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General News

245 new COVID-19 cases; active cases rise above 1,000

By Danielle Webster • Mar 30, 2021

According to the state health department’s coronavirus dashboard, 245 new individuals from 26 counties have tested positive for COVID-19 in North Dakota, bringing the new statewide positive total to 102,880.

 

These results were from a pool of 5,607 tests for a daily positive rate of 6.15 percent.

 

88 of those positives were PCR tests, and 157 were antigen tests.

 

The cases broken down by county are:

 

 

 

Senate turns transgender sports bill into a study

By Dave Thompson • Mar 30, 2021

The state Senate has voted to turn a bill, requiring a high school student to compete in sporting events based on the gender of the student’s birth, into a study.

That potentially sets up a conference committee on the measure.

The "transgender" bill is HB 1298. It had earlier passed in the House. It originally dealt with high school and college athletes. A Senate committee had amended it so it would only deal with high school athletes.

The amendment to turn the bill into a study was offered by Sen. Kristin Roers (R-Fargo).

Still some unanswered questions on rules for use of American Rescue Act money

By Dave Thompson • Mar 29, 2021

As the 2021 Legislature heads toward its final weeks, there is a big unknown.

And that is – what are the rules for using federal coronavirus relief dollars from the American Rescue package?

Legislative leaders know the amount the state will be receiving – but don’t yet know what the money can be used for.

"I don't know if we're going to have that by the time we get out of here," said House Majority Leader Chet Pollert (R-Carrington).

Pollert says half of the money is supposed to be coming soon, and the other half is later.

56 new COVID-19 cases detected in ND

By Danielle Webster • Mar 29, 2021

According to the state health department’s coronavirus dashboard, 56 new individuals from 16 counties have tested positive for COVID-19 in North Dakota, bringing the new statewide positive total to 102,639.

 

These results were from a pool of 1,238 tests for a daily positive rate of 6.05 percent.

 

40 of those positives were PCR tests, and 16 were antigen tests.

 

The cases broken down by county are:

 

 

 

ND begins vaccinating general public against COVID-19

By Danielle Webster • Mar 29, 2021

North Dakota is vaccinating residents against COVID-19 in Stage 2 beginning today, which includes the general public aged 16 and above.

The state health department says residents in Stage 1 priority groups can still get their shots if they haven’t yet already.

According to the state health department’s COVID-19 vaccine dashboard, nearly 366,000 official doses of vaccine have been received in the state. Just under 389,000 doses have been administered. Some vials of vaccine delivered to North Dakota have had conservative estimates of total doses in them.

State confirms 49 new COVID-19 cases

By Danielle Webster • Mar 28, 2021

According to the state health department’s coronavirus dashboard, 49 new individuals from 13 counties have tested positive for COVID-19 in North Dakota, bringing the new statewide positive total to 102,583.

 

These results were from a pool of 1,369 tests for a daily positive rate of 4.47 percent.

 

33 of those positives were PCR tests, and 16 were antigen tests.

 

The cases broken down by county are:

 

 

 

Legislative Review 3-26-21: Senator Ray Holmberg

By Dave Thompson • Mar 28, 2021

On this week's Legislative Review, Sen. Ray Holmberg (R-Grand Forks), chairman of Senate Appropriations,  discusses budgets, the new state revenue forecast, and how the new American Recovery Act funding could be used.

161 new COVID-19 cases; 91 in Cass County alone

By Danielle Webster • Mar 27, 2021

According to the state health department’s coronavirus dashboard, 161 new individuals from 22 counties have tested positive for COVID-19 in North Dakota, bringing the new statewide positive total to 102,536.

 

These results were from a pool of 3,765 tests for a daily positive rate of 5.38 percent.

 

85 of those positives were PCR tests, and 76 were antigen tests.

 

The cases broken down by county are:

 

 

 

1 death, 184 new cases of COVID-19; active positives continue to rise

By Danielle Webster • Mar 26, 2021

The state health department has confirmed one more death related to COVID-19, bringing the statewide death toll to 1,466.

 

The patient was a man in his 90s from Cass County.

 

Deaths are reported to the state health department by facilities or by official death record, and can take up to ten days to be confirmed. 

 

Senate says 'no' to recreational marijuana

By Dave Thompson • Mar 25, 2021

The state Senate has soundly rejected a bill that would have legalized adult recreational use marijuana.

HB 1420 had earlier passed the House.

Its supporters say it was designed to head off a potential initiated Constitutional measure, which would be more wide open than what the bill would have allowed.

The Senate Human Services Committee sent the bill to the Senate floor without committee recommendation. The chairman – Sen. Judy Lee (R-West Fargo) – told her colleagues she believes adult marijuana use is coming.

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