BISMARCK — North Dakota Chief Justice Jon Jensen touted the effectiveness of the state’s court system while urging lawmakers to boost pay for judicial employees to retain top talent during his State of the Judiciary Address on Tuesday.

“The citizens of North Dakota desire the best judicial system available,” Jensen said. “Attracting and retaining dedicated individuals must be a priority.”

Senate Majority Leader Sen. David Hogue, R-Minot, said the Legislature approved 6% and 4% raises, and equity increases for judicial employees during the 2023 legislative session and said he was sure lawmakers would be providing more increases during this session.

Jensen said that a recent three-year study showed that North Dakota judges have the highest criminal caseload in the United States and are among the fastest courts in processing criminal cases.

The chief justice said that the judges, clerks, court administrators and juvenile court officers accomplished this feat despite facing challenges in the size of caseloads, subject matter and geography. The district courts handle roughly 180,000 cases per year and Jensen said that the judges are “judges of general jurisdiction,” meaning they are required to know every aspect of the law “from traffic violations to felonies.”

In regards to legislation, Jensen said that the judiciary would be supporting the creation of the Office of Guardianship and Conservatorship to provide better accountability for the $17 million in public funds that is spent on guardianship services.

Hogue said he supported the idea of assigning the judiciary the “overall responsibility to manage” the guardianship and conservatorship processes but did not comment on the proposed Office of Guardianship and Conservatorship.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Sen. Diane Larson, R-Bismarck, said that she had not yet seen any bill that would create a new office or appropriate funding for the proposed office, but that she was looking forward to hearing more about it once it was introduced to her committee.

The chief justice said the judiciary is expanding problem-solving courts to include a veterans court in Fargo and a mental health court in Bismarck, while making jury service simpler by shortening the time jurors are on call and making it possible for jurors to request a postponement or an excuse from jury service online.

In a post-address interview, the chief justice said that the judiciary was also working on initiatives to automate some of the processes done in the state Clerk of Courts Office.

“It’s easy to fall behind on the technology side,” Jensen told the Tribune. “But in order to really provide the service that we should be giving to North Dakota residents and also anticipating folks that are going to be working in the judicial system in the future, we need to provide them with technology tools that are going to allow them to keep up with the rest of society.”

Jensen finished his address by saying the integrity of courts in the United States was being challenged by the people and that confidence in the judicial system was being eroded.

Jensen said that criticism of the justice system is not new; it’s understandable and can be helpful when a court has erred.

“However, recently, challenges to judicial decisions and judicial officers have — and criticism of judicial officers have — gone beyond understandable criticism to include threats of violence, intimidation, and even statements by representatives of our federal executive branch indicating an intent to ignore lawfully entered judicial orders,” Jensen said.

He noted recent threats against judges and court staff in the state, though he didn’t provide specifics.

The chief justice acknowledged that the separation of powers and judicial review naturally gives rise to tension between government branches but said North Dakotans are fortunate to live in a state where the separation of powers is respected.

“In North Dakota, judges can faithfully discharge their duties in the most difficult of cases with the comfort of knowing that both the executive branch as well as the legislative branch of our state government will respect the decision regardless of the outcome,” Jensen said.

“Likewise, our judges understand the need for separation of powers and will faithfully limit ourselves to cases and controversies, leaving the executive and the legislative branches to carry out their reciprocal duties,” he said.

BISMARCK — Standing Rock Tribal Chairwoman Janet Alkire unveiled legislative priorities during her Tribal-State Relationship Message delivered to a joint session of the North Dakota Legislature in the House Chamber on Tuesday, Jan. 7.

Alkire said that among her biggest priorities were a bill that would create an alert for missing and murdered Indigenous people in North Dakota — an issue she said was of “epidemic proportions” — and garnering funding for Senate Bill 2304, passed into law during the 2021 session. The law ensures greater understanding of Native American history and culture in the classroom.

Alkire said Rep. Jayme Davis, D-Rolette, plans to spearhead the missing and murdered Indigenous people bill.

Alkire during her address lauded lawmakers for passing

SB 2304

two sessions ago but in a follow-up interview said more funding was necessary to finish the work the bill started.

