North Dakota
Port: Does anyone know what the purpose of North Dakota’s ethics commission is?
MINOT — North Dakota’s ethics commission was created about a half-decade ago by way of a ballot measure approved by voters.
I was against it. Government ethics commissions are a nice idea on paper. In practice, they’re either ineffectual or used as a political weapon for partisan purposes. An instrument of innuendo and recrimination, not transparency and accountability.
But North Dakotans approved the creation of a commission. We have it now. And, other than asking for more money from the Legislature —
the agency requested a nearly 85% increase in their funding earlier this year
— I’m not sure what it is they’re doing.
During the legislative session earlier this year, I reported on an elected lawmaker who was also on the payroll of the gambling industry. Rep. Mike Motschenbacher, a Republican from Bismarck, is also the executive director of the North Dakota Gaming Alliance and frequently contacts state gaming officials who are confused about how to handle him.
Is he an elected official? Or the representative of a rapidly growing,
$2 billion industry?
“He is contacting me as ND Gaming Alliance not as a Representative,” state gaming division director Deb McDaniel
wrote in a 2022 email I obtained.
“I don’t mind meeting with him but what am I supposed to do or say about any bills he thinks are going to be introduced?”
Don’t you suppose this might be something the Ethics Commission might want to look into?
“Under Article XIV a lobbyist may not knowingly give, offer, solicit, initiate, or facilitate a gift to a public official and a public official may not knowingly accept a gift from a lobbyist,” the commission’s website states. “A gift is defined as any item, service or thing of value not given in exchange for fair market consideration.”
Don’t you suppose that putting a lawmaker on the payroll might constitute a problematic gift? Maybe there’s a loophole if we conclude that the gambling industry is getting “fair market consideration” for Motschenbacher’s work.
There are other examples, too.
A sitting lawmaker, Rep. Jason Dockter, is mired in the middle of a scandal
concerning what appears to be a sweetheart deal leasing office space to the state.
From 2013 to 2022, a powerful lawmaker, former state Sen. Ray Homlberg of Grand Forks, received over $125,000 in taxpayer dollars for “about 70 out-of-state trips that included meetings in Canada, Puerto Rico, Europe and across the U.S,”
as April Baumgarten reported.
The average spend on lawmaker travel during that time period was $9,200.
But, meanwhile, our ethics commission, touted by those who campaigned for it as a clearinghouse for accountability in state government, does nothing more than hold meetings and make vague allusions to ongoing investigations. Usually before requesting a bigger budget.
Maybe they’re doing things behind the scenes. They are obliged to keep much of their proceedings out of the public eye, for good reason.
Still, the commission was approved by voters in 2018, and if it has done anything to benefit voters since, I’m not aware of it.
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North Dakota
North Dakota (NDHSAA) high school baseball playoffs: 2025 brackets, matchups, game times (5/28/2025)
The postseason has arrived for North Dakota high school baseball.
The playoffs begin in the Peace Garden State in Class A and Class B, with a handful of games getting underway this week. Region semifinal and finals will be played throughout the state of North Dakota, with a chance on the line to advance to the next round.
Stick with High School on SI North Dakota for all of the matchups, game times and scores throughout the 2025 NDHSAA baseball playoffs.
Here are the NDHSAA high school baseball playoff brackets, with matchups and game times from NDHSAA’s Class A and Class B:
No. 4 at No. 1 Mandan
No. 3 Legacy at No. 2 Sheyenne
No. 4 Jamestown at No. 1 Fargo Davies
No. 3 West Fargo Horace at No. 2 Minot
BYE: Thompson
Bishop Ryan at No. 3 Northern Cass
Rugby at No. 1 Park River/Fordville-Lankin
No. 5 Shiloh Christian at No. 4 LaMoure/Litchville-Marion
Follow SBLive North Dakota throughout the 2025 high school baseball season for Live Updates, the most up to date Schedules & Scores and complete coverage from the preseason through the state championships!
Be sure to Bookmark High School on SI for all of the latest high school baseball news.
To get live updates on your phone – as well as follow your favorite teams and top games – you can download the SBLive Sports app: Download iPhone App| Download Android App
— Andy Villamarzo | villamarzo@scorebooklive.com | @highschoolonsi
The North Dakota State Library’s Center for the Book announces the North Dakota Great Read titles for 2025 are “What We Leave Behind” by Barb Solberg and “Sir Rupert and the Battle of the Squirrels” by RubyAnn Stiegelmeier.
“Great Reads from Great Places provides a wonderful opportunity to highlight North Dakota authors both nationally and across the state,” says Literacy Specialist Tammy Kruger. “We are excited to have the talents and hard work of Barb Solberg and RubyAnn Stiegelmeier showcased in 2025!”
Every year, the Library of Congress asks each state Center for the Book to select titles that represent the state’s literary landscape to highlight at the National Book Festival, an event showcasing the importance of books and reading. This year’s festival will be held on Saturday, Sept. 6, in Washington, D.C., and online. More information can be found at
https://www.loc.gov/events/2025-national-book-festival
.
The North Dakota Center for the Book invites North Dakotans to read “What We Leave Behind” by Barb Solberg and “Sir Rupert and the Battle of the Squirrels” by RubyAnn Stiegelmeier.
For more information on the 2025 North Dakota Great Read Program, visit
https://library-nd.libguides.com/NDCenterforthebook/greatreads
.
About “Sir Rupert and the Battle of the Squirrels”: This book is a funny approach to creative problem solving, cooperation and perseverance. Sir Rupert is a young person living in the castle, aspiring to become a “real” knight someday. He tries to help everyone he can to gain necessary knighthood experience. When his friend Bertha, the castle cook, comes to him one day asking for help with squirrels that have overrun the kitchen, Sir Rupert’s skills are put to the test. He asks everyone he can find for help, but no one has practical advice, so he and his friends team up to tackle the problem on their own. This story draws on themes of asking for help, persevering no matter what, helping others in the face of adversity, and receiving approval for one’s efforts even when things don’t turn out the way you planned.
About “What We Leave Behind”: Martin and Asta came to America in 1913 to homestead and create a better life for themselves and a hoped-for family. Nineteen years later during the difficult years of the Great Plains Dust Bowl, they intend to improve the lives of three of their nine children by sending their 18-year-old daughter with her two younger sisters to Norway to live with relatives for two years. But things do not go according to plan. The oldest sister falls in love with and marries a young Norwegian man, leaving the two younger sisters with no one to take them home. By 1940, when Germany invades Norway, the two younger sisters were living with the family relative who in the meantime married a Quisling, a member of the Norwegian Nazi Party. The two sisters miss the last U.S. evacuee ship out of Petsamo, Finland, and soon German soldiers take one sister to Grini, a concentration camp north of Oslo. Eventually she and her older sister both marry men active in the Norwegian Resistance Movement of WWII. Will the entire family ever reconnect?
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
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