BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – The North Dakota State Capitol lit up windows on the building to display “2025″ for the new year.

The number 2025 was displayed on all sides of the Capitol.

According to the Office of Management and Budget, the Capitol has been doing light displays since Dec. 19, 1934.

Happy New Year from Your News Leader!

Copyright 2024 KFYR. All rights reserved.

Flathead High School alum, former Kalispell resident and retired NFL quarterback Brock Osweiler will be part of the ESPN broadcast team for the upcoming Jan. 6 FCS National Championship game in Frisco, Texas, between Montana State University and North Dakota State University.

Osweiler, who was hired by ESPN in 2022 as an analyst for college football, has been busy of late as college football’s bowl season reaches its peak, with nearly 30 bowl games, plus additional college football playoff games having already taken place between Dec. 14 and Dec. 30. News of Osweiler’s involvement in calling the FCS National Championship began circulating Monday.

This will be the second Bobcats game Osweiler has been in the booth for since Dec. 21, when he and play-by-play broadcaster Dave Fleming and sideline reporter Stormy Buonantony covered the FCS semifinal between MSU and University of South Dakota on ABC. That game, a 31-17 win for MSU, featured a dominant performance by Butte High grad and Bobcats’ starting quarterback Tommy Mellott, who threw for 134 yards and a touchdown while also rushing for 125 yards and two touchdowns. Montana State was the top-seeded team in the FCS playoffs and is undefeated on the season. They will face a South Dakota State Bison team that is 13-2 and entered the playoffs as the No. 2 seed. The two losses on the season for the Bison have come at the hands of University of Colorado and University of South Dakota.

Last week, Osweiler reportedly became the first person in the TV broadcast booth for the Las Vegas Bowl between USC and Texas A&M who had previously played in the Las Vegas Bowl. That was back in 2011 when the Arizona State Sun Devils faced Boise State in a 56-24 loss during which Osweiler went 30 of 47 passing for 395 yards and two touchdowns.

A resident of Scottsdale, Ariz., Osweiler is also part of the TV broadcast team as an analyst for the Dec. 31 ReliaQuest Bowl between No. 11 Alabama and Michigan on ESPN.

Osweiler won’t be the only former pro quarterback from Montana covering the FCS championship game. Ryan Leaf, who grew up in Great Falls, and went on to play for Washington State before spending four seasons in the NFL, will be helping to call the game for the radio broadcasting company Westwood One Sports.

[email protected]

Click play to listen to this article.

When the calendar flips to January, a number of states will increase their minimum wage levels – but just like recent years, North Dakota won’t be among them. Those pushing for changes plan to try again.

North Dakota’s minimum wage hasn’t gone up in 15 years, standing firm at $7.25 an hour – also the federal level.

Meanwhile, many other states in this part of the country have gradually boosted theirs above $10.

State Representative LaurieBeth Hager – D-Fargo – said she made this a big priority while serving in North Dakota’s Legislature.

She echoed what some in the research community have noted, about giving low-income populations the power to lift themselves out of poverty.

“If people are making more, and have more buying potential, more earning potential,” said Hager, “their whole life and their whole dreams can be entirely different.”

And while researchers say these moves might not lead to big job losses, there are lingering concerns about employers turning to automation.

Hager said she doesn’t have a firm number for a forthcoming bill this session, but she said she plans to keep it around $9 to make it easier for small businesses to absorb.

Republicans still control both chambers, and Hager said she plans to seek approval in placing the issue before voters – as opposed to a simple Legislative vote like last session.

Citizen-led ballot questions also are options and have worked in other conservative-led states – but Hager said that can be a thorny issue in North Dakota, even if voters say yes.

Meanwhile, Landis Larson – president of the North Dakota AFL-CIO – said skeptics might argue about costs being passed along to consumers or other drawbacks.

But he added that not making adjustments for low-wage earners can be felt in other ways.

“You know, if you look at it another way,” said Larson, “most of those people are on some kind of government programs that actually everyone pays for in the long run.”

A 2021 report from the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that millions of American adults earning low wages rely on federal programs, like Medicaid, to meet basic needs.

Nationwide, more than 20 states and nearly 40 cities will increase their minimum wage rates when the new year begins.