Latest ND News from AP – Sun Feb 6

FATAL CRASH

Man killed in three-car crash in northwestern North Dakota

CARPIO, N.D. (AP) — The Highway Patrol is investigating a three-car crash in northwestern North Dakota that left a man dead. The Bismarck Tribune reported Sunday that 79-year-old Evan Elvestad died at the scene of the crash Friday on U.S. Highway 52 about 11 miles south of Carpio. Authorities say Elvestad was northbound when his Nissan Pathfinder left its lane and hit a southbound Ford Escape.. Elvestad corrected but again left his lane and hit a southbound semitrailer hauling cattle. Elvestad’s Pathfinder came to a stop and caught fire. The Escape’s driver wasn’t hurt. The semitrailer driver, 73-year-old Herman Wall of Burdett, Alberta, suffered minor injuries.

LAW FIRM-THEFT

Woman accused of stealing $222K from Bismarck law firm

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A Bismarck woman has been charged with stealing more than $222,000 from the law firm where she worked for five years. The Bismarck Tribune reports Barbara Norman faces up to 20 years in prison if she’s convicted. According to court documents, Norman worked for Larson Latham Heuttl Law Firm from December 2014 to January 2020. An audit of the firm’s books launched by her replacement discovered extra payroll payments of nearly $18,000; $94,000 from the firm’s account to pay personal credit card bills; $43,000 in unauthorized charges on the firm’s credit card; and false accounting entries showing transfers to vendors without any invoices or receipts. An affidavit states that Norman denied taking any firm money for personal use.

VIRUS OUTBREAK-BURGUM

Gov. Burgum ‘isolating’ after testing positive for COVID-19

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Gov. Doug Burgum says he has tested positive for the coronavirus. Burgum says he experienced “cold and flu-like symptoms” Saturday morning and tested positive for COVID-19 in the afternoon. He says he had tested negative for the virus on Friday. The 65-year-old Republican says he is fully vaccinated and has received his booster shot. Burgum says he is isolating and consulting with his physician.

NDSU PRESIDENT-FINALISTS

Finalists named for North Dakota State University president

FARGO, N.D. (AP) — A search committee has narrowed the field of candidates for North Dakota State University president to three. The state Board of Higher Education said Friday that the finalists are David Cook, vice chancellor for public affairs on economic development at the University of Kansas; Hesham El-Rewini, provost and vice president of academic affairs at Marymount University; and Mary Holz-Clause, acting executive chancellor at the University of Minnesota in Morris and Crookston. Higher ed board members will interview the candidates in Fargo on Feb. 23 before making their selection. The search committee had selected five candidates from the 47 applicants who met qualifications for the job.  Current NDSU President Dean Bresciani is stepping down after a dozen years at the helm.

STENEHJEM-CARDIAC ARREST

Family: State attorney general died from cardiac arrest

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem died from cardiac arrest and “associated effects,” according to his wife. The former legislator and the state’s longest-serving attorney general died last week at age 68, just hours after he was found unresponsive taken to a hospital. Beth Bakke Stenehjem said in a release that she is grateful for first responders, doctors, caregivers and others who supporter her and her family throughout the day. Hundreds of people gathered at the Bismarck Event Center on Thursday to pay tribute to Stenehjem. He was eulogized as a man of integrity, honesty and strong moral principles. He had announced last month that he would not seek another term, saying he wanted to spend more time traveling and with his family.

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 says the mineral rights under the original Missouri River riverbed belong to a 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.