Misdemeanor charge now filed against former N.D game and fish director

Terry Steinwand (Burleigh Morton Detention Center/Sept. 5, 2025)

MANDAN, N.D. (KFGO) – Former North Dakota Game and Fish Director Terry Steinwand has been charged with a misdemeanor for molesting a child.

The Class A misdemeanor was filed after a Morton County District Court judge rejected a proposed plea agreement to a felony charge and the state’s attorney’s office dismissed the charge while retaining the right to file an amended charge.

Steinwand, 72, of Mandan, is now charged with one count of sexual assault-offensive contact. A conviction carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail. Steinwand was originally charged last September. At the time, police said Steinwand admitted to sexual misconduct.

He spent 40 years with game and fish. Steinwand headed the agency for about 15 years and retired in 2021.