North Dakota
Port: As the federal government teeters on edge of shutdown, North Dakota has no vote
MINOT — Barring some late-breaking legislation, the U.S. federal government will shut down within hours.
As this drama unfolds in Washington, North Dakota has no voice in the U.S. House of Representatives. The legislative body where, per Article I, Section 7 of the U.S. Constitution, all bills raising revenue must originate.
As I write this, Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican,
is confident
they’ll avoid a shutdown despite funding agreements getting scuttled twice in recent days. Once thanks to agitation from billionaire Elon Musk and once again thanks to a group of House Republicans who refused to agree to raise the national debt ceiling without significant spending cuts.
Given the turmoil in the House Republican caucus and the narrow margins of the Republican majority, any potential deal may pass by only a scant few votes. Which is another way of saying that, in this fraught moment, no side in the debate has any votes to spare.
But a vote from North Dakota won’t be among them. That’s because former U.S. Rep. Kelly Armstrong resigned his seat in the House on Dec. 14 so he could be sworn in as governor on Dec. 15, which
Article V, Section 5
of the North Dakota Constitution requires. Meanwhile, Rep.-elect Julie Fedorchak is waiting in the wings, but she was elected to the next Congress, not this Congress, so she cannot be seated.
I actually spoke to Armstrong about this drama
in April.
Given the resignations of other House Republicans, it seemed at that time the GOP could lose control of the House before the current Congress ended. Armstrong was confident that the party would replace members through special elections between now and then and he was right. The GOP held onto its majority, slim as it is.
As for Armstrong’s vacancy? “After June 11, we will be keeping the speaker’s office informed,” he also told me at the time, referring to the primary election.
“It’s confusing for folks because they don’t know who is our representative right now,” Fedorchak told me when I spoke to her about it.
She’s feeling flummoxed because there is nothing she can do. Fedorchak was not elected in a special election to replace Armstrong in this Congress. She was elected to fill North Dakota’s at-large seat in the next Congress.
By law, she cannot be seated in this Congress. The next Congress won’t be seated until January. Also, unlike senators, members of the U.S. House can’t be appointed. Outside of holding a special election, there’s no mechanism to fill Armstrong’s vacancy.
This circumstance isn’t anything Armstrong or Fedorchak can remedy. What’s caused it is constitutional law and dysfunction in Washington. North Dakota’s constitution necessitated Armstrong’s resignation from the House so he could be sworn in as governor. The U.S. Constitution prohibits North Dakota from appointing an interim replacement.
Alyssa Goelzer/The Forum
“This isn’t even really a budget fight,” Armstrong spokesman Mike Nowatzki told me. “It’s a CR fight. Congress should do its job and not govern by crisis.”
“He informed them when he was running for governor that this was a possibility. It shouldn’t surprise them that he had a hard out on Dec. 14,” Nowatzki added.
Which may be something for the Legislature to consider going forward. Can the new governor be sworn in at a later date? The timing is already awkward. The state constitution also mandates that lawmakers begin their regular session in January after an election. It also requires an organizational session in mid-December, complete with a budget address from the governor. This year, that was Doug Burgum, who was obliged to deliver an executive budget to lawmakers
as a lame duck just days from leaving office.
Armstrong’s feeling “is that having the governor be sworn in on the day before a legislative session wouldn’t be a good idea,” Nowatzki told me, referring to a possible delay in the swearing-in.
“It’s already a mad scramble,” Nowatzki added. “It would be exponentially more difficult.”
The situation with North Dakota’s at-large House seat is unusual. But the outgoing governor delivering a budget as a lame duck? That happens every time we get a new governor.
This timeline could be reshaped to serve the public better, but that’s easier said than done. Moving the swearing in date to a later time might mean moving the legislative session to a later start. I don’t sense there would be much appetite among lawmakers to do it, and even if there were, it would be a change to the state constitution that would have to be ratified by a vote of the people.
Meanwhile, in Washington, as Republicans fight with Democrats (and other Republicans) over the budget, North Dakotans have no official say in the matter.
Greg Power, fisheries division chief with the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, shares information about the new 2026-2028 Fishing Guide and a few new regulations starting April 1, 2026.
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SIOUX FALLS — Ali Stephens had 17 points and 13 rebounds and 8th-seeded Omaha defeated 9th-seeded North Dakota 49-39 in the first round of the Summit League women’s tournament.
