CSi Weather…

.TONIGHT…Clear. Lows in the upper 50s. South winds 5 to 10 mph.

.THURSDAY…Sunny in the morning, then mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of rain showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon in the Jamestown area, 40 percent in the Valley City area. Highs in the upper 70s. South winds 5 to 15 mph.

.THURSDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy. Rain showers likely and chance

of thunderstorms in the evening, then chance of rain showers and

slight chance of thunderstorms after midnight. Lows in the upper

50s. South winds 5 to 10 mph shifting to the north after

midnight. Chance of precipitation 60 percent in the Jamestown area, 70 percent in the Valley City area.

.FRIDAY…Partly sunny in the morning then clearing, in the Jamestown area,

Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of showers and

thunderstorms in the morning, then mostly sunny in the afternoon in the Valley City area.

Highs in the lower 80s. Northwest winds around 5 mph.

.FRIDAY NIGHT…Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 50s.

.SATURDAY…Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 80s.

.SATURDAY NIGHT…Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 50s.

.SUNDAY…Mostly sunny with a 20 percent chance of rain showers

and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70s.

.SUNDAY NIGHT…Increasing clouds. A 40 percent chance of rain

showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the upper 50s.

.MONDAY…Mostly sunny. A 40 percent chance of showers and

thunderstorms in the morning. Highs around 80.

.MONDAY NIGHT…Partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of rain

showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the upper 50s.

.TUESDAY…Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 70s.

 

Showers and thunderstorms are expected Thursday afternoon through

Friday. Isolated severe thunderstorms are possible with heavy

rain possible along and south of I-94.

A few severe thunderstorms are possible Saturday afternoon and

Saturday night.

 

 

Jamestown  (CSi)  Head Start and JRMC’s Family Birthplace, in Jamestown  sponsor a free car seat safety checkup Thursday August 23, from 2:30-p.m., to 5:30-p.m., at the Early Head Start parking lot, at 1311 12th Avenue, Northeast.

Certified technicians will be available to assist the public with their child passenger safety needs.

For more information, call Marla at 701-320-1506 or Heidi at Early Head Start at 701-252-1821.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A state analysis of the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act shows that individuals are expected to pay more North Dakota state income tax while small businesses and corporations are projected to pay less.

The Bismarck Tribune reports that the state Tax Department recently released its analysis on the law’s impact on North Dakota taxpayers.

Tax Commissioner Ryan Rauschenberger says that individual taxpayers will also see mixed results from the federal tax reform that took effect this year. The analysis shows that individuals are overall projected to pay $4.8 million more in state income tax for 2018.

North Dakota meanwhile is projected to collect $9.7 million less income tax from small business, corporations and international businesses for this year. The result is the state will likely collect $4.9 million less in state income state for the two-year budget cycle ending in 2019.

 

 

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) — The National Weather Service office in Grand Forks has apologized for a tweet that attacked former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

WDAY-TV reports the tweet called Romney a “fraud.” It has since been deleted, but was initially sent out after Romney posted something that seemed to reference Tuesday’s criminal proceedings against Michael Cohen and Paul Manafort.

The weather service says the tweet was a mistake.

Science Operations Officer Tom Grafenauer said the tweet was political in nature and atypical of the National Weather Service. He says all employees have access to the Twitter account to post weather updates, and the employee who made the mistake had thought he logged out and was using a personal account.

The weather service is reviewing its social media policy.

 

RUTHVILLE, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota’s Transportation Department is installing safety enhancements at an intersection that some consider dangerous between Minot and Minot Air Force Base.

The agency sought public input after a fatal crash in February at the U.S. Highway 83 intersection with a county road at Ruthville.

Officials in April reduced the speed limit from 70 mph to 55 mph in a 2-mile stretch of the highway in the area of the intersection. The department says that over the next few weeks, improvements will be made to lighting and signage there.

 

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Opponents of an oil refinery planned near Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota are imploring state regulators to give them a chance to explore whether the developer is being truthful about the project’s size.

The Environmental Law and Policy Center and Dakota Resource Council filed the request Tuesday with the Public Service Commission, arguing that it’s the commission’s duty to “determine whether Meridian’s new claim is credible.”

Meridian Energy Group maintains it doesn’t need a state siting permit from the commission because the $800 million Davis Refinery planned 3 miles (5 kilometers) from North Dakota’s top tourist attraction will have a capacity of 49,500 barrels per day — just below the 50,000-barrel threshold that triggers a state review. However, the company previously gave a 55,000-barrel figure to the media, investors and government officials.

