North Dakota
North Dakota taking steps to ban candy, soda purchases with SNAP benefits
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Some foods such as soda and candy may soon be prohibited purchases in North Dakota through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, officials said Tuesday.
The North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services plans to seek permission from the federal government to prohibit certain foods from being purchased with SNAP benefits. The proposal was mentioned Tuesday to a legislative committee but details are still being developed.
The move is part of an effort to secure more federal funding through the $50 billion Rural Health Transformation Program. While states are guaranteed at least $500 million from the program, they can get more money if they enact certain policies the federal government favors.
States with pending or approved SNAP waivers that limit non-nutritious food purchases will be considered more competitive applicants, Sarah Aker, executive director of medical services for the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services, told lawmakers.
The agency plans to apply for the waiver from the U.S. Department of Agriculture ahead of the Nov. 5 application deadline for the rural health funding.
“We’re working out the definitions so that the retail community can have a smooth transition, but we’re eliminating things that cause chronic disease, so candy and soda,” said Pat Traynor, interim Health and Human Services commissioner.
Traynor said the earliest the changes could affect North Dakota SNAP recipients is next year, and the new changes would take months to implement.
North Dakota had about 57,000 SNAP recipients in May, according to USDA data.
At least 12 states have received federal approval to restrict SNAP recipients from using their benefits to buy foods such as soda and candy, Stateline reported. Some states have restricted only soda, while others have included energy drinks, prepared desserts and other sugary drinks. The trend is related to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s push to “make America healthy again.”
Sen. Jeff Magrum, R-Hazelton, remarked during Tuesday’s legislative committee meeting that the government’s definition of what food is and isn’t healthy seems to differ over time.
“What if they ever classified beef as non-nutritious, or something to that effect?” he asked. “When they base the money on non-nutritious, that’s kind of a moving target.”
Aker said the state has control over how it defines non-nutritious food under the waiver.
Emily O’Brien, deputy commissioner for Health and Human Services, said the department is still working out which soda and candy products will be included in the waiver.
“We’re fine-tuning what the definitions look like,” O’Brien said. “We want to have buy-in, too, from our partners on implementation.”
John Dyste, president of the North Dakota Grocers Association, said he’s been in contact with state officials about the SNAP waiver and plans to meet with the department.
Dyste said he does not think prohibiting candy and soda from SNAP purchases would be difficult for grocery stores to implement, though may be more challenging for smaller stores without a point-of-sale system.
Senate Minority Leader Kathy Hogan, D-Fargo, said eliminating soda and candy from the SNAP program is a “fine idea,” and hoped it would give North Dakota’s application for the Rural Health Transformation Program a boost.
She also said she wants to be certain the state’s rural grocery stores are able to make the changes effectively without burdening their businesses.
“If the points of sale all have to be changed and it’s going to change the operations of the benefits, then they’ll get pushback for doing it,” Hogan said.
North Dakota Monitor is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
North Dakota
ND State Fair completes 2026 grandstand lineup with EDM artist Zedd, ‘Turn Up ND!’
MINOT, N.D. (KMOT) – We now know the entertainers who will round out this year’s North Dakota State Fair grandstand lineup.
In what is a first for the state fair, Zedd will put on an EDM show at the grandstand on Friday, July 24. He’s an award-winning artist and DJ, known for hits like ‘Clarity’ and ‘The Middle.’
The show will feature immersive production, sound and visuals. Tickets will be just over $58, including fees.
The fair wraps up on Saturday, July 25, with this year’s ‘Turn Up ND’ show. It features TI, Da-Baby and Waka Flocka Flame.
All three have made a name for themselves in the trap and hip-hop music genres.
Tickets for this show are just over $78, including fees.
So here’s a look at the full lineup, which is packed with some major stars, featuring Alex Warren, Jon Pardi, Jessie Murph, Niko Moon and Zach Top.
The fair will hold two days of the popular MHA Indian Horse Relays on July 20 and 21.
For information on tickets, dates and more, go to ndstatefair.com.
Copyright 2026 KFYR. All rights reserved.