“There is no funding attached to it, so that would be helpful,” Alkire told The Bismarck Tribune. “I’m not talking tons of funding, but at least … let’s get it moving so that it is fair to everyone.”

Alkire also spoke on the need for collaboration between state and tribal law enforcement and commended the three tribes that have entered into mutual agreements with state entities such as the North Dakota Highway Patrol and the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation. She said those tribes are the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, the Spirit Lake Nation, and the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation.

She also said in her address that tribal nations want to work with legislators as education bills come during the session to “ensure the outcomes are in the best interest of all children.”

Senate Majority Leader David Hogue, R-Minot, said he wasn’t able to attend Alkire’s address but welcomed the idea of collaboration.

“Every member of the tribe is a North Dakota resident. So, they are entitled to all the consideration that everybody else is, and the fact that they are a sovereign nation as well does not mean that we as a sovereign state don’t extend them the same rights, benefits and privileges,” Hogue said. “So, wherever we can collaborate on education, we should do so.”

Alkire also said in her address that there is a need for a bridge over the Missouri River in the southern part of the state. She said there is a 121-nautical-mile stretch between the two current crossings in Bismarck and the South Dakota city of Mobridge.

She announced a $14.5 million planning grant was secured from the Department of Transportation to begin the process of creating a new bridge.

Alkire said the plan for a new crossing had been in the works for nearly 40 years before the recent grant was secured.

WEST FARGO – North Dakota’s hunting, fishing, trapping and conservation heritage is well known, and even those who don’t hunt or fish enjoy the outdoors of our great state. It’s part of why we live here. The great outdoors is ever changing from the impacts of weather and loss of habitat, to the cyclical nature of populations that ebb and flow as a function of nature.

While we spend time this winter pondering the long-term influence of North Dakota’s lean months on deer and pheasants, we’ll also keep our eyes and ears open for happenings at the biennial North Dakota legislative session.

Once again, the North Dakota Game and Fish Department will track hunting and fishing issues during the 2025 legislative session. This is helpful to those interested because keeping track of the changes to just one bill, for example, can be challenging.

Interested outdoor enthusiasts can follow proposed outdoors-related bills by going to the

Game and Fish Department website

at gf.nd.gov. A brief description of each bill will be included. To view each bill in its entirety, click on the hot-linked bill number.

If you were born after 1961 or are age 12 or older, you must take an in-person or home study certified hunter education course before you can get a firearm or bowhunting license in North Dakota.

Understanding this, especially if you have your sights set on hunting this fall, now is not the time to drag your feet. Most in-person courses are held from January through May.

Individuals interested in taking a hunter education class in 2025 must click the education link on the

North Dakota Game and Fish Department

website, gf.nd.gov. To register for a class, click on “enroll” next to the specific class and follow the simple instructions. Personal information is required. Classes are listed by city and can also be sorted by start date. Classes will be added throughout the year as they become finalized.

To receive a notice by email or SMS text message when each hunter education class is added, click on the “subscribe to news and alerts” link below the news section on the Game and Fish home page. Check the box labeled “hunter education” under the education program updates.

Children must turn 12 during the calendar year to take the home study course, and age 11 during the calendar year to take the traditional in-person class.

Tree stands, blinds, steps and other personal items such as cameras, must be removed from all wildlife management areas by Jan. 31.

Items not removed by then are considered abandoned property and are subject to removal and confiscation by the North Dakota Game and Fish Department.

North Dakota hunters receiving a survey this winter are encouraged to help with wildlife management by completing the survey online or returning it to the Game and Fish Department.

Big game, small game, waterfowl, swan, turkey and furbearer questionnaires are being sent to randomly selected hunters.

It is important hunters complete and return the survey, even if they did not hunt. The harvest survey allows Game and Fish to evaluate the hunting season, determine the number of hunters, amount of hunting activity and size of the harvest.

A follow-up survey will be mailed to those not responding to the first survey.

Doug Leier is an outreach biologist for the North Dakota Game and Fish Department. Reach him at dleier@nd.gov.