Wayne Byers Show – Evening – Mar 14

CSi Weather…

 

.TONIGHT…Increasing clouds. Patchy blowing and drifting snow in
the evening. Windy. Lows in the lower 20s. Northwest winds 20 to
30 mph decreasing to 15 to 20 mph after midnight.
.FRIDAY…Partly sunny. Highs in the mid 20s. Northwest winds
around 15 mph.
.FRIDAY NIGHT…Partly cloudy in the evening, then mostly cloudy
with a 20 percent chance of snow after midnight. Lows 10 to 15.
West winds 5 to 10 mph shifting to the southwest after midnight.
.SATURDAY…Mostly cloudy. Highs in the lower 30s. West winds
5 to 10 mph.
.SATURDAY NIGHT…Decreasing clouds. Lows around 15. West winds
around 10 mph.
.SUNDAY…Mostly sunny. Highs around 30.
.SUNDAY NIGHT…Partly cloudy. Lows 10 to 15.
.MONDAY…Mostly sunny. Highs around 30.
.MONDAY NIGHT…Partly cloudy. Lows 15 to 20.
.TUESDAY…Partly sunny. Highs in the mid 30s.
.TUESDAY NIGHT…Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 20s.
.WEDNESDAY…Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 30s.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT…Mostly clear. Lows around 20.
.THURSDAY…Sunny. Highs in the upper 30s.

The Jamestown Weather Station measured 10 inches of snow from the blizzard.  The peak wind gust was 57 mph

Jamestown (CSi) Ten inches (?) of snow was just too much weight for the awning on a Business Loop West building.   The west end of the building houses the Salvation Army Thrift store.   The collapse was in front of Electronic Doctors today.  More information as this story develops.

Valley City (CSi)  Valley City street crews Thursday were working on clearing Emergency Snow Routes, and around schools, and then will start on the entire city Thursday night.

Garbage in Valley City was being collected , on Thursday where the garbage bins are accessable.

 

Jamestown (CSi) Jamestown City crews will begin the full snow plowing program starting Friday March 15 at 4:00 a.m. beginning with the Emergency routes.

City crews will begin plowing residential areas at 11:00 a.m., Friday, March 15.

Crews will continue work during the night with the Downtown district beginning at 11:00 pm.

City Ordinance Section 25-10 requires that a property owner keep the sidewalk adjoining the property clear of snow and ice. Do not deposit snow or ice on the city street after the city plow has cleared the street. These violations are class B misdemeanors under the general penalty and will result in a fine.

 

PLEASE NOTE:

The above schedule is contingent upon changing weather conditions and snow accumulation totals.

 

From NDHP

What: Property

Where: I-94 mm 142, 6 miles west of Mandan

When: March 14, 2019 at 9:12 a.m.

Road Conditions: No Travel Advisory in effect due to blowing and drifting snow.

Weather Conditions: Windy causing blowing and drifting snow.

Crash Involvement: Vehicle/Vehicle

Type of Crash: Rear-End

Agencies Involved: NDHP

Vehicle No. 1: 2018, Volvo, Truck

Driver No. 1: Roberto Cortez, male, 59 yoa, Highland, CA, Not injured

Restraints: Shoulder and Lap Belt Used

Charges: Careless Driving

Vehicle No. 2: 2010, Mack, Truck (NDDOT Snowplow)

Driver No. 2: Jesse Nelson, male, 37 yoa, Bismarck, ND, Not injured

Restraints: Shoulder and Lap Belt Used

Charges: None

NARRATIVE:

Cortez was traveling westbound on I-94 in the driving lane. NDDOT employee Nelson was engaged in road clearing operations traveling westbound on I-94. Cortez’s vehicle struck the back of the snowplow causing Cortez’s vehicle to enter the median. Neither driver was injured in the crash. A no travel advisory was in effect at the time of the crash.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The North Dakota Legislature has endorsed a major spending plan aimed at rebuilding infrastructure projects outside of the state’s oil patch.

The Senate voted 46-0 on Thursday for the House bill aimed at providing $250 million in every two-year budget cycle for counties, cities and airports in non-oil producing areas.

The proposal by the Legislature’s Republican majority leaders has been called “Operation Prairie Dog.”

The legislation assumes that that oil production and prices will hold at the current levels.

