North Dakota
Minot Air Force Base to receive $850 million in upgrades with nuclear weapons updates
MINOT — The Minot Air Force Base is in line for a nuclear-sized upgrade as the Department of Defense plans to update its nuclear deterrence capability across the country.
During the Task Force 21 North Dakota Nuclear Triad Symposium in Minot on Tuesday, April 23, members of the military, nuclear weapons experts and state lawmakers talked about the importance of upgrading an aging nuclear arsenal, and its delivery methods, as China and other adversaries have increased their own defense budgets in recent years.
Over the next 12 years, the DoD plans to upgrade each leg of the nuclear triad that consists of intercontinental ballistic missiles, bomber aircraft and nuclear ballistic missile submarines.
The military’s Minuteman III nuclear ICBMs, which have been in service since the late 1970s, will be replaced with the Sentinel missile system.
Col. Tytonia Moore, deputy director of the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Modernization, said the Air Force will replace 400 Minuteman III launching vehicles nationwide. Of those, 150 missiles are in North Dakota, which will lead to an estimated $850 million in funding to upgrade Minot Air Force Base facilities.
He said the Air Force plans to reuse as many of the Minuteman III facilities as possible since the missile systems are similar in size. However, additional construction of new facilities would also be needed.
“Even though it’s a new system, we want to take advantage of lease agreements and the property, etc., which hopefully makes it more cost effective,” Moore said.
He said the DoD plans on installing an additional 939 miles of utility corridors to the new facilities near the base. Moore added building the facilities will bring up to 3,000 workers to the area.
However, Moore said the Sentinel program is also experiencing critical cost overruns of about 37% to the program, which now requires more oversight from Congress and the DoD before construction can begin. Prior to the cost overruns, construction was expected to begin on Minot AFB in 2027, but plans are on hold until the program is reevaluated.
Michael Achterling / North Dakota Monitor
Upgrades to the air leg of the nuclear triad will see Northrop Grumman’s B-21 Raider replace the existing B-1 bomber in coming years. The Air Force is expected to maintain a fleet of 100 new B-21 bombers at an average unit cost of nearly $700 million per plane, according to the Air Force.
The sea leg of the nuclear triad will be upgraded with the new Columbia-class nuclear ballistic missile submarine that will replace the aging Ohio-class subs. Each new sub is expected to cost more than $9 billion, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Lt. Gen. Michael Lutton, deputy commander of Air Force Global Strike Command, said the triad upgrades are necessary to keep pace with China’s growing influence and increases in military spending, as well as Russia’s continued war in Ukraine.
“Those are just two of the countries that are out there,” said Lutton, adding that North Korea also poses a security concern.
He also touted airmen stationed in Minot and across the world as trained, knowledgeable and ready to defend the nation, if called upon.
“We want them to be decisive,” Lutton said. “We want them to have that information advantage and we want them to have access to those things that will give them a decisive advantage.”
North Dakota Rep. Kelly Armstrong and Gov. Doug Burgum spoke during the event and praised the service members at Minot AFB as an integral part of the state.
Burgum said he hopes to continue making strides through income tax relief and other programs to ensure North Dakota is the friendliest state for military service members and veterans.
After the event, state Sen. Merrill Piepkorn, D-Fargo, said lawmakers received a tour of the Minot AFB nuclear launch facilities.
“The most impressive thing to me about the Air Force, and I’m sure it goes to all the military branches, is the diversity, the enthusiasm, the skill and the dedication these people, many of them young people, have to their jobs,” Piepkorn said. “They take it very seriously and they are very responsible.”
This story was originally published on NorthDakotaMonitor.com
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North Dakota
The Democratic Spirit: Reflections on North Dakota History and the Declaration of Independence at 250 – America250
A state and national public forum comprising a lecture, and then a question-answer session. Kwame Anthony Appiah’s lecture commemorates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and explore its enduring significance in American life. Appiah’s scholarship on ethics, identity, and cosmopolitanism offers a unique lens for examining democratic ideals in a diverse society. By connecting these themes to North Dakota’s historical narrative, the forum fosters civic engagement, intellectual discourse, and cultural understanding within our community.
FARGO — Drivers can expect to see a slight uptick in gas prices as a result of the Iran conflict.
As of Monday, March 2, the average for North Dakota is $2.65 a gallon. While that is a $0.13 increase from a month ago, it is significantly lower than prices a year ago.
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GRAND FORKS – The Study ND, formerly Humanities North Dakota, has received $15,000 from the National Endowment for the Arts for a statewide theater and humanities initiative in recognition of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
This commemorative investment is meant to bring historical events and figures – such as the framers of the U.S. Constitution – to life through virtual and live performances that celebrate the nation’s history.
