MINOT, N.D. (KMOT) – Minot High School students ended the school year on a high note with the annual spring awards concert.

It was also the final concert with Magic City and Central Campus students as the district will add the new Minot North High School next year.

Variations of different choir groups from ninth to twelfth grades performed vocal pieces for each other and family members.

Choir Director Lindsey Kerzmann got a surprise from her students who prepared a song without her direction.

The students gave gifts to the director and the accompanist for the positive experiences over the years, and the impact of having a lively, fun and memorable music class.

Kerzmann said she has seen a lot of growth among the students since they started.

“Seeing that progression from when they were in masks and they wouldn’t make a whole lot of eye contact with me and I didn’t really know like, ‘Wow! How are we going to make this work?’ And we did, and they’re awesome,” said Kerzmann.

After graduation, some of the students will get to perform at Music Fest Orlando in June.

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NORTH DAKOTA — North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley joined a petition with 22 other states challenging the Environmental Protection Agency’s federal rule requiring coal plants to reduce emission levels. Wrigley says the rule is an unconstitional overreach and would harm North Dakota’s coal-fired energy production.

The federal rule would set standards for existing coal-fired and natural gas power plants, making them use carbon capture and sequestration to capture 90% of their emissions by 2032.

The EPA estimates the rules will reduce carbon pollution by up to 1.38 billion metric tons through 2047, equal to the annual emissions released by 328 million gasoline cars.

National Rural Electric Cooperative Association CEO James Matheson says the rule comes at a time when the country’s electrical grid already faces challenges.

“I don’t think the EPA really considered reliability when it drafted this rule,” Mattheson said during a virtual press conference on Tuesday, May 14.

Minnkota Power Cooperative’s Mac McLennan says more than 40% of their power comes from renewable energy like wind. But wind power is not always an option.

“When we experienced extreme cold events, during those time frames, that 35% of our supply surrounding wind completely falls off,” McLennan said. “The only way during those cold spells that we’ve been able to keep the lights on, it’s been coal units.

Without the safety net of coal power, he worries people around the state could face blackouts in extreme weather events.

“During normal peak conditions, 19 states are now at risk,” Matheson said. “That’s a trend that should get our attention. This rule makes it worse.”

Minnkota has been developing Project Tundra, an initiative to build one of the largest carbon capture facilities in the world. But McLennan says that technology isn’t ready for prime time.

“What EPA has done in this rule, ultimately, is unrealistic for most plants in this country,” McLennan said.

The NRECA has filed a motion to stay the EPA power plant rule.

Mike McGurran has been a reporter and anchor at WDAY-TV since 2021.

BISMARCK — North Dakota Chief Information Officer Kuldip Mohanty has submitted his resignation effective May 31, according to a release from Gov. Doug Burgum’s office.

Mohanty, who started in the role on Feb. 23, 2023, cited family reasons in his resignation.

“It has been a privilege and honor to be a part of your administration in serving the citizens of North Dakota,” he said in a release. “I had the utmost pleasure of leading an amazing team of leaders within North Dakota Information Technology in delivering value to our citizens in collaboration with our agency partners.”

“Kuldip brought a deep understanding of system operations and a strong focus on customer service during his impactful 15 months as CIO, ensuring that NDIT was able to meet the needs of its agency partners so they could better serve North Dakota citizens,” Burgum said. “We’re grateful for his leadership of the outstanding team at NDIT, and we look forward to building upon his progress and wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”

Burgum appointed Deputy Chief Information Officer Greg Hoffman to serve as interim chief information officer, the release said.

NDIT deals with the state’s computer equipment and software, communications, cybersecurity, networks, applications, GIS, servers, storage and data, and other services. The agency has a $275 million operating budget, over $500 million in projects and 479 full-time staff.

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