BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ Gasoline prices are on the rise and headed to a record in North Dakota.
North Dakota AAA spokesman Gene LaDoucer (luh-DOO-sur) says the average price of gas in the state could reach $4.15 per gallon, breaking the July 2008 record of $4.08.
A gallon of regular unleaded gas already is at $4.24 per gallon at some gas stations in the Bismarck-Mandan area. And North Dakota Petroleum Marketers Association President Mike Rud (rood) says some stations in Jamestown and Fargo have even run out of fuel.
LaDoucer says several large refineries that feed the region are down for maintenance or upgrades, and that a recent fire at a refinery in Minnesota also has contributed to the supply problems.
FARGO, N.D. (AP) _ Xcel Energy is proposing two natural gas-fired power plants 70 miles south of Fargo to help meet electricity needs during times of peak demand.
The plants would be built near Hankinson if they are approved by regulators because of the site's proximity to a natural gas pipeline and an electrical transmission line. They would go into service in 2018 and 2019.
Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy also has proposed a peaking plant near Minneapolis that would go into operation in 2017. The Forum newspaper reports (http://bit.ly/185MAFD ) that the plants are planned to meet a gradual increase in power demand in Xcel's service area, which includes Minnesota and the Dakotas.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ North Dakota's state parks return to full services this weekend, with seasonal staffing in place.
The state Parks and Recreation Department says the 13 parks have been a popular destination for tourists in recent years, attracting more than a million visitors annually.
More information on the parks can be found at http://www.parkrec.nd.gov .
WILLISTON, N.D. (AP) _ Bond has been set at $1 million for a man accused of killing a Williston hobby rancher.
Thirty-three-year-old Ryan Stensaker, of Williston, is accused in the shooting death of 58-year-old Jack Sjol (shohl), who had been missing three weeks before his body was discovered Tuesday in a private dump ground near from his ranch.
Authorities haven't discussed a possible motive for the killing.
Court documents don't list an attorney for Stensaker, who has a history of drug-related convictions. He's due back in court June 18 and might enter a plea at that time. He also faces drug and weapon charges.
Sjol had lived in the area for 30 years. He retired from his job with Williston's public works department two years ago.
ND billboards meant to attract Minnesota consumers
FARGO, N.D. (AP) _ North Dakota is promoting its business climate at Minnesota's expense.
The Greater North Dakota Chamber has created billboards that mock decisions made this session by the Minnesota Legislature, including bills that raise taxes on income and consumer products like tobacco, gas and beer.
The first billboard went up Thursday along Interstate 94 in Moorhead, Minn., which is across the Red River from Fargo. It reads ``NORTH DAKOTA'' on the top line and ``OPEN FOR BUSINESS'' on the bottom.
Other billboards are planned throughout the summer.
Chamber President Andy Peterson says many state businesses should benefit from their neighbor's new laws and expects to see more Minnesota license plates in the parking lots of North Dakota stores.
ND man sentenced to prison in illegal workers case
FARGO, N.D. (AP) _ A judge says a Fargo construction company owner must serve prison time for employing and housing illegal workers.
Twenty-nine-year-old Garrett Setterholm pleaded guilty in January to harboring six or more workers who were not in the United States legally.
Federal authorities say Setterholm employed the workers at his roofing company in the summer of 2011.
As part of their employment, Setterholm allegedly provided the workers with apartments and transportation to and from the work sites.
U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson sentenced Setterholm to three months in prison, to be followed by six months of home confinement. Setterholm was ordered to forfeit $80,000.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ The North Dakota Game and Fish Department says the state's 2013 paddlefish snagging season will close at 10 p.m. on Friday to protect the population level of the fish.
Fisheries chief Greg Power says strong participation and relatively low water levels concentrating the paddlefish led to the early closure.
An additional seven-day snag-and-release season will begin Saturday and run through Friday, May 24.
The 2012-14 fishing proclamation allows for the Game and Fish director to close the snagging season early if it appears more than 1,000 paddlefish will be harvested. The scheduled closing date was May 31.
Only twice in the past 13 years has the season remained open through May.
Snaggers with an unused tag can continue snagging during the additional snag-and-release season, but must release all fish immediately.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ North Dakota health officials say a total of 26 cases of active tuberculosis have been linked to an outbreak that originated in the Grand Forks area.
Officials say that the total includes two TB cases in 2010, 20 cases in 2012, and 4 cases so far in 2013.
Twenty-three of those cases have been in Grand Forks County. Three other cases in Cass and Stutsman counties have been linked back to the Grand Forks outbreak.
TB is a contagious disease that typically attacks the lungs, though it also can affect the kidneys, spine and brain. General symptoms include fatigue, weight loss, fever and night sweats.
Health officials have linked the outbreak to homeless visitors who exposed a family who gave them shelter.
WILLISTON, N.D. (AP) _ Authorities in Williams County have identified a man found dead from gunshot wounds east of Williston as a rancher who was not seen since late April.
The Williams County Sheriff's Office says sheriff's deputies and officers with the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation were executing a search warrant Tuesday morning at a location about 7 miles east of Williston when they found the body of 58-year-old Jack Sjol.
The state medical examiner determined Sjol died from a fatal gunshot wound.
The Sheriff's Office says 33-year-old Ryan Lee Stensaker of Williston has been charged with murder. Stensaker is being held in jail pending a bond hearing.
Attorney information for Stensaker was not listed in court records.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ Reward money has been increased for information that solves two year-old cases of cattle killings in North Dakota.
The reward in a Richland County case in which 13 cows and a calf were shot and killed in a pasture near Hankinson is now up to $15,100. Officials say it's the largest cattle shooting in the state in recent memory.
The reward in an Oliver County case in which nine cattle were killed is now up to $27,000, the largest such reward in state history.
The main reason for the reward increases is a decision by the North Dakota Stockmen's Association to increase its standing reward in any case of someone stealing, butchering or shooting cattle, horses or mules in North Dakota. The amount has been increased from $1,000 to $10,000.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ Reward money has been increased for information that solves two year-old cases of cattle killings in North Dakota.
The reward in a Richland County case in which 13 cows and a calf were shot and killed in a pasture near Hankinson is now up to $15,100. Officials say it's the largest cattle shooting in the state in recent memory.
The reward in an Oliver County case in which nine cattle were killed is now up to $27,000, the largest such reward in state history.
The main reason for the reward increases is a decision by the North Dakota Stockmen's Association to increase its standing reward in any case of someone stealing, butchering or shooting cattle, horses or mules in North Dakota. The amount has been increased from $1,000 to $10,000.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ The federal Environmental Protection Agency is taking written comments through June 17 on an appeal of North Dakota's regional haze plan approved last year.
