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North Dakota News

North Dakota reports 10th coronavirus death in 2 days

BISMARCK (AP) — North Dakota health officials reported five more deaths related to COVID-19 on Thursday, bringing to 10 the number of people who died from coronavirus in the past two days. Seven of the deaths in the past two days have been in Burleigh County, which tallied four deaths on ...

ND’s coronavirus education campaign delayed

BISMARCK (AP) — An education campaign aimed at persuading North Dakotans to wear masks and practice social distancing still has not begun more than a month after $1.8 million in federal coronavirus aid was approved for the effort. The campaign had been set to start Monday, the same day North ...

ND records 431 positive tests for coronavirus

BISMARCK (AP) — North Dakota officials on Sunday confirmed 431 new positive cases of the coronavirus, after more than 8,500 tests in the last day. The cases included 90 in Burleigh County, 87 in Cass County, 42 in Morton County, 38 in Stutsman County and 35 in Stark County. The report ...

Dakotas lead US in virus growth as both reject mask rules

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) — Coronavirus infections in the Dakotas are growing faster than anywhere else in the nation, fueling impassioned debates over masks and personal freedom after months in which the two states avoided the worst of the pandemic. The argument over masks raged this week in ...

ND county resists public mask mandate

BISMARCK (AP) — A North Dakota county that is among the COVID-19 hot spots in the state has voted unanimously against creating a public mask mandate. The Bismarck Tribune reports nearly a dozen people spoke out against the idea at the Morton County Commission meeting on Thursday. Morton and ...

Body of missing ND boy found in Yellowstone River

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A dive team has recovered the body of a North Dakota boy who went missing while swimming in the Yellowstone River in eastern Montana over the weekend, the Richland County sheriff's office said. The body of 13-year-old Ira David Lawrence of Watford City was recovered on ...

Group seeks to defeat new hurdle for ballot initiatives

BISMARCK (AP) — North Dakota’s voters in November will decide whether the Legislature should have the power to review and approve citizen-initiated constitutional amendments. An opposition group says it would effectively giving lawmakers veto power over what citizens want. The group, ...

Additional charges filed in child sexual exploitation case

BISMARCK (AP) — A Bismarck man facing more than two dozen felony charges, including sexually exploiting children, has been indicted by a federal grand jury on an additional 13 counts. The new charges accuse 21-year-old Dawson Rouse of luring minor girls on social media and convincing them to ...

North Dakota reports 337 new COVID-19 cases, 3 more deaths

BISMARCK (AP) — North Dakota health officials reported 337 new positive coronavirus cases and three more deaths on Thursday. The number of new positive cases included 62 in Burleigh County and 34 in neighboring Morton County. The counties that include the Bismarck metropolitan area have ...

ND groups try to boost tribal census participation

BISMARCK (AP) — Several groups in North Dakota are working to increase tribal participation in the 2020 U.S. census to ensure they are not undercounted or underfunded. Overall, North Dakota has an 86% response rate and about a 64% self-response rate. But participation of the state's five ...

North Dakota’s active virus cases drop for 2nd straight day

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota health officials said Tuesday that the number of active COVID-19 cases have dropped for two straight days, including 301 fewer cases in the last day. Active cases in the state reached a record number of 2,653 on Sunday. That has been reduced by 389 in the ...

North Dakota sees 171 new COVID-19 cases, no new deaths

BISMARCK (AP) — North Dakota health officials reported an additional 171 new cases of the coronavirus on Monday, and no additional deaths. The new figures bring the total number of positive cases in North Dakota to 13,801. There have been 156 deaths attributed to COVID-19 since the pandemic ...

North Dakota Supreme Court rejects Democrat replacement bid

BISMARCK (AP) — The North Dakota Supreme Court on Friday ruled against Democrats who petitioned to get a replacement candidate for insurance commissioner on the November ballot. Democrats had argued that state law allows them to substitute a candidate after the court removed their previous ...

