News

A U.S. Army identification tag belonging to a soldier from North Dakota who lost the tag when he was wounded by a grenade in the Vietnam War more than 50 years ago was returned to the soldier’s widow today after the tag resurfaced in Russia.

Media personality and addiction specialist Dr. Drew Pinsky and New York Times best-selling author David Sheff will be featured speakers at the annual “Recovery Reinvented” event on Oct. 28. Gov. Doug Burgum and First Lady Kathryn Burgum will host the fourth annual event, which will be held via livestream broadcast on recoveryreinvented.com.

Gov. Doug Burgum today accepted the resignation of Interim State Health Officer Dr. Paul Mariani, thanking him for his leadership of the North Dakota Department of Health (NDDOH) and appointing NDDOH Chief of Staff Dirk Wilke to fill the role until a replacement can be named.

Gov. Doug Burgum today presented the 2020 Governor’s Awards for Excellence in Public Service, recognizing team members for their dedicated work in state government and making a positive difference in the lives of North Dakota citizens during an extremely challenging year.

Gov. Doug Burgum and State School Superintendent Kirsten Baesler announced today that Kristi Reinke, a social studies teacher at Jim Hill Middle School in Minot, has been named the 2021 North Dakota Teacher of the Year.

Gov. Doug Burgum has approved an Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) request from the state of Oregon for a firefighter task force to support the response to suppressing the deadly wildfires there. An EMAC is an emergency response mechanism that allows states to send personnel, equipment and commodities to assist with response and recovery efforts in other states.

First Lady Kathryn Burgum will participate in a White House roundtable discussion on recovery-friendly workplaces from 1 to 3 p.m. CT Thursday, Sept. 3. The session, titled “Recovery at Work: Celebrating Connections,” will focus on how employers, state and local governments, and other community leaders have joined hands to expand employment opportunities for Americans in recovery.

The North Dakota Department of Commerce today announced that three communities in eastern North Dakota were recommended to receive funding from the Main Street Initiative Vibrancy Grant.

Gov. Doug Burgum and Lt. Gov. Brent Sanford welcomed U.S. Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette to North Dakota today, highlighting the importance of Minot Air Force Base’s nuclear mission and the state’s coal, oil and natural gas industries to the United States’ economic and national security.