Latest news with #Nathe
Press and Journal
3 days ago
- General
- Press and Journal
Have you seen Nathan Griffin? 24-year-old reported missing from Inverness
A 24-year-old man has been reported missing from Inverness. Nathan Griffin, who is also known by Nathe, was last seen 72 hours ago. Relatives reported him missing after he failed to return home. This morning, police are appealing for the public's help to trace him amid concerns for his whereabouts. Officers have issued a detailed description alongside an image of the 24-year-old. Inverness residents are being asked to keep a lookout for him as part of their ongoing enquiries. At the time of his disappearance, Nathan was known to be wearing a black hoodie, black trousers, black trainers and a black Air Jordan cap. Anyone with information concerning his whereabouts is being asked to contact police on 101 quoting incident ref PS-20250531-1331.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
North Dakota House advances $50M in state funds for presidential library
The last steel beam is hoisted into place at the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in Medora on Aug. 14, 2024. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor) The North Dakota House advanced an amendment to the Department of Commerce budget Wednesday that would add $50 million in state funding and a $20 million Bank of North Dakota loan for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. The 53-40 vote followed lengthy discussion, with some members questioning why the $50 million was first introduced last Friday and did not receive a full policy committee hearing. The funding proposed in Senate Bill 2018 would be in addition to $50 million in state funds the Legislature approved in 2019. Rep. Mike Nathe, R-Bismarck, who proposed the additional library funding, said the $50 million would only be available if the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation matches it with private donations. The goal is to add to the library's endowment so interest from the funds could help cover operational costs, he said. 'As we all know, museums just don't make money,' Nathe said. Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library crosses construction milestone Construction of the library is on schedule near Theodore Roosevelt National Park in the tourist town of Medora, with a grand opening planned for July 4, 2026. In 2019, then-Gov. Doug Burgum signed a bill authorizing a $50 million endowment for the library that was contingent on the library foundation raising $100 million in private donations. Nathe said inflation and other impacts after the COVID-19 pandemic drove up the cost of multi-year projects like the presidential library. Rep. Ben Koppelman, R-West Fargo, said he only supported the funding in 2019 because he was told that would be the only request for state dollars to support the presidential library. Koppelman, who voted against the new funding, also took issue with the dollars being proposed to the House Appropriations Committee rather than a policy committee. 'We might as well not have policy committees if we're just going to put policy in budget bills whenever we feel like it,' Koppelman said. 'This is a pretty big policy shift to say we're going to double what we did before after we were told that was it.' Rep. Jared Hendrix, R-West Fargo, who also voted against the amendment, said he worries that taxpayers would be on the hook to fill funding gaps for the library. 'I think we would be kidding ourselves if we're going to say that we're not going to be coming back in the future for many years, and decades, to come to ask for more money because these libraries are not sustainable,' Hendrix said. The bill also contains a $20 million line of credit from the state-owned Bank of North Dakota for the library to access during the 2025-27 biennium. The goal of the loan is to help fund construction if there are donations pledged that have yet to be received. Lawmakers approved a similar $70 million line of credit for the library in the 2023 session, which the library foundation has not accessed. 'That we haven't touched our $70 million line of credit with the state shows that we are being responsible about this and trying to raise as much private funds as possible,' said Matt Briney, spokesperson for the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library Foundation. To date, the foundation has raised $286 million in private donations for the library project, he said. 'If we get all the private funding for the library, that would essentially be $500 million for the library construction and the endowment contributions,' Briney said. A $70 million line of credit for the library was included in the state Parks and Recreation budget. However, the latest amendment reduces it to $20 million. Sen. Brad Bekkedahl, chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said lawmakers intend to only include the loan in one budget. The bill states that if the loan is not repaid by June 30, 2027, lawmakers would be asked to consider repaying it. Lawmakers also added a provision that would require admission to the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library to be free for children under 18. Rep. Vicky Steiner, R-Dickinson, who voted in support of the library funding, said former President Theodore Roosevelt was 'larger than life.' She said the library could inspire children for generations. 