This winter’s mild temperatures, a result of climate change, have wrecked plans and disrupted local economies in the region As a child in the 1990s, Joseph Kuzma remembers how he and his father would – around this time of year – drive their truck out on to Lake Erie and set up a mini camp right on the ice. “We’d stay out there all weekend in an ice shanty. Catch fish, cook it and sleep in bunks on the ice,” he said. He also recalled sitting next to his brother when he drove a dump truck from the nearby island of Put-In-Bay to the mainland atop the lake ice, remarking: “We would have 6in to 8in ..read more

At least 16 states will fund largely unregulated facilities that try to convince people to continue their pregnancies In the months since the US supreme court overturned Roe v Wade, at least 16 states have agreed to funnel more than $250m in taxpayer dollars towards anti-abortion facilities and programs that try to convince people to continue their pregnancies. Much of that money is set to go to anti-abortion counseling centers, or crisis pregnancy centers, according to data provided by the Guttmacher Institute and Equity Forward, organizations that support abortion rights. It has been paid ou ..read more

Republican governor of North Dakota had launched his campaign in June touting economy, energy and national security concerns Doug Burgum, the North Dakota governor, ended his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination on Monday despite a stronger-than-expected showing fueled by a gift card-for-campaign donation gimmick that helped get him on the debate stage. Burgum, a second-term governor and wealthy software entrepreneur, was little known nationally when he launched his 2024 presidential campaign in June, touting his priorities of energy, the economy and national security, as well a ..read more

The American Legislative Exchange Council is promoting a model resolution for state legislatures to support Israel’s Gaza offensive A powerful rightwing pressure group, the American Legislative Exchange Council (Alec), is engineering pledges of unconditional support for Israel’s attack on Gaza by state legislatures across the US. Alec is promoting a model resolution expressing “support for Israel’s right to pursue without interference or condemnation the elimination of Hamas”. A version has been accepted by legislatures in at least eight states, including Pennsylvania, Nebraska and North Dakot ..read more

Ina Kenoyer charged with murder Steven Riley Jr after learning he would break up with her and says she is entitled to part of $30m A North Dakota woman is accused of fatally poisoning her boyfriend with antifreeze after learning that he planned to break up with her after he received a large inheritance. Steven Riley Jr, 51, became ill when he met with a lawyer 3 September to get the money, witnesses told investigators, according to Minot police department records. His girlfriend, Ina Thea Kenoyer, called 911 the next day, and paramedics found Riley unresponsive. He was hospitalized and died on ..read more

About 60% of oil and gas operations protected from protest due to money spent on lobbying, says Greenpeace USA report Fossil fuel companies have spent millions of dollars on lobbying and campaign donations to state lawmakers who sponsored anti-protest laws – which now shield about 60% of US gas and oil operations from protest and civil disobedience, according to a new report from Greenpeace USA. Eighteen states including Montana, Ohio, Georgia, Louisiana, West Virginia and the Dakotas have enacted sweeping anti-protest laws which boost penalties for trespass near so-called critical infrastruct ..read more

Doug Larsen and family killed shortly after taking off from Canyonlands airfield, about 15 miles north of Moab A state senator from North Dakota, his wife and their two young children died when the small plane they were traveling in crashed in Utah, a senate leader said Monday. Doug Larsen’s death was confirmed on Monday in an email that the Republican state senate majority leader David Hogue sent to his fellow senators and was obtained by the Associated Press ..read more

Wyatt Kauffman, 13, who parents say will make ‘full recovery’, discharged from hospital after surviving 100ft fall from north rim As he left the hospital and headed for home in North Dakota, a 13-year-old boy who fell 100ft from a ledge at the Grand Canyon said he had been “inches away from death”. “I almost died,” Wyatt Kauffman told ABC’s Good Morning America, when asked to reflect on the fall that left him with a spinal fracture and other injuries. “I want to thank everybody that helped me be able to be alive ..read more

Suspect in attack on busy street in Fargo killed by officers returning fire, as motive remains unknown One police officer died and two others were critically injured after a suspect began shooting on a busy street in Fargo, North Dakota, on Friday afternoon, police said. Officers returning fire killed the suspect during the shooting, which occurred before 3pm. A civilian also was seriously wounded, police said in a late-night statement that provided no details on a possible motive ..read more

Measure also requires teachers to tell parents if student is trans and bars them from using bathroom matching their gender North Dakota’s governor has signed a bill into law that allows public school teachers and state government employees to ignore the pronouns their transgender students and colleagues use, the governor’s office announced on Monday. The new law, signed by the Republican governor, Doug Burgum, also requires teachers to tell a parent or legal guardian if the student is transgender. It also prohibits transgender students from using the appropriate bathroom without prior approval ..read more