North Dakota

Search for missing Spirit Lake woman prompts questions on Feather Alert protocol

Published

2 months ago

November 6, 2025

Search for missing Spirit Lake woman prompts questions on Feather Alert protocol

MINOT, N.D. (KMOT) – The recent disappearance of a woman from the Spirit Lake Reservation is sparking questions about the newest safety alerts in North Dakota.

At one point or another, we’ve heard our phones go off with a missing person alert.

That notification comes with a lot of behind-the-scenes criteria that need to be met.

More than 1,300 people went missing in North Dakota last year alone.

The state’s public alert system helps spread the word to locate the missing.

“When someone’s abducted against their own will or have physical or mental impairments that make them not understand what’s going on, and abducted children also,” said Jenna Clawson Huibregtse.

Those are just a few of the key details examined when determining which alert to use.

Jenna Clawson Huibregtse with the state patrol said the system has five alert types: Amber, Silver, Blue, Feather, and Missing Endangered.

The two newest ones are Feather Alert and Missing Endangered.

Both are for endangered or abducted adults, but the Feather Alert applies specifically to Indigenous adults.

“When our people go missing, we need to have some sort of alert to ensure that we are able to act swiftly to try and get a positive resolve,” said Vicki Alberts.

Alberts with Spirit Lake public relations said the alert plays a big part for tribes.

This past weekend, the state issued a Feather Alert for 20-year-old Danica White, but Alberts said some thought the alert didn’t work properly.

“Only certain people received an alert on their phone, via text, and that no sound was associated with that alert,” said Alberts.

Clawson Huibregtse said the system worked as it should.

“For abductions, we send out that wireless emergency alert, that’s what goes across the phones, and if there’s not an abduction, we still do an alert, but we utilize other communication platforms,” said Huibregtse.

She points out why not all alerts include that loud notification we all know.

“Alerts fatigue thing is huge, and the effectiveness rate of an alert has to be high for the system to work,” said Huibregtse.

While notifications may differ depending on circumstances, Huibregtse said they always focus on alerting the public and searching for the person.

She said other states send out notifications for all missing people and experience a success rate of 11-35% compared to North Dakota’s rate of nearly 100%.

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North Dakota

Hoeven, Armstrong, Traynor speak on OBBB Rural Health Transformation Fund updates in ND

Published

11 hours ago

January 10, 2026

Press Room

Hoeven, Armstrong, Traynor speak on OBBB Rural Health Transformation Fund updates in ND

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – On Friday, North Dakota U.S. Senator John Hoeven, Governor Kelly Armstrong and Health and Human Services Commissioner Pat Traynor explained how the state plans to use millions of dollars from the Big Beautiful Bill’s Rural Health Transformation Fund to transform healthcare across the state.

They spoke extensively about the special session to allocate the funds, and confirmed that it is still tentatively set for Jan. 21.

The Big Beautiful Bill allocated $25 billion for rural healthcare nationwide. North Dakota received $500 million for five years and $200 million for the first year. There is still another $25 billion left to be spent, and North Dakota is hoping to receive an extra $500 million.

“I truly believe that with the plan we’re putting in place and the things we built that line up with that, we’ll get a billion dollars over five years,” said Hoeven.

Federal rules require the state to lock in contracts for the money by October first— a deadline officials say is driving the need for a special session.

In the first year, North Dakota will focus on retention grants to keep existing staff, technical assistance and consultants for rural hospitals, as well as telehealth equipment and home patient monitoring.

A KFYR+ exclusive

Governor Armstrong says the special session will include policy bills tied to how much federal rural health funding the state can earn.

“We’re going to have a physical fitness test for physical education courses, nutrition education, continuing education requirement for physicians, physician assistant licensure compact—which North Dakota has been doing, dealing with that since the heart of the oil boom and moving forward—and then an expanded scope of practice for pharmacists,” said Armstrong.

Hundreds of millions of dollars could reshape healthcare in rural North Dakota, and state leaders say the next few weeks are key to receiving and spending that money wisely.

The governor says he only wants to focus on bills related to the Rural Health Transformation Program during the special session and doesn’t intend to deal with other state issues during that time.

Politicians outline plans for ND Rural Health Transformation Program

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North Dakota

North Dakota officials celebrate being among big winners in federal rural health funding

Published

23 hours ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

North Dakota officials celebrate being among big winners in federal rural health funding

North Dakota U.S. Sen. John Hoeven and Gov. Kelly Armstrong on Friday touted the success of the state’s application for federal Rural Health Transformation Program funding, which landed one of the largest per-capita awards in the nation.

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North Dakota

Tony Osburn’s 27 helps Omaha knock off North Dakota 90-79

Published

1 day ago

January 9, 2026

Press Room

Tony Osburn’s 27 helps Omaha knock off North Dakota 90-79

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Tony Osburn scored 27 points as Omaha beat North Dakota 90-79 on Thursday.

Osburn shot 8 of 12 from the field, including 5 for 8 from 3-point range, and went 6 for 9 from the line for the Mavericks (8-10, 1-2 Summit League). Paul Djobet scored 18 points and added 12 rebounds. Ja’Sean Glover finished with 10 points.

The Fightin’ Hawks (8-11, 2-1) were led by Eli King, who posted 21 points and two steals. Greyson Uelmen added 19 points for North Dakota. Garrett Anderson had 15 points and two steals.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.

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