Social Security Service Fallout Reaches North Dakota
MIKE MOEN PRAIRIE NEWS SERVICE
AARP says it's getting thousands of phone calls from seniors worried about getting through to Social Security, as program operations are dramatically overhauled by the Trump administration. The concern is being felt in North
droid device, you're looking at potentially a full day of driving, and that's a significant barrier," he explained.
The national AARP says it's fighting to protect these services, so that monthly payments aren't disrupted. It also calls on the administration to scrap the new verification rule and restore the phone option.
"We're also concerned that this change will lead to scammers using the confusion the agency has created around this to potentially exploit and prey on Americans as well," he added.
The White House says it's trying to root out fraud while insisting benefits won't be cut. But Democrats argue these changes will lead to missed or late checks for beneficiaries.
Askvig said the chaos that's unfolding could lead to another problem lurking in the shad-
AARP and other senior advocates hope their allies reach out to Congress to intervene. They say Social Security operations have been under-resourced for some time, and they hope their renewed calls for service improvements turn more heads amid public frustration. Nearly one in six North Dakota residents receive Social Security benefits.
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Spring Clean Williston Event Scheduled for April 26
CITY OF WILLISTON
The City of Williston’s annual spring Clean Williston event is scheduled for April 26 from 8 a.m. to noon.
In the event of inclement weather, Clean Williston will be held on May 3. This change will be announced on City of Williston social media and www.cityofwilliston.com.
This annual event invites the public to volunteer to help beautify the city by signing up for a zone within Williston to clean.
“Clean Williston is an event that brings our community together and benefits all residents,” said Marc Mohr, streets and refuse superintendent for the City of Williston.
Each year, businesses, organizations and groups of residents have generously donated their time to the Clean Williston effort. Clean Williston is held biannually in the spring and fall and continues a more than 20-year tradition.
“Clean Williston is always
one of my favorite times of year. This not only helps the City of Williston, but it helps yourself. Williston is our hometown and whether it's you, your family or your business, we want people to see that we're proud of what we've built here,” Mayor Howard Klug commented. “One of the ways we can show that pride is by keeping our town as clean as possible. We've had great success in the past with help from volunteers and citizens of Williston, and hopefully that continues on for years and years to come.”
Individuals and groups interested in participating in this year’s spring Clean Williston event can register online for one of 40 zones. Register online by scanning the QR code above. Those unable to attend on April 26 are still encouraged to clean a zone during the week prior to the event. Contact Public Works at 701-577-6368 to pick up safety materials and arrange garbage pickup.
Volunteers are asked to meet at 8 a.m. at Williston
Public Works, located at 1121 5th Street East, in the north lot on the day of the event. Individuals who do not register for a zone in advance are welcome and will be assigned to a zone. Volunteers will receive a free Clean Williston t-shirt (limited quantities and sizing available), a light breakfast and ice cream courtesy of Chamley’s Pipe and Salvage and Suzie Q’s Ice Cream Truck. Public Works will provide safety vests, gloves and garbage bags. Full garbage bags can be left on the side of the road in each zone for pickup or individuals can bring their bags to Public Works for disposal. Participants are also asked to return their safety vests, gloves and any unused garbage bags either to Public Works, or to
leave these items with their full garbage bags.
In addition to collected trash, the following will also be accepted at Public Works:
• Wood – Two containers (trees and construction material) will be available. This service is free.
• Metal – One container provided by Pacific Steel and Recycling will be available. This service is free. Items that cannot be loaded by hand will be redirected to either recycling facility.
• Tires – Individuals are limited to four tires per person. Chamley Pipe and Salvage will shred for free. The City of Williston Recycle Center trailer will also be onsite and will accept the following free of charge:
• Cardboard – Please break down boxes.
• Tin and aluminum cans –Loose cans are preferred vs bagged.
• White paper – Loose is preferred vs bagged. This paper will NOT be shredded.
North Dakota
To Reduce Homelessness Among Military Vets, ND Tinkers With Funding Plan
MIKE MOEN PRAIRIE NEWS SERVICE
The North Dakota Legislature is considering bolstering funding to help military veterans facing homelessness. Key voices say more details need to be sorted out. The state Senate this week unanimously approved a bill that, under its original intent, directed gaming tax proceeds from support organizations, such as pull tabs at an American Legion, to programs and funds for veterans with specific needs. Stable housing is among them.
