Today, Governor Kelly Armstrong declared September 15th as Children of Incarcerated Parents Day in North Dakota. It’s an important step—because for too long, the children of incarcerated parents have carried a heavy burden in silence. While one person serves a sentence, their children often serve a hidden one. The Impact We Don’t Always See When…

…and why it’s time to leave them behind At F5 Project, we walk alongside people coming out of incarceration every single day. And still, we’re amazed by the myths that continue to shape public opinion, hiring decisions, housing applications, and even funding priorities. It’s time to set the record straight. These myths aren’t just wrong…

Dear Hiring Manager, We know you’re busy. You’ve got positions to fill, quotas to meet, customers to please, and a thousand reasons to go with the “safe” choice—the résumé that checks all the boxes, the background that looks clean, the story that doesn’t raise any questions. But we need you to stop for just a…

The bottom line U.S. employers are competing in a tight labor market, especially here in the Upper Midwest. In June 2025, unemployment sat around 2.5% in North Dakota and 3.3% in Minnesota, both lower than or on par with the national rate—meaning qualified candidates are scarce and expensive to replace. At the same time, an…

In North Dakota, change is in the air—and this time, it’s aimed at breaking cycles, not just building cells. The North Dakota Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DOCR) is taking on one of our state’s biggest challenges: overcrowded prisons and the uphill battle people face when they return home. Alongside adding four temporary “mini-prisons” to…

Imagine this: your case was dropped. You were acquitted. Maybe even pardoned. The legal system said, “You’re free to go.” But every time you apply for a job or a place to live, that old charge still shows up like a scarlet letter. That’s the injustice a new North Dakota law is finally starting to…