Wayne Byers Show – Evening – Dec 31

CSi Weather…

Forecast…

 

.WEDNESDAY…Mostly sunny. Not as cold. Highs in the mid 20s.

West winds 10 to 15 mph.

.WEDNESDAY NIGHT…Partly cloudy. Not as cold. Lows in the lower

20s. West winds 10 to 15 mph.

.THURSDAY…Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 30s.

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

.FRIDAY…Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 30s.

.FRIDAY NIGHT…Partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 20s.

.SATURDAY…Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 30s.

.SATURDAY NIGHT…Increasing clouds. Lows around 15.

.SUNDAY…Partly sunny. Highs in the lower 20s.

.SUNDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of snow after

midnight. Lows around 10.

.MONDAY…Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of snow. Highs

in the mid 20s.

Jamestown  (NDHP)  – The North Dakota Highway Patrol (NDHP), Stutsman County Sheriff’s Department, and Jamestown Police Department conducted a sobriety checkpoint on Saturday, Dec. 29 in Stutsman County. During the checkpoint, 59 vehicles were screened, and no violations were found.

In conjunction to the sobriety checkpoint, NDHP conducted saturation patrols on Dec. 28 and Dec. 29 in Stutsman and Barnes Counties. Over the two-night period, there was 1 person charged with DUI.

The primary purpose of DUI checkpoints and saturation patrols is to deter drinking and driving. This year in North Dakota, approximately 32.3 percent of fatal crashes have been alcohol-related. Through Dec. 30 of this year, 31 of the 103 fatalities on North Dakota roadways have occurred in alcohol-related crashes.

The North Dakota Highway Patrol reminds the public to plan ahead, always designate a sober driver, and drive distraction free as we all work together toward Vision Zero: zero fatalities on North Dakota roads.

Valley City  RH Rebel Storage has announced the business is expanding to Valley City.

The news release, says, the former Miller Motors building at 2535 West Main Street was purchased to be remodeled into climate-controlled storage units.

The facility will be surrounded by surveillance cameras and offer a rent and move-in online option,   Plans are to compete reconstruction in the Spring of 2019.

The facility will also feature 8×20 storage containers which are being placed on the property and are available for rent immediately.

The official opening date for the units will be announced in 2019.

RH Rebel Storage was founded in 2015 by Scott Bintz. The company also has units in North and South Jamestown.

 

Williston  (NDHP)– At 12:35 am on Monday, December 31, the North Dakota Highway Patrol (NDHP) responded to a fatal crash on 32nd Ave West, Williston.
A 2018 Ford pickup, licensed by Dynamic Well Service, was northbound on 32nd Ave west when it drifted into the east ditch, striking a light pole which fell on the driver’s side. The vehicle continued to spin counterclockwise in the ditch coming to rest facing southwest. The 26-year old driver was pronounced dead on the scene.
The name of the driver will be released following notification of relatives. The crash remains under investigation by the NDHP with assistance from the Williston Police Department and Williston Public Works.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A North Dakota legislator wants to increase the legal consequences for people who tamper with pipelines and any groups that help them.

The Bismarck Tribune reports that Republican Sen. Janne Myrdal of Edinburg is sponsoring the bill.

The legislation would more clearly define that it’s illegal to damage energy facilities and other critical infrastructure facilities. It also would increase fines tenfold if an organization is found to have conspired with individuals who tamper with infrastructure.

The bill wouldn’t prevent the “lawful assembly and peaceful and orderly petition for the redress of grievances.”

Seattle resident Michael Eric Foster served jail time for a 2016 pipeline protest in North Dakota. He says a more stringent law wouldn’t have stopped him from turning a pipeline valve and stopping oil flow for several hours.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Lawmakers convene Thursday for North Dakota’s 66th legislative session in Bismarck, where they will be faced with tough spending choices at a time when the state’s economy is slowly emerging from a years-long rut due to depressed oil and agriculture prices.

Some things to know as the once-every-two-years session opens:

BURGUM’S BUDGET

Gov. Doug Burgum begins the session with his State of the State address in the afternoon. The first-term Republican governor is expected to talk about the challenges facing North Dakota and its fiscal health.

