North Dakota

Who should the Mountain West add? Ranking North Dakota State, UTEP and more candidates

Published

1 year ago

September 13, 2024

Who should the Mountain West add? Ranking North Dakota State, UTEP and more candidates

With its four most prominent football programs leaving for a reconstituted Pac-12 Conference, the Mountain West has reached an existential crisis. In fact, it’s unknown whether its holdovers will stay or bolt.

Should the Mountain West want to remain intact, it will need to target replacements for Boise State, Colorado State, San Diego State and Fresno State. But which additions make the most sense? Do any current FBS programs fit geographically? Can the Mountain West persuade prominent FCS programs to also take a leap upward?

Remaining Mountain West members

As speculation swirls about other departures, here’s a look at the top candidates for the Mountain West should it stay together as a conference.

North Dakota State has won nine FCS championships since 2011 and boasts a 129-17 record over the past 10 seasons. The Bison regularly traveled to FBS power conference teams over the past decade-plus and won games, including against defending Big 12 champion Kansas State and Big Ten runner-up Iowa. North Dakota State’s yearly attendance averages have been between 15,000 and 20,000 per game, and Fargo has hosted ESPN’s “College GameDay” twice. Inviting the Bison instantly would provide the Mountain West with credibility, stability and a College Football Playoff contender.

A longtime rival of the Bison, the Jackrabbits have won two consecutive FCS championships and are 103-31 over the past 10 seasons. Among FCS programs, South Dakota State ranked sixth last year in average regular-season attendance at 18,208, numbers of which were compiled by Hero Sports. There’s a passionate following for the Jackrabbits, and SDSU would provide other Mountain West schools with a travel partner for NDSU outside of football. Like the Bison, the Jackrabbits have hosted “College GameDay” and instantly would compete for conference titles.

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There’s no use separating these two because it would be a both or neither situation. These two are among the most successful in FCS, with one national title game appearance each in the past three years (Montana last season, Montana State in 2021). The Grizzlies and Bobcats ranked second and third, respectively, in FCS attendance in 2023, with Montana averaging 26,269 and Montana State at 21,610. Both have won more than 70 games over the past decade, and “College GameDay” appeared at their picturesque Brawl of the Wild rivalry game in Bozeman in 2022. Few programs fit better geographically in the Mountain West than these two.

UTEP is best known for its 1966 NCAA men’s basketball championship in which it fielded an all-Black lineup against all-White Kentucky, but its lack of football prowess kept it away from its traditional foes. Of the 10 members of the Western Athletic Conference before it expanded in 1996 (and then imploded two years later), UTEP was the only one to never go on to compete in the Mountain West. With its proximity to New Mexico and its ties to the Mountain West holdovers, UTEP would provide some instant name recognition.

New Mexico State has played its in-state rival New Mexico every year since 1907, except for during COVID-19 and two World Wars. It has almost the same rivalry history with UTEP, which is located only 45 miles from Las Cruces, N.M. Combined, New Mexico State has played 212 games against those programs, but it hasn’t competed in the same conference with New Mexico since 1951. It rejoined UTEP in Conference USA last year after a 61-year nonconference rivalry. If New Mexico would allow it, bringing in the Aggies would make sense geographically.

Along with Montana, Idaho once was among 10 members of the Pacific Coast Conference, which was disbanded in 1959 and later reborn as the Pac-8. Idaho then became a vagabond and bounced from conference affiliation to independent status in the FBS until opting to move down to the FCS in 2017. It never could secure a Mountain West invitation once the WAC capsized in 2012. Should the Mountain West invite both Montana schools, Idaho would be a nice addition, too. Oh, and the Vandals play in one of college football’s great structures in the Kibbie Dome.

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Perhaps a surprise for this list, Sacramento State boasts an enrollment exceeding 22,000 undergraduate students. The Hornets averaged 13,348 in football attendance last year, beat Stanford by a touchdown and generated $11.46 million in fiscal 2022-23. While there’s not much football history, Sacramento State has a 58-48 record over the past 10 seasons and qualified for the FCS playoffs in each of the past three seasons. Two years ago, the Hornets were 12-0 before losing 66-63 in a playoff shootout to Incarnate Word. Located only 120 miles from San Jose State, Sacramento State would make for a nice travel partner outside of football.

3 others to consider

North Dakota and South Dakota boast quality football programs, but from attendance to on-field success, they’re not quite at the level of their in-state rivals. Northern Arizona is located in Flagstaff and has an enrollment of more than 20,000 students. It’s a good area for the Mountain West to claim, but it ranked 50th in FCS attendance in 2023.

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(Top photos: Andrew Wevers and Steven Branscombe / Getty Images)

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North Dakota

Grand Forks Man Running For State Attorney General

Published

11 hours ago

March 8, 2026

Press Room

Grand Forks Man Running For State Attorney General

(Photo by Kyle Martin/For the North Dakota Monitor)

(North Dakota Monitor) – North Dakota Democrats rallied for a turnaround endorsing several candidates for statewide office to take on Republicans in November.

