Leann Bertsch, right, director of corrections for North Dakota, speaks at a panel addressing the problems of addiction at a breakfast event with Gov. Doug Burgum and first lady Kathryn Helgaas Burgum on Wednesday morning in downtown Bismarck. Bertsch said penitentiary prisoners are in an "artificial" environment when it comes to treatment for addictions. Listening from right are panel members Tim Mahoney, mayor of Fargo, Judith Roberts, director of Hope Manor in Bismarck, Donald Warnes, of North Dakota State University, and Kurt Snyder, director of Heartview in Bismarck. Pamela Sagness, behavioral health division director for the Department of Human Services, said the breakfast gathering was an introduction to the platform of first lady Kathryn Helgaas Burgum. Sagness said the first lady wants to address the issues and meet the people who are on the "front line dealing with addiction in the community on a daily basis."
