North Dakota
North Dakota among states with lowest coronavirus vaccination rates, study says
FARGO — North Dakota has the sixth lowest rate of coronavirus vaccinations in the U.S., according to a recent study.
The Peace Garden State reported 71.3% of its adults got at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccination, according to a study recently released by the
Zinda Law Group.
The study estimated 171,968 adults in the state did not get the vaccine.
Wyoming topped the list, having the lowest vaccination rate with 64.3% for adults. Louisiana was second with 70%, Oklahoma third with 70.6%, Montana fourth with 70.7% and Alabama fifth with 71.2%.
South Dakota ranked 10th after 73.3% of its adults received a COVID-19 vaccine. Minnesota tied Utah for 28th at 80.6%.
That means 860,774 adults in Minnesota were not inoculated, the study said.
Rhode Island and Massachusetts had the highest rates with 90.1%, the study said. Hawaii had the second highest rate with 88.9%.
“The data indicates that certain states differ quite significantly in terms of COVID-19 vaccination rates,” Zinda Law Group said. “This could be attributed to several factors, including access to healthcare, vaccine availability, and varying public confidence in the vaccine itself.”
The study analyzed data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It’s unclear what percentage of the population needs to be vaccinated against the coronavirus to effectively prevent significant spread.
In North Dakota, about 20% of adults, or about 121,037, got updated vaccines in 2023 and 2024, the study said. That number was almost 21% for South Dakota.
The study didn’t have those numbers for Minnesota.
Some vaccinations given in 2023 and 2024 are expected to expire this summer, the CDC said.
North Dakota Health and Human Services recommends all North Dakotans who are 6 months and older get updated COVID-19 vaccinations, state Immunization Director Molly Howell told The Forum in a statement. It is the most effective way to prevent severe illness, especially among residents who are at least 65 years old, she said. The vaccine is also important for anyone with chronic conditions, who is immunocompromised or who is pregnant.
“Staying up to date provides the best protection because the COVID-19 virus mutates over time, and the COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness decreases over time,” Howell said. “The COVID-19 vaccine is routinely updated.”
She acknowledged that getting a COVID-19 vaccination “is an individual choice.”
“According to the National Immunization Survey from June 2023, North Dakotans who would probably or definitely not get a COVID-19 vaccine were less concerned about COVID-19 illness, had lower confidence in vaccine safety, did not see the vaccine as important to protect themselves and had fewer friends and family members who were vaccinated,” Howell said in her statement.
North Dakota reported 312,313 positive cases of coronavirus since the onset of the pandemic as of Aug. 9, the latest data available from Health and Human Services. There were 319 new cases last week.
The most cases North Dakota had in one week was in late January 2022, when the state reported 15,926, according to the health agency. The most hospitalizations came in mid-November 2020, when 527 people were in hospitals, according to state data.
At one point,
North Dakota had the most COVID-19 cases and related deaths per capita in the U.S.
As of July 31, the state reported 2,134 coronavirus-related deaths. The most came in 2020, when 1,159 people lost their lives.
The state reported 33 people have died from the illness this year.
North Dakota offers help to those who can’t afford vaccines at
shorturl.at/rZcDI.
For more state information on the coronavirus, go to
hhs.nd.gov/health/coronavirus.
Today in History revisits the Tuesday, December 29. 1959 edition of the Grand Forks Herald and highlights a story on the UND Hockey team being names North Dakota team of the year.
The University of North Dakota hockey team was named “Team of the Year” after winning the NCAA Championship in a 4-3 overtime victory over Michigan State. Forward Reg Morelli was voted the tournament’s Most Valuable Player. Runner-up honors went to the Bismarck High basketball team for winning its third straight Class A title.
Sioux Ice Champs N. D. Team Of Year
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (as published by the Grand Forks Herald on Dec. 29, 1959)
North Dakota hockey stock reached a peak early in 1959 when the University sextet captured the NCAA championship with a 4-3 overtime victory over Michigan State.
The feat earned the Sioux icemen the accolade of “team of the year” in the annual Associated Press poll of sports editors and sports directors.
Runner-up honors in the balloting went to the Bismarck high school basketball team, which won its third straight Class A high school title.
The St. Mary’s high school football team, which came from no- where to win the Class A grid crown, won third place.
The University hockey team had taken western championship for the first time the year before, and finished second to Denver in the 1957-58 NCAA tournament.
As the 1958-59 campaign rolled around there were many problems to be solved if the Sioux were to maintain their position atop the college hockey world.
One by one the questions were resolved, and on March 14, at Troy, N. Y., North Dakota went into overtime to cop the coveted NCAA title.
Tremendous spirit marked the Sioux climb to the top. The North Dakota team won four games during the season in overtime, including two in the NCAA meet.