The Democratic-NPL Party endorsed state Sen. Ryan Braunberger of Fargo for secretary of state, Scot Kelsh of Fargo and John Pederson of Mayville for Public Service Commission and Tim Lamb of Grand Forks for attorney general. The party also issued a letter of support for Tracy Foss of Hatton for superintendent of public instruction.

Democrats have 429 delegates participating, which Party Chair Adam Goldwyn said is the most since 2018. The party has 49 legislative candidates so far, but Goldwyn challenged attendees to field candidates in districts that don’t yet have anyone running.

“The North Dakota Democratic-NPL party has one goal: contest every single election up and down the ballot all across the state,” Goldwyn said.

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North Dakota

NDHP, multiple police sighted downtown

Published

23 hours ago

March 8, 2026

Press Room

BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – North Dakota Highway Patrol, Mandan police and Bismarck police were all assisting on an incident Bismarck police say started in Mandan Saturday evening.

Multiple law enforcement vehicles were seen in downtown Bismarck and eventually ended up near Sanford Hospital.

Sanford officials say the hospital was placed under a modified lockdown for a short period of time. The lockdown has lifted.

At this time, no patients or employees were injured.

We will have more on this story as information becomes available.

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North Dakota

Laurel Hanson of Grand Forks remembered for her ‘patient, brilliant’ legal work

Published

1 day ago

March 7, 2026

Press Room

Laurel Hanson of Grand Forks remembered for her ‘patient, brilliant’ legal work

GRAND FORKS — Though at the time of her death it had been more than 15 years since Laurel Rae Hanson’s legal career ended, a longtime North Dakota Supreme Court chief justice and a federal magistrate judge still fondly remember her skill, passion and dedication.

“Laurel was patient, brilliant and a really good writer,” said Karen Klein, former longtime U.S. magistrate judge, now recognized as a settlement expert and mediation skills trainer. “I find it such a tragedy that her life was cut so short, and that she couldn’t carry through with the career that she so obviously loved.”

Hanson died on Feb. 21, at age 49.

She would have turned 50 on March 10. Her death came after nearly two decades spent combating various health issues, including osteoporosis and an injury that led to early retirement in 2009, when she was in her early 30s.

Former longtime North Dakota Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerald W. VandeWalle said he was sorry to hear about Hanson’s death, though he knew she was in poor health. He was her first mentor out of UND School of Law, and found her the perfect fit for the role of his clerk.

“She was an outstanding law clerk, as far as I was concerned,” VandeWalle said. “She certainly deserves all the respect I have for law clerks.”

ND Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerald “Gerry” W. VandeWalle is pictured with Laurel Rae Hanson.

Contributed

Hanson’s mother, Barbara Hanson, said she wasn’t sure where her daughter’s career would have ended up if it hadn’t been cut short due to her health issues. Her career had just begun, but she did enjoy clerkship. After working for VandeWalle, Laurel Hanson moved on to a two-year position as Klein’s law clerk. She later took a permanent position when it opened.

The work of law clerks takes place primarily behind the scenes. They help judges review case files, researching and writing first drafts of decisions — a particularly important job, because decisions are expected to include detailed reasoning so everyone involved in a case understands what factored into a judge’s ruling, Klein said.

“If judges were to do it all from scratch, all by themselves, the backlog would just become unmanageable, and parties would wait many months — if not years — for decisions,” she said. “So it’s really important to have that legal expertise in someone other than the judge.”

Judges don’t control the cases assigned to them. While some are simple, others are highly complex — especially in the federal court system, where civil rights issues are handled, she said. Though Hanson’s career was brief, it had impact. Klein still recalls the work Hanson did researching and writing legal documents.

At a young age, she balanced what could at times be heavy work. Hanson was there when Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. was turned over to the federal court system and arraigned for the 2003 kidnapping and murder of 22-year-old Dru Sjodin, a case that made national headlines and created a tense atmosphere in North Dakota, particularly for women, Barbara Hanson said.

Laurel Hanson suffered a fall in 2008 that didn’t seem overly significant at the time, but led to an infection that caused further damage to already weakened bones, her mother said. She retired in 2009.

“I think she loved the law; she just loved delving into issues,” Klein said. “It was just a tragedy that she couldn’t continue.”

Whether dealing with highly controversial or straightforward cases, Laurel Hanson remained level-headed and fair, which are valuable skills for the job, Klein said. She valued Hanson beyond her professional abilities; they also discussed books and Hanson’s travels. She made an effort to embark on new experiences, such as skydiving and scuba diving.

“Things that some of us wouldn’t even dream of — she was willing to take them on,” Klein said.

Barbara Hanson agreed that travel and adventure were among her daughter’s passions, which also included animals, friends and family. During the summer of last year, she was ecstatic to become a great aunt.

“Laurel did so many things, and probably could’ve done more if she hadn’t run up against all her health problems,” Barbara Hanson said. “Laurel really loved life.”