CSi Weather…

.TONIGHT…Increasing clouds. Lows in the lower 60s. West winds around 10 mph.

.FRIDAY…Partly sunny with chance of showers and slight chance of thunderstorms in the morning, then sunny in the afternoon.

Highs around 80. Northwest winds 5 to 10 mph. Chance of

precipitation 30 percent in the Jamestown area, 20 percent in the Valley City area.

.FRIDAY NIGHT…Mostly clear in the evening, then mostly cloudy

with a 20 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms after

midnight. Lows around 60. West winds around 5 mph.

.SATURDAY…Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 70s. Northwest

winds around 5 mph.

.SATURDAY NIGHT…Partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 50s.

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

and thunderstorms. Highs in the upper 70s.

.SUNDAY NIGHT…Mostly clear. Lows in the upper 50s.

.MONDAY…Sunny. Highs in the upper 70s.

.MONDAY NIGHT…Mostly clear. Lows around 60.

.TUESDAY…Sunny. Highs in the lower 80s.

.TUESDAY NIGHT…Mostly clear. Lows in the lower 60s.

.WEDNESDAY…Sunny. Highs in the mid 80s.

 

There is a slight chance of thunderstorms Thursday afternoon. Any
storm that develops may become strong to severe.

Chances for thunderstorms return to most of western and central
North Dakota this weekend.

 

 

(CSi)  The skies were alive Thursday with wonder when a MV-22 Osprey invaded Jamestown airspace. Jamestown Regional Airport officials report that the pilot was practicing take offs and landing for this weekend’s Fargo Air Show.  (Photos and video at CSiNewsNow.com by Steve Ost)

 

Valley City, N.D. Valley News Live Authorities are investigating a stabbing that sent one man to a Fargo hospital.

The stabbing happened on Wednesday, July 17 in Valley City around 11 p.m.

The news website says the victim is not cooperating with investigators but is expected to be ok.

Anyone with additional information about the stabbing is asked to contact the Valley City police department at 701-845-3110.

Valley News Live has a reporter heading to Valley City and will bring us more information as it becomes available.

 

Jamestown  (CSi)  The Jamestown Tourism Grant/Executive Board met Thursday at the CSI Technology Center, at Historic Franklin School.

Members present included:  Tena Lawrence, Paulette Ritter, and Frank Balak.  Ms. Lawrence conducted the meeting in the absence of Board President, Matthew Woods.

Also in attendance were, Tourism Director Searle Swedlund, and Ex-Offico Member, Pam Phillips, representing the Jamestown City Counci.

At the GRANT BOARD MEETING

Great Plains Housing Authority’s request in the amount of $4,000, was heard for advertising expenses for a concert to be held in Jamestown.

Director, David Klein said, The Community Concert and Regional Services Fair, will host a community concert at the Hansen Arts Park in Downtown Jamestown, on September 18. 2019, to utilize and showcase downtown.

The event also includes a Service Provider Fair, to assist individuals in the region to understand services and contacts available.

Other sources of funding includes Great Plains Housing Authority in the amount of $4,000, High Plains Fair Housing in the amount of $500, and Bank Forward in the amount of $500.

Great Plains Housing Authority has applied for several other grants, and is working with other businesses, to help sponsor the Community Concert, and Services Fair.

He added that the concert will help showcase Downtown Jamestown and that medium sized acts can work for the Hansen Arts Park.  The band Post Traumatic from Fargo has been booked to perform.

GPHA has combined into one to maximize funds and attendance.  Tourism would be encouraged to use footage for tourism purposes.

Kline said the economic impact is estimated at between $6,250 and $7,000, with the estimate attendance of 250- to 300.

Following discussion the Grant Board granted $2,500, in advertising  funding.

The Great Plains Housing Authority serves a five county region.

Kline said the event is in conjunction with a state housing conference to be held at the Civic Center, in Jamestown,  September 7-19, with around 300 participants in attendance, including representatives from the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.

 

At the EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING

The was no Declaration of Conflict of Interest

 

The Financial Report by Taylor Barnes was given by Searle Swedlund, as part of the Tourism report, in Taylor Barnes absence.

He said the “Feed the Buffalo,” drop box for donations for the World’s Largest Buffalo Statue, is still collection funds toward the rehabilitation of the structure.

He said Cavendish Farms of Jamestown was a major sponsor of the July 3rd Public Fireworks display in Jamestown with Jamestown Speedway.  The total cost of funding was $11,000.

 

Ex-Officio Reports:

Pam Phillips representing the Jamestown City Council said the next city 2020 budget with another budget discussion to be held at the Finance and Legal Committee meeting on July 23, with the estimated new revenue projection numbers. The next city budget meeting is planned for Jul 29, at 10-a.m., at City Hall.

The First Reading of the budget to be introduced at the August 5th City Council meeting.

At that time the budget can be reduced but not increased.

The final budget is needed ready for passage by October.

