North Dakota
North Dakota Supreme Court affirms West Fargo man’s murder conviction
BISMARCK — The North Dakota Supreme Court has upheld a West Fargo man’s murder conviction.
In a ruling issued Thursday, Oct. 9, the Supreme Court said Spencer Moen’s constitutional right to confront witnesses was not violated by a district court judge’s decision to allow two of Moen’s children to testify at his trial for the August 2023 murder of his wife, Sonja Moen.
Contributed photo
In October 2024, a Cass County District Court
jury found Spencer Moen guilty
of murder for beating his wife and leaving her in a bathtub to die.
During his murder trial, two of his children, who were 5 years old and at home when their mother died, were called by the prosecution to testify.
Their testimony was provided via video from outside the courtroom after two psychologists testified that the children would likely be retraumatized if they testified in front of their father.
Following his conviction,
Spencer Moen was sentenced on Dec. 30
to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
He
appealed his conviction to the Supreme Court,
claiming his constitutional rights were violated by not having his children testify in person during his murder trial.
In oral arguments before the state Supreme Court in September, Moen’s appellate attorney, Sam Gereszek, said the district court judge should not have relied on the psychologists’ testimonies to determine if the children would be traumatized by testifying in front of their father. Instead, Gereszek said, the judge should have questioned the children directly.
In the unanimous ruling issued Thursday, the Supreme Court said that while the right to confront witnesses is of a constitutional magnitude, it is not absolute, and in appropriate cases it may give way to other legitimate interests.
The ruling also stated North Dakota Century Code permits a trial judge to allow remote electronic testimony by children if testifying in front of a defendant would traumatize a child and affect the child’s ability to communicate.
“The (district) court specifically found remote testimony was necessary because Moen’s presence in court would re-traumatize the children and impact their ability to reasonably communicate — specifically that the children ’could likely shut down, cry uncontrollably,’ ’’ the Supreme Court said in its ruling.
The high court stated specifically that the district court’s decision to allow remote testimony complied with state law and that Moen had not established that his constitutional right to confront witnesses was violated.
A new North Dakota Department of Public Instruction survey seeks statewide feedback on potential changes to how students are using technology.
Superintendent Levi Bachmeier, who
took over the state’s top education role
in November, said he hopes the survey results will inform policymakers on potential reforms to school-issued device policies across the state. During his first student Cabinet meeting, he said a Mandan freshman told him the devices needed to be a “tool, not a toy.”
“The world that these young people are inheriting requires them to use technology responsibly, but we know that these devices are just as addictive as substances,” Bachmeier said during a press conference Thursday. “And that can be just as true for the school-issued device in their hands as the cellphone they carry around in their pocket.”
North Dakota
banned the use of cellphones
during the school day during the 2025 legislative session, something Bachmeier said has received a near universal
positive response
during its first year in effect.
The cellphone ban triggered a migration of some students from using their cellphones to access YouTube and other social media sites to using their school-issued laptops or tablets, Bachmeier said.
The
survey
includes questions about restrictions on device usage in elementary school, a potential prohibition on taking devices home, built-in make-up days into school scheduling before using virtual instruction and whether the state should require districts to use monitoring software on the devices.
He added that some school districts already have monitoring software that tracks student technology usage, but it is not a uniform policy.
“It’s inconsistent,” Bachmeier said. “Our challenge is how do we find what’s the best that is going on in North Dakota and make that a reality for every student in our state.”
Sen. Michelle Axtman, R-Bismarck, a lawmaker who sponsored multiple education bills during the 2025 legislative session, said any potential reforms to technology policies should enhance instruction, support learning and allow students to develop interpersonal and critical-thinking skills.
“This effort today is not about eliminating technology from education,” Axtman said. “It’s about ensuring that technology serves learning rather than competes with it.”
Axtman said any potential changes to school device policies could be proposed during the 2027 legislative session and be implemented for the 2027-28 school year.
“By working towards clear statewide expectations for school-issued device use, we will help schools create learning environments that are more focused, more productive and healthier for students,” she said.
The
survey
can be filled out by any North Dakota student, parent, educator or community member through Aug. 1.
This story was originally published on NorthDakotaMonitor.com.
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VALLEY CITY — A truck hauling bees rolled over Thursday, May 28, on westbound Interstate 94 near mile marker 292 near Valley City, releasing millions of bees and closing the right lane of traffic.
The crash was reported at about 4:45 p.m. Thursday, according to the North Dakota Highway Patrol. Officials said the westbound right-side lane was closed following the rollover.
Millions of bees were released in the crash, and beekeepers were called to the scene to help recover and contain the insects.
Officials said the cable barrier area marked where large groups of bees had clustered.
Drivers were asked to slow down, follow directions from emergency responders and give crews and the bees plenty of space while work continued at the scene.
WIBAUX, Mont. (KFYR) – Several fire departments from both North Dakota and Montana are fighting a grass fire about 40 miles south of Wibaux in the Pine Unit area.
The editor of the Wibaux Pioneer Gazette tells us no structures are in danger at this time, and the Wibaux, Beach, Golva and Glendive Fire Departments are working to put out the flames.
The public is asked to avoid the area at this time.
Copyright 2026 KFYR. All rights reserved.
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