North Dakota
Port: Court filings allege years of domestic violence by expelled former ND lawmaker
MINOT — On March 4, 2021, the North Dakota House of Representatives stopped its busy legislative schedule to consider harassment accusations against state Rep. Luke Simons of Dickinson.
The claims against Simons spanned years and included not just staff at the Bismarck Capitol and news media members but also some of his fellow lawmakers, such as Grand Forks Rep. Emily O’Brien and Casselton Rep. Brandy Pyle, both Republicans. Ultimately, the House made the unprecedented move of
voting to expel Simons,
something that had never happened before in state history.
That expulsion has become one of the fault lines in the North Dakota Republican Party, dividing traditional conservatives from an ascendant faction of MAGA populists closely aligned with former President Donald Trump.
Many outspoken members of the populist faction — including former lawmaker Rick Becker, who is currently seeking election to the U.S. House of Representatives and opposed Simons’ expulsion during floor debate in 2021 — have claimed that Simons was removed improperly and wasn’t afforded due process.
Now Simons, who has stayed active in politics, including providing
a recent defense of a Williston-area Republican lawmaker
who has refused to resign after berating law enforcement officers with homophobic slurs during a DUI arrest, is accused of a years-long history of mental and physical abuse against his wife and children. That’s according to court documents in a divorce proceeding his wife filed in June 2023. The filings, in which she is the plaintiff, indicate that the two have been separated since October 2021.
Forum Communications Company does not typically name the survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.
“Throughout our marriage, Luke has a history of assaulting myself and our children,” states a declaration filed in the case by the plaintiff on March 1, 2024. “Social service reports exist that document Luke has beat our children with a 2×4, extension cords, and also used a crowbar for spankings. He has run into me with a 4 wheeler, attacked me until I was on the floor, punched my nose and broke my glasses and phone.”
“Luke punched the walls of our home and choked me until I passed out,” the declaration continues. “We have been separated following a significant domestic violence incident in October 2021, in which Luke assaulted me and bit one of our daughters, requiring the intervention of Luke’s father and our church.”
The filing includes photos of the bite wound. The plaintiff alleges that Simons bit another of their children after becoming frustrated while teaching that child to drive.
One exhibit in the case is a testimonial from Simons’ wife dated November 2021, just months after Luke Simons’ expulsion from the Legislature. Titled “My Story,” it contains allegations of abuse by Luke Simons against his wife dating back to their wedding night in 1999.
Describing it as “such a happy, scary, time for a young lady,” the plaintiff indicates that she “did something wrong or said something wrong and made him upset” at which point “he pushed me out of bed and I slept on the floor” with “no clothes and no blankets.”
She also alleges that Luke raped her in the basement of his parent’s home after a Wednesday church meeting, and that he perpetrated physical abuse against her — everything from kicks to punches to choking and slaps — during the more than 18 years they lived together on their ranch. “I found out that chains really hurt and even leave chain shaped bruises,” she wrote.
She claims that Luke accused her of being deficient in her “Bible studies” because she was “missing the part about wives being submissive to their husbands.” She says Luke claims she was talking “with a bad attitude just like liberal Democrats.”
Under a section of the document titled “Reasons to get away,” the plaintiff wrote, “I don’t remember the last time I felt 100% safe and secure in my own home.” She also wrote that she wants to “get away from Luke and his weird ideas about women and girls and their proper place.”
In his own court filings, Luke Simons doesn’t dispute that abuse occurred in the marriage.
“Plaintiff alleges Defendant was abusive throughout the parties’ entire relationship,” a pre-trial brief filed by Luke Simons’s legal counsel states. “Defendant does not deny that abuse occurred but does deny that it occurred to the extent Plaintiff claims. He admits that he has made mistakes in the past and has sought counseling to overcome his issues.”
At least one member of Simons’ own family also acknowledges that abuse occurred in the relationship. One of the exhibits in the plaintiff’s filings is a text message sent by Ben Simons, brother to Luke Simons, to the couple’s children in which he refers to “wrong” perpetrated by his brother even as he opposes the divorce.
