North Dakota

North Dakota raw milk producers cautious as federal authorities raise concerns

Published

2 years ago

May 5, 2024

North Dakota raw milk producers cautious as federal authorities raise concerns

BISMARCK — Raw milk from North Dakota dairy cows carries a low risk of avian flu contamination, local producers say, but they are still increasing precautions.

The so-called bird flu has been detected in dairy cows in nine other states,

including South Dakota,

and the Food and Drug Administration has advised against drinking raw milk.

This issue comes less than a year since

the North Dakota Legislature lifted a rule against selling raw milk in the state,

though sales can only be at the direct consumer level, not to wholesale or retail outlets or across state lines.

There are currently about two dozen raw milk producers in the state.

One is Peter Bartlett of Bartlett Farms, Bottineau, who said he received a cautionary notice from the North Dakota Milk Producers Association. The notice advised caution when buying cows and to keep a close watch for illness in the herd. He said customers are not deterred.

“A pasture-based farm that’s not confining its animals in more close confinement like a conventional dairy would be a lot less susceptible,” Bartlett said.

Bartlett said he already follows three levels of safety protocols to ensure the health of his cows.

Since the restrictions were eased on sales of raw milk last year, Bartlett has seen a steady and growing interest from consumers.

“In the past six months, we seem to have had almost twice as many inquiries about milk,” he said. “So that’s a good sign. I think that now that the law passed, people look at it as a valid option.”

Ty Petersen of Bev’s Best Dairy, Monango, agrees that larger dairy farms with confined cows are more at risk from transmission and that smaller operators have a better grip on the health of individual animals.

He said he isn’t greatly concerned about avian influenza infecting his cows.

“Just being a fussy producer helps a lot, that’s a big part of it, and you know just being around them cows all day you notice stuff lickety split.”

Ava Brokaw of Brokaw Ranch, Kulm, said she is very meticulous about the cleanliness of her cows and quality of her raw milk.

“If I question anything, I dump it,” she said. “I would never sell anything where I questioned whether my cow was sick or not.”

Brokaw said she’s had “a ton of people reach out” since the restrictions were lifted, and people should do their research on whatever it is they are consuming.

“I’ve got kids and I want to make sure that everything that I’m giving them is good, you know, so I read up on the risks on it,” Brokaw said. “But for us, we’ve had more problems with store-bought milk than raw milk.”

North Dakota’s Department of Agriculture regulates production of pasteurized milk, but not raw milk.

The North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services can only offer guidance, according to Heather Steffl, communications manager of the Public Health Division.

“Pasteurization is the safest choice,” Steffl wrote in response to an inquiry from the North Dakota News Co-op.

State veterinarian Ethan Andress said consuming raw milk has “inherent risks” aside from the possible transmission of highly pathogenic avian influenza.

“There are organisms that contaminate raw milk that have the potential to cause people to get sick and occasionally die.” He said it’s the same risk for all raw food, from oysters to meat.

Andress advised raw milk producers to minimize contact with wild birds and to ensure feed is protected from exposure to wild birds because it is hard to know if they are infected.

Milk production is a key indicator of a cow’s health. “The most common sign (of illness) is a drop in milk production,” Andress said.

But even with precautions, some infected cows may not show signs of sickness.

“I think the most frustrating part of this is the asymptomatic part, that some of these cows have an infection but aren’t getting sick,” Andress said. “Just like people when we get influenza, you have varying levels of how bad people get sick and the same thing occurs in cows.”

The closest the avian influenza virus H5N1 has been found in dairy cows is in South Dakota. Other states where it was detected are Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, New Mexico, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas.

There have been no cases of avian influenza detected in North Dakota, according to the North Dakota Department of Agriculture. Most cases from 2023 occurred in the fall.

Transmission risks still undetermined

Federal officials believe the virus is spreading among cows due to contact with milk from other infected cows but that further testing is needed.

It is also unknown if humans can contract the virus through consuming raw milk from infected cows.

Pasteurization of milk inactivates the virus, according to the FDA. The agency has tested commercially produced pasteurized milk and other dairy products in 38 states and found no live, infectious virus in pasteurized milk.

A recent study published by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that cats that consumed raw milk from avian influenza-infected cows became sick and some died.

Dr. Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, told NDNC that while “we don’t know if people can get H5N1 from drinking raw milk,” due to the high levels of viral loads, “it’s very much a possibility.”

Animals such as cats, dogs, and bears that eat dead birds have gotten diseased, and some died, from that consumption, Rasmussen said.

An FDA statement from May 1 said the agency is continuing to test samples of pooled raw milk routed to pasteurization and processing for commercial use. The FDA “advises strongly” against consuming raw milk and recommends the industry does not manufacture or sell raw milk or raw milk products.

