Bismarck, North Dakota Bismarck Blaze and the Bismarck Roughriders, but both teams left the city soon after they were formed. Bismarck once had a professional baseball team, the Dakota Rattlers, but the team moved to Minot after several seasons in Bismarck. Bismarck, North Dakota Bismarck () is the capital of the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat of Burleigh County. It is the second-most populous city in North Dakota after Fargo. The city's population was estimated in 2017 at 72,865, while its metropolitan population was 132,142. In 2017, "Forbes" magazine ranked Bismarck as the seventh fastest-growing small city in the
Capital punishment in North Dakota Capital punishment in North Dakota Capital punishment was abolished in the U.S. state of North Dakota in 1973. Historically, a total of eight people have been executed in North Dakota, including one execution prior to North Dakota attaining statehood. According to the North Dakota Penal Code, the imposing of sentences was handed to a jury, with the suggested punishment for first-degree murder being death by hanging or life imprisonment. Until 1903 executions were carried out in public. The first private execution was that of John Rooney, who was hanged inside the Cass County prison on October 17, 1905. Rooney was