North Dakota
These Small Towns in North Dakota Have the Best Historic Districts
North Dakota sits at the crossroads of the continent and, as such, has played an important part in the history of the United States, especially during the settlement of the West. Featuring historic buildings and locations related to westward expansion, mining, and conflicts with Indigenous American tribes, the state boasts an impressive number of sites on the National Register of Historic Places. Many small towns are home to historic districts that are fascinating, relevant, and eclectic. Take a brief tour of small towns in the Peace Garden State and dive into their histories.
Medora
The Custer Military Trail Historic Archeological District contains five historic sites within its 18,000 acres that relate to the Plains Indian War, waged between 1864 and 1876. Located near the scenic town of Medora, the district features campsites of Custer’s 7th Cavalry on its way to the Little Bighorn. Visitors can also take in the Battle of the Badlands historic battlefield and see rocks with initials carved by some of Custer’s men.
While in the area, another historic site can be experienced roughly 35 miles north of Medora. Elkhorn Ranch was established by future President Theodore Roosevelt in 1884. Sitting on the banks of the Little Missouri River, the ranch was considered one of the success stories of post-Little Bighorn ranching in the north-central part of the country. Roosevelt hired two backwoodsmen from Maine to run the ranch, which they did quite well for several years, until the Starvation Winter of 1886-7 decimated the cattle stock. In addition to losing his interest in running a ranch, Roosevelt lost 60% of his herd and only returned to North Dakota a few times afterward.
Noonan
In the extreme northwest corner of the state, Noonan, in Divide County, boasts several historic sites worth a visit. Near the town of Noonan, one can see the Niels Nielsen Fourteen-Side Barn, a nearly round structure built in 1914 using a pre-fab kit purchased from the Chicago House Wrecking Company. On Main Street in Noonan, the Travelers Hotel has welcomed guests since 1910, including such distinguished visitors as railroad executive James Hill and sharpshooter Annie Oakley. The hotel has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 2010.
Sitting a short drive from Noonan, the Ambrose-Torquay Border Crossing connects Ambrose, North Dakota to Torquay, Saskatchewan, and is one of the relatively few international border crossings between Washington State and the Great Lakes, although Ambrose itself is now just a ghost town.
West Fargo
Bonanzaville must be your first stop in the West Fargo area. The best way to describe this one-stop shop is, if it happened in North Dakota in the past, it is represented here. From exploring life in the region 100 years ago, to the experience of the first settlers of the Red River valley, fans of history and culture will find plenty to keep busy. During Pioneer Days, the community is invited to bring their old tractors and farm machinery to show off.
The Red River Zoo is unlike most zoos you may visit. Their animals are very hands-on. Visitors can interact with many of them and even feed them, so it resembles a petting zoo in that respect. Also, in harmony with the area, the zoo focuses on cold-weather species, so you are sure to see animals not seen in zoos further south, and they are more likely to be active in winter months when other animals are more interested in huddling and hibernating.
Sports fans will want to experience the Roger Maris Museum. A shy and humble man, Maris declined the original offer to build a museum about him, but he later relented and agreed that it should be in his hometown. Although the museum does not keep statistics (strange for a sport obsessed with numbers), it is estimated that yearly visitors number in the millions.
Devil’s Lake
For lovers of all things outdoors, Devil’s Lake outshines the rest. The town serves as the gateway to the massive brackish lake that hosts boating, fishing, camping, hiking, skiing, and tubing. If it can be done on or near water, this gem in the center of the state has it covered. If camping is too rustic for your tastes, the Devil’s Lake area is peppered with finer resorts and lodges. If your idea of nightlife has less to do with sitting around a campfire and more with sitting around a green felt table, there are even casinos in the area.
Golfers will not want to miss out on the Coyotee Flats Golf Center, while Civil War enthusiasts must visit the Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery. The half-dozen waterfowl protection areas that surround the lake draw birdwatchers from around the world.
Mandan
Mandan, on the banks of the Missouri River, serves as your base to explore the center of the state, as well as the capital city. Cross the river into Bismarck to visit the Bismarck Cathedral Historic District, home to the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit. Built during the Second World War in the Art Deco style, it remains the seat of the Diocese of Bismarck. The Old Governor’s Mansion still stands in the middle of town, as does the Northern Pacific Railway Depot, which resembles an old Spanish mission of the Southwest. The Towne-Williams House is worth a look, as is the Camp Hancock Site.
A site of great interest to Indigenous American historians is Chief Looking’s Village, located in Pioneer Park. Since the site of the former Mandan settlement has been relatively untouched by archaeologists and vandals, it is of great value to researchers, as is the nearby Menoken Indian Village Site located about 20 miles away.
