North Dakota House members voted Friday to increase the state’s speed limit to 80 mph for interstate highways. State lawmakers two years ago approved an identical bill, but then-Gov. Doug Burgum vetoed it,

During his confirmation hearing last week before the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, Burgum portrayed the Interior Department as key to geopolitical power struggles.

Attorneys for the state had asked the North Dakota Supreme Court to grant a stay pending appeal. They said a stay “is warranted because this case presents serious, difficult, and unresolved constitutional questions that are of profound importance to the people of this State,” among other reasons.

Governing water based on arbitrarily-drawn lines instead of geological boundaries is a recipe for cross-county disputes, proponents of Senate Bill 2210 contend.

Brittany Baker was hard at work during a shift at Perkins Restaurant in Fargo, N.D. when a man allegedly snagged cash from a nearby table.

Rep. Ben Koppelman, R-West Fargo, speaks about term limits during a committee hearing on Jan. 23, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) — A North Dakota legislative committee advanced a bill Thursday that makes a change to lawmaker term limits approved by voters in 2022.

North Dakota’s school boards already have a state law that gives them the ability to display the Ten Commandments in classrooms, if they are accompanied by other historical documents. Now, lawmakers are debating whether to require posting the commandments in every public K-12 and college classroom.

The resolution introduced by Sen. Tim Mathern, D-Fargo, Sen. Dean Rummel, R-Dickinson, Rep. Austin Foss, D-Fargo, Rep. Karla Hanson, D-Fargo, and Rep. Eric Murphy, R-Grand Forks, aims to protect a critical and disappearing natural resource: darkness.

Dion Schilling speaks during a committee hearing on homelessness on Jan. 21, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor)BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) — Advocates for low-income housing and people seeking to reduce homelessness lined up to testify Tuesday in favor of a bill that allocates $211 million to address North Dakota’s housing crisis.

The resolution encourages households and property owners to protect migrating birds by closing curtains, facing outdoor lights downwards and installing motion sensor lighting or light covers. These practices may also lower household energy costs, Mathern told the North Dakota Monitor.

The National Association of Interpretation recently recognized the effort with The Difficult Topics award for its 2024 Interpretive Media Awards. This recognition highlights the State Historical Society's reinterpretation of the Whitestone Hill state Historic Site near Kulm.

Some lawmakers say reducing light pollution protects the state's natural resources and its residents, but others say the action could pose more threats to residents than benefits.