The EPA took testimony on the appeal during a pair of hearings in Bismarck on Wednesday.
The North Dakota chapter of the Sierra Club is appealing a decision in which the EPA agreed with the state position that two coal-fired power plants in the western part of the state could use less-expensive pollution control technology.
The Sierra Club says the less-expensive controls also are weaker, and that the plants should use the best-available technology.
State Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem (STEHN'-juhm) says the issue has been settled after years of debate and the EPA should reject the appeal.
MINTO, N.D. (AP) _ High water levels continue to thwart efforts to find the body of a Minto farmer who is believed to have drowned in floodwaters late last month.
55-year-old Guy Miller was driving a pickup truck that was swept off a gravel road about three miles west of the northeastern North Dakota town on April 29. He was last seen by a friend as he stood on the pickup's running board calling for help.
The vehicle remains partially submerged in a coulee that flows into the Forest River.
Walsh County Sheriff Lauren Wild says authorities check daily for signs of Miller, using unmanned aircraft, all-terrain vehicles, dive teams and search dogs.
MANDAN, N.D. (AP) _ The North Dakota Game and Fish Department's Save Our Lakes program is renovating 800 feet of shoreline along Danzig Dam in Morton County.
The project includes lowering the water level to remove sediment, which will deepen the shoreline and create better access for shore anglers. A water control structure also is being installed.
The project should be completed by June, but officials expect the water level to remain low until next spring.
Game and Fish this summer plans to remove undesirable fish species from the water.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ North Dakota Game and Fish Department personnel recently stocked six lakes with about 1,200 trout from Wyoming.
Rainbow trout were stocked in Camels Hump Lake in Golden Valley County, Dickinson Dike in Stark County, North Woodhaven Pond in Cass County and Mooreton Pond in Richland County.
Cutthroat trout were split between Northgate Dam in Burke County and Kettle Lake in Williams County.
The fish weigh between 2 pounds and 5 pounds.
Game and Fish fisheries official Jerry Weigel (WY'-guhl) says Wyoming provides trout each year in exchange for walleye fingerlings.
Normal rainbow trout stockings from Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery have been delayed due to the late spring, but Game and Fish says nearly 50,000 10-inch rainbow trout will be stocked into 50 waters statewide by May 23.
BINFORD, N.D. (AP) _ Authorities in North Dakota say a man suspected of running over a woman and crashing into a house in Binford has been apprehended in Illinois and faces attempted murder charges.
The Griggs County Sheriff's Office says 36-year-old Tyronza Watkins, of Binford, was stopped Wednesday on an interstate highway near Bloomington, Ill.
On Monday, the sheriff's office received calls that a car had struck a house in Binford and ran over a woman who was trapped underneath.
Authorities say 28-year-old Jessica Overby, who lives at the house, was treated at a nearby hospital and released. Forty-one-year-old Dawn Leininger was flown to Sanford Hospital in Fargo. Her condition was not known.
Watkins is being held in the McLean County jail in Illinois pending extradition.
Williams County authorities investigating homicide
WILLISTON, N.D. (AP) _ Authorities in Williams County are investigating a homicide after finding a dead body east of Williston.
The Williams County Sheriff's Office says sheriff's deputies and officers with the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation were executing a search warrant Tuesday morning at a location about 7 miles east of Williston when they found a man's dead body.
The man has not been identified, but the state medical examiner determined he died from a fatal gunshot wound.
The sheriff's office says a male person of interest has been arrested on unrelated charges and is being held in jail pending further investigation.
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) _ Grand Forks Air Force Base has a new commander.
Col. Paul Baumann took the reins from Col. Christopher Mann during an assumption of command ceremony on Wednesday.
Mann was a vice commander who took over temporarily in mid-march when then-commander Col. Tim Bush was relieved of command for failing to meet physical fitness requirements.
Baumann comes from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, where he was a wing vice commander.
Gen. William Bender says Baumann has the aptitude and attitude for the job and a sterling biography.
The general says Baumann knows the Air Force from every angle, from the Pentagon to the field level.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ An apartment fire in downtown Bismarck forced the evacuation of surrounding buildings but no one was injured.
The 18-unit building on Third Street caught fire around 10 a.m. Wednesday.
Fire Chief Joel Boesflug says the blaze likely started in the southeast corner of the building's second floor and spread to the roof. Its cause remains under investigation.
The circa-1916 building, called the Norma, was damaged.
The American Red Cross was on the scene to provide food and clothing and help residents find a place to spend the night. Firefighters hope that most residents can move back into the building Thursday once it has been fully cleaned.
Pickup truck driver dies in crash with train in ND
WEST FARGO, N.D. (AP) _ A collision involving a pickup truck and a train in southeastern North Dakota has killed the driver of the pickup.
Authorities told WDAY television that the 40-year-old Del Shannon Hiltwein of Fargo was found dead at the scene of the crash, which happened shortly before 2 a.m. Tuesday northwest of West Fargo.
Authorities say it appears that safety crossing arms at the intersection of the tracks and a gravel road were working properly.
FARGO, N.D. (AP) _ The move by state lawmakers and Gov. Jack Dalrymple to make North Dakota the most restrictive state in the country for abortion is facing its first legal challenge of 2013.
An abortions rights group says it filed a lawsuit Wednesday morning challenging a law that requires doctors who perform abortions to obtain hospital-admitting privileges. Officials with the state's lone abortion clinic, located in Fargo, say it's an unfair requirement and could make abortion illegal in North Dakota.
Dalrymple signed four bills into law this past session that could spearhead the campaign to overturn the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 ruling that legalized abortion.
Abortion rights activists say more lawsuits will be coming before the laws are scheduled to take effect Aug. 1.
Dalrymple was not immediately available for comment.
FARGO, N.D. (AP) _ North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven says a measure that would authorize a Red River flood diversion project has passed the Senate.
The nearly $2 billion proposal to move water around Fargo is part of the 2013 Water Resources Development Act, which was approved Wednesday morning.
Authorization would allow construction to begin, but the federal funding would need to be appropriated each year to cover the construction costs, which would be shared by local, state and federal governments.
The water projects bill now goes to the House.
Hoeven calls authorization of the diversion ``a big step toward the construction phase of the project.''
Senate OKs measure blocking fees for Mo. River H2O
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ The U.S. Senate has passed an amendment blocking the Corps of Engineers from charging fees to access water in upper Missouri River reservoirs.
The effort spearheaded by senators from the Dakotas and Montana is part of the 2013 Water Resources Development Act, which now goes to the House.
