North Dakota

Northwest North Dakota's County Teachers of the Year

Published

2 years ago

May 7, 2024

Northwest North Dakota's County Teachers of the Year

WILLISTON, N.D. (KUMV) – The North Dakota Department of Public Instruction has named 49 teachers from 48 counties County Teachers of the Year. They were nominated by their peers and scored by a committee of education professionals. KUMV-TV’s Michael Anthony had a chance to speak with the winners in the northwest part of the state.

Williams County – Kari Hall, Williston High School

Kari Hall with a student at Williston High School(Michael Smith | KUMV)

Kari Hall is a social studies teacher at Williston High School and has been educating students for 25 years. Her classes include U.S. History, Psychology, and a Holocaust class that she started about five years ago.

“I’m a tough teacher. I’m not always a fun and games teacher. I have expectations and sometimes that’s hard, but in the long run I hope my students realize that I’m prepping them for the real world,” said Hall.

As a struggling learner herself, Hall says she became a teacher to better help others.

“I remember when I figured it out, that learning could happen for anyone, so I always investigated that possibility of how a student and a teacher can work together,” said Hall.

When asked about winning the county teacher of the year award, Hall credits the people who helped her develop as an instructor.

“It takes an army to build a teacher,” Hall said.

Hall says her hope for her students once they leave her class is that they become somewhat knowledgeable about the world around them.

“If they don’t learn about history, they may never learn about it. If they don’t learn about psychological disorders, they may not understand their neighbor next door. Everything we teach in school, it may not seem like it, but it is part of how you function in life,” said Hall.

Hall says teachers face many challenges, but she remains dedicated to her profession.

“I think teaching is a calling. You don’t give up when it’s hard, you figure out how to do it well because the students still need you. My 25 years at Williston High School, I’ve never thought about leaving my career… I’m dedicated to what this is,” said Hall.

Hall was selected from a crowded field. The department of public instruction says 166 teachers were nominated from Williams County. That’s nearly half of the total nominations across the state.

McKenzie County – Tiffany Olson, Fox Hills Elementary

Tiffany Olson writes out a question for her students(Michael Smith | KUMV)

Tiffany Olson is a fourth-grade math teacher at Fox Hills Elementary. The Watford City native has 32 years’ experience teaching, with the last five being back in her hometown.

“My daughter also teaches here at Fox Hills, so it’s awesome. It’s a different community than when I grew up here, but I love it,” said Olson.

The elementary became departmentalized this year, meaning Olson exclusively teaches math to nearly 100 students every day.

“I love math, so it’s pretty awesome,” said Olson.

Olson says she became a teacher because she loves to work with children.

“I teach because I love to be around students. I love kids. It’s pretty awesome to watch them learn new things and watch them grow throughout the school year. I love building relationships with them, and I wouldn’t want to do anything else,” said Olson.

While she hopes her students leave her class with better math skills, she also hopes they learn it’s okay to make mistakes.

“I just want them to try their hardest and making mistakes is learning. We’re going to make mistakes in math, I made a mistake, and they called me out on it, and I love it. That’s a part of learning,” said Olson.

Olson says she appreciates the recognition but notes that all teachers work hard.

Divide County – Rayme Haggin, Divide County Elementary

Rayme Haggin with her class(Michael Smith | KUMV)

Rayme Haggin teaches second grade at Divide County Elementary School in Crosby. She moved to Crosby from Minot 14 years ago to begin her career.

“My original plan was to come here for a year or two and feel it out before heading back to the city, but I love it here so much. I love the accepting community; I love the students here and my co-workers. It’s awesome up here, I love it,” said Haggin.

Haggin says her class has a lot of fun, but they also get a lot of work done too.

“I try to keep them busy moving, and then give them some work. I help them learn and just become the best version of themselves they can possibly be,” said Haggin.

Haggin says this job is all about supporting her students.

“I love working with the kids. I know that’s a cliché answer, but I can’t picture doing anything else every day for the rest of my life. I have been having a lot of fun,” said Haggin.

Haggin says her message to her students is that anything is possible if they put in the effort.

“I want them to know that I truly believe that they can do anything they want to do in life as long as they continue to work hard and be themselves,” said Haggin.

Haggin also spent a couple years teaching kindergarten.

The recipients of the award are eligible to apply for state Teacher of the Year honors. The winner will be named on September 27.

A list of all the teachers can be found here.

Source link

North Dakota

Grand Forks Man Running For State Attorney General

Published

10 hours ago

March 8, 2026

Press Room

Grand Forks Man Running For State Attorney General

(Photo by Kyle Martin/For the North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) – North Dakota Democrats rallied for a turnaround endorsing several candidates for statewide office to take on Republicans in November.

