Articles

Higher ed board rejects report clearing Shirvani of fraud

Questions raised over auditor’s ties to board members, accuser
FARGO – North Dakota’s state Board of Higher Education voted Thursday to reject an auditor’s report that cleared Chancellor Hamid Shirvani of a fraud allegation after the auditor’s emails with the original accuser and several board members, including the newly elected president, was called into question.

• Hamid Shirvani
• North Dakota higher ed board lowers tuition caps

North Dakota higher ed board lowers tuition caps

FARGO – Limits on tuition hikes at public universities and colleges in North Dakota will be even lower next year – less than 4 percent at both of the state’s two large universities.

Local ad agency sues North Dakota natives over ‘Annoying Orange’ cartoon

FARGO – A local advertising agency is suing two North Dakota natives for allegedly stealing one of its characters and turning it into a popular YouTube and Cartoon Network series, “The Annoying Orange.”

• "The Annoying Orange"
• Dane Boedigheimer

Owner of Fargo’s Tochi Products dies at age 66

FARGO – The community’s “original hippie businessman,” as his brother called him, died last week after sudden medical problems. He was 66 years old.

• Will Hoglund with sons

One of NDSU’s first doctoral grads to be recognized at today’s commencement

FARGO – Shivering through a few frigid winters sounded better than sweating through the muggy summers of Mississippi. At least that’s how Frank “Ed” LeGrand made his big decision in 1959, when the Oklahoma native packed up his belongings and drove his wife and four kids to Fargo to begin studies as an agronomy doctoral student at North Dakota State University.

• Frank “Ed” LeGrand
• Frank “Ed” LeGrand on graduation day

Higher ed board dissolves committees

GRAND FORKS – The state Board of Higher Education has dissolved its three committees and will operate only as a full board, a move meant to avoid more open meeting violations following Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem’s findings of “pervasive” noncompliance with the laws.

• ND higher ed board plans survey to evaluate Shirvani
• North Dakota students could face tuition hikes next fall
• Measure would give power to legislators, board member says

North Dakota students could face tuition hikes next fall

GRAND FORKS – Students at North Dakota’s 11 public colleges and universities could face tuition increases as high as 6.6 percent next fall, even after an “unprecedented” increase in state funding for the university system approved by legislators in the recently completed session.

• ND higher ed board plans survey to evaluate Shirvani

UND error jeopardized grant shared with NDSU research park

FARGO – North Dakota State University officials considered filing a formal complaint last fall against the University of North Dakota – or asking Gov. Jack Dalrymple to quietly intervene – when a UND employee’s mistake jeopardized a federal grant shared by entrepreneurial offshoots of the two universities.

Concordia grads draw myriad inspirations from class rings

MOORHEAD - There’s a familiar ring to the way many Concordia College alumni show their school spirit. Nationwide vendor Jostens says the college boasts one of the country’s highest percentages of students who buy a class ring – about 65 percent of each graduating class in recent years.

• Class rings
• Shyla Thompson

ND AG: Higher ed board's violations of open meeting law 'pervasive'

BISMARCK – The state Board of Higher Education’s violations of open meeting laws are “pervasive,” and board members must complete training to avoid future problems with the law, says Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem. His written opinion released Friday found two more board meetings that violated state laws in addition to one cited in an April 18 opinion, and several other instances that broke open meeting laws when a quorum of members discussed official business through email.

Columns

Johnson: ND’s legal protections have a gap

I could be fired for writing this column. I could find myself evicted and homeless without warning. Worst of all, I’d have no way of doing anything about it.

• Ryan Johnson