The grant, along with funding from private sources, has made it possible for The Study ND to host “America 250” activities after the organization sustained a considerable cut in funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities last year, according to Brenna Gerhardt, The Study ND executive director.
“We absorbed a 50% budget cut, resulting in a loss of $467,645 in funding,” Gerhardt said. “As a result, we had to significantly scale back our American 250 initiatives focused on American history and civics education.”
Funds received from the National Endowment for the Arts will be used to present public readings, theatrical portrayals and guided discussions to encourage audience members to reflect on the nation’s founding in 1776 and on its democratic ideals, while engaging in contemporary conversations about civic life.
All of the programming in the series organized by The Study ND, titled “American Heroes,” will be livestreamed statewide.
In the grant application submitted to the National Endowment for the Arts, “we framed the project around a simple idea: democracy requires more than information, it requires citizens who can think historically, listen well, and argue in good faith,” Gerhardt said.
“This series uses living history performances to bring consequential figures into the room, then turns the room into a civic space through moderated dialogue and related public events. We define ‘heroism’ as civic courage under pressure, the willingness to contend with hard truths, and the capacity to enlarge a community’s moral imagination,” she said.
“The project does not ask audiences to agree on a single interpretation of a figure. It invites them to grapple with complexity together, and to connect the past to the responsibilities of the present.”
When Gerhardt and her colleagues received the application for grant proposals from the National Endowment for the Arts, “we were already planning a line-up of America 250 events and it fit perfectly with what we were already planning, so then we just wrote the grant,” she said.
Private funds, including matching funds from the Bismarck-based Tom and Frances Leach Foundation, have also been provided for this project.
Details about all the events will probably be posted on the website
www.TheStudyND.org
in March, Gerhardt said.
The America 250 events, which are planned to take place at Bismarck State College, are 5-6 p.m. July 8, “Reading of the Declaration of Independence, with John Adams,” and 6-7:30 p.m. July 9, “Alexander Hamilton Speaks,” both performed by William Chrystal.
The Living History programs are planned for 7-8:15 p.m. Sept. 17, “Thomas Paine,” performed by Doug Mishler, and Oct. 6, 7-8:15 p.m, “Frederick Douglass,” performed by Nathan Richardson. Both will be moderated by Susan Frontczak.
The performers Chrystal and Richardson live in Virginia, Frontczak in Colorado,and Mishler in Nevada.
Another program, “Hemingway and Gellhorn,” is set for Sept. 16-18 at Bismarck State College, Gerhardt said. “It is part of our broader Chautauqua/living history programming connected to America 250 … (and) will feature performances and discussion centered on Ernest Hemingway and Martha Gellhorn, using their lives and writing as a way to explore major questions about American identity, war reporting, public memory, and the stories we tell about freedom, conflict and responsibility.
“What I am excited about with this event is that it gives us a way to approach America 250 beyond founding-era material. In other words, it helps us show the American story is not just about 1776, but also about the generations that followed and how Americans wrestled with democracy, power, truth and moral courage.”
This program “expands the initiative beyond commemoration into reflection, dialogue and interpretation, which is where the humanities are especially valuable,” she said. “It helps us reach audiences who may be drawn in through literature, journalism and performance, not only traditional history events.”
The Hemingway and Gellhorn program fits in with America 250 in that “it broadens the frame and adds depth to the larger effort.”
Gerhardt is hoping that these activities will give participants “a better understanding of all the debates and issues going on when our country was founded, and how those debates are continuing today,” she said, “and just to be more thoughtful and informed citizens.”
College students and members of the general public will also be invited to participate in a workshop aimed at teaching participants how to build a living history performance from primary sources and historical research.
Last year, The Study ND lost a substantial amount of funding – nearly $468,000, about half of its annual budget – from the National Endowment for the Humanities for its fiscal 2025 year.
The loss of that much funding was discouraging, Gerhardt said. “Very much so, because we had a lot of activities planned for America 250 and we had to cancel a lot of them, or – like in this case – seek other funding, which we were lucky to get.”
The Study ND currently has four full-time employees, she said. “We eliminated a part-time marketing position after the cuts.”
A nonprofit organization, The Study ND provides civics, arts and cultural education programming. The organization’s programs – which include online classes, book talks, lectures and more – reached about 24,000 people in 2024, Gerhardt told the North Dakota Monitor in April 2025.
During the summer, the organization hosts a civics education program for high school and middle school social studies teachers, she said.
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