CSi Weather…

.TONIGHT…Partly cloudy with chance of showers and slight chance of thunderstorms. Lows in the low 60s. Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph shifting to the south after midnight. Chance of precipitation , 30 percent in the Jamestown area, 40 percent in the Valley City area.

.SATURDAY…Sunny with a 20 percent chance of showers and

thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 80s. South winds 5 to 15 mph.

.SATURDAY NIGHT…Partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 60s. South

winds 5 to 10 mph.

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

thunderstorms. Highs in the lower 90s. South winds 5 to 10 mph.

.SUNDAY NIGHT…Partly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of showers

and thunderstorms. Lows around 70.

.MONDAY…Mostly sunny with a 20 percent chance of showers and

thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 80s.

.MONDAY NIGHT…Partly cloudy. Lows in the mid 60s.

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

 

.TUESDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy with chance of showers and slight

chance of thunderstorms. Lows in the mid 60s. Chance of

precipitation 40 percent.

.WEDNESDAY…Mostly sunny with a 20 percent chance of showers and

thunderstorms. Highs in the mid 80s.

.WEDNESDAY NIGHT…Partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of

showers and thunderstorms. Lows in the mid 60s.

.THURSDAY…Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 80s.

 

Isolated thunderstorms, possibly strong to severe, are possible
Friday night.

There are chances for thunderstorms Saturday through Wednesday. A
few storms could be severe during this period. However,
uncertainty in details remains.

 

Update…

Jamestown (CSi)  Due to wet conditions at Jamestown Regional Airport, the planned Drag Races have been postponed this weekend, Jul 13, 14.

An organizer Brian Kamlitz reports in his Facebook account,  “Unfortunately we have to make the tough call to POSTPONE the races. Due to 3” of rain we received early in the week and the everlasting wet spring, the only access road into the race site is extremely soggy and we cannot go around the water as it is too close to the main runway. We are working with the airport to find a suitable rain date. Please stay tuned for further updates! Thank you to everyone for your patience and understanding! Those who pre-registered, we will be in contact with you!”

 

Jamestown  (CSi)  The Jamestown Branch of the American Association of University Women will  be hosting its 30th Jamestown Garden Tour on Wednesday, July 17th, from 4 p.m. – 8 p.m.

On Friday’s Wayne Byers Show on CSi Cable 2, Spokesperson, Kelly Krein daid, featured gardens this year include those of Connie Kanwischer, 1601 10th Ave NE;  Don & Karen Schumacher, 3321 Highway 20 North; Yvonne Wibstad, 306 5th Ave SW;  and Rod & Terri Wolters, 908 13th St SW.

Each garden has its own unique design and lay out.

 

Advance tickets are $10.00 and may be purchased now  at The Arts Center; Don’s House of Flowers, Country Gardens Floral, Comfort, The AAUW Used Bookstore and Lloyds Toyota.  AAUW members will also have tickets for sale. Ticket cost is $12  the day of the tour.  Tickets may be purchased at the ticket outlets until 3PM on tour day and after that will be available only at The Arts Center or the AAUW Used Bookstore.  During the tour hours they may also be purchased at the different tour locations.

Refreshments will be served at The Arts Center, 213 2nd St NW, from 5:30-8 PM.

Tour participants will have an opportunity to view the Walter Piehl exhibit while there.

Tour tickets turned in at the Arts Center with all the sites checked will be eligible for door prizes.

Proceeds from the garden tour support the AAUW Educational Foundation,  and the

AAUW Endowment Fund at the University of Jamestown.

For more information, call Kelly Krein at 252-4690 or 4107. Go to the AAUW website

http://jamestown-nd.aauw.net for maps and directions.

 

Valley City  (CSi) The Valley City community is invited to a ribbon  cutting ceremony,  on Thursday July 18, at 3-p.m., celebrating the Permanent Flood Protection Projects  in Valley City.

The location will be on Main Street near the City Park footbridge

Invited to the celebration are, North Dakota Lt. Governor Brent Sanford and other dignitaries including Valley City officials.

 

Valley City  (Chamber)  The Valley City Location of the Driver’s License office has moved.

On Friday’s Wayne Byers Show on CSi Cable 2, Valley City Chamber of Commerce Event Coordinator, Mikayla Gustafson said, the location is now, 271 Winter Show Road, at the Grandstay Hotel.

The office is staffed by the Jamestown Driver’s License on the first and third Wednesday of each month.

She added that the new location has updated, more efficient equipment to process driver’s licenses.

