BURGUM-AG APPOINTMENT

Burgum waiting until after AG’s funeral to discuss successor

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum won’t discuss who he will appoint to serve out the remainder of Wayne Stenehjem’s term until after the funeral of the longtime attorney general. Stenehjem died Friday at age 68, just a month after announcing his plans to retire at the end of this year. The public funeral is set for Thursday. Stenehjem was a former legislator and the state’s longest-serving attorney general. Stenehjem is the first statewide official to die in office since U.S. Sen. Quentin Burdick in 1992. Then-Gov. George Sinner appointed Burdick’s widow, Jocelyn, to fill the expired term until a special election was held.

UNCLAIMED PROPERTY-NORTH DAKOTA

State is holding $104 million in unclaimed property

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The state of North Dakota is holding $104 million in unclaimed property and wants to find its owners. The North Dakota Department of Trust Lands noted the amount of abandoned property has been on the rise over the past decade and includes $29 million during the most recent two-year budget cycle. Unclaimed property can include everything from unpaid life insurance benefits to forgotten bank accounts. When companies can’t locate the owner of the property, it’s submitted to the state. Land Commissioner Jodi Smith says the amount of property returned to owners is growing. The department returned nearly $13 million over the past two years, up from $7 million the previous cycle.

MIDWEST MOTOR EXPRESS

Midwest Motor Express sold for $150 million

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A Bismarck freight company with a rich history dating back to 1918 has been sold for $150 million. Midwest Motor Express has been purchased by Knight-Swift, a publicly traded carrier listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Midwest will continue to operate from its headquarters in Bismarck, and its sister company, Midnite Express, will do the same from Fargo. The company began as Snyder’s Dray and Transfer and used horses and wagons to deliver coal, cream, gravel and freight. In 1938, the name changed to Midwest Motor Express and over the decades, the company acquired several truck lines. Midwest has weathered the Great Depression, recessions and three wars.

PEDESTRIAN KILLED

Man killed on highway in Towner County

ROCKLAKE. N.D. PCL (AP) — The North Dakota Highway Patrol says a man was killed when he was struck by an SUV on a highway in Towner County. The patrol says 65-year-old Charles Huovinen was slouched in a lane of traffic on Highway 281 near Rocklake when he was hit about 7:30 p.m. Sunday. The driver of the SUV is a 41-year-old woman from Cando. She and two boys in the vehicle were not injured. The victim was from Rocklake.

ATTORNEY GENERAL-NORTH DAKOTA

Funeral arrangements made for North Dakota attorney general

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Funeral arrangements have been made for Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem who died last week. The funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Bismarck Event Center Exhibit Hall. Visitation will take place Wednesday from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the North Dakota State Capitol Great Hall. Both are open to the public. Stenehjem, a former legislator and the state’s longest-serving attorney general, died at age 68, just hours after he was taken to a hospital Friday, according to his office. No cause of death has been made public. Stenehjem spent 24 years in the Legislature before being elected attorney general in 2000, then winning five more times.

MIDWEST ECONOMY

Report: Loss of manufacturing jobs leads to index drop

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A new monthly report shows that a loss of manufacturing jobs combined with other factors to slow growth in the regional economy of nine Midwest and Plains states. The overall index in January for Creighton University’s Mid-America Business Conditions survey released Tuesday fell to 56.2 from December’s 64.6. Any score above 50 on the survey’s indexes suggests growth. Creighton economist Ernie Goss, who oversees the monthly survey of business leaders, pointed to a loss of manufacturing jobs. The survey’s business confidence index, which looks ahead six months, plummeted to 36.2 — the lowest reading since the beginning of the pandemic. The monthly survey covers Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma and South Dakota.