Burgum raises virus risk levels in several counties

BISMARCK (AP) — Gov. Doug Burgum on Thursday raised the coronavirus risk levels in several North Dakota counties, but issued no new restrictions, as the state's number of active COVID-19 cases continued to grow and its rate of positive tests rose to the highest in the nation. Burgum moved ...

FEMA approves participation in Lost Wages Assistance program

BISMARCK – Gov. Doug Burgum on Tuesday expressed his gratitude after the Federal Emergency Management Agency approved North Dakota’s participation in the Lost Wages Assistance program created by President Donald Trump to ease the economic burden for those who have lost their employment ...

ND reports 265 new COVID-19 cases, 3 more deaths

BISMARCK (AP) — North Dakota health officials reported 265 new positive coronavirus cases and three new deaths on Wednesday. The number of new positive cases included 62 in Burleigh County and 23 in neighboring Morton County. The counties that include the Bismarck metropolitan area have ...

BISMARCK (AP) — The Army Corps of Engineers is recommending that the federal government negotiate a settlement with North Dakota for more than $38 million that the state spent policing protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline. In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, the Department of the Army is asking the Department of Justice to enter into settlement negotiations with the state “to avoid protracted and costly litigation, particularly in light of the harm that occurred in this case.” The request comes following U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Traynor’s decision last month to deny the federal government’s motion to dismiss North Dakota’s lawsuit seeking to recover more than $38 million in damages the state claimed from the monthslong pipeline protests almost four years ago. “I request that you consider engaging in settlement discussions with North Dakota to determine whether a reasonable resolution is within reach” Army Under Secretary James McPherson wrote in his letter to Acting Assistant Attorney General Ethan Davis. North Dakota Republican U.S. Sen. Kevin Cramer called the recommendation “very significant” and the right thing to do for the federal government. “North Dakota assumed all costs including the cleanup of actions facilitated by the Corps of Engineers,” Cramer said Tuesday. The state “has one thing in mind and that is to make us whole. We don’t go away on these things like everybody else.” The $3.8 billion pipeline has been moving oil from the Dakotas through Iowa to Illinois for more than three years. Thousands of opponents gathered in southern North Dakota in 2016 and early 2017, camping on federal land and often clashing with police. Hundreds were arrested over six months. North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem has long argued that the Corps allowed and sometimes encouraged protesters to illegally camp without a federal permit. The Corps has said protesters weren’t evicted due to free speech reasons. Traynor, who is based in Bismarck, ruled last month the Corps failed to comply with its own mandatory permitting process. “As a result, there was no limitation on the gathering and no bond available to clean up the spoiled environment that was left,” his ruling said. Stenehjem said he had an appointment to speak with federal lawyers by telephone on Tuesday. “We have made our demands,” Stenehjem said. “I hope they are willing to negotiate in good faith. If not, we will prepare for trial.” Stenehjem said North Dakota has a strong case and holds the upper hand in negotiations now with the federal judge’s ruling last month. “I wouldn’t trade legal positions with the Corps,” Stenehjem said.

BISMARCK (AP) — The Army Corps of Engineers is recommending that the federal government negotiate a settlement with North Dakota for more than $38 million that the state spent policing protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline. In a letter obtained by The Associated Press, the ...

Dems endorse candidate to replace nominee ruled ineligible

BISMARCK (AP) — North Dakota Democrats have endorsed a new candidate for insurance commissioner after the state Supreme Court ruled the party’s intitial nominee was ineligible for the ballot. In a unanimous opinion last week, the high court upheld a lower court ruling that concluded ...

North Dakota reports 191 new COVID-19 cases, 2 more deaths

BISMARCK (AP) — North Dakota health officials reported 191 new positive coronavirus cases and two new deaths on Tuesday. The number of new positive cases included 30 in Burleigh County and 12 in neighboring Morton County. The counties that include the Bismarck metropolitan area have taken ...

Burgum personally reviewing applications for pot pardons

BISMARCK (AP) — A second wave of applicants seeking pardons for low-level marijuana crimes is on North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum’s desk, under a new policy that can erase records of people who have avoided unlawful behavior for five years. But even with the endorsement of the state’s ...