Members of the championship team included George Gratton and Bob Peabody, goalies; Ralph Lyndon, Julian Butherta, Pete Gaze- ly and Bob Began on defense; and Jerry Walford, Stan Paschke, Guy LaFrance, Art Miller, Ed Thomlinson, Joe Poole, Les Merrifield, Ron King, Bart Larson, Bernie Haley, Garth Perry and Reg Morelli, forwards.
Morelli Voted Most Valuable
Morelli was voted most valuable player in the NCAA tourney. Morelli and Thomlinson were on the first team and Lyndon and Poole on the tournament’s second team.
The Bismarck basketball feat of three straight state championships tied a record set by Fargo in 1922- 23-24. The Demons had an overall 21-3 record, averaged 61.6 points per game and held opponents to 49.3 per tilt on the season.
Starters were Ron Carlson and Bob Smith at forward, Rod Tjaden at center and Art Winter and Rich Olthoff at guards.
Carlson and Winter were all-west choices.
Here are “team of the year” choices, points in parenthesis:
- UND hockey (37)
- Bismarck high basketball (24)
- St. Mary’s high football (16)
- Bottineau high basketball (11)
- Valley City Teachers basket- ball (10)
- Williston high wrestling (5)
- Grand Forks Legion baseball (2)
- Shanley high football (1)
- NDAC football (1).
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.
A storm bearing down on the Great Lakes and New England is expected to bring rain, snow, and high winds over the next few days.
A narrow band from Fargo, North Dakota south to approximately Mason City, Iowa is under a blizzard warning ahead of the storm. That includes parts of of both states as well as parts of Minnesota. Winds in the affected areas are forecast to reach 45 miles per hour and, paired with an expected 3 to 8 inches of snow, are expected to create whiteout conditions through the start of the week.
Michigan’s upper peninsula is under a blizzard warning as well. There, snowfall is expected to be between 9 inches and 2 feet, and winds are expected to reach as high as 60 miles per hour, ABC News reports.
The National Weather Service has issued winter weather advisories for parts of the northeast, from the Scranton, Pennsylvania up through Burlington, Vermont and Portland, Maine. Freezing rain is expected in that area on Sunday and Monday.
Buffalo and Jamestown, New York, are also both under flood watches from Sunday afternoon until Monday afternoon.
Back in the Great Lakes region, both Cleveland and Detroit are bracing for high winds. Forecasters expect the cities will see gusts of up to 60 miles per hour on Sunday night through early Tuesday morning.
In the upper midwest, both Minneapolis and Green Bay are forecast to see between 5 to 9 inches of snow. A level 1 of 5 severe storm threat exists in a stretch from northern Indiana south into Missouri. That band includes Indianapolis, St Louis, Louisville, and Nashville. The affected region will be subject to high speed, damaging wind gusts, according to Fox Weather.
The storm began dropping snow on Sioux Falls and Fargo early on Sunday morning, and will continue to sweep east across the northern sections of the U.S. The midwest will begin to see storm conditions on Sunday afternoon, and the northeast will be affected shortly thereafter.
Road travelers in the affected regions should be wary. Parts of the I-95 corridor between Philadelphia and Boston may be made treacherous by freezing rain around 5 pm on Sunday night.
Forecasters believe that the storm system will clear by Monday night, though lake-effect snow is likely to follow in its wake for Great Lakes communities. That snow will likely continue into Tuesday and potentially Wednesday.
In northern New England, wintry precipitation may produce up to a quarter of an inch of ice in the area. While the interior northeast is expected to receive some lake-effect snow as well, forecasters believe snowfall in the region will be lighter.
The storm comes on the heels of another winter weather system that swept across the northeast earlier this week, dropping snow on New York and New Jersey and forcing thousands of flights to be either cancelled or delayed.
LINCOLN, N.D. (KFYR) – Lincoln got its very own cat cafe last week.
Ashley Kneavel learned about cat cafes while visiting another state.
“I fell in love with the concept and wanted to bring something like that to North Dakota,” said Kneavel.
And so with the help of Furry Friends Rockin’ Rescue director Julie Schirado, she got to work.
“About a year ago, I think it was, we started building this together,” said Kneavel.
Furry Friends’ role in the operation? Providing the cats. All of them are pre-vetted, meaning they are spayed and neutered and fully vaccinated.
Meaning they’re also ready for adoption.
“Instead of them sitting at a shop, they get to sit in an atmosphere that’s closely resembled to a home,” said Kneavel.
The cafe has already had three of its four-legged residents adopted.
“It’s a great thing to see when somebody comes in and connects with them on a deep level and takes them home,” said Kneavel. “It’s just… I don’t even know how to describe it, it’s just very rewarding.”
One of her goals in the future is to install a drive-thru window.
To learn how to adopt a furry pal from the cafe, or how to book a visit, click here.
Copyright 2025 KFYR. All rights reserved.
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