Embedded Files
09/12/2025 - Northern Marianas College President Dr. Galvin Deleon Guerrero said the college is still assessing which specific services will be affected by the latest cuts from the U.S. Department of Education. U.S. DOE announced earlier this week that it will be terminating funding to grant programs at Minority-Serving Institutions. The U.S. DOE argues that the programs “discriminate by conferring government benefits exclusively to institutions that meet racial or ethnic quotas.”
09/12/2025 - The Garapan Fishing Base pier will soon be closed to vehicles after the Department of Public Lands raised safety concerns over sinkholes and structural deterioration.
09/12/2025 - More than 100 people have signed a petition supporting marine sports operators and small business owners in the Marianas after the CNMI Department of Public Lands abruptly announced it will close the Garapan Fishing base pier for safety.
09/12/2025 - Saipan Humane Society is organizing a spay and neuter clinic in Saipan and Rota. Watch to learn more about how to sign up and why it's critical for your pets.
09/12/2025 - CNMI Governor David M. Apatang has reconvened the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisers. In a September 10, 2025, directive to all department and agency heads, Governor Apatang provided a list of his appointments to the Governor’s Council of Economic Advisers.
09/11/2025 - The Commonwealth’s Alcoholic Beverage and Tobacco Control Division, under the Department of Commerce, convened distributors, retailers, and community partners last Sept. 10 at Crowne Plaza Resort Saipan’s Hibiscus Hall to outline new requirements under Public Law 24-02, which amends the 2016 Betel Nut Control Act. ABTC director David R. Maratita said the workshop aimed to clarify labeling, reporting, and compliance rules before the law takes effect on Oct. 1, 2025.
09/11/2025 - Hydration Grounds owners Ikluk Masayos & Leilani Cepeda recently opened their new business in Kagman, and excitement is brewing in the community about what's on the menu, with the option to order from your car in their drive-thru. They're serving more than just coffee. They said they want to be part of the health movement, promote fitness, and provide quality fitness products. They are open from 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Friday and Saturday to Sunday from 6:30 a.m. to 12 p.m.
09/11/2025 - Saipan, Mariana Islands — September 2025 – The short documentary Guma Higgai – Healing Our Canoe House has been officially selected at the Suva International Short Film Festival (SISFF 2025) in Fiji, taking place from 11–13 September 2025.
09/11/2025 - In early August, in the village of Utulei on the eastern shore of Tatuila, the largest of seven islands that make up American Samoa, more than two dozen local residents gathered in an auditorium. They were there to learn about a proposal to allow deep-sea mining across more than 18 million acres of their surrounding waters in the Pacific Ocean.
09/10/2025 - CNMI Lt. Governor Dennis Mendiola met with Team King manager Dr. Kiroshi Kaneko on Monday on Capitol Hill.
09/10/2025 - Congresswoman Kimberlyn King-Hinds talks about the latest developments in Washington, D.C. that impact the Northern Mariana Islands. In an interview with Marianas Press' Thomas Manglona II this morning, King-Hinds shares updates about USPS, meeting with the Interior and other territories, and 902 talks with The White House. Watch the full interview now on Marianas Press.
09/10/2025 - The bill that the House of Representatives passed to authorize a $29-million loan from the Marianas Public Land Trust last Sept. 9 will not only allow the CNMI government to fulfill its obligation to the Settlement Fund, but also bridge the budget shortfall of the Public School System.
09/10/2025 - Making Waves IV will convene community members, local leaders, and people from across the Marianas from September 17 to 19 in Saipan. Marianas Press sat down with program coordinator Asia Camacho Hilario. She said the purpose of the summit is to bring together organizers, healers, and leaders for three days for a range of activities under the theme "mending nets and building trust." The main organizer and host is the Micronesia Climate Change Alliance.
Kumoi Farms will host its third community event, the Fall Harvest Festival, on Saturday, September 20, 2025, as part of an ongoing initiative to improve swine production and promote sustainable agriculture in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). The event is open to local producers, agricultural professionals, and community members, and aligns with the farm’s Western Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (Western SARE) project objectives.
09/09/2025 – In the wake of President Donald J. Trump’s executive order ending the de minimis exemption, the U.S. Postal Service assured that it will continue to accept, transport, and deliver mail packages sent from the Marianas to the continental U.S.
09/09/2025 - Marianas Press asked CNMI Governor David Apatang for an update after a delegation from the CNMI participated in the Interagency Group on Insular Areas meeting and 902 talks with The White House in Washington, D.C. last week.
