North Dakota

ND lawmaker gets $2,500 fine, 250 hours community service in speculation case

Published

2 years ago

May 10, 2024

ND lawmaker gets ,500 fine, 250 hours community service in speculation case

A North Dakota judge on Thursday ordered a state lawmaker to serve 250 hours of community service and pay a $2,500 fine after a jury convicted him of a misdemeanor in connection with a controversial state-leased building he has an ownership in.

State District Judge Bobbi Weiler also ordered Republican Rep. Jason Dockter, of Bismarck, to pay $325 in court fees, undergo fingerprinting and serve 360 days of unsupervised probation. She also granted him a deferred imposition, meaning the conviction will be taken off his record if he doesn’t violate probation.

A jury on May 3 convicted Dockter of speculating or wagering on official action. The misdemeanor charge is punishable up to 360 days in jail and/or a $3,000 fine. Complaints to the state Ethics Commission led to Dockter’s charging in December 2023. He pleaded not guilty.

JURY CONVICTS NORTH DAKOTA LAWMAKER OF MISDEMEANOR SPECULATION

Dockter, 50, is a co-owner of companies that own and worked on the building leased by the late Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem in 2020. The two were friends, but Dockter has denied any wrongdoing in the lease arrangement. The building drew scrutiny when Stenehjem’s successor, Attorney General Drew Wrigley, disclosed a construction cost overrun of over $1 million incurred under Stenehjem. The overrun was an unpleasant surprise to state lawmakers, who raised concerns about trust and transparency.

A criminal complaint alleged that, as a member of the North Dakota House of Representatives, Dockter voted “on legislative bills appropriating money to pay for property he had acquired a pecuniary interest in,” against state law and legislative rules.

North Dakota Republican state Rep. Jason Dockter, left, and his attorney, Lloyd Suhr, meet with others on the steps of the Burleigh County Courthouse in Bismarck, N.D., Thursday, May 9, 2024, after Dockter was sentenced to serve 250 hours of community service and pay a $2,500 fine after a jury convicted him of a misdemeanor in connection with a controversial state-leased building he has an ownership in. ((AP Photo/Jack Dura)

Prosecutor Ladd Erickson had recommended a one-year deferred imposition with $325 in court fees and fingerprinting. He also said in a court document that the Ethics Commission “is the proper body to issue any additional penalties beyond” his recommended sentence. An investigation by the ethics panel was paused by Dockter’s charge, and it can resume after sentencing, Erickson wrote.

Defense attorney Lloyd Suhr agreed with Erickson’s recommendation, citing Dockter’s lack of criminal history and his family and local ties, and saying he deserves to be treated the same as similar first-time misdemeanor offenders.

Dockter declined to comment regarding the sentence. The judge chastised him for that.

“The reason I wanted to hear something from you is I look at this as the citizens of North Dakota being the victims and being taken advantage of, and I didn’t hear an apology from you to the citizens, and I’m a little disappointed in that,” Weiler said.

The judge said, “I don’t know how more direct and unique it gets,” regarding the lease situation, a reference to a House rule that members shall disclose personal or private interests on bills that affect him or her “directly, individually, uniquely, and substantially,” and may not vote without the House’s consent.

“My biggest concern is you don’t think it’s substantial,” Weiler said.

She granted the deferred imposition, but she added the community service hours and fine as stipulations, based on the $250,000 she said he “made off the citizens of North Dakota” by voting on a two-year budget bill last year.

“I was trying to find a way to hopefully help you understand so that we’re not seeing this again,” Weiler said.

Dockter must fulfill the community service with the homeless community within six months, or about 10 hours a week, the judge said.

“Maybe you can see how the other side lives, Mr. Dockter,” Weiler said.

“I’ll take whatever it is you’re giving me,” Dockter told the judge after she asked if he had any questions. He met with loved ones on the courthouse steps afterward.

Suhr said the judge “was well within her discretion and largely accepted the recommendations of the parties” on sentencing.

Republican House Majority Leader Mike Lefor has said he disagrees with the jury’s verdict and plans to review the statute and rules involved.

On Wednesday, Lefor wrote to Republican Rep. Emily O’Brien, chair of the Legislative Audit and Fiscal Review Committee, in a letter “to direct the committee to study the legislative rules, ethics rules, state statutory provisions, and constitutional provisions relating to potential conflicts of interest by a public official.”

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Democratic House Minority Leader Zac Ista called on Dockter to resign after the verdict. Dockter said he has not yet made decisions about whether to appeal or resign.

“It’s just so fresh right now,” he said.