The FDA has also recommended that precautions be taken when discarding milk from infected cows so it does not become a source of further spread.

This story was originally published on NewsCoopND.org

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North Dakota

6 nominees advance for North Dakota Supreme Court vacancy

Published

11 hours ago

January 27, 2026

Press Room

6 nominees advance for North Dakota Supreme Court vacancy

North Dakota Supreme Court Justices, from left, Douglas Bahr, Daniel Crothers, Jon Jensen, Lisa Fair McEvers and Jerod Tufte hear arguments Dec. 18, 2023, in a case involving Summit Carbon Solutions and landowners. (Photo by Kyle Martin/For the North Dakota Monitor)

BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – A committee has forwarded six candidates to Gov. Kelly Armstrong to be the next justice of the North Dakota Supreme Court.

The court seeks a replacement for Justice Daniel Crothers, who announced late last year his plans to retire in February after 20 years on the bench.

The six contenders are:

Philip Axt, a Bismarck resident and solicitor general for the North Dakota Attorney General’s Office
Mark Friese, a Fargo defense attorney
Michael Hurly, a judge for Northeast Judicial District in Rugby
Ryan Norrell, a Bismarck attorney who served as counsel to former Gov. Doug Burgum
Jacob Rodenbiker, an assistant U.S. attorney who lives in Fargo
Kirsten Sjue, a judge for the Northwest Judicial District in Williston

Armstrong, a Republican, can appoint someone from the pool of six, ask the committee for more nominees or refer the matter to the election ballot for a public vote.

The committee could have forwarded up to seven names. A total of 12 candidates applied.

The voting members of the nominating committee are Justice Jerod Tufte, Eric Lahlum, Taylor Olson, Laura Mihalick, Paul Forster and Garth Rydland.

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North Dakota

ND AG Wrigley joins 34 states demanding action on AI deepfakes

Published

23 hours ago

January 26, 2026

Press Room

ND AG Wrigley joins 34 states demanding action on AI deepfakes

FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley is among 35 state attorneys general demanding Elon Musk’s xAI company take immediate action to stop its Grok chatbot from creating nonconsensual sexual images of real people, including children.

In a letter sent to xAI on January 23, the coalition expressed “deep concern” about artificial intelligence-produced deepfake nonconsensual intimate images created through Grok, which is integrated with the X social media platform.

“Grok merits special attention given evidence that it both promoted and facilitated the production and public dissemination of such images, and made it all as easy as the click of a button,” the attorneys general wrote.

The attorneys general acknowledge xAI has taken some steps to address the issue, including implementing technical measures and meeting with state officials. However, they say those efforts “may not have completely solved the issues.”

Scale of the Problem

The letter cites multiple analyses documenting Grok’s image generation capabilities.

According to the attorneys general, one analysis found that over half of 20,000 images generated by Grok between Christmas and New Year’s depicted subjects, even those appearing to be children, in minimal attire.

Another analysis cited in the letter determined that Grok was producing vastly more nonconsensual intimate images than the most popular “nudifying” websites.

‘Feature, Not a Bug’

The attorneys general argue xAI purposefully designed Grok to generate explicit content, developing a “spicy mode” and marketing these capabilities as selling points.

“The ability to create nonconsensual intimate images appeared to be a feature, not a bug,” they wrote.

According to the letter, Grok allowed users to alter innocuous images of women without their knowledge or consent, depicting them in sexually explicit scenarios. Most alarmingly, the attorneys general claim the tool altered images of children to depict them in minimal clothing and sexual situations.

Legal Concerns

The creation and dissemination of child sexual abuse material is a crime. Various state and federal civil and criminal laws also forbid the creation of nonconsensual intimate images.

The coalition is calling on xAI to:

Ensure Grok can no longer produce nonconsensual intimate images
Eliminate content already produced
Suspend users who created these materials
Report creators to relevant authorities
Give X users control over whether their content can be edited by Grok
Ensure safeguards don’t merely place harmful content behind a paywall

The attorneys general noted xAI’s unique position connecting AI tools directly to a social media platform with hundreds of millions of users makes its actions “of utmost importance.”

“The steps you take to prevent and remove NCII will establish industry benchmarks to protect adults and children against harmful deepfake nonconsensual intimate images,” they wrote.

The bipartisan coalition includes attorneys general from Connecticut, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Utah, Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming, as well as American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

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North Dakota

Today in History: January 26, 1946 – North Dakota car theft linked to manhunt for South Dakota fugitive

Published

1 day ago

January 26, 2026

Press Room

Today in History: January 26, 1946 – North Dakota car theft linked to manhunt for South Dakota fugitive

Today in History revisits the Saturday, January 26, 1946 edition of the Grand Forks Herald and highlights a story on a massive five-state manhunt targeted escaped murderer George S. Sitts after he gunned down two South Dakota officers near Spearfish, S.D. After Sitts abandoned his snow-stuck getaway car, police shifted their focus to a new lead: a two-tone sedan with North Dakota license plates stolen in Aberdeen. Authorities believe the fugitive transitioned from his ditched vehicle to car with North Dakota license plates or fled on foot through deep snow to evade federal and local capture.