North Dakota
Darlene Struble
Darlene Kay Struble was born April 11, 1946 in Valley City, ND to Frank and Ruby (Satreaas) Klima. She grew up in LaMoure, ND and graduated from LaMoure High School 1964. After graduation, Darlene continued her education at North Dakota State School of Science in Wahpeton before completing her LPN training in Grand Forks.
Darlene married the love of her life, Charles Struble, on October 25, 1969 at Trinity Lutheran Church. Together, they made their home in Jamestown where she began her career in the OB department at Jamestown Hospital. Her dedication to caring for others continued throughout her professional life, later leading her to Dakota Clinic in Jamestown. Her work was an extension of her compassionate spirit, and she touched many lives until her retirement in 2009.
She filled her days with many loves; her family above all, but also the quiet joys of gardening, flowers, sewing, crafts, and scrap booking. She had a special gift of preserving memories, and spent countless hours gathering family history. Darlene started her day at the Depot Cafe nearly every morning. It was a simple tradition, but one she shared with her children, friends, and eventually grandchildren. Not only were Depot mornings filled with love and laughter, but an abundance of Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes.
Darlene passed away peacefully on March 23rd 2026 at Eventide in Jamestown, surrounded by the love of her family. She leaves behind her husband Chuck, her sons; Cory (Deb) Struble and Dave (Leslie) Struble, two sisters; Linda (Gary) Kraft and Roberta (Karl) Wilhelm, six grandchildren; Jayden (Darsh), Allie, Jonah, Grace, Evyn, and Owen, and seven nieces and nephews. She has been reunited with her parents, her daughter, Tiffiney Dick, and her sister, Mary Lee Guffy.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to Jamestown Regional Medical Center Foundations, specifically to the OB ward.
Memorial Service- 3:30 PM Saturday, March 28, 2026 at Haut Funeral Home in Jamestown, ND, with Pastor Kristi Weber, officiating.
Interment- Highland Home Cemetery, Jamestown, ND (at a later date).
North Dakota
Hope’s Corner: Hope Springs Eternal
I spent the first day of spring, last Friday, weeding my back yard flower beds. Let that sink in, because this is North Dakota. We have April showers in May, and May flowers in June. We sometimes have snow in June, too. Weeding my tulips in March is a first.
The tulips have been up for a couple of weeks in my south-facing gardens. The six inches of snow last weekend did not deter their enthusiasm. According to the South Dakota State University Extension Service, tulips close to our shared border usually begin to appear in late March and early April. Mine are early risers this year. I blame the switch to Daylight Saving Time.
My yarrow and hollyhocks have been green and growing for four weeks. The yarrow was a little miffed at the one subzero night a week or so ago, but the hollyhocks merely flattened out and took it in stride. Our friends at the South Dakota Extension Service assure me both of those plant varieties normally sprout in mid-May. Maybe the frequent solar storms and northern lights displays have affected them.
Shortly after that subzero stretch in February, which Katie the Wonder Puppy and I called The Degrees of Despair, the pussywillow began to bud. I cut my first bouquet this past Friday the 13th. And did you know the blossoms are called catkins?
That shrub is only a couple weeks early in blooming. Obviously, like all cats, my pussywillow is indifferent to solar storms, the northern lights, and Daylight Saving Time. When its feet get warm enough, it stretches out and basks in the sun. Wild catnip has, however, sprouted near the pussywillow’s trunk. I suspect some deep-rooted drug dependency at work there.
But, weeds? There is wild horseradish marching across my tastefully scattered scoria chips. There is quackgrass strangling daylilies and yarrow. There are weeds of unknown name towering over my tulips. Actually, I have a name for those weeds, but that name is best kept to myself.
I pulled out one quackgrass clump, and I am pretty sure its far end stretched all the way to Gladstone. It was like pulling one of those string strips from the top of a fifty-pound sack of sunflower seeds. Not that I regularly buy fifty-pound bags of sunflower seeds for the neighborhood birds, or anything.
I was feeling pretty smug last Saturday after I finished all my weeding. I figured I would need to start mowing in a few more days. I began looking at seed catalogs and dreaming of Big Boy tomato plants.
Late Saturday evening Katie and I went outside to take in the fresh air. It was snowing. Gotta love North Dakota.
Jackie Hope is the longest running Dickinson Press contributor and columnist. Hope’s Corner is a weekly humorous column with a message of hope.
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