North Dakota

North Dakota Outdoors: Public lands success story in ND

Published

1 year ago

December 27, 2024

North Dakota Outdoors: Public lands success story in ND

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The North Dakota Game and Fish Department manages more than 200 wildlife management areas consisting of more than 200,000 acres spread out across the state. NDGF photo.

“Government land” is a pretty standard designation for most public hunting property.

While 93% of land in North Dakota is held in private ownership, mixed in among the remaining 7% – from national grasslands, national wildlife refuges and waterfowl production areas – is an array of owners and managers.

Having lived and worked in North Dakota my entire life, just the mention of these public lands evokes memories of working, hunting and appreciating what is available. Those lands previously mentioned are all considered federal lands, each with a different role and purpose.

Depending on the location and state, those same-colored signs can be found across the country.

Within North Dakota, the state Game and Fish Department manages more than 200 wildlife management areas (WMA) consisting of more than 200,000 acres spread out across the state.

As you can imagine, there are different soil, habitat and wildlife usage between Magnolia WMA just off Interstate 94 in Cass County to the remote WMAs such as Killdeer Mountain WMA in Dunn County.

What makes the 200,000-plus WMA acres found across the state similar is a concentrated effort to improve wildlife habitat and provide opportunities for hunters and other outdoor enthusiasts.

Robert W. Henderson WMA, located just 6 miles east of Bismarck, is a good example.

Five years ago, 100 acres of the roughly 550-acre WMA was a mat of Kentucky bluegrass.

“The bluegrass got to be about 6- to 10-inches tall then it just matted itself out,” said Levi Jacobson, department wildlife resource management supervisor in Bismarck, of the land that was previously farmed. “We were grazing it aggressively to try and bust through some of that and bring some of the native plants back and we just weren’t gaining ground.

So, we had the neighboring landowner come in and farm it for three years with soybeans, corn and soybeans again.”

May 2022, the revival began by planting a diverse, native mix of 13 forbs and 10 grasses to mimic the native prairie that once dominated the landscape.

“The first year it was planted it was really dry and we didn’t know how successful the planting would be as it often takes a couple years to express vegetation above ground as most of the growth is put into establishing roots,” Jacobson said. “And then this year, with all the moisture it really blew up and looks really good.”

Earlier in summer, some of the native species were shoulder-high and taller, with an impressive undergrowth. The wildlife in the area, from deer to pheasants, to many other bird species, should benefit.

“We try to go heavy on the forbs and the wildflowers because those are going to produce food and the grass is going to provide a lot of cover,” Jacobson said.

The truth of it is once native prairie sod is broken, it’s impossible to completely restore it to a truly native, untouched state.

While more than 75% of the state’s native grasslands have been lost over time, the department continues its effort to enhance wildlife habitat on WMAs around the state.

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North Dakota

Bankruptcies for North Dakota and western Minnesota published Jan. 10, 2026

Published

9 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court

North Dakota

Kaitlyn Grace Lucier, Fargo, Chapter 7

Samuel Todd Hicks, formerly known as Thomas Samuel Hicks, Fargo, Chapter 7

Teresa and Dominik Renwick, Fargo, Chapter 13

Susan Renee Fuller, formerly known as Susan R. Schaffer, doing business as Susie’s Sparkling Cleaning Service, Fargo, Chapter 7

Shannon Lynn Taylor, Fargo, Chapter 7

Jesse Patrick and Jaime Elizabeth Brown, Williston, Chapter 7

Kerri Lee Weishaar, Minot, Chapter 7

Terry Marie Moritz, Valley City, Chapter 7

Joshua Allen Sewill, Hatton, Chapter 7

Bryan Eugene Flecker, Minot, Chapter 7

Anna Marie Rahm, formerly known as Anna Marie Tanner, and Joshua Edward Rahm, Bismarck, Chapter 13

