North Dakota
Why is driving deadlier on North Dakota roads in the summer?
BISMARCK — With serious and fatal crashes consistently rolling in during the 100 deadliest days on the road between Memorial Day and Labor Day, North Dakota safety leaders are cautioning drivers about the “false sense of security” bright summer days can spark.
That sense of safety when the snow clears has earned North Dakota the unfortunate accolade of being named the state with the most reckless drivers by
Travel and Leisure.
While many point to high rates of intoxicated driving, cheap speeding tickets and the state’s rural road networks as reasons for crashes or reckless driving, officials in the state see a clear trend between summer driving conditions and catastrophic collisions.
During the 100 deadliest days, fatal crashes are twice as likely, according to the North Dakota Department of Transportation’s 2022 Crash Summary
report.
Since the end of May, there have been nearly 50 serious-injury or fatal crashes statewide, according to a Forum analysis of reports from the North Dakota Highway Patrol. Approximately one-third of those crashes were fatal, surpassing last year’s numbers at this point in the year.
Several of those crashes involved motorcyclists not wearing helmets and drivers or passengers not using seat belts.
A recent crash near Jamestown that left two children dead,
as well as the driver and another child critically injured, has officials emphasizing the risks of summer driving. The mother of the two boys said they were not wearing seat belts at the time of the crash.
Combining risk factors like not using restraints or safety gear with faster summer driving speeds can be a recipe for disaster.
“The clear roads and the good weather conditions often give people a false sense of security. They know that they can travel faster,” said Karin Mongeon, director of NDDOT’s Highway Safety Division.
“Really, the winter weather in North Dakota slows people down,” she said.
Mongeon works closely with Vision Zero, a government initiative created in 2018 aiming to decrease statewide fatalities by preventing reckless driving behaviors.
Chris Flynn / The Forum
The program prioritizes areas of concern based on statewide data submitted by county law enforcement. Prominent dangerous behaviors include drunken driving, lack of seat belt use and speeding.
Mongeon said that although any number above zero is devastating, there has been a decrease in road-related deaths in North Dakota since the initiative began.
From 2017 to 2022, fatalities decreased by over 15%, dipping below 100 and the national average for the first time in decades, according to the 2022 NDDOT crash summary. Of the 98 fatalities in 2022, 69% of people were not wearing seat belts, 38% of crashes were alcohol-related, 31% involved speed and or aggressive driving and 48% involved lane departures.
Contributed / North Dakota Department of Transportation
A 2023 report is set to be released in September, which will denote 106 deaths. Despite the spike, Mongeon said she anticipates the downward trend to continue.
Education and outreach have proven to be vital components of Vision Zero, according to Sgt. Jenna Clawson Huibregtse, the Highway Patrol’s safety and education officer.
Schools can designate themselves as Vision Zero schools, leaving it up to the students to pick their initiative, like distracted driving or wearing seat belts. Coordinators recruit by attending community events and sending representatives to school board meetings.
The Highway Patrol also recently began releasing crash information regularly on social media. Crash reports are also available on
the agency’s website.
“We’ve noticed that if we attach a face and a name and put all of our information in one place, that it is making a difference,” Clawson Huibregtse said.
“We live in such a great state; there’s responsible people driving every single day making good decisions, but we want people to be aware of the reality of what’s on the road and what our troopers see every day,” she said.
Another Vision Zero approach to safer roads involves physically rebuilding them.
Wider center and shoulder lines, roundabouts in place of intersections and more rumble strips are some projects keeping state engineers like Justin Schlosser busy. Since implementing more roundabouts alone, overall crash numbers have decreased by a
third, according to an NDDOT traffic study published earlier this month.
“If there’s a crash (in a roundabout), you’re going to have some kind of sideswipe or rear-end, which are typically less severe injury crashes than an angle crash, usually the most severe type of crash you can get into,” Schlosser said.
“There’s just a bigger emphasis on driver safety and making sure that we don’t lose any lives on our roadways, but Vision Zero has definitely put a higher emphasis on that and helped us get in the right direction,” he added.
Clawson Huibregtse pointed to another factor in reckless driving — speeding tickets.
North Dakota has some of the lowest citation fees in the nation, with amounts ranging from $5 to $100, depending on the zone. Offenders traveling 16 to 20 mph above the speed limit, for example, pay $15. Thirty-six to 45 over is a $70 fine and 46 mph-plus results in a $100 fine, as stated in the
Century Code.
“It’s just not a deterrent at all for people to not behave recklessly when they know that there’s really no financial penalty,” Clawson Huibregtse said. “And it shouldn’t come down to that, it should come to the life and limb thing, but it just comes down to people’s pocketbooks sometimes.”
Increasing citation amounts has been struck down at past legislative sessions. But with more public interest in the issue, Clawson Huibregtse said she wouldn’t be surprised if the topic resurfaces this coming session.
“We hope, the more we work together across agencies, that we’re going to bring that number to zero, or as close as we can to zero,” she said.
Vernon Dale Krause, 93, of Fargo, ND, formerly of Wahpeton, ND, passed away peacefully on Friday, July 10, 2026, at Heather’s House in Fargo, ND, under the care of HIA Hospice.
A Celebration of life will be held on Monday, July 20, 2026, at Vertin-Munson Funeral Home, Wahpeton. Visitation will be from 9:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., followed by a service at 10:00 a.m., with burial immediately following at Fairview Cemetery in Wahpeton.
