CSi Weather…

TONIGHT…Increasing clouds. Lows zero to 5 above. Southeast winds around 5 mph shifting to the southwest up to 5 mph after midnight.

.THURSDAY…Mostly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of snow in the morning. Highs around 10. North winds 5 to 10 mph.

.THURSDAY NIGHT…Increasing clouds. Lows around 10 below.

Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph. Wind chills around 20 below.

.FRIDAY…Mostly cloudy. Highs near zero. Northeast winds 5 to

10 mph.

.FRIDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy. Lows around 15 below. Northeast

winds 5 to 10 mph.

.SATURDAY…Mostly cloudy. Highs zero to 5 above.

.SATURDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of snow.

Lows around 10 below.

.SUNDAY…Mostly cloudy. Highs zero to 5 above.

.SUNDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow.

Lows near zero.

.MARTIN LUTHER KING JR DAY…Mostly cloudy. A 20 percent chance

of snow in the morning. Highs 10 to 15.

.MONDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy. Lows around 5 below.

.TUESDAY…Partly sunny. Highs 5 to 10 above.

.TUESDAY NIGHT…Partly cloudy. Lows zero to 5 above.

.WEDNESDAY…Partly sunny. A 40 percent chance of snow in the

afternoon. Highs around 20.

 

Light snow Thursday night through Friday afternoon. This will affect western and south central ND. In terms of snowfall, as much as two inches could impact southwest ND, with up to one inch in south central.

 

Very cold air will be in place Friday through Sunday. Wind chills Friday night/Saturday morning, and again Saturday night/Sunday morning, as low as 35 below.

Light snow with up to one inch of accumulation for most of western and central ND.

A chance of snow Monday.

Next week  a strong clipper affecting Wednesday afternoon through Thursday night.

 

 

 

OMAHA, NE  (USACE)  – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District (Corps) will hold a public meeting on Wednesday January 16, 2019 to provide information on the Dam Safety Modification Study (DSMS) for Pipestem Dam in Stutsman County, North Dakota, which is located about four miles northwest of Jamestown, North Dakota.

The meeting will run from 6-8 p.m. at the Jamestown Area Chamber of Commerce, at 120  2nd Street Southeast, with a brief presentation at 6:30 p.m. followed by an open house. During the open house, the public will have an opportunity to talk with Corps team members about the dam safety study.

Read More at: https://www.nwo.usace.army.mil/Media/News-Releases/Article/1732904/public-meeting-scheduled-in-jamestown-nd-on-pipestem-dam-safety-modification-st/

 

Valley City  (CSi)   –   The community is invited to the Valley City Public Schools  “Restoring the Legacy,” fundraising committee, meeting on January 23, as officials begin focusing on the Second Phase, of the Hanna Field Athletic Project.

There will be two opportunities that day with a public presentation at 10-a.m., with another meeting  another to be held at 7-p.m., at the Hi Liner Activity Center.

Valley City School Superintendent Josh Johnson, says, the estimated cost of Phase Two is $3 million dollars, adding that 100 percent of the funds will have to come from donations, sponsorships and fundraising efforts.

During the completed Phase One of the project, a track, athletic storage facility were built along with installing a water drainage pond as the  $515,000 goal was raised last year.

The first of five track meets this year will be held on April 9.

 

Jamestown  (Cassie Dubray)    Washington Elementary PTO is hosted its first annual Chili/Soup Cookoff and silent auction on October 12., 2018. Thanks to everyone who bought tickets and silent auction items, the PTO raised $1,000 to support the students at Washington Elementary and provide additional playground equipment for the 2018-2019 school year.

Winners of the chili cookoff were: first place – Barb Korstjens’s Potato Soup, second place – Max Post van der Burg’s Texas Red Chili and third place –  Kate Tally-Moroz’s Chili.

