North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said during the Coronavirus outbreak, scammers are also out there, hoping to take advantage of people already on edge because of the pandemic.

Stenehjem told reporters one of the newest scams has to do with the forthcoming federal assistance checks individuals will be receiving from the federal government.

"These scams are claiming that you need to pay a fee, and submit certain information, in order to get your check," Stenehjem said. "Or this can help speed things along."

Gov. Doug Burgum said it comes down to “personal responsibility.”

Burgum has been encouraging North Dakotans to practice guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control, as the state deals with the COVID-19 pandemic. Those include social distancing, staying six feet away from everyone, having social gatherings of no more than 10 people, frequent hand washing, staying home when you’re sick, and traveling only when absolutely necessary.

Burgum has so far resisted calls to put a “stay-at-home” order in place, as other Governors have done.

During several of his COVID-19 briefings, Gov. Doug Burgum would occasionally put in a pitch for people to quit smoking – or quit vaping.

"COVID-19 is a respiratory disease," Burgum said at one of the briefings. "There's never been a better time to quit smoking or quit vaping than right now."

So we wondered – if this pandemic may mean an increase in people accessing the ND Quit line. And the director of Tobacco Free North Dakota – Neil Charvat – said “yes.”

A Bismarck real estate agent and his family have come up with a way to support local restaurants during the pandemic.

Restaurants are closed for inside dining. They are allowed to offer take-out services.

Cam Knutson said he’s been at home, watching the news about the virus – and wondering if there was a way he could help. Then he received a call from a friend.

"That friend happened to be the former mayor of Bismarck, Mike Seminary," Knutson said. "Mike had called to say, 'How do we get industry to step up and help?'

Gov. Doug Burgum has extended the closure order for certain businesses until April 20th.

That includes restaurants , bars, theaters, fitness clubs and hairdressers.

They were supposed to remain closed until April 5th.

Burgum called that decision “pragmatic.”

"We're getting so much more information every day," Burgum told reporters at his daily COVID-19 briefing. "We will have a lot more information before April 20th."

Burgum said he will make a further decision about the closures by April 15th.

The North Dakota Public Service Commission has approved a pipeline that will bring carbon dioxide from two natural gas plants in Wyoming to an oil field near Bowman.

The Cedar Hills field is a conventional oil field, with vertical drilling.

The CO2 will be used for tertiary oil recovery, meaning the CO2 would be injected to help get at oil that’s still underground.

Commission chairman Brian Kroshus called it an exciting project, because it will help the economy in Bowman and other cities in the area.