News

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.

Gov. Doug Burgum issued the following statement today after the Army recommended that the U.S. Department of Justice should engage in settlement talks over North Dakota’s claim that the federal government should reimburse the state for $38 million in costs related to the Dakota Access Pipeline protests. 

Gov. Doug Burgum today requested a presidential major disaster declaration for a severe summer storm that caused flash flooding in several counties and resulted in more than $5 million in damage to roads and other infrastructure. 

Gov. Doug Burgum issued the following statement today after the North Dakota Supreme Court upheld Senate Bill 2134, which he signed into law in 2017. The legislation, introduced by then-state Sen. Kelly Armstrong, provides an appropriate process for the state Board of University and School Lands (Land Board) to refund money to owners of oil and gas mineral rights under Lake Sakakawea (outside of MHA Nation) where the state had incorrectly assumed ownership. Burgum was named as a defendant in the lawsuit along with the North Dakota Industrial Commission, the Land Board and Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem.