News
Group, community say more flexibility needed in treating trafficked youth
Home on the Range, a therapeutic ranch and qualified residential treatment program nestled on the rolling prairie just a few miles east of town, is a working ranch where youth residents build themselves back up with support of trained staff. Many have severe trauma from being sexually trafficked. Some have problems related to drugs or alcohol. Deep emotional scars lead to issues trusting others and trusting themselves. A federal policy aimed at keeping children from languishing in institutionalized care, the Family First Prevention Services Act, and adopted in North Dakota in 2019, changed how facilities like Home on the Range operate.
Land use changed impacted honey bee health
North Dakota is the top honey producing state in the country and has been for nearly two decades despite that loss of habitat, but that could change, particularly as bee health decreases.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.