February 27, 2026
Armstrong attends NGA Winter Meeting, White House business session, permitting reform panel
Gov. Kelly Armstrong and First Lady Kjersti Armstrong attended the National Governors Association (NGA) Winter Meeting last week in Washington, D.C.
Armstrong participated in an NGA panel discussion on energy and infrastructure permitting reform, with opening remarks from former North Dakota governor and current U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum. In addition, Armstrong attended a White House business session for governors with Cabinet members and President Donald Trump.
“The NGA winter meeting is a great setting for sharing ideas, lessons and best practices with other governors and learning about our different challenges and opportunities,” Armstrong said. “Kjersti and I enjoyed telling the incredible success story of North Dakota and discussing ways to strengthen our state and nation with our counterparts from across the country.”
The NGA Winter Meeting is one of two annual convenings of the bipartisan association, which represents governors from all 50 states and five U.S. territories. Session topics for this year’s winter meeting included immigration and workforce, innovation and artificial intelligence, and cost of living and affordability.
NDDOT selects 103 local projects for $119M in Flexible Transportation Fund grants
The North Dakota Department of Transportation selected 103 local projects totaling $119 million to fund through its Flexible Transportation Fund (Flex Fund) grant program. A complete list of projects can be found at https://www.dot.nd.gov/flexfund.
The 69th Legislative Assembly provided an estimated $230 million to the Flex Fund for improvements to transportation infrastructure on and off the state highway system, including within townships, cities and counties.
“The Flex Fund allows us to make smart investments in North Dakota’s infrastructure to improve the safety and efficiency of our transportation system,” Gov. Armstrong said. “These investments are critically important to reduce long-term maintenance and operating costs.”
The Flex Fund was established by the 68th Legislative Assembly to complement the Federal-Aid Highway Program and further support an interconnected transportation system in North Dakota. After the success of the first round, the 69th Legislative Assembly expanded the program with additional funding and designated programs within the fund.
“This program reflects the shared commitment of the Legislature, governor and NDDOT to invest in projects that enhance safety, improve mobility and strengthen economic growth,” said NDDOT Director Ron Henke.
The NDDOT received 674 applications for the program totaling more than $560 million in requested project costs.
For more information about the Flex Fund visit www.dot.nd.gov/flexfund.
 Armstrong appoints Fargo attorney Mark Friese to succeed Crothers on North Dakota Supreme Court
Gov. Armstrong announced the appointment of longtime Fargo attorney Mark Friese to the North Dakota Supreme Court, effective March 9.
Friese succeeds Justice Daniel Crothers, who on Nov. 26 announced his retirement from the Supreme Court effective Feb. 28 after serving on the state’s highest court since 2005.
Friese is a shareholder with Vogel Law Firm in Fargo and has practiced primarily criminal defense law for 25 years, as well as civil litigation. Prior to joining the law firm, he clerked for Supreme Court Justice Dale Sandstrom for one year. Before earning his law degree in 2000, Friese served as a Bismarck police officer for five years. He also served 24 years in the North Dakota Army National Guard, retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 2011 after holding numerous positions including platoon leader, executive officer, detachment commander, company commander, assistant staff judge advocate and state judge advocate.
“Mark is a brilliant, fair-minded and well-respected lawyer who has excelled as one of our state’s premier trial attorneys for more than two decades,” Armstrong said. “His deep understanding of the law and broad experience as a police officer, Supreme Court clerk, law school instructor, defense attorney and military lawyer will bring a uniquely informed perspective to the Supreme Court and serve North Dakota citizens well.”
Friese has served on the Supreme Court’s Joint Procedure Committee since 2018 and previously served a three-year term on its Judicial Ethics Advisory Committee. He also chairs the North Dakota Commission on Legal Counsel for Indigents and was admitted as a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2023.
