North Dakota
Port: Burgum-backed crypto mining causing headaches for North Dakota
MINOT — Bismarck-based Montana Dakota Utilities says a data center near Williston, with its enormous demand for power, is pushing electrical rates higher for its customers. The facility in question, operated by Atlas Power of Montana, was championed by Gov. Doug Burgum when it opened, but I’m not sure many North Dakotans who live in the region of the facility would say it has been a good neighbor.
At one point, the Williams County Commission
voted to cut power
to the facility because Atlas hadn’t fulfilled certain obligations to the community, including addressing complaints about the noise the data center produces. Now comes news from MDU that the data center’s big power demands are creating grid congestion and
driving prices higher for ratepayers.
The utility has filed a complaint with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and North Dakota’s Public Service Commission is weighing in, too.
I’m not sure there are any good guys in this situation. Even if we set the power demands of Atlas aside, the western North Dakota energy market is a growing one, and Public Service Commissioner Randy Christmann’s points about MDU failing to invest in more generation for the region are well-made, I think.
“In the grid, little things add up, we’re seeing it all the time. What responsibility does MDU have?”
he said during a recent PSC meeting.
“They chose to close the Lewis and Clark Station up there, they’ve chosen not to add any generation, they know they have significant load up there.”
MDU closed the coal-fired Lewis and Clark Station in Sidney, Montana,
in 2021.
They demolished Heskett Station, located in Mandan, North Dakota,
last year.
Some of this problem, rooted as it is in a struggle to meet new demand, has to do with the politically driven push to narrow our supply of baseload power. We’ve been treating wind-generated electrons and coal/gas/nuclear electrons as though they were equivalent, and they’re not. The latter electrons are far more reliably produced than the former.
Christmann has a point. But so, too, does Commissioner
(and U.S. House candidate)
Julie Fedorchak. The Atlas data center was built amid already growing demand for power in the region, she says, with little concern for what the impact would be.
“The big X-factor that changed everything up there was the data center that was added, and the proper studies weren’t conducted to appropriately accommodate that load; it’s a terrible place for a data center. There’s no excess capacity up there,”
she said.
The Atlas facility currently consumes about 240 megawatts. —
roughly the amount it takes to keep Fargo’s lights on.
When completed, it is expected to gobble up about 700 megawatts. The facility will eventually represent almost three Fargos worth of energy consumption.
To what end? When the facility was announced, it was said that 65% of its function would be for crypto, which enthusiasts have promoted as a revolution for banking and commerce. In reality, cryptocurrency is mostly a vehicle for
fraud, black market transactions, and gambling.
Fedorchak is right. More thought could have been put into this. Burgum promoted this project. He should weigh in now that its realities are setting in.
The Arkansas Razorbacks (43-13) are set to host the Fayetteville Regional as the No. 3 national seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. The first squad the Diamond Hogs will face is the North Dakota State Bison (20-32), who are the 4-seed in the Fayetteville Regional.
The Bison defeated Oral Roberts 4-2 last Saturday in the “if necessary” game to claim the Summit League Tournament championship as a two-seed after falling to the Golden Eagles 3-1 earlier in the day to force the winner-take-all matchup. This is the third time the Bison have appeared in an NCAA Tournament as a Division I member, the other two in 2014 and 2021.
NDSU has a mostly straight shot, but lengthy, trek to Fayetteville while the other two squads in the Fayetteville Regional, 2-seeded Kansas and 3-seeded Creighton, are within a four and six-hour trip.
Arkansas head Coach Dave Van Horn mentioned Monday that he was not surprised when the pairings were announced.
“That’s pretty much who I thought was coming,” Van Horn said. “Obviously Nebraska winning yesterday, there was a possibility of them coming in as a 3. I did feel like Kansas would come in being three hours up the road as a 2. They’ve had a great season. You know I felt like it was going to be either North Dakota State or Little Rock coming in as the 4. So pretty much what I thought.”
Their record in the big picture essentially tells the story of how the season has gone that includes a brutal start, dropping 13 of their first 14 games, but the experienced Bison got some things clicking in their conference tournament and have won four of their last five contests.