 

Jamestown  (CSi)  The Stutsman County Redesign Subcommittee on Social Service Zoning will meet to discuss the Social Service Redesign and Zoning requirements. The meeting will be held Tuesday, July 16, 2019 at 2:30 pm. in the Commission Room at the Stutsman County Courthouse, 511 2nd Ave SE, Jamestown, ND 58401. County-related business will be discussed.

Also, The Stutsman County Subcommittee on Social Service Zoning will meet with members of the Barnes County Subcommittee on Social Service Zoning regarding zoning opportunities between Stutsman County and Barnes County Social Services. The meeting will be held Thursday, July 18, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. in the Commission Room at the Stutsman County Courthouse, 511 2nd Ave SE, Jamestown ND 58401. County-related business will be discussed.

 

Update…Pilot ID

HAWLEY, Minn. (AP) — The pilot who died in an ultra-light plane crash at a municipal airport was from western Minnesota.Authorities identified the man as 69-year-old Bradley Gibb of Vergas.The plane crashed after noon on Thursday at Hawley Municipal Airport. Clay County Sheriff Mark Empting says Gibb was the only person aboard and died at the scene.Empting says the plane started on fire after the crash. A bystander was treated for minor burns after helping the pilot.Airport manager Lisa Jetvig has said the plane crashed south of the airport’s single runway. The Clay County Sheriff’s Office, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating.The airport is west of Hawley (HAW’-lee) on U.S. 10. Hawley is about 22 miles (35 kilometers) east of Moorhead.

 

Update…

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A Colombian national accused of managing an international fentanyl trafficking operation from a Canadian prison has pleaded guilty in federal court.Thirty-eight-year Daniel Vivas Ceron appeared Friday in North Dakota, where the case originated after an 18-year-old Grand Forks resident died of a fatal overdose in January 2015. Authorities say Vivas Ceron also was responsible for overdose deaths in North Carolina, New Jersey and Oregon.Ceron pleaded guilty to three charges, including conspiracy to import controlled substances resulting in serious bodily injury and death. He faces life in prison.More than 30 people, including five Chinese nationals, have been indicted in the case known as “Operation Denial.” U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley of North Dakota says Vivas Ceron and his co-conspirators were “regional, national and international merchants of death.”Charles Stock, Vivas Ceron’s lawyer, declined to comment. 

Update…

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A group has submitted a petition to amend the North Dakota Constitution aimed at allowing citizens to grow and use marijuana.The group submitted a proposed petition to Secretary of State Al Jaeger on Friday.Group chairwoman Jody Vetter of Bismarck says the proposal aims to allow people 21 and over to possess and grow up to a dozen marijuana plants for personal use.Medical marijuana use is legal in North Dakota but Vetter says it’s too restrictive. She says many North Dakotans cannot find a doctor to prescribe it.Supporters of the idea need to collect about 27,000 signatures to get it on the ballot. Vetter says supporters want to get it on the ballot for the June 2020 primary election.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota Republican Gov. Doug Burgum and Senate leaders have chosen a dozen finalists for a voter-approved ethics commission.

Nearly 70 people applied to serve on the five-member panel to oversee the conduct of legislators, statewide officials, candidates and lobbyists.

Burgum, and Republican Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner and Senate Minority Leader Joan Heckaman must agree by consensus on who sits on the panel.

The meeting Friday was the third round of selecting candidates. Another meeting is expected within two weeks to further trim the list.

The 12 finalists are Ward Koeser, Williston; Ron Goodman, Oakes; Cynthia Lindquist, Devils Lake; Paul Richard, Fargo; David Anderson, Bismarck; Bill Knudson, Mandan; Ken Christianson, Fargo; Marilyn Foss, Bismarck; Dan Fuller, West Fargo; Clarice Liechty, Jamestown; Shirley Meyer, Dickinson; and Jeff Risk, Minot.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The North Dakota congressional delegation has introduced legislation to change the name of “Sullys Hill” on the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation to its traditional Dakota name “White Horse Hill.”

The federal government named the national game preserve in 1931 after General Alfred Sully, the commander of cavalry troops who killed hundreds of Native Americans, including ancestors of the Spirit Lake Nation. Because the name was made by an act of Congress, it takes another act to change it.

Sen. Kevin Cramer introduced the legislation in the U.S. Senate. Rep. Kelly Armstrong introduced an identical bill in the U.S. House.

Cramer says the Spirit Lake Tribe does not need a name within their land that reminds them of the atrocities committed against their ancestors.

 

In sports….

VALLEY CITY (VCSU) – Valley City State University athletic director Jill DeVries announced Friday the hiring of Mark Mattson and Barbi Mattson as the new softball coaching staff at VCSU. 

