North Dakota
Minnesota, North Dakota unions warn of impacts from federal Department of Education cuts
FARGO — Hundreds of workers are set to lose their jobs in the U.S. Department of Education as part of cuts announced this week, leaving many worried about the impact on students and schools.
Teachers’ unions in Minnesota and North Dakota are speaking out about the potential consequences of the cuts, believing students will be the ones most affected. Representatives from both the Fargo and West Fargo school districts say the cuts will not immediately impact their operations, but the announcement has left some nervous about the future.
“While we’ve known about this for a long, long time, when it finally happens, it is rather shocking,” said Denise Specht, president of Education Minnesota.
Nearly half of the Department of Education’s workforce is being cut, and some fear this is part of a larger plan to eliminate the department entirely. The presidents of Education Minnesota and North Dakota United, both organizations that represent teachers, are raising concerns about what the cuts could mean for the future of education.
“I think the fact that they’re laying off fully 50% of the staff is problematic and should cause North Dakotans concern,” said Nick Archuleta, president of North Dakota United.
North Dakota receives just more than $170 million in federal funds from the Department of Education, while Minnesota’s funding is nearly $530 million.
“If we’re going to start messing around with the funding, it’s going to cause an impact in every community in North Dakota with a school,” Archuleta warned.
These federal funds help support programs for students with disabilities, those from low-income families and homeless students.
“Just because the money goes away, doesn’t mean the need goes away. That’s never been how it works. This money is allocated based on need, not based on some fairy dust,” Archuleta added.
The cuts are not just limited to community schools. They may also affect higher education, including federal Pell Grants that help students pay for college tuition.
“If we want to see job creation depleted, if we want to make higher ed out of reach for most families, take away special ed services, then that’s what’s going to happen,” Specht said.
If the Department of Education is eliminated, President Donald Trump has suggested that education would be run by individual states instead of “bureaucrats in Washington.”
Minnesota’s Democratic Gov. Tim Walz criticized the cuts heavily during a news conference. Meanwhile, North Dakota’s Republican Gov. Kelly Armstrong’s office told WDAY News, “Giving states more control over education funding is a good thing,” and the state will work with the administration to ensure schools and students have the resources they need to succeed.
Isak Dinesen joined WDAY-TV as a reporter in September 2024. He previously worked as a multimedia journalist at WAOW-TV in Wausau, Wisconsin for three years. He graduated from NDSU in 2020, majoring in Journalism and minoring in Sports Communication at MSUM.
North Dakota
North Dakota voters to decide single-subject requirement for future constitutional amendments on June 9
BRECKENRIDGE — Coaches, teammates, friends and family gathered in the south parking lot of Breckenridge High School for another state tournament sendoff.
Corbin Abner Lee / Wahpeton Daily News
This year, it was Troy Berndt taking the ceremonial convertible ride. He is headed to St. Michael-Albertville High School for the Minnesota Class A State Track and Field Meet on June 4-6.
Corbin Abner Lee / Wahpeton Daily News
He will be running in the third heat of the 400-meter prelims, scheduled for 4:52 p.m. June 4. There are seven athletes in each heat, 21 total, and nine will advance to the finals at 6:20 p.m. June 5.
The top two finishers in each heat advance, along with the next three best times. Berndt’s personal best time of 50.67 has him seeded 13th, but the 10th-, 11th- and 12th-seeded runners are less than five hundredths of a second ahead of him. The eighth- and ninth-seeded runners are also close, at 50.33 and 50.39, respectively.
Berndt dropped nearly seven-tenths of a second from his previous personal best at the Section 6A West Subsection Meet on May 21, running 51.35, and shaved another 0.68 seconds off at the Section 6A Championships on May 28 with a time of 50.67. If he keeps lowering his time, he will have a shot at reaching the podium against the best runners in Class A.
Corbin Abner Lee / Wahpeton Daily News
Results and photos will be available online immediately following the race June 4 and in the June 10 print edition of the Wahpeton Daily News.
Corbin Lee is a sports reporter for the Wahpeton Daily News and Richland County News-Monitor. Corbin can be reached by calling (701) 291-3551 or emailing corbin.lee@wahpetondailynews.com.
On this day in 1971, Rugby repeated as North Dakota’s high school sand greens golf champion behind medalist Dwight Stempson’s winning performance.
Here is the complete story as it appeared in the paper that day:
Rugby Repeats As Sand Greens Golf Champion
RUGBY, N. D. — Rugby repeated as North Dakota high school sand greens golf champion here Wednesday, posting a four-man total of 293 strokes for 18 holes.
Led by medalist Dwight Stempson’s medalist 36-35 — 71, the Panthers were eight strokes ahead of runnerup Stanley, which had a 301. Following were Garrison 311, Beulah 315, Leeds 322, Ashley 323, Bottineau 328, Pembina 329, Tioga 332, Parshall 341 and Hettinger 342.
Stempson and teammate Bruce Carlson each had one-under par 71s, but Carlson was unable to be at the regional and wasn’t qualified for individual honors.
Rounding out the Rugby totals were Delwin Wilson 40-37 — 77 and Dennett Hutchinson 35-39 — 74. Gary Kirchoffner, 41-39 — 80, was Rugby’s fifth entrant with the best four-of-five scores counted.
Runnerup Stanley was led by Steve Springan’s 34-38 — 72 and Joe Springan’s 36-38 — 74. Their two-man total of 146 strokes was good enough for the doubles title. Two strokes back with a 148 was the duo of Stempson and Wilson. Stan Saathoff and Mike Stepina of Garrison each had 76s for a 152 total and the Ashley combo of Steve Maier (76) and Dave Kretschmar (78) was fourth with a 154.
Stempson was the driving contest winner with a distance of 280 yards. Chris Knutson of Garrison headed the pitch and putt competition.
Kate Almquist is the social media manager for InForum. After working as an intern, she joined The Forum full time starting in January 2022. Readers can reach her at kalmquist@forumcomm.com.
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