Area Weather – Tonight – July2:
Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly before 9pm. Partly cloudy, with a low around 60. West wind 3 to 7 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
Friday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 82. North wind 6 to 8 mph.
Friday Night
Partly cloudy, with a low around 62. Northeast wind around 5 mph becoming light and variable.
Independence Day
Mostly sunny, with a high near 85. South wind 6 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 23 mph.
Saturday Night
A 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms. Partly cloudy, with a low around 66. South wind 10 to 14 mph, with gusts as high as 22 mph.
Sunday
Showers and thunderstorms likely, mainly before 1pm. Partly sunny, with a high near 80. Chance of precipitation is 60%.
Sunday Night
A chance of showers and thunderstorms before 11pm, then a chance of thunderstorms between 11pm and midnight, then a chance of showers and thunderstorms after midnight. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 58. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Here is the latest North Dakota news from The Associated Press
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – Safe drinking water violations jumped about 20 percent last year in North Dakota and have nearly quadrupled since 2008. A state health official says the rise is mostly due to new public water systems and the high turnover rates among those responsible for maintaining them.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – The North Dakota Supreme Court has rejected another appeal by the man convicted of hiring a hit man to kill a Fargo dentist. Gene Kirkpatrick has appealed three times and says in his latest one that his lawyer was ineffective during discussions about a possible plea deal. He’s serving a life sentence for his role in the 2009 death of Philip Gattuso.

SIDNEY, Mont. (AP) – The National Weather Service estimates a tornado that smashed a trailer home in Montana near the North Dakota border had winds of 100 miles per hour. The twister that hit southeast of Sidney Tuesday night blew the trailer about 60 feet and injured a man and his dog

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – Senator Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota is having hip replacement surgery. Heitkamp’s office says the operation on her right hip will be next month in Bismarck. Full recovery from this kind of surgery can take up to six months.

Here is the latest South Dakota news from The Associated Press
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) – Stocks of wheat, corn and soybeans all are up in South Dakota. The Agriculture Department says in its latest report that wheat stored in all positions on June 1st totaled 31.6 million bushels, up 45 percent from a year ago. Soybean stocks stood at 24.8 million bushels, up 10 percent over the year. Corn stocks in the state totaled 244 million bushels, up 4 percent.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) – South Dakota could end up owing hundreds of thousands in legal fees to the private attorneys who fought its ban on same-sex marriages unless a federal appeals court sides with the attorney general. Minneapolis attorney Josh Newville has represented six same-sex couples for more than a year as they’ve challenged the state’s ban. Newville hasn’t been paid yet for his services and now plans to seek attorney’s fees from the state.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) – Attorney General Marty Jackley says if a county employee in South Dakota has religious objections to gay marriage they can have another employee issue a marriage license to a same-sex couple. Jackley said Thursday that the constitutional right to marry that’s now guaranteed to same-sex couples must coexist with the constitutional right of freedom of religion for county employees.

GETTYSBURG, S.D. (AP) – No one was hurt when a helicopter that was trying to take off from Bob’s Resort in Gettysburg ended up in a ditch yesterday. The Potter County Sheriff tells KCCR radio that the helicopter clipped a power line, landed and skidded on a highway around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Here is the latest Minnesota news from The Associated Press
ROCHESTER, Minn. (AP) – Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders is calling on people to help him fix an economy he calls “rigged.” Sanders spoke to a crowd of 600 during a town hall meeting in Rochester. Sanders is courting liberal supporters in Democrat stronghold states as he seeks to challenge Hillary Rodham Clinton. But he never mentioned her by name Thursday.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – Health officials are linking some recent Minnesota salmonella cases to stuffed chicken entrees that look cooked but aren’t. Four illnesses have been linked to Barber Foods Chicken Kiev, while three people got sick after eating Antioch Farms Chicken Cordon Bleu. Both products are sold by many retailers.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The federal government says it will increase the monitoring of wild birds for avian influenza this fall. Biologists hope to provide an early warning if there is another surge in the virus that experts believe may be spread by migrating waterfowl.

COON RAPIDS, Minn. (AP) – Police are holding a suspect in a fatal shooting in Coon Rapids. A 43-year-old from Ramsey is facing charges in the death of 29-year-old Rayontra McCall of Fridley. Police say McCall was shot after a poker game led to an argument outside a bar early Thursday.