Scott Hennen’s interview with Governor Kelly Armstrong and First Lady Kjersti Armstrong
(FARGO, ND) – North Dakota Governor Kelly Armstrong, his wife Kjersti and their family are adjusting to a much less hectic life at the helm of the state.
“It’s a hectic schedule, but I’m enjoying it,” Kjersti said. She’s also enjoying having her husband home more often.
Change in Washington, DC
With Donald Trump winning the presidency, there has been a lot of change in Washington, DC.
“It’s been great,” Kelly said. “I’ve been texting with a lot of my friends, and they’re really excited.”
Armstrong says that, with Doug Burgum as Secretary of Interior, Senator Kevin Cramer and Congressswoman Julie Fedorchak all serving in D.C., North Dakota ‘has the opportunity to do some things and do them really quickly.’
First Lady’s Focus
Each First Lady in North Dakota normally focuses on one key issue.
For Kjersti, it’s mental health.
Governor Armstrong elevated a position related to the issue to a Cabinet position, signaling the importance to him.
“One of the things we have to do deal with with both addiction and mental health is recognize that, in a lot of places in North Dakota, we’re never going to have a full-scale clinic,” he said. “We’re not going to have that kind of operation. So how we deliver those services with the services we have.”
The Governor says he met with students from Watford City that are working on peer-to-peer counseling in a group – allowing them to talk about mental health.
“The fact that 17- and 18-year-old kids are recognizing it is going to be really, really helpful all the way around,” he said.
New State Hospital
Governor Armstrong says the state needs a new state hospital.
He said the need for as many beds as are available now may not be necessary, but only if there are beds available in other areas.
“I think these conversations aren’t an either-or conversation,” Armstrong said. “That hospital is old, the quality of care and retention and dignity to the patients that are there are all really important.”
Kjersti said the state’s lack of services for mental health is the biggest issue.
“I think we need services across the board upstream and downstream,” she said. “People are better served if they’re helped close to home.”
Addressing property tax
Armstrong says he’s glad the property tax issue is progressing.
“I think we’ll get somewhere really significant and substantial,” he said.
He doesn’t think the property tax bill will be the first to his desk.
