The Latest: Governor calls pipeline protests ‘challenging’

North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple has asked the Army Corps of Engineers to speed up its decision on whether to allow a company to proceed with laying a section of the Dakota Access pipeline under a Missouri River reservoir.

Dalrymple said at a news conference Friday that increasingly frequent protests against the pipeline in and around the state capital, Bismarck, have created “a tremendously challenging, tremendously difficult situation.”

Demonstrators have protested in several locations this week, including at the state Capitol building and the state-owned Bank of North Dakota, among others.

Bismarck Mayor Mike Seminary credited residents for being patient with protesters and thanked residents for displaying “North Dakota nice.”

Protesters say the pipeline would threaten the drinking water on a Standing Rock Sioux reservation.