North Dakota
Industrial Commission delays decision on hiring next North Dakota oil regulator
North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, left, and state Attorney General Drew Wrigley, right, both members of the North Dakota Industrial Commission. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)
By: Mary Steurer
BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – The Industrial Commission held off on picking North Dakota’s next top oil regulator for another week to 10 days after public interviews of both finalists.
“I feel like we’ve got two strong candidates here that are very different, one who’s got a lot of experience on the regulation side, the other one’s got great experience on the private sector side,” Gov. Doug Burgum said at the Tuesday afternoon hearing. “I think what’s missing for me is not ‘Do we have strong candidates?’ It’s, ‘What are the exact needs of the agency right now?’”
The commission hasn’t yet announced a firm date for when it will make its final decision.
The Industrial Commission seeks a successor for Lynn Helms, who served as director of Mineral Resources for nearly 20 years.
In all, 16 people applied for the director position. The search committee spoke with five semi finalists before advancing Nathan Anderson and Kevin Connors to the final round of interviews. Only the names of finalists are public under North Dakota law.
Anderson, a Colorado resident, has about 25 years of industry experience working across states including North Dakota, Texas, Ohio and Michigan.
He works for Chevron in Colorado and owns a company called 3B Investments.
The Minot native earned a bachelor’s degree in geology from North Dakota State University.
He said previous employees have described him as a fair, empathetic, trusting and empowering leader.
Connors, meanwhile, works for the University of North Dakota’s Energy and Environmental Research Center. He has previous experience at the Department of Mineral Resources, spending eight of those years in the Oil and Gas Division.
Connors said that his prior history working for the state means he already has partnerships with North Dakota oil and gas regulators and other state agencies.
The Bismarck resident’s current role at the EERC is assistant director for regulatory compliance and energy policy. He works extensively with carbon capture.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in geology from the University of Montana.
Connors described his leadership style as “shepherd”-like.
“I come from a culture at the EERC where we are laser-focused on employee development and leadership,” he said.
In both interviews, members of the Industrial Commission made it clear they want a director that can carry on Helms’ legacy.
“He’s been in the role for so long, he kind of defines what it is,” Burgum said while interviewing Anderson. “How does this mission of this particular role resonate with you?”
Anderson said he would strive to keep North Dakota a pro-business, pro-energy state.
“One hundred percent, North Dakota will have a seat at the energy table — and a front row seat at that,” Anderson said.
Connors, who worked with Helms, said he considers the former director a mentor and friend.
“I saw the way Lynn had to switch gears throughout the day,” Connors said. “I really worked hard to try to position myself to be able to have that skill set.”
During the meeting, the commission also approved an agreement to continue working with Helms on a contract basis until the next director starts.
Helms will advise the agency on technical cases and help prepare for new leadership, said Reice Haase, deputy executive director for the Industrial Commission.
After postponing the vote to pick a new director, Burgum noted he wished that the state would consider adding a new position to the Department of Mineral Resources so that the agency could hire both candidates.
“Man, why wouldn’t we get both these guys going?” Burgum said. “There’s only one role on paper. We can’t fix that necessarily now without a change in legislation, but I’m almost ready to ask the Industrial Commission, as another project, let’s think about what drafting that would be like.”
The Industrial Commission is comprised of Burgum, Attorney General Drew Wrigley and Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring. The Department of Mineral Resources serves as the oil and gas industry regulator in North Dakota, the nation’s No. 3 oil producing state.
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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