North Dakota
Supporters of charter schools coming to North Dakota say it's 'all about choice'
FARGO — For Amber Vogel, the establishment of charter schools in North Dakota can’t happen soon enough.
Her daughter, Abby,
loves the alternative learning style of Fargo Public Schools’ Self-Directed Academy,
which she’ll leave behind when moving on to ninth grade at South High School this fall.
“I don’t have any other high school options besides a traditional public school, which is crazy considering I live in the largest community in the state,” Amber Vogel said.
Alyssa Goelzer / The Forum
Those new options are coming, with the North Dakota Legislature’s approval of Senate Bill 2241,
signed by Gov. Kelly Armstrong in late April.
Shelby Doyle, senior VP of policy and national partnerships at the National School Choice Awareness Foundation, said North Dakota has been a “white whale” for public charter schools, finally joining the 46 other states that offer them.
Ironically, its neighbor to the east, Minnesota, was the birthplace of public charter schools more than 30 years ago.
“I have always wondered, has North Dakota ever looked over that border and thought to themselves, ‘That’s interesting,’” Doyle said.
The law takes effect Aug. 1, requiring charter schools to be part of the state’s public education system.
The process to establish them, though, is detailed and includes required timelines for public transparency and accountability, according to Dale Wetzel of the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction.
Several informal inquiries have come in from teachers who are in discussions with potential sponsors in small and mid-size communities, but no formal proposals are yet under review, he said.
Given the time needed to complete rulemaking and implementation, Wetzel said the department does not anticipate a charter school opening for the 2025–2026 school year.
Doyle said even so, the charter school timeline could “sneak up” on people.
“If the first ones open their doors in the fall of 2027, the application process will start in 2026. That’s not terribly far away, especially when you’re planning for your child,” she said.
Speaking to The Forum from her organization’s home base in Nashville, Tennessee, Doyle said public charter schools are always open to the public and have no cost of admittance.
They may be set up in community centers, strip malls, former retail stores and converted industrial or office spaces.
They’re similar to traditional public schools, she said, in that they have the same academic assessments, must hire licensed teachers and provide transportation.
But charter schools differ in many important ways.
They’re typically run by a third party, which must have a performance contract with their state on results they plan to deliver for their “charter” to run a public school, she said.
While they’re publicly funded and must accommodate all students, they’re allowed to differentiate their offerings in terms of theme, focus or style of learning.
And, each charter school has its own independent board of directors that deals with day-to-day governance.
Per-pupil state funding follows each student to the charter school at which they’re enrolled.
Doyle said people need not worry about public school districts losing funds by some students moving to charter schools.
“While it can absolutely change the ecosystem … nowhere have we seen just a widespread disappearance of a public school system where charter schools have moved in,” Doyle said.
More than 180 charter schools operate in Minnesota,
she said, making up more than 7% of the K-12 student population. While the majority are located in the Twin Cities area, they are spread across the state, in cities, rural areas and on Native American reservations.
Charter schools closest to Fargo-Moorhead are in Park Rapids and Alexandria.
The Minnesota schools are often focused on science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, as well as those with arts added, or STEAM. Language immersion programs are also popular choices for charter schools, Doyle said.
Charter schools often offer online or hybrid options, as well.
“There was a huge reshuffling nationwide in school choices overall during the pandemic, and that’s been something that stuck,” she said.
Doyle said charter schools will be as good of an option as people in North Dakota make them.
“Nobody is going to just drop charter schools in your community … It’s going to take real grassroots energy for these schools to start and to be successful,” she said.
Vogel said she hopes multiple charter schools pop up as possible choices for her daughter.
“It gives families options to put their child in an environment that makes sense for them to learn in, so it’s all about choice for me,” she said.
North Dakota
ND State Fair completes 2026 grandstand lineup with EDM artist Zedd, ‘Turn Up ND!’
MINOT, N.D. (KMOT) – We now know the entertainers who will round out this year’s North Dakota State Fair grandstand lineup.
In what is a first for the state fair, Zedd will put on an EDM show at the grandstand on Friday, July 24. He’s an award-winning artist and DJ, known for hits like ‘Clarity’ and ‘The Middle.’
The show will feature immersive production, sound and visuals. Tickets will be just over $58, including fees.
The fair wraps up on Saturday, July 25, with this year’s ‘Turn Up ND’ show. It features TI, Da-Baby and Waka Flocka Flame.
All three have made a name for themselves in the trap and hip-hop music genres.
Tickets for this show are just over $78, including fees.
So here’s a look at the full lineup, which is packed with some major stars, featuring Alex Warren, Jon Pardi, Jessie Murph, Niko Moon and Zach Top.
