Governor, First Lady host sixth Recovery Reinvented, highlight progress in addressing stigma of the disease of addiction

Gov. Doug Burgum and First Lady Kathryn Burgum on Thursday hosted the sixth Recovery Reinvented, a daylong in-person and online event focused on reinventing recovery through eliminating the stigma of the disease of addiction.

They were joined by national and state addiction recovery experts and more than 700 in-person attendees at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks as well as over 900 online viewers who spanned the state and nation, with some international audience members in Indonesia, Portugal and South Africa.

“Working together – all of us, all of you, the State of North Dakota, all of our partners, communities, faith-based organizations, providers, everyone coming together – the positive momentum we have in North Dakota is spreading across the country in terms of how we’re approaching the powerful, pervasive disease of addiction,” Gov. Burgum said in his opening remarks. “We believe that behavioral health, mental health, the disease of addiction – it’s all health, and it should be treated as such by focusing on the foundations of well-being, the physical health, the behavioral health and the economic health, and we can continue to grow as a strong and healthy state.”

The governor and first lady emphasized the importance of turning “Advocacy into Action” through sharing hopeful stories of finding recovery from addiction, empowering individuals to be recovery advocates by enacting local change, and recognizing local organizations and individuals who actively work to end stigma and empower recovery in their own communities.

They also highlighted the state’s progress in addressing the disease of addiction over the past six years, including the training of nearly 800 peer support specialists and the success of the Free Through Recovery program.

“Storytelling helps eliminate the stigma of addiction. It helps people understand that addiction can happen to anyone and that people do recover, and they look just like all of you and like me,” First Lady Burgum, who has been in recovery for more than 20 years, said in a powerful first-person account of her own alcohol addiction. “Talk about it, because by doing so you’ll be normalizing the conversation around this disease and you’ll be helping to eliminate the stigma, which will encourage more people to reach out for help. And all of you will be helping to save lives, families and communities.“

Keynote speakers at the event included:

• Carrie Steinseifer-Bates, three-time Olympic gold medalist and outreach manager at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.
• Philip Rutherford, chief operating officer, Faces & Voices of Recovery.
• Teliea Baker, director, The Door Recovery Lodge.
• Dr. Bruce Perry, trauma expert and author of “What Happened to You?: Conversations on Trauma, Resilience, and Healing."

Local Recovery Champions recognized during Recovery Reinvented

Recovery Reinvented was highlighted by a number of North Dakota community members and organizations who were recognized for their efforts to implement innovative solutions to address the disease of addiction.

Recovery Champion award recipients were:

• Bismarck Opioid Overdose Department of Justice Grant Project, featuring a partnership between Heartview Foundation, the Bismarck Police Department, Sanford and CHI St. Alexius emergency rooms, and Ministry on the Margins for bridging the gap between overdose hospital visits and access to chemical dependency treatment, increasing access to Medication Assisted Treatment and increasing access and availability of Narcan in the community.
• Jenny Olson, for her entrepreneurial spirit in establishing the foundation of the Office of Recovery Reinvented as its first managing director, guiding the office through four Recovery Reinvented events, the Innovate Recovery Competition, Youth Ending Stigma Challenge, and greater collaboration with businesses to support recovery friendly workplaces.
• Cindy McMillan, for her leadership as a middle school and high school substance abuse counselor in the Grand Forks Public Schools, working tirelessly on behalf of students and their families, meeting them for alcohol and drug evaluations and one-on-one counseling.
• Kristy Johnson, for sharing her lived experience to support the state of North Dakota’s Behavioral Health Division team through the coordination of peer support specialists and supporting the “Call Kay” program, which offers support to pregnant mothers struggling with substance use that need a kind and judgment-free person to talk to.

Video of the event can be found on the Recovery Reinvented website by clicking the button below.

Watch the event

ND National Guard, DES highlighted as Halloween trick-or-treaters visit Governor’s Residence

Gov. Burgum and First Lady Kathryn welcomed an estimated 450 visitors on Monday for Halloween trick-or-treating at the Governor’s Residence, continuing a long-standing tradition.

In keeping with the governor's tradition of highlighting state agencies at the residence on Halloween, team members from the North Dakota National Guard and Department of Emergency Services had equipment on site to provide an interactive experience for children, including an Avenger air defense system turret remote control from the 188th Air Defense Artillery Regiment and an MRAP all-terrain vehicle from the 816th Military Police Company.

Photos of the trick-or-treaters are available on the governor's Flickr page by clicking the button below.

View photos

Final drafts of tribal-state gaming compacts submitted for review; public comment period closes

Gov. Burgum has submitted final drafts of new tribal-state gaming compacts for review, after months of negotiations with the five tribal nations with whom North Dakota shares geography.

The current tribal gaming compacts are set to expire early next year, requiring the governor and tribes to negotiate new gaming compacts. A public hearing on proposed addendums to the compacts was held Oct. 21 as required by state law, and a public comment period closed Monday.

Final drafts of the five compacts have been submitted to Legislative Management, a group of 17 legislators that includes the majority and minority leaders of both the House and Senate, as well as legal staff. Legislative Management has 21 days to review the compacts, after which the governor and each tribe may sign the compacts.

The U.S. Department of the Interior then has 45 days to approve or reject the signed compacts. If Interior takes no action within those 45 days, the compacts automatically go into effect.

Changes to the compacts include eliminating unnecessary duplication of regulation, cleaning up a number of other regulatory and definition issues, and allowing online Class III casino-style gaming and online sports betting, including mobile gaming, within the physical boundaries of the reservations. An addendum proposed by the tribes to offer those types of gaming outside the reservations was not included in the final draft. Language was included in the compacts to allow the tribes to offer such gaming off the reservations if authorized by state and federal law.

“These negotiated compacts address a number of longstanding issues between the state and tribes by cutting through red tape and streamlining regulation of tribal gaming for the benefit of both parties,” Burgum said. “While we understand and appreciate the desire by some of the tribes to extend online gaming beyond their reservation boundaries, a clear legal path does not exist for the governor to grant such a broad expansion of gaming in the compact. We plan to work with the Legislature to bring all parties to the table and take a comprehensive look at gaming during the upcoming 2023 session, including sports betting, e-tabs and other gaming.”

Since electronic pull tabs were authorized during the 2017 legislative session, the number of e-tab machines in North Dakota has increased to approximately 4,500 devices at 800 sites – surpassing the roughly 3,300 Class III slot machines located at tribal casinos in North Dakota.

Other changes to the compacts include:

• Lowering the legal age for gambling on reservations from 21 to 19 years old. An exception remains in place for those with military ID, who may gamble at age 18.
• Clarifying that the state will conduct one annual casino inspection at the tribe’s expense. Any additional inspections will be at the state’s expense. Casinos remain subject to regular federal inspections and audits, along with submitting quarterly reports to the state.
• Limiting the cost of state regulatory activity reimbursed by the tribes to no more than $10,000 per year for each tribe, subject to an annual inflation rate.
• Providing flexibility in administering gambling addiction treatment, education and prevention services that are supported through contributions of $25,000 per year from each tribe, for a total of $125,000 annually.

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