The corps has proposed a fee system that would designate some water in the reservoirs as surplus because it hasn't been used for purposes authorized when dams were built.
The senators say the proposed fees would violate states' rights to waters that naturally flow through their boundaries. The states have promised to sue if fees are charged.
The corps has issued free permits to tap surplus water to oil drillers and other industrial users until a national policy is developed.
CANDO, N.D. (AP) _ The former Noodles by Leonardo plant in Cando (KAN'-doo) will start producing pasta again next week, about six months after shutting its doors.
The facility is now owned by Cando Pasta LLC, a partnership of two local businessmen and two other investors. The plant should have as many as 20 employees later this month and as many as 40 by next year.
One of the businessmen involved is Jim Gibbens, who is a former mayor of the northeastern North Dakota town and president of the Towner County Economic Development Commission. He says reopening the plant is a big deal for the community of about 1,100 people.
The Noodles by Leonardo plant closed last October, putting about 30 people out of work.
FARGO, N.D. (AP) _ Officials are beefing up security for this week's marathon in North Dakota's largest city, in the wake of the Boston Marathon bombings that killed three people and injured more than 260.
Fargo Marathon officials aren't releasing specifics about security for the event that begins with a youth run Thursday and concludes with the marathon on Saturday.
But Executive Director Mark Knutson says marathon officials have met with local and federal law agencies, area ambulance crews and officials at the Fargodome, where the race ends.
Knutson says only two runners withdrew from the Fargo Marathon after the bombings at the finish line in Boston. ___
MANDAN, N.D. (AP) _ People who have built homes around a new manmade lake in western North Dakota have won a battle against industrial development.
The Morton County Commission on Tuesday night voted 3-2 to reject the rezoning of a 102-acre area near Harmon Lake from agricultural use to light industrial use. Those who voted against the proposal said a light industrial park wasn't a good fit for the area.
Officials with XL Homes haven't said what they planned to develop in the area, and that added to fears among homeowners that their properties or the lake itself might suffer environmental damage. Company official Dan Masseth did say the company was not considering anything that might have led to environmental contamination.
The $7 million Harmon Lake project was completed about 5 1/2 years ago.
FORT YATES, N.D. (AP) _ A tourist information center honoring a former Dakotas tribal leader is scheduled to open on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation.
The Sitting Bull Visitor Center will be operated by Sitting Bull College and offer travelers information regarding local and special events and places to visit. A gift shop will feature a variety of authentic Native American arts and crafts, among other items.
The center was a joint project of the Standing Rock Native American National Scenic Byway, Sitting Bull College and Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
LaDonna Brave Bull Allard, the tribe's director of tourism, says the center is a ``dream come true'' that honors a great leader.
MEDORA, N.D. (AP) _ Legendary North Dakota entrepreneur Harold Schafer and the Marquis de Mores are among this year's inductees to the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame.
Schafer founded the Gold Seal Co., launched the popular Mr. Bubble children's bubble bath and is credited with developing Medora into a tourist attraction. He was the father of former North Dakota governor and U.S. agriculture secretary Ed Schafer. Harold Schafer died in 2001.
The Marquis de Mores was a French nobleman who founded Medora in 1883 and named it for his bride.
The Cowboy Hall of Fame in Medora showcases the history of ranchers, rodeo cowboys, Native Americans and the western lifestyle of the Plains and the Badlands. The 2013 induction ceremony is June 21-22.
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) _ Grand Forks Air Force Base has a new commander.
A ceremony was scheduled Wednesday for Col. Paul Baumann to take the reins from Col. Christopher Mann.
Mann was a vice commander who took over temporarily in mid-march when then-commander Col. Tim Bush was relieved of command for failing to meet physical fitness requirements.
Baumann comes from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, where he was a wing vice commander.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ Just halfway into May, nine accidents involving farm equipment and utility poles have been reported to the Dakota Valley and Northern Plains Electric Cooperatives so far this month.
Cooperatives operations manager Craig Rysavy says no one has been injured in the crashes and no farm equipment was damaged. But the sheer number of wrecks has officials concerned.
The crashes also cause major problems for utility crews. Rysavy says up to 150 people could be out of power as a result of damage to utility equipment.
Officials remind people to keep watch for overhead power lines and to report any potential power line hazards.
ND remembering its fallen law enforcement officers
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ North Dakota is remembering its fallen law enforcement officers.
Gov. Jack Dalrymple has declared Wednesday as Peace Officers Memorial Day, in accordance with a proclamation signed by President Barack Obama.
The governor has directed all government agencies to fly the American and North Dakota flags at hall-staff from sunrise to sunset.
Dalrymple says North Dakota remains one of the safest states in the nation due in large part to the law enforcement officers who ``put their lives on the line every day to protect and serve their fellow citizens.''
Winnipeg whistles while Fargo adds up flooding tab
FARGO, N.D. (AP) _ Another million-dollar spring flood fight has given Fargo and Cass County officials another case of waterway envy.
The tab for managing a Red River threat that never really materialized has topped the $2.5 million mark in Fargo, after the city built 11 miles of clay levees and placed 100,000 sandbags.
Some 200 miles downstream of the north-flowing river, the same river is hardly causing a stir in Winnipeg, Manitoba, because of a 45-year-old channel that moves the water around the metropolitan area of more than 700,000 people.
Cass County engineer Jason Benson, who toured the Winnipeg waterway last year, says costs for the Manitoba city will be ``very minimal'' this year. He says operating the diversion channel is ``almost as simple'' as pressing a button.
WILLISTON, N.D. (AP) _ Law enforcement executing a search warrant near Williston found a body.
The Williams County Sheriff's Office says officers were executing the warrant with the help of the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation at 8 a.m. Tuesday when a male body was found.
The body is being taken to the North Dakota State Medical Examiner for identification and cause of death.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ The North Dakota Aeronautics Commission is in the process of allocating funds granted by the state Legislature for airport improvements.
Senate Bill 2006 provided $6 million for airport infrastructure grants statewide and House Bill 1358 provided $60 million for airports impacted by oil development.
Commission director Larry Taborsky says it will be up to the Aeronautics Commission to decide how the $6 million is divided. The commission also will make recommendations to the North Dakota Department of Trust Lands on how the $60 million should be divided.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ A Bismarck woman faces a felony child neglect charge after authorities who responded to a report of smoke in her apartment say they found four children home alone.
Bond has been set at $2,000 for 30-year-old Viola Grinnell. Court documents don't list an attorney for her, and a home telephone listing couldn't be found.
Emergency officials who responded to Grinnell's apartment shortly before midnight Saturday say they found the children, ranging in age from 2 to 10, and a large amount of smoke. They determined that the smoke was coming from burned pot holders in the oven and a stove burner that had been left on.
