North Dakota

North Dakota arts council announces grant opportunities

Published

12 months ago

March 2, 2025

North Dakota arts council announces grant opportunities

GRAND FORKS – The North Dakota Council on the Arts is inviting artists, nonprofit organizations and educational institutions to apply early for its fiscal year 2026 grant programs.

With opportunities that range from artist development to community arts initiatives, the North Dakota Council on the Arts grants help sustain and expand the state’s vibrant creative sector, according to an announcement from the state council.

Many programs have limited funding, the council said, so early submission of proposals is “highly recommended.”

Artists and organizations are urged to apply for more than one program, based on needs and eligibility, with funding contingent on availability.

These grant programs, which have April deadlines, are available for projects taking place after July 1:

Accessibility Grant, up to $2,000 to support projects that increase arts accessibility for all audiences;
Artist Growth and Development, $5,000 to support two individual artists’ new creative projects in the disciplines of literature and music;
Arts in Education Collaboration, up to $6,000 to strengthen partnerships between K-12 educational institutions and artists;
Community Arts Access, up to $4,000 for projects that expand arts programming in all disciplines in urban and rural communities;
Folk and Traditional Arts Apprenticeship, up to $4,500 for projects that preserve and pass down cultural traditions (applicants should contact program officer Troyd Geist at
tgeist@nd.gov
for assistance with application submissions); and
Institutional Support, $4,000 to $11,000 to provide operational funding for established arts organizations.

Applications will open soon for recurring-deadline grants. The applications must be submitted six weeks before the start date; visit each program’s webpage for upcoming deadlines.

These grant programs include:

Artist in Residence, up to $2,500 to support artist-led residencies in K-12 schools and educational settings;
Professional Development, up to $1,000 to assist artists and arts organizations with arts-related learning opportunities; and
Special Projects, up to $1,500 for arts initiatives, events and projects in all disciplines.

“We are honored to support the creativity and cultural vibrancy of North Dakota through these funding opportunities,” said Jessica Christy, NDCA executive director. “We encourage artists, organizations and educators to apply early and take advantage of these resources.”

For general grant information, including questions about the online grant system, visit the NDCA webpage,

www.arts.nd.gov/grantsupport

or call (701) 328-7590.

For an overview of each program, go to the webpage

www.arts.nd.gov/grants

for the Grants at a Glance section.

The North Dakota Council on the Arts is the state agency responsible for the support, preservation and development of the arts throughout North Dakota. It is funded by the State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.

Pamela Knudson is a features and arts/entertainment writer for the Grand Forks Herald.

She has worked for the Herald since 2011 and has covered a wide variety of topics, including the latest performances in the region and health topics.

Pamela can be reached at pknudson@gfherald.com or (701) 780-1107.

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North Dakota

Broncos won’t repeat as NCHC hockey champs, lose to N. Dakota: ‘We broke down’

Published

4 hours ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Broncos won’t repeat as NCHC hockey champs, lose to N. Dakota: ‘We broke down’

Kalamazoo — There’ll be a new champion in the NCHC.

Will Zellers scored the game-winning goal in the third period as No. 3 North Dakota downed No. 4 Western Michigan, 5-3, Friday night at Lawson Arena. The Broncos never led and trailed all of the third period, though a late push nearly tied the game with the net empty.

“Overall in the game, I thought it was a pretty tightly contested effort. I thought they just scored too easy,” Western Michigan coach Pat Ferschweiler said. “You know, for us, we had a couple breakdowns, and they’re so talented, so good, they took advantage when we broke down.”

The teams finish the regular season Saturday night. Western Michigan came into Friday’s game tied with Denver in standings points and five points behind North Dakota, needing that many to get a share of the Penrose Cup it won last season en route to an NCAA championship, too.

As far as regular season results go, the Broncos will play for second seed in the NCHC Tournament, needing to outpace Denver, which plays Arizona State this weekend.

Western Michigan (23-9-1, 15-7-1 NCHC) goaltender Hampton Slukynsky made 16 saves on 20 shots in the loss while North Dakota’s Jan Spunar stopped 22 of 25 shots. It was a battle of two of the NCHC’s top netminders, and each made key stops in a tight-checking, physical game.

Zellers put North Dakota (25-7-1, 17-5-1) up 4-2 4:42 into the third period off an assist from Detroit Red Wings draft choice Dylan James.

“He kind of made a play out of nothing there,” said North Dakota coach Dane Jackson, who is in his first season as head coach after being on the coaching staff since 2006. “And that was a really nice kind of moment where you go OK, we got a little got a little leeway here, and we can just kind of play a little bit more free.”

North Dakota took a 3-2 lead into the third period with goals from defenseman Sam Laurila alongside forwards Ollie Josephson and Josh Zakreski. Defenseman Zach Bookman and forward Liam Valente scored for Western Michigan.

One too many times in the second frame, Western Michigan’s blue line let a North Dakota forward in all alone to face Slukynsky, who stopped a couple of rushes in the opening minutes of the period.

With four minutes until the intermission, the Broncos finally got burned. On a feed from linemate Anthony Menghini, Lakreski cut to the glove side of a sprawling Slukynsky and beat him with the backhand. The goal gave North Dakota the 3-2 lead, after a seeing-eye shot from Bookman along the right wall had tied it up two apiece 8:10 into the period.

“I actually thought the second period was our best period,” Ferschweiler said. “… We started to take over. We got the goal, tied 2-2, and are kind of just humming along. Four minutes left, we just hand them a goal. Blown coverage. That was inexcusable, honestly, with some of our better players on the ice.”

The opening period played out as a back and forth track meet through the neutral zone as each side settled in. Laurila put North Dakota up 1-0 with his first career goal. After Slukynsky denied him on a trio of tries earlier in the shift, he fired a shot to beat the Western Michigan netminder 4:40 into the game.

It took just a minute and 34 seconds after Laurila’s opener for Western Michigan’s top line to get it right back. A blue-collar shift from captain Owen Michaels fed linemate Will Whitelaw along the left boards, and he sprung Valente for a breakaway goal that evened up the score.

“I thought we gave it to them too easy a couple times tonight,” Whitelaw said. “And I think when you’re playing a team like that, obviously they’re gonna put it in your net. But I think it’ll be a big lesson for our group going forward.”

For the better part of the first period, the Lawson Lunatics peppered North Dakota defenseman Jake Livanavage with jeers, but he got his own licks in with 7:48 left in the first period as he fed Josephson right at the net for the 2-1 goal. That score held through the first period.

With 2:02 remaining and Slukynsky pulled, forward Zaccharya Wisdom pulled Western Michigan within one. He nearly had the equalizer with 40 seconds on the clock on a backdoor try, but he mistimed the shot. Mac Swanson scored an empty-netter with 20.7 seconds on the clock to clinch the win, and with it the Penrose Cup, presented to North Dakota in the locker room and then paraded around the ice.

“It’s the hardest regular season championship to win, in my opinion,” North Dakota forward Ben Strinden said. “So it’s awesome. Obviously, it’s not our end goal, but we’re going to enjoy it for sure.”

cearegood@detroitnews.com

@ConnorEaregood

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