North Dakota
North Dakota governor candidates debate Measure 2, ethics • North Dakota Monitor
Candidates for North Dakota governor differed Monday on a ballot measure that would change the process for future voter-initiated measures to amend the state constitution.
Republican Kelly Armstrong, Democratic-NPL candidate Merrill Piepkorn and independent candidate Michael Coachman debated in front of a live audience of more than 100 people during a debate hosted by BEK TV and moderated by Steve Bakken and Joel Heitkamp.
Piepkorn, a state senator, said he opposes Measure 2, which was placed on the 2024 general election ballot by the Legislature. The measure would limit ballot initiatives to a single subject; increase the signature requirement for petitions; force ballot initiatives to be passed by the voters during the primary election and the general election; and require petition circulators to be eligible to vote in North Dakota.
4 major takeaways from North Dakota governor debate
Piepkorn said he believes the Republican-led Legislature only believes in local control until a certain point.
“It will just make things more difficult,” Piepkorn said. “It’s not a perfect system. But it’s a good system and it’s the best one we have, and we don’t need to change it.”
Armstrong said he isn’t sure how he will vote on Measure 2. He added it should be easier to change statutes via ballot petition, but people should “be more careful” with constitutional changes.
“I think it should be really hard to change the North Dakota Constitution,” Armstrong said.
He also said the measure doesn’t address out-of-state money influencing ballot initiative campaigns.
Coachman said he believes the Legislature doesn’t have the power to use the initiated ballot measure process because of the state’s constitution. He also objected to Measure 1, which cleans up outdated language in the constitution, and Measure 3, which affects the Legacy Fund, because they were placed on the ballot by the Legislature.
“If you don’t follow the constitution, what do you got?” Coachman said. “A Third World country.”
Energy industry
Piepkorn was critical of past legislation to lower the oil extraction tax, as well as tax exemptions for energy companies.
“Every session that I was on the Energy and Natural Resource Committee, the oil companies were back looking for another exemption, chipping away at the taxes that they pay,” Piepkorn said.
Armstrong defended incentives for the energy industry, which he said allowed the Bakken to be developed.
“We had smart policy that allowed people to come in here and invest and create generational wealth for this entire state,” Armstrong said. “And I think it’s a fantastic thing, not something to apologize for.”
Coachman accused Armstrong of personally benefiting from legislation during the 2017 legislative session related to oil and gas minerals under Lake Sakakawea.
A bill Armstrong sponsored that year ordered a review of the historical ordinary high water mark of the Missouri River before the construction of the Garrison Dam, which created Lake Sakakawea. The legislation sought to resolve uncertainty over mineral ownership. Millions of dollars had been held in escrow or in suspense amid ownership disputes.
Coachman said Armstrong failed to disclose that he would personally benefit from the legislation. Armstrong said Coachman’s claim is wrong and said he had zero mineral acres held in suspense by North Dakota.
Armstrong said he remains proud of that legislation, which he said returned royalties to North Dakota farmers and ranchers.
Armstrong, who earns most of his personal income from the oil and gas industry, said if elected governor he would recuse himself from voting on the North Dakota Industrial Commission on issues affecting his father’s operating company and any issue in which he has a unique interest.
Piepkorn said electing a member of the Democratic-NPL Party to the three-member Industrial Commission would bring “clarity and transparency” to the conversations.
Ethics
When asked if the Republican supermajority in the Legislature has created ethical concerns due to a lack of accountability, Coachman said lawmakers shouldn’t be taking advantage of the people of North Dakota to benefit themselves.
“They just keep protecting each other,” Coachman said.
Piepkorn said the Republican supermajority has created a sense of entitlement.
All three were asked about state Rep Jason Dockter, R-Bismarck, who was found guilty of a misdemeanor conflict of interest crime and continues to serve in the Legislature.
Coachman and Piepkorn said they would resign if they were found guilty of a similar crime.
Armstrong said he would never put himself in that position. When pressed on whether he would resign, Armstrong said: “I would have a hard time understanding how I would be able to represent my voters.”
Commerce department
In response to a question about the state Department of Commerce, Coachman said he would audit the department, along with other state government spending. If the audit shows the department is spending too much money, Coachman said he would “eliminate them.”
Piepkorn said members of Commerce often told legislators how much investment could come into the state if they changed some of the state’s laws.
“I think we really need to keep an eye on the Commerce Department,” Piepkorn said. “And also, be wary of corporate interests coming in and really taking over the state.”
Armstrong said the state should focus on transparency, accountability, workforce and affordable housing issues before any projects should be discussed.
“We don’t need a bunch of trillion dollar infrastructure projects in the state of North Dakota right now because we don’t have anywhere for those people to live and we don’t have the employees to do that,” Armstrong said.
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North Dakota
ND State Fair completes 2026 grandstand lineup with EDM artist Zedd, ‘Turn Up ND!’
MINOT, N.D. (KMOT) – We now know the entertainers who will round out this year’s North Dakota State Fair grandstand lineup.
In what is a first for the state fair, Zedd will put on an EDM show at the grandstand on Friday, July 24. He’s an award-winning artist and DJ, known for hits like ‘Clarity’ and ‘The Middle.’