Burgum unveiled a $14.3 billion budget last month that increases state spending 5 percent, with pay raises for state employees and spending spikes on education, human services and infrastructure projects.

The two-year spending blueprint also seeks to replenish more than $500 million of the $800 million in reserves that were used to balance previous budgets.

Burgum’s budget is the second-biggest proposed by a governor in state history.

BILLS

Approximately 230 bills have been filed ahead of the session, about the same as two years ago but nearly 150 below the long-term average. Scores more will come once the Legislature settles in in the first few weeks.

Notable proposals so far include a bill that would give the North Dakota Legislature final say on successful citizen-led initiatives that amend the state constitution; charging owners of electric and hybrid vehicles an annual fee to help offset lost motor fuel taxes; legal sports betting; and another attempt at repealing Sunday business restrictions that have been in place since statehood and are rooted in religious tradition.

 

AP Top Stories 2018..

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — The year in North Dakota was dominated by politics, from the hard-fought U.S. Senate race between Heidi Heitkamp and Kevin Cramer to a complimentary and controversial Super Bowl soiree that Gov. Doug Burgum attended and a Trump administration trade dispute that hit soybean farmers the hardest.Elsewhere, the full story emerged of the slaying of a pregnant Fargo woman whose baby was cut from her womb, as two defendants were tried for the crime, and a company moved forward on an oil refinery near Theodore Roosevelt National Park. In sports, North Dakota State’s Bison continued to run roughshod over the FCS competition.A look at some of the state’s top stories of 2018:SENATE RACEVoters made Heitkamp a one-term senator when they opted for Cramer in a race that caught the nation’s attention and helped the GOP expand its control of the Senate. Heitkamp portrayed herself as an independent who wasn’t afraid to vote against her own party or vote with President Donald Trump. Cramer won by persuading North Dakota voters that his emphatic conservatism would serve them better than her occasional independence from her own party. He also took advantage of a state that loves Trump , who visited North Dakota twice to promote Cramer.BURGUM-SUPER BOWL TRIPBurgum and his wife were guests of a Minneapolis utility at the Super Bowl, a trip that wound up costing the governor $37,000. That’s what he repaid Xcel Energy after he was criticized for taking perks that included seats in a suite, private parties, meals and other events. Supporters of a constitutional amendment to overhaul North Dakota’s government ethics cited Burgum’s trip as a selling point. The measure passed in November. Burgum later created the first ethics policy for the governor’s office.WOMAN KILLED, BABY TAKENA man and a woman who lived together in a Fargo apartment were sentenced to life in prison for their roles in killing a woman and cutting the baby from her womb. Brooke Crews pleaded guilty to murder conspiracy in the August 2016 death of 22-year-old Savanna Greywind. Her boyfriend, William Hoehn, was found not guilty of the same charge during a trial that revealed new details in the case. Hoehn said he had nothing to do with Greywind’s death but admitted he helped cover up the crime. The Greywind case prompted Heitkamp to introduce Savanna’s Act, which aims to improve tribal access to federal crime information databases, among other things. The bill was being held up in the House as the year came to a close.

VOTER ID

Advocacy groups and others undertook an intense last-minute effort to get Native America voters to the polls after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in October allowed the state to continue requiring street addresses on voter IDs, as opposed to addresses such as post office boxes that are commonly used on reservations. Groups offered free qualifying IDs and free rides to the polls. In the end, experts said it’s likely that only a few dozen people were unable to cast ballots.

TRADE-SOYBEANS

Soybean farmers saw the value of their crop plummet amid a Trump administration trade war with China, the top export market for North Dakota beans. China began buying U.S. soybeans again toward the end of the year under a three-month truce , but farmers were lobbying for more federal aid to tide them over until trade with the world’s second-largest economy becomes more settled.

DAVIS REFINERY

Meridian Energy Group began site work for an $800 million oil refinery near Theodore Roosevelt National Park in July, a month after receiving an air quality permit from the state Health Department that deemed the refinery a minor source of pollution. Environmental groups that fear pollution in the park are fighting the permit in state court.