Christopher Deery, veterans service director leads veterans services for Cass County, said during recent testimony that offices like his want to get a roof over the head of all past servicemembers. But challenges still get in the way, such as pandemic relief drying up.
"We have a lot of veterans with a lot of needs. We're slowly running out of options here, and we just need a little bit of help so we can get that number to zero," he explained.
The bill has cleared both legislative chambers without opposition. But a primary sponsor says because of changes during the voting process, there's still discussion about final language - namely what the funding levels should look like.
That suggests additional votes this session. There was chatter during debate about opening the floodgates for support groups for other causes.
Through its Supportive Services for Veteran Families program, Community Action Partnership of North Dakota says it handled an additional 70 cases last year. Of those seeking help, all were either on the brink of homelessness, or already without a home.
Max Pontenila, program specialist veteran and program specialist for the group's Minot office, said as they cobble together resources, they're balancing the need of building trust with clients.
"As veterans, and this is true even on a personal level, raising your hand saying, 'Hey, I need help,' that is a hard experience," he said.
Advocates suggest that hard experience could become more common if the resources aren't there. Nationally, the number of veterans experiencing homelessness declined last year. But there was a 7% increase the previous year, marking the first such spike in a while.
Data Privacy Experts Call DOGE Actions ‘Alarming’
PAIGE GROSS NORTH DAKOTA MONITOR
While the role and actions of the Elon Musk-headed Department of Government Efficiency remain somewhat murky, data privacy experts have been tracking the group’s moves and documenting potential violations of federal privacy protections.
Before President Donald Trump took office in January, he characterized DOGE as an advisory body, saying it would “provide advice and guidance from outside of government” in partnership with the White House and Office of Management and Budget in order to eliminate fraud and waste from government spending.
But on Inauguration day, Trump’s executive order establishing the group said Musk would have “full and prompt access to all unclassified agency records, software systems and IT systems.”
In the nine weeks since its formation, DOGE has been able to access sensitive information from the Treasury Department payment system, information about the headcount and budget of an intelligence agency and Americans’ Social Security numbers, health information and other demographic data. Musk and department staffers are also using artificial intelligence in their analysis of department cuts.
Though the Trump administration has not provided transparency around what the collected data is being used for, several federal agencies have laid off tens of thousands of workers, under the direction of DOGE, in the past
two months. Thousands have been cut from the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Education, Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Treasury this month.
Frank Torres, senior AI and privacy adviser for The Leadership Conference’s Center for Civil Rights and Technology, which researches the intersection of civil rights and technology, said his organization partnered with the Center for Democracy and Technology, which researches and works with legislators on tech topics, to sort out what DOGE was doing. The organizations published a resource sheet documenting DOGE’s actions, the data privacy violations they are concerned about and the lawsuits that several federal agencies have filed over DOGE’s actions.
“It doesn’t have to be this way,” Torres said. “I mean, there are processes and procedures and protections in place that are put in place for a reason, and it doesn’t appear that DOGE is following any of that, which is alarming.”
The organizations outlined potential violations of federal pri-
vacy protections, like the Privacy Act of 1974, which prohibits the disclosure of information without written consent, and substantive due process under the Fifth Amendment, which protects privacy from government interference.
White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields would not say if DOGE planned to provide more insight into its plans for the data it is accessing.
“Waste, fraud and abuse have been deeply entrenched in our broken system for far too long,” Fields told States Newsroom in an emailed statement. “It takes direct access to the system to identify and fix it. DOGE will continue to shine a light on the fraud they uncover as the American people deserve to know what their government has been spending their hard earned tax dollars on.”
The lack of transparency concerns U.S. Reps. Gerald E. Connolly, (D-Virginia) and Jamie Raskin, (D-Maryland), who filed a Freedom of Information Act request this month requesting DOGE provide clear answers about its operations.