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North Dakota

Bankruptcies for North Dakota and western Minnesota published Jan. 10, 2026

Published

36 minutes ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court

North Dakota

Kaitlyn Grace Lucier, Fargo, Chapter 7

Samuel Todd Hicks, formerly known as Thomas Samuel Hicks, Fargo, Chapter 7

Teresa and Dominik Renwick, Fargo, Chapter 13

Susan Renee Fuller, formerly known as Susan R. Schaffer, doing business as Susie’s Sparkling Cleaning Service, Fargo, Chapter 7

Shannon Lynn Taylor, Fargo, Chapter 7

Jesse Patrick and Jaime Elizabeth Brown, Williston, Chapter 7

Kerri Lee Weishaar, Minot, Chapter 7

Terry Marie Moritz, Valley City, Chapter 7

Joshua Allen Sewill, Hatton, Chapter 7

Bryan Eugene Flecker, Minot, Chapter 7

Anna Marie Rahm, formerly known as Anna Marie Tanner, and Joshua Edward Rahm, Bismarck, Chapter 13

Sherri Rae Fisher, Baldwin, Chapter 13

Heather Lynn McElroy, formerly known as Heather Anderson, Grand Forks, Chapter 7

Kaitlyn Autrey, Grand Forks, Chapter 7

Michelle Lynn Miller, Fargo, Chapter 13

Kimberly Georgeann Callahan, Fargo, Chapter 13

Erin Elaine and Jose Luiz Murphy, Bismarck, Chapter 7

Shelly and Kieth Quimby, St. Thomas, Chapter 7

Minnesota

Bankruptcy filings from the following counties: Becker, Clay, Douglas, Grant, Hubbard, Mahnomen, Norman, Otter Tail, Polk, Traverse, Wadena and Wilkin.

David Howard Gilpin, Osakis, Chapter 7

Timothy Virgil Hoag, Moorhead, Chapter 7

Jason Darryl Dykhoff, Ottertail, Chapter 7

Zachary Nicholas Hodgson and Jolynn Beth Warnes, formerly known as Jolynn Beth Hodgson, Kensington, Chapter 7

Riley Matthew Hinman, Alexandria, Chapter 7

Layne Christopher Condiff, Park Rapids, Chapter 13

Thomas Beecher Hoyer, Menahga, Chapter 13

Christine Karen Jakubek, also known as Cristine Anderson, Chapter 7

Chapter 7 is a petition to liquidate assets and discharge debts.

Chapter 11 is a petition for protection from creditors and to reorganize.

Chapter 12 is a petition for family farmers to reorganize.

Chapter 13 is a petition for wage earners to readjust debts.

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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North Dakota

Hoeven, Armstrong, Traynor speak on OBBB Rural Health Transformation Fund updates in ND

Published

13 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Hoeven, Armstrong, Traynor speak on OBBB Rural Health Transformation Fund updates in ND

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – On Friday, North Dakota U.S. Senator John Hoeven, Governor Kelly Armstrong and Health and Human Services Commissioner Pat Traynor explained how the state plans to use millions of dollars from the Big Beautiful Bill’s Rural Health Transformation Fund to transform healthcare across the state.

They spoke extensively about the special session to allocate the funds, and confirmed that it is still tentatively set for Jan. 21.

The Big Beautiful Bill allocated $25 billion for rural healthcare nationwide. North Dakota received $500 million for five years and $200 million for the first year. There is still another $25 billion left to be spent, and North Dakota is hoping to receive an extra $500 million.

“I truly believe that with the plan we’re putting in place and the things we built that line up with that, we’ll get a billion dollars over five years,” said Hoeven.

Federal rules require the state to lock in contracts for the money by October first— a deadline officials say is driving the need for a special session.

In the first year, North Dakota will focus on retention grants to keep existing staff, technical assistance and consultants for rural hospitals, as well as telehealth equipment and home patient monitoring.

A KFYR+ exclusive

Governor Armstrong says the special session will include policy bills tied to how much federal rural health funding the state can earn.

“We’re going to have a physical fitness test for physical education courses, nutrition education, continuing education requirement for physicians, physician assistant licensure compact—which North Dakota has been doing, dealing with that since the heart of the oil boom and moving forward—and then an expanded scope of practice for pharmacists,” said Armstrong.

Hundreds of millions of dollars could reshape healthcare in rural North Dakota, and state leaders say the next few weeks are key to receiving and spending that money wisely.

The governor says he only wants to focus on bills related to the Rural Health Transformation Program during the special session and doesn’t intend to deal with other state issues during that time.

Politicians outline plans for ND Rural Health Transformation Program

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North Dakota

North Dakota officials celebrate being among big winners in federal rural health funding

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

North Dakota officials celebrate being among big winners in federal rural health funding

North Dakota U.S. Sen. John Hoeven and Gov. Kelly Armstrong on Friday touted the success of the state’s application for federal Rural Health Transformation Program funding, which landed one of the largest per-capita awards in the nation.

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