North Dakota
North Dakota Senate passes guidelines on academic tenure in surprise bill reconsideration
BISMARCK — The North Dakota Senate voted on Wednesday to enshrine guidelines for academic tenure in century code in a surprise reconsideration of a failed bill.
Academic tenure gives professors a permanent position and protects them from being dismissed or fired without cause. The practice is intended to guarantee academic freedom because it protects professors from being let go for the type of research they are conducting or the papers they publish.
House Bill 1437
requires institutions of higher education to establish a tenure policy. Under the guidelines laid out in the bill, the institution’s president must implement a process for annual evaluations of nontenure, tenure-track and tenured faculty. They must also develop a procedure to evaluate post-tenure faculty at least once every five years.
The bill also states that the policy must define the outcome of an unsatisfactory review of post-tenured faculty, which may include removal from their position.
HB 1437 previously passed the House in a 84-5 vote. It failed on the Senate floor Tuesday in a 26-20 vote. However, one senator, Sen. Brad Bekkedahl, R-Williston, was absent for Tuesday’s vote. When he was present Wednesday, he made a motion to reconsider the bill. Between Tuesday and Wednesday, enough senators changed their mind on the bill to pass it in a 28-19 vote.
The bill now goes back to the House for a vote of concurrence before it can go to the governor for a signature or veto.
Lawmakers said they were surprised the bill was brought back for reconsideration and the chamber had to take a small recess to prepare because the senate staff had not been informed that a reconsideration would be happening.
Multiple senators who changed their vote for the reconsideration said that they were on the fence about the bill but changed their mind after doing more research between days.
The bill received opposition testimony from representatives of the Council of College Faculties, the North Dakota University System, North Dakota State University, the University of North Dakota and Bismarck State College.
Tanner Ecker / The Bismarck Tribune
Many of the institutions of higher education took umbrage with the bill specifying how to structure a committee to evaluate post-tenure faculty. The bill mandates that each committee include the faculty member’s administrative supervisor, at least one ranking administrator, and tenured faculty making up no less than one-third and no more than one-half of the committee.
“HB 1437 represents an overreach into the governance of higher education in North Dakota, which is constitutionally vested in the State Board of Higher Education,” President of the Council of College Faculties Rachelle Hunt said in written testimony.
Sen. Jonathan Sickler, R-Grand Forks, said the Legislature nixed a similar bill on academic tenure during the 2023 legislative session due to concerns over its constitutionality. He said that after the bill was defeated, the State Board of Higher Education (SBHE) took the concerns raised by the Legislature and spent over a year reviewing tenure practices at institutions of higher education in North Dakota.
He said that the SBHE’s Ad Hoc Committee on tenure had adopted most of the policies called for in HB 1437 since the bill’s introduction in January. He argued that the bill would institute a less-robust review process than what is currently being done by most institutions and expressed concern that the bill does not include any avenue for faculty to appeal the results of an evaluation.
“We need higher ed to be flexible,” Sickler said on the floor Tuesday. “By putting this in code, my concern is that we are locking the board into practice that will not work for it. We’re also putting a single process over a university system that has two-year campuses, polytechnic campuses, four-year institutions and research institutions where tenure policies may need to be different.”
SBHE member Kevin Black submitted written testimony in favor of the bill. He said that the amended version of the bill eliminates tenure as a “right” to continuous employment, clarifies post-tenure review, increases transparency and accountability, and is a step toward fixing the employee-employer relationship at institutions of higher education in North Dakota.
“We should not eliminate tenure, and I’m grateful for this bill’s amended approach,” Black said. “Working together, we can put the necessary guardrails around tenure policies that both drive accountability and reward our highest-achieving faculty members.”
Sen. Chuck Walen, R-New Town, who changed his vote between Tuesday and Wednesday, said he originally voted against the bill because he agrees with colleges taking care of issues such as tenure themselves. However, he added “after reading it, I’m going, this isn’t really hurting the colleges. It is just saying these are the steps to follow. And I thought that’s reasonable, so that was the reason for my (vote) change.”
Sen. Judy Lee, R-West Fargo, said that there had been significant friction between the university system and the executive branch decades ago, which established the independence of the SBHE.
“(Former) Gov. Langer was looking to fire faculty members at the research university in Fargo — and he was quite intrusive into that process — because he didn’t like some of the things he thought they were teaching,” Lee said. “The students rose up and they were successful in making sure that there would be a legal barrier between the Board of Higher Education and the executive branch in that case, but we are part of the legislative group that still shouldn’t be treading on those toes.”
Vernon Dale Krause, 93, of Fargo, ND, formerly of Wahpeton, ND, passed away peacefully on Friday, July 10, 2026, at Heather’s House in Fargo, ND, under the care of HIA Hospice.
A Celebration of life will be held on Monday, July 20, 2026, at Vertin-Munson Funeral Home, Wahpeton. Visitation will be from 9:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., followed by a service at 10:00 a.m., with burial immediately following at Fairview Cemetery in Wahpeton.
Vern was born on February 16, 1933, in rural Wyndmere, ND, one of eleven children born to Theodore and Ella (Rohl) Krause. He grew up in Wyndmere and attended Wyndmere Public School, where he left his studies behind to volunteer for the United States Army. Vern proudly served from 1953 to 1956 before transferring to the Army Reserves. He was awarded the National Defense Service Medal and, throughout his life, carried great pride in his years of military service.
