CSi Weather…

 

…WIND CHILL ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 8 PM FRIDAY EVENING TO NOON CST SATURDAY…  INCLUDES THE VALLEY CITY AREA…

UNTIL 11 AM SATURDAY, JAMESTOWN AREA

* WHAT…Very cold wind chill values of 30 to 35 below zero with
light winds.

* WHERE…Portions of northwestern Minnesota and eastern North
Dakota. Portions of north central, northwest, south central
and southeast North Dakota.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS…The dangerously cold wind chills could
cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 10 minutes.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A Wind Chill Advisory means that cold air and the wind will
combine to create low wind chills. Frostbite and hypothermia can
occur if precautions are not taken. Make sure you wear a hat and
gloves.

 

Forecast…

.FRIDAY NIGHT…Partly cloudy. Lows around 20 below. East winds around 10 mph. Wind chills around 34 below.

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

around 5 mph.  Lowest wind chill readings 28 below to 33 below zero in the morning.

.SATURDAY NIGHT…Cloudy. Chance of snow in the evening, then snow likely after midnight. Snow accumulation around 2 inches.  Lows around 5 below.  Southeast winds 5 to 15 mph.  Wind chills around 25 below.

Chance of snow 70 percent in the Jamestown area, 80 percent in the Valley City area.

.SUNDAY…Mostly cloudy. A 30 percent chance of snow in the

morning in the Jamestown area, 40 percent in the Valley City area. Highs around 10. Southeast winds 10 to 15 mph.

.SUNDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy. A 40 percent chance of snow after

midnight. Lows zero to 5 above.

.MARTIN LUTHER KING JR DAY…Cloudy with a 60 percent chance of

snow. Highs 15 to 20.

.MONDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy. A 30 percent chance of snow in the

evening. Lows zero to 5 above.

.TUESDAY…Partly sunny. Patchy blowing and drifting snow. Highs around 10.

.TUESDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy. Lows near zero.

.WEDNESDAY…Mostly cloudy. Highs 15 to 20.

.WEDNESDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy. Lows zero to 5 above.

.THURSDAY…Partly sunny. Highs 15 to 20.

 

Friday through Sunday..

Dangerous wind chills to 30 below zero east of the
Missouri River each night and through the morning hours, through Sunday.

Snow accumulations up to 3 inches will be possible across
northwest and central North Dakota Saturday night through Sunday
morning.

 

..TWO ADDITIONAL ROUNDS OF SNOW THROUGH THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND…

A clipper system will bring accumulating snow to northwest and

central North Dakota late Saturday night through Sunday morning.

At this time the greatest accumulations are expected to fall from

Minot and Rolla, southeast to Harvey, Carrington and Jamestown.

An upper level system will bring another round of light snow late

Sunday night through the Martin Luther King Junior Holiday. With

this system, light snow accumulations are possible from Minot and

Bismarck east to Rugby, Jamestown and Ellendale. If you have

travel plans through the Holiday weekend be sure check the latest

road conditions and carry a winter survival kit.

 

 

Jamestown  (CSi)  Amateur Astronomer, Dr. Timothy Bratton reports that a total Lunar Eclipse will be on Sunday, January 20, 2019

Timeline:

Livestream Link

4:55 p.m. CST (Central Standard Time): The Moon rises above our ENE horizon.  Luna will be then 99.3% illuminated, 33.28 minutes of arc in apparent diameter, and 222,521 miles distant.

5:20 p.m.: The Sun sets on Jamestown’s WSW horizon.

8:35 p.m.: The eastern (left) rim of the Moon makes contact with the Earth’s penumbra (its fainter outer shadow).  You won’t notice anything happening at this stage, but look at the Moon around 9:10 p.m., when it has burrowed far enough into the penumbra that its left edge may look grayer than usual.  By this time the Moon might appear as if faint clouds were passing over its surface.  Sky & Telescope magazine suggests viewing the Moon through (ironically enough!) sunglasses at this stage of the eclipse; they enhance the contrast between the penumbra and the still bright lunar surface.

