CSiNewsNow – Friday – July 3

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT - NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BISMARCK ND
653 AM CDT FRI JUL 3 2015 
...SMOKE WILL CONTINUE TO IMPACT WEST AND CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA
THROUGH THIS FRIDAY MORNING...

SMOKE FROM CENTRAL CANADIAN FIRES WILL CONTINUE TO IMPACT
NORTH DAKOTA THIS MORNING. VISIBILITIES WILL MAINLY RANGE BETWEEN
2 AND 4 MILES...THOUGH SOME AREAS MAY BE AS LOW AS ONE MILE.
THOSE SENSITIVE TO SMOKE MAY FIND IT BE BEST TO REMAIN
INDOORS...ESPECIALLY IF YOU HAVE ASTHMA.

A SLOW DIFFUSION OF THE SMOKE IS POSSIBLE LATER TODAY.
HOWEVER...AREAS OF SMOKE MAY LINGER UNTIL A COLD FRONT MOVES
THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT.

DRINKING WATER VIOLATIONS

North Dakota safe drinking water violations jump in 2014

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – A North Dakota Health Department report shows the number of major violations recorded in the state’s public water systems increased almost 20 percent last year and has nearly quadrupled since 2008.

Health Department environmental scientist LeeAnn Tillotson says the rise in the number of violations is mostly due to new public water systems in the state and the high turnover rates among those responsible for maintaining them.

There were 389 major violations of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act recorded in the state’s public water systems in 2014, compared with 325 the year before. Just 98 were registered in 2008.

Greg Wavra (WAHV’-ruh) is the administrator of the state’s drinking water program. He says only about 5 percent of the violations recorded in 2014 have yet to be resolved.

MONTANA TORNADO DAMAGE

Tornado tosses mobile home 60 feet, injuring Montana man

SIDNEY, Mont. (AP) – A tornado picked up a single-wide trailer in eastern Montana and threw it onto a storage shed about 60 feet away, injuring a 79-year-old man and his dog.

The National Weather Service in Glasgow says a storm unleashed a tornado with winds estimated at 100 mph and dropped hail up to 2 inches in diameter Tuesday evening about 17 miles southeast of Sidney, near the North Dakota line.

A photo of the damage shows the frame of the trailer wrapped around a pickup truck and the shed in shambles. A separate single-wide trailer used for storage was upended and landed on its top.

The man was taken to the hospital for treatment of unspecified injuries. Weather officials did not have his name or know how badly he was hurt.

HEITKAMP-HIP SURGERY

US Sen. Heitkamp to have hip replacement surgery next month

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp (HYT’-kamp) is scheduled for hip replacement surgery next month.

Aides to the North Dakota Democrat say she will undergo a right hip replacement on August 17th in Bismarck.

The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases says the average hospital stay for a hip replacement surgery is 3-5 days. Full recovery takes 3-6 months.

The 59-year-old Heitkamp survived breast cancer in the early 2000s.

SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF-ANNIVERSARY

North Dakota School for the Deaf celebrates 125 years

(Information in the following story is from: Devils Lake Journal, http://www.devilslakejournal.com)

DEVILS LAKE, N.D. (AP) – More than 230 past students and staff traveled to Devils Lake for a celebration last weekend of the 125th anniversary of the North Dakota School for the Deaf.

Superintendent Connie Hovendick tells the Devils Lake Journal that “it was inspiring to see and feel the joy the participants felt over their shared heritage.”

The state school was founded in 1890. It has operated under several names. It currently is called the North Dakota School for the Deaf/Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing, to better reflect the broadening scope of its programs and services.

BIA SUPERINTENDENT STABBED

Prosecutors discuss plea deal in BIA official’s stabbing

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – Federal prosecutors say they met with the Bureau of Indian Affairs superintendent for South Dakota’s Crow Creek Indian Reservation before entering into a plea deal with a man accused of stabbing the official in the back.

