CSi Weather…

REST OF TODAY…Sunny. Highs in the lower 60s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph increasing to 15 to 20 mph in the afternoon.

.TONIGHT…Increasing clouds. Lows in the mid 40s. Southeast

winds 15 to 20 mph.

.FRIDAY…Mostly cloudy with chance of rain showers and slight

chance of thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 60s. South winds

15 to 25 mph. Chance of precipitation 30 percent.

.FRIDAY NIGHT…Partly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of rain

showers in the evening in the JameStown area a 30 percent chance in the Valley City area. Lows in the lower 40s. West winds 5 to

10 mph.

.SATURDAY…Partly sunny. A 20 percent chance of rain showers in

the afternoon. Highs around 60. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph

shifting to the west around 15 mph in the afternoon.

.SATURDAY NIGHT…Partly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of rain

showers in the evening. Lows in the mid 30s.

.SUNDAY…Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 40s.

.SUNDAY NIGHT…Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 20s.

.MONDAY…Mostly sunny in the morning, then mostly cloudy with a

50 percent chance of rain showers in the afternoon. Highs in the

upper 40s.

.MONDAY NIGHT…Rain showers likely in the evening, then rain

showers possibly mixed with snow showers after midnight. Lows in

the mid 30s. Chance of precipitation 60 percent.

.TUESDAY…Mostly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of rain showers

possibly mixed with snow showers in the morning. Highs in the

lower 50s.

.TUESDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy. Lows in the lower 30s.

.WEDNESDAY…Partly sunny. Slight chance of rain showers and snow

showers in the morning, then slight chance of rain showers in the

afternoon. Highs in the lower 50s. Chance of precipitation

20 percent.

 

There is a slight chance of thunderstorms late tonight, mainly

central and north.

There is a slight chance of thunderstorms Friday. Severe weather

is not expected.

 

Update…

Jamestown  (CSi)  The Jamestown City Fire Department was called out Thursday morning  8:09 am to an oven fire at 233 17th Avenue Northeast.

City Fire Chief Jim Reuther says  a piece of Tupperware was in the oven that was turned on by a child,  and caused smoke.

No major damage was reported to the home, as the fire department extracted smoke.

No injuries.

Two City Fire Units and 23 fire fighters were on the scene until 8:24-a.m.

 

 

Valley City  (CSi)  The two incumbent Valley City School Board members will run unopposed for the June  13, 2017 elections.

Incumbent At-Large School Board member, Patrick (Mike) Callahan, and incumbent Rural School Board Member Ryan Mathias will run unopposed.

They filed their letters of intent to run by the April 10, 2017 deadline.

Bismarck  (CSi)  U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp joined a bipartisan group of 19 other senators in pushing for continued federal funding for Essential Air Service (EAS)—a program that guarantees airports in North Dakota communities like Devils Lake, Dickinson, and Jamestown have affordable air travel, which helps support the local economies. The president’s budget proposal would eliminate the program.

Funded through the U.S. Department of Transportation, EAS connects rural and remote areas to major hubs, helping small businesses and creating jobs in rural areas. Each year, EAS invests $4.2 million in Dickinson’s airport, $4 million in Devils Lake’s, and $2.8 million in Jamestown’s, helping keep rural economies vibrant and connected. Last year, EAS helped Devils Lake board a record-breaking 6,290 passengers.

According to the North Dakota Aeronautics Commission, air travel to the Devils Lake and Jamestown areas alone brought $2.1 million from visitors to the area in 2015, as well as supporting 209 jobs in the state.

 

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The North Dakota Legislature is close to enacting new protections for confidential drug informants.

The action comes more than three years after 20-year-old college student Andrew Sadek was found dead in a river with a bullet in his head and a backpack of rocks tied to his body.

His parents, Tammy and John Sadek, have lobbied lawmakers to pass legislation so that informants can be better informed of their legal options to understand the risks they may be taking.

The proposed legislation clarifies the rights of people offered the role as a confidential drug informant, including their right to an attorney.

It also requires a written agreement stating the “the inherent risk associated with acting as an informant.”

 

WEST FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A West Fargo special education teacher being investigated for posting tweets that made fun of students and parents has quit.

Liberty Middle School officials say Sheridan Tihista’s resignation is effective immediately and she will not be returning to the classroom. Their statement says officials will “do everything possible to make the remainder of the year positive and productive.”

Tihista wrote tweets on her personal account that vented about the ways she said she was treated by students and parents. The school last Friday received a packet of her tweets from a group calling itself concerned parents of the West Fargo School District.

Tihista said she showed poor judgment and never meant to hurt people.

