INFORUM · Michael McGurran · September 2, 2026
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
BISMARCK -- North Dakota lawmakers return to Bismarck on Wednesday, Sept. 2, for a special session, and a controversial data center project near Harwood is helping drive one of the debates they'll have to settle.
A proposed bill would bar public officials from signing certain nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) involving data centers and other industrial projects. The special session starts Wednesday, but a legislative committee met Tuesday, Sept. 1, to hear testimony about proposed bills.
Fargo Sen. Tim Mathern said Tuesday that what happened in Harwood is a case study in why the state needs clearer rules on data centers.
"Many in Fargo, West Fargo and Harwood had no idea a data center was planned in their backyard until it was less than a month from groundbreaking," said Mathern, one of the sponsors of the bill.
Mathern, D-Fargo, says projects this large can have major impacts on power, water, infrastructure and taxes, and people deserve to know what's being planned in their communities.
"If a project is positive, it can stand to public scrutiny," Mathern said.
But Gov. Kelly Armstrong says an NDA itself can't be used to get around North Dakota's open records law.
"Anybody from the press could have asked for an open records request on those projects in Harwood and Fargo, and the response cannot be, 'Sorry, I signed an NDA,'" Armstrong said. "That's just not a legal response. They would have had to get either consulted with the attorney general's office to find out if everything in that agreement was actually exempt from open records or not."
Sen. Ryan Braunberger, D-Fargo, pressed Armstrong on a different question. How would citizens know to request records if they don't know those discussions are happening?
"Oftentimes, when these NDAs are signed, that there's no way for anybody to know that they're being signed," Braunberger said.
Armstrong questioned how widespread the problem actually is and maintained that elected officials are still bound by open records law.
Armstrong says he's against blanket development NDAs, but warns that a broad ban could also restrict legitimate confidentiality agreements used by state agencies to review financial information.
Applied Digital, the company behind the Harwood project and other data centers in the state, also defended its agreement.
The company says the NDA was used for about six weeks out of concern that revealing its interest in the area could have given competitors an advantage.
"We don't believe we've done anything wrong. People can look at the agreements; they're subject to open records," said Nick Phillips, executive vice president of public affairs at Applied Digital.
The Greater North Dakota Chamber, TechND and several economic development groups also testified against the bill Tuesday. They warn a broad NDA ban could hurt North Dakota's ability to compete for projects, particularly during early site selection, before a company has decided whether to build here.
Also on the agenda for the special session are two kratom bills -- one regulating kratom products and sales to people younger than 21 and another targeting synthetic derivatives.