Fact Brief

No. Despite recent viral social media claims, trees do not literally “explode” like bombs in extreme cold. What happens instead is a natural physical response to rapid and severe temperature drops. When temperatures plunge well below freezing, moisture and sap inside a tree’s wood can freeze. Water expands as

No. The U.S. Postal Service adopted a rule effective Dec. 24 clarifying that some mail is not postmarked when it is first received – at a post office, for example – but rather on a later date, during processing. The rule doesn’t change practices, but instead is “intended to improve

No. Lutheran Social Services does not receive special or additional payments for Somali immigrants. Like other nonprofit resettlement agencies, Lutheran Social Services participates in the federal U.S. Refugee Admissions Program and receives a standard, one-time grant of about $2,000 for each refugee it helps resettle, regardless of nationality

Yes. North Dakota can experience colder temperatures than the North Pole during certain winter cold snaps. The North Pole sits in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, where sea ice and water help moderate temperatures. Even in winter, average temperatures at the North Pole are often around minus 20 to

Yes. North Dakota law limits how much counties can increase property tax levies from one year to the next.  Legislation passed in 2025 established a general cap of 3% on annual growth in the total property tax levy for counties and most other local taxing entities. The limit applies to

Yes. North Dakota has had only four women serve on its Supreme Court since statehood. The first, Justice Beryl Levine, was appointed in 1985 and broke nearly a century of all-male membership on the state’s highest court. Justice Mary Muehlen Maring followed in 1996, serving nearly two decades.  Justice