News

Threats to ambulance services increase rural health insecurity
August 29, 2023

Threats to ambulance services increase rural health insecurity

A motorcycle crash on a deserted road. A cardiac arrest at a far flung farm in a rural county. A farming equipment accident. A pregnant woman goes into unexpected labor at a small hamlet away from population centers. When these emergency medical scenarios happen in rural communities across North Dakota, local volunteer first responders are often the first on the scene, the first to provide medical attention, and the first to get patients to a hospital. Many of these services are in trouble, however.

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Potential for rural electric co-ops to tap millions for renewables
August 8, 2023

Potential for rural electric co-ops to tap millions for renewables

Rural electric cooperatives in North Dakota may soon apply for grants available in a federal program under the Inflation Reduction Act, which could set the tone for investments in renewables here over the next decade.

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Small business owners struggle to get financing
August 1, 2023

Small business owners struggle to get financing

If you’re thinking of starting a business, you’re now likely to need more money down as lenders tighten their requirements and shift from an environment awash in pandemic relief funds, to one where grants and low interest programs are less available.

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Carbon capture plans may not be worth climate, financial rsks
July 18, 2023

Carbon capture plans may not be worth climate, financial rsks

As the State of North Dakota trumpets Project Tundra, experts outside of the state raise questions about capturing carbon dioxide emissions from two units at coal-fired Milton R. Young Power Plant near Center, North Dakota.

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Changes to visa program could hit ND farmers
June 27, 2023

Changes to visa program could hit ND farmers

​​​​​​​Technically workers engaged in any truck driving could now be reclassified under a specialization as drivers instead of general laborers. This means that their wages could increase from around $17 per hour up to $27 per hour not just for the time behind the wheel but for the entire season.

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ND renewing focus on sex trafficking
June 14, 2023

ND renewing focus on sex trafficking

Since 2015, the North Dakota Human Trafficking task force has served 721 victims of trafficking, with 71 percent of those adults, and the other 29 percent minors, according to the most recent data. A total of 257 investigations into trafficking have been conducted during that time and 507 training sessions conducted with law enforcement, medical professionals, domestic violence and sexual assault service providers and others, according to the task force.

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Inadequate supply, rising costs hit renters statewide
June 5, 2023

Inadequate supply, rising costs hit renters statewide

A housing needs assessment released in late 2022 by the Center for Social Research and North Dakota Housing Finance Agency [NDHFA] found rental costs increased 49 percent between 2010 and the end of 2020, hitting lower-income North Dakotan’s the hardest.

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Canadian nuclear project could locate near ND border
May 30, 2023

Canadian nuclear project could locate near ND border

The prospect of Canadian utility company siting a small nuclear reactor just a stone’s throw from the North Dakota border has come as a surprise to state officials and local landowners. But the power such a project could bring may be welcome.

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May 27, 2023

Dollar General contests worker safety citations

The parent company of six Dollar General stores in North Dakota facing total penalties of $2.5 million related to work safety violations is contesting those findings, according to U.S. Department of Labor representatives.

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Vietnam veterans honored
May 4, 2023

Vietnam veterans honored

A simple “Thank you for your service” can stir up conflicting memories for some military veterans, especially those who served in Vietnam. Many North Dakota Vietnam vets got the cold shoulder when they returned. No fanfare, no flags, no clapping crowds. For the 99 veterans who joined the Western North Dakota Honor Flight -- particularly the 86 with Vietnam experience -- the claps, flags and thank you wishes they received on their expenses-paid Sunday trip to Washington, D.C., were a welcome, if long coming, change.

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