Authorities say Grinnell told them a baby sitter she had arranged for before she left didn't show up.
FARGO, N.D. (AP) _ A Minnesota truck driver has been sentenced to serve about 2 { months in jail for a crash in North Dakota last June that killed a motorcycle driver.
Fifty-six-year-old James Toner, of Long Prairie, Minn., reached a deal with prosecutors in which he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor aggravated reckless driving charge. He initially had been charged with felony manslaughter.
Authorities say Toner drifted wide to the left with his semitrailer so he could make a right-hand turn at a Fargo intersection. Twenty-nine-year-old motorcyclist Jason Viestenz, of Fargo, was trailing and collided with the rig. He died and his 10-year-old son was injured.
Toner will not be allowed to have a commercial driver's license during two years of probation following his jail term.
FARGO, N.D. (AP) _ A Fargo woman has been sentenced to serve four months in jail for embezzling tens of thousands of dollars from her condominium association to support a gambling habit.
Forty-three-year Linda Brendemuhl will be on supervised probation for five years following her time behind bars. She also was ordered to repay more than $39,500 to the Fireside Condo Association.
Brendemuhl pleaded guilty to a felony charge of misapplication of entrusted funds.
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EASTERN ND/GRAND FORKS ND 744 AM CDT TUE MAY 14 2013 ..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON... ..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE.... ..REMARKS.. 0614 AM TSTM WND DMG 5 E VALLEY CITY 46.92N 97.90W 05/14/2013 BARNES ND LAW ENFORCEMENT SEMI-OVERTURNED NR MP 295 ALONG I-94
0623 AM TSTM WND DMG ORISKA 46.93N 97.79W 05/14/2013 BARNES ND LAW ENFORCEMENT SEMI-TRUCK OVERTURNED.
0641 AM TSTM WND GST FARGO 46.88N 96.82W 05/14/2013 M49.00 MPH CASS ND ASOS MEASURED 43 KT GUST AT KFAR ASOS
0645 AM TSTM WND DMG FARGO 46.88N 96.82W 05/14/2013 CASS ND PUBLIC VIA FACEBOOK...PIECES OF SIDING OFF...SWING SET BLOWN OVER IN NORTH FARGO. ESTIMATED WINDS 60-65 MPH.
0653 AM TSTM WND GST 1 SE MOORHEAD 46.85N 96.74W 05/14/2013 M64.00 MPH CLAY MN AWOS
0713 AM TSTM WND GST LAKE PARK 46.88N 96.10W 05/14/2013 M70.00 MPH BECKER MN DEPT OF HIGHWAYS MEASURED AT MINNESOTA DOT SITE ALONG HIGHWAY 10
Officials say gay marriage movement unlikely in ND
FARGO, N.D. (AP) _ Some officials in North Dakota say the state is not likely to join neighboring Minnesota in allowing gay marriages anytime soon.
University of North Dakota political science professor Mark Jendrysik (jehn-DREE'-sihk) points to a 2004 vote to ban same-sex marriages as evidence that the mindset is different in North Dakota. Seventy-three percent of voters approved that constitutional amendment.
Jendrysik says people presume that a wave of states legalizing gay marriage is an unstoppable trend. But he says that's not the case, especially in conservative North Dakota.
Voters would have to approve same-sex marriage in North Dakota because marriage is defined in the state's constitution. North Dakota Family Alliance director Tom Freier says he doesn't think much has changed in voters' minds in the past nine years.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ After a cool early spring, North Dakota is heating up.
The National Weather Service says the temperature eclipsed 90 degrees in many North Dakota cities on Monday. Bismarck tied a 1932 record for the date at 91 degrees.
Fargo had a high temperature Monday of 93 degrees. It fell 2 degrees short of that city's record for the date, but it was a warm-up of more than 40 degrees from the morning low in Fargo.
The weather service forecast calls for a slight cool-down for the rest of the week, with temperatures statewide in the 70s and 80s.
MANDAN, N.D. (AP) _ At least 50 homeowners have signed an informal petition opposing industrial development near Harmon Lake north of Mandan.
Morton County's Planning and Zoning Commission has recommended the county approve the rezoning of a 102-acre area, and the matter is now in the hands of the County Commission. XL Homes has not said what type of projects would be developed.
Homeowner Dan Little says area property owners are worried about possible environmental damage at the manmade lake _ a $7 million project that was completed about 5 { years ago. The lake filled in 2009.
County Planning Commissioner Andy Zachmeier says the property in question is not in sight of the Harmon Lake Recreation Area but is within the lake's watershed.
No sage grouse hunting in ND for 6th straight year
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ North Dakota will not have a sage grouse hunting season for the sixth straight year because the population of the birds remains low.
State Game and Fish Department biologist Aaron Robinson says officials counted a record-low 50 males on 11 active strutting grounds, or leks, in early May. He says last year, 72 males were counted on 12 active leks in the southwest. The leks are where male birds conduct mating displays to attract females.
Robinson says drought is the most likely reason for the record-low number of males.
Sage grouse hunting was halted in North Dakota in 2008 for the first time in nearly half a century after a steep drop in the bird population that wildlife officials attributed to the West Nile virus.
MINOT, N.D. (AP) _ Air Force officials and U.S. Sen. John Hoeven say the intercontinental ballistic missile for a planned test launch that was scrapped last month because of mounting tensions with North Korea was to have come from the Minot Air Force Base missile field.
The launch was scrubbed when North Korean leader Kim Jong Un threatened nuclear strikes against the U.S., because of concerns that North Korea might misinterpret the test launch.
A spokeswoman for Air Force Global Strike Command says the next test launch of a Minot missile field missile is planned for May 21. The test launches are made from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. About three are done each year.
FARGO, N.D. (AP) _ Trial is set to begin the case of a Canadian food company that says it`s owed more than $600,000 from a North Dakota hog farming operation.
Maple Leaf Foods, Inc. has filed a civil lawsuit in federal court against North Dakota Sow Center, which operates facilities near Bottineau and Edmore. Maple Leaf claims the hog farming company failed to pay for the sale of young pigs.
Court documents show that North Dakota Sow Center refused to pay its balance because it was unhappy with the quality of the animals.
The complaint seeks an additional $100,000 for incidental damages.
Lawyers expect the trial to last a week. Jury selection is scheduled to begin Tuesday in Fargo.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ The North Dakota Highway Patrol says a three-day crackdown on unqualified truck drivers in the western oil patch resulted in more than 100 citations and 35 drivers being placed out of service.