9:33:36 p.m.: The center left of the Moon will make contact with the Earth’s darker inner shadow, the umbra.  Because the rest of the Moon is still quite bright, the umbra will appear to be a dark gray; any color contrast will become more noticeable as the Moon moves deeper into the umbra.  At this time the Moon will be 43 degrees over our city’s ESE horizon and 222,324 miles away.

10:40:48 p.m.: Totality begins as the Moon moves fully into the Earth’s umbra.  By this time the Moon will be 52.8 degrees above the ESE-SE skyline and 222,286 miles from Earth.  From the Moon’s vantagepoint, the Earth would be eclipsing the Sun; however, enough reddish sunlight would be refracted by and through our planet’s atmosphere that some rays would reach the lunar surface.  Anybody on the near side of the Moon would see every sunrise and sunrise on Earth occurring simultaneously; our world would appear to be surrounded by a red ring of fire.

11:12:12 p.m.: This is both the mid-point and maximum of the eclipse, with the Moon 56.7 degrees over the SE horizon and 222,269 miles distant.  What color will it be?  The “wild cards” this year are any residual smoke from the California and Canadian forest fires and volcanic ash from the eruption of Mt. Aetna in Sicily and volcanoes in Indonesia.  In 1963, while living near Cleveland, Ohio, I witnessed a very dark eclipse in which the Moon seemed to disappear from the sky; Mount Agung on the island of Bali had thrown so much ash into the atmosphere that year that only a circular “hole” in the star field indicated where the Moon was hidden from view.

11:16 p.m: Full Moon occurs, with the Moon directly opposite from the hidden Sun and 222,267 miles from Earth.  This Full Moon was called the “Snow,” “Hunger,” or “Wolf” Moon by Native Americans, since stored food had run out while deep snow made it difficult to hunt.

11:43:48 p.m.: Totality ends as the Moon’s left rim moves back into the Earth’s penumbra.  The duration of totality for this eclipse was one hour and three minutes.  By now the Moon will be 59.9 degrees over the SSE horizon and 222,253 miles away.  The events of the eclipse now appear to run in reverse order.

12:00:51 a.m., Monday, January 21: The Moon, by now 60.3 degrees above the WSW-W skyline, exits entirely from the Earth’s umbra, through which it passed for 3 hours, 17 minutes, and 24 seconds.

1:49:30 a.m.: The Moon, now 60.3 degrees above the SSW horizon, moves entirely out of the Earth’s penumbra, in which it remained for five hours and 14½ minutes.

8:41:50 a.m.: The Moon sets at Jamestown along our city’s SW-WSW skyline.

3:00 p.m.: The Moon attains its third closest perigee to Earth this year, when it will be just 222,042 miles away, 33.436 minutes of arc in apparent diameter, 99.7% lit, and 21.9 degrees beneath our NNE horizon.

This will be the only lunar eclipse visible to us this year; we will not see any solar eclipses at all.  To avoid frostbite, view the Moon at critical stages of the eclipse, particularly the beginning of totality, mid-eclipse, and the end of totality.  Let’s hope that the weather cooperates for this spectacular event!

 

January 2018 also began with a total lunar eclipse, but that one wasn’t very favorable for local viewers.  On January 31 that year, totality did not occur until 6:52 a.m., when the Moon was only 10.6 degrees above the W-WNW horizon; mid-eclipse took place at 7:30 a.m., when Luna was merely 4.6 degrees above the WNW skyline, and it set a few minutes after that.  But this month’s event favors North America; every stage of the eclipse will be visible in the night sky!  On top of everything else, this eclipse almost coincides with the third closest lunar perigee (approach to Earth) of the year, so that this will be a so-called “Super Moon.”  I hate that hyped-up word; the Moon will be only 7% larger than usual, and the technical term is a “perigeal Full Moon.”  Nor will it be a “Blood Red Super Moon” (more hype!); the color of the eclipsed Moon can vary between yellow to black, depending upon how much smoke or volcanic ash is in our planet’s atmosphere.  Usually it’s orange or a coppery-red.

