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The University of North Dakota has unveiled the complete list of suggestions it received for a new team nickname to replace the "Fighting Sioux," which was retired in 2012. And boy, were some of the names ridiculous. You can check here for the list of 1,172 names still in contention, but let's pay tribute to some of the more amusing monikers suggested -- with shoutouts to Kobe Bryant, "Game of Thrones" and "South Park" -- and promptly missed the cut. And as you can see below, many people who submitted names (UND had to whittle down the 628-page list of...

Following a spate of explosive accidents involving North Dakota crude, the state on Wednesday began requiring companies to remove certain liquids and gases from oil before it's loaded onto rail cars -- a move industry and state regulators believe will make for safer shipments. The rules, developed over the past year, require all crude from the oil patch to be treated by heat or by pressure to reduce its volatility before being loaded onto train cars. "North Dakota's crude oil conditioning order is based on sound science and represents an important step in the ongoing work to ensure that oil-by-rail...

The University of North Dakota is looking for suggestions for a new nickname. The school's nickname committee will be accepting submissions beginning Wednesday until the end of the April. The names must be 25 characters or less. The committee says it is looking for nicknames that are unique, promote pride and strength, represent the state and region, honor the traditions and heritage of the past, and can be a unifying and rallying symbol. A consulting group will research the suggestions for any trademark or copyright infringement. The committee will narrow down the choices for a public vote. The school's Fighting...

An omnibus gun law reform bill has been introduced in North Dakota by Representative Roscoe Streyle, from Minot.  The bill, HB 1241(pdf), would bring into law many reforms that have proven popular in other states.   Among the reforms in the bill: 1. The restrictions on the use of legal gun mufflers and short barreled rifles for hunting would be removed.  These restrictions never made any sense, and are being eliminated all over the country.  35 states do not prevent the use of gun mufflers for hunting; no legislative purpose for the heavy handed restrictions on gun mufflers has been...

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — A potentially endangered species of bat could become a major obstacle to the proposed Sandpiper oil pipeline in northern Minnesota. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is considering whether to declare the northern long-eared bat an endangered species because the spread of the white-nosed syndrome disease has reduced its population. In that case, Enbridge could be forced to postpone its pipeline project or chose a different route. The current proposal would carry crude from the North Dakota oilfields to Superior, Wisconsin and would run through the bats' habitat. Enbridge has already taken steps to avoid...

Fargo, North Dakota has not been a hotbed of violent crime.  That may have changed with the oil boom that has been going on for the past decade.  It appears that a number of transients and homeless people have found their way to the city.   Last Monday, at noon, it was just below zero with a 10 mph wind.  It was not a good time to be outdoors.    To be knocked unconscious and left to lay exposed could have been fatal. Fortunately for the victim in this crime, a concealed carry permit holder witnessed enough of the assault and...

Oil-field lodgings company Civeo Corp. said it has slashed its workforce in the United States by 45 percent and in Canada by 30 percent as it prepares for weaker occupancy rates at its oil-field camps next year. The Houston-based company had more than 4,000 employees when it spun off from oil field services firm Oil States International in June. The announcement is the latest oil-field services layoffs in reaction to falling oil prices and anticipated oil-company budget cuts. Houston-based Hercules Offshore said it would reduce its headcount by 324 and oil field giant Halliburton said it would cut 1,000 jobs...

North Dakota is poised to impose the strictest oil standards in its history on Tuesday, requiring every barrel of crude to be filtered for dangerous types of natural gas in an effort to make crude-by-rail transport safer. The new requirements come as federal, state and local officials grapple with how best to ensure the safe transport of North Dakota's crude oil, which has been linked to a string of fiery crude-by-rail explosions, including one last year in Quebec that killed 47 people. Governor Jack Dalrymple and the two other members of the North Dakota Industrial Commission (NDIC) are taking the...

Even as it fills the railroads of the Upper Midwest with oil tank cars, the Bakken has allowed its natural gas riches to languish. Less profitable than oil and more difficult to transport, natural gas has been so secondary in North Dakota that drillers still burn off more than a fourth of what rises from the ground. In satellite pictures, the flames sprawl across the Williston basin, lighting it up like a giant suburb. A quiet transformation is underway, however, as the state bids to turn natural gas into a native business and drive down flaring. A growing network of...

DEVILS LAKE, N.D. -- A $200 million, 20,000-barrel-a-day clean fuels oil refinery could be operating near Devils Lake within three years. The refinery, similar to one being built in Dickinson, would employ about 100 people and could create as many as 400 spin-off jobs in the area, according to Rachel Lindstrom, executive director of Forward Devils Lake, the region's economic development agency. "It's very exciting for Devils Lake," she said, "a great opportunity." Devils Lake City Commission approved a letter of support for the project this week. The refinery is being proposed by Eagles Ledge Energy Ltd., based in Vancouver,...