The commercial motor vehicle enforcement effort happened last week west of U.S. Highway 83 and north of Interstate 94. The patrol says the goal was to remove drivers from behind the wheel if they didn't have the proper training and licensing.
Bobcat Co. breaks ground on $20M Bismarck facility
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ Bobcat Co. is investing $20 million in an expansion and renovations in Bismarck, about 3 { years after closing its manufacturing plant in the North Dakota capital and laying off nearly 500 workers.
Bobcat on Monday broke ground on a research-and-development facility at its existing site at the Northern Plains Commerce Centre. Construction is expected to be done in about a year.
Bobcat has hired an additional 135 people for the expanded facility, bringing its workforce in Bismarck to 625.
West Fargo-based Bobcat makes compact construction equipment. It has about 1,000 independent dealers in more than 100 countries and bills itself as North Dakota's largest manufacturer. It also has sites in Fargo, Gwinner and Wahpeton.
Bobcat Co. breaks ground on $20M Bismarck facility
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ Bobcat Co. is investing $35 million in an expansion and renovations in Bismarck, about 3 { years after closing its manufacturing plant in the North Dakota capital and laying off nearly 500 workers.
Bobcat on Monday broke ground on a $20 million research-and-development facility at its existing site at the Northern Plains Commerce Centre. Construction is expected to be done in about a year. The company is spending another $15 million on renovations to the existing facility.
Bobcat has hired an additional 135 people for the expanded facility, bringing its workforce in Bismarck to 625.
West Fargo-based Bobcat makes compact construction equipment. It has about 1,000 independent dealers in more than 100 countries and bills itself as North Dakota's largest manufacturer. It also has sites in Fargo, Gwinner and Wahpeton.
COOPERSTOWN, N.D. (AP) _ Some Griggs County residents plan to circulate recall petitions against all five county commissioners.
The move is to protest the commission's recent decision to build a $3.5 million courthouse _ despite voters rejecting the idea three times in a span of 14 months.
Cooperstown resident John Wakefield says he's disgusted that the commission has gone against the will of the voters.
Commission Chairman Ron Halvorson says the county will not have to raise taxes to fund the project. County officials also say necessary upgrades to the existing courthouse are too costly to justify.
The courthouse is nearly 130 years old and the oldest active courthouse in North Dakota. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Lawyers to argue about interrogation in ND killing
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ A man accused of second-degree murder in the death of a former Marine from North Dakota says investigators violated his rights when he was interrogated following his arrest.
Waylon Hicks is accused of fatally stabbing Jeremiah Sage after the two left a New Town bar last July.
The 30-year-old Sage, of Halliday, served two tours of duty in Iraq. He was working as a compliance officer with Three Affiliated Tribes in North Dakota.
Defense attorneys say Hicks did not ``knowingly and intelligently'' waive his right to remain silent when he talked to FBI agents in the early morning of July 20.
Prosecutors say Hicks was not coerced into talking and his statements were voluntary.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ About 150 North Dakota National Guard soldiers have left for a yearlong homeland security mission in the Washington, D.C., area.
The solders with the 188th Air Defense Artillery Regiment left from Bismarck and Grand Forks on Sunday. They'll get final training at Fort Bliss in Texas and then head to the nation's capital. An advance group of soldiers left last week.
It is the 10th time since 2004 that soldiers with the battalion have been deployed.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ Bobcat is breaking ground Monday on an addition to its facility at the Northern Plains Commerce Centre, transforming it from a warehouse to a research-and-development site.
Officials behind the new Acceleration Center say it's designed to bring the best minds from the farm-and-construction-equipment company under one roof _ while also bringing more high-paying jobs to Bismarck.
Bobcat's president for North America and Oceania, Rich Goldsbury, says the collaborative nature of the new facility represents a shift in the company's operating philosophy.
He says that ``speed to market is very important.''
Bobcat has hired an additional 135 people for the expanded facility, including 30 new engineers. The building will be expanded to include a second story and a 35,000-square-foot indoor testing arena.
DICKINSON, N.D. (AP) _ Dickinson residents could be asked to ration their water use as western North Dakota continues to grapple with population growth.
Residential, city and industrial water uses are starting to drain the resource.
Jim Lennington, a project manager with Bismarck-based engineering firm Barlett & West, recently told the Southwest Water Authority Board of Directors that continued growth could put a strain on the city's water supply as early as next year.
He says residents could be asked to limit their lawn watering at that time. During the city's comprehensive planning process this year, Dickinson officials said that they predict water shortages next summer.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ Bismarck's Dakota Zoo is welcoming a newborn camel to its brood.
Young Tom Dooley, one of three Bactrian camels at the zoo, has a baby brother. The yet-to-be-named camel was born March 27 and is the second male born to Sadie.
The camel is just one of the newborns expected at the zoo, which is open for its summer hours of 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily in its 52nd season. Zoo marketing director Larry Klemer says he expects a miniature donkey to deliver a little one any day now.
Birthings were slow at the start of the season because of the weather, but Klemer says that the end of April and start of May have been busy.
JAMESTOWN, N.D. (AP) _ North Dakota's Stutsman County could soon be joining more than a dozen other counties that have issued burn bans after fighting 13 grass fires in the first 10 days of May.
The largest Stutsman fire blackened about 60 acres. No injuries have been reported so far in any of the blazes. A grass fire that burned 10 acres on May 9 caused damage to a barn.
Stutsman County Emergency Manager Jerry Bergquist says the area needs rain. If moisture doesn't come before the county commission meeting on May 21, he expects the county's fire officials will request a burn ban.
As of May 10, 16 counties in North Dakota had issued burn bans, including LaMoure, Dickey, Logan and McIntosh.
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) _ Nearly five dozen University of North Dakota students are launching medical careers.
UND scheduled its medical school graduation on Sunday in the Chester Fritz Auditorium on campus, a day after the school's general spring commencement at the Alerus Center. Fifty-eight medical students were eligible for degrees.
Fire weather watch issued for much of North Dakota
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ State emergency services officials say are warning about a high fire danger for all of western and portions of central North Dakota.
A fire weather watch is in effect for Monday, which means conditions could lead to rapid fire growth and uncontrolled fires.
Highs are forecast in the mid-80s to lower 90s on Monday with northwest winds expected in the 25 mph range afternoon relative humidity near 20 percent.
The watch affects Divide, Burke, Renville, Williams, Mountrail, Ward, McKenzie, Dunn, Mercer, Oliver, McLean, Golden Valley, Billings, Stark, Morton, Burleigh, Slope, Hettinger, Grant, Adams, Sioux and Emmons counties.
