Aerial view of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library. (Photo courtesy of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library via the North Dakota Monitor)
(North Dakota Monitor) – Federal policies on health care and trade are likely to continue to color North Dakota’s biggest government stories in 2026. Congress and the Trump administration are spending money in an attempt to help the rural health care system and farm economy to offset cuts to Medicaid and declining ag commodity prices.
It’s also an election year, featuring ballot measures and a U.S. House race in North Dakota. And the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library plans its grand opening in conjunction with the nation’s milestone 250th anniversary.
Gov. Kelly Armstrong has set Jan. 21 as the date for a special legislative session to allocate federal rural health funding that was part of what Republicans called the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in 2025.
North Dakota was awarded $199 million after applying for its share of the federal funding. One North Dakota policy change prompted by the competition for federal funding was prohibiting the use of the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program to buy candy and junk food. The new restrictions are expected to be implemented by September 2026.
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