wbPM5CSi Weather…

TONIGHT…MOSTLY CLEAR. NOT AS COLD. LOWS 10 TO 15. SOUTHWEST
WINDS 10 TO 15 MPH SHIFTING TO THE WEST AFTER MIDNIGHT.
.FRIDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS IN THE MID 30S. WEST WINDS 10 TO
15 MPH.
.FRIDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF SNOW.
LOWS IN THE MID 20S. NORTHWEST WINDS 15 TO 20 MPH.
.SATURDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. HIGHS IN THE MID 30S. NORTHWEST WINDS
AROUND 15 MPH.
.SATURDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF SNOW
IN THE EVENING…THEN PARTLY CLOUDY AFTER MIDNIGHT. LOWS IN THE
LOWER 20S. WEST WINDS 10 TO 15 MPH.
.SUNDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS IN THE UPPER 30S.
.SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY…MOSTLY CLEAR. LOWS IN THE LOWER 20S.
HIGHS IN THE UPPER 40S.
.MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY…MOSTLY CLEAR. LOWS IN THE UPPER 20S.
HIGHS IN THE UPPER 40S.
.TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS IN THE MID
20S. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 40S.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOWS 15 TO 20.
HIGHS IN THE LOWER 30S.

 

A POTENTIAL FOR INTERMITTENT RAIN/SNOW
 SHOWERS FRIDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT.

 EARLY TO MID NEXT WEEK   VERY MILD AND DRY 
WITH LITTLE IF ANY CHANCE OF MOISTURE.

HIGHS MONDAY AND  TUESDAY SHOULD BE ABOVE AVERAGE – MAINLY IN THE 40S NORTH AND EAST  OF THE MISSOURI RIVER…AND IN THE 50S TO THE SOUTH AND WEST.

 

WILLISTON, N.D. (AP) – Three more men in western North Dakota are dead following a crash with a semitrailer on Highway 200.
 
     The North Dakota Highway Patrol says three men driving in a Dodge Ram were struck by the semi after failing to yield at an intersection Wednesday evening in McKenzie County.
 
     All three men died in the crash. The driver was uninjured.
 
     The Highway Patrol has not identified the men in the pickup, but said the driver was from Florida and his two passengers were from Idaho.
 
     The crash is the second triple fatality in western North Dakota in less than two weeks. Three teenagers from Ray were killed on U.S. Highway 2 last week after colliding with a semitrailer.
 
     Authorities closed the highway for two hours to clear the scene.

 

 BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – A Mandaree man facing second-degree murder charges plans to plead insanity.

31-year-old Marcel Chase is charged in federal court with second-degree murder in the death of Toby Young Bear, also of Mandaree.
 
     A federal magistrate judge entered a plea of not guilty on behalf of Chase on Monday, but told him he would have the option to change it later.
 
     Defense attorney Paul Myerchin said earlier this week he will request his client undergo an evaluation to determine if he is competent to stand trial. Assistant U.S. Attorney Rick Volk said he would not object to an evaluation.
 
     Court documents show the incident took place in December. The allegations behind the charge are part of a sealed federal grand jury indictment.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – State officials say they’re undeterred by a report from a Virginia newspaper that called into question the work of North Dakota’s State Forensic Examiner.
 
The Roanoke Times published a story recently that questioned conclusions drawn by Dr. William Massello while he worked as Virginia coroner.
 
     The newspaper reported that in two possible homicide cases, Massello initially determined the cause of death to be asphyxiation by choking on food in one case and encephalitis in another. Later reports called those findings into question.
 
     Massello referred questions to the report to the Department of Health.
 
     Department spokeswoman Colleen Reinke says the state has confidence in Massello’s work and that the article has not changed their view.

 

  BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – The state Department of Health says a pipeline has leaked nearly 19,000 gallons of saltwater in northwest North Dakota.
 
     The pipeline owned by Continental Resources ruptured after it was struck by equipment excavating at the site about 16 miles north of Tioga.
 
     The 450-gallon saltwater, or brine, spill was contained to the excavated area near the pipeline. The department says it has not impacted any waterways and is not a threat to public health at this time. 
 
     Brine is an unwanted byproduct of oil production and is considered an environmental hazard by the state. It is many times saltier than sea water and can easily kill vegetation exposed to it.
 
     The Department of Health and the North Dakota Oil and Gas Division have responded and say cleanup is underway.

 

 BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – The state of North Dakota does not plan to push back against federal rules requiring new wood-burning stoves to produce fewer emissions.
 
     The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently updated its clean air standards for residential wood heaters. It also added air standards for outdoor and indoor wood-fired boilers, indoor wood-fired forced air furnaces and single burn-rate woodstoves.
 
     Several states are refusing to go along because lawmakers say the rules could leave lower-income residents unable to afford the new stoves.
 
