A Fargo Fire investigator is asking people not to be stubborn and to take the COVID-19 threat seriously.

Prairie Public reporter Todd McDonald has this story…

We acknowledge the passing of MHA tribal historian Marilyn Hudson, sharing an excerpt of her visit with Merrill Piepkorn in 2012.

Bismarck has become the latest North Dakota city to adopt a mask mandate, to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

The vote was 3 to 2.

The mandate does not have any penalties.

Commissioner Nancy Guy said she proposed the mandate, because she fears if Bismarck and Burleigh County don’t reduce the positivity rate, businesses and schools could again face shutdowns.

"We're not getting the job done," Guy said. "We don't have enough people doing it (wearing masks), in order for it to be making a difference."

The White House’s top adviser on COVID-19 has a message for the people of North Dakota: Wear a mask, to help prevent the spread of the disease.

Dr. Deborah Birx was in Bismarck on Monday to meet with community, tribal and state health officials. She said she is concerned about North Dakota’s increase in case numbers and deaths from the virus. And she said she's concerned that with the colder weather, more people will be indoors, and that could mean more spread.

Sanford Health and Intermountain Healthcare have announced their intent to merge.

Their plan is to complete the merger by next summer.

Intermountain is based in Salt Lake City – and it will be the managing partner. It will keep its corporate offices in Sioux Falls.  Intermountain CEO Marc Harrison will be the CEO of the new organization.

At a news conference, Harrison said health care has become unaffordable for many Americans. He said there is a lot of duplication and waste in the health care system.

The University of North Dakota’s Energy and Environmental Research Center has been doing the study of what are called “rare earth” elements in lignite coal.

Those elements are essential for such things as cell phones, batteries and other electronic devices. Currently, the US imports most of those elements from other countries, such as China.

"We are seeing we have high concentrations in coals, and lignite in particular," said EERC CEO Charles Gorecki. "And it's just identifying where they are, and working on how you extract them, and get them to a processing plant."