“Your mom is still proceeding with divorcing your dad,” he wrote in the Aug. 10, 2023, text. “There is not one spiritual leader in her life that has condoned this. Your mom is being wrong. I know your dad has been very wrong for a lot of your growing up years but now it’s your mom that is in the wrong.”
“I wished so bad that your whole family would’ve not covered up the wrong that your dad did and maybe your family could’ve been helped sooner,” Ben Simons, a former Republican candidate for the Legislature, continued. “I was so mad at your dad when I found out, I couldn’t even talk to him. Now I don’t want to cover up what wrong your mom is doing.”
I sent a list of questions to Jamie Haynes, attorney for Luke Simons in this proceeding. I asked him which specific allegations of abuse Luke Simons denies.
Haynes told me his client declined to answer. “This is a private family matter that involves children. Luke won’t defend himself. He loves his family and hopes that this can be reconciled in the future.”
Sandra Kuntz, an attorney who is representing the plaintiff in these proceedings, declined to comment on behalf of her client.
North Dakota
Wintering Well Series Back For Another Season At McKenzie Co. Heritage Park & North Dakota Oil Museum
For those who are looking for community interaction, interested in learning an old-fashioned skill, or just simply looking for a way to offset those winter blues, join McKenzie County Heritage Park & North Dakota Oil Museum, 904 2nd Ave. SW, Watford City, for another season of Wintering Well: Slow Down & Savor. Classes begin Jan. 2, 2026, and will continue the first Friday of each month through the winter, 5-7 p.m. CT..
The holiday season is a time where many remember and honor past traditions, though it can also be a time where the usual business of life gets ramped up. In this modern word, we are heavily inundated with outside pressures that tell us to “keep busy and work harder”. Technology can be a constant pull, drawing us away from quiet connection.
But, for many of the people who settled and lived in this region before us, life, the holidays and winter in general carried a different feeling altogether. The winter season was often a time that was looked forward to and folks seemed more willing to go along with nature rather than struggling against it. Winter is a time of rest and renewal. A time for life to slow, and strength and energy to be gathered for spring, summer and fall. With the cold winter outside their doors, people were content to sit by the fire, catch up with friends and family, and engage in pastimes that were both fun and functional.
These Hygge style Wintering Well evenings offer an opportunity to slow down and savor this time of year. Bring a crocheting, knitting or embroidery project or start a new one. Even if you have no experience with these skills, bring a crochet hook and some yarn and other participants can help you get started. In addition to learning new skills and practicing existing ones, there is good conversation to share, new relationships to foster and snacks will be served.
These classes are intended for adults, but tweens who want to learn are welcome to come along with their parents. There is no charge to join, but donations are always welcome.
Take a step back from technology and busy schedules to reconnect with the old-fashioned life at these cozy, creative sessions, and Winter Well this season.
For more information, visit McKenzie County Heritage Park & North Dakota Oil Museum’s Facebook page or call them at 701-842-6434.
EDITOR’S NOTE: For help with substance abuse or addiction, North Dakota residents can contact the All of Us In Recovery program at
allofusinrecovery.com
or the North Dakota Department of Human Services at
hhs.nd.gov/behavioral-health
. National help is also available at 1-800-662-4357.
FARGO — A special program for those battling addiction in North Dakota is finding huge successes with a state program called “All of Us In Recovery,” or AIR.
The proof can be found in the lives now changed because of the team approach.
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BISMARCK — Despite stubborn inflation, higher daily costs and
a dip in holiday spending,
most North Dakotans are as committed to charitable giving, according to the latest North Dakota Poll, commissioned by the North Dakota News Cooperative.
A total of 78% of
North Dakota
residents say charitable giving is important to them personally, with 31% indicating it is very important and 47% somewhat important.
Damon Gleave, interim executive director of the Dakota Medical Foundation, which spearheads the 24-hour charity event
Giving Hearts Day
each year, said the results of the poll were consistent with what the foundation has seen with the success of the event.
