ND Industrial Commission seeking outside counsel for mineral ownership bill challenge

By John Hageman Today at 1:44 p.m.

Gov. Doug Burgum, center, leads his first North Dakota Industrial Commission meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017, with Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring, second from left, and Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, right. File photo/Forum News Service

BISMARCK — The North Dakota Industrial Commission directed the Attorney General's Office to retain outside counsel Monday, Feb. 5, to defend against a lawsuit challenging a new law aimed at clarifying mineral ownership under Lake Sakakawea.

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John Hageman

John Hageman covers North Dakota politics from the Forum News Service bureau in Bismarck. He attended the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities, where he studied journalism and political science, and he previously worked at the Grand Forks Herald and Bemidji Pioneer.

Jhageman@forumcomm.com

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