FARGO — On Sunday, June 30, a silver alert was issued for 84-year-old Alpha “Al” Ault who went missing in Morton County. The man was safely located near Huff Hills.

“When somebody’s missing, we always utilize the same amount of resources. So an aircraft, a bloodhound who is trained to track people, a lot of law enforcement agencies, volunteer organizations,” said North Dakota Highway Patrol Sergeant Jenna Clawson Huibregtse.

Huibregtse says it doesn’t matter if you’re qualified or not to search. It matters when you pay attention to what the alert says.

“Look at the clothing description, what that person might be driving and be the eyes and ears for us out there,” Huibregtse said. “Because the public is across the whole state, and we are just, you know, in a few select areas as law enforcement officers.”

She says almost every missing person is found by a community member before police, especially in rural parts of North Dakota.

“We’re typically finding people within five or 10 minutes, somebody gets the alert on their phone and they’re right in the right place at the right time,” Huibregtse said.

If you’re that person who finds an elder that may be at risk of wandering, the Alzheimer’s Association urges you to approach them calmly, then call police.

“Just ask them, you know, ‘Are you doing OK? It looks to me that you may be lost. Can I help you?’ And then ask them their name, ask them where they’re coming from,” said Alzheimer’s Association North Dakota Program Director Joan Danks.

With that information, Danks says you’ll be to help keep that elder safe until police arrive.

“Six in 10 people living with dementia will wander at least once, and many people do so repeatedly,” Danks said. “So it’s very common, and it can also be very dangerous — even sometimes life threatening. And that stress of this risk really does weigh heavily on caregivers and family members.”

They say it’s never too late to report a missing person if you find them.

If you’re a caregiver or family member looking for help to reduce the risk of wandering, you can enroll into the

Alzheimer’s Association’s wandering response service online for free.

My name is Anne Sara, better known as Sara.
I was born an only child in Port-au-prince, Haiti and moved to the U.S at the age of 2.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is where I was raised.
After graduating with my bachelor degree at Albright College, I moved to Florida to continue my studies.
WDAY is the reason why I moved to North Dakota.

The North Dakota Ethics Commission has seen a rise in campaign-related complaints but lacks tools to address the allegations, Executive Director Rebecca Binstock said.

Commissioners are considering adopting a new set of rules so the board has more authority to investigate the complaints.

As of late June, 23 complaints had been filed with the commission since the beginning of the year. Of those, 10 related to campaigns, Binstock said. The commission received 17 complaints in all of 2023 and 14 in 2022. In both 2023 and 2022, two complaints each year related to campaigns. Generally, ethics complaints are confidential unless the commission determines them to be substantiated and the accused has the ability to appeal.

“We’ve also received, I want to call it anecdotal information, from the public, from state agencies, state employees as well as elected officials that this particular election cycle is different,” Binstock told commissioners during a Wednesday meeting. “That anecdotal evidence aligns with what we see in real time with the complaints that have come in.”

Secretary of State Michael Howe said his office has received reports of alleged improper campaign finance disclosures on materials like signs and fliers, though he’s not sure if there’s been more this election cycle compared to previous years. The Secretary of State’s Office does not enforce compliance with campaign laws.

“We say, ‘Well, there is a requirement of that North Dakota Century Code,’” Howe said. “‘If you feel the law has been broken, you need to reach out to the state’s attorney in the county where you think this crime has been committed.’”

Recently, there have been allegations of campaign fraud in North Dakota submitted to federal authorities.

Julie Fedorchak’s campaign earlier this month filed complaints with the Federal Election Commission and Federal Communications Commission after text messages were sent en masse to North Dakotans the day of the primary falsely claiming she had dropped out of the U.S. House race.

A North Dakota resident in May filed an FEC complaint against Rep. Brandon Prichard, R-Bismarck, claiming he may have engaged in campaign finance activity that violates federal election law. Prichard has denied wrongdoing. The status of the complaint is not public.

The 2018 constitutional amendment that created the Ethics Commission allows the board to adopt rules related to elections, lobbying, corruption and transparency to enforce ethical behavior by state officials.

Under the constitution, the Ethics Commission can investigate alleged violations of its own rules, the constitutional amendment or “related state laws.”

Its ability to investigate campaign complaints is still very limited, however. For one, the commission has yet to adopt any rules on campaign ethics.

North Dakota does have statutes relating to campaign ethics — most of which impose misdemeanor penalties — which could fit the definition of “related state laws” under the constitutional amendment. However, because the commission does not have prosecution authority, it cannot investigate alleged violations of criminal law, Binstock said.

There are other ways to address complaints, though. The Ethics Commission may work with the complainant and the accused to resolve the complaint informally, for example.

Additionally, if a complaint accuses someone of a criminal violation, the Ethics Commission is required by law to forward the allegation to a state’s attorney.

