North Dakota
Randy Schobinger
December 15, 1969 – August 13, 2024
With heavy hearts, we announce the passing of Randy Schobinger, a cherished son, brother, uncle, friend, and dedicated public servant, who left us on August 13, 2024, at the age of 54. He passed peacefully at his home in Delano, Tennessee.
Randy was born on December 15, 1969, in Minot, North Dakota. He graduated from Dickinson High School in 1988, where he played football and baseball, showcasing his love for sports and competitive spirit. He continued his education at Minot State University, earning a degree in Economics.
For 15 years, Randy worked with dedication in the family moving and storage business in Minot North Dakota. In 2007, he moved to Arizona to join his brother and enjoy playing softball together – winning the Chandler, AZ city championship once and Tempe city championship twice. In 2009 he moved to East Tennessee where he settled into a new career in the insurance industry, where his hard work and commitment led to great success.
Randy was a passionate Tennessee Volunteers fan, a loyalty that began in the early 1990s. He celebrated their football national championship in 1998 and was thrilled to see their baseball team win the national championship in 2024. He rarely missed a game on TV, sharing his enthusiasm with those around him. Go Vols!
Randy’s political career was as dynamic as his personality. In 1994, while juggling two jobs and college, he turned a 1972 Toyota into a campaign vehicle and, against the odds, became the youngest State Senator in North Dakota’s history. He served in the Senate from 1994 to 2006, where he worked for lower taxes and to secure funding for important community projects. In 2016, he was elected to the North Dakota House of Representatives, serving until 2024. Known for his innovative and spirited campaigning, Randy brought a unique energy to his public service.
Outside of his professional and political life, Randy’s adventurous spirit shone brightly in his participation in the famed “Tough Mudder” competitions. These challenging obstacle courses tested his physical and mental limits, but he embraced them with enthusiasm, inspiring others with his determination and resilience.
While everything written above were the things that served him to find professional success, it was his love of “porch sitting” with his sweet darlin’ Jenny, his dogs, family, and friends where he was content. He simply couldn’t get enough of old-time country music, and that spectacular view of Chilhowee Mountain from his front porch.
Randy is survived by his parents Charlotte Dempsey (John) and Jack Schobinger (Myra), his significant other Jenny Sauer, his siblings, Jay Schobinger (Sandra), Nancy Klatt (Delvin), Pat Schobinger (Terri), TJ Dempsey (Eunice), Tiffany Gaydos (Rob), Tara Johansen (Spencer), and numerous nieces, nephews, and extended family members. He was a devoted family member, always ready with a smile and a helping hand. He was a fun-loving beacon of knowledge, passion, and principles to all that knew him.
The family will plan a celebration of Randy’s life at a later date, where family and friends will gather to honor his memory and share stories of his remarkable journey. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, a cause close to Randy’s heart.
Randy Schobinger’s legacy is one of service, determination, and a love for life. He will be deeply missed but forever remembered by all who knew him.
“I did what I said I would do.” – Randy Schobinger
North Dakota
North Dakota composer launches statewide virtual choir project
GRAND FORKS — A North Dakota composer’s dream is turning into a statewide invitation.
Williston-based musician Emily Black-Driscoll was chosen as the North Dakota Music Teachers Association’s commissioned composer for 2026. She’s preparing an original composition that will premiere in August.
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North Dakota
Challengers declare victory after ND Supreme Court rules against Legislature’s attempt to alter term limits
BISMARCK — A constitutional ballot measure to amend the state’s term limits law as proposed by the Legislature will not appear on November’s ballot, the North Dakota Supreme Court ruled Thursday, siding with petitioners who argued the Legislature exceeded its authority and violated the state constitution in proposing the changes.
“The people’s voice was heard,” Grand Forks County Commissioner Terry Bjerke said in reaction to the news.
Bjerke was a member of the sponsoring committee behind the successful 2022 effort to pass a term limits initiative, which amended the state constitution by capping legislative term limits to eight years in the House and eight years in the Senate. The amendment, which became article XV of the state constitution, also included a clause barring the Legislature from making constitutional changes to term limits.
During the 2025 session, however, lawmakers narrowly approved Senate Concurrent Resolution 4008, in which the legislature proposed Constitutional Measure 1, a ballot measure to amend the term limits language to allow legislators to decide in which chamber they want to serve their 16 years, and to repeal the clause limiting the legislative assembly’s authority to propose an amendment to alter or repeal term limits.