“They’ve been sneaky good over the last few years to be honest with you,” Van Horn said. “You’re kind of going ‘Wow,’ because they’re playing inside. They’re practicing inside and doing it a lot most of the year.
“They have an older team. I was informed that they have … and I know they had them but they have like 10 seniors on their team. A lot of times that’s what it takes when you are a mid-major to be really successful at all levels is to have those older kids.”
NDSU is led by fourth-year head coach Tyler Oakes. The heart and soul of the roster includes junior southpaw Nolan Johnson, who was named Summit League Pitcher of the Year as well as sophomore infielder Jake Schaffner, the Summit League’s Defensive Player of the Year. Johnson was also named the Summit League Championship’s Most Valuable Player.
Along with Johnson and Schaffner, lefty pitcher Danny Lachenmayer was also tabbed first-team all-conference, while outfielder Dante Smith and right-handed pitcher Logan Knight were named to the second team. Third baseman Davis Hamilton and outfielder Sam Canton were listed on the Honorable Mention squad.
The Bison played two games this spring against Fayetteville Regional counterpart Creighton, taking the first matchup on April 8 over the Blue Jays 3-2 and Creighton took the second one a couple of weeks later 5-2.
It is assumed the Hogs will trot regular Friday starter Zach Root to the mound against Johnson and the Bison, but the Hogs will wait to say for sure.
“Yeah, we pretty much know who we’re going to pitch but we’re not going to announce it yet,” Van Horn said.
Arkansas and North Dakota State will play the first game of the Fayetteville Regional on Friday at 2 p.m. CT at Baum-Walker Stadium in Fayetteville. The game will be streamed live on ESPN Plus.
Below is a comparison of the Arkansas and North Dakota State’s metrics and stats, as well as a look the projected starting lineup and noteworthy pitchers for the Bison.
1. SS Jake Schaffner – Sophomore, 6’2″, 175 pounds
2025 stats: .384/.443/.489, 52 GP, 219 AB, 84 H, 48 R, 9 2B, 4 3B, 2 HR, 21 RBI, 18 BB, 24 K, 18 SB
2. DH Dante Smith – Freshman, 5’11”, 175 pounds
2025 stats: .303/.388/389, 41 GP, 152 AB, 46 H, 28 R, 6 2B, 2 3B, 1 HR, 18 RBI, 41 K, 18 BB, 11 SB
3. 3B Davis Hamilton – Junior, 6’2″, 200 pounds
2025 stats: .314/.404/.469, 51 GP, 194 AB, 61 H, 36 R, 12 2B, 3 3B, 4 HR, 37 RBI, 25 BB, 33 K, 12 SB
4. CF Sam Canton – Senior, 5’10”, 185 pounds
2025 stats: .268/.369/.396, 41 GP, 149 AB, 40 H, 17 R, 7 2B, 4 HR, 26 RBI, 19 BB, 33 K, 4 SB
5. LF Colten Becker – Senior, 5’10”, 190 pounds
2025 stats: .286/.404/.438, 50 GP, 185 AB, 53 H, 18 R, 9 2B, 2 3B, 5 HR, 32 RBI, 30 BB, 61 K, 5 SB
6. C Noah Gordon – Sophomore, 5’10”, 190 pounds
2025 stats: .219/.299/.367, 38 GP, 128 AB, 28 H, 16 R, 5 2B, 1 3B, 4 HR, 20 RBI, 13 BB, 33 K
7. RF Blake Timmons – Redshirt Freshman, 5’10”, 175 pounds
2025 stats: .221/.303/.412, 21 GP, 68 AB, 15 H, 11 R, 3 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 9 RBI, 7 BB, 21 K
8. 1B Alex Urlaub – Senior, 6’1″, 190 pounds
2025 stats: .250/.352/.372, 48 GP, 164 AB, 41 H, 19 R, 8 2B, 4 HR, 23 RBI, 15 BB, 57 K
9. 2B Luis Garcia – Senior, 6’0″, 180 pounds
2025 stats: .135/.273/.162, 26 GP, 74 AB, 10 H, 8 R, 1 3B, 4 RBI, 10 BB, 25 K, 1 SB
LHP Nolan Johnson – Redshirt Junior, 6’1″, 185 pounds
2025 stats: 15 APP, 15 GS, 4-5 W/L, 82.2 IP, 77 H, 40 R, 38 ER, 21 BB, 77 K, .241 BAA, 4.14 ERA
RHP Logan Knight – Senior, 6’6″, 215 pounds
2025 stats: 14 APP, 14 GS, 4-6 W/L, 77 IP, 85 H, 48 R, 40 ER, 27 BB, 65 K, .278 BAA, 4.68 ERA
LHP Danny Lachenmayer – Freshman, 6’3″, 195 pounds
2025 stats: 22 APP, 2-3 W/L, 34.2 IP, 21 H, 12 R, 10 ER, 17 B, 53 K, .179 BAA, 2.60 ERA
RHP Reese Lightenberg – Redshirt Senior, 6’5″, 205 pounds
2025 stats: 18 APP, 1-1 W/L, 24.2 IP, 26 H, 18 R, 15 ER, 11 BB, 10 K, .280 BAA, 5.47 ERA