The Democratic-NPL Party endorsed state Sen. Ryan Braunberger of Fargo for secretary of state, Scot Kelsh of Fargo and John Pederson of Mayville for Public Service Commission and Tim Lamb of Grand Forks for attorney general. The party also issued a letter of support for Tracy Foss of Hatton for superintendent of public instruction.

Democrats have 429 delegates participating, which Party Chair Adam Goldwyn said is the most since 2018. The party has 49 legislative candidates so far, but Goldwyn challenged attendees to field candidates in districts that don’t yet have anyone running.

“The North Dakota Democratic-NPL party has one goal: contest every single election up and down the ballot all across the state,” Goldwyn said.

Source link

North Dakota

NDHP, multiple police sighted downtown

Published

22 hours ago

March 8, 2026

Press Room

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – North Dakota Highway Patrol, Mandan police and Bismarck police were all assisting on an incident Bismarck police say started in Mandan Saturday evening.

Multiple law enforcement vehicles were seen in downtown Bismarck and eventually ended up near Sanford Hospital.

Sanford officials say the hospital was placed under a modified lockdown for a short period of time. The lockdown has lifted.

At this time, no patients or employees were injured.

We will have more on this story as information becomes available.

Source link

North Dakota

Laurel Hanson of Grand Forks remembered for her ‘patient, brilliant’ legal work

Published

1 day ago

March 7, 2026

Press Room

Laurel Hanson of Grand Forks remembered for her ‘patient, brilliant’ legal work

GRAND FORKS — Though at the time of her death it had been more than 15 years since Laurel Rae Hanson’s legal career ended, a longtime North Dakota Supreme Court chief justice and a federal magistrate judge still fondly remember her skill, passion and dedication.

“Laurel was patient, brilliant and a really good writer,” said Karen Klein, former longtime U.S. magistrate judge, now recognized as a settlement expert and mediation skills trainer. “I find it such a tragedy that her life was cut so short, and that she couldn’t carry through with the career that she so obviously loved.”

Hanson died on Feb. 21, at age 49.

She would have turned 50 on March 10. Her death came after nearly two decades spent combating various health issues, including osteoporosis and an injury that led to early retirement in 2009, when she was in her early 30s.

Former longtime North Dakota Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerald W. VandeWalle said he was sorry to hear about Hanson’s death, though he knew she was in poor health. He was her first mentor out of UND School of Law, and found her the perfect fit for the role of his clerk.

“She was an outstanding law clerk, as far as I was concerned,” VandeWalle said. “She certainly deserves all the respect I have for law clerks.”

ND Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerald “Gerry” W. VandeWalle is pictured with Laurel Rae Hanson.

Contributed

Hanson’s mother, Barbara Hanson, said she wasn’t sure where her daughter’s career would have ended up if it hadn’t been cut short due to her health issues. Her career had just begun, but she did enjoy clerkship. After working for VandeWalle, Laurel Hanson moved on to a two-year position as Klein’s law clerk. She later took a permanent position when it opened.

The work of law clerks takes place primarily behind the scenes. They help judges review case files, researching and writing first drafts of decisions — a particularly important job, because decisions are expected to include detailed reasoning so everyone involved in a case understands what factored into a judge’s ruling, Klein said.

“If judges were to do it all from scratch, all by themselves, the backlog would just become unmanageable, and parties would wait many months — if not years — for decisions,” she said. “So it’s really important to have that legal expertise in someone other than the judge.”

Judges don’t control the cases assigned to them. While some are simple, others are highly complex — especially in the federal court system, where civil rights issues are handled, she said. Though Hanson’s career was brief, it had impact. Klein still recalls the work Hanson did researching and writing legal documents.

At a young age, she balanced what could at times be heavy work. Hanson was there when Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. was turned over to the federal court system and arraigned for the 2003 kidnapping and murder of 22-year-old Dru Sjodin, a case that made national headlines and created a tense atmosphere in North Dakota, particularly for women, Barbara Hanson said.

Laurel Hanson suffered a fall in 2008 that didn’t seem overly significant at the time, but led to an infection that caused further damage to already weakened bones, her mother said. She retired in 2009.

“I think she loved the law; she just loved delving into issues,” Klein said. “It was just a tragedy that she couldn’t continue.”

Whether dealing with highly controversial or straightforward cases, Laurel Hanson remained level-headed and fair, which are valuable skills for the job, Klein said. She valued Hanson beyond her professional abilities; they also discussed books and Hanson’s travels. She made an effort to embark on new experiences, such as skydiving and scuba diving.

“Things that some of us wouldn’t even dream of — she was willing to take them on,” Klein said.

Barbara Hanson agreed that travel and adventure were among her daughter’s passions, which also included animals, friends and family. During the summer of last year, she was ecstatic to become a great aunt.

“Laurel did so many things, and probably could’ve done more if she hadn’t run up against all her health problems,” Barbara Hanson said. “Laurel really loved life.”