wbPM4CSi  Weather….

TONIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOWS 10 TO 15. NORTHEAST WINDS 5 TO
10 MPH SHIFTING TO THE SOUTHEAST AFTER MIDNIGHT.
.FRIDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS IN THE MID 30S. SOUTH WINDS AROUND
10 MPH SHIFTING TO THE SOUTHWEST IN THE AFTERNOON.
.FRIDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOWS 10 TO 15. NORTH WINDS 10 TO
15 MPH.
.SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 20 PERCENT
CHANCE OF SNOW.  COLDER. HIGHS 10 TO 15. LOWS AROUND 5 BELOW.
NORTH WINDS 10 TO 15 MPH.
.SUNDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS ZERO TO 5 ABOVE.
.SUNDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLEAR. LOWS AROUND 5 BELOW.
.MONDAY AND MONDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF
SNOW. HIGHS 15 TO 20. LOWS ZERO TO 5 ABOVE.
.TUESDAY AND TUESDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS AROUND 10. LOWS
AROUND 5 BELOW.
.WEDNESDAY AND WEDNESDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS 5 TO
10 ABOVE. LOWS AROUND 10 BELOW.
.THURSDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS AROUND 15.

 

WIND CHILL TEMPERATURES OF 25 BELOW ZERO TO 35 BELOW ZERO ARE
 FORECAST FOR THE TURTLE MOUNTAINS AND NORTHERN JAMES RIVER VALLEY
 SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY MORNING.
 
 TUESDAY NIGHT INTO EARLY WEDNESDAY MORNING…WIND CHILL
 TEMPERATURES OF 25 BELOW TO 35 BELOW ZERO ARE FORECAST FOR
 MOST LOCATIONS ALONG AND EAST OF THE MISSOURI RIVER.
 

Jamestown (CSi)  As of January 29, 2015, visitation restrictions at Jamestown Regional Medical Center have been removed. According to the North Dakota Department of Health, North Dakota has seen a steady decline in Influenza cases over the past three weeks.

This season, Stutsman County reported a total of 109 cases of Influenza, of which 107 were Influenza A and two were confirmed as Type B.

JRMC encourages the public to use the hand hygiene stations and masks located throughout the hospital. As always, only visit patients in the hospital if you are in good health.

JRMC Chief Nursing Officer, Trisha Jungles says, ‘”Thank you to everyone for your patience and cooperation during the visitation restrictions at JRMC.”

 

Valley City (CSi) The next District 24 Legislative Forum is set for Saturday February 14, 2015, at the VCSU Skoal Room.

The forum runs from 9-a.m., to 11-a.m.

 

  KEANE, N.D. (AP) – Two teenagers are dead after a car and a semitrailer collided in the western North Dakota oil patch.
 
     The Highway Patrol says the vehicles crashed on state Highway 23 north of Keane about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, after the car spun out of control on a curve.
 
     The 16-year-old boy driving the car and an 18-year-old male passenger died. The patrol did not immediately identify them.
 
     The driver of the semi was not hurt.

 

 WAHPETON, N.D. (AP) – The Highway Patrol has identified a truck driver who died when his semitrailer veered off Interstate 29 south of Wahpeton.
 
     Authorities say 71-year-old William Lyman, of Ayr, was driving a semi that went through a ditch, into a field and then vaulted over a drainage ditch about 12:45 p.m. Tuesday.
 
     Lyman was pronounced dead at a hospital in Breckenridge, Minnesota.
 

 

 BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – A man is accused of stealing the identity of a former boss in Wyoming to buy a vehicle in North Dakota.
 
     Police have issued an arrest warrant for Andrew Benjamin, of Bismarck. He’s accused of identity theft and property theft.
 
Benjamin is accused of using the identity of his former boss for loan papers for a sport utility vehicle. Authorities say the paperwork was done through the mail, and that Benjamin has since failed to make payments on the SUV.
 
     Police say the former boss discovered the alleged identify theft while reviewing his credit score.
 
     Benjamin also is wanted in an unrelated theft case in Dickinson, in which he allegedly stole more than $4,000 from a fast food restaurant. An arrest warrant has been issued there.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – North Dakota’s House has killed legislation that would amend the state’s 24/7 sobriety program to include ignition interlock devices.
 
