BISMARCK — North Dakota’s population count is gaining momentum as it reaches a record of 796,568 in 2024, an increase of over 7,500 people since last year and more than 2% since 2020, according to census data.

According to population estimates released Thursday, Dec. 19, by the

U.S. Census Bureau,

Cass County exceeded the 200,000-resident mark by 945 people and Burleigh County hovered over 100,000 residents with a count of 103,107.

The two counties combined accounted for over 58% of the state’s growth in the last year.

“People continue to discover North Dakota’s abundant job opportunities, low taxes, strong education and health care systems, and unmatched quality of life with world-class outdoor recreation, hunting and fishing,” Gov. Kelly Armstrong said in a Thursday release.

The release also noted a net population increase of more than 18% since 2010, calling North Dakota one of the fastest-growing states in the country, though the Midwest overall had the lowest net population increase.

Most of the 43 states that grew in 2024 were southern states.

North Dakota’s population rise is part of a nationwide trend the Census Bureau attributes broadly to international migration and “natural increase” — when births outnumber deaths.

North Dakota had a natural increase of 2,725, with 6,867 deaths and 9,592 births in 2024.

While the state lost nearly 300 people to domestic migration, it gained 5,126 people by international migration for a net gain of 4,835 people moving into the state in 2024.

The U.S. population surpassed 340 million and grew by nearly a full percent between 2023 and 2024, the highest growth in decades, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Nearly 84% of the nation’s 3.3 million new residents are associated with international migration.

Natural increase accounted for about 15.6% of national growth in the U.S. in 2024, with 519,000 more births than deaths — up from the historic low in 2021 when births outpaced deaths by 146,000.

“An annual growth rate of 1.0% is higher than what we’ve seen over recent years but well within historical norms,” Census Bureau Demographer Kristie Wilder

said in a Thursday release.

“What stands out is the diminishing role of natural increase over the last five years, as net international migration has become the primary driver of the nation’s growth.”

Since the last Census release, the bureau adjusted its migration estimate to account for a “notable” increase in “non-U.S.-born immigration” — the number of refugees, people released by U.S. Border Patrol and by those held on parole by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Office of Field Operations.

As a result, the 2024 international migration totals appear inflated in retrospective comparison to totals from previous years.

North Dakota officials see “legal immigration” as an opportunity to address statewide workforce shortages,

as recent population growth isn’t enough to fill the state’s nearly 30,000 job vacancies.

“We look forward to working with the state Legislature in the upcoming session to set North Dakota up for even greater success and population growth, including addressing much-needed property tax reform and relief,” Armstrong said in the Thursday release.

FARGO — A new community coalition is on a mission to guarantee every North Dakota child has access to healthy meals at school, regardless of family income.

The Together for School Meals coalition launched this week with more than 30

local organizations

backing the cause.

Made up of professionals in fields ranging from food security organizations and family advocacy groups to teachers and administrators, the coalition seeks additional support ahead of the upcoming legislative session, which convenes Tuesday, Jan. 7.

The coalition will recommend to North Dakota legislators that they provide $140 million in state funding over the next two years to reimburse school districts for the cost of providing free meals to all students.

Formed by Prairie Action ND, the coalition aims to have breakfast and lunch included in the School Meals for All program.

Melissa Sobolik, CEO of the Great Plains Food Bank, said more than 156,000 North Dakotans relied on the food bank in 2023. They included more than one in every three children, making a permanent solution to food insecurity urgent.

“It’s the highest ever for those numbers in our 41-year history,” she said.

Robin Nelson, CEO of the Boys and Girls Club and Fargo school board member who is a spokesperson on legislative issues, said there are many benefits to every child getting healthy meals at school.

School attendance and academic success typically increase when children receive proper nutrition, she said, and anger issues decline when they’re not hungry and undernourished.

Nelson said it’s important to include all children in meal programs, not just those whose families are in lower income brackets.

“Some families hide that they are having issues with their bills. We just want to make sure that no child is left out, and provide every student with the optimal tools to help them succeed,” she said.

Coalition member Tony Burke, government relations director for the American Heart Association, said the U.S. is looking at a cost of $1.8 trillion for health care around chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease, by 2050.

He said much of that is fueled by the increasing prevalence of obesity — a trajectory that could change if all children receive proper nutrition.

