North Dakota
North Dakota seeks to block judge’s ruling that overturns state abortion ban
The North Dakota Attorney General’s Office has asked a judge to keep the state’s abortion ban in place until the North Dakota Supreme Court has a chance to weigh in on the law.
South Central Judicial District Court Judge Bruce Romanick last week ruled that the law is “unconstitutionally void for vagueness” and found that “pregnant women in North Dakota have a fundamental right to choose abortion before viability exists.”
Now, the state wants Romanick to allow the ban to remain in effect until the Supreme Court decides on the state’s appeal of the ruling. In a Thursday, Sept. 19 brief, the state claimed the judge’s ruling was made in error and that a stay should be granted to prevent harm to pregnancies.
“The Court’s (summary judgment) order ignored the law of the case and plaintiffs’ own allegations when it concluded there exists, under North Dakota law, an unfettered and unlimited right to an abortion prior to viability,” the state wrote in court filings.
The ban, enacted by the Legislature in 2023, makes abortion illegal in all cases except rape or incest if the mother has been pregnant for less than six weeks, or when the pregnancy poses a serious physical health threat.
A group of reproductive health care doctors and an abortion clinic filed suit against the ban in 2023, arguing that it infringed on medical freedom and was too vague to enforce.
The plaintiffs, which include reproductive health care doctors and the Moorhead, Minnesota-based Red River Women’s Clinic, said in legal filings that the law puts pregnant patients and doctors in danger because it does not provide clear guidance on when abortions may be performed for health reasons.
The state has countered that the law is not unconstitutionally vague and that the ban was written with guidance from health care professionals.
The state also wrote that the ruling goes against the state’s interest in protecting pregnancies, arguing that “innumerable unborn children are now at risk of needlessly perishing.”
North Dakota does not have an abortion service provider. Red River Women’s Clinic previously operated in Fargo, but moved to Minnesota after North Dakota’s previous abortion ban went into effect.
The law will remain on the books until Romanick enters a formal judgment in the case. Romanick directed the plaintiffs to file a proposed judgment within 14 days of his ruling.
The abortion ban was signed into law in April 2023 just weeks after the North Dakota Supreme Court vacated a similar law restricting abortion access. That law, adopted by the Legislature in 2007, went into effect after Roe v. Wade was struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022.
This story was originally published on NorthDakotaMonitor.com
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North Dakota
North Dakota voters to decide single-subject requirement for future constitutional amendments on June 9
BRECKENRIDGE — Coaches, teammates, friends and family gathered in the south parking lot of Breckenridge High School for another state tournament sendoff.
Corbin Abner Lee / Wahpeton Daily News
This year, it was Troy Berndt taking the ceremonial convertible ride. He is headed to St. Michael-Albertville High School for the Minnesota Class A State Track and Field Meet on June 4-6.
Corbin Abner Lee / Wahpeton Daily News
He will be running in the third heat of the 400-meter prelims, scheduled for 4:52 p.m. June 4. There are seven athletes in each heat, 21 total, and nine will advance to the finals at 6:20 p.m. June 5.
The top two finishers in each heat advance, along with the next three best times. Berndt’s personal best time of 50.67 has him seeded 13th, but the 10th-, 11th- and 12th-seeded runners are less than five hundredths of a second ahead of him. The eighth- and ninth-seeded runners are also close, at 50.33 and 50.39, respectively.
Berndt dropped nearly seven-tenths of a second from his previous personal best at the Section 6A West Subsection Meet on May 21, running 51.35, and shaved another 0.68 seconds off at the Section 6A Championships on May 28 with a time of 50.67. If he keeps lowering his time, he will have a shot at reaching the podium against the best runners in Class A.
Corbin Abner Lee / Wahpeton Daily News
Results and photos will be available online immediately following the race June 4 and in the June 10 print edition of the Wahpeton Daily News.
Corbin Lee is a sports reporter for the Wahpeton Daily News and Richland County News-Monitor. Corbin can be reached by calling (701) 291-3551 or emailing corbin.lee@wahpetondailynews.com.
On this day in 1971, Rugby repeated as North Dakota’s high school sand greens golf champion behind medalist Dwight Stempson’s winning performance.
Here is the complete story as it appeared in the paper that day:
Rugby Repeats As Sand Greens Golf Champion
RUGBY, N. D. — Rugby repeated as North Dakota high school sand greens golf champion here Wednesday, posting a four-man total of 293 strokes for 18 holes.
Led by medalist Dwight Stempson’s medalist 36-35 — 71, the Panthers were eight strokes ahead of runnerup Stanley, which had a 301. Following were Garrison 311, Beulah 315, Leeds 322, Ashley 323, Bottineau 328, Pembina 329, Tioga 332, Parshall 341 and Hettinger 342.
Stempson and teammate Bruce Carlson each had one-under par 71s, but Carlson was unable to be at the regional and wasn’t qualified for individual honors.
Rounding out the Rugby totals were Delwin Wilson 40-37 — 77 and Dennett Hutchinson 35-39 — 74. Gary Kirchoffner, 41-39 — 80, was Rugby’s fifth entrant with the best four-of-five scores counted.
Runnerup Stanley was led by Steve Springan’s 34-38 — 72 and Joe Springan’s 36-38 — 74. Their two-man total of 146 strokes was good enough for the doubles title. Two strokes back with a 148 was the duo of Stempson and Wilson. Stan Saathoff and Mike Stepina of Garrison each had 76s for a 152 total and the Ashley combo of Steve Maier (76) and Dave Kretschmar (78) was fourth with a 154.
Stempson was the driving contest winner with a distance of 280 yards. Chris Knutson of Garrison headed the pitch and putt competition.
Kate Almquist is the social media manager for InForum. After working as an intern, she joined The Forum full time starting in January 2022. Readers can reach her at kalmquist@forumcomm.com.
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