She also said the City Council will further discuss information from the July 16 meeting concerning establishing rates and fees of the Stormwater Utility, at an upcoming, Public Works Committee meeting.

 

NEW BUSINESS

A discussion was held concerning  Staffing Grant Guidelines.

Beginning in 2018, Tourism made staffing decisions based off number of hours the agency was open and multiplied that by a wage set by the board.

Some of the Guidelines include:

Eligible Recipients:

Any agency whose work influences the businesses of Jamestown and meets the mission of Tourism.

Eligible Projects:

Staff Funding: The employment of seasonal/part-time staff for the purpose of hospitality and outstanding customer service at venues in Jamestown and the county.

Applicants will be required to make a brief presentation to Jamestown Tourism to explain their need and answer and questions or concerns.

New applicants must apply 90 days before the start date of the project/event and 30 days before advertising begins.

The board was asked to consider streamlining the process for volunteers managing this grant process.

Does the application address the entities best suited for these grant funds?

At Thursday’s meeting the Grant/Executive Board members in attendance felt that the current guidelines serve the purpose it was designed for, and Swedlund said he may make minor adjustments and bring the proposal back to the board for consideration.

 

Jamestown  (CSi)  The Community is invited to “National Night Out,” on  Tuesday August 6, from 6-p.m., to 9-p.m., at McElroy Park in Jamestown.

The Jamestown Police Department, and the Stutsman County Sheriff’s Office  will be on hand at the Second Annual event, where the community is invited to get to know the local agencies, officials and  residents of the Jamestown/Stutsman County area and support the mission and vision of the law enforcement agencies, to unite and support the community.

There will be activities, hot dogs, and refreshments while they last, plus games music and more.

 

National Night Out is an annual community-building campaign that promotes police-community partnerships and neighborhood camaraderie to make communities safer, more caring places to live.

National Night Out enhances the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement while bringing back a true sense of community.  It Also provides a great opportunity to bring police and neighbors together under positive circumstances.

 

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — More bankers surveyed in parts of 10 Plains and Western states say President Donald Trump’s trade skirmishes are having a negative effect on their local economies.

The Rural Mainstreet survey released Thursday shows the survey’s overall index falling from 53.2 in June to 50.2 this month. Any score above 50 suggests a growing economy, while a score below 50 indicates a shrinking economy.

Creighton University economist Ernie Goss, who oversees the survey, says higher agriculture commodity prices and rebuilding from recent floods helped prop up the region’s economy last month. But he added that nearly 9 of 10 bankers surveyed noted the tariffs’ negative impact on the economy. That’s up from 8 in 10 who said the same thing in September.

Bankers from Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming were surveyed.

 

DICKINSON, N.D. (AP) — A former school administrator in Dickinson who unsuccessfully sued the city after being accused of setting a fire at his workplace has lost his appeal.

An 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel agreed with a district judge that Thomas Sander lacked evidence to prove his case.

The Bismarck Tribune says Sander was accused of setting a fire that extensively damaged Trinity High School in March 2014. Cleanup and repairs were estimated at $20 million.

Sander was charged with felony arson and endangering by fire, but the case was dismissed after a judge ruled police had not read Sander his rights before an interrogation and had coerced some of his statements. Sander sued the city of Dickinson and others for unspecified damages. A district judge ruled Sander lacked sufficient evidence.

 

Update…

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota has sued the federal government to recover the $38 million the state spent policing protests against the Dakota Access oil pipeline.

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem (STEHN’-juhm) says he filed the lawsuit Thursday against the Army Corps of Engineers. He says the agency didn’t respond to an administrative claim he filed one year ago.

The agency did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

Stenehjem says the Corps allowed protesters to illegally camp without a permit on federal land along the Missouri River in southern North Dakota and failed to maintain law and order.

The Corps has said protesters weren’t evicted due to free speech reasons.

The pipeline carries oil from North Dakota through South Dakota and Iowa to a shipping point in Illinois. It began moving oil in 2017.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota’s has received more than 900 new voting machines with enhanced security features to replace equipment that’s 15 years old, state officials said.

Testing of the new equipment, delivered to a warehouse in Bismarck, began this week before the machines are distributed to the state’s 53 counties, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.

Within the next several weeks, electronic poll books will be purchased for each county’s polling locations. This will allow workers to efficiently process voters at the polls when they arrive to cast their ballots, according to a statement from Secretary of State Al Jaeger. Distribution of the new voting system and the training of county election officials will be completed by the end of the year.

North Dakota lawmakers, in their 2019 legislative session, budgeted $8.2 million, along with $3 million in federal funds, to replace the old machines. Election officials say the new tabulating equipment has additional security features to ensure accurate and timely reporting of election results.

The new equipment includes 425 precinct tabulators, or ballot scanners, 425 devices for voters with physical difficulty in marking ballots, and 53 central count machines, for processing absentee and mail ballots.

Morton County Auditor Dawn Rhone is looking forward to new election equipment.

