csi photo matt sheppard

csi photo matt sheppard

CSi Weather…

 TONIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 50 PERCENT CHANCE OF SNOW. PATCHY
BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW AFTER MIDNIGHT. NOT AS COLD. LOWS 10 TO
15. WEST WINDS 15 TO 20 MPH.
.CHRISTMAS DAY…PARTLY SUNNY. A 30 PERCENT CHANCE OF SNOW IN THE
MORNING. PATCHY BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW THROUGH THE DAY. HIGHS
AROUND 20. NORTHWEST WINDS 15 TO 20 MPH.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. COLDER. LOWS AROUND 5 BELOW.
WEST WINDS 5 TO 15 MPH.
.THURSDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF SNOW IN THE
MORNING IN THE JAMESTOWN AREA, A 40 PERCENT CHANCE IN THE VALLEY CITY AREA. PATCHY BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW IN THE AFTERNOON. HIGHS
AROUND 20. SOUTHWEST WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH INCREASING TO WEST 15 TO
20 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON.
.THURSDAY NIGHT…INCREASING CLOUDS. PATCHY BLOWING AND DRIFTING
SNOW IN THE EVENING. LOWS 5 TO 10 ABOVE.
.FRIDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. HIGHS AROUND 30.
.FRIDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS 15 TO 20.
.SATURDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF SNOW. AREAS
OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. BREEZY. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 20S.
.SATURDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. AREAS OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING
SNOW IN THE EVENING. LOWS AROUND 5 BELOW.
.SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS ZERO TO 5 ABOVE.
LOWS AROUND 10 BELOW.
.MONDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. HIGHS ZERO TO 5 ABOVE.

THE SNOW AND PATCHY BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW IS CREATING  SLICK
 ROADS WITH REDUCED VISIBILITY AT TIMES. THOSE WITH CHRISTMAS TRAVEL
 PLANS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR POTENTIAL SLICK ROAD CONDITIONS TUESDAY
 AND TUESDAY NIGHT.

  NORTHWEST WINDS  TUESDAY EVENING  PRODUCING AREAS OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. 
 
WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY
 
 PATCHY BLOWING SNOW ON WEDNESDAY ACROSS THE NORTH CENTRAL. MORE
 BLOWING SNOW WITH COLD WIND CHILLS NEAR 25 BELOW WILL ARRIVE
 SATURDAY INTO SUNDAY MORNING ACROSS ALL OF WESTERN AND CENTRAL
 NORTH DAKOTA.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – A travel alert has been issued for the north-central region of North Dakota as strong winds are causing blowing snow and areas of near zero visibility. The state Department of Transportation issued the alert Monday night for an area that includes the cities of Garrison, Berthold and Minot. Drivers in the area are encouraged to reduce speeds and drive according to the conditions.

 

 Jamestown (CSi) — The Jamestown Rural Fire Department was called to a propane tank fire Monday, about 3:30-p.m. in a Northwest Ypsilanti trailer park.

The cause of the fire was listed as a malfunctioning valve on the 100 pound tank.

Rural firefighters cooled the tank and manually close the valve.

No other structures were threatened, with damage confined to the tank and valve.

No injuries were reported.

Eleven rural fire fighters were on the scene, with four units about an hour.

Rural Fire Fighters were called out about 2:40-p.m., on Tuesday to a shop fire at a location in Ypsilanti at 43rd Street Southeast.

The person reporting the fire said it  was out before the units arrived on the scene.

 

Bismarck (CSi) The North Dakota Aeronautics Commission reports, that North Dakota airports hit the million passenger mark in November 2013.

Fargo, Grand Forks, and Dickinson set records fro November passenger enplanements, and Williston had its best month ever, as the number of air travelers state-wide continues to increase.

North Dakota boarded one million passengers back in 2012, for the first time ever, and this feat has been accomplished one month earlier in 2013.

State Aeronautics Director, Larry Taborsky says, “Air travel is a safe and comfortable way of bringing friends and family together for the holidays.

North Dakota has more flights to more destinations than ever before. I’m pround of what the airports in our state have accomplished.”

In November of 2013 Jamestown boardings were 224 compared to 251 in November of 2012, a decrease of 27 or 10.76%

 

  FARGO, N.D. (AP) – Fargo fire officials say residents and pets were able to escape a house fire that was contained to attic space. Firefighters arrived at the house early this morning and found heavy smoke coming from the attic vents. The home’s residents, five dogs and a cat were able to get out before crews controlled the blaze.

