News

Gov. Doug Burgum released the following statement today after the Biden administration extended restrictions on nonessential travel at the U.S.-Canada border for at least a month, until Aug. 21. The decision comes two days after Canada announced it would reopen its border to vaccinated U.S. citizens for nonessential travel on Aug. 9.

Gov. Doug Burgum today appointed North Dakota Game and Fish Department Deputy Director Scott Peterson to serve as interim director of the department until a new director is named. Current Game and Fish Director Terry Steinwand is retiring July 31 after more than 15 years as director and nearly 40 years with the department.

The North Dakota Department of Commerce today announced five projects totaling $731,044, were awarded AmeriCorps funding. 

"AmeriCorps is dedicated to helping with community needs across North Dakota,” Commerce Workforce Division Director Katie Ralston said. “I’m proud to announce new funding that will elevate this work by AmeriCorps members across North Dakota. I appreciate all our AmeriCorps members – past, present, and future – for their dedication.” 

Gov. Doug Burgum today presented North Dakota’s highest citizen honor to the state’s first Olympic gold medal winners, officially inducting twin sisters and hockey stars Monique Lamoureux-Morando and Jocelyne Lamoureux-Davidson into the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Hall of Fame. 

The North Dakota Department of Commerce today announced that registration for the 2021 Main Street ND Summit is now open. 

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum today issued a statement in support of Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem’s legal challenge to a federal ban on new oil and natural gas leasing on public lands. Stenehjem filed the lawsuit Wednesday against the federal government, including the Department of the Interior and its Bureau of Land Management.

Today, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Risk Management Agency (USDA-RMA) announced that agricultural producers with crop insurance can hay, graze or chop cover crops on prevent plant acres for silage, haylage or baleage at any time and still receive 100% of the prevented planting payment. Previously, cover crops could only by hayed, grazed or chopped after Nov. 1 on prevent plant acres, or the prevented planting payment was reduced.

Governor Doug Burgum has proclaimed July Lakes Appreciation Month in North Dakota. North Dakota invokes images of the Badlands, wheatfields, and even oil wells. People certainly think of the Missouri River and the recreational opportunities it provides. Still, they may be surprised to learn that North Dakota has about 4,500 lakes—of which 450 are accessible to the public.

Gov. Doug Burgum and Lt. Gov. Brent Sanford today applauded the sale of Coal Creek Station to Rainbow Energy Center LLC as a landmark moment for the future of energy production in North Dakota and the culmination of more than a year of determined efforts by the administration and others to save the state’s largest power plant, preserving critical baseload power and hundreds of jobs.

Gov. Doug Burgum today signed an executive order expanding the membership of the Northern Plains Unmanned Systems Authority to include members with technology and transportation expertise to support operations of the state’s beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) network.