Cooperstown
Located in Griggs County, Cooperstown is one of the few places where you can tour a Cold War-era nuclear missile silo. The Oscar-Zero Missile Alert Facility is part of the Ronald Reagan Minuteman Missile State Historic Site and is open to visitors who remember the Cold War and those who would like to know more about it. The Topside Facilities Area includes the original recreational areas for the service men and women, including a lounge, pool tables and ping-pong tables, the old security center, and a visitor center. 50 feet below, visitors can tour the launch control center, which housed the missiles themselves, and the control rooms from where launch commands were issued. It is a somber and sobering reminder of a perilous world.
Hazen
Many culturally and historically important Indigenous American sites are located near Hazen in Mercer County, near the center of the state. Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site in nearby Stanton, contains the remains of three Hidatsa Indian villages that date back to around the year 1600. Visitors can see remains of earthen dwellings some of which were 40 feet across and 14 feet high. This site was immortalized in the travels of Lewis and Clark, as Sacagawea brokered peace between the explorers and Indigenous peoples.
Other nearby sites of Native American historical significance include the Turtle Effigy State Historic Site and the Fort Clark Trading Post Site, which at various times was home to the Mandan and Arikara peoples and later was the location of an American fur trading post.
North Dakota enjoys a rich history and rewards the visitor around every turn. With roots running deep through the history of American architecture, westward expansion, Native American history and culture, and even the recent history of the Cold War, North Dakota deserves more than passing glance. Towns with historic districts are found from one end of North Dakota to the other, so pack your bags and prepare to spend time among the lesser known parts of the state.
North Dakota
Challengers declare victory after ND Supreme Court rules against Legislature’s attempt to alter term limits
BISMARCK — A constitutional ballot measure to amend the state’s term limits law as proposed by the Legislature will not appear on November’s ballot, the North Dakota Supreme Court ruled Thursday, siding with petitioners who argued the Legislature exceeded its authority and violated the state constitution in proposing the changes.
“The people’s voice was heard,” Grand Forks County Commissioner Terry Bjerke said in reaction to the news.
Bjerke was a member of the sponsoring committee behind the successful 2022 effort to pass a term limits initiative, which amended the state constitution by capping legislative term limits to eight years in the House and eight years in the Senate. The amendment, which became article XV of the state constitution, also included a clause barring the Legislature from making constitutional changes to term limits.
During the 2025 session, however, lawmakers narrowly approved Senate Concurrent Resolution 4008, in which the legislature proposed Constitutional Measure 1, a ballot measure to amend the term limits language to allow legislators to decide in which chamber they want to serve their 16 years, and to repeal the clause limiting the legislative assembly’s authority to propose an amendment to alter or repeal term limits.
Bjerke and former Minot legislator Oley Larsen brought the lawsuit challenging the validity of the Legislature’s action in January, and the state Supreme Court
heard oral arguments in the case
this spring.
“Those term limits may only be altered by a measure proposed by the people rather than the Legislative Assembly. And yet a few years later, the Legislative Assembly is doing what they are prohibited from doing,” attorney Zachary Wallen argued on Bjerke and Larsen’s behalf.
Tanner Ecker / The Bismarck Tribune
The Legislature’s attorneys argued the clause prohibiting legislative proposals to alter the constitutional term limits language “infringes on our republican form of government” by “limiting the people’s ability to vote on amendments proposed by their elected officials.”
Justice Jon Jensen seemed skeptical of that argument during the April 2 hearing, questioning whether a second vote was appropriate.
“The public did speak on this. The public spoke on it when it passed the original constitutional amendment and they said, ‘Legislature, you don’t even get to propose a change.’ They have already spoken on it,” Jensen said. “You want a second shot, or a second bite at the apple, not a first one, a second.”
In Thursday’s ruling, all five justices sided with Bjerke and Larsen.
“We … conclude the Legislative Assembly’s adoption of S.C.R. 4008 violated N.D. Const. art. XV … and declare S.C.R. 4008 and Constitutional Measure 1 void … We enjoin the Secretary of State from placing Constitutional Measure 1 on the November 2026 general election ballot,” the ruling said.
Bjerke thanked the legal team that worked on behalf of their lawsuit, and said he was grateful the court reached the conclusion it did.
“I’m thrilled that what the people voted on and approved has been validated,” Bjerke said.
He added that the Legislature had “multiple opportunities” to address term limits prior to 2022’s initiated measure and chose not to, and gave a nod to the country’s coming milestone and the process by which voters expressed their support for term limits.
“We’ve lasted 250 years,” Bjerke said. “I have two words for those elected leaders who think they aren’t: everyone’s replaceable.”
North Dakota
Fargo woman convicted in North Dakota fraud case now faces charges in Minnesota: A deeper dive
FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – A North Dakota woman who was sentenced to 180 days in jail in Cass County for defrauding healthcare providers and Medicaid programs is now facing additional fraud charges in Minnesota.
Christine Marie Pryor, 55, pleaded guilty in November 2024 to theft by deception involving more than $50,000. She was sentenced to first serve 180 days with a 3-year sentence suspended. She received credit for 44 days already served.