     North Dakota ranked 30th in a list produced by The Associated Press ranking states that produce the most fine particle emissions per person from residential wood burning.
 
     The state Division of Air Quality says the state doesn’t have to adopt the new standards because it’s not a problem in the state.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – State and federal agencies are working with members of the oil and gas industry to develop safety standards to better protect oil patch workers who are exposed to dangerous gases while in the field.
 
   The state of North Dakota, officials in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and MonDaks Safety Network formed an alliance recently to improve oil field safety. The group plans to take on hydrocarbon inhalation at its first meeting later this month.
 
     Workers often have to climb atop large tanks to monitor crude oil stored on well sites. When they open them, they can be exposed to potentially fatal carbons present in Bakken crude.
 
     Officials say they plan to work on new safety standards to protect workers that perform tank gauging.
    

 WILLISTON, N.D. (AP) – The FBI has formally announced that it will establish a regional office in the western North Dakota oil patch.
 
     The federal agency says it anticipates the Williston office will be fully staffed and operational later this year. FBI spokesman Kyle Loven says it’s unclear how many agents will be stationed there but that it will likely have similar staffing levels to other regional offices.
 
     Sens. Heidi Heitkamp and John Hoeven have been petitioning the federal government to open a permanent office.
 
     Heitkamp said Thursday the region needs more federal support to fight crime “right in the eye of the storm.” She said the announcement of a permanent office is a needed step in controlling crime in the region as its population increases.

 

 FARGO, N.D. (AP) – The National Weather Service says the chances of flooding in the Red River and Devils Lake basins of North Dakota remain low.
 
     A report released Thursday shows a less than 50 percent possibility of the river reaching the 18-foot flood stage in Fargo. The service says the soils in the valley are “fairly dry” and both snowpack and snow moisture are “very low.”
 
     The climate outlook calls for warm and dry conditions.
 
     The weather service says that the water level on Devils Lake in northeastern North Dakota will likely stay at its current mark.
 
     The next report is scheduled for March 19.

 

 In sports…

Class B girl’s basketball tournament, Minot Mar 5, 2015

LaMoure Litchville Marion 58     Lakota Edmore  44

 

MINOT, N.D. (AP) – Alexis Piatz had 18 points and 10 rebounds to lead Kindred to a 55-54 win over Parshall in overtime Thursday at the North Dakota Class B girls basketball tournament.
 
     Piatz’s driving basket with five seconds left in regulation sent the game into overtime tied at 47. She missed a free throw with six seconds left in overtime, but Parshall (20-6) did not get off a final shot.
 
     Alexandra Erickson added 10 points and 10 rebounds for Kindred (25-0).
 
     Michelle Risan paced Parshall with 23 points. Aulora Severance had 14 points and 13 rebounds and Cheyenne Packineau chipped in 12 points and 11 rebounds.
 
     Kindred led 27-26 at the half with its biggest lead five points in the third quarter. Parshall’s biggest lead was six points in the second quarter.

 

In world and national news…

 NEW YORK (AP) – A passenger aboard a flight from Atlanta that skidded off a runway at LaGuardia amid driving snow says one wing of the plane got “pretty torn up.” Georgia marketing executive Malcolm Duckett was seated near the left wing of Flight 1086 Thursday. He called the damage to that wing “brutal.” Duckett says the landing was pretty hard and passengers initially thought the aircraft had hit water. The plane’s nose came close to the edge of an icy bay.
 
     NEW YORK (AP) – An airport official in New York says two people have been taken to a hospital with minor injuries, following Thursday’s runway incident at LaGuardia. Patrick Foye, who heads the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, says the airport runway had been plowed, and two other pilots reported good braking conditions just minutes before the Delta plane landed. He says the pilot did everything he could to slow the aircraft. The airport was closed after the incident, but one runway has now reopened.
 
     PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Even after Thursday’s snow stops falling, winter could have at least one more blast for much of the U.S. Record low temperatures are in the forecast for dozens of cities. A forecaster says cities including Cleveland, Chicago, Memphis and Waco, Texas, should expect record cold temperatures tomorrow morning.
 
     WASHINGTON (AP) – A new Food and Drug Administration study shows little evidence of antibiotic contamination in milk after surveying almost 2,000 dairy farms. The agency in 2012 took samples of raw milk on the farms and tested them for 31 drugs, almost all of them antibiotics. Results released by the agency today show that less than 1 percent of the total samples contained evidence of illegal drug residue. Antibiotics and other drugs can end up in milk when they are used on dairy cows to keep them healthy.
 
     ST. LOUIS (AP) – Michael Brown’s parents are suing. Lawyers for the parents of the unarmed black 18-year-old who was shot and killed by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri in August say they will file a civil lawsuit against the city of Ferguson and former officer Darren Wilson. An attorney says yesterday’s Justice Department report on Ferguson and its police department reveals “rampant, wholesale, systemic” problems.