North Dakota
Supreme Court upholds North Dakota’s majority-Native legislative subdistricts • North Dakota Monitor
The U.S. Supreme Court settled a North Dakota voting rights case Monday, leaving in place two majority-Native American subdistricts challenged as unconstitutional.
“I’m glad that it’s finally been resolved,” said Rep. Lisa Finley-DeVille, a citizen of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation who represents one of the subdistricts. “It’s very important that we’re able to represent our needs at the table.”
The lawsuit, brought by two non-Native North Dakota residents, alleged that the subdistricts are racial gerrymanders — meaning the Legislature established them based predominantly on the racial makeup of their communities, rather than looking at other criteria like geography, population size or the political interests of residents. The plaintiffs argued the Legislature relied heavily on anecdotal evidence, not legitimate research, when it created the districts.
The plaintiffs claimed the subdistricts violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment by strengthening the voting power of Native American residents at the expense of constituents who aren’t Native American.
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The Legislature established the two subdistricts in 2021. District 4A follows the boundaries of the Fort Berthold Reservation, while District 9A includes the Turtle Mountain Reservation and some surrounding communities.
A three-judge district court panel found in 2023 that the map was constitutional.
The panel wrote that even if the Legislature did look to race when making the map, federal courts have previously found that states may consider race in a “narrowly tailored” capacity when drawing district lines to comply with the Voting Rights Act.
Unsatisfied with that decision, the plaintiffs asked the U.S. Supreme Court to send the lawsuit back to a lower court for further proceedings, or to accept the case.
The high court on Monday dismissed the appeal of District 9A and affirmed the district court’s decision on District 4A. The court did not explain its reasoning.
Robert Harms, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, called the decision disappointing.
“The troubling aspect of this whole case is that the North Dakota Legislature didn’t have in front of it any statistical analysis,” he said Monday.
The lawsuit was filed by Charles Walen and Paul Henderson, both of whom are former district chairs for the North Dakota Republican Party, Harms said. Walen last year successfully ran as a Republican for a District 4 state Senate seat.
The boundaries of District 9A and District 9B changed for the 2024 election after a federal judge imposed a new map following a separate voting rights lawsuit brought by the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa.
The MHA Nation, Finley-DeVille and MHA citizen Cesar Alvarez joined Walen and Henderson’s lawsuit on the side of the state, arguing that the Legislature had gathered sufficient evidence to warrant the creation of the subdistricts.
That included testimony from tribal representatives, information about the use of subdistricts for Native American reservations in South Dakota and previous redistricting litigation, according to a brief filed by the MHA Nation, Finley-DeVille and Alvarez.
MHA Chairman Mark Fox testified during the redistricting process that candidates favored by Native residents of District 4 had been repeatedly defeated by the district’s white majority.
The plaintiffs disagreed. In one response, they argued that even before the subdistricts were created, voters in District 4 and District 9 were able to elect Native lawmakers to the Legislature, and that therefore the subdistricts are not necessary. The brief cites Rep. Dawn Charging and Sen. Richard Marcellais as two Indigenous lawmakers elected in District 4 and District 9, respectively.
The U.S. Department of Justice in a December brief advised the Supreme Court against considering the case.
In an unusual move, North Dakota came out against the district court’s ruling, despite that the court had ruled in the state’s favor. In a memo filed this spring, the state said that the Legislature did not rely on race as a predominant factor in the redistricting process, and that the district court was wrong to rule that such behavior would be permissible in any circumstance. The state asked the Supreme Court to send the case back to district court for further proceedings.
“We said before and we maintain now that race was not the predominant motivator for the redistricting,” North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley said Monday.
The Supreme Court has taken up two other voting rights cases challenging a majority-Black district in Louisiana as racial gerrymandering.
In a 2023 voting rights case, Allen v. Milligan, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that Alabama had violated the Voting Rights Act when it created only one majority-Black district, finding that this unlawfully weakened the power of Black voters in the state.
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BISMARCK — North Dakota’s sole member of Congress, Republican Rep. Julie Fedorchak, hosted her third virtual town hall on Tuesday, June 10, where she fielded questions and concerns from residents about the “big beautiful bill” that recently passed in the House.
“There’s a lot of misinformation that’s been spread about this legislation, and what is and isn’t included in it, and what the overall goal is,” Fedorchak said while opening the town hall just after 7 p.m. “I want to set the record straight on a couple of those things.”
The federal legislation, which is on its way to the Senate after passing in the House by a single vote May 22, outlined more than $1 trillion in spending cuts that have sparked uproar across the country.
Of the cuts to federal agencies and their programs, North Dakotans shared concerns Tuesday related to regional Veterans Affairs hospitals, JobCorps and state Medicaid programs.
A Minot resident named Thomas asked if the philosophy of government is to “shut something down” instead of “fix it” with regard to
the closing of the JobsCorps campus in Minot.
The program provides free career training and education for late teens and young adults.
Fedorchak said she supports the program’s mission and shares concerns about its status in Minot.
After meeting with Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer to discuss the changes, however, Fedorchak said she wasn’t able to obtain further details due to the pending legal cases related to the program — lawsuits filed against the Department of Labor after the cuts were announced.
As for the VA cuts, Michelle of Fargo said she was “disheartened” by
the decision to eliminate federal funding to related care facilities.
Veterans will still receive health care, the changes merely cut out the bureaucracy created by the Biden administration, Fedorchak assured her.
