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CSi Weather…
TONIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS IN THE UPPER 50S. SOUTHEAST WINDS
5 TO 10 MPH.
.WEDNESDAY…PARTLY SUNNY WITH A 40 PERCENT CHANCE OF RAIN
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS, 50 PERCENT IN THE VALLEY CITY AREA. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 80S. SOUTH WINDS
5 TO 15 MPH.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 40 PERCENT CHANCE OF
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS, 50 PERCENT IN THE VALLEY CITY AREA. LOWS IN THE LOWER 60S. SOUTH WINDS
5 TO 10 MPH.
.THURSDAY…SHOWERS LIKELY AND CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS. HIGHS IN
THE MID 70S. EAST WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION
60 PERCENT.
.THURSDAY NIGHT…DECREASING CLOUDS. A 40 PERCENT CHANCE OF RAIN
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. LOWS IN THE UPPER 50S. NORTHWEST WINDS
5 TO 10 MPH.
.FRIDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS IN THE UPPER 70S.
.FRIDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY WITH A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF RAIN
SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. LOWS IN THE UPPER 50S.
.SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS IN THE UPPER
70S. LOWS IN THE UPPER 50S.
.SUNDAY…PARTLY SUNNY WITH A 30 PERCENT CHANCE OF RAIN SHOWERS
AND THUNDERSTORMS. HIGHS IN THE UPPER 70S.
.SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY…PARTLY CLOUDY. A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF
RAIN SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. LOWS IN THE UPPER 50S. HIGHS IN
THE UPPER 70S.
.MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY…MOSTLY CLEAR. LOWS IN THE UPPER 50S.
HIGHS IN THE LOWER 80S.
THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS IN CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA
TUESDAY NIGHT.
THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY
NIGHT…THEN AGAIN SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY. A FEW STRONG THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY.
Jamestown (CSi) The Jamestown City Fire Department was called about 12:45-p.m., Tuesday, to a fire involving a detached garage, at 314 5th Avenue, Southeast.
Lt. Sheldon Mohr said the back wall of the garage was involved in flame when the units arrived.
Damage was confined to the back wall, with no content loss.
No other structures were involved, and no injuries reported.
Five city fire units and 29 fire fighters were on the scene about 40 minutes.
No cause was immediately determined, with the cause under investigation.
Investigating were: NDHP, Barnes County SO, Valley City PD, Valley City FD, assisting, Barnes County Ambulance.
St. Paul (CSi) The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, is reducing outflows into the Sheyenne River at Baldhill Dam, to around 50 cubic feet per second, or CFS, beginning Friday, August 7, 2015.
The Corps says outflows are being reduced in order to perform gage maintenance and pipeline infrastructure maintenance downstream of Baldhill Dam.
Corps staff lowered Lake Ashtabula water levels to elevation 1,265.4 feet in order to store the water. The pool is expected to climb to an elevation near 1,266.3 feet during this time.
Corps staff plan to resume normal outflows of 800 cfs by August 12, 2015.
For more information, see www.mvp.usace.army.mil.
Valley City (CSi) The Valley City Commission met Tuesday evening in Regular Session at City Hall. All members were present.
APPROVAL OF CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS INCLUDED: Monthly Reports from the Fire Chief, Building Inspector, Auditor, Municipal Judge and Public Works Accountant.
Monthly Bills for the City and Public Works in the Amount of $2,282,486.92
A Game of Chance Raffle Permit for VC/BC Ducks Unlimited.
PUBLIC FORUM No One spoke.
ORDINANCES
The City Commission approved the second and final reading of Ordinance No. 993, an ordinance to rezone Lot 2, Block 1 of NP West 3rd Addition from I-1 Light Industrial to B-1 Central Business District.
Approved the second and final reading of an Ordinance amending Title 17, Offenses for the City of Valley City – Paraphernalia, to come in line with the North Dakota Century Code.
Approved the second and final reading of an Ordinance Amending Chapter 9, Zoning, of the revised ordinance of Valley City, a line item.
RESOLUTIONS
Approved a Resolution accepting final plans and specifications and authorize advertisement for bids for the Main Street Shared Use Path (NDDOT PROJECT TAU-2-094(136)928.) Construction will start in 2016. Bids will be opened in October this year. The estimated cost is just under $390,000.
NEW BUSINESS
The City Commission approved a Permanent Flood Protection Master Plan Agreement with KLJ, a six month study, followed by preliminary designs, followed by public input meetings, and identify areas, priorities, options and buyouts. 85 percent of the costs is funded by the State Water Commission.
The City Commission approved a Renaissance Zone application for a 5 year income tax exemption and 5 year property tax exemption for Pinnacle Condominiums and identify it as VC-86. A building renovation will include building 20 high-end condos.
Commissioners approved the bid for repair of water tank issues discovered during inspection at a cost of $23,300.00. City Administrator Schelkoph said the corrosion issues will be addressed in the affected tanks.
