"The $2.5 (million) took my breath away."

- Mandan School Board member Kirsten Baesler reacting to the estimated cost of renovating the Mandan Community Center for the school district.

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"He and Mikey have discussed it and they think that's too soon. It's a family decision, and they need time."

- Don Canton, Gov. John Hoeven's spokesman, on why Hoeven and his wife aren't ready to announce his decision on running for the U.S. Senate. The GOP would like to have announced candidates by Labor Day.

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"It's going to become a national campaign and perhaps a referendum on the Obama administration. It will take what is usually a fairly quiet North Dakota campaign into a major national event."

- Mark Jendrysik, a political science professor at the University of North Dakota, on the likely impact of a race between Gov. John Hoeven and Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., for the U.S. Senate.

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"He's been doing this forever. The defendant needs to quit stealing from people, and he just doesn't get it."

- Burleigh County Assistant State's Attorney Pam Nesvig on Paul Smestad, who was sentenced to concurrent 10-year prison sentences on five Class C felony counts of theft of property on Tuesday.

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"Lunch, recess and math. And spelling."

- Carson Nather on his favorite times at school during the first day of classes at Shiloh Christian School on Tuesday.

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"There wouldn't be a government plan in the proposal we're working on. The cooperative option is only an option. People would have many choices. This would be one, and it is entirely voluntary what people would pick."

- Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., discussing the cooperative idea being considered for health insurance. The idea has been gaining support.

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"We have a problem. Too many people are dying on our highways."

- Department of Transportation director Francis Ziegler announcing an effort to keep drunken drivers off the roads. A grant will help law enforcement agencies increase patrols.

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"Even though it took a while to get Harmon Lake dam built, it did not take long to reap some of its benefits."

- J.R. Flores, state conservationist for the Natural Resource Conservation Service, at the Thursday dedication of Harmon Lake. Flores said the lake prevented more damage from spring floods.

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"There's a lot of misconceptions, misinformation. This whole process is confusing and frustrating, and it's divisive. I think the purpose of the health care reform has been lost or is being lost."

- Leslie Oliver, an attorney at Vogel Law Firm, during a Thursday meeting between Bismarck-Mandan Chamber of Commerce members and Sen. Kent Conrad, D-N.D., and Rep. Earl Pomeroy, D-N.D., on health care proposals before Congress.