State’s attorneys have discretion over whether or not to charge someone with a crime. Binstock noted during the meeting that when an ethics-related allegation crosses the desk of a state prosecutor, chances are they’re already dealing with a heavy caseload.

A letter dated May 10 provided to the North Dakota Monitor indicates that Binstock referred a complaint about a legislative race to Burleigh County State’s Attorney Julie Lawyer. The prosecutor has not responded to requests for comment and Binstock is unable to comment on specific complaints.

If a prosecutor declines to bring charges related to an ethics complaint, the case is handed back to the commission. But again, since the commission has neither prosecution authority nor any rules pertaining to elections, its staff may be unable to investigate the complaint.

“If the Ethics Commission doesn’t have a corresponding ethics rule, we’re left with a criminal statute that the Ethics Commission can’t investigate under,” Binstock said.

The commission during the meeting gave staff the greenlight to draft election rules. The draft rules will likely go before the commission for consideration sometime in the next few months, Binstock said.

In 2018, Burleigh County prosecutors charged Bismarck legislative candidate Duane Sand with a misdemeanor that alleged he misstated opponent George Keiser’s voting record in a campaign ad. The charge, publication of false information in political advertisements, was prompted by a police report Keiser filed and a finding from a prosecutor that the act fit the elements of the crime, The Bismarck Tribune reported.

Sand later filed police reports accusing Keiser and others of breaking the same law. The charge against Sand was dismissed after all involved reached a private settlement and agreed to stop pursuing the complaints.

This story was originally published on NorthDakotaMonitor.com

BY: JEFF BEACH

FARGO (North Dakota Monitor) – Three North Dakota airports have plans for major upgrades and will be asking the state Legislature to approve a combined $120 million for the projects. 

Fargo’s Hector International Airport had its official groundbreaking Monday for a terminal expansion and parking garage. The airports in Grand Forks and Dickinson also have what airport officials call “generational projects,” that might come along every 30 to 40 years. 

Fargo is seeking $60 million for its project and Grand Forks and Dickinson each are requesting $30 million. 

At Monday’s event in Fargo, Kyle Wanner, director of the North Dakota Aeronautics Commission, called airports “economic engines” for the state. 

“They sometimes need a major overhaul or an upgrade,” Wanner said. 

Kelly Braun, manager of the Dickinson Theodore Roosevelt Regional Airport, said there is not another viable source of funding for its plans to build a new terminal next to the existing runways. 

He said the plans for a new terminal are in the design stage for the $48 million project. He said there is local and federal funding for the project. 

It is upgrading a secondary runway in preparation for that project.

Ryan Riesinger, executive director of the Grand Forks International Airport, said it plans to reconstruct its main runway – an approximately $75 million project. 

That means ripping up asphalt that is about 1 foot deep and the original concrete that is 1 foot deep. 

Riesinger said the concrete was poured on top of a clay soil base. The modern runway will be dug down about 4 feet and be better engineered to handle the weight of large planes as well as better drainage. 

“So it’s much like reconstructing the interstate, only deeper, thicker,” Riesinger said. 

The Grand Forks airport is currently upgrading its secondary runway to keep the airport humming while the main runway is redone over several construction seasons. 

Wanner said while there are smaller airport projects all over the state, these three high-priced upgrades have been identified as needing extra state funding. 

“There’s just no other path forward,” Wanner said in an interview. 

North Dakota House Majority Mike Lefor, R-Dickinson, said he has been briefed on the projects and is supportive, as long as the revenue is available when lawmakers convene in January. He said a proposed property tax reform measure on the November ballot could change the budget picture dramatically. 

“I’m generally supportive of this proposal, because I see the need,” Lefor said. 

North Dakota’s commercial airports in 2023 had 1.1 million boardings, an 11% overall increase from calendar year 2022, according to the Aeronautics Commission. Fargo and Devils Lake recorded their best year on record.

North Dakota airports also had their busiest May on record, according to the Aeronautics Commission. Airline passenger boarding numbers reached 103,068 passengers for the month, breaking a May record set in 2014 during the oil boom.

Braun said the Dickinson airport was designed for about 9,000 passengers annually but last year had about 25,000, with projections of more than 30,000 in the next couple of years. 

He said officials hope to have the new terminal open in late 2027. 

The $200 million Hector project that is underway is for a four-story parking structure with about 1,000 spaces and a skyway to the terminal. 

The terminal will add four more gates and there will be upgrades to the terminal interior. The project is expected to be completed in 2026. 

At Monday’s groundbreaking, U.S. Sen. John Hoeven touted recent airport upgrades in Minot and Williston and called Fargo’s airport “the flagship” for the state. 

“This is a quality of life issue,” Hoeven said of air travel. “So we’re going to have the best airport to go with the greatest people and the best state in the country.”