“Thankfully we haven’t had a lot of problems with ours as some counties have, but it’s reassuring that we don’t have to worry about the equipment at this point anymore,” she told the Bismarck Tribune .

Donnell Preskey, a lobbyist for the North Dakota Association of Counties, surveyed county auditors during the recent legislative session and noted 27 ballot scanners that failed in 16 counties in the 2018 primary and general elections.

In sports…

Jamestown  (CSi)  The Jamestown American Legion Post 14 baseball team, regular season champions (12-2)  will be the Number One Seen in the Class ”A” West Division Tournament in Minot.

The Tournament starts July 23, in Minot.

 

In world and national news…

NEW YORK (AP) — Federal prosecutors in New York have decided not to file any additional charges in their investigation of illegal hush money payments orchestrated by President Donald Trump’s lawyer before the 2016 election.

That’s according to two people who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. They were briefed on the decision but were not authorized to speak about it publicly.

Former Trump attorney Michael Cohen pleaded guilty last year to violating campaign finance law by arranging payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels and Playboy centerfold Karen McDougal after they claimed they had affairs with Trump. Trump denies the allegations.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Manhattan revealed Thursday that its investigation into Cohen’s campaign finance violations included an inquiry into whether other people gave false statements or obstructed justice — a broader scope than the office had previously acknowledged.

 

 

NEW YORK (AP) — A U.S. senator and a Florida congresswoman are praising a federal judge’s decision to keep financier Jeffrey Epstein behind bars.

Republican Sen. Ben Sasse, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Oversight Subcommittee, says the judge’s decision Thursday to keep Epstein jailed until trial “wasn’t a close call.” He calls Epstein a “molester” who “stole the innocence of many little girls.”

U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, says the judge “made the right call.”

She says “survivors deserve more answers and true justice” and Epstein “will never spend enough time behind bars.”

The 66-year-old Epstein was arrested on sex trafficking charges on July 6. He has pleaded not guilty.

His defense lawyers left Manhattan federal court Thursday without commenting.

 

TOKYO (AP) — A Japanese fire official says the death toll from the Kyoto Animation studio fire is now 33 and nobody else is believed to be still missing.

Kyoto fire department official Kazuhiro Hayashi says 36 others have been injured, 10 of them critically.

Hayashi says firefighters found the largest number of victims on the top floor of the three-story building, including some who had collapsed on the stairs leading to the roof. Two of the dead were found on the first floor, 11 on the second and 20 on the third floor.

Japanese media reports said the suspect may have set the fire at the front door, forcing people to try to find other exits and slowing their escape.

The outcome makes the case the deadliest fire since a 2001 fire that killed 44 in Tokyo’s Kabukicho entertainment district.

The suspect was injured and is in a hospital.

 

 

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran’s state TV English-language channel has released video of a ship seized by Iranian Revolutionary Guard forces accused of smuggling fuel out of the country.

The Press TV report showed the ship’s registration number on its bridge, matching that of the MT Riah, a UAE-based vessel that turned off its location tracker as it entered Iranian territorial waters early Sunday.

Iranian state media earlier Thursday said a tanker was seized with a crew of 12 aboard for smuggling fuel from Iranian smugglers to foreign customers and was intercepted south of Iran’s Larak Island in the strategic Strait of Hormuz. It did not name the vessel or identify the nationalities of the crew onboard.

A U.S. official had expressed suspicion that the Panamanian-flagged Riah had been seized in Iranian territorial waters.

 

GOMA, Congo (AP) — Authorities say Congolese soldiers and police will enforce hand-washing and fever checks now that the deadly Ebola outbreak has been declared an international health emergency.

The coordinator of the outbreak response at Congo’s health ministry said Thursday that soldiers and police will “force” people who resist taking the key steps to help contain the deadly disease.

Dr. Aruna Abedi spoke to reporters in Goma, the city of more than 2 million people where a first Ebola case in this year-long outbreak was announced early this week. The regional crossroads is on the Rwanda border and has an international airport.

Traffic was flowing normally through the border on Thursday after the World Health Organization’s emergency declaration Wednesday night.

The second-worst Ebola outbreak in history has killed more than 1,600 people.

 

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says President Donald Trump’s attacks on her and three other Democratic congresswomen are putting millions of Americans at risk of physical harm.

The New York Democrat says Trump “put millions of Americans in danger” at a rally in Greenville, N.C., where Trump supporters chanted “send her back” about Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, an immigrant from Somalia.

Ocasio-Cortez told reporters Trump’s “rhetoric is endangering lots of people. This is not just about threats to individual members of Congress, but it is about creating a volatile environment in this country through violent rhetoric that puts anyone, like Ilhan, anyone who believes in the rights of all people in danger and I think that he has a responsibility for that environment.”

Trump claims he “was not happy” when his supporters at a rally Wednesday night in North Carolina chanted “send her back” in reference to Omar. Trump said last weekend that Omar and other progressive Democratic lawmakers of color should leave the country and “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came” over their criticism of his administration.