Discussed and approved posting of open.gov site to public. Commissioner Luke said budget items and annual budgets from the past five years, will be posted for public viewing, under the government transparency plan.
CITY ADMINISTRATORS REPORT
David Schelkoph said city officials attended the state water commission meeting, defending the 80-20 cost shares between the state and the city.
CITY UPDATE & COMMISSION REPORTS
City Auditor Richter gave an update on budget planning over the next few weeks.
The meeting was shown live on CSi Cable 68 followed by replays.
Jamestown (CSi) Jamestown has been noted in the Ducks Unlimited magazine, as a destination for waterfowl hunters.
On Tuesday’s Wayne Byers Show on CSi Cable 2, Jamestown Tourism Director, Searle Swedlund said that Tourism along with North Dakota Tourism, and the Jamestown Area Chamber of Commerce have partnered to bring bikers heading to Sturgis, South Dakota, through the Jamestown area if their route will bring them through this region.
Swedlund also pointed out that Jamestown Tourism is planning to further promote the Jamestown area’s living history, using digital tools such as voice over internet, as a phone number could be listed, with a narration highlighting a historical aspect of the area, which can visited.
Swedlund said the Frontier Village is seeing a large number of visitors and tourists again this summer, pointing out that Pioneer Days will be August 15 and 16 this year, with various events and activities highlighting the pioneer life on the plains.
Jamestown (CSi) University of Jamestown President, Robert Badal has announced that Michael Heitkamp will join University of Jamestown’s administration as Vice President of Enrollment Management. Heitkamp has extensive experience in the higher education admission process, most recently serving as the Associate Vice President of Admissions and Enrollment at Bemidji State University. Previous positions include Director of Admissions at the University of Mary, Bismarck, ND and Rasmussen College, Bismarck, ND. Heitkamp completed his undergraduate degree and Master of Business Administration at the University of Mary.
Badal says< “Mike Heitkamp brings talent, enthusiasm and experience in our prime recruiting areas of North Dakota and Minnesota. He will be a strong leader in both admissions and retention programs.”
Heitkamp says, “I am honored to be joining the University of Jamestown community. I look forward to joining the talented leadership, faculty and staff who create a special environment that provides a truly transformative education.”
Heitkamp will begin employment at University of Jamestown on August 31, 2015.
The University of Jamestown was established in 1883 and is ranked as a top tier regional school in US News and World Report and a top Midwestern school in The Princeton Review. The school features development of the whole person through its distinctive Journey to Success experience.
FARGO, N.D. (AP) – Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota is eliminating 73 positions due to the loss of the North Dakota Public Employees Retirement System contract.
15 of the positions involve layoffs. The remaining 58 are open positions that aren’t being filled.
Blues President and CEO Tim Huckle says the company also will shave $4.7 million from annual vendor contracts and an additional $2.7 million in printing expenses, building costs and consulting fees.
He says the cost-saving measures are an “unavoidable necessity.”
Sanford Health Plan began providing coverage for the North Dakota Public Employees Retirement System on July 1, after out-bidding Blue Cross Blue Shield, which had provided coverage to the group for nearly four decades.
FARGO, N.D. (AP) – An Oklahoma man convicted of hiring his handyman to kill his son-in-law in North Dakota is taking his case to federal court.
Gene Kirkpatrick is serving a life term in the South Dakota State Penitentiary for the October 2009 death of Fargo dentist Philip Gattuso. Kirkpatrick’s daughter, Valerie, died of a long illness seven months before Gattuso was killed.
Kirkpatrick says in his handwritten federal court filing that his lawyers did a poor job of representing him and his statements to police should not have been admitted in court. He says either the charges should be dropped, he should be granted a new trial or the sentence should be modified to make him eligible for parole immediately.
Kirkpatrick lost previous appeals with the state district court and state Supreme Court.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – The bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bismarck has ordered parishes in western North Dakota to sever sponsorship ties with the Boy Scouts following the group’s decision to lift its ban on gay adult leaders.
Bishop David Kagan says the decision by the Boy Scouts contradicts the “authoritative moral teachings of the Catholic Church.”
Cory Wrolstad, a spokesman for the Boy Scouts in Bismarck, says the bishop’s decision will affect eight Boy Scout troops and Cub Scout packs in Bismarck, Mandan, Beulah and Williston.
Fargo Diocese Bishop John Folda says in a statement that he hopes “Scouting remains a viable option for Catholic youth” in that part of the state. But he says Boy Scout leaders should “select volunteers based on character and conduct consistent” with the church’s teachings.
DICKINSON, N.D. (AP) – The State Board of Higher Education has named a longtime North Dakota academic to serve as the interim president of Dickinson State University.
The board announced Tuesday that Jim Ozbun will replace president D.C. Coston, who recently told state higher education officials he is stepping down this month for health concerns. Coston announced his retirement in February, but had originally planned to stay on until a new leader was selected.
Ozbun will serve in an interim role for the university while officials search for permanent president.
