CSi Weather…

.TONIGHT…Cloudy. A 30 percent chance of rain after midnight in the Jamestown area. Lows in the upper 30s. Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph.

WEDNESDAY…Cloudy. Chance of rain in the morning, then rain in the afternoon. Highs in the lower 40s. Northeast winds 5 to 10 mph.

Chance of showers 80 percent.

 

.WEDNESDAY NIGHT…Cloudy. Rain in the evening, then chance of

rain possibly mixed with snow after midnight. Lows in the mid

30s. North winds around 5 mph. Chance of showers 90 percent.

.THURSDAY…Mostly cloudy. Highs in the upper 40s. North winds

around 5 mph.

.THURSDAY NIGHT…Decreasing clouds. Lows in the mid 30s.

.FRIDAY…Mostly sunny. Highs in the upper 50s.

.FRIDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy with chance of rain showers and

slight chance of thunderstorms. Lows in the mid 40s. Chance of

precipitation 50 percent.

.SATURDAY…Partly sunny with a 30 percent chance of rain

showers. Highs in the upper 50s.

.SATURDAY NIGHT…Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 40s.

.SUNDAY…Partly sunny. Highs in the lower 50s.

.SUNDAY NIGHT…Partly cloudy. Lows in the upper 30s.

.MONDAY…Sunny. Highs in the mid 50s.

 

Temperatures will be cold enough Wednesday morning for snow or a rain/snow mix, where precipitation will develop first. Light snow

accumulations of up to around an inch on grassy surfaces.

Precipitation will continue Wednesday evening before ending from

west to east overnight.

Temperatures may cool enough for snow to mix in before the

precipitation ends. This may result in around half an inch of snow

accumulation on grassy surfaces.

Precipitation will linger from the Turtle Mountains south into the James River Valley Saturday afternoon.

Sunday through Tuesday dry. Highs will be in the 50s Sunday, then 60s to around 70 Monday and Tuesday.

 

Valley City  (CSi)  The Valley City Commission met in Regular Session Tuesday evening at City Hall.  All members were present.

APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS:

Monthly Reports from the Fire Chief, Building Inspector, Auditor, Municipal Judge and Public Works Accountant.

Monthly Bills for the City and Public Works in the Amount of $1,859,455.08

Raffle Permit for St. Catherine School

Block off a Street Request by Connect Church for Trunk-or-Treat on October 31, 2019 from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM on Central Avenue S from 3rd Street to 4th Street.

PUBLIC COMMENTS:  No One Spoke

PUBLIC HEARING

For the Issuance of Class B On-Sale and Off-sale Beer License& Class C On-Sale and off-sale Liquor License to Jeremy Tjon dba The Club House, the former American Legion location.

City Auditor Richter said the application was in order and the fee was paid.  City Attorney Martineck said the transfer of license is from Class A to Class B and C occurs  when the ownership changes.   It was stated that veterans activities will continue at the location.  The previous license suspension will no longer be in affect.

Following the Public Hearing, City Commissioners voted to approve, contingent on seeing the transfer of ownership documentation before the Issuance of Class B & C Licenses to Jeremy Tjon dba The Club House.

Approved was the second and final reading of the 2020 Annual Budget Ordinance.  City Auditor Richter  said a public hearing was held and the First Reading was held, with no opposition and no changes. Commissioner Powell voted in opposition.

Approved was first reading of an ordinance to adopt the Valley City Municipal Code and repeal all ordinances previously adopted with certain exceptions.   The approval will end the recodification process.

NEW BUSINESS

Approved a Gaming Site Authorization for North Dakota Winter Show at North Dakota Winter Show Event Center on December 6, 2019 and at Valley City Eagles Aeries 2192 on December 7, 2019.  City Auditor Richter said this is for the North Star Classic event.

CITY ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT:

David Schelkoph said during this Energy Efficiency  Month each Valley City resident will receive a two energy Saving LED light bulbs, including eligibility for rebates.  He said if all 7,000 residents use the bulbs it saves 350KW of  electrical energy.

He said over $50 million have been earmarked for the Permanent Flood Control project, which will mean 275,000 fewer sandbags that will be needed in another flood event.

He added that stemming from the  manufacturer failing to send the city appropriately configured light poles the city provided in drawings, the street lighting project on Central Avenue has been delayed, pending receiving the replacements…. part of the  Streetscape Phase I project.

 

CITY UPDATES & COMMISSION REPORTS

KLJ reported that six new traffic control lights will be installed next week.

Fire Chief Scott Magnuson said next week is Fire Prevention Week, and the Valley City Fire Department will host an Open House on Sunday, October 6, from 2-p.m., until 5-p.m

It was noted that winter parking restrictions are now in effect in downtown Valley City.

Mayor Carlsrud thanked the public for their continuing patience during the street project work.

The meeting was shown live on CSi Cable 68 followed by replays.

 

Valley City  (CSi)  The Barnes County Commission has extended the deadline to  mow ditches  on or before October 7, because of  wet weather conditions.

Highway Roads Superintendent Kerry Johnson says the hay bale removal deadline has been extended to October 31.

The previous deadline was October 1.

Failure to comply with the new 2019 deadlines will result in the cost of mowing or hay bale removal being charged to the Barnes County Landowner.

Mowing along the slope and ditch bottom must have a maximum stubble height of 4 inches. The width of cut shall be as such that no weeds or grasses will extend higher than the shoulder of the road.

 

Jamestown  (CSi)  The summer of 2019 was great for tourism in Jamestown, that according to Jamestown Tourism Director, Searle Swedlund.