The measure now heads to Gov. Doug Burgum.

 

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota’s Republican-led Legislature has passed a resolution urging Congress to follow the state’s lead and ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Senators passed the House resolution on Thursday.

North Dakota passed a law in 2013 that outlaws abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy, based on the disputed premise that a fetus can feel pain by then.

The Red River Clinic in Fargo is the state’s sole abortion clinic. Officials at the clinic say the ban is unconstitutional but it does not apply to North Dakota because no abortions are performed at the clinic after 16 weeks.

 

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota’s Republican-led Senate has defeated a measure that would outlaw sobriety checkpoints in the state.

Senators voted 36-10 to kill the House bill on Thursday. It would have required “reasonable suspicion for certain traffic stops.”

Bismarck GOP Rep. Rick Becker was the measure’s primary sponsor. He says sobriety checkpoints are ineffective and don’t act as a deterrent.

Opponents of the bill say the checkpoints are effective and probably save lives.

Becker unsuccessfully pushed similar legislation two years ago.

 

 

MINOT, N.D. (AP) — The Ward County State’s Attorney’s Office says it expects to be functioning with only about half of its assigned staff by the end of March, highlighting a prosecutor recruitment and retention problem in western North Dakota.

The Minot Daily News reports that Ward County State’s Attorney Rozanna Larson says her office will have openings in four of its eight assistant attorney positions with the looming departure of an attorney at the end of the month. Larson says the vacancies happen because veteran prosecutors find better pay in larger communities or choose to work in private practice.

Larson says her office plans to hire contract attorneys to fill the staffing void. Contract attorneys would mostly deal with trials for some of the property, traffic and drug offenses.

 

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota’s House has endorsed legislation that would charge owners of electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles an annual fee.

Representatives approved the Senate bill 72-17 on Thursday but with some amendments. It now goes back to the Senate for approval.

Backers of the legislation say all vehicles contribute to wear and tear on the state’s roads and drivers of electric and hybrid vehicles should pay their share.

North Dakota is among 30 states that don’t levy a fee for owners of electric vehicles.

The legislation says owners of electric vehicles would be charged $120 annually. Plug-in hybrid vehicle owners would pay $50 a year.

Owners of electric motorcycles would pay $20 annually.

Data show there are 3,850 hybrids and 141 electric vehicles registered in the state.

MINOT, N.D. (AP) — The Ward County State’s Attorney’s Office expects to be functioning with only about half of its assigned staff by the end of March, highlighting a prosecutor recruitment and retention problem in western North Dakota, officials said.

Rozanna Larson, the Ward County State’s Attorney, said her office will have openings in four of its eight assistant attorney positions with the looming departure of an attorney at the end of the month, the Minot Daily News reported.

“We are just going to have to shift how we are going to attack the cases. My concern is things slipping through the cracks as far as getting out discovery to the defendants,” Larson said. “Our goal is to get it out within a week. I hope that we can still maintain that.”

Larson noted the vacancies happen because veteran prosecutors find better pay in larger communities or choose to work in private practice.

Last month, Larson pleaded with the Ward County Commission to increase the pay of an assistant attorney who was assigned with supervising contract attorneys, she said. The office plans to hire contract attorneys to fill the staffing void. Contract attorneys would mostly deal with trials for some of the property, traffic and drug offenses. Full-time staff would still be handling pretrial work on those cases.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota’s Legislature slightly increased tax collection expectations Thursday for the next two-year budget cycle due to faith in stable oil prices and increased production.

House and Senate appropriation committees predicted general fund tax collections at just under $4 billion, or just $25 million more than what the GOP-led Legislature used as a budgetary starting point in January.

The general fund, which is financed mostly by taxes on sales, income and energy, is spent on an assortment of programs, including education and human services.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Ray Holmberg called the Legislature’s numbers conservative. They will be used to allow lawmakers to finish their work on the state’s 2019-2021 spending plan.

“We’d rather be conservative at this than to get into trouble with it,” he said in an interview.

Slumping oil and crop prices forced the Legislature to re-evaluate spending plans throughout last session. Those shortfalls were plugged by draining a rainy-day fund, massively cutting most government agencies and skimming profits from North Dakota’s state-owned bank.

Democrat Larry Robinson, a member of the Senate appropriations committee, said the budget numbers were far more positive than two years ago.