     The measure was defeated 76-16 on Wednesday.
 
     Ignition interlock devices usually require drivers to blow into a tube to prove they are not intoxicated before they can start the engine.
 
     Minot Republican Rep. Andrew Maragos sponsored the bill that would have allowed someone convicted of drunken driving to use the devices instead of taking twice-daily alcohol tests, or having to wear an ankle bracelet.
 
     Maragos says he sponsored the in part to accommodate a constituent whose conviction in another state requires him to use an ignition interlock.

 

 BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – North Dakota lawmakers have adopted a revised revenue forecast that reflects a more than $4 billion shortfall in oil revenue due to the slumping price of crude.
 
     Appropriations committees from the House and Senate voted Thursday to accept the revised figures for the next two-year budget cycle. The final revenue forecast is slated to be presented in mid-March.
 
     House Majority Leader Al Carlson calls the revision “responsible and realistic.” He says the state’s top priorities will still be funded but most everything else “is open for discussion.”
 
     Carlson and Senate Majority Leader Rich Wardner say the state’s economy remains healthy.  They say oil production is forecast to remain steady in the state despite sagging oil prices.
 
     North Dakota crude was fetching below $40 in some markets on Thursday.

 

 BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – North Dakota’s Senate has approved $1.1 billion in special funding so that infrastructure projects can begin by this summer.
 
     Senators voted 44-2 Thursday to approve the “surge funding” bill that would fast-track funding to cities, school districts and communities affected by North Dakota’s exploding growth.
 
     The legislation sponsored by Dickinson Republican Sen. Kelly Armstrong now goes to the House.
 
     A similar so-called “jump start” measure pushed by Gov. Jack Dalrymple failed in Senate on Thursday.
 
     The key difference in the fast-track funding bills was the amount of money that would be spent on state highways and funding for counties.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – An independent consultant who reviewed the North Dakota University System’s computer security protocol says specialized training of information technology staff and other updates and testing are needed to make the system more secure.
 
     The system experienced several computer breaches in the last year, including a hacking incident in February that exposed the personal information of more than 290,000 current and past students and employees. 
 
     Erik Wallace, principal architect of a company that provides cyber solutions, told the board at Thursday’s meeting in Bismarck that some of the suggested improvements could potentially have prevented some of the breaches. He says some campuses have systems that need more security work than others.
 
     The higher education budget proposed by the governor includes $1.5 million to upgrade the system’s computer security.

 

In world and national news…

MILFORD, Pa. (AP)- A survivalist who’s accused of killing a Pennsylvania state trooper and wounding another in an ambush outside a barracks has pleaded not guilty. Eric Frein (freen) was arraigned today by video from the county jail. He triggered a massive manhunt by going on the run for more than a month before he was caught.
 
     DENVER (AP) – The police chief in Denver says it’s not yet clear how a police officer was injured as a 17-year-old girl driving a stolen car was shot and killed by police. The chief initially said the officer was struck by the car as it was driven toward him. But he now says it’s not clear whether the officer was hurt by the car or while trying to get out of its way.
 
     WASHINGTON (AP) – U.S. defense officials say three American contractors have been shot to death by a gunman in the Afghan capital. Officials say an Afghan national was also killed. The officials say it’s not clear whether the shooter was a member of the Afghan security forces.
 
     WASHINGTON (AP) – Senator John McCain has no patience for a group of anti-war protesters who’ve often disrupted congressional hearings on defense and foreign policy issues. During a hearing Thursday morning, members of Code Pink approached a witness table where former secretaries of state Henry Kissinger, Madeleine Albright and George Shultz were testifying. They carried a sign calling Kissinger a war criminal. McCain, who was chairing the hearing, said, “Get out of hear, you low-life scum.” Capitol Police removed the protesters from the room.
 
     BOSTON (AP) – Boston is continuing to dig out from a historic storm that dumped over two feet of snow in the city and more elsewhere in the state. And forecasters say southern New England may see more snow in the coming days. In the city’s Charlestown neighborhood, roads are passable but mounds of snow taller than parked cars are at most corners.