'This will put us on the map internationally,' Steiner said. She added the library will help tell the story of North Dakota and could influence more investment and people coming to the state. Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library bill aims for federal cost-share, access to artifacts The House is expected to vote on the overall bill Thursday. The library funding also would need to be considered by the Senate. The presidential library endowment is managed by the state Department of Trust Lands. The balance was about $54.5 million as of Jan. 31, according to Land Commissioner Joe Heringer. The presidential library also received $4 million in state funding through the Department of Commerce Destination Development grant program. The funding was designated for recreation trails, paths and pavilions around the library grounds to connect with nearby tourist and recreation sites. In addition, the library received nearly $500,000 from the state Outdoor Heritage Fund for a native plant seeding project. There's also an effort to secure federal funding for up to $50 million for the library. The U.S. Senate passed the legislation last year but the House did not act on it. Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., reintroduced the legislation in February, with Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., as a co-sponsor. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
House rejects bills that aimed to change how North Dakota candidates get on the ballot
Rep. Mike Nathe, R-Bismarck, speaks on the House floor on Feb. 25, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor) Two bills that would have reshaped how candidates get on the North Dakota ballot failed in the House late Tuesday. House Bill 1446, sponsored by Rep. Mike Nathe, R-Bismarck, would have eliminated the option of getting on the ballot through a political endorsement. Instead, candidates for statewide and legislative offices would be required to gather signatures to get on the primary or general election ballot. Currently, candidates can get on the ballot through either a political endorsement or by gathering signatures. However, several incumbent lawmakers skipped district endorsing conventions last year, citing concerns about the process. And two candidates endorsed at the Republican Party state convention went on to lose in the primary. 'The system, we all know, is not working,' Nathe said. Under the proposal, legislative candidates would be required to obtain signatures for 1% of the district's total population, about 167, while statewide office holders would need to acquire 2,000 signatures. Competing bills would change how candidates get on North Dakota ballot During floor debate, Nathe said some districts are pushing candidates away if they don't meet the 'litmus test' for the perceived values of the political party. Others are being harassed and booed at meetings if they say anything that could go against party doctrine, he said. Lawmakers opposing the bill suggested it would put more candidates on the primary ballot and would fundamentally change the endorsing process. Rep. Vicky Steiner, R-Dickinson, acknowledged that some districts have issues, but said it's up to the state party to correct the behavior. She said some districts take their endorsements and processes seriously and are consistently trying to improve them. 'The system works,' Steiner said. 'Endorsing a candidate gives the voter a chance to understand that that person has been vetted by a group of people who have a set of principles.' Rep. Ben Koppelman, R-West Fargo, said there would be no way to verify that the signatures submitted by a candidate are from people of the same party. 'Many court cases have suggested that a party, through law, cannot be deprived of the ability to choose their candidate,' Koppelman said. Nathe's bill failed on a 58-32 vote. House Bill 1424, sponsored by Koppelman, would have required candidates to obtain a political party's endorsement. Candidates who submit signatures to get on the ballot could not have a political party next to their name. After the debate on Nathe's bill, Koppelman urged lawmakers to vote against his proposal. 'I think that we all are reacting to what our experiences are in the last two, maybe four years,' he said. 'I think if cooler heads prevail, and we go back and try to build the best districts that we can, that we'll be successful in our respective parties and hopefully we'll get more people involved.' Koppelman's bill failed on an 86-3 vote. House Minority Leader Zac Ista, D-Grand Forks, said people listening to the floor debate may get the wrong impression that getting into politics is 'messy' and 'nasty.' 'I can't speak for your districts or party, maybe that's true, but I want people watching to know that that's not the case in the minority party,' Ista said. 'I sure hope you all will figure this out so we can move forward productively.' Senate Bill 2252, sponsored by Sen. Chuck Walen, R-New Town, also would have prohibited ballot access to the primary election for candidates not endorsed by a political party. Walen's bill failed on the Senate floor Monday on a 41-6 vote. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Competing bills would change how candidates get on North Dakota ballot