 

Students at Washington Elementary School have put together a shopping wish list of items they would like to see on their playground. Play structures and seating are expensive and frequently utilized by Washington Elementary students as well as others in the community, including children attending the Jamestown High School Football games. Washington PTO will be using the dollars raised to purchase items off the wish list. Playground items are a much-needed benefit for the entire community and the PTO continues to seek support. The wish list registry is available on Amazon if community members would like to donate to the cause.  The registry is available at: http://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/11QKEJ64O2Q4L.

 

Thanks again to the donors who helped make the event successful: Marie Veil: LulaRoe, Happy Mermaid Images, Natasha Vogel LMT, Lori Hare, Barb Korstjens, Kim Korstjens, Max Post Van Der Burg and Katrina Christianson, Hugos Family Marketplace, Walmart, Cavendish, Layered Salon, I3G Media, Stepping Stones, I Will Fitness, New Age Fitness, Dakota Growers Pasta Company, University of Jamestown Golden Z Club,  and to everyone who made soup or chili for the cook-off.

 

Jamestown  (CSi)  At this month’s meeting the Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corporation (JSDC) Board voted to move ahead a planned payment of $50,000 to the Jamestown Regional Entrepreneur Center at this time instead of  the scheduled August time frame.

On Wednesday’s Wayne Byers Show on CSi Cable 2, JSDC, CEO, Connie Ova said, JREC seeks sponsorships, and  a grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture was denied.

In other business, Connie said, the JSDC has approved a FlexPace interest buydown for Timmanies Apiaries & Logistics, to relocate to 210 First Avenue South in Jamestown.

FlexPace program is a cooperative effort of the Bank of North Dakota and local economic development companies to reduce the interest costs of business loans.

The trucking and logistics company plans to operate from the upstairs of the building, and opening a restaurant and winery in the future on the main floor.

Connie also pointed out that North Dakota Soybean Processors had extended its escrow closing date until August 31, as it continues to raise additional equity before beginning construction of the planned soybean crushing plant at the Spiritwood Energy Park.

She added the project is still planned, having announced plans in February 2017, with the closing date for the Spiritwood plant, being pushed back two times due to getting financing in place.

 

Jamestown  (CSi)  The Jamestown City Park Board has approved a review committee to suggest items to bid for Phase Two of the Two Rivers Activity Center’s (TRAC) project.

The committee is comprised of, Parks and Recreation Department, Director, Doug Hogan, TRAC Facility Manager Amy Walters, Travis Dillman along with Brian Milne of Interstate Engineeing and Zerrberg Architects Tony Wolf.

Travis Dillman said the proposed  above ground outdoor pool includes slides, fountains adding  that items need to be priced for design and placement as part of the central plan.  The review committee will try to have a recommendation for the March 11 Park Board meeting.

If the Park Board accepts the plans for  Phase Two for construction, Zerrberg would be compensated eight percent of the estimated $2 million project cost in place of the $14,000 design fee.

In other business, it was stated that legal counsel will be engaged concerning parking issues with Pingree-Buchanan Public School, which is using the TRAC lot for bus and car pick up and drop off of students, without permission, rather than the Wilson Arena lot, at which an agreement was drawn up by Parks and Recreation for that purpose.

Doug Hogan said that there has not been a response to the Wilson lot agreement.

Hogan was directed to inform the Pingree- Buchanan School District to stop using the Two Rivers Activity Center lot as there is no agreement, due to liability issues at the location.

At the meeting, Pingree-Buchanan Public School Board, President Brett McILonie and  Pingree Buchanan Elementary School principal, Terrie Neys said their bus is continuing to use the TRAC lot, adding that the Wilson Arena agreement was not acceptable.

They say that a parking congestion problem does not exist, adding that other buses use the TRAC lot.

Hogan said  Jamestown Public Schools buses use the TRAC parking lot with an agreement.

Park Board Chairperson Mindi Schmitz, will research working with the NDSU Stutsman County Extension Service to consider providing the Parks and Recreation Department strategic plan that was planned to be conducted by the Master of Arts in Leadership program at the University of Jamestown.