Sherri Rae Fisher, Baldwin, Chapter 13

Heather Lynn McElroy, formerly known as Heather Anderson, Grand Forks, Chapter 7

Kaitlyn Autrey, Grand Forks, Chapter 7

Michelle Lynn Miller, Fargo, Chapter 13

Kimberly Georgeann Callahan, Fargo, Chapter 13

Erin Elaine and Jose Luiz Murphy, Bismarck, Chapter 7

Shelly and Kieth Quimby, St. Thomas, Chapter 7

Minnesota

Bankruptcy filings from the following counties: Becker, Clay, Douglas, Grant, Hubbard, Mahnomen, Norman, Otter Tail, Polk, Traverse, Wadena and Wilkin.

David Howard Gilpin, Osakis, Chapter 7

Timothy Virgil Hoag, Moorhead, Chapter 7

Jason Darryl Dykhoff, Ottertail, Chapter 7

Zachary Nicholas Hodgson and Jolynn Beth Warnes, formerly known as Jolynn Beth Hodgson, Kensington, Chapter 7

Riley Matthew Hinman, Alexandria, Chapter 7

Layne Christopher Condiff, Park Rapids, Chapter 13

Thomas Beecher Hoyer, Menahga, Chapter 13

Christine Karen Jakubek, also known as Cristine Anderson, Chapter 7

Chapter 7 is a petition to liquidate assets and discharge debts.

Chapter 11 is a petition for protection from creditors and to reorganize.

Chapter 12 is a petition for family farmers to reorganize.

Chapter 13 is a petition for wage earners to readjust debts.

Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.

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North Dakota

Hoeven, Armstrong, Traynor speak on OBBB Rural Health Transformation Fund updates in ND

Published

21 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Hoeven, Armstrong, Traynor speak on OBBB Rural Health Transformation Fund updates in ND

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – On Friday, North Dakota U.S. Senator John Hoeven, Governor Kelly Armstrong and Health and Human Services Commissioner Pat Traynor explained how the state plans to use millions of dollars from the Big Beautiful Bill’s Rural Health Transformation Fund to transform healthcare across the state.

They spoke extensively about the special session to allocate the funds, and confirmed that it is still tentatively set for Jan. 21.

The Big Beautiful Bill allocated $25 billion for rural healthcare nationwide. North Dakota received $500 million for five years and $200 million for the first year. There is still another $25 billion left to be spent, and North Dakota is hoping to receive an extra $500 million.

“I truly believe that with the plan we’re putting in place and the things we built that line up with that, we’ll get a billion dollars over five years,” said Hoeven.

Federal rules require the state to lock in contracts for the money by October first— a deadline officials say is driving the need for a special session.

In the first year, North Dakota will focus on retention grants to keep existing staff, technical assistance and consultants for rural hospitals, as well as telehealth equipment and home patient monitoring.

A KFYR+ exclusive

Governor Armstrong says the special session will include policy bills tied to how much federal rural health funding the state can earn.

“We’re going to have a physical fitness test for physical education courses, nutrition education, continuing education requirement for physicians, physician assistant licensure compact—which North Dakota has been doing, dealing with that since the heart of the oil boom and moving forward—and then an expanded scope of practice for pharmacists,” said Armstrong.

Hundreds of millions of dollars could reshape healthcare in rural North Dakota, and state leaders say the next few weeks are key to receiving and spending that money wisely.

The governor says he only wants to focus on bills related to the Rural Health Transformation Program during the special session and doesn’t intend to deal with other state issues during that time.

Politicians outline plans for ND Rural Health Transformation Program

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North Dakota

North Dakota officials celebrate being among big winners in federal rural health funding

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

North Dakota officials celebrate being among big winners in federal rural health funding

North Dakota U.S. Sen. John Hoeven and Gov. Kelly Armstrong on Friday touted the success of the state’s application for federal Rural Health Transformation Program funding, which landed one of the largest per-capita awards in the nation.

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