Fargo (NorthDakotaMonitor) –  Editor’s note: If you or someone you know may be experiencing a mental health crisis, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by dialing or texting “988.”

A North Dakota activist is recruiting volunteers across the state to improve the lives of LGBTQ+ youth.

The new project, called the LGBTQ+ Safety Taskforce, was created by Fargo-area suicide prevention advocate Faye Seidler.

Her goal is to recruit at least one volunteer for each of North Dakota’s 47 legislative districts. Anyone can apply to join the effort. The project is designed to make it as easy as possible for North Dakotans to contribute, Seidler said.

“A lot of what I’m doing is empowering people to have the tools to kind of make that change in their community, and then support them where I can,” she said. “I think that there are people who kind of want to just get involved, but they don’t know how.”

The idea is for volunteers to build up resources for queer youth in their area and form connections with local leaders, she said.

It’s not a formal organization, and there aren’t specific requirements for what kind of work volunteers must do. Seidler said that’s to allow people the flexibility to help out on their own terms.

Volunteers should do whatever makes most sense for their communities, she said.

That could mean sitting down with a local school board member to talk about ways to help LGBTQ+ youth, starting a support group or organizing a suicide prevention training at a church.

Many decision-makers in North Dakota don’t understand that LGBTQ+ youth in their communities are struggling and need support, Seidler said.

According to Seidler’s analysis of 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey data, lesbian, gay and bisexual high-school students in North Dakota were more than three times as likely to have attempted suicide than their straight, cisgender peers. Transgender highschoolers were almost five times as likely to have attempted suicide compared with straight, cisgender students.

“It’s my general belief that a lot of the folks in our state just don’t have good stories about the experiences that queer youth have here,” she said.

To learn more about the task force or to sign up to be a volunteer, visit Seidler’s website. The website also includes data, fact sheets and other resources.

The task force will launch Monday. To commemorate its debut, Seidler will host a 16-hour livestream on the website Twitch starting at 8 a.m. Saturday and concluding at midnight.

Seidler will use that time to answer any questions from viewers, but has nothing else planned for the stream. That’s on purpose, she said.

“I want people to understand the weight of how long time can feel like when you’re waiting for help and there’s no help around,” Seidler said.

The task force isn’t supported by external funding. Seidler said it’s important to her that the project be self-sustaining.

“We have seen across this year how much funding can be disrupted through grant efforts, whether it be federal or local,” she said.

The Trump administration has made sweeping cuts to programs that support queer youth — including by shutting down a suicide prevention hotline late last year. The federal government has also sought to curb data collection on LGBTQ+ Americans.

North Dakota lawmakers have also passed a number of state laws restricting LGBTQ+ rights. Under a 2025 law, schools cannot have all-gender restrooms, which some opponents said are important accommodations for transgender students. State law already forbade schools from letting transgender students use the bathroom that aligns with their gender.

A law passed during the 2023 session also bars transgender adolescents from receiving puberty blockers and hormone therapy to treat gender dysphoria.

The North Dakota Legislature has rejected previous proposals to protect people who identify as LGBTQ+ from different forms of discrimination.

Cody Schuler, advocacy director for the North Dakota ACLU, said given the national and state climate toward LGBTQ+ youth, efforts like the LGBTQ+ Safety Taskforce are needed “now more than ever.”

“Anything that advocates can do to build up resources and spaces for growing advocacy is not only admirable, but necessary,” he said.

North Dakota Monitor reporter Mary Steurer can be reached at msteurer@northdakotamonitor.com.

COOPERSTOWN, N.D. — The Griggs County Sheriff’s Office is investigating an incident in which someone aimed a laser pointer at an airplane as it was flying over a field northwest of Binford on Friday evening, Jan. 30.

Department officials posted an advisory on its Facebook page, reminding residents that doing so is a federal crime and can potentially blind the pilot. The offense is punishable by FAA fines of up to $32,000, up to five years in federal prison or both.

“Thankfully, no harm came to those operating the plane or the plane itself,” the post read. “The culprit was not found, but if anyone has info regarding this matter please notify us.”

Authorities posted a photo of what a laser pointer looks like from the pilot’s vantage point, accompanied by an explanation of why lasers are so dangerous to aircraft: “Lasers expand at distance and can engulf the cockpit in a ’flashbulb effect’ similar to a camera flash. This can temporarily blind pilots, if not permanently damage their eyes.”

Anyone with information on the incident can contact the Griggs County sheriff at

sheriff@griggscountynd.gov

or 701-797-2202.

Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.

GRAND FORKS — A Grand Forks man will serve no additional time for a federal methamphetamine charge.

Jeremie Richard Castoreno, 43, was sentenced Thursday, Jan. 29, to 12 years for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and distribute a controlled substance.

He was involved in a drug conspiracy where he possessed more than 1,000 grams of a mixture that contained methamphetamine, according to the information filed in the case.

Castoreno’s sentence will run concurrently with the

12 years he is already serving

for a Grand Forks County case in which he pleaded guilty to Class A felony delivery of a controlled substance inside a correctional facility.

The federal sentence then adds no additional time to his prison term.

Conditions of his federal sentence include that Castoreno be placed at the lowest-level security facility as close to Grand Forks as possible, so he can be near family, and that he serve his time at a facility that allows participation in substance abuse treatment, including the 500-hour Residential Drug Abuse Treatment Program.

He should also be allowed to participate in educational and vocational opportunities, as well as any mental health treatment that’s deemed appropriate by the Bureau of Prisons.

After serving his time, Castoreno will be on supervised release for five years. Special conditions of his release include abstaining from the use of alcohol or illegal drugs, submitting to drug/alcohol screening and searches and participating in any relevant treatment.