He married Jean (Carey) Krause, and together they built a life and raised their family in Wahpeton, where he would spend most of his years. They were blessed with two children. In his later years, after developing severe dementia, Vernon moved to Fargo so he could receive the care he needed and be closer to family.
For 41 years, he worked for the City of Wahpeton Water & Sewer Department, where he was highly regarded and known for knowing every inch of the city like the back of his hand. Even after retirement, he continued to volunteer his time and expertise whenever the City needed him. Among the accomplishments he was most proud of were his early years helping develop the Chahinkapa Zoo.
Above all, he cherished his family. He loved anything to do with his grandchildren — from crafting chairs out of tree trunks and splitting wood, to watching their sporting events and helping them grow into who they were meant to be. His great-grandchildren were a true blessing to him — even if their energy made him a little nervous, he always looked forward to their visits. His nieces and nephews brought him great joy as well especially in his later years and he loved being an uncle to them. When his brother Leyone “Spud” moved to town, Vern couldn’t wait to deliver him the daily newspaper and share a chat. He loved tinkering in the garage, always engineering new ways to drain water, and he was the biggest Green Bay Packers fan around — proud to call himself a team shareholder. After moving to Fargo, Vernon was grateful for the time he was able to spend with his sister, Carole Jean, who had always been his protector.
Vernon will be remembered for his steady hands, his quiet devotion to family and community, and the example he set of showing up — for his country, for his city, and most of all, for the people he loved. He will be deeply missed.
Vern is survived by his son, Mark Krause, Fargo; two sisters-in-law, Priscilla Krause and Donna Krause; two brothers-in-law, Ron Carey and Don Carey; eight grandchildren, Carey, Danielle, Margo, Jodi, Nikki, Kevin, Brad and Tracee; 13 great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Jean Krause; his daughter, Deb Christopher; five brothers, Alfred, Donald, Willard, Kenneth and Leyone Krause; five sisters, Dorothy Peterson, Loretta Dable, LaVelle Odegard, Lucille Kruchek and Carole Jean Johnson-Bohlken; sisters-in-law, Viola Krause, Marleen Krause, Amy Carey and Linda Carey; brothers-in-law, Elroy Odegard, Robert Johnson, Willis Bohlken, Pete Peterson, Johnny Kruchek and Frank Dable; granddaughter, Robyn Krause; and grandson, Jack Bollman.
GRAFTON, N.D. — Two North Dakota men are speaking out about a 38-year-long alleged mistake that altered their entire lives.
The men and their families are suing Unity Medical Center in Grafton, saying the hospital is responsible for
switching them at birth in 1988
. The hospital denies the allegations.
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There are moments that remind us exactly who we are as a community, and the recent fire at Antelope Creek Bar and Grill in Mooreton was one of them. Many already know the awful loss that unfolded. It was a brutally hot day, the kind where the sun feels heavy and the air is so thick, and social media quickly filled with photos, videos, and comments documenting the devastation. Heartbreaking. Gut‑wrenching. A place that held memories for so many suddenly only visions smoke and charred remains.
But even in the middle of all that loss, something else rose up, something that always seems to show itself around here when life gets hard. Kindness. Pure, steady kindness.
The volunteer firefighters were the first reminder. They never cease to amaze me. They drop everything … work, family, whatever they were in the middle of and suit up in layers of gear despite the heat and humidity. They’re regular people with regular jobs, yet they show up like it’s the most natural thing in the world. No spotlight. No applause. Just service. Just heart.
Then came the folks who arrived with water, Gatorade, and anything they could think of to help ease the burden of those battling the blaze. Nobody organized it. Nobody asked. They simply showed up because that’s what people do here. That alone would have been enough to warm my heart.
But it didn’t stop there.
As the day went on, I saw posts from other regional businesses, specifically other bar and grills, reaching out with messages of support. These are places that could easily be seen as competition, yet there they were, offering help, extending care, and standing shoulder to shoulder with the owners who had just watched their livelihood disappear. “We are here. How can we help?” they wrote. No rivalry. No hesitation. Just neighbors being neighbors.
If you ever need a reminder of what makes this valley special, it’s moments like that. People who could have stayed quiet choosing instead to lift someone else up. Businesses that could have focused on themselves choosing instead to stand with another in their darkest moment. It’s the best of us. The part of small town life that doesn’t make headlines but makes all the difference.
We talk a lot about community, but this, this right here is what it looks like. It looks like firefighters sweating through their gear on a 90‑degree day. It looks like strangers handing out cold drinks. It looks like business owners reaching across the aisle to say, “You’re not alone.” It looks like compassion showing up before anyone has time to think twice.
Loss has a way of revealing character. And what I saw in the wake of that fire was a valley full of people who still believe in showing up, still believe in helping, still believe in each other. In a world that can feel divided and loud, this quiet, steady goodness is worth noticing. Worth celebrating. Worth holding onto.
Because when the smoke clears and the debris settles, what remains is the strength of a community that refuses to let anyone face hardship alone. And that, more than anything, is the story worth telling.
That is the true Best of the Valley. The people.
Bobbi Steffens resides in the Southern Valley and discovered her passion for writing through an unexpected path.
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