CSi Weather…

…WIND CHILL ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON CST FRIDAY…INCLUDES THE JAMESTOWN AND VALLEY CITY AREAS….

Forecast….

.THURSDAY NIGHT…Increasing clouds. Lows around 15 below. Northwest

winds 5 to 10 mph. Wind chills around 30 below.

.FRIDAY…Cloudy with snow likely in the morning, then partly

sunny with chance of snow in the afternoon. Highs near zero.

Northwest winds 5 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 60 percent. Wind

chills around 30 below.

.FRIDAY NIGHT…Partly cloudy. Lows around 25 below. Northwest

winds 10 to 15 mph. Lowest wind chills around 45 below after

midnight.

.SATURDAY…Partly sunny. Highs around 15 below. North winds 5 to

10 mph.

.SATURDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy in the evening then clearing.

Lows around 30 below. Northwest winds around 5 mph.

.SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT…Mostly clear. Highs around 10 below.

Lows 20 below to 30 below zero.

.New Years Day AND MONDAY NIGHT…Mostly clear. Highs near zero.

Lows 10 below to 20 below zero.

.TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT…Partly cloudy. Highs 5 to 10 above.

Lows around 10 below.

.WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT…Partly cloudy. Highs zero to

5 above. Lows around 10 below.

.THURSDAY…Mostly sunny. Highs 5 to 10 above.

 

 

Another surge of Arctic air will arrive Friday night, with the

coldest air of the season coming down from Canada. Temperatures

will drop into the 20s below zero Friday night, and winds will

stay in the 10 to 15 mph range. This will bring wind chills in the

40 to 50 below zero range Friday night.

 

After a brief break Saturday afternoon, wind chills will drop again down into the 40 to 55 below zero range Sunday morning. The bitterly cold temperatures will remain through New Years Eve before starting to moderate New Years Day.

 

Limit your time outdoors, dress in layers, and cover all exposed

skin. If traveling, carry a winter survival kit and have extra

clothing along just in case you break down. If you do break down,

stay with your vehicle.

 

 

Bismarck  (CSi)  A Public Input Meeting to be held on January 4, 2018 to discuss Proposed Improvements to the US 281 and I-94 north and south ramp intersections, the north frontage road between I-94 Exits 256 and Exit 257, a temporary closure of I-94 Exit 257, and US 281 and I-94 bridge repair.                                                                                       

A Public Input Meeting will be held from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. on January 4, 2018, at the Hampton Inn located at 2700 8th Avenue Southwest, Jamestown, ND.  The meeting will utilize an open house format.

The purpose of the Public Input Meeting is to discuss proposed improvements which consist of new traffic signals at the US 281 and I-94 north and south ramp intersections, a mill and overlay of the north frontage road between I-94 Exits 256 and 257, temporary closing of I-94 Exit 257, and bridge deck repair of the US 281 and I-94 bridge in Jamestown.  The meeting will provide opportunity for public input.  Representatives from the North Dakota Department of Transportation will be present for the purposes of the meeting.

If unable to attend the Public Input Meeting, written statements or comments must be mailed by January 19, 2018, to James Rath, 608 East Boulevard Avenue, Bismarck, ND 58505, Email: jrath@nd.gov with “Public Input Meeting” in the e-mail subject heading.

The North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) will consider every request for reasonable accommodation to provide:

  • an accessible meeting facility or other accommodation for people with disabilities,
  • language interpretation for people with limited English proficiency (LEP), and
  • translations of written material necessary to access NDDOT programs and information.

To request accommodations, contact Paula Messmer, Civil Rights Division, NDDOT at 701‑328‑2978 or civilrights@nd.gov.  TTY users may use Relay North Dakota at 711 or 1-800-366-6888.

 

Fargo  (NDHP)  The North Daktoa Highway Patrol reports, that on Thursday at approximately 9:48 am, a NDHP patrol vehicle was parked with its emergency lights flashing on the median shoulder of I-29 just north of the Main Avenue Exit (Exit 65) in Fargo.  A NDHP trooper was on scene investigating a crash that had occurred at approximately 9:35 am at this location.  One of the vehicles involved in the crash came to rest on the median shoulder against the concrete barrier.

 

Minutes after arriving and while the patrol car was parked at the above described location, a northbound 2015 Subaru Legacy lost control on I-29 and struck the rear of the NHPD patrol vehicle.  After striking the patrol car, the Subaru came to rest facing east across two of the three northbound lanes.

 

The roadway was ice covered at the time of the crash.  Seven other crashes occurred in the Fargo metro area during the morning hours, along with numerous cars that spun into the ditches around town.

 

The NDHP would remind motorists that during the winter months’ speeds need to be reduced, your cruise control needs to be deactivated and that motorists need to drive for the current road conditions.  If roads appear wet during cold weather time periods there is a good chance they are ice covered or soon will be.

 

The NDHP was assisted on scene by the Cass County Sheriff’s Office.  The Cass County SO is investigating the crash involving the NDHP squad car and Subaru.

 

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem says he’ll personally defend Gov. Doug Burgum against a lawsuit filed by the Republican-led Legislature challenging the Republican governor’s veto powers.

Stenehjem tells The Associated Press that he will base his state Supreme Court argument on a previous opinion he authored in June that actually favors the Legislature on much of the vetoes — but not all.

Stenehjem says he’s talked to Burgum and the two agree on their legal position.

Stenehjem lost to Burgum in a hotly contested Republican primary for governor last year. He also is a former state senator, and during the 1995 Legislature, he sponsored a rewrite of the state Constitution that included a new section on a governor’s veto power.

 

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The attorney for a North Dakota man accused of killing his mother says his client needs a chair wide enough to sit down during his upcoming trial because of his large build.