Tihista is a former Miss Montana who promoted education for children with disabilities for her platform.

 

MINOT, N.D. (AP) — Criminal charges against the Ward County sheriff could soon be settled.

Attorneys have been working on an agreement in the case against Sheriff Steve Kukowski. The sheriff is facing charges in the 2014 death of a jail inmate, Dustin Irwin. The misdemeanors against Kukowski allege, in part, that he did not attempt to get medical care for Irwin, despite being aware of the medical condition.

A special prosecutor is handling proceedings to remove the sheriff from office, which begin Monday unless an agreement is finalized. The Ward County Commission met in closed session with attorneys this week to talk about the case.

 

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A North Dakota congressman says White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer’s remarks about Adolf Hitler and Syrian President Bashar Assad are “not without some validity.”But Republican Rep. Kevin Cramer says he wasn’t trying to excuse Spicer’s remarks, which he called “a bad illustration” and “stupid.”

Spicer was widely criticized after Tuesday’s White House briefing when he told reporters that Hitler “didn’t even sink to using chemical weapons.” Critics noted the remark ignored Hitler’s use of gas chambers to kill Jews during the Holocaust, and Spicer apologized.

Cramer commented on Spicer’s remarks Wednesday in an interview with Scott Hennen, a conservative radio host in North Dakota.

Later, Cramer told The Associated Press he thinks Spicer meant to say “Hitler didn’t use chemical weapons in warfare … which is technically true.”

Cramer, in his third term, is seen as a potential challenger to Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp next year.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Legislators in North Dakota are not about to let parking meters invade the state.The House on Wednesday killed legislation that would have let communities decide whether to install meters on streets.

Representatives voted 59-29 to keep the nearly 70-year-old ban in place. North Dakota is the only state that bans the meters on public streets.

Gov. Doug Burgum supported lifting the ban as part of a plan to revitalize downtown areas. He said it would encourage parking turnover, leading to more sales for businesses and more tax revenue.

The state outlawed meters in 1948 after an angry farmer was ticketed for not feeding the meter. When the Legislature repealed it in 1951, the farmer, Howard Henry, led another successful referendum to reverse the decision.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Dakotas-based Sanford Health has renegotiated a contract with state and higher education officials to keep a nursing program open in Bismarck.The action Wednesday comes after legislators introduced an amendment in the higher education budget that would not allow any state money or private funds to be spent on the program.

North Dakota Board of Higher Education three years ago approved a plan for North Dakota State University to take over the Sanford College of Nursing at Bismarck. Lawmakers have not been happy with the deal. It includes a provision that bumps NDSU’s rent from $1 a year to nearly $400,000 annually beginning in July.

The new deal keeps the $1 annual lease rate in place for the next two years. After that, the lease will be renegotiated.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A federal judge is allowing the developer of the Dakota Access pipeline to keep secret some but not all pipeline information the company believes could be useful to vandals and terrorists.U.S. District Judge James Boasberg says information such as spill risks at points along the pipeline should be shielded from public view but certain details relating to how a spill might be handled shouldn’t be.

American Indian tribes who oppose the pipeline had argued that the spill risk data could bolster their case for more environmental study.

Pipeline company spokeswoman Vicki Granado declined comment on the ruling. She cited the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes’ ongoing federal lawsuit over the $3.8 billion pipeline to move North Dakota oil to a distribution point 1,200 miles away in Illinois.

 

In sports…

Class A High School Softball Poll. Apr 12, 2017

The poll, conducted by North Dakota Softball All-Stars and high school coaches, will be released each Monday the rest of the season.

High softball poll

Class A

  1. West Fargo
  2. Dickinson
  3. Minot
  4. West Fargo Sheyenne
  5. Bismarck Century
  6. Bismarck Legacy
  7. Bismarck
  8. Valley City
  9. Fargo North
  10. Jamestown

Others receiving votes: Fargo Davies, Grand Forks Red River, Minot Ryan.

 

Class B

  1. Central Cass
  2. Kindred-Richland
  3. Thompson
  4. Hillsboro-Central Valley
  5. Stanley
  6. Des Lacs-Burlington/Lewis & Clark
  7. Northern Cass
  8. Watford City
  9. Grafton
  10. Wilton-Wing

Others receiving votes: Enderlin, Kenmare-Bowbells-MLS, May-Port-C-G, Hankinson-Tri State-Lidgerwood.

 

 

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) — The University of North Dakota men’s hockey team has finished in the top ten of both final polls.

UND is ranked No. 9 in both the USCHO.com poll and the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll.

National champion Denver is No. 1 in both polls, followed by runner-up Minnesota-Duluth.