Status of ND veteran to change on Vietnam memorial
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ North Dakota Sen. Heidi Heitkamp says the status designation of a serviceman from Fargo will be changed on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
The remains of Air Force Lt. Col. Wendell R. Keller were found last year. He went missing in action on March 1, 1969.
Keller's name currently has a cross next to it, which represents missing veterans. His designation will be changed to a diamond, which denotes confirmed death.
A ceremony is scheduled Sunday in Washington.
Heitkamp says Keller made the ultimate sacrifice for the country and hopes the ceremony will bring some comfort to his friends and family.
FARGO, N.D. (AP) _ National Weather Service figures show that the Red River flood threat in North Dakota and Minnesota appears to have passed.
The river reached 46 feet on Wednesday at a gauge near the Canadian border before starting to fall. Weather service measurements Saturday afternoon showed that the Red had dropped to 45.41 feet at Pembina, the northernmost city on the river.
The north-flowing Red River splits North Dakota and Minnesota before heading into Canada.
Federal, state and local experts have started preliminary damage assessments for flooding to determine whether Gov. Jack Dalrymple will ask for a presidential disaster declaration.
DICKINSON, N.D. (AP) _ Residents in a western North Dakota city are sick of talking trash. They want to get rid of it.
Officials and citizens in Dickinson say the problem has escalated from typical paper and plastic that's discarded to car batteries and mattresses, especially along roads near the Patterson Lake Recreational Area.
Patty Aijala says she took her son to the lake to fish and found a mess of cigarette butts, empty beer bottles, shotgun shells and other trash. She says it's ``a shame and sad to see.''
Officials say there's also more junk showing up within the city
Dickinson police say littering is a difficult thing to enforce because an officer has to witness the violation in order to write a ticket.
FARGO, N.D. (AP) _ The only 24-7 air traffic control tower in the Dakotas will stay open through the night, after North Dakota's congressional delegation pleaded with the Federal Aviation Administration to keep the Fargo facility open at all times.
The Hector International Airport tower was on a national list of airport facilities scheduled for a possible reduction in hours of service. Officials say the change would have limited the airport's ability to provide necessary services to the region.
North Dakota Sens. John Hoeven and Heidi Heitkamp and Rep. Kevin Cramer told the FAA that legislation passed to avoid furloughs for air traffic controllers gives the agency the budget flexibility it needs to keep the Fargo facility open 24 hours.
Judge says defendant's comments to FBI may be used
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) _ A federal judge says statements taken from a North Dakota man after he was accused of killing two children on the Spirit Lake Nation should be admitted as evidence.
Valentino ``Tino'' Bagola is charged with four counts of first-degree murder in the death of 9-year-old Destiny Shaw and 6-year-old brother Travis DuBois Jr. Their mother found their bodies on May 21, 2011, beneath a mattress at the home she had once shared with the siblings' father.
Prosecutors say Bagola told FBI agents he sexually assaulted the girl and stabbed the boy. Defense attorney Christopher Lancaster says FBI agents obtained statements from Bagola inappropriately.
U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson on Friday ruled against the defense motion.
Man dies from head injury suffered outside ND club
FARGO, N.D. (AP) _ Police are investigating the death of a man who died one month after reportedly hitting his head in a scuffle with an employee at a Fargo strip club.
Thirty-eight-year-old Christopher Barr was allegedly pushed by a club employee during an altercation at the Northern Gentleman's Club on April 13. Officers say he was alert and conscious when police responded to the call, but was uncooperative with investigators.
Police were alerted on May 3 that Barr was hospitalized and his condition was deteriorating. Barr died Tuesday.
Fargo Deputy Police Chief Pat Claus says the case is being treated as an unattended death and investigators are working to determine what happened. Results from an autopsy are due in about a week.
LINTON, N.D. (AP) _ The official North Dakota horse could be wiped off the state map.
A conservancy says high hay prices caused by a prolonged drought and a sharp drop in donations have combined to limit food supplies and threaten breeding herds for the Nokota horse.
The horse originated in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. It is descended from Plains Indian horses, including ponies confiscated from Sitting Bull's band when it surrendered in 1881, and ranch stock.
Representatives of the nonprofit Nokota Horse Conservancy say the dwindling hay supply could force the dispersal of the herd, which is now pastured in fields near Linton. That would mean the loss of valuable breeding stock.
The conservancy owns 118 horses, representing the rarest bloodlines of the breed.
Fargo police unveil bolder logo on sides of squads
FARGO, N.D. (AP) _ Police cars in North Dakota's largest city have a new logo.
An in-house committee at the Fargo Police Department came up with the emblem after several months of study. The new design says ``FARGO POLICE'' in a black font with white edges. Below it, in a smaller, script-like font, it states, ``Sworn to Protect. Dedicated to Serve.''
It replaces a light blue font that featured a lightning-bolt-like blue and gray design.
Officials say the bolder logo was created in concert with the addition of new sports utility vehicles. The department will have seven of the Ford Police Interceptor Utility vehicles by this fall.
Deputy Police Chief Pat Claus says it was ``time for a change.''
ND man accused with stealing computer from company
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ A Bismarck man who was fired from a truss company is accused of breaking into the business the next day and stealing a computer.
Doug Feist was charged Friday in South Central District Court with felony burglary.
Police say the 36-year-old Feist was fired from Truss Systems on Feb. 6 and was told the computer in the office was going to be examined after an employee found child pornography websites on the browsing history.
Feist was released from prison on Dec. 31 after serving a five-year sentence after he was convicted of using a pipe bomb to blow up a well house in Kidder County.
LINTON, N.D. (AP) _ The official North Dakota horse could be wiped off the state map.
A conservancy says high hay prices caused by a prolonged drought and a sharp drop in donations have combined to limit food supplies and threaten breeding herds for the Nakota horse.
The horse originated in Theodore Roosevelt National Park. It is descended from Plains Indian horses, including ponies confiscated from Sitting Bull's band when it surrendered in 1881, and ranch stock.
Representatives of the nonprofit Nokota Horse Conservancy say the dwindling hay supply could force the dispersal of the herd, which is now pastured in fields near Linton. That would mean the loss of valuable breeding stock.
The conservancy owns 118 horses, representing the rarest bloodlines of the breed.
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) _ A Minnesota man is facing a luring charge as the result of a police investigation into a missing North Dakota teen.
Grand Forks police say 20-year-old Jeremy Woolsey of East Grand Forks, Minn., was arrested on Friday, a day after the 14-year-old girl was found in his home.
Woolsey is charged with luring a minor by computer or other electronic means. The charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ One of six businesses affected by a fire at a Bismarck office building was burglarized the night of the fire.
Police say they do not yet know if the burglary and fire are related.