MARIJUANA

North Dakota’s Health Department continued building a system for medical marijuana, at a slower pace than voters expected when they approved the measure in 2016. Companies were named to open dispensaries in Bismarck, Fargo, Grand Forks and Williston. Citizens decided they weren’t ready for recreational marijuana, however, rejecting an initiated measure.

DAKOTA ACCESS OIL PIPELINE

Legal battles related to the Dakota Access oil pipeline continued to surface or play out in 2018. Four tribes continued their lawsuit in federal court in Washington, D.C., hoping to shut down the $3.8 billion pipeline that’s moving North Dakota oil to a shipping point in Illinois. Several other suits were filed, including a civil complaint by a New York woman who suffered a serious arm injury while protesting.

CORPORATE FARMING

A federal judge upheld North Dakota’s Depression-era anti-corporate farming law . North Dakota Farm Bureau and others sued in 2016 to do away with the law that voters approved in 1932 to protect the state’s family farming heritage. The suit said the law limits farmers’ business options and interferes with interstate commerce.

BISON FOOTBALL

The North Dakota State football team returned to the top of the Championship Football Subdivision in the first week of January, defeating James Madison in the title game in Frisco, Texas. The Bison had won five straight titles from 2012-2016 before losing to James Madison in the 2017 semifinals. Now they are shooting for No. 6. Next month’s championship game will be the last at NDSU for coach Chris Klieman, who’s headed to Kansas State.

 

MANDAN, N.D. (AP) — Hikers are set to welcome the New Year in Fort Abraham Lincoln State Park south of Mandan.

The state park launches its fourth annual 12-for-12 hiking challenge on Jan. 1.

Seventy-five-year-old Berny Schuh of Bismarck says she’ll be there when the challenge starts on Tuesday. Schuh tells The Bismarck Tribune she has completed the park’s hiking challenge all three years it’s been offered.

The park offers a group hike at least once a month. Those who complete 12 hikes are rewarded with an annual state park pass.

Interpretive coordinator Matt Schanandore says the program is aimed at encouraging people from the Bismarck-Mandan area to visit the park throughout the year.

The hikes attract about 4,000 people each year, with an average of 150 to 200 people participating in each event.

 

In world and national news…

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Democrats are unveiling legislation to reopen the government without money for President Donald Trump’s border wall. The House is preparing to vote on the package Thursday when the new Congress convenes. It will include one bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security at current levels through Feb. 8, with $1.3 billion for border security. This is according to an aide who was not authorized to discuss the plan publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Elizabeth Warren has announced she’s forming an exploratory committee for the 2020 election, her first major step toward launching a campaign for president. The Massachusetts Democrat is the most prominent Democrat yet to make such a move. Warren is a favorite target of President Donald Trump, who has labeled her “Pocahontas” over her claims of Native American heritage. In an email to supporters Monday, Warren said she’d more formally announce a campaign plan early in 2019.

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Trump says he’s “the only person in America” who could say he’s bringing troops home from Syria and get “bad press.” Trump made the remarks on Twitter. After he announced the withdrawal earlier this month, critics of the decision warned it could lead to a resurgence of the Islamic State group and leave Kurdish allies vulnerable to an attack from Turkey. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham emerged from lunch with the president on Sunday to say that Trump was slowing down the withdrawal.

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — On his final day as secretary of defense, Jim Mattis is urging all Pentagon employees to “hold fast” in defense of the country. Mattis submitted his resignation on Dec. 20 and was, in effect, fired by President Donald Trump three days later. He was working in the Pentagon on Monday and preparing to hand off his duties at midnight to Deputy Secretary Patrick Shanahan.

 

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican spokesman, Greg Burke, and his deputy resigned suddenly Monday amid an overhaul of the Vatican’s communications operations that coincides with a troubled period in Pope Francis’ papacy. In a tweet, Burke said he and his deputy, Paloma Garcia Ovejero, had resigned effective Jan. 1. Francis is struggling to address a global sex abuse and cover-up scandal. He named a longtime member of the Vatican’s communications operations, Alessandro Gisotti, as an interim replacement for Burke.