North Dakota
North Dakota’s John Hoeven, Kevin Cramer tout counter-UAS, mental health provisions in defense policy bill
GRAND FORKS — The latest defense authorization bill expands mental health care access for North Dakota’s military service members and adds new provisions for countering threats posed by unmanned drones.
Those are among the provisions touted by North Dakota’s two U.S. senators in the annual National Defense Authorization Act. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law Monday after it passed by divided votes in the House and Senate.
Language in the latest NDAA includes an order to establish a counter-UAS task force combatting drone incursions onto U.S. military bases and several provisions for current service members’ mental health care, including measures singling out pilots of U.S. combat drones.
Drone incursions have been reported in recent weeks over U.S. military bases in England and Germany, while residents of several eastern states have reported seeing numerous unidentified lighted drones flying overhead, though U.S. officials say most of the latter incidents have been manned aircraft.
Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said the NDAA “helps formalize what (the Defense Department) is already doing” to combat unwanted drone use, citing the counter-UAS goals of
Project ULTRA
and ongoing efforts to
integrate drones into U.S. airspace at the Northern Plains UAS Test Site.
Project ULTRA — which stands for UAS logistics, traffic, research and autonomy — seeks to boost national security and operational efficiency of unmanned aerial system operations.
“The interesting thing about Grand Forks is we’ve built an ecosystem where, I’ve talked about us being the tip of the spear against China; we’re the tip of the spear in developing drone and counter-drone,” Hoeven said.
Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., has championed a provision that expands the number of mental health providers certified under military health insurance provider TRICARE.
Cramer said he pushed for the expanded access in response to a pair of suicides among Grand Forks Air Force Base personnel in the past several years.
“The standards to join TRICARE are so stringent now, they don’t take into account that some states like North Dakota only have certain accreditations and certifications that are available to them,” Cramer said. “If you don’t get the right credential — it’s not that it’s a better credential, just the right one — your providers don’t meet the standard for TRICARE.”
He’s also pushed for a provision creating a combat status identifier for pilots of remotely piloted aircraft involved in combat operations.
Cramer cited as inspiration the 119th Wing of the North Dakota National Guard, which flies MQ-9 Reaper unmanned planes.
“Our remote pilots are treated differently when it comes to things like PTSD potential or depression or mental health challenges as the result of, say, a kill shot,” he said. “I wanted to make sure the remote pilots are given the same type of consideration as somebody that’s in the cockpit of an airplane.”
This year’s NDAA also authorizes $1.9 million in planning and design funding for maintenance on Grand Forks Air Force Base’s runway —
one of Cramer’s pet projects
— and reauthorization for the Space Development Agency’s mission, including its recently-established Operations Center North at Grand Forks Air Force Base.
Hoeven said his office is working to appropriate another $450 million toward an advanced fire control system
built off the SDA’s network of low-Earth orbit satellites.
Other North Dakota-specific provisions in this year’s NDAA include authorization for funding to update the UH-72 Lakota helicopters used by the North Dakota National Guard and funding authorization to modernize Minot Air Force Base’s nuclear capabilities.
Policy measures, like more provider options for mental health care or the counter-UAS task force, became law with the passage of the NDAA.
However, NDAA provisions that require funding — like nuclear modernization or the runway study — will need to pass in a separate defense appropriations bill.
“An authorization just says that it’s approved,” Hoeven explained. “In defense appropriations, we allocate the dollars to do it, and if we don’t provide those dollars for the NDAA, for those authorizations or programs, then obviously they don’t advance.”
The federal government is currently operating at last year’s funding levels via a continuing resolution set to expire in March. Congress will have to attempt to pass a defense appropriations bill before then or pass another continuing resolution.
The NDAA usually passes with significant bipartisan support. This year, however, the bill passed with significant dissent from both House and Senate Democrats after a last-minute amendment by House Speaker Mike Johnson
added language barring TRICARE from covering some gender-affirming care
for transgender children of service members.
Both Hoeven and Cramer expressed support for Johnson’s amendment, which blocks gender-affirming care “that could result in sterilization” — though medical professionals say hormone therapy (like puberty blockers) generally does not cause infertility.
Cramer said providing gender-affirming care did not support military readiness and dismissed concerns about the mental health impact of denying that care to minors.
“(The amendment) has a much lower priority than caring for people who are stressed out by the fact that they’re a warfighter,” he said. “We need them to be healthy, we need them to be ready for war, and puberty blockers, gender-affirming care, just simply don’t do either of those things.”
Hoeven said gender-affirming care was hurting military readiness and recruiting and decried providing gender-affirming care as a “social experiment,” a phrase also used by Cramer.
President-elect Donald Trump is widely expected to reinstate a ban on transgender service members in the U.S. Armed Forces, as he did in his first administration.
North Dakota’s U.S. senators also dismissed concerns that the Johnson provision could affect bipartisanship or productivity in the next Congress.
The Senate ultimately passed the NDAA 85-15, while less than half of the House’s Democrats supported the act.
More Democrats attacked Johnson’s last-minute addition while saying they felt compelled to vote for the broader bill.
“I’m hopeful Democrats will come around and join us with what we’ve always done with our military, which is support our professional, great men and women in uniform who do such an outstanding job, not a bunch of social policies that shouldn’t be in there,” Hoeven said.
He also said he expects the embattled House speaker, who holds one of the smallest House majorities in history, to be reelected next year.
Cramer called this year’s NDAA a loss for the political left but said he “wouldn’t read a whole lot” into the dissent, pointing out the bill had continued its decades-long streak of passing into law despite partisan gridlock.
The 118th Congress, which ends Jan. 3, has been called one of the least productive Congresses in decades, and is by some counts the least productive in U.S. history.
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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