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McFeely: Rot in the North Dakota Republican Party

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McFeely: Rot in the North Dakota Republican Party


FARGO — There is rot in the North Dakota Republican Party, which is not surprising. When a group holds absolute power for as long as the NDGOP has held absolute power, there are no checks and balances, no accountability, no self-governance.

You can do what you want, no matter the ethics involved, and even if the powerless opposition party or the media point out the obvious problems, those with absolute power shrug or smirk or both and continue to be reelected by massive margins because guns, abortion, the border, wokeness or something.

This leads to, among many other things, Republican legislators getting sweetheart deals from the state, emails from the state’s attorney general and his deputy mysteriously evaporating into thin air, the current attorney general looking the other way, nobody held accountable (whatever happened to ol’ Liz Brocker, anyway?) and life going on today pretty much like it did yesterday and the day before that.

Nothing to see here, folks, move along.

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This is how corruption works, whether it’s in Chicago or Bismarck.

Which, from the outside looking in, is sort of impressive when you take into account the brazenness. North Dakota Republicans are so confident they either won’t get caught or, if they do, nothing serious will happen that they happily go about their daily business of self-dealing and taking care of those who take care of them (read: oil business) without a care in the world. They simply don’t care.

It’s a Mississippi-style insider ballgame, worthy of a wink-wink here and a smirk there.

Until children are allegedly being raped in Prague using taxpayer dollars.

That’s the allegation against former Republican state Sen. Ray Holmberg, of Grand Forks,

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long one of the most powerful people in the state legislature because he held such sway over the purse strings. A federal indictment says Holmberg “repeatedly traveled” to Prague, Czech Republic, between 2011 and 2016 for the purpose of engaging in child sex tourism with a person under the age of 18.

Minors can’t give sexual consent by law. And so when an adult has sex with them, it’s rape.

Former North Dakota Sen. Ray Holmberg leaves the Quentin N. Burdick Federal Courthouse on Monday, Oct. 30, 2023, in downtown Fargo.

David Samson / The Forum

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Holmberg is also accused of receiving and attempting to receive child pornography. He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The Forum reported Wednesday

Holmberg used state-issued money from an international program to travel to Prague at least three times.

Receipts also showed Holmberg traveled to Berlin and Amsterdam as part of the state’s relationship with Global Bridges, an organization that facilitates trips for various groups, including political leaders.

The North Dakota Legislature approved money from the general fund to the North Dakota School Board Association for Global Bridges trips taken by legislators.

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Holmberg, Rep. Bob Martinson and his brother and former School Board Association Executive Director Jon Martinson — a former Republican legislator from Bismarck — chose who went on the trips, according to letters authorizing the travel. Jon Martinson was executive director of the association from 2000 to June 30, 2017, but told KFGO radio host Joel Heitkamp on Wednesday he continued to go on the European trips even after retiring.

Bob Martinson, a Republican from Bismarck, has sat on the House appropriations committee since 1997. Holmberg was longtime chair of the Senate appropriations committee before retiring in 2022 after The Forum reported he had texted with a child porn suspect.

Holmberg and Bob Martinson controlled the money, folks. And Jon Martinson is Bob’s brother. The Legislature approved from $150,000 to $250,000 per biennium from 2013 through 2019 for the school board association to take trips, according to legislative records, trips that Holmberg and Jon Martinson took.

Does insider trading get anymore inside than that?

Who knew what was going on? When did they know it? Why didn’t they say anything?

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Having absolute power perhaps meant nobody felt the need.

Wink-wink. Smirk.

The result, according to the feds, is that Holmberg traveled to Europe multiple times to have sex with children. On the taxpayer dime. On your dime.

That is not Chicago- or Mississippi-style politics. That is rot. Right here in North Dakota.

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Mike McFeely

Mike McFeely is a columnist for The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead. He began working for The Forum in the 1980s while he was a student studying journalism at Minnesota State University Moorhead. He’s been with The Forum full time since 1990, minus a six-year hiatus when he hosted a local radio talk-show.





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North Dakota

Man arrested after shooting in Grand Forks

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Man arrested after shooting in Grand Forks


GRAND FORKS — A shooting that occurred Saturday evening, May 25, in Grand Forks resulted in an arrest and a victim with what police believe are non-life-threatening injuries.

According to a report from the Grand Forks Police Department, the incident occurred at approximately 8 p.m. at the Abbott Sports Complex at 1120 Seventh Ave. South. The GFPD received a call that a male subject had been shot.

According to the report, “initial investigation of the incident revealed that a disturbance occurred on the basketball court of the sports complex, involving two subjects known to each other.”

During the altercation, the 25-year-old man — he is from Grand Forks but police have not released his name — was shot, the report says. He was transported to Altru Hospital with an injury, but it didn’t appear to be life-threatening, police said.

