AP-US-TRIBES-OIL-DISPUTE

Biden solicitor swings mineral rights title back to tribes

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — The interior solicitor in the Biden administration said in an opinion that the mineral rights under the original Missouri River riverbed belong to North Dakota tribal nation. The 68-page memorandum posted Friday by the U.S. Department of Interior is contrary to a May 2020 Trump administration opinion concluding that the state is legal owner of submerged lands beneath the river where it flows through the Fort Berthold Reservation. That memo rolled back an Obama administration opinion favoring the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, also known as the Three Affiliated Tribes. At stake is an estimated $100 million in unpaid royalties and future payments certain to come from oil drilling beneath the river.

AIR BASE-ECONOMIC IMPACT

Analysis: Minot base has $607 million economic impact

MINOT, N.D. (AP) — A new analysis pegs the local economic impact of the Minot Air Force Base at nearly $607 million in the past fiscal year. The 2021 fiscal year economic impact is lower than fiscal year 2020, when the base contributed $622 million to the local area. The analysis says annual construction, services and other expenditures were down about $11 million in fiscal year 2021 compared to the previous fiscal year. Yearly payroll also was down slightly from approximately $420 million in fiscal year 2020 to nearly $413 in fiscal year 2021.

NURSING INCENTIVES

Incentives aim to curb nursing shortages at nursing homes

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota’s Health Department is offering a cash incentive for people who obtain a temporary certification to work in a nursing home in the state. The goal of the “emergency recruit program” is to help curb staffing shortages amid the coronavirus pandemic. The program offers sign-on bonuses of $2,000 for up to 100 people who get a temporary aide certification, which involves taking a free 8-hour online course. Nursing aides who have not worked in a long-term care facility for at least six months also are eligible for the program if they return to a facility.

STENEHJEM FUNERAL

North Dakota attorney general eulogized as man of integrity

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Hundreds of people gathered at the Bismarck Event Center to pay tribute to North Dakota’s longest-serving attorney general who died last week. Sixty-eight-year-old Wayne Stenehjem was found unresponsive at his home and died unexpectedly last Friday following his hospitalization. A cause of death has not been made public. Stenehjem’s body was brought to the Event Center Thursday in a procession of nearly 150 vehicles — most of them law enforcement vehicles from across North Dakota, all with lights flashing. Sister Peggy Stenehjem-Titus gave the eulogy for her brother, saying he taught her the importance of integrity, honesty and strong moral principles.

FARGO FIRE-TWO DEAD

Officials identify Fargo fire victims as elderly couple

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — Officials have identified the two people who died in a house fire in Fargo last week. Ninety-one-year-old Garnet Blouin and his 88-year-old wife, Jean Blouin, died when the fire started in a home where they had lived for decades. Neighbor Lois Ellingson says she’s known the couple for more than 30 years. Ellingson says you never saw one without the other. She says the two were inseparable and a great couple. Having lived so long in their house, Ellingson says they knew the history of the block and watched it grow and change. The body of Jean Blouin was discovered in the home. Garnet Blouin died at a hospital.

SIDNEY HOMICIDE INVESTIGATION

Police in eastern Montana investigating homicide in Sidney

SIDNEY, Mont. (AP) — Police in the eastern Montana town of Sidney are investigating a homicide after a man was found dead last week. Sidney Police Chief Mark Kraft says someone requested a welfare check on 50-year-old Christopher Wetzstein last Friday morning when he did not show up for work. Officers found him dead in his home. An autopsy performed Monday verified that Wetzstein was killed, but further findings are pending. Kraft did not say how Wetzstein died. The Montana Division of Criminal Investigation is helping with the investigation. No charges have been filed in the case.