 

Washington  – Senator John Hoeven, chairman of the Senate Agriculture Appropriations Committee and a member of the Senate Agriculture Committee, says  after the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced it will bring back Farm Service Agency (FSA) staff Thursday and Friday, January 17-18, as well as Tuesday January 22, to provide essential services, including servicing existing direct loans, while negotiations continue to reach agreement on funding the government and border security.

FSA offices in Bottineau, Carson, Cavalier, Devils Lake, Dickinson, Fargo, Grand Forks, Hillsboro, Jamestown, LaMoure, Langdon, Linton, Mandan, Minot, Mott, Park River, Selfridge, Towner and Williston will open on January 17-18 and January 22 to provide essential services, including limited farm loans-related services to producers. FSA staff will provide essential services,

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A jury has convicted a Chicago man accused of distributing heroin and fentanyl that led to the death of a Williston man.Thirty-nine-year-old Yancey Myers was found guilty by a federal jury of three charges, including distribution of a controlled substance resulting in death.Authorities say Myers had conspired with others to distribute heroin in the Williston area beginning in 2016 and continuing until the death of the 23-year-old man in May. Myers was arrested shortly thereafter while trying to board a train in Minot bound for Chicago.Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — An attorney and former Grand Forks County prosecutor has been nominated by President Donald Trump to serve as a federal judge in North Dakota.Sen. John Hoeven says Peter Welte would fill the vacancy left by former U.S. District Court Judge Ralph Erickson, who was confirmed last year to serve on the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.Welte was the Grand Forks County state’s attorney from 2002 to 2015. He received his undergraduate degree in agricultural economics from North Dakota State University in 1989 and graduated from the University of North Dakota law school in 1997.Hoeven says Welte has “shown a commitment to the rule of law” and that would serve him well as a judge. His nomination has to be confirmed by the Senate. 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Legislation filed by Republican and Democratic leaders sets the framework for American Indian tribes in North Dakota to levy alcohol, tobacco and state sales taxes on their reservations and spend it for tribal services.

But the legislation filed this week would not exempt casinos from a state sales tax that tribal leaders have long argued is unworkable.

Standing Rock Sioux Tribe member Ron His Horse is Thunder said Wednesday that the tribe would likely only support the legislation if casinos are exempt from the state’s 5 percent sales tax.

“It’s a tribal council question and only they can truly answer it,” said His Horse is Thunder, a lawyer and former tribal chairman.

The legislation — a pair of bills that are the work of the Legislature’s Tribal Taxation Issues Committee over the past two years — would allow tribal leaders to enter into a tax agreement with North Dakota’s governor.

Republican Gov. Doug Burgum headed the committee.

 

MINOT, N.D. (AP) — The North Dakota State Fair Association has set a deadline for an historical museum evicted from the premises to relocate its buildings out of town.

Minot Daily News reports that after losing a long-running legal battle against the State Fair, the Ward County Historical Society must remove its Pioneer Village Museum from the fairgrounds to its new site in Burlington by June 15.

The State Fair will award the association with a cash settlement of $50,000 if the buildings are removed by that date. The historical society won’t receive any financial assistance from the State Fair if the buildings are still there past the deadline.

A bill has also been introduced in the state Legislature that would provide $2 million to fund the move.

In sports…

Jamestown  (uj.edu) University of Jamestown head football coach Josh Kittell has resigned to join the football staff at North Dakota State University.

A 2008 graduate of Jamestown College, Kittell has served as head coach at UJ for the past three seasons, including the team’s initial season in the Great Plains Athletic Conference.

A former record-setting quarterback for the Jimmies, Kittell returns to NDSU after serving on the Bison staff for one season prior to being named head coach at UJ on December 22, 2015.

“Josh has put our football program on the path for future success,” said University of Jamestown Director of Athletics Sean Johnson. “We are extremely grateful for his efforts and wish him nothing but the best.”

A search for a new head coach will begin immediately.

 

 

In world and national news…

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Theresa May’s government has survived a no-confidence vote called after May’s Brexit deal was overwhelmingly rejected by lawmakers.

The House of Commons expressed confidence in the government by 325 votes to 306, meaning May can remain in office.

