Brian Palecek, right, reads a letter to North Dakota’s congressional delegation as supporters gather outside the federal courthouse in Bismarck on March 18, 2025. (Amy Dalrymple/North Dakota Monitor)
By: Amy Dalrymple and Michael Achterling
BISMARCK, N.D. (North Dakota Monitor) – About 50 people gathered Tuesday outside the Bismarck offices of North Dakota’s congressional delegation to call on their representatives to hold in-person town hall meetings.
Organizers hand delivered letters to the offices of Sens. John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer and Rep. Julie Fedorchak, raising concerns about veteran health care, the impact of tariffs on farmers, the stability of Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security, support for Ukraine and other issues.
The letter does not mention President Donald Trump, but participants who gathered outside the federal courthouse referenced Trump executive orders and recent actions of the Department of Government Efficiency.
“We need to know how these changes impact North Dakotans and how you can help us guarantee that North Dakota people and programs are not harmed,” reads the letter signed by organizers Henry and Margaret Lebak and Brian Palecek of Bismarck.
The crowd, holding signs with slogans such as “Democracy not dictatorship,” “Hate never made us great,” and “Have courage,” repeatedly called out, “We want answers,” as organizers read the letter.
The Lebaks also paid for five digital billboards in Bismarck-Mandan to display a message that says “MISSING” in reference to the all-Republican congressional delegation.
“You work for North Dakotans. Time for you to report on Trump’s actions,” the billboard reads. “Stop hiding! Hold in-person town halls.”
Henry Lebak said he and his wife organized the billboard message after several unsuccessful attempts to reach the delegation. After he posted about it on Facebook, people have come forward to offer donations to keep the billboards displayed longer.
“There’s a lot of pent-up frustration out there,” said Lebak, a retired state employee.
Bob Valeu, former chair of the North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party, told the crowd the last time Hoeven held an in-person town hall meeting was in 2011, according to Hoeven’s website.
In response to an inquiry from the North Dakota Monitor, a spokesman for Hoeven said he “holds many public meetings on issues important to our state and nation.”
“These public events are in communities across the state, and North Dakotans are welcome to attend. We will continue to hold these public meetings and have productive discussions with North Dakotans,” the statement read.
Fedorchak has said she plans to hold a virtual town hall meeting next week. Details were not yet available Tuesday.
Cramer said Tuesday he stopped doing in-person town halls during the COVID-19 pandemic and has shifted to virtual events and a recurring schedule with North Dakota radio outlets as ways to talk to the public directly. Cramer added he makes sure the radio hosts don’t screen the public’s calls.
“I don’t have any plans not to, but I don’t really have any plans to either,” Cramer said of holding in-person town halls.
Cramer said elected officials have been holding fewer in-person town hall events because they have been requiring more security. He said he hasn’t had a lot of trouble, but he noted a 2017 town hall in Mandan that turned rowdy.
During a discussion of the Affordable Care Act, an attendee tried to shove money into Cramer’s suit pocket. Two men were ejected from the town hall, but Cramer did not press charges.
Daniel Schreck of Bismarck said he’s particularly frustrated with the accessibility of Hoeven.
“He’s become an expert at dodging us,” Schreck said. “He says he actually is engaging with his constituents. No, he is hand picking a few people to sit in an audience to talk to, but he will not have a town hall. I think that’s a travesty.”
Several in attendance mentioned concerns about cuts by DOGE, led by Elon Musk, the future of Social Security, the mass firings of federal workers and the potential elimination of the Department of Education.
“I’m absolutely enraged by what’s going on in our country, on the destruction of our democracy,” said Gretchen Bederman of Mandan.
Bederman said she hopes Hoeven, Cramer and Fedorchak hold in-person town hall meetings in Bismarck and around the state.
“Those representatives are supposed to hear what we have to say,” Bederman said. “And what we have to say is that this is out of hand.”
Sonja Mahlum of Bismarck said her concerns are “too numerous” to list, but a major one is the rule of law. She cited the Trump administration not following a court order related to deportation flights.
“If we’re not following the rule of law, democracy is gone,” Mahlum said.
Mary LaDuke of Bismarck said she doesn’t like how federal workers are being treated.
“They’re treated so cruelly, not knowing if you have a job or not,” LaDuke said.
Cramer said he’s noticed a spike in calls and messages to his office during the first months of Trump’s second term.
“There’s no question that the Indivisible group in Moorhead and Fargo, they’ve been very, very active,” Cramer said. “Those are people that protest for fun. That’s what they do and not for any of the things that Donald Trump ran, and won on.”
Henry Lebak said he visited with staff members for Hoeven and Cramer and left a letter for Fedorchak’s staff.
“I offered, ‘If we have a town hall, my wife and I will even furnish the cookies and coffee,’” he said.
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