The request asks for details
CLUES ACROSS
1. Narrow piece of wood
5. African desert
11. Waxy covering on birds' beaks
12. Sour
16. Infrequent
17. Former AL MVP Vaughn
18. Policemen wear one
19. Out of the question
24. Used to chop
25. Symptoms
26. Not moving
27. Folk singer DiFranco
28. Comedian Armisen
29. Quantitative fact
30. Incline from vertical
31. Scottish musician
33. Rooney and Kate are two
34. Positioned
38. A very short time
39. Tropical American shrubs
40. Yemen capital
43. Spanish municipality
44. Medical professionals
45. Fibrous material
49. Confined condition (abbr.)
50. Without covering
51. "Mad Men" honcho Don
53. Hockey position
on who is in charge at DOGE, the scope of its authority to close federal agencies and lay off federal employees, the extent of its access to sensitive government sensitive databases and for Musk to outline how collected data may benefit his own companies and his foreign customers. They also questioned the feeding of sensitive information into AI systems, which DOGE touted last month.
“DOGE employees, including teenage and twenty-something computer programmers from Mr. Musk’s own companies, have been unleashed on the government’s most sensitive databases — from those containing national security and classified information to those containing the personal financial information of all Americans to those containing the trade secrets and sensitive commercial data of Mr. Musk’s competitors,” the representatives wrote in the request.
Most Americans have indeed submitted data to the federal government which can now be accessed by DOGE, said Elizabeth Laird, the director of equity in civic technology for the Center for Democracy and Technology — whether it be via a tax filing, student loan or Social Security. Laird said the two organizations see huge security concerns with how DOGE is collecting data and what it may be doing with the information. In the first few weeks of its existence, a coder discovered that anyone could access the database that posted updates to the DOGE. gov website.
“We’re talking about Social Security numbers, we’re talking about income, we’re talking about, you know, major life events, like whether you had a baby or got married,” Laird said. “We’re talking
54. Taste property
56. Fertile spots in a desert
58. They precede C
59. "Requiem for a Dream" actor Jared
60. Try a criminal case
63. Liberal rights organization
64. Spoke
65. Insect repellent
CLUES DOWN
1. Unshaven facial hair
2. More thin
3. Show up
4. Seethed
5. Ancient Greek city
6. Poisonous plant
7. Hello
8. College sports official
9. Monetary unit of Russia
10. Wings
13. Take too much of a substance
14. A citizen of Uganda
15. Most appealing
20. Atomic #18
21. Global investment bank (abbr.)
22. Jewish calendar month
23. Popular sandwich
about if you’ve ever filed bankruptcy — like very sensitive stuff, and we’re talking about it for tens of millions of people.”
With that level of sensitive information, the business need should justify the level of risk, Laird said.
DOGE’s use of AI to comb through and categorize Americans’ data is concerning to Laird and Torres, as AI algorithms can produce inaccurate responses, pose security risks themselves and can have biases that lead to discrimination against marginalized groups.
While Torres, Laird and their teams plan to continue tracking DOGE’s actions and their potential privacy violations, they published the first resource sheet to start bringing awareness to the information that is already at risk. The data collection they’ve seen so far in an effort to cut federal spending is concerning, but both said they fear Americans’ data could end up being used in ways we don’t yet know about.
“The government has a wealth of data on all of us, and I would say data that’s probably very valuable on the open market,” Torres said. “It’s almost like a dossier on us from birth to death.”
Musk fired back at critics in an interview with Fox News published Thursday.
“They’ll say what we’re doing is somehow unconstitutional or illegal or whatever,” he said. “We’re like, ‘Well, which line of the cost savings do you disagree with?’ And they can’t point to any.”
This article first appeared on the North Dakota Monitor website on Mar 29, 2025. To read the original please visit www.northdakotamonitor.com.