Had the government lost, Britain would have faced an election within weeks while preparing to leave the European Union on March 29.

Despite the reprieve, May faces a monumental struggle to find a way out of her country’s Brexit impasse. She has until Monday to come up with a new blueprint for Britain’s EU exit after the deal she reached with the EU went down to a crushing defeat in Parliament on Tuesday.

 

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Seven Democratic lawmakers, including newly elected freshmen, have arrived at the White House ready to ask President Donald Trump to reopen the government while talks continue over border security.

It’s the first group of rank-and-file Democrats to meet with Trump during the shutdown, which stretched into its 26th day Wednesday. The White House has been trying to peel lawmakers away from Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (puh-LOH’-see), but invitations to Democrats earlier this week were declined.

Those arriving Wednesday for the midday meeting in the Situation Room included five freshmen, several of whom did not back Pelosi as speaker. They represent areas where Trump remains popular. They’re from a bipartisan group called the Problem Solvers Caucus.

Ahead of the meeting they wrote there is “strong agreement that if we reopen the government, the possibility exists to work together and find common ground.”

Trump is seeking $5.7 billion for a U.S.-Mexico border wall, but Pelosi opposes the wall.

 

 

BEIRUT (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says that an explosion that killed American service members in Syria may have been an act aimed to deter the United States from withdrawing troops.

Erdogan said, however, that U.S. President Donald Trump appears to be determined to pull troops out and that he doesn’t think the U.S. leader would step back from his decision.

The blast occurred during a routine patrol in the northern Syria town of Manbij.

“The attack in Manbij could be (aimed) to influence the decision to withdraw,” Erdogan said: “Because I saw Trump’s determination to withdraw, I believe that he will not take a step back in the face of the act of terror.

“If there is a step back, that that would amount to a victory for Daesh,” he said in reference to the Islamic State group.

Erdogan spoke Wednesday during a joint news conference with visiting Croatian President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic.

 

 

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — The elder son of an American-born news anchor for Iran’s state television broadcaster says his mother is being held in the United States, but has not been charged with anything.

Marzieh Hashemi’s son, Hussein Hashemi, tells The Associated Press that he’s been told his mother is being held as a material witness, but she’s in prison and has been assigned an inmate number.

Interviewed by phone Wednesday from Washington, he also says that he and his brother and sister have been subpoenaed to testify to a grand jury, but he doesn’t know what about.

Marzieh Hashemi was born Melanie Franklin of New Orleans but has lived in Iran for decades, working 25 years for Iran’s state broadcaster.

Hussein Hashemi says she was detained Sunday, as she was leaving St. Louis for Denver. He says she had filmed a Black Lives Matter documentary in St. Louis after visiting family in New Orleans.

Press TV has held a news conference and launched a hashtag campaign for Hashemi.

 

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s top health authorities agree that teen vaping is an epidemic that now affects some 3.6 million underage users of e-cigarettes. But no one seems to know the best way to help teenagers who may be addicted to nicotine.

Government officials recently rolled out a series of proposals aimed at keeping the products away from youngsters, including tightening sales in stores and online. But there’s been little discussion of how to treat nicotine addiction in children as young as 11 years old. The anti-smoking therapies on the market — such as nicotine patches and gums — are not approved for children.

Experts will meet this Friday at the Food and Drug Administration to discuss the potential role for pharmaceutical therapies and non-prescription medications.

 

PARIS (AP) — Four tennis players are in French custody on suspicion of helping an organized gambling syndicate believed to have fixed hundreds of low-tier matches.

They are suspected of working for an Armenian who police call the “Maestro. Police believe the Belgium-based kingpin may have paid more than 100 players from at least half a dozen countries.

The detentions are part of months of digging by police working across Europe to unravel a massive match-fixing scheme.

Sources close to the investigation told The Associated Press that four French players were in custody on Wednesday. They said at least one suspect told investigators that he fixed around two dozen matches for the Maestro.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss details publicly.

Investigators have also questioned other players in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Slovakia, and Bulgaria and are looking around Europe.