Latest North Dakota Headlines

All the headlines from our North Dakota Topic Page, ordered by recency.

North Dakota Blue Cross CEO Fired Over Caribbean Retreat

Mar 12 2009 // Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota has fired its president and chief executive officer after coming under fire for a Caribbean retreat attended by more than 30 sales employees and guests.Mike Unhjem has been the...

Highway Patrol Chief to Head North Dakota Workers Comp

Mar 9 2009 // Former North Dakota Highway Patrol superintendent Bryan Klipfel has been named the state’s new workers compensation director.Gov. John Hoeven announced Friday that he’s chosen Klipfel for the job. Klipfel...

Tough Luck for North Dakota Workers’ Comp Whistleblowers

Mar 9 2009 // Former employees of North Dakota’s Workforce Safety and Insurance agency have struggled to pursue claims that they were illegally fired for spotlighting questionable activities at the agency.A judge has thrown out...

Army Inspecting 4 North Dakota Dams

Mar 4 2009 // The Army Corps of Engineers says four dams in North Dakota are among the 600 nationwide that are being screened through a new public safety process. The corps says the Garrison, Bowman Haley and Snake Creek dams have been...

Tough Luck for Dismissed North Dakota Workers’ Comp Employees

Mar 3 2009 // Former employees of North Dakota’s Workforce Safety and Insurance agency have struggled to pursue claims that they were illegally fired for spotlighting questionable activities at the agency.A judge has thrown out...

Gov. Hoeven to Name North Dakota Workers’ Compensation Director Soon

Mar 3 2009 // Gov. John Hoeven’s staff attorney says the governor will soon name a a permanent executive director for the state workers’ compensation agency.Ryan Bernstein, Hoeven’s staff attorney, says the governor...

No Jail Time for Former North Dakota Workers’ Comp Director

Feb 27 2009 // North Dakota’s former workers compensation director has been given a two-year deferred sentence with no jail time and a $2,000 fine for misspending public money.The deferred sentence means Sandy Blunt’s record...

Former North Dakota Workers’ Comp Chief Faces Sentencing

Feb 25 2009 // A lawyer for former North Dakota workers compensation director Sandy Blunt says his client should not get jail time for his felony conviction.A jury convicted Blunt last December of misspending more than $10,000 in public...

North Dakota Planning for Major Flooding in Devils Lake, Red River

Feb 13 2009 // With memories of the 1997 floods still fresh, North Dakota officials are planning for significant flooding in the Devils Lake region and the Red River Valley after months of heavy rainfall and snow.Sen. Byron Dorgan,...

North Dakota Sticks With State Monopoly of Workers’ Compensation Insurance

Feb 13 2009 // North Dakota’s workers compensation insurance monopoly still has strong support in the state House.Representatives voted 86-7 this week to defeat a bill that would have allowed North Dakota employers to buy insurance...

FEMA Preparing for Spring Floods in North Dakota

Feb 11 2009 // With record snowfall in North Dakota this winter and traditionally heavy snow months still to come, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is getting prepared to help state officials deal with spring flooding.FEMA...

North Dakota Revokes Fargo Insurance Agent’s License

Feb 11 2009 // North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Adam Hamm has revoked the insurance license of Larry Atkins, a Fargo insurance agent who was charged with 78 felonies in 2008. The revocation bars him from selling, soliciting or...

North Dakota Senate Kills Bill to Ban Credit Scoring in Insurance

Feb 9 2009 // The North Dakota Senate last week killed legislation (SB 2330) that would have banned insurers from using credit information in underwriting and rating.On Feb. 2, the Senate Industry, Business and Labor Committee voted do...

North Dakota Bills Respond to Firings of Workers Compensation Whistleblowers

Feb 5 2009 // The dismissals of four employees who questioned how North Dakota’s workers compensation agency was being run showed a state law intended to guard against such firings is almost useless, a state senator believes.Sen....

North Dakota Moves to Double Auto Insurance Minimum Limits

Jan 29 2009 // North Dakota drivers’ minimum required insurance coverage for accidents hasn’t changed in 24 years and should be raised, the state House narrowly decided after debating whether motorists could afford the...

Insurers Oppose North Dakota Bill to Ban Use of Credit Scoring

Jan 27 2009 // Property/casualty insuerrs are urging North Dakota lawmakers to defeat a bill that would preclude their use of credit scoring in calculating insurance premiums.The North Dakota Senate Industry, Business & Labor...

North Dakota Agents Report More Interest in Flood Insurance in Fargo

Jan 27 2009 // North dakota insurance agents are seeing more Fargo homeowners interested in flood insurance, after a winter of heavy snow and forecasts of spring floodingKen Kraft is an American Family Insurance agent in south Fargo. He...

North Dakota Could Back Tougher Teen Driving Laws

Jan 25 2009 // North Dakota lawmakers strongly support toughening state laws that govern teenage drivers, and many favor raising the state’s 14-year-old minimum driving age, an Associated Press survey shows.Insurance Commissioner...

North Dakota Revokes Agent’s License Over False Jewelry Claim

Jan 23 2009 // North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Adam Hamm recently revoked the insurance license of Crystal Gayle Just, a Bismarck insurance agent who officials said confessed to filing a false police report and an insurance claim for...

Privacy v. Pugnacity: North Dakota Town Fights Over Cameras in Bars

Jan 22 2009 // Authorities in a small North Dakota coal mining town want bar owners to install surveillance systems after a rash of brawls that some people liken to those seen in John Wayne’s Western movies.Bar owners say the...