FARGO — The North Dakota Health and Human Services Department said two measles cases have been reported in Cass County, the first to be recorded in eastern North Dakota.

Human services said both cases are unvaccinated individuals who contracted the disease through international travel. One of them is hospitalized.

The health and human services department said members of the public who were at two Essentia Health locations in West Fargo and Fargo may have been exposed. Exposure may have occurred at the Essentia Health Clinic, 3150 Sheyenne St., Ste. 240, West Fargo, between 2:30 and 6 p.m. on Wednesday, May 7, or between 5:30 and 6 p.m., Friday, May 9, at the Essentia Health Walk-in Care, 52nd Avenue, 4110 51st Ave. S, Fargo.

The two new cases bring the total cases reported in the state to 11. The Cass County cases are not believed to be related to the nine cases recently reported near Williston, in Williams County.

The first case was reported Friday,

May 2, when the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services said an unvaccinated child from Williams County contracted the virus, likely during an out-of-state visit. The number jumped to nine by Friday, May 9. Four of the individuals were contagious while inside three different Williston schools.

Individuals who have not received a dose of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine should quarantine, or stay home, and monitor for symptoms for 21 days.

Those who have been exposed but are vaccinated do not need to quarantine. However, the department of health and human services said they should still monitor for symptoms for 21 days after exposure.

Measles is a highly contagious, viral illness that can be fatal, particularly for young children and those with compromised immune systems. Measles spreads through the air and can remain in a room and on surfaces for up to two hours, sometimes even traveling between floors through ventilation systems.

Measles symptoms often include a fever, cough, runny nose or eye irritation followed by a body-wide rash. Measles spreads easily through the air and remains contagious for several days before and after symptoms appear.

There is no specific medical treatment for measles, though antibiotics may be used in cases with a developed secondary bacterial infection.

According to the state health department, most North Dakotans are vaccinated against measles, and the risk to the general public is low. People who were vaccinated as children and adults born before 1957 are considered protected due to previous infection.

“The MMR vaccine is 93% effective after one dose and 97% effective after two doses,” Molly Howell, state immunization director, said in a statement. “People who are vaccinated and exposed to measles are not likely to develop the disease. MMR vaccination is critical to preventing the spread of measles in the community.”

The MMR vaccine is recommended starting at 12 to 15 months of age, with a second dose at 4 to 6 years of age. Children who have already received two post-12-month doses of MMR are considered fully vaccinated.

For information about measles, vaccination, or local clinic availability, contact the HHS Immunization Unit at 701-328-2378 or 711 (TTY), or visit hhs.nd.gov/measles.

Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – The North Dakota Crisis Chaplains are ensuring the state’s first responders are being taken care of.

Its focus is on bringing chaplains and support to law enforcement and first responders in small, rural communities. The organization is already serving in 17 counties, and its goal is to serve in every county in the state.

“We thought everyone had what Bismarck had, and they didn’t. There were just a couple of pockets of active, trained, engaged chaplains serving first responder agencies, primarily in the cities,” said lead chaplain, Bryan Holchhalter. “There were maybe one or two small chaplain-served agencies in the state out of 53 counties, and some of those weren’t trained, some of those weren’t active, they weren’t during ride-alongs, they weren’t engaged with their departments, and there was basically a canyon of need.“

You can donate to the cause at ndcrisischaplains.com.

Copyright 2025 KFYR. All rights reserved.

People don’t pursue a teaching career in the hopes of getting rich. While the profession offers many rewards, excellent pay is typically not among them.

That said, we should not resign ourselves to the assumption that competitive pay doesn’t matter when it comes to attracting people to teach or retaining the best teachers.

So it’s frankly embarrassing and shameful that

North Dakota has fallen to 40th in average teacher pay

among the 50 states and Washington, D.C.

The National Education Association recently released its annual report of teacher pay by state.

Last year, North Dakota teachers earned an average annual salary of $58,581. The average annual starting salary was $43,734.

Average teacher pay has climbed in North Dakota by nearly 7% since 2020-21, when the state ranked 34th in the nation, but that hasn’t kept pace with nationwide growth of around 10% over the same period.

Last year alone, average salaries in North Dakota grew by 3.2% compared to 3.8% nationwide.

Salaries for starting teachers in North Dakota have also dropped from 26th nationwide in 2021-22 to 34th last year.

Meanwhile, the average teacher salary in Minnesota is $72,430, or about $14,000 more than in North Dakota. That puts Minnesota 15th in teacher pay nationwide.

Starting teachers in Minnesota earn an average salary of $44,995, only about $1,261 more than in North Dakota. Minnesota ranks 26th in that benchmark compared to North Dakota’s ranking at 34th.

So while North Dakota has tried to slowly increase teacher pay in recent years, it hasn’t kept pace with the value other states have placed upon teachers.

As a result, North Dakota is struggling to attract and retain teachers, especially in rural areas. The problem is getting more acute by the year as the core of longtime educators retire and fewer young people pursue the profession known for poor pay and challenging work conditions made worse by poor parenting and a growing distrust of education.

This also comes at a time when North Dakota’s Legacy Fund hovers around $12 billion. The 15-year-old growing pile of money gleaned from the state’s taxes on the oil and gas industry is meant as a reserve fund for when those natural resources are depleted.

The intent of the Legacy Fund, created by taxpayers, was to use the state’s natural riches for transformative change. The recently adjourned Legislature did just that when it joined the governor’s push to tap a small portion of the Legacy Fund to lower property taxes, an issue that has plagued North Dakotans for decades.

Between now and the conclusion of the next legislative session in two years, lawmakers must make it a priority to increase teacher salaries. A good goal is to get North Dakota to at least the middle ranks of teacher pay in the country. It’s hard to be happy with average, but a “C” is better than the “F” we have today.

If we truly want to leave a legacy, there is no better investment in the future of North Dakota.