North Dakota

Supreme Court blocks North Dakota redistricting ruling that would gut key part of Voting Rights Act

Published

4 months ago

July 24, 2025

Supreme Court blocks North Dakota redistricting ruling that would gut key part of Voting Rights Act

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court on Thursday blocked a lower-court ruling in a redistricting dispute in North Dakota that would gut a landmark federal civil rights law for millions of people.

The justices indicated in an unsigned order that they are likely to take up a federal appeals court ruling that would eliminate the most common path people and civil rights groups use to sue under a key provision of the 60-year-old Voting Rights Act.

The case could be argued as early as 2026 and decided by next summer.

Three conservative justices, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas, would have rejected the appeal.

The court also has a separate redistricting case over a second majority Black congressional district in Louisiana. The justices heard arguments in March, but took the rare step of calling for a new round of arguments in their term that begins in October. They have yet to spell out what issues they want discussed.

In the North Dakota case, the Spirit Lake Tribe and Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, with reservations 60 miles apart, argued that the state’s 2021 legislative map violated the act by diluting their voting strength and ability to elect their own candidates.

The case went to trial in 2023, and a federal judge later ordered the use of a map of the area, including the reservations that led to the election last year of three Native Americans, all Democrats, to the Republican-supermajority Legislature.

But in a 2-1 ruling issued in May, a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that only the Justice Department can bring such lawsuits under the law’s Section 2.

The 8th Circuit also had ruled in an Arkansas case in 2023 that private individuals can’t sue under the same provision.

More than 90 percent of Section 2 cases have been brought through private enforcement, UCLA law professor Richard Hasen wrote on the Election Law blog.

The 8th Circuit rulings conflict with decades of decisions by appellate courts that have affirmed the rights of private individuals to sue under Section 2.

The Supreme Court often will step in when appeals courts around the country come to different decisions on the same legal issue.

In a statement, Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians Chairman Jamie Azure said, “We are relieved that Native voters in North Dakota retain the ability to protect ourselves from discrimination at the polls. Our fight for the rights of our citizens continues. The map enacted by the North Dakota legislature unlawfully dilutes the votes of Native voters, and it cannot be allowed to stand.”

The 8th Circuit covers seven states: Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. In the wake of the Arkansas decision, Minnesota and other states moved to shore up voting rights with state-level protections.

___

Dura reported from Bismarck, North Dakota.

Source link

Click to comment

North Dakota

Increasing freshmen enrollment highlight increases at ND colleges and universities

Published

46 minutes ago

November 15, 2025

Press Room

Increasing freshmen enrollment highlight increases at ND colleges and universities

BISMARCK, N.D. (KUMV) – Representatives of the North Dakota University System gave lawmakers an update on how enrollment looks.

More than 47,000 people are attending one of the 11 public colleges in the state. That number includes online-only and dual credit students.

Brent Sanford, the University System Commissioner, said they’re seeing positive trends in various demographics, including an eight percent increase in freshmen.

“That’s something we’re not seeing nationwide so it’s a positive thing for our system. We have different demographics in North Dakota. We don’t have the cliff that some of our neighbors do like Minnesota and Iowa, so maybe that helps. We hope it’s also because we have good offerings,” said Sanford.

The university system said colleges and universities also saw a 17% headcount increase in high school students taking dual credit.

Source link

North Dakota

Destination Fordville to hold Fordville Fall Festival Saturday, Nov. 15 – hotdishes, mural unveiling and more

Published

19 hours ago

November 15, 2025

Press Room

Destination Fordville to hold Fordville Fall Festival Saturday, Nov. 15 – hotdishes, mural unveiling and more

FORDVILLE, N.D. — A town in northwest North Dakota welcomes visitors to a fall festival, unveiling a piece of art crafted by a regional artist.

Destination Fordville, a nonprofit with the goal of improving the city with family friendly activities, announced in a press release the Fordville Fall Festival will be held Saturday, Nov. 15.

“The Fordville Fall Festival is all about celebrating creativity, community and the small town spirit that makes our region shine,” the release said. “We’re proud to showcase our local talent and bring people together for a fun, family friendly evening.”

The festival starts with the unveiling of a mural created by Hilary Nowatzki as part of the Rendezvous Region Mural Series, supported by the Rendezvous Region Tourism Council, North Dakota Department of Commerce’s Vibrancy Grant, the North Dakota Council on the Arts’ Community Arts Access Grant and Destination Fordville, the release said. The mural is located on the lot next to City Hall. The unveiling will be held at 4 p.m.

Other activities and events include the Hotdish Hoedown and the Apple/Pumpkin Throwdown at the Wells Drinking Well from 4 to 6:45 p.m. There will also be apple bobbing, a tattoo station and games for both kids and adults. Hayrides will be offered outside the Community Center. There will also be firepits guests can use to make s’mores, the release said.

All events are free and open to the public.

The full schedule for the festival and updates regarding the events are available at Destination Fordville’s Facebook page.

Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of “staff.” Often, the “staff” byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.

Source link

North Dakota

North Dakota visits UC Riverside after Henderson’s 27-point game

Published

2 days ago

November 14, 2025

Press Room

North Dakota visits UC Riverside after Henderson’s 27-point game

North Dakota Fightin’ Hawks (1-3) at UC Riverside Highlanders (2-1)

Riverside, California; Saturday, 5 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: UC Riverside plays North Dakota after Andrew Henderson scored 27 points in UC Riverside’s 82-68 loss to the New Mexico Lobos.

UC Riverside finished 21-13 overall with a 14-1 record at home during the 2024-25 season. The Highlanders allowed opponents to score 75.0 points per game and shoot 44.9% from the field last season.

North Dakota finished 12-21 overall a season ago while going 2-12 on the road. The Fightin’ Hawks averaged 12.3 points off of turnovers, 13.4 second-chance points and 4.4 bench points last season.

___

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

Source link