Brian Iron Boulder pleaded guilty last week to attempting to murder Patrick F. Duffy in March, and federal prosecutors dropped assault charges. Iron Boulder will be sentenced September 14th.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office says Iron Boulder pleaded guilty to the most serious charge – which could put him in prison for up to 20 years. She also says the prosecutor consulted with Duffy before offering the plea deal.

Defense attorney Douglas A. Abraham declined to say why his client accepted the plea deal rather than take the case to trial.

COLLEGE HOME RUN DERBY

North Dakota’s Jeff Campbell champ in College Home Run Derby

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Jeff Campbell of North Dakota won the College Home Run Derby, hitting 10 homers in the finals to easily defeat Wake Forest’s Will Craig on Thursday night.

Campbell set a derby record with 20 first-round homers, the longest traveling 479 feet. The senior first baseman-pitcher followed with four more in the second round to secure a spot in the two-man finals.

Craig went deep nine times in the first round and waited two hours until his next turn. He hit 16 in the second round for a total of 25, quitting with two outs left after he took the overall lead and knocked out Georgia Tech’s Kel Johnson.

Craig had only 18 minutes between his turn in the second round and the finals, and he could only get five more balls over the fence.

There were no bat restrictions for the eight contestants, and major-league baseballs were used.

Here is the latest Minn news from The Associated Press -3:31am
EDINA, Minn. (AP) – Eight Chicago-area men accused of lifting $20,000 in merchandise from a Louis Vuitton store in Minnesota are now charged following an interstate chase. The eight are all charged in Hennepin County with felony theft. In addition, one man who did not run into the store is charged with fleeing a police officer. WCCO-TV reports officers were called to an upscale shopping center in Edina about 10 a.m. Wednesday.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) – St. Paul police have arrested a 34-year-old woman in the stabbing death of her boyfriend. Officers were called about a possible break-in at a house around 4:30 a.m. Thursday. The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports officers arrived and found 30-year-old Obinna Udo Nwankpa of St. Paul lying on the basement steps with a stab wound to his chest.

MANKATO, Minn. (AP) – The father and brother of a former Minnesota State University football player who suffered a brain injury last year have finished a cross-country bike tour to raise money for those with similar injuries. The Mankato Free Press says Blaine Kolstad and his 22-year-old son, Abe, wrapped up their bike trip Wednesday in Delaware.

ST. CLOUD, Minn. (AP) – The State Patrol says at least 31 motorcyclists have died on Minnesota roads so far this year, accounting for more than 18 percent of all traffic deaths. Yet state officials say motorcycle safety classes available around the state aren’t getting enough participants. Minnesota has more than 414,000 licensed riders, but The St. Cloud Times reports only 300 to 400 motorcyclists participate each year in a safety class beyond the first Basic Rider Course.

Here is the latest South Dakota news from The Associated Press – 2:01am
PIERRE, S.D. (AP) – A judge has issued a warrant for the arrest of a former South Dakota U.S. Senate candidate charged with election law violations because the Black Hawk man failed to appear in court this week. Circuit Court Judge John Brown issued the warrant after former independent candidate Clayton Walker didn’t appear at a hearing on Wednesday. Walker faces felony charges for submitting nominating petitions that investigators allege included names of dead people, fictitious people and Hollywood celebrities.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – Federal prosecutors say they met with the Bureau of Indian Affairs superintendent for South Dakota’s Crow Creek Indian Reservation before entering into a plea deal with a man accused of stabbing the official in the back. Brian Iron Boulder pleaded guilty last week to attempting to murder Patrick F. Duffy in March.

ABERDEEN, S.D. (AP) – Prosecutors are dropping charges against a Columbia-area man accusing of raping a girl over a period of eight years. The American News reports a statement from the Brown County State’s Attorney’s Office says charges are being dismissed in the interest of the victim and in consultation with the victim’s family.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) – A workforce development campaign in South Dakota that sells the state as being better than the planet Mars is generating traffic to the state’s workforce website. The final graphic reads: “South Dakota. Plenty of jobs. Plenty of air.” Officials say it’s a light-hearted approach to getting young people interested in moving to South Dakota.