BISMARCK, N.D. -- A federal judge on Wednesday overturned a North Dakota law that bans abortions when a fetal heartbeat can be detected, which can be as early as six weeks into pregnancy and before many women know they're pregnant. U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland said the law is "invalid and unconstitutional" and that it "cannot withstand a constitutional challenge." The state attorney general said he was looking at whether to appeal the decision by the Bismarck-based judge. North Dakota is among several conservative states that have passed new abortion restrictions in recent years, but abortion rights supporters called North...

Texas is producing about 36 percent of the country’s crude oil — three times more than any other state, according to the latest monthly figures from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Texas pumped nearly 2.9 million barrels of crude daily of the 7.9 million barrels produced nationwide in January, the latest month for which figures are available. The Gulf of Mexico produced about 17 percent, the second-largest portion, followed by North Dakota with about 12 percent of the U.S. crude. California and Alaska rounded out the top five crude-producing areas, each home to about 7 percent of the nation’s oil....

A Ford dealer, Muscatell Burns Ford, in Hawley, Minnesota, is offering a free shotgun with each new pickup truck it sells.    A shotgun costs a few hundred dollars and a pickup truck tens of thousands, so while a nice addition, it is not a big deal. It tells the customers that the dealership supports a constitutional republic, in a way that is willing to make national news and take a little heat from the "progressive" media.  This is a proven promotional idea that savvy dealerships have used a number of times to gain free publicity.  This promotion is scheduled...

At 97 years old, Johnie Beckerleg has a variety of stories to tell, but after a trip to Wal–Mart he added one to the books he never thought he would about a man who tried stealing the car he was still sitting in. It's an unimaginable story but for Johnie Beckerleg of Dilworth it became reality. "It never dawned on me that anything like that could happen," Beckerleg said. While doing some Christmas shopping last Sunday at Walmart in Dilworth, Beckerleg stayed in his son's pickup in the parking lot when a man suddenly swung open the door and jumped...

North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem filed a legal opinion last week confirming that the state does not recognize out-of-state same-sex marriages, allowing a man married to another man to come to North Dakota and marry a woman without divorcing his husband. [snip] Presented with a legal hypothetical, Attorney General Stenehjem answered three questions: whether someone in a same-sex marriage in another state can also receive a marriage license to someone of the opposite sex in North Dakota, whether they can file legal documents as "Single" when they possess a same-sex marriage license in another state, and whether this would...

IIt’s no secret that North Dakota’s oil industry is booming. Advancements in hydraulic fracturing have helped Western North Dakota experience month after month of record-setting oil production, making for one of the fastest-growing economic expansions the U.S. has ever seen. With the region having one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country and generating over 75,000 new jobs in the past few years, thousands of workers have showed up searching for high-paying jobs. Oil field workers in the state saw an average annual wage of $112,462 in 2012. Competition has intensified since the boom started around 2007, but entry...

Clarity on First Amendment as result of Alliance Defending Freedom letter prompts quick change Wednesday, May 08, 2013 Attorney sound bites:  Jon Scruggs #1  |  Jon Scruggs #2COOPERSTOWN, N.D. — One day after receiving a letter from Alliance Defending Freedom, a North Dakota high school and its district agreed to allow a student’s pro-life poster that was part of a class assignment to be placed back on the walls of the school. Griggs County Central School District agreed to the change on Friday after receiving the Alliance Defending Freedom letter Thursday about the poster, which the school had removed after...

In case you missed it, the Department of the Interior announced today that there’s twice as much oil and three times as much natural gas in North Dakota’s shale formations as had previously been estimated. This is a godsend for the U.S. economy. And decades from now, it will probably spare former President Obama from the full blame he would otherwise get for economic mismanagement.

The North Dakota state Senate today approved legislation that would have the state banning most all abortions. The measure stops any abortions after the first 6 weeks of pregnancy. The legislation will not likely be upheld in court should it ultimately become law, but that hasn’t stopped legislators in North Dakota from pushing the measure as a possible test case in an attempt to overturn Roe. The North Dakota Family Alliance Action, a pro-life group, strongly supported the Heartbeat Bill, HB 1456. “The purpose of HB 1456 is quite simple, prohibiting an abortion if the unborn child the pregnant woman...

In a measure the state said would help stop massacres like the one at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Connecticut in December, so-called "school sentinels" will be tasked with protecting children. The controversial measure was signed by Governor Dennis Daugaard, a Republican, and will go into effect on July 1. It reflects a growing divide between those including President Barack Obama, who believe guns need to be more strictly regulated, and supporters of the National Rifle Association who argue that more guns keep people safer. In South Dakota, supporters of the "sentinel" plan argued that schools in rural areas were...