The show will feature immersive production, sound and visuals. Tickets will be just over $58, including fees.
The fair wraps up on Saturday, July 25, with this year’s ‘Turn Up ND’ show. It features TI, Da-Baby and Waka Flocka Flame.
All three have made a name for themselves in the trap and hip-hop music genres.
Tickets for this show are just over $78, including fees.
So here’s a look at the full lineup, which is packed with some major stars, featuring Alex Warren, Jon Pardi, Jessie Murph, Niko Moon and Zach Top.
The fair will hold two days of the popular MHA Indian Horse Relays on July 20 and 21.
For information on tickets, dates and more, go to ndstatefair.com.
Copyright 2026 KFYR. All rights reserved.
North Dakota
Darlene Struble
Darlene Kay Struble was born April 11, 1946 in Valley City, ND to Frank and Ruby (Satreaas) Klima. She grew up in LaMoure, ND and graduated from LaMoure High School 1964. After graduation, Darlene continued her education at North Dakota State School of Science in Wahpeton before completing her LPN training in Grand Forks.
Darlene married the love of her life, Charles Struble, on October 25, 1969 at Trinity Lutheran Church. Together, they made their home in Jamestown where she began her career in the OB department at Jamestown Hospital. Her dedication to caring for others continued throughout her professional life, later leading her to Dakota Clinic in Jamestown. Her work was an extension of her compassionate spirit, and she touched many lives until her retirement in 2009.
She filled her days with many loves; her family above all, but also the quiet joys of gardening, flowers, sewing, crafts, and scrap booking. She had a special gift of preserving memories, and spent countless hours gathering family history. Darlene started her day at the Depot Cafe nearly every morning. It was a simple tradition, but one she shared with her children, friends, and eventually grandchildren. Not only were Depot mornings filled with love and laughter, but an abundance of Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes.
Darlene passed away peacefully on March 23rd 2026 at Eventide in Jamestown, surrounded by the love of her family. She leaves behind her husband Chuck, her sons; Cory (Deb) Struble and Dave (Leslie) Struble, two sisters; Linda (Gary) Kraft and Roberta (Karl) Wilhelm, six grandchildren; Jayden (Darsh), Allie, Jonah, Grace, Evyn, and Owen, and seven nieces and nephews. She has been reunited with her parents, her daughter, Tiffiney Dick, and her sister, Mary Lee Guffy.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to Jamestown Regional Medical Center Foundations, specifically to the OB ward.
Memorial Service- 3:30 PM Saturday, March 28, 2026 at Haut Funeral Home in Jamestown, ND, with Pastor Kristi Weber, officiating.
Interment- Highland Home Cemetery, Jamestown, ND (at a later date).
North Dakota
Hope’s Corner: Hope Springs Eternal
I spent the first day of spring, last Friday, weeding my back yard flower beds. Let that sink in, because this is North Dakota. We have April showers in May, and May flowers in June. We sometimes have snow in June, too. Weeding my tulips in March is a first.
The tulips have been up for a couple of weeks in my south-facing gardens. The six inches of snow last weekend did not deter their enthusiasm. According to the South Dakota State University Extension Service, tulips close to our shared border usually begin to appear in late March and early April. Mine are early risers this year. I blame the switch to Daylight Saving Time.
My yarrow and hollyhocks have been green and growing for four weeks. The yarrow was a little miffed at the one subzero night a week or so ago, but the hollyhocks merely flattened out and took it in stride. Our friends at the South Dakota Extension Service assure me both of those plant varieties normally sprout in mid-May. Maybe the frequent solar storms and northern lights displays have affected them.
Shortly after that subzero stretch in February, which Katie the Wonder Puppy and I called The Degrees of Despair, the pussywillow began to bud. I cut my first bouquet this past Friday the 13th. And did you know the blossoms are called catkins?
That shrub is only a couple weeks early in blooming. Obviously, like all cats, my pussywillow is indifferent to solar storms, the northern lights, and Daylight Saving Time. When its feet get warm enough, it stretches out and basks in the sun. Wild catnip has, however, sprouted near the pussywillow’s trunk. I suspect some deep-rooted drug dependency at work there.
But, weeds? There is wild horseradish marching across my tastefully scattered scoria chips. There is quackgrass strangling daylilies and yarrow. There are weeds of unknown name towering over my tulips. Actually, I have a name for those weeds, but that name is best kept to myself.
I pulled out one quackgrass clump, and I am pretty sure its far end stretched all the way to Gladstone. It was like pulling one of those string strips from the top of a fifty-pound sack of sunflower seeds. Not that I regularly buy fifty-pound bags of sunflower seeds for the neighborhood birds, or anything.
I was feeling pretty smug last Saturday after I finished all my weeding. I figured I would need to start mowing in a few more days. I began looking at seed catalogs and dreaming of Big Boy tomato plants.
Late Saturday evening Katie and I went outside to take in the fresh air. It was snowing. Gotta love North Dakota.
Jackie Hope is the longest running Dickinson Press contributor and columnist. Hope’s Corner is a weekly humorous column with a message of hope.
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