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North Dakota

Scores are in on 2 ND fertilizer plant proposals competing for $125M

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Scores are in on 2 ND fertilizer plant proposals competing for 5M


BISMARCK — Two proposals competing for $125 million in state money to help build a fertilizer plant in North Dakota have been scored by independent reviewers, with three out of four scores falling in the “questionable” rating.

NextEra Energy Resources and Prairie Horizon Energy Solutions will go through a technical review on Tuesday in front of a Clean Sustainable Energy Authority committee.

That authority is scheduled to meet again on Jan. 23 to consider the proposals, with the state Industrial Commission having the final say on the $125 million forgivable loan.

NextEra’s $1.293 billion facility would be in the Spiritwood Energy Park near Jamestown. The proposal from Prairie Horizon Energy Solutions is for a $2.2 billion facility near Dickinson.

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A much-discussed bill passed during North Dakota’s special legislative session in October specified that the fertilizer production facility must use hydrogen produced by the electrolysis of water.

The loan would be forgiven when the facility is complete, essentially turning the loan into a grant.

Both proposals have been scored by two technical reviewers. Those scores fell into categories of “good,” “fair” and “questionable.”

Both the reviews for the NextEra plant fell into the “questionable” category. One review of Prairie Horizon was high enough to be rated “good,” the other “questionable.”

The reviewers are independent of the committee and are not identified on the scoring analysis.

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The Clean Sustainable Energy Authority Technical Review Committee will go over the scores in detail when it meets at 9 a.m. Tuesday.

An in-state supply of fertilizer has become a high priority for North Dakota. Farmers need fertilizer to boost yields of crops such as corn and wheat. But North Dakota is largely dependent on fertilizer imported from other countries.

North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring participates in a meeting on Nov. 1, 2023, in Bismarck.

Kyle Martin / For the North Dakota Monitor

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North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring told legislators during the special session that the state imports more than half the nitrogen fertilizer that farmers need.

It takes a lot of energy to make chemical fertilizer, and Goehring also notes North Dakota’s strong energy infrastructure in making the case for a fertilizer plant.

One of the major fertilizer suppliers is Russia, and its invasion of Ukraine has contributed to wide swings in the price of fertilizer in recent years.

The Mississippi River is a major supply route for fertilizer and North Dakota’s distance from that route puts it at a disadvantage compared to other Midwest states.

Sen. Dale Patten, R-Watford City, called North Dakota “the end of the trail” for fertilizer shipments.

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“It costs a lot to get it shipped in, creates a lot of costs for our ag producers,” he said.

Patten is the co-chair of the Clean Sustainable Energy Authority along with Rep. Glenn Bosch, R-Bismarck.

The incentive money had been included in the Office of Management and Budget bill. But that bill was ruled unconstitutional because it covered topics outside the scope of the Office of Management and Budget.

As a separate bill, it was criticized by some legislators who felt the hydrogen requirement tailored it too specifically to NextEra, which testified in favor of the bill.

“When I saw it come through, what was missing, from my perspective, was this technical review process,” Bosch said. “So when I put the amendment that really required it to go through the Clean Sustainable Energy Authority, what we’re seeing happen right now is what I had hoped would happen — we’ve got competing projects, we’re going through the steps to vet them properly. So I think by doing that, I think that will help people feel like money wasn’t just earmarked for one company or another.”

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This story was originally published on NorthDakotaMonitor.com

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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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North Dakota

Letter: Be wary of plans for large-scale dairies in North Dakota

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Letter: Be wary of plans for large-scale dairies in North Dakota


To the editor,

There is a history of confined animal feeding operations ruining the environment in many states. The new

Riverview Dairy

operations set to enter the eastern part of North Dakota near Hillsboro and Wahpeton should be looked at through the eyes of how we want our livestock industry to expand.

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Twenty-five thousand confined dairy cows is huge. Yes, they have state of the art waste disposal systems — or do they? What about flooding? Not unheard of in the Red River Valley. Additionally, the water required for these animals may seem fine but what about in a drought? Do you want to compete for drinking water with cows? Aquifers are being depleted for ag use already.

Twenty-five thousand animals hooked up to machines. Not grazed. Not good.

Workers will be temporary and not connected to the communities. Their money will be sent out of state/country. The money from Riverview will be sent out of the state. Riverview has multiple dairies in other states. Most inputs will be bought wholesale and not locally.

Ag Commissioner Doug Goehring said this LLP can do business without the change to our corporate farming law in the last legislative session. However, they sure are being subsidized by support for infrastructure stemming from other legislation piggy backed on that change in our anti-corporate farming law. A law that was meant to support local farmers to expand by accessing capital from other sources. This dairy will finish the small dairy opportunities in North Dakota using money meant to support them.