North Dakota
West Fargo man found guilty of murdering his wife claims his 6th amendment right was violated during trial
FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – An appellant’s brief filed with the North Dakota Supreme Court is claiming that the 6th amendment was violated in the trial of Spencer Moen, who was found guilty of murdering his wife, Sonja Moen, in October 2024.
Court documents show that Moen and his attorney claim that the district court allowed two minor witnesses to testify remotely via Zoom, from a separate location, without establishing that live testimony would result in serious emotional trauma or without making factual findings to justify the necessity for remote testimony.
The two minor witnesses in question are Moen’s youngest children, who were inside the home at the time of the murder back in August of 2023. Moen’s brief says that “The Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, made applicable to the states through the Fourteenth Amendment, and Article I § 12 of the North Dakota Constitution guarantees the right of an accused in a criminal prosecution to be confronted with the witnesses against him.”
Moen and his attorney are now asking the North Dakota Supreme Court to hear oral arguments and reverse his conviction and remand for a new trial.
The State of North Dakota filed their brief within 30 days of Moen’s filing and states that the 6th amendment was not violated. According to their brief, they claim that the state’s motion to have this one-way testimony by Moen’s children was because “it was unlikely that they would’ve been able to provide trustworthy evidence if they testified in their father’s presence and doing so would harm their psychological well-being.”
On August 9, 2024, the court found that the testimony of the kids in front of Moen would result in them suffering emotional distress or trauma that would impact their ability to speak in front of them.
The State of North Dakota is requesting that the court affirm the criminal judgment against Moen. They have also requested oral arguments to respond to any questions that the Court may have.
Moen was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on December 30, 2024.
According to the North Dakota Appellate Case System, there are no future hearings scheduled for Moen at this time.
Copyright 2025 KVLY. All rights reserved.
FINLEY, N.D. (Valley News Live) – It wasn’t your typical high school graduation in Finley, North Dakota, on Sunday, May 25.
At Finley-Sharon Public School, there was a high school graduating class of one student.
Bryson Kirk was the only student who graduated.
“It’s kind of cool. I like the small classroom size,” said Bryson Kirk.
Bryson still had some company as he partnered with students a grade below him for most of his classes.
Bryson’s mom knew from the very beginning that Finley-Sharon Public School was the school for him.
“It was just obvious he would go to school here,” said Penny Kirk, Bryson’s mom.
Penny couldn’t be happier for her son.
“I’m proud that he’s the only one,” said Penny Kirk.
Bryson wasn’t the only student in classrooms when he went to school. There have been as many as seven students in his classes.
In the beginning of the 2024-2025 school year, there were two students in Bryson’s grade.
“One dropped out so then he became the only one!” said Penny Kirk.
Faculty and teachers at Finley-Sharon Public School say that it was a pleasure to have Bryson attend their school.
His high school degree was handed over to him by his mom in what made for a special moment.
Bryson plans to work as a mechanic at Finley Motor Sports. He learned part of his mechanical skills in one of the classes he took.
Copyright 2025 KVLY. All rights reserved.
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