Born in Minot and raised in Bismarck, Friese earned undergraduate degrees in criminal justice and social/behavioral sciences from Bismarck State College and the University of Mary in Bismarck and his law degree from the University of North Dakota School of Law in Grand Forks. He has taught law-related courses at the UND School of Law, North Dakota State University and the University of Mary’s Fargo campus. A member of the State Bar Association since 2000, he has served on the East Central Judicial District Adult Drug Court Advisory Board since 2003 and as the Criminal Justice Act Panel representative for the District North Dakota since 2010.
Friese and his wife, RoxAnne, have three adult children.
Commission approves funding to expand GPS monitoring to all ND transitional facility residents
The North Dakota Emergency Commission, chaired by Gov. Armstrong, unanimously approved funding to expand the use of GPS monitoring bracelets to all residents of transitional facilities to enable real-time supervision and enhance public safety.
The North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DOCR) requested $105,000 to support the change for the remainder of the biennium ending June 30, 2027.
The DOCR already implemented GPS monitoring in October 2025 for approximately 300 individuals on inmate status at transitional facilities, addressing lawmakers’ concerns about supervision, accountability and community safety. The cost of that change was $568,000, which was absorbed within the DOCR’s existing budget authority.
With the contingency funds approved, the DOCR will also require GPS monitoring of individuals placed in transitional facilities by external authorities, including courts and the parole board, where the DOCR remains responsible for their supervision and public safety. That includes those on work release. The DOCR estimates an average of 122 individuals from probation and parole placements will need GPS monitoring.
“This change will make our communities safer and save taxpayers’ money in the long run by reducing recidivism and incarceration costs and avoiding the need to build more jails and prisons,” Armstrong said.
The DOCR is already seeing positive early results from GPS monitoring of those on inmate status in transitional facilities, DOCR Director Colby Braun said. The technology enables real-time supervision, verifies that individuals are at approved locations, and allows for a faster response to unauthorized movements or absconding.
Braun said without the GPS option, many individuals, particularly probation diversion placements, would likely enter prison or occupy high-cost county jail beds. North Dakota’s correctional system currently has more than 430 sentenced individuals being housed in county jails due to prison capacity limitations, he noted.
“With GPS monitoring, we are enhancing supervision and accountability, responding directly to legislative concerns raised last session, and strengthening community and victim safety while preserving access to work and treatment opportunities,” Braun said.
The six-member Emergency Commission consists of the governor as chairman, the secretary of state, the House and Senate majority leaders, and the House and Senate appropriations committee chairs.
The funding must also be approved by the Legislature’s Budget Section, which meets March 18. The DOCR anticipates requesting ongoing legislative funding next biennium to sustain GPS monitoring for all transitional and work release participants.
IN OTHER NEWS
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Lt. Gov. Michelle Strinden visited schools in West Fargo and Fargo with BARR Center, state legislators and State Superintendent Levi Bachmeier. The group joined a third-grade classroom that was working on conversation skills and participated in U-Time, facilitated activities that build intentional relationships.
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Lt. Gov. Strinden helped welcomed home 50 members of the North Dakota Army National Guard’s 142nd Engineer Battalion who spent the past year helping U.S. Customs and Border Protection secure our nation’s southern border.
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Gov. Armstrong and First Lady Kjersti participated in the Giving Hearts Day festivities in Fargo. The annual event helped raise more than $30 million for nonprofit organizations throughout the state.
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While in the nation's capital for NGA, Gov. Armstrong visited with the Central Cass Robotic Rodents as they represented North Dakota in the first United States Governor's Cup robotics tournament.
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Gov. Armstrong spoke to the FBLA Collegiate Leadership group in Mandan.
"The future of our communities starts with groups like FBLA," Armstrong said. "Seeing these students continue their high school leadership programs into college, build leadership skills, and increase their involvement in our communities gives us great hope for the future of North Dakota."
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The latest issue of North Dakota Outdoors Magazine highlights the Governor's Legacy Soil Health and Habitat Program, designed to help farmers strengthen cropland productivity while improving soil health and creating much-needed wildlife habitat and access for hunters.
Applications for the program are open until March 27. https://www.ndascd.com/governors-legacy
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