Vern was born on February 16, 1933, in rural Wyndmere, ND, one of eleven children born to Theodore and Ella (Rohl) Krause. He grew up in Wyndmere and attended Wyndmere Public School, where he left his studies behind to volunteer for the United States Army. Vern proudly served from 1953 to 1956 before transferring to the Army Reserves. He was awarded the National Defense Service Medal and, throughout his life, carried great pride in his years of military service.
He married Jean (Carey) Krause, and together they built a life and raised their family in Wahpeton, where he would spend most of his years. They were blessed with two children. In his later years, after developing severe dementia, Vernon moved to Fargo so he could receive the care he needed and be closer to family.
For 41 years, he worked for the City of Wahpeton Water & Sewer Department, where he was highly regarded and known for knowing every inch of the city like the back of his hand. Even after retirement, he continued to volunteer his time and expertise whenever the City needed him. Among the accomplishments he was most proud of were his early years helping develop the Chahinkapa Zoo.
Above all, he cherished his family. He loved anything to do with his grandchildren — from crafting chairs out of tree trunks and splitting wood, to watching their sporting events and helping them grow into who they were meant to be. His great-grandchildren were a true blessing to him — even if their energy made him a little nervous, he always looked forward to their visits. His nieces and nephews brought him great joy as well especially in his later years and he loved being an uncle to them. When his brother Leyone “Spud” moved to town, Vern couldn’t wait to deliver him the daily newspaper and share a chat. He loved tinkering in the garage, always engineering new ways to drain water, and he was the biggest Green Bay Packers fan around — proud to call himself a team shareholder. After moving to Fargo, Vernon was grateful for the time he was able to spend with his sister, Carole Jean, who had always been his protector.
Vernon will be remembered for his steady hands, his quiet devotion to family and community, and the example he set of showing up — for his country, for his city, and most of all, for the people he loved. He will be deeply missed.
Vern is survived by his son, Mark Krause, Fargo; two sisters-in-law, Priscilla Krause and Donna Krause; two brothers-in-law, Ron Carey and Don Carey; eight grandchildren, Carey, Danielle, Margo, Jodi, Nikki, Kevin, Brad and Tracee; 13 great-grandchildren; and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents; his wife, Jean Krause; his daughter, Deb Christopher; five brothers, Alfred, Donald, Willard, Kenneth and Leyone Krause; five sisters, Dorothy Peterson, Loretta Dable, LaVelle Odegard, Lucille Kruchek and Carole Jean Johnson-Bohlken; sisters-in-law, Viola Krause, Marleen Krause, Amy Carey and Linda Carey; brothers-in-law, Elroy Odegard, Robert Johnson, Willis Bohlken, Pete Peterson, Johnny Kruchek and Frank Dable; granddaughter, Robyn Krause; and grandson, Jack Bollman.
GRAFTON, N.D. — Two North Dakota men are speaking out about a 38-year-long alleged mistake that altered their entire lives.
The men and their families are suing Unity Medical Center in Grafton, saying the hospital is responsible for
switching them at birth in 1988
. The hospital denies the allegations.
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There are moments that remind us exactly who we are as a community, and the recent fire at Antelope Creek Bar and Grill in Mooreton was one of them. Many already know the awful loss that unfolded. It was a brutally hot day, the kind where the sun feels heavy and the air is so thick, and social media quickly filled with photos, videos, and comments documenting the devastation. Heartbreaking. Gut‑wrenching. A place that held memories for so many suddenly only visions smoke and charred remains.
But even in the middle of all that loss, something else rose up, something that always seems to show itself around here when life gets hard. Kindness. Pure, steady kindness.
The volunteer firefighters were the first reminder. They never cease to amaze me. They drop everything … work, family, whatever they were in the middle of and suit up in layers of gear despite the heat and humidity. They’re regular people with regular jobs, yet they show up like it’s the most natural thing in the world. No spotlight. No applause. Just service. Just heart.
Then came the folks who arrived with water, Gatorade, and anything they could think of to help ease the burden of those battling the blaze. Nobody organized it. Nobody asked. They simply showed up because that’s what people do here. That alone would have been enough to warm my heart.
But it didn’t stop there.
As the day went on, I saw posts from other regional businesses, specifically other bar and grills, reaching out with messages of support. These are places that could easily be seen as competition, yet there they were, offering help, extending care, and standing shoulder to shoulder with the owners who had just watched their livelihood disappear. “We are here. How can we help?” they wrote. No rivalry. No hesitation. Just neighbors being neighbors.
If you ever need a reminder of what makes this valley special, it’s moments like that. People who could have stayed quiet choosing instead to lift someone else up. Businesses that could have focused on themselves choosing instead to stand with another in their darkest moment. It’s the best of us. The part of small town life that doesn’t make headlines but makes all the difference.
We talk a lot about community, but this, this right here is what it looks like. It looks like firefighters sweating through their gear on a 90‑degree day. It looks like strangers handing out cold drinks. It looks like business owners reaching across the aisle to say, “You’re not alone.” It looks like compassion showing up before anyone has time to think twice.
Loss has a way of revealing character. And what I saw in the wake of that fire was a valley full of people who still believe in showing up, still believe in helping, still believe in each other. In a world that can feel divided and loud, this quiet, steady goodness is worth noticing. Worth celebrating. Worth holding onto.
Because when the smoke clears and the debris settles, what remains is the strength of a community that refuses to let anyone face hardship alone. And that, more than anything, is the story worth telling.
That is the true Best of the Valley. The people.
Bobbi Steffens resides in the Southern Valley and discovered her passion for writing through an unexpected path.
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