1. North Dakota paid its top investment management firm millions without competitive bidding process
The state of North Dakota has paid its top investment consultant $12.9 million over the past 20 years without subjecting the firm to a competitive bidding process, an arrangement allowed by state law.
The North Dakota State Investment Board has relied on investment consultant Callan for more than three decades to help select investment managers to steer the state’s $19.4 billion investment portfolio.
Every year, the State Investment Board pays millions of dollars to investment firms. Callan has a unique role in recommending other investment firms and working with the state on its overall investment strategies.
Read more from The Forum's Patrick Springer
2. Landlords sue Minnesota governor over eviction moratorium
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Minnesota landlords on Monday, June 14, sued Gov. Tim Walz in federal court alleging the state's eviction moratorium violates the constitutional rights of renters and landlords.
The Minnesota Multi Housing Association along with three property management groups filed suit after 15 months of the moratorium and after landlords around the state reported that they'd had tenants take advantage of the law to stay in their homes despite breaking the terms of their leases and causing serious disruptions.
Read more from Forum News Service's Dana Ferguson
3. As drought intensifies, ranchers must decide: Sell cattle or buy feed?
Kevin and Carol Fritel who farm and have a cow-calf operation east of Rugby, N.D., near the town of Knox. They remember how their first year farming on their own was the great drought of 1988 and how this one feels worse, as they have hay to make it only through mid-July. They are weighing whether to sell their cattle herd, and whether to pull the trigger before others make the same move and flood the market. They won’t replant crops when they couldn’t get the first planting established.
Read more from Forum News Service's Mikkel Pates
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4. West Fargo police hiring college students as community service officers
The West Fargo Police have a plan to address the current shortage of police officer applicants while giving college students a way of getting hands-on training for a future in law enforcement.
Police Chief Dennis Otterness announced last week that the department was launching a new community service officer position that will employ students enrolled in a law enforcement or criminal justice program.
“Just like other industries, the law enforcement profession is experiencing a shortage of qualified candidates for our positions,” Otterness said.
Read more from The Forum's Wendy Reuer
5. Local moving company gets 'rare' opportunity to sponsor NASCAR driver
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The scene over Memorial Day weekend at the Leech Lake cabin in northern Minnesota was hardly out of the ordinary: college buddies, presumably with drinks in hand, watching a sporting event.
The afternoon’s billing was a NASCAR Xfinity Series race featuring Brandon Brown’s No. 68 car. The sponsor on the hood of Brown’s Chevrolet Camaro? That was Midwest Moving Company , the Fargo-founded firm Matthew Dorso launched with the help of Anderson and Dylan Connell, all Minnesota State University Moorhead roommates.