Karen Anderson
Warwick, North Dakota

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Yankton County, SD deputies arrest South Dakota fugitive after 4-week search

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Yankton County, SD deputies arrest South Dakota fugitive after 4-week search


YANKTON COUNTY, SD (KTIV) – There’s a new development in a manhunt that started last month in South Dakota.

Authorities in Yankton County say they’ve found an Iowa man wanted for violating his parole and arrested him after a nearly four-hour standoff Monday night.

The Yankton County Sheriff’s Office says its deputies learned 48-year-old Jason Sitzman was inside a home in Lesterville, South Dakota, and went to that home trying to make contact with him.

Sitzman was wanted on warrants for violating his parole in Iowa, as well as, for failure to appear in court in Yankton County and for aggravated eluding of law enforcement.

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But, Sitzman, and another woman who was inside, refused to leave the house. That was at around 7:00pm. Around 10:45pm authorities used chemical agents inside the home to get Sitzman and the woman outside. The woman is identified as 23-year-old Kendra Kirrman.

Both were taken into custody and charged with obstructing law enforcement.

Law enforcement have been looking for Sitzman for more than a month. Back on June 19th… he reportedly fled South Dakota authorities on a motorcycle… riding into Nebraska before ditching the bike at the Chalkrock Wildlife Management Area in Cedar County. Authorities searched the area using drones and a helicopter but weren’t able to find Sitzman.



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North Dakota judge will decide whether to throw out a challenge to the state's abortion ban

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North Dakota judge will decide whether to throw out a challenge to the state's abortion ban


BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Attorneys argued Tuesday over whether a North Dakota judge should toss a lawsuit challenging the state’s abortion ban, with the state saying the plaintiffs’ case rests on hypotheticals, and the plaintiffs saying key issues remain to be resolved at a scheduled trial.

State District Judge Bruce Romanick said he will rule as quickly as he can, but he also asked the plaintiffs’ attorney what difference he would have at the court trial in August.

The Red River Women’s Clinic, which moved from Fargo to neighboring Moorhead, Minnesota, filed the lawsuit challenging the state’s now-repealed trigger ban soon after the fall of Roe v. Wade in 2022. The clinic was North Dakota’s sole abortion provider. In 2023, North Dakota’s Republican-controlled Legislature revised the state’s abortion laws amid the lawsuit. Soon afterward, the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint, joined by doctors in obstetrics, gynecology and maternal-fetal medicine.

North Dakota outlaws abortion as a felony crime, with exceptions to prevent the mother’s death or a “serious health risk” to her, and in cases of rape or incest up to six weeks of pregnancy.

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The plaintiffs allege the law violates the state constitution because it is unconstitutionally vague for doctors as to the exceptions, and that its health exception is too narrow.

The state wants the complaint dismissed. Special Assistant Attorney General Dan Gaustad said the plaintiffs want the law declared unconstitutional based upon hypotheticals, that the clinic now in Minnesota lacks legal standing and that a trial won’t help the judge.

“You’re not going to get any more information than what you’ve got now. It’s a legal question,” Gaustad told the judge.

The plaintiffs want the trial to proceed.

Meetra Mehdizadeh, a staff attorney with the Center for Reproductive Rights, said the trial would resolve factual disputes regarding how the law would apply in various pregnancy complications, “the extent to which the ban chills the provision of standard-of-care medical treatment,” and a necessity for exceptions for mental health and pregnancies with a fatal fetal diagnosis.

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When asked by the judge about the trial, she said hearing testimony live from experts, as compared to reading their depositions, would give him the opportunity to probe their credibility and ask his own questions to clarify issues.

In an interview, she said laws such as North Dakota’s are causing confusion and hindering doctors when patients arrive in emergency medical situations.

“Nationally, we are seeing physicians feeling like they have to delay, either to run more tests or to consult with legal teams or to wait for patients to get sicker, and so they know if the patient qualifies under the ban,” Mehdizadeh said.

In January, the judge denied the plaintiffs’ request to temporarily block part of the law so doctors could provide abortions in health-saving scenarios without the potential of prosecution.

A recent state report said abortions in North Dakota last year dropped to a nonreportable level, meaning there were fewer than six abortions performed in 2023. The state reported 840 abortions in 2021, the year before the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Roe v. Wade.

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The court’s decision enabled states to pass abortion bans by ending the nationwide right to abortion.

Most Republican-controlled states now have bans or restrictions in place. North Dakota is one of 14 enforcing a ban on abortion at all stages of pregnancy. Meanwhile, most Democratic-controlled states have adopted measures to protect abortion access.

The issue is a major one in this year’s elections: Abortion-related ballot measures will be before voters in at least six states. Since 2022, voters in all seven states where similar questions appeared have sided with abortion rights advocates.

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Associated Press writer Geoff Mulvihill in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, contributed to this story.

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