County may become first in U.S. to bar new refugees

BISMARCK, N.D. — Reuben Panchol was forced to leave war-torn Sudan decades ago as a child, embarking on an odyssey that eventually brought him to the American Midwest and left him eternally grateful to the country that took him in.

“I am an American citizen, a North Dakotan,” said Panchol, a 38-year-old father of four. “And without North Dakota, I couldn’t have made it.”

Panchol hopes to share his story on Monday with members of a local commission who are set to vote on whether their county will stop accepting...