The Fighting Hawks had a tough time putting the ball in the hoop all night long, scoring just three points in the first quarter and having only marginally better luck from there.
UND (7-24) shot just 23.5 percent from the floor (12-for-51) and made 1-of-20 shots from outside the arc. Walker Demers and Mackenzie Hughes had 10 points each to lead the Hawks, with Demers adding eight rebounds.
Matt Zimmer/Sioux Falls Live
Regan Juenemann had 10 points and five rebounds for the Mavericks while Avril Smith had seven points and 16 rebounds and Sarai Estupinan eight points, five assists and three rebounds. Omaha (6-26) shot the ball slightly better than the Hawks, going 16-of-53 from the field (30 percent) and 8-of-23 (35 percent) on 3-pointers.
With the win, the Mavs earn a date with top-seed North Dakota State on Thursday at 2:30 p.m.
The Bison won both regular season matchups by more than 50 points.
Matt Zimmer/Sioux Falls Live
Oral Roberts 84, Kansas City 62 — Don’t look now but the team that started the conference season 0-10 and at one point lost 15 of 16 games might be the hottest in the Summit League.
Oral Roberts picked up their fourth straight victory on Wednesday night in the conference tournament opener, routing Kansas City at the Premier Center in the 8/9 “play-in” game.
Ty Harper had 22 points to lead the Golden Eagles (10-22), who took a 44-21 lead by halftime and never looked back. ORU shot 50 percent from the floor and made 13-of-27 3-pointers while the Kangaroos shot just 34 percent and made 6-of-24 from deep. Martins Kilups had 17 points for the Eagles and Connor Dow added 14.
Jayson Petty had 14 points to lead the Kagaroos, who finish the season 4-27. It was their final game under coach Marvin Menzies, whom the school announced earlier this season would not return next year.
With the win ORU advances to face top-seed North Dakota State on Thursday at 6 p.m.
The Golden Eagles lost to NDSU 86-58 in Tulsa on Jan. 24 but they took the Bison to overtime in Fargo on Jan. 3 in a 79-77 loss.
Matt Zimmer is a Sioux Falls native and longtime sports writer. He graduated from Washington High School where he played football, legion baseball and developed his lifelong love of the Minnesota Twins and Vikings. After graduating from St. Cloud State University, he returned to Sioux Falls, and began a long career in amateur baseball and sports reporting. Email Matt at mzimmer@siouxfallslive.com.
North Dakota
The North Dakota Attorney General issued an opinion to the ND State Auditor – North Dakota Attorney General
04 Mar The North Dakota Attorney General issued an opinion to the ND State Auditor
in Opinions
March 4, 2026
Media Contact: Suzie Weigel, 701.328.2210
BISMARCK, ND – It is the opinion that federal law does not prevent the state from auditing P&A and even though P&A possesses confidential records, N.D.C.C. § 54-10-22.1 and 42 C.F.R. § 51.45(c) authorize the state auditor and the employees of the auditor’s office, to review the records without detriment to P &A.
Also, whether Rule 1.6 of the North Dakota Rules of Professional Conduct for licensed attorneys prohibits P&A from disclosing to the State Auditor the contents of a client file for the purpose of conducting a non-financial performance audit under N.D.C.C. ch. 54-10 when the requested file includes information about individuals and businesses in the private sector who chose to contact P &A.
This issue was already addressed in a 1995 opinion of this office regarding P&A. The 1995 opinion highlighted that P&A has authority to contract with private attorneys to represent private individuals. 17 During that performance audit, auditors asked to see billings from the contracted attorneys. 18 P&A redacted the names of the individuals represented by the contract attorneys under the rules for attorney-client privilege or attorney-client confidentiality. 19 The names of individuals seeking services of P&A are protected under N.D.C.C. § 25-01.3. The opinion stated:
Thus, P&A’s records which indicate to whom its services were provided are available to the State Auditor for performance audit purposes. The State Auditor has
been given access by P&A to its records other than the attorney’s billings. Therefore, the State Auditor already has access to the names of the persons to whom P&A
provides services. State law requires that the State Auditor and his employees must keep such information confidential.
Here, P&A has not identified a specific record. Given that, I rely on the past opinions declaring that records made confidential by N.D.C.C. § 25-01.3-10 are available under N.D.C.C. § 54-10-22 to the State Auditor and the Auditor’s employees for audit purposes.
Link to opinion 2026-L-01
###
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