North Dakota

North Dakota to Face Federal Government in Trial

Published

2 years ago

February 13, 2024

Press Room

North Dakota to Face Federal Government in Trial

Seeks to Recoup $38 Million for Destructive 2016 DAPL Protests

Sen. Kevin Cramer release

WASHINGTON – For five years, North Dakota has been involved in a legal battle with the United States regarding the federal government’s negligence associated with the unlawful Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) protests from August 2016 to March 2017. Throughout the protests, which spanned 233 days, activists illegally occupied federal lands and engaged in unlawful, destructive, and violent acts.

These activities, aided and exacerbated by the Obama administration’s negligence, left local and state law enforcement on their own to maintain order. Due to the U.S.’ rejection of the state’s efforts to cooperate and mitigate the protests, North Dakota was left without assistance to protect public safety and clean the very land the activists sought to protect. The federal government and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ (USACE) failure to contain the protests or assist law enforcement resulted in more than $38 million in damages to North Dakota.

Two months ago, U.S. District Judge Daniel M. Traynor issued an order stating the federal government would have to face North Dakota’s claims at trial for the emergency response costs and agreed the federal government owed a “duty of care” to the state.

The lawsuit’s bench trial is scheduled to begin on Thursday, February 15, and will be overseen by Judge Traynor at the William L. Guy Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Bismarck. By statute, there will be no jury and all decisions of fact and law will be determined by Judge Traynor.

“Eight years after the rest of the country moved on from the DAPL protests, North Dakota finally has the opportunity to take the federal government to court and fight for financial compensation for the havoc enabled by the Obama administration,” said Cramer. “Instead of containing the illegal protests, the federal government condoned them and instead of assisting North Dakota with law enforcement efforts, it stood by and did nothing. I look forward to an acknowledgment of federal negligence and the resolution of this case in North Dakota’s favor.”

North Dakota originally brought the five-count Complaint against the United States pursuant to the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). The Complaint seeks to recover damages incurred from the costs related to the DAPL protests in 2016 and 2017, including damages to the state property, law enforcement vehicles, and for work to repair damages to the Backwater Bridge. Not only is it incredibly rare for a state to sue the federal government under the FTCA, none have prevailed at trial.

The USACE’s failure to enforce mandatory permitting procedures to conduct protests on federal lands compounded the problem by enabling the unlawful occupation. According to court documents, these trespassers “fired guns, shot arrows at an aircraft, threw Molotov cocktails, rocks, sticks, frozen water bottles, cans and feces at officers, and slashed their vehicle tires.” Throughout the nearly eight months of illegal occupation, law enforcement made a total of 761 arrests, with only 51 of those being from the state. In response, North Dakota was required to enforce the law and protect public safety by mobilizing all of the major state law enforcement and emergency response agencies, the National Guard, and relied on support from local law enforcement and first responder agencies. Additionally, the state was forced to rely on the assistance of law enforcement from 11 other states. North Dakota’s reasonable response to this emergency cost $38,005,071.66.

Since 2017, the 1,172-mile-long underground DAPL has been safely operating and delivering oil from North Dakota to Illinois. Despite this, the pipeline has faced scrutiny under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) three times, including a 1,261-page Environmental Assessment from 2016 which found no significant impact and a 2017 court-ordered remand analysis.

The North Dakota delegation has led many efforts to ensure the pipeline remains operational, including sending a letter to the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works, requesting uninterrupted operation of DAPL. Additionally, the delegation explained it was in the nation’s best interest to conclude this “seemingly endless” EIS process. In December, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum explained the pipeline “is an essential part of North Dakota’s and the nation’s energy infrastructure. It plays a pivotal role in ensuring energy security and affordability for the entire nation while providing enormous positive economic impact that touches every North Dakota citizen.”

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North Dakota

Today in History, 1943: 2 North Dakota men die in separate Army plane crashes

Published

26 minutes ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Today in History, 1943: 2 North Dakota men die in separate Army plane crashes

On this day in 1943, two North Dakota army officers, Second Lieut. Arthur B. Kuntz and First Lieut. Bernard A. Anderson, were killed in separate medium bomber training crashes in Florida and Georgia.

Here is the complete story as it appeared in the paper that day:

Army Plane Crashes Kill Two N. D. Men

Two North Dakota officers in the army air forces were killed Sunday in bomber crashes during training flights, Associated Press dispatches revealed Monday.

Second Lieut. Arthur B. Kuntz of Harvey (Wells county) was killed with 10 others from the Avon Park, Fla., army bomber base when two medium bombers collided during a routine formation flight. Both planes crashed and there were no survivors.

First Lieut. Bernard A. Anderson of Warwick (Benson county) was one of six killed when a medium bomber from MacDill field, Tampa, Fla., crashed near Savannah, Ga. Lieutenant Anderson was co-pilot of the plane.

None of the other victims of either accident was from the Dakotas or Minnesota.

Lieutenant Kuntz, son of Mr. and Mrs. Roy Kuntz of Harvey, was graduated from the army air force navigation school at Hondo, Texas, as a second lieutenant last October, and received his wings as a navigator.

