(The Middle Sq.) – A statewide petition drive is at present underway in North Dakota to place a measure on the poll this November legalizing leisure hashish.
“North Dakota is more likely to enact a hashish legalization regulation by the tip of this yr,” Jared Moffat, campaigns supervisor on the Marijuana Coverage Challenge, instructedThe Middle Sq.. “Final yr, the state legislature got here near passing a legalization invoice, too. North Dakota’s Home of Representatives authorized HB 1420, nevertheless it was in the end defeated within the Senate.”
Moffat mentioned the present poll measure represents a accountable and conservative method to legalization that aligns with North Dakota’s values of non-public accountability and particular person freedom.
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“The measure establishes protections to make sure that hashish customers are handled pretty whereas additionally creating commonsense limitations, resembling a restriction on public smoking and sustaining strict penalties for driving beneath the affect or giving hashish to minors,” Moffat mentioned. “The measure appoints a state regulatory company to supervise hashish companies whereas respecting native governments’ means to limit or opt-out of getting hashish institutions inside their jurisdiction.”
Mark Friese, treasurer of the sponsoring committee for the proposed poll measure, instructedKFYRthat the financial advantages of legalizing leisure marijuana use have been typically constructive in America.
“The fact is that this generates work, this generates tax income,” Friese mentioned to KFYR. “Final Legislative session, the North Dakota Legislature had a complete invoice that handed the Home of Representatives that will’ve performed what this measure does. We thought it was time to get it earlier than the voters.”
Moffat mentioned hashish legalization would create jobs and financial alternatives for North Dakota’s “strong agriculture sector.”
“There are a lot of farmers who’re supportive of our efforts because of this. To date, we now have not heard any opposition from enterprise teams such because the North Dakota Chamber of Commerce,” Moffat mentioned.
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Sen. Janne Myrdal, R-Edinburg, instructed Inforum legalizing marijuana can be “damaging” and blamed the push on folks from out-of-state.
With the intention to be positioned on the poll in November, the petition must generate about 15,000 signatures by July 11.
The Rough Rider Center and Watford City Parks and Recreation are gearing up for their Kick Off to Summer Weekend, a jam-packed celebration of community, food, fun, and America’s favorite pastime. This annual tradition is set to begin on Wednesday, June 4, and run through Sunday, June 8, with activities for all ages.
EVENT HIGHLIGHTS:
Wednesday, June 4: Alumni Baseball Game
The week kicks off with a special Walleye Alumni vs. Alumni Baseball Game, celebrating the legacy and talent of past Walleye players. Join us for a night of nostalgia and community pride.
Get ready to eat! The Food Truck Rodeo runs from Thursday, June 5 through Saturday, June 7 Enjoy a wide variety of local and regional favorites. Admission into the Food Truck Rodeo is FREE this year. A huge thank you to Son Oil Field Services for their generous support as our Title Sponsor of the Food Truck Rodeo.
Thursday also marks the beginning of the Doug Johnsrud Memorial Baseball Tournament, showcasing teams from North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming. Baseball fans won’t want to miss this exciting four-day tournament, featuring our hometown Walleye team. Special thanks to the Johnsrud Family, American Legion, FIBT, Lund Oil, and all of our sponsors for making this tournament possible.
Friday, June 6: Touch-a-Truck
Bring the kids out for our always-popular Touch-a-Truck Event! Young ones can climb aboard and explore trucks and large vehicles from across the county—yes, they can even honk the horns! Event time runs from 1-4pm, with a special sensory inclusive time scheduled from 1-2 p.m.
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Rough Rider Center 2209 Wolves Den Parkway PO Box 1739, Watford City, ND 58854701-842-3665. http://www.roughridercenter.com.
Saturday, June 7:
Live Music with Wedge
After the final baseball game of the evening, stick around as local rock band Wedge takes the stage with energetic covers from the ’90s and 2000s. Music begins after the 7 p.m. game—don’t miss it. Thursday to Sunday: Bounce House Fun Throughout the weekend, kids can enjoy the bounce house in the Fieldhouse. A great way to burn off energy while the rest of the family enjoys the festivities! This entire weekend is FREE and open to the public thanks to the incredible support from our community sponsors. Come out and enjoy great food, family-friendly activities, and top-tier baseball in an unforgettable start to summer. Let’s celebrate in the best way–TOGETHER, as a community!
Some North Dakota Agricultural Weather Network stations went a year without getting a daily half-inch of rain, and some went nearly two years without a daily 1-inch rainfall. Heavy rainfall throughout much of the region since the middle of May has changed that and helped improve drought situations in much of the region.