In sports…

(VCSUVikings.com)- VCSU junior Jorun Hamre has been named the North Star Athletic Association Baseball Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday.

North Star Athletic Association Baseball Player-of-the-Week
Jorun Hamre – Valley City State (N.D.) – 6’3″ – Junior – Outfield – Leonard, N.D. – Hamre recorded four multi-hit games as Valley City State (N.D.) posted a 2-4 record for the week in Tucson (Ariz.) Invitational Games. He batted .550 (11-of-20 at the plate) and registered a slugging percentage of .800 (two doubles, home run and eight singles). Hamre also drove in seven runs, including four RBIs versus North Central (Minn.). He hit a home run versus Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.).

 

Valley City  (VCSUVikings.com)- A record start has led to a record national ranking for the Valley City State University softball team.

The Vikings are ranked No. 11 in the nation with the release of the first 2019 NAIA Softball Top 25 Coaches’ Poll on Tuesday. It is the highest national ranking in program history as the Vikings moved up 14 spots from their preseason No. 25 ranking.

Valley City State started the season with a school-record 15 straight wins and currently holds a 20-1 overall record. The Vikings are one of just four teams in the nation that have reached 20 wins already. VCSU has wins against two teams in this week’s poll: No. 23 St. Francis and No. 25 University of Jamestown.

So far this season, the Vikings are outscoring their opponents 160-39, averaging almost eight runs per game while allowing less than two. VCSU’s 1.54 team ERA ranks 11th in the nation, and Viking pitchers have struck out a nation-leading 167 batters. The Vikings rank 10th in the country with a .970 fielding percentage, and their team batting average of .367 ranks 13th.

VCSU has two games left on its spring trip to Tucson, Ariz., this week. Following that, the Vikings are scheduled to start conference play March 23-24 against Dakota State University.

 

In world and national news..

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump has one thing to say after the Republican-led Senate voted to block his national emergency declaration for border wall funding: “VETO!”

Trump tweeted the one-word response Thursday after the Senate voted 59-41 in favor of a resolution to block the measure. A total of 12 Republicans voted with Democrats to rebuke the president.

 

 

LONDON (AP) — British lawmakers have voted to delay Brexit, just 15 days before the country is scheduled to leave the European Union.

The House of Commons voted 413-202 Thursday in favor of seeking to postpone the U.K.’s departure for at least three months beyond the scheduled March 29 departure from the EU. The number in favor was raised to 413 after being announced earlier as 412 in the chamber.

The motion commits Prime Minister Theresa May’s Conservative government to seek an extension until June 30 if Parliament approves a U.K.-EU withdrawal deal next week.

British lawmakers have already rejected May’s EU divorce deal twice and if it fails a third time, the government says the U.K. is looking at a much longer delay to Brexit.

Any extension to Brexit has to be approved by all 27 remaining EU countries.

 

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says the ongoing debate in Britain over leaving the European Union is “tearing the country apart.”

Trump says he’s “surprised at how badly” it’s been handled and that he thinks an agreement to leave the EU could have been negotiated better. Trump, who sees himself as a master deal-maker, says he gave advice to British Prime Minister Theresa May but that she didn’t listen to him.

British lawmakers were to decide Thursday whether to seek a delay to Brexit, which is currently scheduled for March 29.

May grudgingly granted the vote after Parliament twice rejected her proposed EU divorce deal

Trump commented as he welcomed Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar to the White House for an early St. Patrick’s Day celebration. The day falls on Sunday.

 

 

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The University of Rhode Island says its athletic director called Georgetown University’s athletic director this year before hiring a tennis coach now implicated in a college admissions scheme and received a positive recommendation.

Court documents allege Gordon Ernst was paid more than $2.7 million and designated at least 12 applicants as recruits, facilitating their admission to Georgetown.

Georgetown spokeswoman Meghan Dubyak said this week that Ernst has not coached there since 2017 after an investigation found he violated university admissions rules.

URI said in a statement Thursday that its athletic director contacted Georgetown in July. URI spokesman Dave Lavalee says the university was not told about the 2017 admission rules violations.

The statement also says URI also reached three out of four of Ernst’s references, who gave him positive recommendations, and a background check showed no criminal history.

Ernst was hired in Rhode Island in August. He has been placed on administrative leave.