BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – The State Historical Society has a collection of more than 300 flags. They represent North Dakota, its communities and organizations.

When most people think of a flag, the stars and stripes first come to mind. However, flags of all kinds are stitched together to serve as powerful symbols of identity and pride. Local historians want to preserve the material that represents the state and its people.

The State Historical Society has an expansive collection of flags in its inventory, about 320 flags, to be exact.

“That ranges from American flags, foreign flags, military flags, organizational flags, commemorative flags,” said Lori Nohner, research historian. “We have all different shapes and sizes.”

These ranged from the 1890s to the present, and they each have a story to tell.

“Some of the earliest flags that were donated to the museum were from men from the North Dakota National Guard, it was then the first North Dakota Volunteer Infantry,” said Nohner.

Even some notable figures have made donations to the society’s collection.

“We have a few flags from James Buchli, the NASA astronaut who grew up in New Rockford. He took some North Dakota flags up in space,” said Nohner.

They also have within their collection a WWII Gold Star Flag. This flag was flown by your window to signify that a member of your family had died in the service.

But overall, these flags represent our history as North Dakotans and Americans.

“Flags are a visual representation of what’s happening in North Dakota,” said Nohner.

And they’ll live here at the State Historical Society’s inventory, standing the test of time.

Among the ocean of American and North Dakota flags, the State Historical Society also has protest flags and those from different local organizations.

Copyright 2026 KFYR. All rights reserved.

GRAND FORKS — From the 2007-2008 school year to 2025-2026, the number of homeschooled students in North Dakota has increased 756%, a trend some experts expect to continue.

According to Arlene Wolf, the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction director of school approval and opportunity, from 2007 to 2025, there were no significant changes in state policy regarding homeschooling. Despite that, homeschooling numbers have skyrocketed.

Liz Buck, the North Dakota Home School Association office administrator and editor, said factors outside of policy have contributed to the rise, including changes associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the creation of new educational technology and short staffing in public schools. She said many parents have turned to homeschooling to teach their children their own values and to have more freedom in terms of scheduling and content.

“Parents that pulled their student out during COVID stuck with it. They didn’t actually re-enroll their students back into the public school after the pandemic was over. So what did these parents and others discover about homeschooling that made them continue?” Buck said. “Many of the things that they discovered is that you have a lot more freedom when you’re homeschooling. You’re not tied to the school schedule. You can tailor your students’ education to exactly what they need and what their strengths are and you can shore up their weaknesses a lot easier.”

According to data from the NDDPI, 694 North Dakota students were homeschooled in the fall of 2007. In the fall of 2025, the number was 5,943. The data over the 18 years shows a fairly steady increasing trend, with a large spike — one that has since been surpassed — during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the pandemic, according to Buck, some parents turned to homeschooling after disagreeing with teachers’ “worldviews” and others because they saw what they believed to be “wasted time” in the classroom.

“I think for the first time, parents were watching what their students were doing in the classroom. You know, it was right there on the laptop,” she said. “They were building some confidence as they were watching what the teacher was doing. They were thinking to themselves, I can surely do this.”

Buck also mentioned that multiple parents cited bullying concerns as the reason they decided to educate at home. Particularly for students in rural school districts, she said public schools often do not have the funding and staffing to properly address all student behavior.

“Parents are taking matters into their own hands, and they’re pulling their students out to keep them safe,” Buck said. “It’s not really something they ever really intended on doing, but when they see what’s happening, they realize this is probably the best option that they have.”

According to a study by the National Home Education Research Institute, homeschooled students typically score 15 to 25 percentile points above public school students on standardized tests, regardless of the parent’s level of education or the family’s household income.

In North Dakota, a parent does not need a high school diploma to home educate. According to Wolf, parents who haven’t graduated from high school can educate their children if they agree to be monitored by the district for up to two years.

“We believe that (parents) know their children best and can educate them in a way they feel is best for them,” she said.

Buck said she expects the rise of increasing home-schooled students to continue. The rise likely be fueled by the aforementioned factors but also, she believes, by an increase in popularity of home-schooling on social platforms.

“I really expect to see it continue. … The rise of social media has allowed a lot of information sharing,” she said. “These parents, they’re seeing social media influencers that home-school do day-in-the life kind of videos. All of that leads parents to look at it and go, ’You know what? I can do this. This seems like a really awesome lifestyle to choose.’ ”

Sophia is the K-12 education reporter for the Grand Forks Herald.

GRAND FORKS — New research and correlating data used to measure financial hardship are coming to North Dakota this year.

“It’s very important data for our Grand Forks community, and for the families that we’re specifically working with,” said Heather Fuglem, executive director of the United Way of Grand Forks, East Grand Forks & Area, a division of the United Way organization, which assists community members facing financial insecurity throughout more than 1,000 locations worldwide.

Fuglem said her organization hasn’t been involved in the data collection, but recently reached out in hopes of being part of the effort moving forward. She feels localized data is greatly beneficial to her work, because having numbers to show the magnitude of a problem can help motivate community members to get involved in the solution.

“The more data we have, the better it is,” Fuglem said. “The more we can show what that need is.”

United For ALICE

— ALICE standing for “Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed” — was established by the United Way of Northern New Jersey.

“It describes the households that have incomes above the federal poverty level, but below the cost of household basics,” said Laura Bruno, senior director of marketing and communications at the United Way of Northern New Jersey.

ALICE data collection started in New Jersey after United Way staff discovered Morris County’s 4% poverty level was not an accurate representation of how many people were struggling to get by. Over more than a decade, the project has expanded to include at least 40 states. During the National ALICE Summit, held from Jan. 5 to 7 in Miami Beach, Florida, United For ALICE leadership met with media partners, including the Grand Forks Herald, to explain their data and what they hope it can accomplish.

Leadership confirmed ALICE data for North Dakota and its counties is coming this year, hopefully by the fall, and their goal is to have partnerships and comprehensive data for all 50 states within the next couple years.

Data collection is a collaborative effort. Stephanie Hoopes, director of United For ALICE, said there’s a small research team within the organization, but there are also research advisory committees in every partner state whose members are identified on the United For ALICE website.

“These are external experts, and they bring local expertise, often reflecting the different elements of the budget,” Hoopes said.

Christine Aromando, United For ALICE’s director of brand engagement and strategic communications, said 55 million or 42% of households in the nation are below the ALICE threshold. This includes 17 million households that fall below the federal poverty line, and 38 million that are above the poverty line but meet the definition of ALICE.

The federal poverty line was created based solely on food costs and, though regularly updated, is the same for the entire nation — $15,650 for an individual, with approximately $5,500 added for each additional member of the family unit, according to Healthcare.gov. The income level doesn’t take into consideration varying costs of living or other expenses.

ALICE data considers the costs of housing, child care, food, transportation, health care, technology, taxes and miscellaneous cost overruns for one-time, unexpected expenses. These expenses, calculated for states and counties based on their individual rates, are used to create a survival budget that shows the minimum wage necessary to meet all basic needs.

“Our mission is for the ALICE threshold to become the standard measure used by nonprofits, government, businesses and academic institutions alike to define financial insecurity, and to move away from the outdated federal poverty level,” Aromando said. “Our vision that drives our mission forward is that all households have enough income to afford safe housing, adequate food, reliable transportation, quality child care and health care and sufficient technology — and can also save and invest in their future.”

Hoopes noted that a majority of ALICE individuals are working, living paycheck to paycheck. She feels the issue is that the cost of basics and hourly wages do not align.

“This is a structural economic problem,” she said. “Wages don’t match costs.”