UND made its 15th straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament this season but lost in the semifinals of the West Regional to Boston, No. 6 in both final polls.

 

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) — The University of North Dakota men’s hockey team next season will play four non-conference series against former Western Collegiate Hockey Association opponents.

UND will have road matchups with Alaska Anchorage and Wisconsin, a home series against Minnesota and a home-and-home set with Bemidji State.

The Minnesota series will mark the first trip to Grand Forks for the Golden Gophers in nearly six years.

UND’s other nonconference foes include home series against St. Lawrence and Union.

The Fighting Hawks will open play in the National Collegiate Hockey Conference on the road at Colorado College on Oct. 27-28, and host their first conference series Nov. 10-11 against Miami.

 

MLB…

INTERLEAGUE

Final Milwaukee 2 Toronto 0

 

AMERICAN LEAGUE

DETROIT (AP) — Andrew Romine hit his first career grand slam, and the Detroit Tigers rallied from an early three-run deficit to beat the Minnesota Twins 5-3 on Wednesday.

The Tigers trailed 3-0 before scoring five runs in the fourth inning, with Romine delivering the key hit when his drive to right field easily cleared the wall to give Detroit the lead.

Michael Fulmer (1-0) allowed three runs and four hits in six innings, walking one and striking out seven. Detroit’s maligned bullpen pitched three hitless innings, with Alex Wilson working the final two for his third career save and first this season. He walked two in the ninth but retired Eduardo Escobar on a flyball to end it.

Kyle Gibson (0-1) allowed five runs and four hits in four innings. Brian Dozier led off the game with a homer for Minnesota.

 

Final N-Y Yankees 8 Tampa Bay 4

Final Chi White Sox 2 Cleveland 1

Final Baltimore 12 Boston 5

Final Oakland 8 Kansas City 3

Final Texas 8 L.A. Angels 3

Final Houston 10 Seattle 5

 

NATIONAL LEAGUE

Final San Diego 6 Colorado 0

Final St. Louis 6 Washington 1

Final Cincinnati 9 Pittsburgh 2

Final N-Y Mets 5 Philadelphia 4

Final Atlanta 5 Miami 4

Final L.A. Dodgers 2 Chi Cubs 0

Final San Francisco 6 Arizona 2

 

 

NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION

 

HOUSTON (AP) — James Harden had his 22nd triple-double with 27 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists to help the Houston Rockets wrap up the regular season with a 123-118 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night.

The MVP contender became the first player in NBA history to finish the regular season with at least 2,000 points (2,356), 900 assists (907) and 600 rebounds (659).

The Rockets had a 12-point lead after a 3-point play by Patrick Beverley with about nine minutes left. Minnesota cut into the lead with a 6-2 spurt before Houston got consecutive 3-pointers from Harden and Eric Gordon to extend the lead to 113-99 midway through the quarter.

Harden, who also had four steals and a block, found Clint Capela on an alley-oop dunk after that, before hitting another 3-pointer to make it 118-99 and spur Timberwolves coach Tom Thibodeau to call a timeout.

Karl-Anthony Towns finished with 28 points and 21 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who end the season with a six-game losing streak. Towns also made NBA history by becoming the only player to have at least 2,000 points (2,061), 1,000 rebounds (1,007) and 100 3-pointers (101) in a season.

 

The Boston Celtics will enter the NBA playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Celtics clinched the top spot when the Cavaliers absorbed a 98-83 loss to the Toronto Raptors in Cleveland. Norman Powell scored 25 points on 10 of 13 shooting as the Raptors beat the Cavs for the first time in four tries this season.

 

Meanwhile, the Indiana Pacers and Chicago Bulls grabbed the last two playoff slots in the East.

The Pacers rolled to a 104-86 win over Atlanta as Paul George delivered 32 points and 11 rebounds. Jeff Teague (teeg) added 19 points for the Pacers, who enter the postseason as the No. 7 seed in the conference.

Jimmy Butler’s 25 points led Chicago’s 112-73 laugher against Brooklyn. Paul Zipser added a career-high 21 points off the bench to help the Bulls nose out the Miami Heat for a postseason berth.

 

 

Final Miami 110 Washington 102

Final N-Y Knicks 114 Philadelphia 113

Final Dallas 100 Memphis 93

Final Toronto 98 Cleveland 83

Final Denver 111 Oklahoma City 105

Final Orlando 113 Detroit 109

Final Utah 101 San Antonio 97

Final New Orleans 103 Portland 100

Final L.A. Clippers 115 Sacramento 95

Final Golden State 109 L.A. Lakers 94

 

NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE PLAYOFFS

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Joel Edmundson scored for St. Louis at 17:48 of overtime, Jake Allen made a career-high 51 saves and the Blues sneaked into Minnesota to steal Game 1 of their first-round series from the Wild with a 2-1 victory on Wednesday.