The Environmental Law and Policy Center and Dakota Resource Council maintain the commission should open a case and allow lawyers to investigate the true figure. The request is in the groups’ formal response to Meridian’s plea earlier this month that the commission throw out a complaint that the environmental groups filed in late June.

The issue of the refinery’s capacity “is precisely the kind of factual question that cannot be resolved on a motion to dismiss,” lawyers for the environmental groups argued.

 

TYNDALL, S.D. (AP) — The Bon Homme County Commission has provided a major boost to a proposed $297 million wind farm.

The commissioners decided Prairie Wind Park is in compliance with the county zoning ordinance, taking the project on Tuesday to the next level.

The Yankton Press and Dakotan reports the wind farm between Tripp and Avon would cover about 50,000 acres in Bon Homme, Charles Mix and Hutchinson counties. It would be located near the current Beethoven wind farm.

The Power renewable energy company would operate the farm which would include 61 turbines, each nearly 600 feet tall, producing a maximum 220 megawatts of power.

The company would sell the electricity to North Dakota-based Basin Electric Power Cooperative.

 

In sports…

CHICAGO (AP) — Adam Engel broke a tie with a two-run homer in a five-run fifth, Carlos Rodon continued his torrid stretch with six strong innings and the Chicago White Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 7-3 on Wednesday afternoon.

Nicky Delmonico and Tim Anderson also homered off Twins starter Kyle Gibson (7-10), helping send him to only his second loss in seven career decisions at Guaranteed Rate Field.

Chicago won for the sixth time in eight games.

The White Sox sent 11 batters to the plate against Gibson and Gabriel Moya in the fifth to snap a 2-2 tie.

Omar Narvaez drew a walk before Engel hit an 0-2 fastball over the left-field fence. Yolmer Sanchez followed with a walk and advanced to second on Avisail Garcia’s one-out single. Sanchez scored when second baseman Logan Forsythe couldn’t handle Daniel Palka’s hard grounder that was ruled an error. Delmonico was walked intentionally, and Matt Davidson hit a two-run single that knocked Gibson out of the game. The right-hander gave up seven runs (four earned) on seven hits and four walks in 4 2/3 innings.

Rodon (5-3) allowed four of the first five batters to reach base before he settled down. He allowed three hits and three walks and improved to 5-1 with a 2.31 ERA over his last 10 starts.

 

 

Bismarck  (CSi)  More than 1,000 antlerless whitetail deer gun licenses are still available in three units after the North Dakota Game and Fish Department recently completed its second lottery drawing. Individual results are available online at the Game and Fish website, gf.nd.gov.

Antlerless whitetail licenses remaining in units 3F1 (321 licenses), 3F2 (498 licenses) and 4F (218 licenses) will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis beginning at 8 a.m. Central Time on Sept. 6. These licenses are only available online, and to individuals who have not already received a lottery or landowner license.

These licenses are valid only during the regular deer gun season, Nov. 9-25. Residents and nonresidents are eligible to apply.

 

In world and national news…

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is defending the hush money payments made by his former attorney Michael Cohen to a pair of women, insisting, contrary to Cohen’s guilty plea, that the effort wasn’t “even a campaign violation.” Trump is telling “Fox & Friends” host Ainsley Earhardt in an interview set to air Thursday that the payments “didn’t come out of the campaign, and that’s big.”

 

CHICAGO (AP) — The Democratic National Committee says it thwarted an attempt to hack its database that houses information on millions of voters nationwide. A party official says DNC contractors notified the party Tuesday of an apparent hacking attempt, and the committee notified law enforcement. The party’s cybersecurity has been an issue since 2016, when Russian hackers compromised DNC servers and revealed emails that exploited divisions between Bernie Sanders’ and Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaigns.

 

BERLIN (AP) — Scientists say they’ve found the remains of an ancient female whose mother was a Neanderthal and whose father belonged to another extinct group of human relatives called Denisovans. Researchers reported Wednesday in the journal Nature that DNA from a bone fragment found in a Siberian cave reveals the first direct offspring known from a mix of these two groups.

 

PORT ARTHUR, Texas (AP) — The oil industry wants the government to help protect some of its facilities on the Texas Gulf Coast against the effects of global warming. One proposal involves building a nearly 60-mile “spine” of flood barriers to shield refineries and chemical plants. Many Republicans argue that such projects should be a national priority. But others question whether taxpayers should have to protect refineries in a state where top politicians still dispute whether climate change is real.

 

MONTEZUMA, Iowa (AP) — An attorney for the man charged with murder in the death of an Iowa college student is claiming the government is wrong in its statements that he is in the country illegally. The lawyer says that Cristhian Bahena Rivera passed an E-Verify electronic immigration status check.