“Regardless of age or gender or what part of the state people are from, North Dakotans are givers,” he said.
Looking further at the data, however, shows a split in how much people feel they can afford to give.
Asked to describe how much they give each year, 58% gave between $100-$999 annually, while 32% gave between $1,000-$5,000 or more per year. Another 10% declined to answer.
“The fact that folks are still interested in supporting
charitable organizations
during these interesting financial times is certainly encouraging,” said Shawn McKenna, executive director of the North Dakota Association of Nonprofit Organizations.
McKenna said some of the rhetoric coming out of President Donald Trump’s administration has impacted nonprofits and NGOs, though that includes increased giving to some and less to others.
Some smaller nonprofits that saw grant funding dry up because of government efficiency efforts are having a harder time since they lack the staff to solicit contributions, McKenna said.
In another data point from the poll, nearly half of respondents said generosity should be “homegrown,” with 46% saying support for local organizations is their top reason to give.
“It does look like folks are really interested in helping out in their own backyard versus sending it off to whatever the big national type organization is,” McKenna said.
Among the other factors considered most important, 16% said support for faith-based groups was highest on their list of reasons, while another 16% more said giving to causes they have a personal connection to was most important.
A total of 60% of respondents said they give throughout the year, while 23% said they usually give at the end of the year.
“There’s a preference to support local organizations — whose work tends to more directly impact people in a given community — as well as a shift toward donors making larger gifts to a smaller number of charities,” Gleave said. “We think this is a direct result of charities cultivating better relationships with their donors over time, which ultimately leads to more impactful, sustained giving.”
Kim Hocking, board president of the Bismarck Mandan Unitarian Universalist congregation, said the poll data was in line with what he sees in giving habits.
Hocking said one thing that comes out in the poll, and something he sees on a daily basis, is that people are looking for a sense of community. That desire often matches giving habits.
“As a group, we want to be a part of something, and if we know about it, and we see, oh, we could help with that, then we want to be a part of that,” Hocking said. “That goes along with supporting local organizations, supporting causes you have a personal connection to.”
Most respondents do not give a certain percentage of their annual income to charitable causes, according to the poll.
Only 22% say they practice a form of tithing, long a traditional practice in Christian, Islamic and Judaic faiths.
The low number of people who budget a certain percentage of income, as well as the high number of people that only give up to $1,000 annually, is concerning to some.
Bishop Craig Schweitzer of the Western North Dakota Synod-ELCA, said giving has been “pretty flat” over the past decade, but he was surprised that over half of people gave so little each year.
“That’s shocking to me a little bit because that’s obviously less than 1% of average income in North Dakota,” Schweitzer said.
“I mean, I look at it as a person of faith, the entry level to be a follower of Jesus is 10%, and then my offering is above and beyond that 10%,” he said. “If we’re spending money on things that aren’t a reflection of our faith, how does that reflect who we are as people of faith?”
Schweitzer brought up how important local organizations like churches are in times of need and stress, giving the example of the wildfires in northwest North Dakota in the fall of 2024.
“The church was huge,” he said. “It stepped up and made sure people were cared for and probably gave beyond anything they imagined they would give to something like that before, financially and physically.”
The North Dakota Poll was conducted by Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy Inc. of Jacksonville, Florida, from Dec. 10-13 2025. A total of 625 North Dakota adult residents were interviewed statewide by telephone. The poll has an error margin of + or – 4%.
The North Dakota Poll is the only regular, nonpartisan statewide survey of eligible North Dakota voters and consumers.
The North Dakota News Cooperative is a nonprofit news organization providing reliable and independent reporting on issues and events that impact the lives of North Dakotans. The organization increases the public’s access to quality journalism and advances news literacy across the state. For more information about NDNC or to make a charitable contribution, please visit newscoopnd.org.
This story was originally published on NewsCoopND.org.
____________________________________
This story was written by one of our partner news agencies. Forum Communications Company uses content from agencies such as Reuters, Kaiser Health News, Tribune News Service and others to provide a wider range of news to our readers. Learn more about the news services FCC uses here.
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