned $55,584.82 while providing therapy services to approximately 150 patients. She also opened her own counseling center, NIAM Brain Injury Center, in Fargo between 2020 and 2021, and worked at The Lotus Center in Moorhead, Minnesota, from 2021 to 2023.
Court documents say the three licensed professionals whose identities were used told investigators they had no knowledge of Pryor’s actions and did not give her permission to use their information.
Two additional charges against Pryor in North Dakota, unauthorized use of personal identifying information, were dismissed on motion of the state.
Additional charges in Minnesota
Pryor is also facing charges in Minnesota. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced on Tuesday charges against Pryor in Clay County District Court for six theft offenses and six identity theft offenses related to defrauding Minnesota’s Medicaid program of more than $150,000.
According to the Minnesota complaint, Pryor claimed to provide psychotherapy and alcohol and drug counseling services to Medicaid recipients despite having no license or credentials to do so. Prosecutors allege she used the credentials and identities of three licensed professionals while claiming to provide Medicaid-funded services to 169 clients.
The Minnesota charges were filed as part of National Health Care Fraud Takedown Day, a joint effort involving the Department of Justice and more than 40 state Medicaid Fraud Control Units.
Copyright 2026 KVLY. All rights reserved.
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