The fire in the Manhattan Building was reported by a passer-by in the early morning hours of May 2. No one was hurt in the blaze but damage was estimated at about half a million dollars and half a dozen businesses were displaced, including Farmers Insurance.
Police say Farmers Insurance officials now have reported that someone burglarized an office there the night of the fire and stole money.
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) _ The North Dakota Board of Higher Education has approved a plan that sets guidelines for tuition rates at the state's 11 colleges.
The maximum increases vary between 2.13 and 6.63 percent, with a cap of 4.9 percent at the University of North Dakota and 4.23 percent at North Dakota State University.
Should every school charge the top rate, it would result in $31.7 million in tuition increases. Board members say it's a good formula because it allows the universities to set their own proportions.
Lawmakers approved a nearly 12 percent increase in state funding for higher education, but warned higher education officials about keeping tuition affordable.
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) _ A state district judge is back on the job in Grand Forks about six weeks after having open-heart surgery.
Northeast Central District Judge Joel Medd had the operation on March 21 and returned to the bench on Monday. He says he is doing cardio rehabilitation three times a week and feels good.
Retired Judge H. Patrick Weir came from Medora to hear cases in Medd's absence.
Medd was appointed by then-Gov. Art Link in 1979 and since 2006 has been the longest-serving state district judge in North Dakota.
FARGO, N.D. (AP) _ Four men have pleaded not guilty in Cass County District Court to charges related to two recent copper thefts, including one that was the biggest in recent memory in the city.
20-year-old Sabastijan Tahirovic, 28-year-old Elvis Hasimovic and 34-year-old Luis Perez Jr. are accused of breaking in and stealing copper wire from Dakota Supply Group on April 8 and Fargo Electric on Feb. 25.Another man, 18-year-old Andreas Redzic is also charged in the Dakota Supply Group theft, which involved 26,000 pounds of copper wire valued at $112,000.
Charges for the men range from felony theft to possession of a controlled substance.
A fifth man charged in the case is set to appear in court May 16.
DICKINSON, N.D. (AP) _ North Dakota authorities say an Idaho man died and another man was injured after 2 semi-trucks and a pickup crashed just east of the Montana border.
The crash happened Tuesday morning along Highway 200.
The man who died was identified as 49-year-old Bart Winger, of Idaho Falls, Idaho.
The North Dakota Highway Patrol says the collision happened when a 2007 Peterbilt semi-truck and Winger's 2004 GMC pickup were slowing down for a turn, a 2005 International semi-truck struck the pickup, pushing it sideways into the Peterbilt.
Authorities say Winger was not wearing his seatbelt.
The driver of the International was injured, but his condition was not immediately available.
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) _ Three people have been sentenced for distributing methamphetamine on the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation.
U.S. Attorney Timothy Purdon announced Thursday that Fulton Merrick, Jr., Garrick Mini and Rayone Sherman were each sentenced on a charge of distributing a controlled substance. The three earlier pleaded guilty to distributing methamphetamine on the reservation.
Thirty-seven-year-old Merrick, of Devils Lake, was sentenced to one year and nine months in custody and three years of supervised release. Thirty-two-year-old Mini, of Devils Lake, was sentenced to two years in prison and three years of supervised release.
Forty-four-year-old Sherman, of Fort Totten, was sentenced to one year and one month in custody and three years of supervised release.
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) _ State and local leaders in Grand Forks have announced plans to build a new $1.5 billion nitrogen fertilizer production facility northwest of Grand Forks.
Gov. Jack Dalrymple and Grand Forks Mayor Michael Brown were joined by others Thursday in announcing that Northern Plains Nitrogen intended to build the new facility. The plant will produce nitrogen-based fertilizers by converting natural gas into anhydrous ammonia and urea.
The company announced plans for a study examining specifications and infrastructure needs. If complete, the plant will produce more than 600,000 tons of nitrogen per year and employ approximately 135 full-time employees.
Construction is scheduled to begin in spring 2015, with an estimated completion date in spring 2017.
EERC on UND campus lays off 3 percent of workforce
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) _ The Energy and Environmental Research Center at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks is eliminating eight of its 270 jobs.
Associate Director Tom Erickson says a slowdown in funding from both the federal government and energy companies is behind the layoffs.
The 3 percent reduction of the EERC workforce is concentrated on research support positions and not on staff members with doctorates.
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) _ The state Board of Higher Education will be reviewing the job performance of embattled University System Chancellor Hamid Shirvani.
The board approved a motion at Thursday's meeting in Grand Forks to conduct the special assessment, which should include surveys of university system employees and others.
The action came after board member Kari Reichert added an agenda item to discuss Shirvani's leadership skills. Reichert and board member Janice Hoffarth say there has been an ``alarming'' turnover rate among university system employees since Shirvani took over less than a year ago.
Shirvani says he was given a mandate to overhaul the higher education system. The board has previously supported him.
The state's largest newspaper, The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, has twice called for Shirvani and higher education board President Duaine Espegard to resign.
DEVILS LAKE, N.D. (AP) _ One of two men charged in an Easter Sunday armed robbery of a Devils Lake bowling alley has been sentenced to serve four years in prison after pleading guilty to felony robbery.
19-year-old John Greywind Jr., of Fort Totten, had another six years of prison time suspended.
Ramsey County State's Attorney Lonnie Olson says Greywind admitted holding a knife to an employee at the Royal Lanes and demanding the employee open the safe.
Olson says about $1,800 was taken in the robbery. The employee wasn't hurt.
The second suspect, 18-year-old Johnson Tollefson, of St. Michael, has pleaded not guilty to robbery.
MAKOTI, N.D. (AP) _ The Three Affiliated Tribes have broken ground for an oil refinery on northwestern North Dakota's Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.
The $450 million Thunder Butte Petroleum Services Refinery will be constructed in four phases over two years. A ceremonial groundbreaking was held Wednesday, after more than a decade of planning, and construction is expected to begin in August.
The refinery will have the capacity to process up to 20,000 barrels of Bakken crude per day into diesel fuel and some gasoline. It will create as many as 100 full-time jobs.
FARGO, N.D. (AP) _ The owner of two dogs that attacked a herd of research sheep in a North Dakota State University barn has pleaded guilty in Fargo municipal court to having dogs at large.
Authorities say the two huskies escaped from the home of Doug and Crystal Petersen and somehow got into the NDSU barn. The dogs killed seven of the sheep and injured nearly a dozen more, five of which had to be euthanized.
Doug Petersen was fined $500 for each dog. He and his wife also are likely to face thousands of dollars in restitution.
