Construction is paused July 3, 2026, on the Military Gallery addition to the North Dakota Heritage Center due to insufficient fundraising. (Photo by Amy Dalrymple/North Dakota Monitor)
BISMARCK (North Dakota Monitor) — Top North Dakota Republican lawmakers are proposing tens of millions of dollars in a line of credit for restarting construction of the Military Gallery that has been paused for more than a month due to a fundraising shortfall.
Their proposal also gives final decision-making authority and approval of donor naming rights to boards that lawmakers lead or sit on.
The bill draft made public Friday is for a $35 million line of credit through the state-owned Bank of North Dakota, to be repaid by the State Historical Society via donations.
If donations garnered through March 2029 aren’t enough, taxpayers would be on the hook through a deficiency appropriation. The goal is still for half of the $78 million project to be funded by donations.
The bill draft is among 20 proposals lawmakers are pitching for a special session Gov. Kelly Armstrong called for restricting kratom and related products. A top legislative panel on Monday will pick what bills go forth into the special session, which begins Sept. 2.
A fix for the Military Gallery is not officially part of the special session, though the governor has said he hopes lawmakers find a solution. Senate Majority Leader David Hogue, R-Minot, sponsored the bill, joined by House Majority Leader Mike Lefor, R-Dickinson, and the Republican chairs of the House and Senate budget writing committees.
Their proposal also gives oversight and final decision-making authority over the project to the Capitol Grounds Planning Commission, a nine-member panel that includes four lawmakers, all of whom Hogue said have good construction administration experience. The project has primarily been managed by a museum advisory committee, which does not include lawmakers.
The State Historical Society would have to update a 47-member board of legislative leaders and budget writers every quarter on the project during the 2027-28 interim between sessions. Those updates would include construction status; use of lines of credit; donations projected, pledged and received; and the expected completion date.
The legislation also would require approvals from the Budget Section, as well as the governor-led Emergency Commission for authorizing donor naming rights for any part of the museum.
Naming rights are “of significant value” and should be evaluated by elected representatives, Hogue said.
He declined to comment on the overall handling of the project.
“I try to solve problems, and I’m not going to go down the path of second-guessing what was done in the past,” Hogue said.
The 70,000-square-foot project on the Capitol Grounds is a joint effort among the State Historical Society, the North Dakota National Guard and their foundations. The gallery must clinch one-third of its fundraising goal in pledges – about $12.8 million – before it can use $15 million the 2025 Legislature approved for the project.
Additionally, the Legislature previously approved a $20 million line of credit – already spent – and $4.2 million for repaying another line of credit for planning and design, for a total of more than $39 million in state funding already approved.
Construction of the Military Gallery began in July 2025 and has been paused since July 3 due to the fundraising shortfall. It’s unclear exactly how much cash on hand the project has.
Fundraisers have received at least $800,000 in pledge payments and have secured nearly $4.2 million in pledges, said Shannon Schweigert, managing partner at PACE Fundraising, a Fargo-based consultant the North Dakota National Guard Foundation hired. Most pledges are to be paid over the course of five years, Schweigert said.
Fundraisers have approached businesses and veteran service organizations and considered charitable gambling proceeds and other sources, said Jackie Huber, president of the North Dakota National Guard Foundation. Potential benefactors are sometimes reluctant to donate “until they know ‘What am I donating for?’ and ‘What’s my piece of the pie going to look like?’” she said.
The committee overseeing the project has not met since June. State Historical Society Director Bill Peterson said, “There’s not much to discuss.” The project had no path forward at the time of the pause, he said.
“This is a fantastic project, and we’re still pretty surprised that we’ve had any kind of trouble raising money for this,” Peterson said. PACE fundraisers are “still confident that this a very winnable and doable campaign,” he said.
Under Hogue’s bill, the museum committee would still have reporting requirements to lawmakers, but no decisionmaking authority.
Another proposal, by Sen. Sean Cleary, R-Bismarck, would require future projects to secure 75% of nonstate funds as cash, contracts or grants before breaking ground. His proposal would not apply to college and university projects. Cleary said he felt there should be safeguards for the state going forward.
“Really, to me, it just didn’t make any sense that they broke ground with such little fundraising momentum,” Cleary said of the Military Gallery project.
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