North Dakota
We all have the power to stand up against domestic violence • North Dakota Monitor
In 2023, five North Dakotans died in domestic violence-related incidents.
Even just one life lost to domestic violence is too many. Five lives lost is a tragedy. Five victims were killed by someone who was supposed to love and care for them. Five families had a loved one taken from them and are having to move forward through an unimaginable loss. Five communities are left grieving and wondering what they could have done differently to prevent the crime.
Parents lost a daughter. A sister lost a brother. Children lost their mother.
And that’s just in the last year. According to the North Dakota Attorney General’s 2023 Homicide Report, for the period of 2004-2023 in North Dakota, 40% of deaths due to homicide involved domestic violence.
Too often, we don’t think about domestic violence until these tragedies happen, until we find out someone we know is experiencing domestic violence. But domestic violence happens in every community. Every year, thousands of North Dakotans seek help in navigating violent relationships. Data from the North Dakota Domestic & Sexual Violence Coalition shows that in 2023 alone, 6,131 new victims of domestic violence were served by 19 domestic violence victim advocacy centers across North Dakota. Nationally, about 1 in 4 women have experienced some form of sexual violence, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner.
With these rates of violence, everyone knows someone who has experienced domestic violence, even if that person hasn’t shared their story with you.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a time dedicated to uplifting the voices and experiences of survivors. I hope North Dakotans will join me in supporting Domestic Violence Awareness Month and starting conversations about how we can make our homes and communities safer.
Learning how to identify domestic violence is a good place to start. Look for warning signs in your loved ones’ relationships; does your loved one have frequent injuries they can’t fully explain? Is your loved one’s partner isolating them by preventing them from seeing friends and family? Is their partner constantly putting them down, calling them names, or playing mind games? Is their partner preventing them from getting a job or controlling their finances?
These are all signs that domestic violence may be occurring in that relationship, and your loved one could be at risk for serious harm.
If you’re concerned about a loved one’s relationship, reach out to them and tell them that you’re worried about them. Listen to them, believe them, and remind them that the abuse is not their fault. Get to know your local domestic violence/sexual assault victim advocacy center and the services they provide, such as help with safety planning, finding shelter, and obtaining a protection order. Tell your loved ones they can find help at advocacy centers if they’re ever looking for support.
There are so many other ways to support survivors and prevent future violence. Get involved in whatever way feels right to you.
In honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month and the five North Dakotans lost to domestic violence in 2023, I want everyone to remember that we have the power to lend a helping hand. Domestic violence affects all of us, and because of this, it can feel like an oversized problem that is impossible to fix. But because every single one of us is affected by domestic violence, we all also have the power to stand up against violence and reach out to someone who is experiencing abuse.
If you or someone you know has experienced domestic or sexual violence, free and confidential help is available 24/7. Visit the North Dakota Domestic & Sexual Violence Coalition (NDDSVC) website to view a directory of domestic and sexual violence victim advocacy centers and find support near you.
FARGO — As North Dakota voters cast their ballots for the June primary election, choosing candidates won’t be the only decision they’ll face.
Voters will also decide whether future ballot measures must be composed of just a single subject.
The Legislature placed the matter on the ballot in 2025, when it passed
Senate Concurrent Resolution 4007.
Some lawmakers argue the measure, if passed, will work in favor of voters by making future amendments more digestible and less jumbled for voter comprehension.
Senate Majority Leader David Hogue, one of the lawmakers in favor of the measure, said it would prevent any “bait and switch” tactics to pass unpopular amendments against the wishes of unassuming voters. Hogue sponsored the legislative resolution that placed the measure on the ballot.
The Seante passed the resolution with outspoken support, only one lawmaker voted no. However, the resolution faced more resistance in the House, passing in a vote of 57-36.
If passed, the resolution would require the Secretary of State’s office to verify that future amendments meet the single-subject requirement.
One outspoken voice in opposition of the resolution is House Minority Leader Zac Ista, D-Grand Forks, who said he voted against the resolution fearing it would introduce a “layer of bureaucratic review” to the ruling process. Ista also added there is not clear criteria for determining what meets the requirement.
“I think in North Dakota, if we entrust the secretary of state and attorney general of being the sole arbiters of what is and is not a single subject, that’s really going to handcuff voter initiatives in the state,” Ista said.