 

WILLISTON, N.D. (AP) — The North Dakota Highway Patrol has identified the driver who died in a head-on collision between two pickup trucks in McKenzie County.Thirty-year-old Bryan Ray Walker, of Alexander, was killed and the driver of the other pickup was injured in the crash on a road west of Mandaree Thursday morning.The patrol says the driver who survived was rounding a curve, slid on an icy patch and into the opposite lane where the two vehicles collided. A passenger in the truck of the surviving driver was not injured. 
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota has begun issuing medical marijuana cards to patients and caregivers, after nearly two years of work implementing a distribution system for the drug approved by voters in November 2016.State Medical Marijuana Director Jason Wahl says it could become available in eastern North Dakota within a few weeks, with dispensaries operating statewide by early fall.The Health Department has been working on the system since lawmakers crafted a law in 2017 allowing the use of medical marijuana for 17 medical conditions, along with terminal illnesses.The state this week issued 70 cards, mostly for patients. Some went to designated caregivers, which are people who help patients, such as a family friend.The state estimates that as many as 4,000 North Dakotans eventually will legally be using the drug.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A North Dakota lawmaker is introducing legislation to pursue a new state logo as part of efforts to revamp state tourism.

The Bismarck Tribune reports that Democratic Rep. Marvin Nelson’s sponsored bill would direct the North Dakota Department of Commerce to oversee a competition for entrants to create a new logo to be selected in time for the state’s 2020 travel guide.

North Dakota Tourism Director Sara Otte Coleman says the process for the “refreshed” brand began about 18 months ago and developed as an effort to unify state agencies and programs.

The tourism division presented the new “Be Legendary” brand in October, replacing the longtime “North Dakota Legendary” logo.

The proposed legislative measure would appropriate $90,000 for contest winners, including $50,000 for first place.

 

 

DEVILS LAKE, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota Corrections Department officials have determined that the Devils Lake jail is in compliance with state standards.

The state agency in September 2017 found that the Lake Region Law Enforcement Center was not complying with about 40 jail standards. That was in addition to several other problems in recent years, including guard misconduct, staffing issues and inmate escapes.

The Devils Lake Journal reports that Corrections Director Leann Bertsch earlier this week deemed the problems fixed.

Ramsey County Commissioner Ed Brown also tells the Journal that officials have settled a lawsuit filed by former jail administrator Denny Deegan, who was fired in August 2014 for alleged poor performance. Deegan claimed gender discrimination. Terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed.

The Devils Lake jail serves Ramsey, Benson, Towner, Eddy and Nelson counties

 

In sports…

Valley City  (CSi) The Minnesota Twins Caravan will be in Valley City at the W.E. Osmon Fieldhouse on Tuesday January 22nd.

The caravan is sponsored by ReMax Lawn Realty.

On the caravan are,  All Star third baseman Miguel Sano, catcher Mitch Garver, Twins T.V. analyst, Hall of Famer Bert Blyleven and two Time World Series Champion Dan Gladden.

Plans will be discussed for the 2019 season with a special presentation and Q&A session.

Support the Valley City Baseball Association and Valley City Fastpitch Softball.

Purchase tickets, and meet and greet passes are also still available.

General Admission:  $6

Meet & Greet Tickets while supplies last $25

Only 16 available, limit 2 person

Includes entry and exclusive Meet & Greet with the Twins.