The Petersens say they were working in their backyard on Tuesday when a neighbor's 4-year-old son let the dogs out of their house. Crystal Petersen tells The Forum that she's shocked by what the dogs did.
Dates set for North Dakota deer gun hunting season
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ Dates have been set for North Dakota's two-week deer gun hunting season in the fall.
The state Game and Fish Department says the season will start at noon on Nov. 8 and run through Nov. 24.
The state is issuing 59,500 licenses this year, down 9 percent from last year and the lowest number in three decades. The drop reflects a tough, lingering winter that has been hard on the animals. Wildlife Chief Randy Kreil (kryl) says deer populations are still below management objectives in most hunting units.
Man accused in ND cocaine case sentenced to prison
FARGO, N.D. (AP) _ A Canadian man accused of leading a conspiracy to sell drugs in North Dakota and other states has been sentenced to more than seven years in prison.
Jerome Catacutan pleaded guilty earlier to conspiracy to possess with intent to deliver a controlled substance and a charge of money laundering.
Authorities say Catacutan admitted that he tried to buy 30 kilograms of cocaine from undercover agents. He allegedly engaged in ongoing negotiations with U.S. agents posing as large-scale cocaine traffickers.
Court documents show that the agents met with Catacutan at a Bloomington, Minn., bar in October 2009.
U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson on Wednesday sentenced Catacutan to 90 months in prison, with credit for 21 months served.
The conspiracy charge carries a maximum penalty of life in prison.
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) _ Officials on Thursday are expected to announce plans for construction of a $1.5 billion fertilizer plant near Grand Forks.
North Dakota Corn Growers Association director Tom Lilja says the plant will be built near Grand Forks and use natural gas from western North Dakota oil wells to produce fertilizer.
An announcement is scheduled for Thursday in Grand Forks.
FARGO, N.D. (AP) _ An employee of a Fargo organization that handles fundraising for nonprofits is accused of stealing more than $140,000 of Giving Point's money.
Forty-seven-year-old Sheila Horner is accused of writing checks to herself and her son from the Giving Point bank account, and of using company credit card accounts.
Horner is charged with felony forgery and theft. Court documents do not list an attorney for her, and a telephone listing for her has been disconnected.
Giving Point Director Shannon Schweigert says it appears that none of the fundraising money for the organization's clients was affected.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ Gov. Jack Dalrymple says he is confident that the state Board of Higher Education can resolve lingering questions about the leadership of North Dakota University System Chancellor Hamid Shirvani.
Dalrymple isn't offering any recommendations. But he tells says ``there's no question'' Shirvani is ``off to a rocky start'' and ``has not won the confidence of the people whose confidence he needs.''
Shirvani says he was given a mandate when he was hired last year to overhaul the state's higher education system and fix problems including low graduation rates. But he has been criticized for his management style and accused of ignoring open meeting laws.
Several groups have passed votes of no confidence in Shirvani, but the Higher Education board says it stands behind him.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ Nearly a dozen counties in North Dakota have put burning restrictions in place so far this spring due to dry conditions that have increased the danger for wildfires.
Burleigh, Emmons and Stark counties implemented burn bans this week. The counties of Williams, Golden Valley, Dunn, Hettinger, Adams, LaMoure and Dickey had done so earlier.
Bismarck Rural Fire Chief Al Klein says burn restrictions help remind people to be careful when burning and not to do so on hot, dry, windy days.
A grassland fire in Ransom County burned more than 400 acres before being contained Tuesday. Much of the scorched land was in the Sheyenne National Grasslands. The Milnor Fire Department says the blaze was sparked by someone burning garbage.
MINOT, N.D. (AP) _ The number of temporary federal housing units still occupied in northern North Dakota's Ward County has fallen below 300.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency made more than 2,000 mobile homes available to residents displaced by historic Souris River flooding in June 2011. The number of occupied units is now at 291.
FEMA last year extended the temporary housing program through this June, but the agency started charging rent in January.
FEMA also is selling some of the units to people living in them. As of May 2, the agency had finalized nearly 100 sales.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ Teams from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services and local officials are conducting preliminary assessments on Wednesday to determine damage from this year's flood.
State and federal teams will meet with local officials to look at roads, bridges and other infrastructure damage in 18 counties and one tribal community. The counties are: Benson, Bottineau, Cass, Eddy, Foster, Grand Forks, McHenry, Pembina and Ramsey. Also, Ransom, Renville, Richland, Rolette, Towner, Traill, Walsh, Ward and Wells counties, as well as the Spirit Lake Nation.
The teams will also be reviewing flood-related expenses like emergency measures and debris clean up.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ Former state Sen. Ed Kringstad has died.
Gov. Jack Dalrymple announced Tuesday that Kringstad passed away Saturday in Bismarck. Kringstad served in the North Dakota Senate from 1995 to 2006.
Dalrymple says he and First Lady Betsy Dalrymple were sad to hear about Kringstad's passing. He says Kringstad was an outstanding state senator who was genuine and caring.
FARGO, N.D. (AP) _ A Canadian man accused of leading a conspiracy to sell drugs in North Dakota and other states is scheduled for sentencing in federal court.
Jerome Catacutan pleaded guilty earlier to conspiracy to possess with intent to deliver a controlled substance, and money laundering. He faces life in prison without parole.
Authorities say Catacutan admitted that he tried to buy 30 kilograms of cocaine from undercover agents. He allegedly engaged in ongoing negotiations with U.S. agents posing as large-scale cocaine traffickers.
Court documents show that the agents met with Catacutan at a Bloomington, Minn., bar in October 2009.
Sentencing is set for Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. in Fargo.
FARGO, N.D. (AP) _ Authorities have arrested a suspect in an early morning convenience store robbery in Fargo after a brief manhunt.
Police say the man grabbed money out of the cash register at the Petro Travel Center just after 5 a.m. when the clerk opened the till for a transaction. Police in West Fargo spotted the suspect vehicle a short time later and gave chase.
The suspect eventually abandoned the car and fled on foot. A police dog was brought in and tracked the suspect, who authorities say has a history of similar grab-and-dash thefts.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ A man accused of spearheading an operation to try and smuggle people into the U.S. at the border of North Dakota and Canada has pleaded guilty.
Darwin Cantarero-Sanchez pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to two counts, including conspiracy to bring people into the country illegally.
Authorities say that Cantarero-Sanchez, a citizen of Honduras, helped eight people cross into the U.S. near Sherwood, in northwestern North Dakota. He allegedly arranged transportation for the group from Montreal.
Witnesses say the defendant agreed to smuggle one person into the U.S. for $2,000 and another for $1,500.
U.S. District Judge Patrick Conmy scheduled sentencing for July 30.
