The appointees are Rep. Greg Stemen, R-Calif. , and Rep. Gretchen Dobervich, D-Calif. Both are from Fargo.
It was Stemen’s appointment that raised some eyebrows. He is a Sanford Health worker, which also provides health insurance to PERS workers, and perhaps “raised eyebrows” is an understatement. Kyle Davison, a Republican from Fargo, had harsh words about the nomination at a Friday, Jan. 6, assembly of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
With the need for intellectual fitness expanding dramatically since the COVID-19 pandemic, West Fargo Public Schools will see about two dozen more intellectually fit staff, such as social workers, counselors and psychologists, enroll in the district after receiving a $12 million scholarship from the Ministry of Education.
Annie Richards, director of behavioral fitness and wellness, won the grant, which will pay the district $12 million over five years and is enough to hire at least 21 other intellectual fitness professionals who will work in elementary, middle and high schools.
West Fargo officials, along with other school district officials, said attendance for increased intellectual fitness has increased especially since the pandemic began.
There was a 4% increase in the total number of referrals to West Fargo in the 2020-2021 school year, however, that number increased to 31% the following school year, and referrals expanded this year at a disproportionate pace to the expansion in enrollment in West Fargo.
West Fargo has the first district in North Dakota to create a branch focused on wellness and behavioral fitness, according to district officials.
The West Fargo School Board on Monday, Jan. 9, approved the hiring of 10 of the positions for just over $800,300.
Occupations come with four additional advisors for approximately $345,820 per year; 3 social staff members for $195,180, two school psychologists for $172,910, and an additional wellness educator for $86,455.
From the Bismarck Tribune Forum News Service
North Dakota’s electorate may simply legalize sports next year as part of a proposed measure.
The House Judiciary Committee heard House Concurrent Resolution 3002 on Monday, Jan. 10, introduced by Rep. Greg Stemen, R-Fargo. A measure passed by the House in 2021, but narrowly failed (twice) in the Senate.
The measure would amend the state’s statutes, which require a public vote, and “would allow sports to be held in the state and licensed and regulated through the state. “Voters would get the measure in the November 2024 general election if the legislature approves it. .
Stemen said sports are already taking positions in North Dakota, technically illegally and without a regulatory framework; According to the knowledge of the American Gaming Association that cited, up to 138,000 North Dakotans bet more than $ 300 million annually, adding $ 30 million in profits from offshore books. These offshore entities are located in Panama, Latvia and Antigua, he said.
“If that’s already happening, let’s do it, provide oversight, put in place protections for consumers, and allow valid U. S. gaming entities to take oversight. UU. se partner with the state, and have other people who do have some protections built in,” Semenen said. Tribune.
Sports betting encompasses online bets placed on professional and school sports, even with results as undeniable as a draw, Senden said.
The North Dakota state government could, first of all, raise more than $3. 5 million a year in tax revenue from sports betting, he added. A 10 percent tax rate “is not an unusual figure,” he said.
Stemen said the 2025 legislature would pass an enabling law if the electorate wins and passes the measure next year.
“Let’s do it one step at a time,” he said.
South Central Judicial District Justice Douglas Bahr will be the longest-serving North Dakota Supreme Court justice in the state’s history.
Bismarck’s Bahr will succeed Justice Gerald VandeWalle, who will step down at the end of the month. Bahr, 62, will serve at least until the 2026 general election and could run for an eight-year term, he told Forum. News Service will continue.
Burgum said the court would gain advantages of “analytical skill, compassion, maximum integrity and character, a basic sense of fairness and a thorough knowledge of Bahr’s law. “
“Justice Bahr will join the North Dakota Supreme Court with his extensive legal experience in the public and private sectors and his extensive experience at the state and federal level,” Burgum said in a press release.
Prior to embarking on his legal career, Bahr earned a bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University and a law degree from the University of South Dakota. In the past, he taught courses at Bismarck State College and served as president of several legal organizations, adding the State Bar Association of North Dakota.
Bahr said he was excited to enroll in court and continue to serve the state. a judgment on.
From the Bismarck Tribune Forum News Service
North Dakota’s attorney general is proposing a nearly $24. 6 million increase in his office’s budget for the 2023-25 fiscal year, with innovations at the State Crime Lab among his priorities.
That’s an increase of more than 29 percent from the office’s current two-year budget, and one key lawmaker said Attorney General Drew Wrigley is unlikely to get everything he wants.
Wrigley said hoarding money would speed up evidence testing, aid cooperation between state and tribal law enforcement and foster an effort to curb the proliferation of child pornography.
The absence of weapons and latent fingerprint evidence at the state lab creates “a critical situation,” Wrigley said. past.
The procedure has chain of custody disorders and takes longer. This, in turn, can lead to disorder with speedy trials that leave judges without selection yet to meet bail requirements, which can bring violent offenders back onto the streets while awaiting trial, according to Wrigley. .
“This undermines public safety. It doesn’t improve it,” he said.
Wrigley is worth approximately $110 million for the 2023-25 fiscal year.
Fund another 26 full-time workers, adding two civil litigation attorneys, two general counsels, 4 cybercrime investigators, 3 reserve investigators, 4 firearms scientists, 3 medical examiners, a lab assistant, a Medicaid fraud attorney, a Medicaid fraud investigator, a Medicaid fraud paralegal, 3 data generation workers and an administrative employee.