27. Swiss river
29. Incorrect letters
30. Popular entree
31. Foot (Latin)
32. A driver's license is one form
33. Extinct flightless bird
34. Appetizer
35. After battles
36. It neutralizes alkalis
37. Beverage container
38. Partner to "Pa"
40. Gray American rail
41. Salt of acetic acid
42. Canadian province
44. Dish made with lentils
45. Narrative poem of popular origin
46. For each one
47. Come to terms
48. Test
50. More dishonorable
51. Unit of loudness
52. The Ocean State
54. Monetary unit in Mexico
55. Lying down
57. Thus
61. Where LA is located
62. Western State
National
Deported Without Due Process: How U.S. Policy Puts Legal Residents—and Citizens—at Risk
WILLISTON GRAPHIC STAFF
In March, the United States was added to the CIVICUS Monitor Watchlist, a global platform that tracks threats to civil liberties. This inclusion was prompted by concerns over actions taken by the Trump administration, which, according to CIVICUS, have led to a rapid decline in freedoms such as the right to assemble, associate and express oneself. The U.S. now joins countries like Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Italy and Serbia on this list, signaling a significant shift in the international perception of America's commitment to civil rights.
Concurrently, the U.S. has intensified deportation efforts, resulting in legal residents being expelled and subsequently imprisoned in El Salvador without due process. A notable case is that of Kilmer Armado Abrego-Garcia, a
Maryland resident with protected legal status. Despite a 2019 immigration judge's order allowing him to remain in the U.S. due to credible threats to his life in El Salvador, Abrego-Garcia was deported in March 2025 because of an "administrative error." Upon arrival, he was incarcerated in El Salvador's Terrorism Confinement Center, a facility known for its severe conditions.
Similarly, Andry José Hernández Romero, a Venezuelan makeup artist seeking asylum in the U.S., was deported under the Alien Enemies Act. Despite fleeing persecution in Venezuela and having no criminal record, Hernández Romero was sent to El Salvador, where he was imprisoned without due process. His deportation was based on suspicions arising from tattoos misinterpreted as gang affiliations. These actions raise concerns about the potential for American citizens to be detained or deported without due process. The use of broad executive powers, such as the
Alien Enemies Act, sets a precedent that could jeopardize the rights of U.S. citizens, especially those with dual nationality or from immigrant backgrounds. Legal experts warn that the erosion of due process protections undermines the rule of law and could lead to arbitrary detentions and deportations.
The international community has taken note of these developments. The addition of the U.S. to the CIVICUS Monitor Watchlist tells of a growing apprehension about the state of civil liberties in the country. Mandeep Tiwana, interim co-secretary general of CIVICUS, described the situation as an "unparalleled attack on the rule of law" in the United States.
This article was written with information sourced from Straight Arrow News, Feminist Majority Foundation, The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, New York Post, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, ABC News, Reuters, Stanford Law School, AP News, Time, Newsweek, The Independent and Civicus Monitor.
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The Housing Authority Of the City of Williston
The Housing Authority of the City of Williston is now accepting applications for 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom, 3 bedroom, and 4 bedroom units.
*Income, eligibility, and admission preferences apply. Applications are available at The Housing Authority of the City of Williston located at 1801 8th Ave West Williston, ND 58801
Monday-Friday 9am - 4pm (701) 572-2006
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Spirituality Through a Lutheran Lens
AWAKE TO THE KISS OF TRUE LOVE: AND THAT’S NO FAIRY TALE
PASTOR ZACH HARRIS FIRST LUTHERAN CHURCH
Ilove a good mash-up. That’s when you combine a couple of pre-existing things in a creative way to come up with something that is unique and new. You see it a lot in music when an old song is sampled in the background with new material on top. Sometimes my comic book artist friend Lou and I would come up with visual mash-ups to promote events we were doing like the time he drew Marvel’s Avengers in the style of Family Guy characters for a Comicon we were promoting. But to be honest, a bunch of times, it truly is like Jeremiah when he says: “There is something like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I am weary with holding it in, and I cannot.” (Jer. 20:9) I get two or more images, illustrations, phrases and such stuck in my brain, and I am just compelled to slam them together to express the resultant mash-up! So, in this particular case, one part is relatively old and one is fresh off the press to talk about the fear of losing something that by most counts is ancient: the church, maybe your church!