 

WILLISTON, N.D. (AP) – An outdoor sign company says the city of Williston is treating the firm unfairly.
 
     Great Plains Outdoor Advertising has filed a federal civil lawsuit accusing the city of delaying permits, passing an illegal sign code and giving special treatment to a competing billboard company. The complaint seeks unspecified damages.
 
     The lawsuit says the company reached agreements with property owners to place a total of 16 signs in the city. The city followed by placing a moratorium on applications and allegedly approved a permit to another sign company during that time.
 
     A city attorney could not be reached Tuesday afternoon for comment.

 

 STANTON, N.D. (AP) – A 62-year-old white supremacist who tried to turn the southwestern North Dakota town of Leith into an Aryan enclave will remain in jail without bond. Craig Cobb and 29-year-old follower Kynan Dutton appeared for a bond review hearing in Stanton yesterday. The judge said he would continue Cobb’s no bond status because the charges involve threats against individuals.

 

 WEST FARGO, N.D. (AP) – A North Dakota man who is trying to get his eco-friendly sealcoating business off the ground recently gave customers of a West Fargo bar a 2-for-1 deal.
 
     Every bottle of beer they drank went toward a new parking lot.
 
     Ron LaCoe is the owner of a West Fargo company that uses recycled glass in a mixture to refurbish parking lots and other paved surfaces. LaCoe does not drink alcohol, but came up with the idea during a regular night of karaoke at the Bordertown Bar and Grill in West Fargo.
 
     LaCoe says the project turned out well, but he would never do it again. He says hauling a pickup load of stale month-old beer bottles from the bar to a glass crushing facility nearly made him pass out.

 

In sports…

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) – Southern Illinois defensive coordinator Kyle “Bubba” Schweigert (SCHWY’-gert) has been named new head football coach at the University of North Dakota.
 
     Schweigert is returning to Grand Forks after a decade away from the program. He was the defensive coordinator that helped UND win the 2001 NCAA Division II national title.
 
     The Zeeland native replaces Chris Mussman, who was fired after six seasons. UND was 3-8 this year.
 
     Schweigert has been at Southern Illinois for six years. He previously was the head coach at Division II Minnesota Duluth from 2004-2007. He guided the Bulldogs to their first North Central Conference title.
 
     Schweigert says he’s looking forward to hiring a staff and building a program “that will represent UND in a first-class manner.”
 
     A press conference to introduce Schweigert is scheduled Friday.

 

 MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The Minnesota Vikings are planning a big weekend for fans as the team closes out its final season at the Metrodome. The festivities begin Saturday with a “Last Season, Last Call” event at Mall of America Field at the Minneapolis dome. Season ticket holders get a final chance to take commemorative photos on the field, near the Vikings ship or in the team’s locker room.

 

In world and national news…

 NEW YORK (AP) – An unexpectedly large increase in orders for manufactured goods has helped push stock prices higher on Wall Street. The market was open for just half a day ahead of the Christmas holiday. Trading will remain closed on Wednesday. The Dow finished with a gain of 62 points today in light trading. Homebuilder stocks rose after the government reported that sales of new homes increased last month at a faster pace than analysts were expecting. 
 
     CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – Astronauts on the international space station have wrapped up some urgent repair work on a cooling system. They popped in a new pump Tuesday in the second spacewalk in four days for U.S. astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Michael Hopkins. This was just the second Christmas Eve spacewalk in NASA history.

 

 
     WASHINGTON (AP) – A man dressed as Santa Claus at a toy giveaway in Washington, D.C., is recovering after being shot in the back with a pellet gun. A fire department spokesman says the man was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries after Tuesday morning’s shooting. Police haven’t made any arrests.
 
     RENO, Nev. (AP) – Police have confirmed that the Northern California man who killed one doctor and shot another at a Nevada urologist’s office last week had been a patient at the facility. A city spokeswoman in Reno also confirms that police are “actively looking into” Alan Frazier’s involvement in an Internet chat room where he reportedly complained about complications from a 2010 vasectomy. Police say Frazier made it clear in a suicide note that he planned the attack and that his focus was on the physicians in the office on the third floor of a Reno medical building.
 
     REDLANDS, Calif. (AP) – Southern California hospitals are spreading holiday cheer for new parents by delivering newborns in giant Christmas stockings. The bright red stockings were provided this week for babies born at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. The Long Beach Press-Telegram says it’s a half-century-old tradition.