“We know everything we go after is research and evidence based. We know that investing now will save us in the long run,” Burke said.

During the last legislative session, a bill to provide free lunches at a cost of $6 million over two years for children in families at 200% of the federal poverty level,

fell one vote short of approval in the state Senate after passing in the House.

Lawmakers did end up allocating $6 million to school meals for qualifying families, but the funding was temporary.

A companion piece of legislation known as the anti-lunch shaming bill did receive approval,

ensuring that children who had unpaid school lunch bills weren’t shamed by being fed an alternate, cheaper lunch.

However, an unintended consequence of that bill, Nelson said, was that school districts were to forgive unpaid meal debt using dollars from the pot of funding that pays teachers.

“We do not want this (free meals) included in the per pupil payment. It needs to be separate,” Nelson said.

Fargo Public Schools currently has unpaid school meal debt of $72,000, which could reach $125,000 by the end of the school year, she said.

A new poll shows North Dakotans largely support state involvement in providing free school meals.

Results from the North Dakota News Cooperative poll released last month

showed 82% of respondents in favor and only 14% opposed. A total of 65% “strongly favor” providing free meals at schools.

Support was generally high among all age groups, while most opposition came from men over 55 years of age, the poll indicated.

Nelson said she and others in the coalition will track and advocate for all free school meals legislation during the session.

“That is the goal of this coalition, to make this a higher priority for our state legislators,” she said.

No. 6 Alabama men’s basketball narrowly escaped North Dakota with a 97-90 road win on Wednesday evening.

While the ride to the home of the Fighting Hawks was over 1,300 miles away, it’s less than 100 miles from Alabama forward Grant Nelson’s hometown of Devils Lake. Nelson detailed during Tuesday’s press conference how excited he was to return to North Dakota and that he was given a separate web link from the rest of the team to invite significantly more family and friends than usual.

“I just felt so much love,” Nelson said when his name was announced as the starting lineups were read. “It’s great to play in front of these people who have supported me and I’m just super grateful for this experience, for the coaching staff scheduling this game and just giving these guys a show tonight.”

Nelson played in front of a fanbase he was and still is somewhat attached to. That said, he played at North Dakota State for three years before transferring to Alabama before last season and put up the “Roll Herd” with his arms and pointed to the stands during the game when fans were chanting “UND.”

Nelson tied with Preseason All-American guard Mark Sears for the team-lead in points at halftime with eight. However, like the rest of the Crimson Tide’s offense, Nelson shined in the second half and finished the game with 23 points, with 10 rebounds, three blocks and two assists. His point total tied for a season-high, and his rebound and block numbers each tied for his second-best performance.

Some of these numbers stem from clutch time as Nelson scored four points and secured three rebounds in the game’s final 90 seconds to ensure he left his home state with a win. To no one’s surprise, he was also named tonight’s Hard Hat winner for scoring the most blue-collar points, which measures his all-around hustle.

“I thought all in all Grant played pretty well coming back home,” Alabama head coach Nate Oats said. “He shot pretty well, except from three…I’m glad Grant had family and friends at the game I’m glad we (scheduled) it.

“I thought Grant was very good for most of the game, I thought he came ready to play. He had the emphatic dunk in the first half, thought he made some big blocks, had some tough rebounds, made his free throws, got to the rim and finished pretty well. He’s a steadying influence.”

As the score suggests, this was far from an easy victory as Alabama often trailed throughout the game, but pulled away late. Nelson warned the team before the game that it would be tougher than expected. This was especially apparent in Summit League leading scorer and North Dakota guard Treysen Eaglestaff, who dropped 40 points.

“We played awful, pretty much the whole game,” Nelson said. “We came in, we didn’t take these guys seriously. I was telling them, this is a big game on their home court. We’ve got to take these guys serious. They’re playing for a lot…Can’t sleep on those North Dakota boys, they can really hoop.

“I’ve known [Eaglestaff] for a while, I played him when he was here and I was at North Dakota State. I knew he was a great player and our scouting report was pretty much around him…He’ll make a lot of money playing basketball. I think we let ourselves down, we’ve got a lot to learn, watch video and see what we can do better.”

The Crimson Tide will get a chance to show some improvement at home for its next game against Kent State on Sunday, Dec. 22 at 12 p.m. CT.