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.
GRAND FORKS — A North Dakota composer’s dream is turning into a statewide invitation.
Williston-based musician Emily Black-Driscoll was chosen as the North Dakota Music Teachers Association’s commissioned composer for 2026. She’s preparing an original composition that will premiere in August.
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North Dakota
Challengers declare victory after ND Supreme Court rules against Legislature’s attempt to alter term limits
BISMARCK — A constitutional ballot measure to amend the state’s term limits law as proposed by the Legislature will not appear on November’s ballot, the North Dakota Supreme Court ruled Thursday, siding with petitioners who argued the Legislature exceeded its authority and violated the state constitution in proposing the changes.
“The people’s voice was heard,” Grand Forks County Commissioner Terry Bjerke said in reaction to the news.
Bjerke was a member of the sponsoring committee behind the successful 2022 effort to pass a term limits initiative, which amended the state constitution by capping legislative term limits to eight years in the House and eight years in the Senate. The amendment, which became article XV of the state constitution, also included a clause barring the Legislature from making constitutional changes to term limits.
During the 2025 session, however, lawmakers narrowly approved Senate Concurrent Resolution 4008, in which the legislature proposed Constitutional Measure 1, a ballot measure to amend the term limits language to allow legislators to decide in which chamber they want to serve their 16 years, and to repeal the clause limiting the legislative assembly’s authority to propose an amendment to alter or repeal term limits.
Bjerke and former Minot legislator Oley Larsen brought the lawsuit challenging the validity of the Legislature’s action in January, and the state Supreme Court
heard oral arguments in the case
this spring.
“Those term limits may only be altered by a measure proposed by the people rather than the Legislative Assembly. And yet a few years later, the Legislative Assembly is doing what they are prohibited from doing,” attorney Zachary Wallen argued on Bjerke and Larsen’s behalf.
Tanner Ecker / The Bismarck Tribune
The Legislature’s attorneys argued the clause prohibiting legislative proposals to alter the constitutional term limits language “infringes on our republican form of government” by “limiting the people’s ability to vote on amendments proposed by their elected officials.”
Justice Jon Jensen seemed skeptical of that argument during the April 2 hearing, questioning whether a second vote was appropriate.
“The public did speak on this. The public spoke on it when it passed the original constitutional amendment and they said, ‘Legislature, you don’t even get to propose a change.’ They have already spoken on it,” Jensen said. “You want a second shot, or a second bite at the apple, not a first one, a second.”
In Thursday’s ruling, all five justices sided with Bjerke and Larsen.
“We … conclude the Legislative Assembly’s adoption of S.C.R. 4008 violated N.D. Const. art. XV … and declare S.C.R. 4008 and Constitutional Measure 1 void … We enjoin the Secretary of State from placing Constitutional Measure 1 on the November 2026 general election ballot,” the ruling said.
Bjerke thanked the legal team that worked on behalf of their lawsuit, and said he was grateful the court reached the conclusion it did.
“I’m thrilled that what the people voted on and approved has been validated,” Bjerke said.
He added that the Legislature had “multiple opportunities” to address term limits prior to 2022’s initiated measure and chose not to, and gave a nod to the country’s coming milestone and the process by which voters expressed their support for term limits.
“We’ve lasted 250 years,” Bjerke said. “I have two words for those elected leaders who think they aren’t: everyone’s replaceable.”
North Dakota
Fargo woman convicted in North Dakota fraud case now faces charges in Minnesota: A deeper dive
FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – A North Dakota woman who was sentenced to 180 days in jail in Cass County for defrauding healthcare providers and Medicaid programs is now facing additional fraud charges in Minnesota.
Christine Marie Pryor, 55, pleaded guilty in November 2024 to theft by deception involving more than $50,000. She was sentenced to first serve 180 days with a 3-year sentence suspended. She received credit for 44 days already served.
Pryor was ordered to pay $82,584.78 in restitution to Southeast Human Services in Fargo, where she worked between 2018 and 2019.
How the scheme unfolded
According to court documents, Pryor worked at multiple healthcare facilities in North Dakota and Minnesota between 2018 and 2023, using the identities and credentials of three licensed professionals without their knowledge. She submitted fraudulent Capella University diplomas and transcripts to gain employment.
Investigators say Pryor admitted she searched state licensing websites for therapists who shared her first name, then used those therapists’ last names and license numbers when applying for jobs.
At Southeast Human Services, where she worked as a Licensed Addiction Counselor, Pryor earned $55,584.82 while providing therapy services to approximately 150 patients. She also opened her own counseling center, NIAM Brain Injury Center, in Fargo between 2020 and 2021, and worked at The Lotus Center in Moorhead, Minnesota, from 2021 to 2023.
Court documents say the three licensed professionals whose identities were used told investigators they had no knowledge of Pryor’s actions and did not give her permission to use their information.
Two additional charges against Pryor in North Dakota, unauthorized use of personal identifying information, were dismissed on motion of the state.
Additional charges in Minnesota
Pryor is also facing charges in Minnesota. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced on Tuesday charges against Pryor in Clay County District Court for six theft offenses and six identity theft offenses related to defrauding Minnesota’s Medicaid program of more than $150,000.
According to the Minnesota complaint, Pryor claimed to provide psychotherapy and alcohol and drug counseling services to Medicaid recipients despite having no license or credentials to do so. Prosecutors allege she used the credentials and identities of three licensed professionals while claiming to provide Medicaid-funded services to 169 clients.
The Minnesota charges were filed as part of National Health Care Fraud Takedown Day, a joint effort involving the Department of Justice and more than 40 state Medicaid Fraud Control Units.
Copyright 2026 KVLY. All rights reserved.
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