Bjerke and former Minot legislator Oley Larsen brought the lawsuit challenging the validity of the Legislature’s action in January, and the state Supreme Court
heard oral arguments in the case
this spring.
“Those term limits may only be altered by a measure proposed by the people rather than the Legislative Assembly. And yet a few years later, the Legislative Assembly is doing what they are prohibited from doing,” attorney Zachary Wallen argued on Bjerke and Larsen’s behalf.
Tanner Ecker / The Bismarck Tribune
The Legislature’s attorneys argued the clause prohibiting legislative proposals to alter the constitutional term limits language “infringes on our republican form of government” by “limiting the people’s ability to vote on amendments proposed by their elected officials.”
Justice Jon Jensen seemed skeptical of that argument during the April 2 hearing, questioning whether a second vote was appropriate.
“The public did speak on this. The public spoke on it when it passed the original constitutional amendment and they said, ‘Legislature, you don’t even get to propose a change.’ They have already spoken on it,” Jensen said. “You want a second shot, or a second bite at the apple, not a first one, a second.”
In Thursday’s ruling, all five justices sided with Bjerke and Larsen.
“We … conclude the Legislative Assembly’s adoption of S.C.R. 4008 violated N.D. Const. art. XV … and declare S.C.R. 4008 and Constitutional Measure 1 void … We enjoin the Secretary of State from placing Constitutional Measure 1 on the November 2026 general election ballot,” the ruling said.
Bjerke thanked the legal team that worked on behalf of their lawsuit, and said he was grateful the court reached the conclusion it did.
“I’m thrilled that what the people voted on and approved has been validated,” Bjerke said.
He added that the Legislature had “multiple opportunities” to address term limits prior to 2022’s initiated measure and chose not to, and gave a nod to the country’s coming milestone and the process by which voters expressed their support for term limits.
“We’ve lasted 250 years,” Bjerke said. “I have two words for those elected leaders who think they aren’t: everyone’s replaceable.”
North Dakota
Fargo woman convicted in North Dakota fraud case now faces charges in Minnesota: A deeper dive
FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – A North Dakota woman who was sentenced to 180 days in jail in Cass County for defrauding healthcare providers and Medicaid programs is now facing additional fraud charges in Minnesota.
Christine Marie Pryor, 55, pleaded guilty in November 2024 to theft by deception involving more than $50,000. She was sentenced to first serve 180 days with a 3-year sentence suspended. She received credit for 44 days already served.
Pryor was ordered to pay $82,584.78 in restitution to Southeast Human Services in Fargo, where she worked between 2018 and 2019.
How the scheme unfolded
According to court documents, Pryor worked at multiple healthcare facilities in North Dakota and Minnesota between 2018 and 2023, using the identities and credentials of three licensed professionals without their knowledge. She submitted fraudulent Capella University diplomas and transcripts to gain employment.
Investigators say Pryor admitted she searched state licensing websites for therapists who shared her first name, then used those therapists’ last names and license numbers when applying for jobs.
At Southeast Human Services, where she worked as a Licensed Addiction Counselor, Pryor earned $55,584.82 while providing therapy services to approximately 150 patients. She also opened her own counseling center, NIAM Brain Injury Center, in Fargo between 2020 and 2021, and worked at The Lotus Center in Moorhead, Minnesota, from 2021 to 2023.
Court documents say the three licensed professionals whose identities were used told investigators they had no knowledge of Pryor’s actions and did not give her permission to use their information.
Two additional charges against Pryor in North Dakota, unauthorized use of personal identifying information, were dismissed on motion of the state.
Additional charges in Minnesota
Pryor is also facing charges in Minnesota. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced on Tuesday charges against Pryor in Clay County District Court for six theft offenses and six identity theft offenses related to defrauding Minnesota’s Medicaid program of more than $150,000.
According to the Minnesota complaint, Pryor claimed to provide psychotherapy and alcohol and drug counseling services to Medicaid recipients despite having no license or credentials to do so. Prosecutors allege she used the credentials and identities of three licensed professionals while claiming to provide Medicaid-funded services to 169 clients.
The Minnesota charges were filed as part of National Health Care Fraud Takedown Day, a joint effort involving the Department of Justice and more than 40 state Medicaid Fraud Control Units.
Copyright 2026 KVLY. All rights reserved.
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