Locate S. D. Killer’s Car

SPEARFISH, S. D.—(Associated Press story as published in the Grand Forks Herald on Jan. 26, 1946)—The auto driven by the man who shot down two South Dakota officers Thursday night, Jan. 24, 1946, was found abandoned on a narrow, snow-clogged side road 12 miles southeast of the scene of the slayings at 8 P. M. Friday, Jan. 25.

Federal authorities joined in the widespread manhunt after Commissioner H. Johnson at Rapid City, S. D., had issued a federal fugitive warrant, together with one charging the suspect with the interstate transportation of a stolen auto.

A bulletin broadcast over the South Dakota police radio station shortly after the abandoned car was found indicated officers were checking train schedules in efforts to learn if the fugitive had escaped from this area by railroad.

Officers said this theory was prompted by the theft at Aberdeen, S. D., of a two-tone sedan bearing North Dakota license plates. A five-state alarm was sent out for the machine, which has a cream-colored top and maroon base, police said.

Cliff Edwards, managing editor of the Rapid City, S. D. Journal, said the abandoned auto was a black Buick sedan bearing Minnesota 1946 license plates 119-804. He said officers believed the killer, whom they said they thought was George S. Sitts, 32, escaped Minneapolis murderer, had become stuck in the deep snow of the narrow country lane while seeking to flee the scene of the slaying.

Edwards said the machine was first spotted by two men named Montgomery and Roberts, living at Whitewood, S. D., 14 miles from here and approximately two miles from where the auto was recovered.

Ray Billavou, deputy Lawrence county sheriff, said the car would be towed into Spearfish for further investigation.

A casual inspection disclosed a money order receipt, stamped at Spearfish post office, which Billavou said he believed had come from the wallet of Tom Matthews, special agent for the attorney general’s law enforcement division, one of the men slain. Second victim was Dave Malcolm, Butte county sheriff.

Concentrating all available officers in the area, Billavou contacted telephone operators in neighboring communities throughout the sparsely settled district where the car was found to alert them. He said there had been no reports of any car stolen in the territory, which meant, he added, that Sitts must have sought to continue his flight afoot.

The treacherous trail the killer took winds five miles through the Black Hills into Deadwood, S. D., Billavou said. It is impassable to cars, however, due to the foot of snow which fell Thursday night, Jan. 24, 1946, to pile on a previous accumulation of another 12 inches of hard packed snow.

Edwards said the car was thoroughly ditched, with the front wheels stuck on one side of the lane and the rear wheels on the other. That it had been there all night was attested by the foot of snow on its top. The storm started shortly after the killings.

The bodies of Matthews and Malcolm were found sprawled on a highway near here Thursday night. Both had been shot with a .45 calibre pistol, officers said.

They were slain when they apparently attempted to question the driver of a 1938 black sedan bearing Minnesota license plates after they had joined a northern Black Hills search for Sitts.

The bodies were lying midway between their two parked cars, spaced 50 feet apart as though they had sought to trap a third vehicle, the sheriff said. Malcolm’s car engine was still running and its lights were on when officers reached the scene.

Officers reported Matthews’ service pistol which he carried in a shoulder holster was missing and his wallet was gone.

The aid of officers in North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming and Nebraska, as well as South Dakota, had been enlisted in the hunt for the slayer, driving a 1938 black sedan with the Minnesota 1945 license 109-406, according to the sheriff.

Clutched in Malcolm’s hand when the bodies were found was a slip of paper bearing a Minnesota automobile license number — the clue which authorities said first turned their pursuit to Sitts

Questioned closely in an effort to uncover additional details was Earl Cook, 35, Sundance, Wyo., a truck driver who, it was reported, witnessed at least part of the shooting.

Cook told officers he was en route from Belle Fourche to Sundance when he passed three cars parked at the edge of the highway, two of them on his left and the third on his right. All three faced him. As he drove by, he said, he saw the third machine also pull over to the other side of the road and shortly afterward he heard an explosion.

He said he stopped his truck about 150 yards from the other cars, believing he had a blowout. As he stepped from his truck, he related, he saw a “spurt of flame shoot down” and heard a second report.

He said he saw a man walk from the highway to the middle car, then back to an object on the highway. The man picked up the object, Cook said, then dropped it “and hurried back to the middle car.”

Cook told officers the machine drove rapidly away. He said he turned his truck around, saw the bodies in the beam of his headlights and drove to Spearfish to report the killings.

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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