CSi Weather…

TONIGHT…Cloudy. Chance of flurries in the evening. Patchy fogthrough the night. Lows around 10. Light winds becoming southeast up to 5 mph after midnight.

.TUESDAY…Patchy fog in the morning. Cloudy with a 40 percent chance of snow in the Jamestown area, 50 percent. Highs in the mid 20s. Southeast winds 5 to 10 mph.

.TUESDAY NIGHT…Cloudy. Lows 15 to 20. Southeast winds around

5 mph.

.WEDNESDAY…Cloudy. Highs in the upper 20s. South winds around

5 mph.

.WEDNESDAY NIGHT…Cloudy. Lows 15 to 20.

.THURSDAY…Mostly cloudy. Highs in the upper 20s.

.THURSDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy. A 20 percent chance of snow in

the evening. Lows 15 to 20.

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

afternoon. Highs in the mid 30s.

.FRIDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy with a 30 percent chance of snow.

Lows in the mid 20s.

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

.SATURDAY NIGHT…Mostly cloudy. Lows in the mid 20s.

.SUNDAY…Partly sunny. Highs in the mid 30s.

 

Wednesday night and Thursday, will bring a light mix of rain and

snow with a brief period of freezing rain.

Then by the weekend, highs could reach the 50s across the southwest, to the 30s and 40s central. With good mixing maybe even a few degrees warmer. Moderate to strong winds will accompany the warmup.

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

RESOLUTION Commissioners  discussed a Resolution Declaring Slum and Blighted Area – North Dakota Main Street Program sponsored by South Central Dakota Regional Council.  Valley City/Barnes County Development Director, Jennifer Feist said certain properties within the Main Street Program would have to be designated within the area, for rehabilitation, and is limited to the exterior. A 25 percent requirement is needed of structures within the area, to receive a $160,000 grant, with funds available from CDBG funds.  The deadline to apply is January 31.  After inspection the request will be scored, and buildings will be awarded grants.

No action was taken, with the City Commission to meet Wednesday January 29, at 12:30-p.m.,to review additional information, and take possible action.

The City Commission also discussed a Resolution of Sponsorship – Rocking DD Properties grant application for rehab of 358 North Central Avenue. Diane Hochhalter presented information on the plans for the rehabilitation. City Commission action will be determined, also at the Wednesday meeting at City Hall.

NEW BUSINESS

The City Commission approved the City Administrator job description and authorize advertising for position. City Attorney Martineck said additional educational requirements were added to the description, along with added duties as a Public Information Officer, to pass along city information to the media and the Public.

The meeting was recessed to January 29, at 12:30-p.m.

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

 

Jamestown  (NDFU)  – North Dakota Farmers Union President Mark Watne called a recent U.S. Court of Appeals decision that strikes down ethanol production waivers, “a huge win for family farmers.”

The Tenth Circuit found that the Environmental Protection Agency’s granting of small refinery exemptions to three companies owned by CVR Energy and HollyFrontier were unlawful and exempted them from meeting required levels of biofuel production under the nation’s Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS).

Watne says, “I hope the court’s decision signals an end to EPA’s abuse of the small refinery waiver process. These waivers reduced ethanol production by about 4 billion gallons in three years, destroying demand for corn in the process. This has hurt farm income, the environment, and rural communities.”

Watne says the court ruling stems from a May 2018 challenge brought against EPA by the National Farmers Union, Renewable Fuels Association, National Corn Growers Association, and the American Coalition for Ethanol.

Among their findings, the court held that EPA cannot “extend” exemptions to any small refinery that had a temporary exemption lapse. EPA’s own data showed that a maximum of seven small refineries qualified for continuous extensions. Yet, EPA has granted as many as 35 waivers in a single year.

Additionally, the court found that EPA abused its discretion in failing to explain how the agency could conclude that a small refinery might suffer a disproportionate economic hardship under RFS requirements, when EPA has simultaneously and consistently maintained that costs for RFS compliance credits, or RINS, are passed through and recovered by those same refineries.

Jamestown  (CSi)  Buffalo Bridges Human Service Zone will be holding a board meeting at 10:00 am, Tuesday, February 4, 2020 at 116 1st St E, Jamestown, ND. This meeting is replacing the Barnes County and Stutsman County Social Service Board meetings.

Update…

(AP)  Prosecutors in northeastern North Dakota have charged a 32-year-old woman with murder in the fatal shooting of a 15-year-old boy at her home.

Samantha Wilson of Northwood was charged Monday with murder in the Sunday night shooting. Authorities allege Wilson fired at least one round from a 9 mm pistol, striking the victim in the area of his chest and throat. The boy died at the scene.

His name was not released, but an affidavit identifies the victim as J.B. Those are the same initials as a ninth-grade student, Jonah Borth, at Red River High School in Grand Forks who the principal says died in “a tragic accident.” Wilson is due in court Tuesday.

Previously…

NORTHWOOD, N.D. (AP) — Sheriff’s officials say a 15-year-old boy has been fatally shot in Grand Forks County and a woman has been arrested on suspicion of murder.

Grand Forks County sheriff’s deputies were called to a residence in Northwood about 9:30 p.m. Sunday where the wounded boy was found. He was pronounced dead at the scene despite life-saving measures.

Valley News Live reports, 32-year-old old Samantha Wilson of Northwood was arrested at the residence, for suspicion of murder and contact by bodily fluid.

Wilson is being held at the Grand Forks County Jail.

The North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation is assisting local agencies.