Contrary to this, Hogue feels the resolution would not require any complex review to determine whether or not future amendments meet the single rule requirement.
“I don’t think it’s a legal judgment. I think if you’re trying to pass two different measures in one, that’s a common-sense judgment.” Hogue said.
Measure 1 is the first of four constitutional amendments on the North Dakota ballot for this upcoming election cycle, three of which won’t be voted on until this November.
Early voting in some counties begins Tuesday, June 2. Election Day is Tuesday, June 9.
How Measure 1 will appear on the ballot
“This constitutional measure would amend and reenact section 9 of article III and section 16 of article IV of the Constitution of North Dakota, relating to requiring each resolution adopted by the legislative assembly proposing a constitutional amendment and each initiative petition and measure proposing a constitutional amendment be comprised of a single subject. The proposed amendment is summarized as follows: constitutional amendments would be limited to one subject. The Secretary of State shall not approve an initiative petition for circulation if the Secretary determines that the proposed amendment comprises more than one subject. Additionally, the legislative assembly is required to limit proposed amendments to the constitution to one subject.
“The estimated fiscal impact of this measure is none.”
Text via the North Dakota Secretary of State’s office.
Brennan Collins is a reporting intern who started at The Forum in May 2026.
MCHENRY, N.D. — A 58-year-old man was seriously injured in a motorcycle crash Saturday, May 30, south of Devils Lake.
According to the North Dakota Highway Patrol, a Neche man was riding a 2017 Harley Davidson Tri Glide Ultra Trike eastbound on Highway 15 at an unknown speed, 11 miles northwest of McHenry. The trike struck an area of broken payment and rolled over.
The driver was not wearing a helmet and was seriously injured. He was taken by air ambulance to Sanford Medical Center in Fargo.
The Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.
McHenry is located in Foster County, roughly equidistant between Jamestown and Devils Lake.
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.
“The LORD appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.” Genesis 12:7
These verses have been used to justify all kinds of land disputes in the Middle East. Indeed, I have heard people in Christian circles in our own country use this verse to justify their support for Israel in wars to preserve “their” God-given land, because the Israelites were the children of Abram (later called Abraham).
While that is true, Abraham was the father of two sons: Ishmael and Isaac. Jewish and Christian believers consider themselves descendants of Abraham through Isaac. Muslim believers consider themselves descendants of Abraham through Ishmael. Therefore, the land God gave to Abraham, and his descendants is not Jewish land, Muslim land or Christian land. It belongs to all of these “cousins” who believe in God/Yahweh/Allah (etc.….).
One of the most alarming trends in the world of faith is the rise of religious nationalism. According to Wikipedia, “religious nationalism is the fusion of national identity with religious beliefs, where a nation is defined by a shared faith, and religion serves as a central pillar of its political and social life. It seeks to align government policies and laws with religious doctrines.” This happens among all of the cousins of Abraham’s descendants. There are Islamic nationalists, Jewish Zionists, and Christian nationalists, and they are all dangerous.
In the same way Zionists will claim the Middle East as given to them by God, religious nationalists use the beliefs and texts (Bible, Koran) out of context to rationalize their political views, policies and even wars. They attempt to convince people that one political viewpoint supports their faith, and others do not. In the United States, Christian nationalism is on the rise. Politicians repeatedly use scripture to support their policies and ideals, attempting to convince us that what they are doing is the “Christian” thing to do, when, in fact, quite often these policies and ideals not only have nothing to do with the Christian faith, but they also occasionally go completely against it.
I once heard a state politician say, “It’s my God-given right to carry a gun.” Say WHAT??? God did not give anyone the right to carry a gun. Period. That’s just foolishness. And nobody even commented about it, which tells me it doesn’t bother us to hear people say things like that.
Our faith in God, no matter which branch of the family tree we come from, should “inform” our political and ethical views, but we cannot become like other countries and base our laws on one religious belief or another. Especially in a country where we are diverse in our religious beliefs. This is not a “Christian” nation, a “Muslim” nation or a “Jewish” nation. It is a nation of people who come from all kinds of faith traditions, and we are promised the freedom to practice our religion, no matter what it is.
God gave the descendants of Abraham – all of the descendants of Abraham — blessings too numerous to mention. We can be grateful for those blessings without trying to claim all of them as our own.
Rev. Janel F. Kolar is the pastor at First Congregational Church, United Church of Christ in Dickinson, North Dakota.
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