Blues star Vladimir Tarasenko was quiet for most of the night until he drove into a crowd and threaded a pass through the Wild defense to Edmundson, who knocked in the second postseason goal of his career.

Zach Parise tied the game with 22.7 seconds left in regulation for the Wild, whose dominance was thwarted by a stellar performance from Allen.

He made the most saves ever recorded against the Wild in their 16-season history.

 

Final N-Y Rangers 2 Montreal 0

Final Boston 2 Ottawa 1

Final Pittsburgh 3 Columbus 1

Final OT San Jose 3 Edmonton 2

 

N DAKOTA ST-ARIZONA

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — Perennial FCS football power North Dakota State has signed a contract to play FBS school Arizona in five years.

The one-game deal calls for the Bison and Wildcats to play Saturday, Sept. 17, 2022, at Arizona Stadium in Tucson.

It will be NDSU’s first game against Arizona and the second of three for the Bison against Pac-12 opponents. They also have road games scheduled with Oregon in 2020 and with Colorado in 2024.

NDSU has a 9-3 record against FBS teams, including a 23-21 win over Iowa last season.

The Bison won five straight FCS championships between 2011 and 2015.

 

NBA-FINES

NEW YORK (AP) — Pacers forward Paul George and 76ers guard Gerald Henderson have been fined $25,000 apiece by the NBA for their actions on Monday.

Henderson was punished for throwing an elbow at George, who was fined for publicly criticizing the officiating afterward. Both players were ejected following a fourth-quarter scuffle.

 

MLB-NEWS

UNDATED (AP) — James Loney is getting another opportunity to prolong his major league career.

The Tigers have signed the veteran first baseman to a minor league contract and will send him to extended spring training. The 32-year-old Loney played in 100 games last season for the New York Mets, hitting .265 with nine home runs and 34 RBIs.

Loney is a lifetime .284 hitter with 108 home runs and 669 over 11 big league seasons.

 

NFL-RAMS-RELOCATION LAWSUIT

 

ST. LOUIS (AP) — The city of St. Louis and that region’s sports authority are suing the NFL over the Rams’ relocation to Los Angeles.

The lawsuit filed Wednesday in St. Louis Circuit Court also names the league’s 32 teams as defendants and seeks unspecified damages and restitution. The suit alleges the Rams failed to meet league relocation rules when leaving for Los Angeles before last season, constituting a contractual breach with St. Louis.

 

INDY 500-ALONSO

McLaren’s Alonso to miss Monaco GP to race at Indy 500

WOKING, England (AP) — McLaren says Fernando Alonso will race for the team at the Indianapolis 500 and miss the Monaco Grand Prix.

McLaren will be racing in the famous race in the United States for the first time in 38 years.

The Indy 500 and the Monaco GP both take place on May 28.

 

 

In world and national news…

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump likes to boast that he only hires the best people. But his personnel choices keep coming back to haunt him. One of the people Trump hired for the White House was working secretly as a foreign agent, while advising Trump’s campaign. His campaign chairman caught the Justice Department’s attention for similarly surreptitious work. And a third campaign adviser was reportedly being surveilled by the FBI as part of an investigation into whether or not he was a Russian spy.

MOSCOW (AP) — The Kremlin says President Vladimir Putin’s meeting with Secretary of State Rex Tillerson produced no immediate positive shift in relations. Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday the Russian leader gave Tillerson his view of the roots of the current “deadlock” in bilateral ties.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — The two women accused in the poisoning death of the estranged half brother of North Korea’s ruler have appeared in a court in Malaysia. Their attorneys said Thursday that police still have not handed over security camera footage and documents crucial to their defense. Kim Jong Nam died Feb. 13, after the women allegedly smeared on his face a banned nerve agent while Kim was in a crowded airport terminal in Kuala Lumpur.

NEW YORK (AP) — The United passenger fiasco is just the latest example of bad behavior by a company called out by witnesses with a smartphone. As smartphone cameras and social media have shifted power to consumers, they are forcing companies to be more nimble in handling matters they might have tried to sweep under the rug before.

JERUSALEM (AP) — For many Israelis, Har Homa has become another neighborhood in Jerusalem, served by city bus lines, schools and public services. Its quiet streets are lined with apartment buildings, pizza shops, supermarkets and pharmacies. But for the Palestinians, this unassuming neighborhood is far more. It is an illegal settlement in east Jerusalem, and in some ways, the most damaging.