FARGO, N.D. (AP) — An Air Force installation in North Dakota has been trying to find its niche since its mission was changed a few years ago from refueling tankers to unmanned aircraft. Its focus might one day be at the top of the world. The state’s two U.S. senators have been promoting the idea of an Arctic mission for ...

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota’s Public Service Commission has approved a $250 million wind farm and associated electric transmission facilities in Hettinger and Stark counties. The three-member panel on Wednesday unanimously approved the project’s siting application, clearing the way for construction to start. Brady Wind LLC is planning the wind farm of up to 72 turbines and associated facilities. ...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Traffic deaths surged last year as drivers racked up more miles behind the wheel than ever before, a result of an improved economy and lower gas prices, according to preliminary government data released Friday. Fatalities rose 7.7 percent to 35,200 in 2015, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said. That overall rate was significantly outpaced by non-motorist ...

With nationwide gas prices much lower than last year as we approach the Fourth of July holiday, many more folks will be taking to the highways to celebrate. Camping, family gatherings, vacations and visits to the lake are just some of the ways people will be celebrating the extended weekend, not to mention all those awesome fireworks displays! Julie Hall from AAA reported ...

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Gasoline is noticeably cheaper in North Dakota than it was last year heading into the Fourth of July holiday. The latest weekly report from GasBuddy.com shows an average retail price in North Dakota of about $2.25 a gallon. That’s lower than the national average of $2.31 a gallon. The average price also is nearly 50 cents per gallon cheaper ...

Comprehensive new tour takes travelers off-the-beaten-path throughout the Roughrider State and into oil country Would-be travelers who assume North Dakota is a “drive-through” state may need to think again once tour operator Country Travel DISCOVERIES (CTD) shows them the state’s wonders, including a couple of days in oil country. The Wisconsin-based company specializing in guided tours with a rural emphasis ...

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota’s Tax Commissioner says the state is returning to a “pre-oil boom economy” due to slumping crude and farm commodity prices. Ryan Rauschenberger (RAW’-shun-bur-gur) says the state recorded $3.8 billion in taxable sales and purchases during January, February and March. That’s down 33 percent from a record $5.8 billion for the same period a year ...

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton is taking the fight over the state’s law restricting new power generation from coal to a higher court. A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s decision last week that barred Minnesota from enforcing key sections of the Next Generation Energy Act. The court ...

BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A state judge expressed alarm at the estimated 200 million gallons of contaminated water seeping annually from leaky ash-storage ponds at a Montana power plant serving customers across the Pacific Northwest — a problem that’s persisted for years after the company and state officials said they were addressing it. A 2012 deal between Montana environmental regulators ...

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — Hours after North Dakota Republicans put former Microsoft executive Doug Burgum on track to become governor, another grim report about oil production underscored the challenges awaiting the next leader of a once-thriving state now enduring an economic downturn. With his resounding primary victory over longtime state Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, who had the GOP convention’s endorsement, ...