Dickinson State University is proposing to lease a portion of the former college rodeo grounds to a commercial developer.

DSU is asking for State Board of Higher Education approval to begin talks on the lease agreement.

The lease would be to BF Properties LLP.

"They would like to build a gas station/convenience store, with the possibility of selling off-sale liquor," DSU interim Vice President for Finance and Administration, Laura Nelson, told the Board’s Budget and Finance Committee. "This is the land where the Teddy Roosevelt Library was going to be built."

North Dakota continues to see growth in air passenger traffic.

The state Aeronautics Commission reports a 9.5 percent increase in boardings for October, compared with October, 2018.

"Looking at year-to-date, through the first 10 months of the year, we're up about 10 percent statewide," said state Aeronautics Commission director Kyle Wanner. "Numbers continue to grow across North Dakota, and that's great news for the flying public in our state."

After a record-setting August, September oil and gas production dropped slightly.

"I think the best way to describe September is 'soggy,'" said North Dakota Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms at his monthly "Director's Cut" briefing.

Helms said he had predicted that September would be down.

"I was anticipating maybe as much as 7 1/2 percent," Helms said. "Fortunately, that didn't happen."

The report showed a drop of about 37,000 barrels a day – or about 2 1/2 percent. Natural gas production was down by about 2.2 percent.

A milestone for Burlington.

As part of the Mouse River Flood Control project, the Colton Avenue Bridge has been re-opened to traffic.

"It's the first project outside the city of Minot that is coming to completion," said Dusty Zimmerman of Ackerman-Estvold, the firm hired to do the design and engineering work for the flood control project.

Zimmerman said it's the first phase of two phases for the city.

Discussions are underway about having the Northern Border natural gas pipeline carry only North Dakota-produced gas.

Right now, the pipeline carries some Canadian gas.

But it's not that way.

"If we're going to take over 100 percent of the capacity of the Northern Border pipeline, and make it a North Dakota natural gas export pipeline, we're going to have to de-ethanize our gas," said North Dakota Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms.

That would mean taking the "ethane" out of the gas.

An interim Legislative committee is studying North Dakota’s mental health commitment statute – and procedures – to see if it should be changed.

But the superintendent of the State Hospital in Jamestown said it’s a good law.

Dr. Rosalie Etherington said it has been consistently recognized as good law. But she said she hopes the study will look at how that law is being carried out as designed.

"Do we need to change?" Etherington said in an interview. "Do we need to educate judges and providers about what the statute actually says?"

A new state hospital will likely be proposed to the 2021 Legislature.

Governor Burgum had proposed building a new state hospital in his 2019 executive budget. It was a part of a major change in corrections facilities. The James River Correctional Center is on the same campus as the state hospital.

The Board of Higher Education has approved what will be the initial contract for new Presidents in the University System.

But the Board removed a provision that new Presidents would be eligible to receive up to a 25 percent bonus for meeting certain goals. That provision caused a lot of discussion at the Thursday special board meeting.