Dan in Bismarck said he’s worried about
cutting back on Medicaid
and that there’s “not enough savings” in doing so “to justify the amount of cuts they’re (Congress) proposing.”
The changes include a laundry list of exceptions and are meant to save the program for people who “need it the most,” Fedorchak responded, not able-bodied people and those without permanent legal status who are currently receiving the benefits, she said.
She also emphasized her support for new work, volunteer and education requirements within the program.
When it comes to increased spending, one resident was curious about how North Dakota’s international border would be impacted by more funding for the military and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
Sky from Fargo expressed concern about the state’s dependency on workers who lack permanent legal status, namely for agriculture industries.
“A lot of our farmers, we’re an ag state, depend on a lot of these illegal immigrants. What’s going to be done so they can continue staffing so our economy doesn’t take a hit?” she asked.
Fedorchak said she hopes farmers are hiring legal workers, and that she is a proponent of making the visa process more efficient.
Alternative energy sources and how they relate to regional grid stability also came up intermittently.
Gordon, a wind turbine technician based in McKenzie, pointed to Trump’s distaste for wind energy and asked if Fedorchak felt the same. It was not clear if Gordon was from McKenzie County, or the unincorporated community in Burleigh County. Another caller from Fargo, Paul, was curious about moving to geothermal energy to strengthen the grid, pointing to the state’s “treasure trove” of it as a resource.
While Fedorchak said she supports eliminating existing tax credits for wind and solar energy, she also supports making the permitting process of all energy resources, including that of wind and geothermal resources, faster.
“Each resource has pros and cons and having a mix of them and a blend of them is best,” she said.
There were fewer viewers on Facebook during Tuesday’s town hall compared to the previous live streams, with the listener count not exceeding 50. The comment section was turned off by Fedorchak’s Facebook page.
Fedorchak is the only member of the state’s federal delegation who has hosted town halls since President Donald Trump was elected. Republican Sens. Kevin Cramer and John Hoeven have not announced any plans to host public forums in the near future.
Submitted Photo
Mae Streich, left, Bottineau, conductor pro-tem, escorts Lois Schaefer, new president of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary Department of North Dakota, to the podium to conduct her first council meeting
BISMARCK – A Bottineau woman now is president of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary North Dakota Department.
Lois Schaefer and other VFW Department 2025-26 officers were elected and installed during the state VFW and Auxiliary Convention held in Bismarck, May 29-June 1.
Lois Callahan, national representative for the convention, served as installation officer.
Callahan will be elected and installed as the 2025-2026 national president at the VFW and Auxiliary National Convention in Columbus, Ohio, Aug. 9-13. As national president, Callahan will visit every state. Her visit to North Dakota is scheduled for Aug. 22-24 during a fall workshop in Bottineau.
Schaefer’s theme as state president is the Rosie the Riveter theme “We Can Do It!”
Submitted Photo
Sharol Paulson, right, Minot, was honored with the title “The Legend” during the recent Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary Department of North Dakota convention held in Bismarck. Brad Reed, 2025-26 senior vice commander for the VFW Department of N.D., escorts Paulson to dinner as part of her “royalty” title and many years of service to the auxiliary.
In her position as state president, Schaefer also will raise funds for a special project. Her project is Service Dogs for America based at Jud in LaMoure County, and her plans are to raise money for scholarships to assist veterans with the purchase of service dogs. The service dogs cost $25,000 each.
During the convention, Sharol Paulson, Minot, was crowned with the title “The Legend,” recognizing her for her many years of service with the auxiliary.
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Submitted Photo
Mae Streich, left, Bottineau, conductor pro-tem, escorts Lois Schaefer, new president of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary Department of North Dakota, to the podium to conduct her first council meeting
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Submitted Photo
Sharol Paulson, right, Minot, was honored with the title “The Legend” during the recent Veterans of Foreign Wars Auxiliary Department of North Dakota convention held in Bismarck. Brad Reed, 2025-26 senior vice commander for the VFW Department of N.D., escorts Paulson to dinner as part of her “royalty” title and many years of service to the auxiliary.
EPA issues air quality warnings due to Canada fires
In the U.S., smoke from Canadian wildfires was detected drifting through Montana, North Dakota and northern Minnesota.
Medora, a tiny community in North Dakota surrounded by the rugged landscape of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, has been named to HGTV’s list of the most charming small town downtowns.
The city – with a population of 121, according to Census Bureau data – is south of Interstate 94 in the far western part of the state.
“Nothing charms like a small downtown that beckons visitors with historic architecture and boutique shops or local culture and tree-lined streets,” HGTV said. “Many small-town downtowns are located in beautiful settings or have stunning views. Others welcome visitors with lively festivals, delicious foods or a nostalgic atmosphere.”
The network didn’t list any specific criteria for inclusion on the list, but said it “looked for vibrant towns that invite you in and encourage you to stay and explore.”
What did HGTV say about Medora?
HGTV highlighted Medora’s role as a gateway town for the south unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park, where visitors can take a scenic drive through the badlands, home to bison, mule deer, prairie dogs, horses and other wildlife.
The network also mentioned the community’s museums, fudge shops and the Old Town Hall Theater, and it recommended the Medora Musical, a “toe-tapping Broadway-style show,” and the Rough Riders Hotel, a “historic inn where Theodore Roosevelt himself once stayed.”
Were any other Midwest communities featured on HGTV’s list?
The network’s list also included:
- Marquette, Michigan
- Abilene, Kansas
- Deadwood, South Dakota
- Fish Creek, Wisconsin
- Galena, Illinois
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