"I would expect them to withhold the alternative because this is what it will be. They might be a bit upset with this, but they've been meeting themselves coming and going. The law will ovecome whatever else they will be doing."

- U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-North Dakota, commenting on his amendment making it possible to let qualified, volunteer North Dakota hunters thin an overpopulated elk herd in the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The National Park Service strategies did not include the option of using regular hunters to cull the herd and then keep the meet.

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"Our general fund is going to take a hit, there's no doubt about it."

- Stark County Commissioner Duane "Bucky" Wolf talking about paying the tab for four Alabama fugitives under the care of Stark County. The four were involved in a shootout near Gladstone on June 6. One of the four, shot when the fugitives were arrested, remains in the hospital, which costs the county about $460 per day.

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"We're putting on a full-court press … to reach out to the governor and talk about the type of assistance that would be there. It could be the race to watch in the country."

- Gary Emineth, state chairman of the North Dakota Repulblican Party, talking about trying to convince Gov. John Hoeven to run against U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan in the next general election.

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"We just got nailed twice."

- National Weather Service meteorologist Nathan Heinert saying that although there's a chance of thunderstorms on Fourth of July, they are not likely to produce significant rainfall unless a storm parks over Bismarck, as happened twice in June.

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"There are some smells and there is some noise, which isn't always conducive to sleep at all times."

- Warden Tim Schuetzle describing the oldest building inside the prison walls, the East Cell Block, which will be torn down after a new cell block is constructed.

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"Like me, they were tired of the way things were, and they were tired of … people that think that we as Indian people are no longer relevant in today's political discussions. We do have relevancy."

- Jodi Gillette, the Obama administration's liaison to tribal governments and a former resident of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, talking about reservation residents' efforts to help her during Obama's election campaign. Gillette worked for Obama during the campaign.

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"The world is not going to turn its back on coal."

- U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Steven Chu in Bismarck announcing $100 million in stimulus funds for Basin Electric Power Cooperative's clean coal projects.

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"It's very picturesque. It's unbelievebly green, the streams are full and there's wildlife to see."

- Marlo Anderson of Mandan talking about the scenery along the newly dedicated Old Red Trail Scenic Byway.