09/09/2025 - U.S. Inspector General for the Federal Reserve Board and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Michael Horowitz opened the 36th Association of Pacific Islands Public Auditors Annual Conference on Saipan with a sobering account of lessons learned from overseeing $5 trillion in pandemic relief spending.
09/09/2025 - More than a dozen students united on Capitol Hill to voice their frustrations over potential budget cuts that they say will negatively impact their education and life after high school. Students marched from the CNMI Governor's Office to the CNMI Legislature, where some House lawmakers invited them inside to discuss the path forward. Thomas Manglona II and Mark Rabago report.
09/09/2025 - DOCOMO PACIFIC President and CEO Christine Baleto wrote a message to the Marianas community reflecting on her first year in the role.
09/08/2025 - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced that ICE San Francisco arrested George Delos Santos, who is an immigrant from the Philippines, on August 27, 2025.
He was convicted of first-degree child sexual abuse in the CNMI and was sentenced to 30 years in prison.
09/08/2025 - Senate vice president Sen. Corina Magofna brought forward mounting public frustration over zoning permit delays during a Commonwealth Zoning Board special meeting last Sept. 4 at the Marianas Business Plaza.
09/08/2025 - 30 officers have completed an 80-hour Traffic Crash/Traffic Homicide Investigation Course. The course was conducted by two instructors from the Institute of Police Technology and Management.
09/08/2025 - MP's Thomas Manglona sits down with Hawai'i State Supreme Court Associate Justice Sabrina S. McKenna during her visit to the Northern Mariana Islands, where she served as justice pro tem on a local case, in May 2025.
09/08/2025 - My internship with the Ecology of Bird Loss Project started in late May of 2025, but officially began in June. I was flown from my home island of Saipan to Guåhan, where the project’s focus on såli would soon have us checking bird houses on the Anderson Air Force Base. This was where the island’s primary population of såli survived in droves, largely due to the area’s active surveillance and disposal of brown tree snakes. The såli - or Micronesian starling (scientific name aplonis opaca) - are spry, medium-sized black birds with long, pointy bills and a piercing signature call. With glossy black feathers and intelligent golden eyes, these birds have existed in the Marianas alongside people for millennia, even sharing their name with a long-favored Chamorro condiment - donne’ (hence the term donne’ såli).
09/05/2025 - Dr. Laura Webb and Dr. Geoffrey Fraiche were captured on security footage on September 1, 2025, shopping at ABC Store. Shortly after, an edited clip of them shopping that went viral on social media showed Webb putting a package of disposable razors in her purse without paying for it. The couple said the video does not show the complete story.
09/05/2025 - "The White House made clear that the intent of this executive order was not to interrupt mail services from the CNMI. Rather, this is a result of unforeseen challenges in implementing a global suspension of the de minimis exception for low-value imports and in reconciling that policy with the Covenant and laws governing the territories. They assured me that USPS and CBP are working together urgently to resolve this matter," Del. Kimberlyn King-Hinds said in a statement.
09/05/2025 - The Saipan Chamber of Commerce welcomed potential new investor Zo Motors and Team King Investment (CNMI) LLC, which recently closed its $12.95-million purchase of Imperial Pacific International (CNMI) LLC’s property in Garapan.
09/05/2025 - CNMI and Guam officials are in Washington, D.C. for a mid-year meeting with the Interagency Group on Insular Areas. CNMI officials are also preparing for 902 talks with The White House this week.
09/05/2025 - The Department of the Interior chaired annual economic management meetings with the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) on August 27-28. Deputy Assistant Secretary for Insular and International Affairs Angel Demapan, appointed by Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, led the U.S. delegations. (PR)
09/05/2025 - IT&E CEO David Gibson responds to concerns about the provisional award for the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment Program. Watch this wide-ranging interview with MP's Thomas Manglona to learn more.
09/04/2025 - The CNMI Public School System may face reduced instructional days, staff furloughs, and even school mergers as soon as Oct. 1, 2025, if lawmakers approve only $31.7 million of its requested $49-million budget, according to education officials during a recent town hall.
09/04/2025 - The CNMI Department of Corrections Outreach Program has begun repairing railings along the Beach Road Pathway. They repurposed the lumber from the Liberation Day Grandstand to fix the broken wooden railings. CNMI DOC Commissioner Anthony Torres speaks with Marianas Press about the ongoing community service project and future efforts in the works. Thomas Manglona II reports.
09/04/2025 - Sean Macduff, superintendent for the Mariana Trench Marine National Monument, is meeting with the Mariana Trench Monument Advisory Council this week. They are tasked with providing recommendations to the monument managers in the region. The action plan consists of 11 priorities that were finalized last year. Macduff shares how critical these conversations are with MP's Thomas Manglona II.
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