The Mattsons take over the VCSU program after coaching the last seven seasons at Angelina College, an NJCAA Division I school in Lufkin, Texas. Under their leadership, Angelina College won its first ever national championship in 2014, and last season the Roadrunners were national runner-up at the NJCAA Division I level.

Mark takes over as head coach at VCSU, while Barbi has been named associate head coach. VCSU is the third school where the husband and wife have teamed up to lead the softball program, including a stop at North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton, N.D. 

 

In world and national news…

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta is stepping down following criticism of his handling of a plea deal with a wealthy financier Jeffrey Epstein, who is accused of sexually abusing dozens of underage girls.

Trump announced the news with Acosta by his side at the White House as Trump left on a trip to the Midwest.

Acosta says stepping aside was the right decision.

He was the U.S. attorney in Miami when he oversaw a 2008 nonprosecution agreement with Epstein. Epstein avoided federal charges and served 13 months in jail.

Similar charges recently filed against Epstein by federal prosecutors in New York had put Acosta’s role in the 2008 deal under renewed scrutiny.

 

 

Update…

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A voluntary evacuation has been called for a Louisiana parish near Tropical Storm Barry’s expected landfall Saturday.

St. Mary Parish President David Hanagriff says many people have already left areas below the Intracoastal Waterway, where a voluntary evacuation was called Thursday. He says Friday’s voluntary evacuation was called after the storm’s predicted course shifted a bit west, putting the parish on the storm’s rainy eastern side.

Hanagriff says shelters will be opened, though he couldn’t say when.

He says drainage canals and ditches are being pumped to as low a level as possible, to create a reservoir for at least some of the rain predicted. Pumps sent by the state are being staged in Morgan City, where about 10,000 to 12,000 of the parish’s 50,000 to 55,000 residents live.

As Tropical Storm Barry approaches the state’s coast, tourists in New Orleans are being asked to “shelter in place” in their hotels if they don’t have confirmed airline reservations for flights out of the city.

The message came Friday at a news conference by city officials. The director of Louis Armstrong International Airport said long lines formed early Friday as many visitors sought early departures. And Kristian Sonnier (SAWN’-yay) of the local tourism agency, says people who don’t get flights out won’t be able to shelter at the airport.

Officials said one major convention, the annual meeting of Delta Sigma Theta Sorrority was wrapping up early.

The slow-moving storm is prompting fears of flooding in the region. Hurricane warnings are in effect along the Louisiana coast. The storm’s center is expected to come ashore Saturday.

 

 

(AP)  New Orleans residents are warily eying the levees that protect their city from a swollen Mississippi River as Tropical Storm Barry approaches the Gulf Coast.

Never in the modern history of New Orleans has water from the Mississippi River overtopped the city’s levees. That could change this weekend if it turns out forecasters are underestimating the storm’s flooding threat.

On Thursday, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers models weren’t calling for water from the river to rise above New Orleans’ levees. However, Corps spokesman Ricky Boyett said the height of the river levees remains the Corps’ greatest concern with this storm, which could dump 10 to 15 inches (25 to 38 centimeters) of rain on New Orleans through Sunday.

 

 

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — The acting U.S. secretary of defense says Washington is aware that Turkey has begun taking delivery of a Russian-made S-400 air defense system.

Mark Esper, who is expected to be officially nominated next week to be defense secretary, told reporters at the Pentagon that the U.S. remains unwilling to allow Turkey to acquire the U.S. F-35 stealth fighter, as long as it has the S-400.

Esper said he planned to speak to his Turkish counterpart later in the day, and that the Pentagon would have more to say about the dispute afterward.

The Trump administration has repeatedly told Turkey that it will be cut off from the F-35 fighter program if it buys Russian air defenses, because the S-400 is incompatible with NATO defenses and could jeopardize sensitive information about F-35 technologies.

 

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump will visit Wisconsin on Friday, one of two Midwest stops as he warms up his re-election engine.

Wisconsin has emerged as a vital testing ground for the president’s hopes to take credit for the strong economy and push for his trade policy.

In 2016, Trump became the first Republican to win the state since Ronald Reagan in 1984, defeating Hillary Clinton by a slim margin.

The state remains starkly divided over the president and appears a toss-up again in 2020

In a troubling sign for Trump’s chances in the state, Democrats swept every statewide office in the 2018 fall elections.

Trump will make two stops in Milwaukee, one a fundraiser, and the other a visit to Derco Aerospace Inc., a subsidiary of aviation giant Lockheed Martin.