Wayne Byers Show – Evening – Nov 21

CSi Weather…

TONIGHT…Clear. Lows 15 to 20. Southwest winds 5 to 10 mph.

.FRIDAY…Sunny. Highs in the upper 30s. Southwest winds 10 to 15 mph.

.FRIDAY NIGHT…Mostly clear. Lows in the mid 20s. West winds 15 to 20 mph.

.SATURDAY…Mostly sunny. Highs around 40. West winds 10 to

20 mph.

.SATURDAY NIGHT…Increasing clouds. Lows in the upper 20s.

.SUNDAY…Mostly sunny. Highs in the mid 40s.

.SUNDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy. Lows in the upper 20s.

.MONDAY…Partly sunny. Highs in the upper 30s.

.MONDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow.

Lows in the lower 20s.

.TUESDAY…Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow. Highs

in the lower 30s.

.TUESDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of snow.

Lows 15 to 20.

.WEDNESDAY…Partly sunny. A 20 percent chance of snow in the

afternoon. Highs in the mid 20s.

Jamestown (CSi)  The Frontier Village Association Board met Thursday morning at 9-a.m., at City Hall in Jamestown.

Members present were:  President Melody Mittleider, Secretary/Treasurer Tina Busche, JoAnn Herrick, and Sean Syverson, along with Executive Director Nichole Mosolf.  It was agreed between the FVA, and Jamestown City Attorney to allow the three members vote as a quorum, as the FVA by-laws state that five “yes” votes would be needed to approve a motion.

The board voted to Quit Claim Deed all items at Frontier Village to the City of Jamestown, and terminate interest in the lease agreement with the City of Jamestown.

The FVA Board to Authorize Tina Busche, as Secretary/Treasurer to access the FVA Bank account, and to pay any and all remaining expenses of Frontier Village.

Jamestown Tourism Executive Director Searl Swedlund indicated to the Tourism  board that Thursday’s action by FVA will conclude the interests of the City of Jamestown and Jamestown Tourism.

He added that,  “The community clearly stated some weeks back a desire for artifacts to remain in Jamestown. This is the legal response that officially states that ownership will go to the City of Jamestown. How the Frontier Village Association proceeds as a 501c3 is not our concern.”

He said Jamestown Tourism will begin work with the City of Jamestown to start to identify the ownership of artifacts, an issue that arose when the Frontier Village Association expressed interest to move the collection to Minnesota.

At Thursday’s Tourism Grant Executive Board Meeting, the board voted 3-0  to  have Tourism request the City Of Jamestown to free up $15,000 from the Capital Construction Promotion Fund as  matching dollars for a Grant Request to the State Historical Society, to assist in funding toward the future of Frontier Village, as a short-term solution to the immediate situation.  Board embers at the Tourism meeting included President Matthew Woods, Paulette Ritter, and Frank Balak.

There currently is $50,000 available in the Capital Construction Promotion Fund.

 

Jamestown  (CSi)  The Jamestown Tourism Grant/Executive Advisory Board met in Regular Session on Thursday November 21, at 11:30 a.m. at the CSi Technology Center, at Historic Franklin School.

Members Present: Board President, Matthew Wood, Paulette Ritter, and Frank Balak.

GRANT REQUESTS INCLUDED FROM:

Stutsman County Fair Board – Wayfinding Sign

NAIA Women’s Wrestling Invitational

Buffalo City Tournament Association – Pool Tournament

 

A request for funds from the Stutsman County Fair Board was for a Wayfinding Sign, was for $800, with the sign to be placed at 5^th Street Northwest, at the Tennis Courts.

The Grant was approved  in the full amount of $800.

The NAIA Women’s Wrestling Tournament request was for $10,000 for marketing the tournament to be held at the University of Jamestown, March 13 and 14, 2020.

336 student athletes are expected to participate, with the tournament a U.S. Olympic qualifying event.

Sean Johnson said this second year of the tournament in Jamestown is the first year of the two year extension, at UJ.

The economic impact of the two day tournament is estimated at $200,000.

The Board approved granting the full amount requested.

The Buffalo City  Tournament Association was represented by Rory Hoffmann.

Requested was $1,000 for the Buffalo City Shootout, Pool Tournament to be held January 24, 25, 2020  in Jamestown.  The Shootout is postponed until April of 2020 due to a conflict in scheduling the tournament at a local hotel.   However he said a “Downtowner,” tournament will still be held on January 24, and 25, 2020 at various bars, and the Gladstone Inn & Suites.  The April event will be held at the Quality Inn in Jamestown.

Other funding sources included sponsor tables, at $2,000, and $400 for a raffle during the tournament.

The economic impact is estimated at $29,750.

The Grant/Excutive Board approved the $1,000 request.

Fort Seward Wagon Train Marketing  request on the agenda was delayed until next month, pending additional information.

EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING:

Declaration of Conflict of Interest…none stated

Financial Report – was given by Searle Swedlund.  He said the third quarter Hospital Taxes received were in line with what was anticipated.

The Tourism Report was given by Searle Swedlund.  He said the Jamestown Rural Fishing Tourney was cancelled due to unsafe ice conditions this winter on the reservoirs.  He added the Rural Fire Department has indicated that it would still like to use the previously allocated tourism grant, when it has plans developed.   The fire department will return to a tourism meeting with more information.

It was pointed out that other events are still planned including raffle drawings.

Searle also said the Louis L’Amour video project is still be planned, and the Trail Builders is on track.

Ex-Officio Report:

Pam Phillips representing the Jamestown City Council gave informational updates on the Frontier Village, City of Jamestown negotiations, and the “Road Diet,” downtown traffic pattern changes.

She noted that there will be designated pedestrian crossings as part of the plan.

Executive Director Review was held with board approving of Searle Swedlund’s work, and voted to grant a salary increase of three percent, and to accelerate his leave time by one year, effective in 2020.

The board approved Annual Bonus for Staff, with Swedlund receiving $1200, and Manager Allison Limke receiving a $500 bonus.

Jamestown  (CSi)  The Jamestown City Council met in Special Session on Thursday evening at City Hall.  All members were present.

The Council  approved the plans and specifications for demolition of 1100 Railroad Drive and authorize the advertisement for bids. The building collapsed due to heavy snow accumulations on the roof, last winter.

The City Council discussed, the $85,714.29 in-kind community commitment to the BND Community PACE program loan and the state’s contribution of $200,000 the interest buydown, $285,714.29 being the tax abatement previously approved by the City of Jamestown,  for the student housing portion of UJ Place on the University of Jamestown Campus, and authorize the city administrator, the mayor and the city attorney to execute the instruments on behalf of the City of Jamestown.  The City Council voted to approve.

Approved  was terminating, by creating a new ATM lease agreement at the Jamestown Civic Center.

The City Council was approved a Quit Claim Deed, for Block 7, Jamestown College Subdivision.

The meeting was shown live on CSi 67 followed by replays.

Jamestown  (CSi)   The Jamestown City Council’s, Police & Fire, and Public Works Committees met Thursday evening at City Hall.

POLICE & FIRE COMMITTEE:

An update was given on the Jamestown City Fire Department’s ladder truck.  Mayor Heinrich said the city continues to work on finding funding, for the purchase or other means to obtain a replacement truck which is currently not usable.

PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE

A Presentation was given by Ben Aaseth, of Interstate Engineering, of the NDDOT Main Street Road Diet project, including the timeline, purpose, area, scope, amenities, improvements and next steps.

He said the public comment period is over, with a report on the comments sent to the NDDOT.

He indicated a majority of the public comments indicated the traffic signal elimination proposal was not a favorable move in the proposed plan.

He pointed out specifics that will need to be considered for alternatives.

Mayor Heinrich said the project will continue, based on the NDDOT recommendations.

He said it would cost the city as much dollar wise to stop the project as to accept it.

Bids for the project will be let, in the near future.

(See Public Presentation)

Discussion was held concerning the Jamestown Snow Emergency routes.  Travis Dillman from Interstate Engineering said, minor changes are indicated with better representation based on the effort it takes to remove the snow.  It was pointed out that if the Road Diet plan is approved, Main Street snow will need to be wind rowed to the center and then hauled away. The map on the city’s web site will be updated.

Considered was the 2021-2024 NDDOT Urban Roads and Urban Regional State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) list.  Items include a Highway 20 mill and overlay in town, and reconstructing an area of business loop west, starting from the base of Mill Hill where the concrete pavement ends.  Also on the list is construction of an overpass in town.  A ranking process determines the priorities, with considerations coming from the city.

City officials will discuss recommendations at next month’s Public Works Committee meeting for consideration at the January City Council meeting.

Discussion was held concerning the elimination of the I-94 exit 257, which would also eliminate the on ramp there.  The Land Use and Transportation Plan includes the elimination of the exit. The City is on record to keep the exit open.  A 17^th Street overpass has been suggested if the exit is eliminated at the city’s cost of several million dollars.  It would also entail improving the frontage road there, and realigning I-94.

INFORMATIONAL:  A Recycling collection update by Ralph Friebel, Recycle North Dakota was passed along.  The public is being informed to leave four feet between the garbage and recycling bins so the automated trucks can utilize the mechanical arms more efficiently.

The meeting was shown live on CSi Cable 67, followed by replays.

 

Jamestown   (CSi)   The 2^nd Act Community Theater  dinner production of Sweeney Todd & Conflict continues,  Nov 21, 22 & 23 at 6:00 pm at The Jamestown Arts Center.

On Thursday’s Wayne Byers Show on CSi Cable 2, Arts Center Director, Mindi Schmitz said,

The 2nd Act players are stretching themselves artistically tackling a double bill of comedies that address the absurd and the macabre equally.