Ozbun is a retired academic who served from 1995 to 1998 as the president of North Dakota State University. He has held faculty roles and leadership positions at institutions including the University of Minnesota and Cornell University.
Ozbun will take over Aug. 17, 2015.
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – North Dakota’s Game and Fish Department is implementing two emergency rules aimed at preventing the spread of zebra mussels from the Red River.
State officials last month confirmed young zebra mussels at several locations along the river, and workers discovered an adult zebra mussel at Fargo’s water plant.
The invasive species compete with native species, clog water intakes and can even sink docks and buoys with their weight.
Game and Fish Aquatic Nuisance Species Coordinator Fred Ryckman says anglers may no longer transport live bait in water away from the Red River.
All boats and other watercraft also must have their plugs pulled when exiting the river, and plugs must remain pulled when the watercraft leaves the access area. All boats entering North Dakota also must have their plugs pulled.
MEDORA, N.D. (AP) – The National Trust for Historic Preservation is pushing to turn a scenic ranch in the western North Dakota Badlands into a national monument.
However, the idea isn’t yet being actively supported by the U.S. Forest Service, which owns the former Eberts ranch.
The 8-square-mile ranch is across the Little Missouri River from former President Theodore Roosevelt’s Elkhorn Ranch site. The Forest Service’s Dakota Prairie Grasslands bought it from the Eberts family in 2006.
Grasslands Supervisor Dennis Neitzke tells The Bismarck Tribune the agency will continue managing the site for multiple uses – grazing, mineral development and public recreation. He isn’t sure how national monument status would impact that.
National Trust spokeswoman Jennifer Buddenborg says the ranch is a national treasure, and her organization wants to increase protection for it.
STURGIS, S.D. (AP) – State officials say eight people have died in traffic accidents in western South Dakota over the past week as bikers have flooded the state for the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.
The Department of Public Safety says four people have died in the city of Sturgis and four have died in western South Dakota since July 28.
Last year at this time, the patrol reported only one traffic fatality.
The most recent deaths include riders from North Dakota and Kansas.
Sixty-three-year-old Rose Ann Richard was thrown from her motorcycle near Sturgis on Interstate 90. The Belfield, North Dakota, woman died Monday of her injuries.
Forty-two-year-old John Rowlett, Jr., of Wichita, Kansas, lost control of his motorcycle Monday while on state Highway 87. He collided with a rock and died of his injuries.
In sports…
MISSOULA, Mont. (AP) – Longtime sports broadcaster Brent Musburger, who grew up in Billings, will call the season-opening football game between Montana and four-time defending FCS champion North Dakota State in Missoula.
The FCS battle will be aired on ESPN, CSi Cable 14, starting at 1:30 p.m. on Aug.29, 2015, and marks the start of the football season as part of the network’s second annual FCS Kickoff.
First-year Montana football coach Bob Stitt said Musburger called him Monday to let him know that he and color commentator Jesse Palmer will call the game.
Musburger has called seven BCS National Championship games, including the last five.
In world and national news…
CENTENNIAL, Colo. (AP) – A grieving father has told jurors in Colorado that he returns now and then to the movie theater where his son was murdered. Jurors struggled to hold back tears as Tom Sullivan described how his family looks for the very spot where his son Alex was killed while celebrating his 27th birthday. Prosecutors are presenting testimony from family members of the 12 people who were killed by James Holmes at the theater three years ago. They are hoping to persuade jurors to sentence Holmes to death.
CANTON, Miss. (AP) – A judge has set bail at $300,000 for a man accused in the fatal shooting of a defendant in a drug case outside a Mississippi courthouse. William Wells appeared over video from jail, where he has been held since yesterday’s shooting that killed Kendrick Brown. A prosecutor says authorities are investigating whether Wells was trying to retaliate for the nonfatal Saturday shooting of his mother — who was scheduled to testify against Brown at his trial on drug charges.
HOUSTON (AP) – An attorney for Waller County in Texas says the county will have a vigorous defense to a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the mother of Sandra Bland. She’s the black woman authorities say hanged herself last month in the Texas county’s jail. The lawsuit seeks unspecified punitive damages for what are called “egregious acts and omissions” by the trooper who pulled Bland over for a traffic violation July 10 and then arrested her, as well as the Texas Department of Public Safety, Waller County, the sheriff’s office and two jail employees.
MARSON, Mo. (AP) – Emergency crews are on the scene of a massive explosion at an aluminum plant in southeastern Missouri. The explosion sent a large plume of smoke above the plant near the town of Marston. A company spokesman says all of the employees are accounted for, and there were no fatalities or critical injuries.
MADISON, Wis. (AP) – The Milwaukee archdiocese has agreed to a $21 million settlement with victims of clergy abuse. Archbishop Jerome Listecki says the settlement sets the stage for the archdiocese to close a bankruptcy proceeding that was filed in January 2011. He says the settlement will let the archdiocese “turn the page on a terrible part of our history.”
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