Pryor was ordered to pay $82,584.78 in restitution to Southeast Human Services in Fargo, where she worked between 2018 and 2019.
How the scheme unfolded
According to court documents, Pryor worked at multiple healthcare facilities in North Dakota and Minnesota between 2018 and 2023, using the identities and credentials of three licensed professionals without their knowledge. She submitted fraudulent Capella University diplomas and transcripts to gain employment.
Investigators say Pryor admitted she searched state licensing websites for therapists who shared her first name, then used those therapists’ last names and license numbers when applying for jobs.
At Southeast Human Services, where she worked as a Licensed Addiction Counselor, Pryor earned $55,584.82 while providing therapy services to approximately 150 patients. She also opened her own counseling center, NIAM Brain Injury Center, in Fargo between 2020 and 2021, and worked at The Lotus Center in Moorhead, Minnesota, from 2021 to 2023.
Court documents say the three licensed professionals whose identities were used told investigators they had no knowledge of Pryor’s actions and did not give her permission to use their information.
Two additional charges against Pryor in North Dakota, unauthorized use of personal identifying information, were dismissed on motion of the state.
Additional charges in Minnesota
Pryor is also facing charges in Minnesota. Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced on Tuesday charges against Pryor in Clay County District Court for six theft offenses and six identity theft offenses related to defrauding Minnesota’s Medicaid program of more than $150,000.
According to the Minnesota complaint, Pryor claimed to provide psychotherapy and alcohol and drug counseling services to Medicaid recipients despite having no license or credentials to do so. Prosecutors allege she used the credentials and identities of three licensed professionals while claiming to provide Medicaid-funded services to 169 clients.
The Minnesota charges were filed as part of National Health Care Fraud Takedown Day, a joint effort involving the Department of Justice and more than 40 state Medicaid Fraud Control Units.
Copyright 2026 KVLY. All rights reserved.
North Dakota
NCAA Set to Change Unpopular Football Rule Just in Time for North Dakota State’s FBS Jump
North Dakota State playing in the FCS playoffs and College Football Playoff in back-to-back years? It’s likelier than you think.
That’s because on Wednesday, according to a report from Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! Sports, the NCAA Division I cabinet voted to repeal a rule that effectively barred teams transitioning from FCS to FBS from playing in postseason games in their first FBS seasons. The Bison are making that move along with Sacramento State in 2026.
The reported change has been a long time coming; the rule has hampered teams from immediate bowl eligibility for decades. Its good intentions of dissuading teams from rashly making the FCS-to-FBS leap have been rendered obsolete in recent years by the fact that programs generally arrive in FBS more prepared than ever before.
Consider the number of new FBS teams that have had to work within the provision in the past decade alone
That list includes: Liberty (home for the holidays at 6–6 in 2018), James Madison (8–3 in 2022 under coach Curt Cignetti, and barely able to play in a bowl at 11–1 in ’23 due to a lack of bowl-eligible teams), Jacksonville State (8–4 in ’23 before backing in like the Dukes), Missouri State (7–5 in 2025, also backed in) and Delaware (6–6 in ’25, ditto).
James Madison in particular became a cause célèbre in ’23 because it started the season 10-0, climbing as high as No. 18 in the AP Poll in mid-November. Then-Virginia attorney general Jason Miyares bandied about suing the NCAA before the Dukes lost 26–23 to Appalachian State, an event that caused the program to back off and accept a bid to play Air Force in the Armed Forces Bowl. James Madison lost that game 31–21, by which time Cignetti had left for Indiana.
There was a time when the FCS-to-FBS jump was an imposing one, and the NCAA did not want to incentivize making it lightly—not even a proud Florida A&M program could make a mid-2000s attempt at a jump stick. However, the Flames, Dukes and other teams have shown it’s not so great a climb for programs with the right resources and management.
Now the Bison and the Hornets stand to benefit.
How far can North Dakota State and Sacramento State go in the near term?
The Bison opened 12–0 last year before a shock loss to Illinois State in the FCS playoffs’ second round, so that question may answer itself. North Dakota State does not play a single Power 4 team—a potential strength-of-schedule albatross if it has designs on really surging. A potential roadblock: the fact that the Bison have to visit the Mountain West’s two favorites, UNLV (Oct. 10) and New Mexico (Oct. 24).
It’s a different story for the Hornets, a 7–5 squad a year ago whose move to the FBS is widely seen as a gamble on their growth potential. Sacramento State also does not play a major-conference team, but has a breakneck travel schedule ahead of it—the Hornets will visit Ypsilanti, Mich.; Bowling Green, Ohio; Muncie, Ind.; Mount Pleasant, Mich. and Honolulu. Combine that with a first-year coach—Oakland native and ex-MC Hammer choreographer Alonzo Carter—and it could be a long FBS debut in California’s capital.
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