Today in Minot

The Ward County Commission will hold its regular meeting on Tuesday, August 19, 2025, at 9:00 AM in the Commission Chambers at the Ward County Administrative Building, located at 315 3rd St SE. Ward County Commission meetings can be live-streamed through the county's Vimeo page found...

Sitting Bull is remembered as a warrior and leader, but a new project is restoring another part of his legacy: his voice as a singer and songwriter. The Densmore/Lakota Songs Repatriation Project has released recordings and research that finally bring his songs to light after they were long overlooked, in part due to bias from early historians. For the Lakota, music was inseparable from leadership, and these recovered works show Sitting Bull not only as a defender of his people, but as a creator who carried their spirit in song. David Olson with InForum has the full story.

In classrooms across the country, teachers are no longer just grappling with essays and lesson plans—they’re navigating a fast-moving wave of artificial intelligence. What began as a curiosity has quickly become a daily presence, both ally and adversary. Some educators are using AI to plan smarter and reach struggling students; others are teaching kids how to challenge it. What’s clear: the tech isn’t going away, and the real lesson isn’t about banning ChatGPT—it’s about building a generation that knows how to use it wisely. Sofia Barnett with WIRED has the full story.

When a sport is growing faster than baseball and igniting turf wars in public parks, it’s worth paying attention. Pickleball’s explosive rise from obscurity to obsession is more than a quirky trend—it’s a lens into how Americans move, compete, and chase fun. But as history shows, we’ve been here before. From racquetball to roller skates, fitness fads surge and fade. So what makes pickleball different? Or is it just the next step in our restless cultural dance—part game, part generational echo? Derek Thompson has the rest of the story.

JAMESTOWN, N.D. – Gov. Kelly Armstrong, along with state agency officials and local leaders, led a groundbreaking ceremony today for the new North Dakota State Hospital. The event marked a significant milestone in the state's commitment to investing in services that support the behavioral health needs...

Applied Digital, the company operating data centers near Ellendale and Jamestown, on Monday announced plans to build a $3 billion data center at Harwood, north of Fargo. Applied Digital plans to break ground in September on what it calls Polaris Forge 2, a 280-megawatt artificial intelligence...

Grand Forks is tightening the rules on who can run charitable gaming sites in the city—but not without debate. A new ordinance now requires that most of an organization’s board or staff live locally, with narrow exceptions carved out to protect longstanding community contributors like NDAD. Supporters say it’s a move to strengthen local ties and open doors for Grand Forks-based nonprofits. Dissenters worry it could scare off future statewide groups. Either way, the city is drawing new lines in a game with real economic stakes. Hannah Shirley with Grand Forks Herald has the full story.

MINOT, N.D. – The North Dakota Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (ND EPSCoR) is pleased to announce that its partnering institutions have been approved for a National Science Foundation (NSF) E-CORE award for their Sustainable Programs Advancing Research and Knowledge across North Dakota (SPARK-ND) proposal....

Some sights are so breathtaking, they demand a new word—in your own language. For 12th-century Icelanders, Hagia Sophia was one of them. Though Icelandic often adapted foreign place names, only one European building earned its very own Icelandic name: Ægisif. That says something about the awe this Byzantine cathedral inspired, even from the edge of the known world. This piece from The Grapevine dives into that rare linguistic honor—and the Viking-era journeys that brought tales of Constantinople home to the North.

Democracy rarely disappears with a bang. More often, it’s eroded bit by bit—traded for comfort, stability, or the illusion of strength. But in Ukraine, the opposite is happening. Faced with invasion, corruption, and hardship, Ukrainians haven’t run to strongmen or simple answers. They’ve doubled down on democracy—not as a slogan, but as a lived, hard-won truth. In a world where freedom is often taken for granted, Ukraine is showing what it looks like to fight for it with everything you’ve got. Cory Alpert with The Kyiv Independent has the full story.

With a new mayor sworn in and a council seat left vacant, Minot’s City Council is moving quickly to fill the gap. Applications are open through August 28 for residents interested in stepping into local leadership. The appointment process may prevent a costly special election, but council members acknowledge it all hinges on finding the right fit—and agreement. With budget votes looming, whoever fills the seat must be ready to dive in. For Minot, the next chapter in city government starts now. Jill Schramm with Minot Daily News has the full story.

In the far north of Sweden, where winter stretches long and the earth holds iron deep below, a church is on the move. After standing for more than a century, the beloved wooden Kiruna Church is being carefully rolled—yes, rolled—five kilometers to escape the slow but steady sink of the ground beneath it. The cause? Europe’s largest underground iron ore mine. Locals and visitors alike are watching as history glides forward, one remote-controlled wheel at a time. It’s a feat of engineering—and devotion. Radio Sweden has the full story.

For many students, artificial intelligence still feels like something that happens to them—not something they get to shape. That’s where programs like AI4All come in. At a free summer camp hosted by Princeton, high schoolers from low-income and rural backgrounds are learning not just how AI works, but how to use it to solve real problems—from wildfire response to medical challenges. As AI becomes a defining force in education and work, who gets to understand and influence it is becoming just as important as the tech itself.