On Tuesday’s Wayne Byers Show on CSi Cable 2, Searle pointed out that the National Buffalo Museum recorded an 85 percent increase in admissions so far this year, adding that gift shop sales also increased.  He said the Museum successfully leverages its resources.

 

 

Other sites in Jamestown continue to attract tourists, such as an increase in visitors last summer at Fort Seward, which is planning to added four tents to the grounds and Civil War historic displays are in the planning stages.

 

 

 

Searle added Jamestown continues to offer successful and unique visitor opportunities, such as the 1883 Stutsman County Courthouse, which plans to offer additional visitor experiences such as adding equipment, and period clothing, to highlight the 1883 Courthouse as “a center for government.”

He said the trails at Jamestown Reservoir will see improvements, anticipated next spring.

Searle pointed out that making the visitors experience, “unique,” draws more tourists, and possibly creating a longer stay in town.

 

He added the gate count at Frontier Village was down less than five percent last summer. He said that Frontier Village has been approached to make its visitors experience more unique, and “come alive,” while generating resources.

He said the Village’s structures are in need of major repairs, and funding from tourism most likely will not be able to provide the needed capital for updating the buildings.

At the October 17 tourism meeting, grant requests will be heard under the Promotion Capital Construction Fund.

Those include from Jamestown Parks and recreation for addition funding for improvements to the Jack Brown Stadium’s bleacher seating, which was partially funded in the March 1 grant request.

He said Ft. Seward to request a grant for four tents at the grounds and for Civil War displays.

The 1883 Stutsman County Courthouse will request funds for items in an effort to become a “center for government.”

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Two women accused of damaging valves and setting fire to construction equipment along an oil pipeline that crosses Iowa and three other states have been indicted on federal charges in the case.

Federal prosecutors for Iowa said Tuesday that a grand jury on Sept. 19 indicted Jessica Reznicek and Ruby Montoya on nine counts each, including conspiracy, use of fire in the commission of a felony and malicious use of fire.

The women claimed in a statement they released in 2017 that they had burned construction machinery, cut through pipe valves with a torch and set fires with gasoline, rags and tires along the Dakota Access pipeline route. The $3.8 billion pipeline crosses North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois.

It was not clear whether the women yet have attorneys. Publicly-listed phone numbers for the women could not be found Tuesday.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The proposed presidential library for Theodore Roosevelt in western North Dakota now has a CEO.

The board of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum voted Tuesday to appoint Edward F. O’Keefe to lead the organization.

Gov. Doug Burgum calls O’Keefe “the best person” to take the proposed library “to the next level.”

O’Keefe is a North Dakota native who is writing a book on Roosevelt, who spent more than three years in North Dakota in the 1880s.

Burgum has made the library a top priority of his administration. State legislators in April approved $50 million to operate the library, but that must be matched by $100 million in private money.

O’Keefe will join Burgum and Interior Secretary David Bernhardt along with Sens. John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer on a tour of Medora on Thursday.

 

In world and national news..

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ukraine’s president says no one explained to him why U.S. military aid to his country was delayed.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told reporters Tuesday that he stressed the importance of the military aid repeatedly in discussions with President Donald Trump, but “it wasn’t explained to me” why the money didn’t come through until September.

The Office of Management and Budget staff said the $250 million in funding had been delayed because Trump was consulting with his national security team about it.

While delaying the aid, Trump asked the Ukrainian leader in a July phone call to “look into” his Democratic rival Joe Biden.

Zelenskiy insisted Tuesday that “it is impossible to put pressure on me.” He also said he has never met or spoken with Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani, who has pushed for an investigation into Biden’s son Hunter, who was on the board of a Ukrainian gas company.

 

 

HONG KONG (AP) — Pro-Beijing protesters have scuffled briefly with a small group of pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong as the latter began to march on the 70th anniversary of the founding of communist China.

The 7:30 a.m. march Tuesday was the start of what is expected to be a day of protests in the semiautonomous Chinese city.

The protesters marched as the government was holding an annual ceremony to mark the anniversary of Communist Party rule.

Police lined up to try to keep the two groups apart, but some minor scuffles ensued. Two pro-Beijing protesters were arrested.

The Hong Kong protests come as China prepares to mark the anniversary in Beijing with a major military parade and festivities.

 

 

DALLAS (AP) — Attorneys representing the family of a black man killed in his own apartment by a white Dallas police officer called a guilty verdict in the case “a huge victory.”

Attorney Lee Merritt, who represents the family of Botham Jean, says Tuesday’s verdict against Amber Guyger is “a signal that the tide is going to change here.”

A jury in Dallas convicted Guyger on Tuesday of murder for the September 2018 death of Jean.

Guyger testified that she entered Jean’s apartment by mistake and killed him, thinking he was an intruder in her home.

Another Jean family attorney, Ben Crump, called the victim “a near perfect person of color” but said that shouldn’t be a requirement for people of color to get justice in the United States.

A gag order for prosecutors and defense attorneys and witnesses remains in effect until after Guyger’s sentencing, which is expected to begin later Tuesday.

 

 

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Republican congressman Mark Amodei of Nevada stars in a cautionary tale about how a supporter of President Donald Trump can land in hot water when discussing the House impeachment inquiry.

Last Friday in a call with reporters, the Reno-area congressman was asked what he thought of the probe. He said it should be “put through the process and see what happens.” That was widely interpreted as an endorsement of the investigation.

Within an hour or so, Amodei was explaining himself to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and drawing angry Facebook posts from angry Republicans. Amodei tried to tamp down the fury by saying he doesn’t support impeachment.

Other Republicans facing questions about impeachment likely took note of Amodei’s predicament and the rocky road ahead in a highly charged partisan environment.