North Dakota
North Dakota leaders react to Trump's address to Congress
FARGO – In the late evening hours of Tuesday, March 4,
President Donald Trump addressed the United States Congress for the first time
since taking office earlier this year.
After his speech, those representing the state of North Dakota were quick to weigh in on the president’s priorities for the next four years.
Anna Paige / The Forum
Trump’s “vision for the future of the United States” will bring more energy independence and border security, North Dakota
Congresswoman Julie Fedorchak, R-N.D., said in a statement late on Tuesday.
“I am proud to stand with President Trump in turning the page on the disastrous policies of the previous administration and deliver on a new era of American exceptionalism. From unleashing American energy to securing our border, the President laid out a clear road map to a stronger America and peace around the world,” Fedorchak said.
Under the Trump administration, unlawful border crossings in the north and south are predicted to hit the lowest number seen in years,
according to NPR factcheckers.
However, the U.S. was producing “record amounts of oil and natural gas” under the Biden administration,
NPR reported,
and set a natural gas record in 2023.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
The country will get “back on track” under Trump, Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said in a release on Tuesday.
“After being in office just over a month, the Trump administration has already put in place policies that are stopping the flow of illegal immigration, helping to build U.S. energy dominance and showing that America is back open for business to grow our economy,” Hoeven said. “At the same time, the President has made clear that we need to rebuild our military to keep our nation safe, support our veterans, make government work better and support our small businesses, including our farmers and ranchers. We look forward to continuing to work with President Trump on these priorities to build a better future for the American people.”
Over the last six weeks, a flurry of changes from the Trump administration have left North Dakota farmers, veterans advocates, victim service shelters, tourism industry leaders and federal workers concerned that the budget cuts, federal layoffs and new tariffs will harm the state’s economy, veterans health care and more.
Even North Dakota’s governor weighed in on Tuesday.
Tanner Ecker / The Bismarck Tribune
Since taking office in January, Trump has made “significant progress” by “bringing common sense back to America,”
Gov. Kelly Armstrong said in a release.
“Illegal immigration is down, investment in U.S. manufacturing is up, and North Dakota is among the states that stand to benefit most from the president’s focus on American innovation, common-sense regulations and government efficiency,” Armstrong, a Republican, said.
Members of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL were less enthusiastic following the address.
Mike McFeely / The Forum
Under Trump’s administration, health care costs will go up as will household prices for working families, the
North Dakota Democratic-NPL chair Adam Goldwyn said online prior to Trump’s address.
“Whether it’s the price of eggs to housing, Trump’s policies are already making life more unaffordable for North Dakotans, and this will only get worse,” Goldwyn said in the release. “They’re going to steal from you and your grandma to pay for tax cuts for out-of-state billionaires.”
The price of eggs was rising under the previous administration as well.
During his Tuesday address, Trump blamed the skyrocketing price of eggs on former President Joe Biden.
However, the rising cost of eggs is largely due to an ongoing avian flu epidemic that is running rampant amongst crowded chicken factories,
NPR factcheckers reported on Tuesday,
leading to the slaughter of tens of millions of chickens that were producing America’s eggs.
In addition, the Minnesota DFL Party released a statement following Trump’s address that was critical of the administration’s agenda.
Trump’s policies will also harm Minnesotans, according to Minnesota DFL Executive Director Heidi Kraus Kaplan.
“As he pushes forward with a budget plan that would rip health insurance away from thousands of Minnesotans who rely on Medicaid and a trade war that will raise the cost of everything from food to electricity, Donald Trump is showing Minnesota his true colors,” Minnesota DFL Executive Director Heidi Kraus Kaplan said in the release. “Minnesota Republicans will be held accountable for rubberstamping Donald Trump’s plans to cut taxes for the ultra-rich while shredding programs that support working-class Minnesotans.”
Some Democrats left the chamber in protest during Trump’s address, according to Reuters, while others applauded Trump at times throughout his speech.
U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., condemned the actions of some House Democrats on Tuesday in a release.
“Democrats in the Chamber sneered, heckled and booed,” Cramer said in the release. “You don’t have to hate America because you hate President Trump, and you don’t have to love Trump because you love America.”
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.
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