Report highlights suicide risks for rural men, farmers and veterans

Rural men, farmers and veterans carry a disproportionate suicide burden in North Dakota, and Stutsman County sits at the center of the response through Jamestown’s regional behavioral health clinic and the 988 crisis line. In a state where about 80% of suicides are men, health officials say prevention has to reach beyond emergency response and into everyday places where isolation can deepen, including farms, churches, coffee shops, veterans groups and family networks.

North Dakota’s suicide fatality data is tracked through the North Dakota Violent Death Reporting System, and the state created the North Dakota Suicide Fatality Review Commission during the 2023 legislative session. The commission first met in October 2023 and began reviewing cases in January 2024, with the goal of turning those cases into data-driven prevention recommendations. North Dakota Health and Human Services has said people in crisis can call, text or chat 988 for immediate help.

For Jamestown and nearby counties, the South Central Behavioral Health Clinic is a key access point. Its Region 6 service area includes Barnes, Dickey, Foster, Griggs, LaMoure, Logan, McIntosh, Stutsman and Wells counties, covering 10,801 square miles and about 61,500 people. That makes local access especially important for rural residents who may face long drives, limited appointment availability and the reluctance many men still feel about asking for help.

Veterans remain another high-risk group. A 2023 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs data sheet for North Dakota reported 20 veteran suicide deaths and a veteran suicide rate of 40.0 per 100,000. The VA said that rate was not significantly different from the national veteran rate, but it was significantly higher than the national general-population suicide rate. Veterans ages 55 to 74 had an even higher rate, 55.6 per 100,000.

Farm families are also part of the picture. Recent reporting has put farmer suicides in North Dakota at about 10 to 15 per year, and veterans accounted for a little over 13% of the state’s 146 suicides in 2023. That is why prevention leaders, including Melissa Markegard at North Dakota Health and Human Services, have stressed that the answer is not only crisis intervention but direct, human conversation and community connection.

ND HOPES, a CDC-funded suicide prevention initiative led by the University of North Dakota and NORC at the University of Chicago, is aimed at a 21-county western North Dakota region and focuses on rural residents, veterans and youth. Together with 988, the Jamestown clinic and the state review process, it gives Stutsman County a path from first concern to care before a crisis turns fatal.