News

BISMARCK, N.D. – The Industrial Commission reports that Standard & Poor’s (S&P) affirmed Bank of North Dakota’s (BND) credit rating as A+/Stable in its annual review released Jan. 14. 

BISMARCK, N.D. - The North Dakota Industrial Commission today approved Bank of North Dakota’s 2024 Ag Disaster Relief program to assist North Dakota farmers and ranchers statewide who were negatively impacted by extreme weather events, wildfires, inflationary input costs and volatility in commodity prices. The Bank has set aside $200 million for the program. Producers may apply through their local lender after working with them to determine if the program is appropriate for the producer’s situation.   

BISMARCK, N.D. – The North Dakota Tax Commissioner’s Office and Energy & Environmental Research Center (EERC) have released reports that forecast the economic potential of CO₂-enhanced oil recovery (CO₂-EOR) in North Dakota. These studies underscore the state’s strategic advantages in leveraging CO₂ utilization to drive sustainable energy production, economic growth and environmental benefits over the next 20 years.

BISMARCK, N.D. – The North Dakota Industrial Commission, consisting of Gov. Doug Burgum, Attorney General Drew Wrigley and Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring, approved $2.3 million in Outdoor Heritage Fund matching grants. This program is funded solely by oil and gas production tax revenue. The Outdoor Heritage Fund was established in 2013 to provide grants for projects that enhance outdoor conservation practices in the state.

BISMARCK, N.D. - The North Dakota Mill today reported record profits of $20.7 million for fiscal year 2024, an increase of 20.6% over profits of $17.2 million reported for fiscal year 2023.

BISMARCK, N.D. – The North Dakota Industrial Commission named Nathan Anderson as the next director of the Department of Mineral Resources (DMR) at its meeting today. Anderson succeeds former Director Lynn Helms who retired on June 30 after 26 years of service. Anderson’s start date will be Sept. 16.

BISMARCK, N.D. – The Industrial Commission today accepted the retirement resignation letter of Todd Steinwand, President and CEO of Bank of North Dakota (BND), effective July 2, 2024. Steinwand has been with BND since 2015 when he was named the Senior Vice President and Chief Business Development Officer. He was promoted to President and CEO of the Bank in July 2021, with the retirement of Eric Hardmeyer.  

BISMARCK, N.D. – The Industrial Commission approved the Rural-Workforce Initiative to Support Housing (R-WISH) pilot program at its June 26, 2024, meeting. The R-WISH pilot will support rural communities of 20,000 residents or less with construction of market rate housing for workforce when a company is locating or expanding its operations. The program will utilize up to $10 million of Bank of North Dakota (BND) capital to complement the work being done by the North Dakota Housing Finance Agency and the North Dakota Housing Initiative Advisory Committee. 

BIThe North Dakota Industrial Commission, acting in its capacity as the North Dakota Transmission Authority (NDTA), commissioned a study on the impact of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Final Greenhouse Gas Standards with ALWAYSON Energy Research in April. Claire Vigesaa, Executive Director of the NDTA presented highlights of the study to the Commission at their May 28^th, 2024 meeting. The study modeled the impact of the EPA standards on the two Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) serving North Dakota, the Mid-Continent Independent System Operator (MISO) and the Southwest Power Pool (SPP).  The impact analysis demonstrated that the EPA’s proposed rules would result in the retirement of baseload power generation plants across the region. Baseload power is generated from a source which can be dispatched on-demand, in contrast to intermittent sources like renewable power which relies on favorable weather conditions to generate power.  

BISMARCK, N.D. – The state-owned Bank of North Dakota (BND) reported total assets of $10.1 billion at year-end 2023, consistent with the previous year. With record profits of $192.7 million, an increase of $1.5 million from 2022, the Bank also had an excellent return on investment of 18.2%. BND’s profits are utilized to support loan participations with partner financial institutions and to support disaster recovery programs.  Profits may also be used to support legislatively directed loan programs and capital transfers to the general fund as needed.  Excess earnings are retained and accumulated to fund capital.