Around the State: January 6, 2025

The counties and cities within the state of North Dakota hold many interesting news stories.

Here are just a few of the feature stories that others are reading in communities around the state.

Bill submitted to Legislature to strengthen rural communities

A transformative piece of legislation aimed at bolstering the vitality and sustainability of rural communities across North Dakota has been introduced to the state legislature.

Sponsored by Senator Tim Mathern (Fargo), Senator Terry Wanzek (Jamestown) and Rep. Mike Brendenburg (Edgeley), this bill will establish North Dakota's Rural Community Endowment Fund, a $50 million permanent resource dedicated to empowering rural communities with fewer than 1,000 residents.

The Rural Community Endowment Fund will serve as a self-sustaining financial resource to provide grants for essential projects, including housing development, workforce initiatives, infrastructure improvement and economic revitalization. The fund's annual interest will support competitive grantmaking, with the principal amount preserved for long-term sustainability.

If the bill is successfully passed, the fund will support initiatives that can range from repurposing vacant buildings for housing to modernizing critical infrastructure, all while empowering local leaders to drive change.

(Story taken from the Mountrail County Promoter)

Highway 200 eyed for truck route

North Dakota Highway 200 in McKenzie, Dunn, Mercer and McLean counties is being proposed to become part of the state's 129,000-pound large-truck network.

Currently, the weight limit on Highway 200 is 105,500 pounds, but Ramsey Hill Logistics LLC, a freight carrier company, requested the increase to the state Transportation Department.

Brad Darr,a maintenance engineer for the department and Justin Tucker of Ramsey Hill presented the proposal to the Mercer County Commission on Dec. 5 in Stanton.

Tucker said he anticipates the move would reduce truck traffic on the highway, as bigger trucks would be able to use fewer, larger loads.

Trucks of that weight must pay for a permit either per trip, per month or per year.

(Story taken from the Mountrail County Promoter)

Hazelton business an international success

Most parents can relate to having a child struggle at school in some aspect. It's hard to watch and it's hard to know what to do.

When Joan Cotter, Ph.D., experienced this, she decided to move her child to a charter school. This school required every parent to donate so many hours a week to help run the program.

Soon, Cotter started creating card games to help children learn math skills. Someone soon told her the games were really good and that she should "write this stuff down."

Cotter, at this time, was an electrical engineer and a certified Montessori educator for ages 3-6. She started two of her own Montessori schools and eventually went back to school to get her master's degree in curriculum instruction and taught grades 6-8.

"Recognizing the kids couldn't do the math, she went back to school to get her Ph.D. in mathematics education with an emphasis on brain research," said her daughter, Kathleen Cotter Clayton.

Now, RightStart Mathematics has evolved into an internationally-reaching business with offices in Hazelton.

Development of the RightStart Mathematics began with the card games and evolved into a business, Activities for Learning, Inc., centered on math education in Hutchinson, Minn. Cotter was the developer and her husband, Al, became the shipper.

The first school that received her items thought her work was great and asked for more. Her work became about filling a need and from there it grew and grew.

Cotter's first curriculum book, published in 1980, soon developed into versions for the mainstream classroom at every grade level.

Currently, they sell to Canada, Europe, New Zealand and Australia with a Spanish version of their curriculum.

(Story by Jan Johnson, the Emmons County Record)

Stopping a government project

Albert Klain, a neighbor in the Benedictine Living Center of Garrison, was once in Washington D.C. to help stop the Garrison Diversion Project. Klain grew up on his family farm 10 miles outside of Turtle Lake. He worked there most of his life and was a Turtle Lake resident until he retired.

Klain was a vice chairman of the board trying to stop the federal government's plan to divert Missouri River water to different parts of North Dakota. Many people, especially in Central North Dakota as well as in Canada, did not see the Garrison Diversion as a favorable plan.

The Canadians were not necessarily impressed after visiting the canal and seeing a dead beaver. Wildlife were not the only ones being affected, however. There would also be massive economic impacts to the local farm communities. For instance, the rural Turtle Lake area would have lost 22,000 acres of land to fill a lake east of town.

"Losing 22,000 acres of farmland would lose tax dollars for the Turtle Lake School," Klain said. "Losing all those tax dollars would have lost the whole Turtle Lake school."

Klain said farming is more important than a wildlife refuge.

(Story by Emmit R. Lagge, the McLean County Independent)

State population reaches new record

Gov. Kelly Armstrong recently announced that North Dakota's population grew to a record high of 796,568 people as of July 1, 2024, marking the largest increase since 2020, according to population estimates released by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The population estimate released exceed the original 2023 estimate of 783,926 residents by 12,642 and represents an increase of 17,474 residents since the 2020 decennial census.

"People continue to discover North Dakota's abundant job opportunities, low taxes, strong education and health care systems, and unmatched quality of life with world-class outdoor recreation, hunting and fishing," Armstrong said.

County estimates show Cass County, home to Fargo, surpassed the 200,000-resident mark for the first time, with 200,945 people, while Burleigh County, home to Bismarck, exceeded 100,000 for the third consecutive year, estimated at 103,107 residents.

Combined, the two counties represented over 58% of the state's estimated growth.

North Dakota has been among the nation's fastest-growing states since 2010.

(Story taken from the Turtle Mountain Star)