Bowman County had several stations that hadn’t received a soaking rainfall in a long time. But the rain didn’t fall evenly everywhere.
“In Bowman, we are close to 4 inches of rainfall the last two weeks,” said Penny Nester, North Dakota State University Extension ag and natural resources agent for Bowman County. “In the places out west, like along the Montana-South Dakota lines, they’ve been a little bit drier, so they probably got an inch, eighty hundredths, total, it’s just so spotty.”
But in some places, the rain came with some low temperatures and frost. In Bowman County, two NDAWN stations hit 31 degrees.
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“So crop wise, you know we have enough small grains that that’s not going to be a big issue for us. But on the side of alfalfa and hay production and pasture production, that’s kind of what everyone is waiting for to see if it’s going to nip our alfalfa,” Nester said.
The worst drought conditions in North Dakota largely have been in the northwest, including McKenzie County, where dry conditions led to wildfires in the fall of 2024. About half of the county had been in extreme drought as of May 13, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, along with large portions of Mountrail, Dunn, Billings and Golden Valley counties.
Several NDAWN stations in McKenzie County received more than a third of an inch of rain May 14, and on May 15 and 16, numerous stations received more than an inch or even more than 2 inches of rain each day. That was followed by more than a quarter of an inch in some places May 19. Through May 27, the Watford City NDAWN station had received 5.18 inches for the month.
The Drought Monitor released May 29 showed marked improvement in North Dakota since May 13, though parts of McKenzie County, Dunn, Billings and Golden Valley counties still had spots of extreme drought.
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Spring wheat was growing in Stutsman County on May 27, 2025.
Jenny Schlecht / Agweek
Much of central North Dakota hasn’t struggled as much with drought conditions, but even some of those places were getting a little dry. That included Foster County, where NDSU Extension ag and natural resources agent Jeff Gale said farmers had gotten a good start on planting prior to the rainfall, which amounted to 2.26 inches at the Carrington NDAWN station and 1.81 inches at the Cooperstown station.
Farmers had gotten a good start on planting by the time the rain started and likely were ready for a short break, but the continued storms put them out about 10 days, he said.
“Often, the rule of thumb is, we’ll take rain whenever we can get it. It’s a headache at planting time, people get anxious,” he said. “But it’s nice to have the soil profile full of water heading into growing season.”
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Farmers were back in the fields a few days after the rain stopped, and Gale said with a good week of work, most of the county’s crops will be planted. On the cattle side, ranchers have complained a little about muddy lots, but the cool, wet weather also kick-started pasture growth, he said.
Tractors were back in the field across central North Dakota on May 27, 2025, days after heavy rains stopped field work.
Jenny Schlecht / Agweek
Even with the long break from planting in some places, planting progress remains on or ahead of the average pace in the region, according to a Crop Progress report released May 27 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service.
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North Dakota wasn’t alone in getting much-needed rain. In southwestern South Dakota, the Fall River station of the South Dakota Mesonet received only 15.5 inches of rain in 2024. So far, the station has received 4.04 inches in 2025, including 1.45 inches in May of which 1.39 inches fell from May 14 to 20. The Red River Valley and much of southern Minnesota received heavy rain on May 20.
The rain should help pastures in drought-stricken places, but since they already were stressed by previous years of dry conditions and grasshoppers, along with recent frost, it won’t solve all the problems.
Drought conditions improved in Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota after the rains, but pockets of severe drought remain in South Dakota and North Dakota, with some extreme drought still in parts of western North Dakota. Extreme drought remains in northwestern Bowman County.
“Our recommendation is that we need rain before June 1st, and then, if it’s after June 1st, then we have to start looking at carrying capacity reduction,” Nester said. “But I think with the drought conditions that we’ve had previously, we’re just not really getting the grass that we should see by now, so we probably still are looking at decreased stocking rates regardless.”
More rain will be needed throughout the growing season still, and Nester said it’s always hard to tell how things will turn out. Grain farmers in the county are largely finished planting, while most livestock producers likely still have seed to put in the ground, she said. There are questions about how the weather conditions have impacted fertilizer that was applied earlier, and concerns about weeds that will come later.
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But though the May rain didn’t solve all the problems of the growing season, Nester said it certainly still was vital. For instance, it likely saved the canola crop in the area.
“Everything that we got, we sure appreciated. So we didn’t get 6 or 8 inches, like other places did this last week, but we just got enough to at least put everyone in a little bit better mood, and we know that our crops are probably going to make it to the next stage of production. So that’s all that we can hope for,” Nester said.