(AP)   A spokesman for North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum says no state money or resources were used for Burgum to attend the annual meeting of the Alfalfa Club and an exclusive party in Washington, D.C., over the weekend. Burgum and his wife, Kathryn Helgaas Burgum, were guests of Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Members of the Alfalfa Cub include some of the wealthiest and most powerful people in the nation. Burgum spokesman Mike Nowatzki tells KFGO-AM that Burgum was “on personal business,” and that no tax dollars or state resources, including the state aircraft, were used for the trip. A state audit in 2018 said the wealthy first-term Republican governor inappropriately used state aircraft for personal travel, something Burgum has denied.

 

In sports…

Valley City  (Karie Bodine-VCSU)  – Valley City State University athletic director Jill DeVries announced Monday that Brigitte Greywater has been named head coach of the VCSU volleyball program.

Greywater currently serves as the head volleyball coach and director of counseling at Lake Region State College. She will start at Valley City State on Feb. 16.

Devries says, “We are excited to have Coach Greywater join the VCSU Viking family.  Brigitte’s leadership and mentorship is well-respected by her student-athletes. She has shown the ability to create and cultivate a successful culture at Lake Region, and I believe her vision for the program and ability to recruit future student-athletes will help the program reach new heights.”

Greywater just completed her eighth season as head coach at LRSC. She was hired as a counselor at Lake Region in 2011, and later that year was named head volleyball coach and tasked with re-starting the Lake Region volleyball program that had been discontinued in 2003.

The Royals resumed play in 2012 and in the program’s second season Greywater guided the Royals to a 29-12 record and an appearance in the 2013 East Sub-Region XIII Tournament Championship. In 2018, the Royals posted a 25-13 record and advanced to the Region XIII semifinals.

Greywater says, “I am excited for the opportunity to be the next head coach for Valley City State University.  VCSU is an excellent place for student-athletes to receive their education. The vision for education and athletics is moving in a great direction, and I am extremely thankful for this opportunity.”

Greywater has 13 years of volleyball coaching experience at the high school, NCAA Div. II, and NJCAA levels. She has also coached softball, track and field, and girls’ basketball at the high school level. Greywater has been coaching at Lake Region State since 2011, when she was tasked with re-starting the volleyball program for the 2012 season.

Greywater is a native of Walhalla, N.D. She earned a psychology degree from Minot State University while competing in volleyball and track and field for the Beavers. She also earned her post-master’s degree as an Educational Specialist in School Psychology from Minot State. Greywater is married to her husband, Sheldon.

Valley City State University is a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) and a conference member of the North Star Athletic Association.

In world and national news…

WASHINGTON (AP) — The publisher of former national security adviser John Bolton’s upcoming book says there was “no coordination” between the timing of a New York Times story that the book would undercut a key defense argument in the Senate impeachment trial, and the book being available for pre-order. Bolton, the book’s publisher, Simon & Schuster, and literary agent Javelin released a statement to that effect Monday. Bolton writes in the forthcoming book that Trump told him he wanted to withhold hundreds of millions of dollars in security aid from Ukraine until it helped him with investigations into his Democratic rival Joe Biden.

 

CALABASAS, Calif. (AP) — Investigators are working on a rugged hillside outside Los Angeles where a helicopter carrying Kobe Bryant and eight others crashed in foggy conditions considered dangerous enough that local police agencies grounded their choppers. About 20 investigators are on the scene Monday morning in Calabasas were Bryant’s helicopter crashed Sunday with an impact that scattered debris over an area the size of a football field and killed everyone aboard. The accident unleashed an outpouring of grief from admirers around the country who mourned the sudden loss of the all-time basketball great who spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers.

 

SCOTTSBORO, Ala. (AP) — The fire chief in Scottsboro, Alabama, says at least eight people were killed in an explosive fire that consumed at least 35 vessels at a marina along the Tennessee River. Chief Gene Necklaus said all eight people who were known to be missing are confirmed dead, and “that number could go up,” because they don’t know how many were on boats that sank. At least seven people were sent to hospitals suffering from exposure to the water or flames. The fire quickly consumed the dock as people were sleeping, cutting off their escape routes and raining debris into the water.

 

BEIJING (AP) — U.S. health officials say they have no evidence that the new virus from China is spreading in the United States and they believe the risk to Americans remains low. As of Monday, five Americans have been diagnosed with new virus, all of whom traveled to central China. Health officials are investigating who they’ve been in contact with. Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say at least 32 people thought to be possible cases have been ruled out. The virus has sickened thousands of people mostly China. Dozens of people have died. The outbreak was first identified in the city of Wuhan in central China.

 

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump says that while the Palestinians have already rejected his proposed Mideast peace deal with Israel, he expects they ultimately will agree. The White House plans to announce details on Tuesday. Trump is meeting Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and, separately, his chief challenger Benny Gantz. The Palestinians soundly rejecting the plan, but Trump said he expects that while the Palestinians will say no, they will quietly be negotiating a deal. It’s expected to be very favorable to Israel, and Netanyahu has hailed it as a chance to “make history” and define Israel’s final borders.

 

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — A U.S. official says that a mystery crash in eastern Afghanistan was a U.S. military plane. The official spoke on background to provide details not publicly released, adding that the military aircraft crashed in the Ghazni province and an investigation of its causes was ongoing. Video from the crash site circulating on social media appeared to suggest the aircraft was a U.S. Air Force electronic surveillance plane. The Taliban control much of the province and all of the area of the crash site. Monday’s plane crash is not expected to derail U.S.-Taliban peace talks if it turns out to have been an accident.