— Divide County farmer, rancher and hunter Lane Unhjem, on the opening of the North Dakota deer hunting season.

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“Nothing in Century Code (state law) reflects age, but instead reflects danger to others and self. It also includes other justifications, but these two are the big ones. What’s important is the factors that are occurring and being observed by an officer during the time he or she is trying to effect an arrest.”

_Bismarck police spokesman Lt. Luke Gardiner, outlining that department policy and procedures regarding the use of deadly force are based on state law and U.S. Supreme Court decisions, not a suspect’s age, in the wake of an incident in which officers shot and killed an armed teenager.

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“There I sit with the state record on my fish cleaning table, and nobody is going to know about it. Now I don’t know where to go. The fish stayed in my fridge all day Sunday. It was just eating at me that this fish may be the state record, and I don’t know where to take this.”

— Bismarck angler Aaron Schuck, who caught a South Dakota state record walleye on Lake Oahe on Saturday, Oct. 28, and didn’t realize it might be a record fish until he got back home. He eventually got the fish officially certified as a record at 16.8 pounds.

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“(If) you hire a new person telling them they’re going to be taking six patients on a floor where they should be taking four, they’re not going to stick around long.”

— Lacye Knudsen, one of the nurses at CHI St. Alexius Health who are negotiating a new contract with the hospital, and citing understaffing and retention problems as issues.

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“A competitive wage and benefits package is currently on the table. We are hopeful we can resolve differences and achieve an agreement soon. We have been negotiating in good faith for the past several months and will continue to do so.”

— Terry Douglass, spokesman for CHI St. Alexius Health, which is negotiating a new contract with the union representing nurses at the Bismarck hospital.

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“We broke ground for the columbarium on Memorial Day and it is fitting to dedicate this site on Veterans Day. This was a team effort and would not have been possible without the support of our elected officials and the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery Foundation. Under the care of our dedicated North Dakota Veterans Cemetery staff, this columbarium will honor our veterans and allow us to remember them for generations to come.”

— Maj. Gen. Al Dohrmann, adjutant general of the North Dakota National Guard, on the dedication of a $2.3 million columbarium for cremation urns at the North Dakota Veterans Cemetery south of Mandan.

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“Heritage, history, arts and culture will be a focus of this riverfront festival grounds, elements that are intrinsic to the quality of life for all residents and visitors.”

— Fort Abraham Lincoln Foundation Executive Director Aaron Barth, after a group seeking to boost riverfront development in Bismarck was awarded a $4 million state grant.

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“I get we do have a lot of things ahead of us. I get it. We’ve got a lot of transition in this plan. My fear is that the damage is behind us already. And if it’s irreparable, we’ve got to get through it. And I think we’re better off doing it with a new start at leadership.”

— Jeffrey Volk, member of the North Dakota Public Employees Retirement System Board of Trustees, which voted to oust Executive Director Scott Miller.

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“My actions and testimony during the 2023 legislative assembly, which seem to be the issue, were directed by the NDPERS Board. That board — before the addition of two more legislators and three more governor appointees — was supportive and appreciative of my efforts during the session, and showed that appreciation in my most recent performance review. I am satisfied that I did the job the board directed, and that I did it well.”

— Scott Miller, after being ousted as executive director of the North Dakota Public Employees Retirement System.