Schedule:

Tuesday January 22nd

2019 Twins Caravan at the W.E. Osmon Fieldhouse

11:30 Doors open / Silent Auction begins

12:25 Presentation with Q and A with the Twins

1:00 Event ends and Silent Auction Closes

 

In world and national news…

CHICAGO (AP) — A strong winter storm system is forecast to sweep across the Midwest into New England, bringing double-digit snow accumulations and high winds.The National Weather Service on Friday had winter storm warnings and watches in effect from the Dakotas, across the Great Lakes states and into New England.Forecasters say the storm is expected to begin Friday afternoon in the Chicago area, bringing as many as 9 inches (23 centimeters) of snow before intensifying and reaching New York.The weather service says conditions in New England “could approach blizzard criteria.” Snow totals of 16 inches to 17 inches (40-43 centimeters) are forecast in parts of Massachusetts and Maine. Wind gusts in the Chicago area are expected to reach 30 mph to 35 mph (49-56 kph)Bitterly cold air is expected in the storm’s aftermath.

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will hold a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to try to broker a deal to coax the North to give up its nuclear program, the White House announced Friday.

News of a second meeting with the reclusive North Korean leader came after Trump met at the White House for 90 minutes with a North Korean envoy, Kim Yong Chol, who had traveled to Washington to discuss denuclearization talks. Trump and Kim Jong Un are to meet near the end of February at a place to be announced at a later day, said White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

She called the Oval Office meeting “productive” and said the U.S. and North Korea would continue to have conversations with hopes that North Korea would give up its nuclear weapons capabilities.

“The United States is going to continue to keep pressure and sanctions on North Korea until we see fully and verified denuclearization,” Sanders said “We’ve had very good steps and good faith from the North Koreans in releasing the hostages and other moves. And so we’re going to continue those conversations and the president looks forward to the next meeting.”

In May, North Korea released three American detainees and sent them home with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo after his 90-minute meeting with the North Korean leader in Pyongyang. Weeks later, Trump had his first, historic meeting with Kim Jong Un in June in Singapore, but little tangible progress has been made on a vague denuclearization agreement crafted at that summit. No details have been released about how denuclearization could occur.

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Donald Trump’s personal attorney is denying that the president told his former legal fixer, Michael Cohen, to lie to Congress about the details of a Trump business proposal in Russia.

Rudy Giuliani says in a statement that “Any suggestion— from any source— that the President counseled Michael Cohen to lie is categorically false.” Giuliani is responding to a Buzzfeed News report saying that Trump directed Cohen to lie to Congress.

The report was based on information from two law enforcement officials with direct knowledge of special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. The officials are not named in the story.

The report says Cohen said Trump directed him to lie and investigators have additional documents and testimony backing that up.

 

 

CHICAGO (AP) — A relative of Laquan McDonald has been allowed to read a victim impact statement from the slain black teen’s perspective, saying Chicago police officer Jason Van Dyke killed his grandnephew without provocation.

Reading from a prepared text in the first person as Laquan McDonald on Friday, the Rev. Marvin Hunter said, “I am a 17-year-old boy” and “I am unable to speak in my own voice” because officer Jason Van Dyke “thought he would become judge, jury and executioner.

He added, “My death has brought inconsolable pain to my mother and my sister … my family. … He has not just destroyed my life but the life of his wife and children.”

In asking for a stiff sentence for Van Dyke, he said: “Why should this person who ended my life forever … who has never asked for forgiveness … be free when I am dead for forever?”

Van Dyke was convicted in October of second-degree murder and 16 counts of aggravated battery — one for each time he shot McDonald.

 

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (puh-LOH’-see) is accusing the White House of leaking information about her planned congressional trip to Afghanistan and saying it’s “very irresponsible on the part of the president.”

Pelosi’s comments Friday came after President Donald Trump canceled the military plane that was to have carried a congressional delegation to Afghanistan on the previously undisclosed troop visit. Trump suggested she travel by commercial plane instead.

Pelosi said she planned to do just that but was thwarted after “the administration leaked that we were traveling commercially.” She says the State Department reported “the president outing” the original trip made the scene on the ground in Afghanistan “more dangerous because it’s a signal to the bad actors that we’re coming.”

The White House has denied leaking Pelosi’s backup plan to fly commercially and says it leaked nothing that would cause a security risk.

Pelosi and Trump are at an impasse over funding Trump wants for a U.S.-Mexico border wall. The partial government shutdown has reached its 28th day.