State Senator Oley Larsen Offered Amendment to Eliminate Medicaid Expansion in North Dakota

State Senator Oley Larsen (Republican, Minot) offered an amendment on the North Dakota Senate floor that would eliminate Medicaid Expansion in North Dakota. The move would have kicked approximately 20,000 North Dakota residents off of health insurance. It is estimated as many as 35,000 individuals are eligible for the coverage. Medicaid Expansion was contentiously approved […]

ND House Used 250 Students as Leverage for Sanford Health and NDSU Discussion

It must not get lost on anyone what the Legislature tried this week. The leadership in the North Dakota House used 250 nursing students as leverage to place themselves in an agreement they didn’t like. Placing professional development of our state’s youth in jeopardy with a power grab by legislators is an outrage. Diplomacy be […]

NDSU Nursing Program in Bismarck at Risk of Closing Because of House Amendment and Personal Politics

An amendment to the Higher Education budget in the House Appropriations Committee has caused quite a controversy over the past twelve hours. The amendment to SB 2003 would close the NDSU Nursing Program in Bismarck. The program, an approved partnership since 2014 between NDSU and Sanford Health, was created to address the nursing shortage our […]

Rep. Al Carlson Publicly Admits Responsibility for Budget Situation

In a series of public responses to a press conference held by Democratic legislators, House Majority Leader Al Carlson, Republican of Fargo, admitted the budget situation is his party’s responsibility and the minority was not welcome to be involved in crafting a solution. If you’ve followed the news at all over the last year, you […]

Political Courage Sought to Maintain Anti-Human Trafficking Funding (AUDIO INCLUDED)

Efforts to combat human trafficking have taken a more visible role in public policy discussions over the passed few years. U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp has been a strong leader in this anti-trafficking effort, holding numerous roundtables across the state and sponsoring federal legislation to combat this horrendous industry. However, federal efforts alone will not stomp […]