The fair will hold two days of the popular MHA Indian Horse Relays on July 20 and 21.
For information on tickets, dates and more, go to ndstatefair.com.
Copyright 2026 KFYR. All rights reserved.
North Dakota
Darlene Struble
Darlene Kay Struble was born April 11, 1946 in Valley City, ND to Frank and Ruby (Satreaas) Klima. She grew up in LaMoure, ND and graduated from LaMoure High School 1964. After graduation, Darlene continued her education at North Dakota State School of Science in Wahpeton before completing her LPN training in Grand Forks.
Darlene married the love of her life, Charles Struble, on October 25, 1969 at Trinity Lutheran Church. Together, they made their home in Jamestown where she began her career in the OB department at Jamestown Hospital. Her dedication to caring for others continued throughout her professional life, later leading her to Dakota Clinic in Jamestown. Her work was an extension of her compassionate spirit, and she touched many lives until her retirement in 2009.
She filled her days with many loves; her family above all, but also the quiet joys of gardening, flowers, sewing, crafts, and scrap booking. She had a special gift of preserving memories, and spent countless hours gathering family history. Darlene started her day at the Depot Cafe nearly every morning. It was a simple tradition, but one she shared with her children, friends, and eventually grandchildren. Not only were Depot mornings filled with love and laughter, but an abundance of Mickey Mouse shaped pancakes.
Darlene passed away peacefully on March 23rd 2026 at Eventide in Jamestown, surrounded by the love of her family. She leaves behind her husband Chuck, her sons; Cory (Deb) Struble and Dave (Leslie) Struble, two sisters; Linda (Gary) Kraft and Roberta (Karl) Wilhelm, six grandchildren; Jayden (Darsh), Allie, Jonah, Grace, Evyn, and Owen, and seven nieces and nephews. She has been reunited with her parents, her daughter, Tiffiney Dick, and her sister, Mary Lee Guffy.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to Jamestown Regional Medical Center Foundations, specifically to the OB ward.
Memorial Service- 3:30 PM Saturday, March 28, 2026 at Haut Funeral Home in Jamestown, ND, with Pastor Kristi Weber, officiating.
Interment- Highland Home Cemetery, Jamestown, ND (at a later date).
North Dakota
Hope’s Corner: Hope Springs Eternal
I spent the first day of spring, last Friday, weeding my back yard flower beds. Let that sink in, because this is North Dakota. We have April showers in May, and May flowers in June. We sometimes have snow in June, too. Weeding my tulips in March is a first.
The tulips have been up for a couple of weeks in my south-facing gardens. The six inches of snow last weekend did not deter their enthusiasm. According to the South Dakota State University Extension Service, tulips close to our shared border usually begin to appear in late March and early April. Mine are early risers this year. I blame the switch to Daylight Saving Time.
My yarrow and hollyhocks have been green and growing for four weeks. The yarrow was a little miffed at the one subzero night a week or so ago, but the hollyhocks merely flattened out and took it in stride. Our friends at the South Dakota Extension Service assure me both of those plant varieties normally sprout in mid-May. Maybe the frequent solar storms and northern lights displays have affected them.
Shortly after that subzero stretch in February, which Katie the Wonder Puppy and I called The Degrees of Despair, the pussywillow began to bud. I cut my first bouquet this past Friday the 13th. And did you know the blossoms are called catkins?
That shrub is only a couple weeks early in blooming. Obviously, like all cats, my pussywillow is indifferent to solar storms, the northern lights, and Daylight Saving Time. When its feet get warm enough, it stretches out and basks in the sun. Wild catnip has, however, sprouted near the pussywillow’s trunk. I suspect some deep-rooted drug dependency at work there.
But, weeds? There is wild horseradish marching across my tastefully scattered scoria chips. There is quackgrass strangling daylilies and yarrow. There are weeds of unknown name towering over my tulips. Actually, I have a name for those weeds, but that name is best kept to myself.
I pulled out one quackgrass clump, and I am pretty sure its far end stretched all the way to Gladstone. It was like pulling one of those string strips from the top of a fifty-pound sack of sunflower seeds. Not that I regularly buy fifty-pound bags of sunflower seeds for the neighborhood birds, or anything.
I was feeling pretty smug last Saturday after I finished all my weeding. I figured I would need to start mowing in a few more days. I began looking at seed catalogs and dreaming of Big Boy tomato plants.
Late Saturday evening Katie and I went outside to take in the fresh air. It was snowing. Gotta love North Dakota.
Jackie Hope is the longest running Dickinson Press contributor and columnist. Hope’s Corner is a weekly humorous column with a message of hope.
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