Raymond Hull’s “Sweeny Todd” is a macabre tale of Victorian era murder and mayhem in London. This story has been a part of popular culture since the 19th Century, and has its roots in the melodramatic literature and urban legends of the period.

Next up is Conflict by Wade Bradford. A very amusing explanation of how we crave stories in which the protagonist experiences all kinds of hardship. Conflict is struggle, a quest, a battle, a challenge, a longing, an agony, a goal that seems forever out of our grasp? and we the audience demand it. Enter the cantaloupe!

Click for Tickets or call the office at 701-251-2496.

Jamestown (CSi) Jamestown Public Works reports, the Thanksgiving Holiday Garbage & Recycling Schedule.

Please note that due to the Thanksgiving Day Holiday, there will be NO garbage or recycling collection on Thursday, November 28, 2019.

Wednesday’s & Thursday’s routes will be collected on Wednesday, November 27, 2019. All collection routes begin at 7:00 a.m.

The Baling Facility and the Recycling Center will be CLOSED on Thursday & Friday, November 28 – 29, 2019.

The Baling Facility and the Recycling Center will be OPEN on Saturday, November 30, 2019 during regular business hours.

For further information about residential garbage collection, please call the City Sanitation foreman at 701.320.3126, or contact the City Baler at 701.252.5223.

For further information about recycling, please call the Recycling Center at 701.320.9218 or email info@recyclingnorthdakota.com

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Few people have taken advantage of a policy change that lets people with low-level marijuana convictions in North Dakota petition to have their records wiped clean if they avoid unlawful behavior for five years

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, who pushed for the policy change, estimates as many as 175,000 marijuana convictions over several decades could be eligible.

But records show only about three dozen people have applied to date.

“I’m rather surprised that so few people have applied,” said Stenehjem, who sits on the five-member pardon advisory board. “We will look at ways to get word out.”

Stenehjem, a Republican, said his office may reach out to attorneys statewide urging them to let their clients and former clients know of the change that took effect in July.

The change brought North Dakota in line with other states and cities that have been trying to fix problems that such past convictions have caused for people trying to find jobs and housing.

GOP Gov. Doug Burgum also endorsed the policy change, saying it could help “address our state’s workforce shortage and grow the economy.”

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — Prosecutors have filed five felony charges against a Fargo man accused of shooting at police in a hotel lobby.

Fifty-four-year-old Henry Aiken is jailed in Cass County on $500,000 bond. KFGO reports Aiken has been charged with attempted murder, aggravated assault, terrorizing, reckless endangerment and unlawful possession of a firearm.

Officers were dispatched to the Radisson in downtown Fargo about 4 a.m. Friday on the report of a man with a gun. Officers arrived to find a man with a gun outside of the hotel entrance. He fired one shot at officers and additional shots at the Radisson before entering the lobby where he was quickly taken into custody.

A police sergeant was injured during the incident when he accidentally shot himself in the hand while taking cover.

In world and national news…

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former White House adviser Fiona Hill says she was confident in Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman’s judgment on Ukraine policy, but worried that he lacked the political chops to navigate the increasingly heated conflict over the White House’s strategy.

Hill was the senior director for Russia and Europe on the White House National Security Council. She is testifying in the House impeachment hearings that Vindman, who testified earlier in the week, could handle Ukraine policy.

But, she added, “I did not feel that he had the political antennae” to handle what she described as President Donald Trump’s back channel to pressure Ukraine into investigating the Bidens while military aid was being held up.

Hill, who was born in England, saluted the Soviet-born Vindman as a laudable example of immigrants and American citizens serving their country.

Hill noted the U.S. is a country of immigrants, saying, “This is, to me, what makes America great.”

 

JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has rejected his indictment on an array of corruption charges, saying the country is witnessing an “attempted coup” against him.

In a defiant statement Thursday, Netanyahu said the indictment stemmed from “false accusations” and a systematically “tainted investigation.”

He spoke after the attorney general announced his indictment on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three long-running corruption cases.

Netanyahu was unable to form a government following unprecedented back-to-back elections this year, in part because of his legal woes, and a third vote could be held within months.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A glitch in Medicare’s revamped prescription plan finder can steer unwitting seniors to coverage that costs much more than they need to pay.

People who help with sign-ups and program experts say it can be confusing — and costly — if consumers aren’t careful.

Serving some 60 million Medicare recipients, the plan finder is the most commonly used tool on Medicare.gov and just got its first major update in a decade.

The online system automatically displays the plan with the lowest premium.

But because of out-of-pocket costs like copays, that’s not necessarily the least expensive plan. The difference can amount to hundreds of dollars.

Medicare says it chose to display the premium prominently because it’s a number that consumers understand.

Sign-up season for Medicare prescription drug plans ends Dec. 7.