Rep. Mike Nathe, R-Bismarck, introduces a bill during a committee hearing on candidate ballot access on Feb. 7, 2025. (Michael Achterling/North Dakota Monitor) Two proposals in the North Dakota Legislature seek to reshape how statewide and legislative candidates get on the ballot. The bills follow an election season that saw some legislative incumbents skip their local endorsing conventions and two candidates win primaries without support of the Republican party. North Dakota allows candidates to appear on the ballot for the primary or general election by either receiving a political party endorsement at the district or state level or obtaining a set amount of signatures. House Bill 1446, sponsored by Rep. Mike Nathe, R-Bismarck, would eliminate the option of getting on the ballot through a party endorsement. Instead, all candidates for statewide office would be required to gather at least 2,000 petition signatures while legislative candidates would need 167 signatures, or 1% of their district's population. 3 Bismarck Republican lawmakers skip local endorsing convention 'Why not let the people of your district, let the people of the state decide who should be on the primary ballot versus a small group of political insiders?' Nathe said during a hearing Friday. Nathe, a representative of District 30, skipped his district endorsing convention in 2024 with two other Republican incumbents and instead gathered signatures to get on the June ballot. They cited concerns about the fairness of the district endorsing process, including that a candidate was allowed to run the meeting. The incumbents overwhelmingly won in the primary and went on to win in November. 'By the petitions, we're including everybody, letting everybody have their say versus what's happening now, which is pushing people away, or people are intimidated, or don't want to get involved,' Nathe said. Leaders of the North Dakota Republican Party and former Republican Gov. Ed Schafer opposed Nathe's bill. They said it would allow anyone, Republican or Democrat, to designate themselves as a member of a party with no affirmation from the party itself. 'HB 1446 is not the way to correct the fractures in the process today,' Schafer said. 'It is the party that needs to correct the dishonesty, the inappropriate behavior that has entered into this nominating process.' Schafer said without a party nominating process for its own candidates, the door would be opened for big money interests to flood the election cycle and boost candidates they deem appropriate. 'Government should not be dictating how a private organization presents its candidates' values and character to the public,' he said Rep. Bernie Satrom, R-Jamestown, questioned the candidate vetting process at the party level. He said candidates who don't agree with the party 100% of time get labeled a RINO, or Republican in Name Only. Rep. Vicky Steiner, R-Dickinson, said the vetting process of candidates at the district level is important to make sure Republican candidates are actually Republicans. 'That's a vetting process to make sure that our values are carried to the ballot,' Steiner said. Nathe said many Republicans feel like they are not being heard and questioned why districts get to define who is, and isn't, a Republican. 'Once you are on that ballot, then there is a primary contest and they are getting vetted through the election process,' he said. Secretary of State Michael Howe gave neutral testimony on Nathe's bill. He told lawmakers his office may require more overtime hours or an extra full-time employee to help verify the additional signatures. Another bill would essentially do the opposite. House Bill 1424, sponsored by Rep. Ben Koppelman, R-West Fargo, would eliminate the option of gathering signatures to get on the primary ballot if the party makes an endorsement. If the party does not make an endorsement, candidates could get on the ballot by collecting signatures. Koppelman said North Dakota is unique because it doesn't have party registration requirements for the primary and doesn't have voter registration. 'Really what we have are a bunch of people that aren't members of a political party that weigh in in the primary to pick who that party's nominee is so that they can again weigh in in November,' Koppelman said. At the Republican Party's state convention in 2024, Julie Fedorchak did not receive the party's endorsement for Congress and Kirsten Baesler did not receive a letter of support from the party for superintendent of public instruction. Both obtained signatures to get on the June ballot and overwhelmingly defeated their competitors. Other candidates have skipped the state convention in recent years, including former Gov. Doug Burgum in 2016. NDGOP endorses Balazs for House after Fedorchak withdraws Koppelman's bill would also empower the Secretary of State's Office to investigate complaints about political endorsement conventions. Howe opposed that aspect of his bill. 'Our office is not involved in any of these endorsing meetings or activities as they are a function of the party and in no way overseen by the Office of the Secretary of State,' Howe said. 'This bill seeks to insert a state agency in the Office of Secretary of State into the middle of party politics.' No other people spoke in opposition to the bill. Sandi Sanford, chair of the North Dakota Republican Party, said the party has work to do to address perceptions around the endorsing processes. 'Everything we're dealing with is fixable,' Sanford said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