See more history at Newspapers.com

An ad featured in The Forum on March 2, 1943. Newspapers.com

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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North Dakota

Presidential Searches at 3 North Dakota Colleges Narrowing

Published

13 hours ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Presidential Searches at 3 North Dakota Colleges Narrowing

(Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) – Two North Dakotans are semifinalists for the Bismarck State College president’s job as North Dakota State University narrows its presidential candidate list.

Valley City State University also is searching for a new president, with an application period closing this month..

Kevin Black, chair of the State Board of Higher Education and co-chair of the North Dakota State University Presidential Search Committee, said the committee reviewed over 60 applications. The committee is planning off-site interviews with candidates March 9-10 and campus visits with semifinal candidates March 23-27.

“We’re really excited about taking the next step and there’s some very quality people in there,” Black said.

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North Dakota

After falling short a year ago, West Fargo United wins ND girls hockey state title

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

After falling short a year ago, West Fargo United wins ND girls hockey state title

FARGO — One season ago, a Cinderella run for the West Fargo United girls hockey team came up just short in the state championship game.

United, the No. 7 seed, fell to Legacy/Bismarck in the 2025 final.

This time around, the team had momentum swaying in its favor, riding nine consecutive wins into Saturday’s title game against Grand Forks at Scheels Arena.

Led by goals from a pair of senior captains, United capped its redemption season with a 10th straight victory, fending off the KnightRiders 2-1 to claim the North Dakota girls hockey state tournament championship.

“It just means everything,” said United’s Payton Stocker, whose goal at the 12:31 mark of the second period gave her team a 1-0 lead. “We’ve worked so hard and throughout the season, it’s just been such a battle. Winning and coming out on top is just such a great feeling.”

West Fargo United captains react as they are presented the team’s 2026 state championship hockey trophy after defeating Grand Forks on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, at Scheels Arena in Fargo.

Eric Hylden / Grand Forks Herald

Stocker was followed up in scoring by United captain Rachel Spanier. The defenseman fired a slap shot from the left point that beat Grand Forks goaltender Kylie Schmaltz to make it 2-0 with 35 seconds remaining in the middle frame.

Reagan Wilson locked things down in net for United, finishing with 23 saves and picking up an all-tournament team nod.

“This is my first year of high school hockey,” the sophomore goaltender said. “I can’t believe coming in here and winning a state title with all of these girls. I just love them so much.”

While it was the senior duo of Stocker and Spanier finding the net for United on Saturday, contributions were seen across the board.

Sophomore Emma Hassler also put forth an all-tournament campaign with five goals and an assist for six points over the three-day stretch.

030226 WFGOUnited3.jpg — Grand Forks’ Dustee Balek’s shot is blocked by West Fargo United goalie Reagan Wilson in the North Dakota girls hockey state championship game on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, at Scheels Arena.

Freshman Kaylee Augdahl finished the tournament with four points — including

a double-overtime winner

over Fargo North/South in Friday’s semifinals — and junior Liana Williamson added three assists.

“It wasn’t just us (seniors),” said Stocker, who joined Hassler and Wilson on the all-tourney team. “It was everyone collectively. Being seniors, it feels a lot better. It was a great feeling.”

United, the No. 5 seed this year, capped its season with a record of 17-9-0.

“These girls are awesome,” first-year United head coach Kennedy Blair said. “They’ve worked super, super hard since last April. Wake up early in the mornings, go into off-ice training, on-ice training and all that.

“This group of girls is really special. They’re a really close-knit group, and they trusted our coaching staff coming in as a first-year group.”

030226 WFGOUnited2.jpg — West Fargo United players pose for the camera as they wait for the 2026 state championship hockey trophy after defeating Grand Forks on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, at Scheels Arena.

Blair knows a thing or two about winning championships. She was a North Dakota state champion goaltender with the former Bismarck Blizzard co-op and also won an NCAA Division I national title with the Wisconsin women’s program in 2021.

Yet, she never imagined ending her first year as a high school varsity coach with a state championship.

“No, I didn’t,” said Blair, who also won North Dakota High School Coaches Association Coach of the Year honors. “But I had belief in these girls that we could get to the state championship again.”

It’s the United co-op’s first-ever state title — which consists of West Fargo, West Fargo Sheyenne and West Fargo Horace high schools.

Prior to Saturday, the last time a West Fargo girls program won the state title was in 2014 when it was still a standalone program competing as the Packers.

“It’s amazing considering United hockey has never won a championship game,” Wilson said.

Grand Forks, the tournament’s No. 2 seed, ended its campaign with a 21-5-0 record.

Ella Yahna’s fourth goal of the tournament — which came on a 2-on-1 rush with the assist from teammate Reese Meagher, put the KnightRiders within one shot with 8:17 remaining in the third.

Grand Forks, however, was unable to find the equalizer as its bid for a first state championship came up just short.

“I thought we came out in the first and we had a tough time,” Grand Forks head coach Kelly Kilgore said. “I felt we battled some nerves. I really liked our second period … We carried the play and tilted the ice a little bit back in our favor. The shots kind of started to really turn in our favor.”

Stocker said she wouldn’t have wanted to win a state title as a senior with any other group of teammates.

“(They mean) everything,” Stocker said. “We’re so tight and they’re all my friends. Leaving them is going to be hard. But they mean everything to me. We’re all so close and I love them a lot.”