Perhaps, to understand the first part of this, a little background is necessary. Before having the sort of itinerant life of being an Interim Pastor who kind of helps congregations when they are between clergy (sort of like the renovator on “This Old House,” but with congregations that might need a tweak), I was a Mission Developer who started a congregation in sunny Florida where by chance I happened to have been born. I’m from the South— NC—but was born in Pensacola,
kind of the deep South. So, it might not be so strange, that the first part of this mash-up is from a song by Jimmy Buffett that on the surface seems to be about that sunshine state called Floridays. The lyrics of the first line pull me into kind of an auto-biographical position within the song: “I come from where the rivers meet the sea,” but the second full verse mirrors my modus operandi: Now in my line of work, I seem to see a lot more than most Write 'em down, pass 'em around, it's the gospel from the coast Reflections, not just replays, takin' time to escape the maze Lookin' for better days
The second part of this mash-up is from a recent kids’ movie, the new version of Snow White. I just went to see it upon its release to see what terrible messaging might be presented that many are calling too “woke” (an idiom I must admit I am lost on its meaning in the present context). So, sitting amongst a fairly full theater of parents and kids— predominantly little girls (some actually garbed like the princess in question), I actually took notes on what was going on.
The gist was pretty much on track with most Pixarish kids’ fare. A kingdom is thriving under the rule of a King and Queen who are trying to teach Snow to rule with Love, everyone sharing in the kingdom where they literally sing: “A kingdom for the free and the fair” where the good things grow. The Evil Queen takes over, and like the original, orders Snow to be taken out and done away with so the Queen can be fairest in the land, but the huntsman still lets Snow escape and run away to be taken in by Grumpy and company. When Snow asks Grumpy about his other friends, he says they aren’t friends. Snow
then comments that 275 years is a long time to be together NOT to be friends. As the movie progresses, Snow’s true beauty is ultimately revealed to come from within. And the Queen’s true power is said to be when she poisoned everyone into believing “it’s everyone for themselves.” The people have forgotten when the kingdom was kind and fair, which made everyone free and brave, and gave everyone hope. To fix things, the people would all have to work together and have faith in each other.
As I left the theater, the first one out was a little girl, probably about four or five, in a Snow White costume who was holding the door open for folks to leave, kind of acting out the message of looking out for others! I was certainly having more of a problem with finding the negativity associated with this messaging, since by everything I could see the message about that kingdom was the same message the Gospel tells us about how God’s Kingdom is supposed
to work here on earth. Kindness, Love and Fairness—are they supposed to be negatives?
So, I’m driving away from my movie experience and I happened to hear the words from that Buffett song and the one verse hits me:
Lookin' to the left, lookin' to the right
Lookin' to the stars to shed some light
Hopin' for a breath, hopin' for a break
Hopin' for the give without the take
I’ve listened to that song hundreds and hundreds of times through the years, but at that moment, trying to reconcile how— what I understand as a possible definition of what the Church should be— is being perceived as a negative “woke” message by others, I hear those lyrics as the divided struggle for so many today: looking for meaning to the political sides of left and right, staring at the sky for a sign, and just hoping for something that gives with Grace, a free gift, without taking more back! Is this message negative, not because it is misunderstood, but precisely because it IS understood? And is the fear of churches dying made all the more real in a reality that just seeks for the self? Well, that’s as scary as the dark forest!
As a Mission Developer, I’ve always warned ministries to not get too complacent. Nothing is a given with churches. The greatest
church planter was Saint Paul. And do you know how many of his churches survive to this day? Zip. Zero. Nada. They served for their season, and then they were gone. But before you few people of faith lose hope, two last thoughts from my mash-up. Jimmy’s song concludes with one of the best images of hope given a particularly Florida image of opposites coming together. Replace s-u-n with S-o-n, and the following metaphor might just get you there:
Pale invaders and tan crusaders are worshiping the sun
On the corner of Walk and Don't Walk, somewhere on U.S. 1 I'm back to livin' Floridays, blue skies and ultraviolet rays
Lookin' for better days
And the last image is the way I ended my time at the movies. Adults might miss the message, but somewhere a little girl has got it. She’s holding the door open. It’s not that she thinks the adults can’t open it. She’s just afraid they won’t. After all, even the Bible tells us that when peace and harmony finally come together, instead of the adults, “a little child will lead them.”
Pastor Zach Harris has been an ordained minister for 33 years and currently serves First Lutheran Church in Williston. His column, “Through a Lutheran Lens: A Pastor’s Perspective,” will appear regularly in the Williston Graphic.
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