The Bismarck Tribune reports that Christopher Vick’s attorney made the request in a recent court filing in which he also asked for frequent breaks during trial because his client has back problems.

Vick is scheduled to go on trial Jan. 16 for the death of his mother, Alice Vick. The 62-year-old woman died from blunt force trauma on May 2013.

The judge in the case says he’ll do his best to find a large chair and prosecutors did not object to breaks every 60 to 90 minutes.

Vick is serving a 20-year sentence for the attempted murder of his brother’s fiancé.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Several members of an American Indian tribe in North Dakota have filed an amended lawsuit challenging the state’s voter identification laws.

Republican Gov. Doug Burgum signed a GOP-sponsored bill in April that reworked the ID laws after the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa members sued in federal court. They allege the ID requirements violate the U.S. Voting Rights Act.

Tom Dickson, a lawyer representing the tribal members, filed an amended complaint Wednesday, saying the new law remains a “form of voter suppression.”

Before 2013, a voter could sign an affidavit attesting to his or her eligibility to vote but the Legislature removed that provision.

The new law would allow those who don’t have proper ID to cast a ballot that is set aside until the voter’s eligibility is confirmed.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Bismarck officials have identified $10,000 in their budget to help shelter the homeless after the only men’s shelter in the area closed.

The Bismarck City Commission has requested a plan detailing how the money will be spent.

The Bismarck Tribune reports that the commission on Tuesday considered allocating some of its special projects fund to help the homeless population in the Bismarck and Mandan areas. The board has yet to take any formal action.

The Missouri Slope Areawide United Way has been filling the area’s emergency housing gap since Ruth Meiers Hospitality House closed its men’s emergency shelter on Oct. 27. Executive Director Jena Gullo asked the board for financial support earlier this month.

Gullo says the commission’s $10,000 would provide 20 nights of shelter.

 

In sports…

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A photographer is accusing Minnesota Twins star Miguel Sano of grabbing her wrist and trying to kiss her and pull her through a door after a 2015 autograph session.

Betsy Bissen accused Sano on Thursday in a tweet, saying what he did amounted to assault.

Bissen works as a photographer for publications including TwinsDaily. She said she had long been afraid to tell her story for fear of losing access to shoot Twins games. She says she screamed and resisted Sano until he gave up.

Sano denies the allegations. The Twins say they take the allegations seriously but made no other comment.

Bissen didn’t respond to phone, email and social media messages from The Associated Press seeking an interview.

 

MILWAUKEE (AP) — The Minnesota Timberwolves have ruled point guard Jeff Teague out for their game at Milwaukee because of an injury to his left knee that occurred the previous night.

The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that Teague will be out indefinitely after an MRI conducted Thursday revealed a sprained MCL in his left knee, a source confirmed. Teague suffered the injury late in the fourth quarter of Minnesota’s 128-125 overtime victory over Denver, when Gary Harris rolled up on his knee going for a loose ball that resulted from a jump ball.

He limped off the court Wednesday night in the final minute of the fourth quarter of the team’s overtime victory over Denver. Teague had 11 points and 10 assists before departing, with Tyus Jones taking his place in the lineup.

The 29-year-old Teague, in his first season with the Wolves, is averaging a career-high 34.2 minutes per game, with 13.4 points and 7.3 assists and a 44.7 field goal percentage. He missed four games last month because of an Achilles injury on his right foot.

 

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — The Minnesota Lynx have signed coach Cheryl Reeve to a multiyear contract extension and made her general manager of the four-time WNBA champions.

Reeve’s record in eight seasons with the Lynx is 195-77, winning titles in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017. During the 11 years before Reeve’s arrival, the Lynx made the playoffs only twice.

Her .715 career winning percentage is the highest in WNBA history.

The Lynx also announced multiyear contract extensions with assistant coaches Shelley Patterson and Walt Hopkins on Thursday. The team promoted basketball operations manager Clare Duwelius to assistant GM.

Executive vice president Roger Griffith previously held the role of general manager. Reeve becomes the sixth dual coach/GM in the league.

 

 

In world and national news…

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Senator-elect Doug Jones of Alabama says his victory marks a “new chapter for our state and the nation.” Alabama election officials have officially declared Jones the winner of a special Senate election held earlier this month. Jones defeated Republican Roy Moore by about 22,000 votes on Dec. 12 and became the first Democratic Senate victory in a quarter-century in Alabama.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump’s unpredictable, pugnacious approach to the presidency often worked against him as Republicans navigated a tumultuous but ultimately productive year in Congress. Trump’s major accomplishments, confirmation of conservative Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and a major tax cut, actually came with relatively little drama.

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — An Islamic State suicide bomber has struck a Shiite cultural center in Kabul, killing at least 41 people and underscoring the extremist group’s growing reach in Afghanistan even as its self-styled caliphate in Iraq and Syria has been dismantled. The attack may have targeted the pro-Iran Afghan Voice news agency housed in the two-story building.

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Weather observers atop the Northeast’s highest peak say the temperature has hit minus 34 degrees, a record for the day. The Mount Washington Observatory in New Hampshire says the record before Thursday was minus 31 degrees and was set in 1933. The observatory has posted a Facebook video showing weather observer Adam Gill emptying a pitcher of boiling water into the air, where it immediately turns to snow in the cold and hurricane-force winds.

MOSUL, Iraq (AP) — Mosul’s Old City, a district stretching nearly 2 ½ miles along the Tigris River, is a continuous field of ruin. Nearly every neighborhood in the western half of Mosul has entire blocks of homes or businesses blasted to rubble. Mosul has suffered the most extensive damage, but the war that defeated the Islamic State group wreaked destruction in towns and cities across Iraq. Baghdad estimates $100 billion is needed nationwide to rebuild, but no one is stepping up to foot the bill.