On November 2, 1889, the Dakota Territory ceased to exist, becoming the states of North and South Dakota — or so the history books tell us.

According to 82-year-old Grand Forks, North Dakota, resident John Rolczynski, however, his home state may not legally be a part of the Union at all. Rolczynski, described by Valley News Live as a “stickler for details,” discovered in 1995 that the state constitution does not require the Governor and other executive branch officials to take an oath of office to defend the U.S. Constitution. Article VI of the U.S. Constitution specifically requires “all executive … officers, both of the United States and of the several states, [to] be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution.” The discrepancy between the two constitutions, Rolczynski says, calls North Dakota’s statehood into question.

Click here to read the entire article.