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The suspect, 24-year-old Allen Little of Grand Forks, was detained on the scene. He was arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and reckless endangerment-extreme indifference.

Police say there is no threat to the public, but also note that the investigation is ongoing. The department asks that anyone who witnessed the incident or who might have additional information to call the GFPD at 780-787-8000.

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.





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BreakTime acquires 23 Loaf 'N Jug stores in North Dakota, Montana

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BreakTime acquires 23 Loaf 'N Jug stores in North Dakota, Montana


GRAND FORKS — EG America is selling 23 Loaf ‘N Jug stores to BreakTime Corner Market in North Dakota and Montana.

By mid-June, two Loaf ‘N Jug locations in Grand Forks should be under the ownership of BTCM. The company will become owner of all the locations in North Dakota (14) and the nine locations in Montana.

Bret Sullivan, BTCM regional operations director, will return to the area soon during the ownership transition. Sullivan and a co-worker spent a week in North Dakota and Montana a few months ago visiting all the stores the company is purchasing.

They visited all 23 stores in five days.

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“We came in and started on a Monday. We drove like crazy, and got to all 23 by Friday night. We were hurrying. We had some late nights, but we got through them all.”

Sullivan plans to spend two weeks visiting the stores again at the end of May and into June.

That’s when customers will start to see a different sign on the buildings and maybe other cosmetic changes at the stores. There won’t be a lot of changes inside the store.

Expanding products will be one of them.

“Loaf ‘N Jug is kind of restrictive at the store level because they want their stores to be the exact same,” Sullivan said. “We don’t operate that way, so you get a little more variety of what we sell.”

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Plans are to find a product or two that is made in the city or the county of the new stores and sell it at BreakTime. That’s an additional way for the company to have a tie with the community.

Sullivan said the company has been expanding through acquisitions.

With stores in Kansas and Colorado, BTCM believes the move northward to North Dakota and Montana was a natural progression for the company.

“They’re older stores, but they are in pretty good shape,” Sullivan said. “That’s kind of the niche we’ve been working in the last few years.

“Everybody is excited to see more territory. I just came from western Texas and western Kansas. It’s a whole different look when you get up to Montana and North Dakota.”

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Some workers at Loaf ‘N Jug thought BTCM was going to take over in early May, but the transition was delayed. Sullivan said he was unsure of the purchase price for the 23 stores.

This isn’t BTCM’s largest acquisition. Just a couple of years ago, it acquired 48 stores in Texas.

The Houston-based company bought its first convenience store in Houston in 1999. The company now operates numerous gas stations/convenience stores.

Established in 2004, BTCM has emerged as a multifaceted enterprise, specializing in the operation and management of gas stations/convenience stores, retail shopping centers, office buildings and the acquisition of land for retail development.

Sullivan said he’s looking forward to learning about the employees in the new stores. He said there will be no layoffs.

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“Everybody is staying on board,” he said. “We want to maintain consistency. People get comfortable. They don’t like changes in their convenience stores.”

Store managers will be given more latitude in what they can do at the stores, Sullivan said.

“We’re excited to see our company grow a little larger and see some new territory and move on, move forward,” Sullivan said.

Kevin Fee is a freelance reporter for the Herald.

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WATCH: A recap of the final day of the North Dakota state track and field meet, Highlights from the EDC softball and baseball tournaments

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WATCH: A recap of the final day of the North Dakota state track and field meet, Highlights from the EDC softball and baseball tournaments


On the final day of the North Dakota state track and field meet at the MDU Resources Community Bowl in Bismarck, we had new team champions for both boys and girls, and in both classes. On the field, Grand Forks Central’s Ethan Smith swept all three throwing events, an accomplishment that hasn’t been done in over a century. Watch the full recap below.

STATE TRACK AND FIELD RECAP – 0:00-2:10

After the weather pushed the EDC softball and baseball tournaments on its heels, eight teams are set to appear at the state tournaments next weekend. Horace baseball wins its first ever state qualifier game against Devils Lake to make the program’s first appearance at teh state tournament. Fargo North softball wins the EDC for the first time since 2019, and Shanley baseball stays undefeated in the conference. The Deacons will be the number one seed at the state tournament in Dickinson. Watch the full highlights below.

EDC Baseball State Qualifier: Horace 10, Devils Lake 6 – 2:11-2:38

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EDC Baseball State Qualifier: Sheyenne 2, Davies 9 – 2:39-3:12

EDC Baseball Semifinal Scores: Horace 2, North 7 – Sheyenne 0, Shanley 4 – 3:13-3:22

EDC Softball Championship: North 4, West Fargo 3 – 3:23-4:00

EDC Softball State Qualifier Scores: Valley City 2, Red River 12 – Davies 1, Sheyenne 2 – 4:01-4:07





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