Wayne Byers Show – Evening – May 30

CSi Weather…

.TONIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH CHANCE OF RAIN SHOWERS AND SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS. LOWS IN THE MID 50S. SOUTH WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 30 PERCENT IN THE JAMESTOWN AREA…50 PERCENT IN THE VALLEY CITY AREA.
.FRIDAY…RAIN SHOWERS LIKELY AND SLIGHT CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS.
HIGHS IN THE LOWER 60S. WEST WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH. CHANCE OF
PRECIPITATION 60 PERCENT IN THE JAMESTOWN AREA, 7O PERCENT IN THE VALLEY CITY AREA.
.FRIDAY NIGHT…RAIN SHOWERS LIKELY. LOWS IN THE MID 40S. NORTH
WINDS 10 TO 15 MPH INCREASING TO AROUND 20 MPH AFTER MIDNIGHT.
CHANCE OF SHOWERS 70 PERCENT.
.SATURDAY…PARTLY SUNNY WITH A 30 PERCENT CHANCE OF RAIN
SHOWERS IN THE JAMESTOWN AREA, A 40 PERCENT CHANCE IN THE VALLEY CITY AREA.  HIGHS IN THE LOWER 60S. NORTH WINDS AROUND 20 MPH.
.SATURDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS IN THE LOWER 40S.
.SUNDAY…SUNNY. HIGHS IN THE MID 60S.
.SUNDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS IN THE UPPER 40S.
.MONDAY…PARTLY SUNNY WITH A 30 PERCENT CHANCE OF RAIN SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. HIGHS IN THE MID 60S.
.MONDAY NIGHT…RAIN SHOWERS LIKELY AND CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS.
LOWS IN THE LOWER 50S. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 60 PERCENT.
.TUESDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 50 PERCENT CHANCE OF RAIN SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. HIGHS IN THE MID 60S.
.TUESDAY NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 30 PERCENT CHANCE OF RAIN SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. LOWS IN THE LOWER 50S.
HIGHS IN THE UPPER 60S.

Jamestown, ND (KCSi-T.V. News May 30, 2013) — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Thursday afternoon (May 30, 2013) at 2:45 p.m., increased the release from Jamestown Dam to 1,000 cfs.

Bob Martin reported that the increase puts the Jamestown Dam release to where it was before being cut back due to concerns of excessive rainfall in the forecast.

Earlier this week the Corps reduced the release back to 850 cfs.

Martin points out that Pipestem Dam is maintaining a release of 200 cfs, for a combined release of 1,200 cfs.

He said no other release changes are planned through the coming weekend, unless it becomes necessary due to rainfall or runoff amounts.

 Jamestown, ND (KCSi-T.V. News) — The Jamestown City Council met in Special Session Thursday afternoon (May 30, 2013) at City Hall for the purpose of consulting with the City Attorney, concerning territorial service claims by Stutsman Rural Water District and the City of Jamestown.

Council Members Gumke, and Brubakken were not present.

City Attorney Ken Dalsted was present.

At Thursday’s meeting, the city’s legal counsel Tami Norgaard, from the Vogel Law Firm in Fargo, joined the meeting by telephone conference.

She went through the draft agreement, saying the draft will include provisions approved by the city.

She added that she was not comfortable with some areas concerning the scope of service, and specifically with Great River Energy, contract issues.

The agreement with GRE, concerning water service is with the city, and SRWD.   Stutsman Rural Water District, wants the new agreement to address what occurs if a “material breech ” of contract occurs, regarding serving GRE with water.

Mayor Andersen said she is leery of the agreement having other issues “unnecessarily lumped into the draft.”

Ms. Norgaard also reviewed other draft agreement provisions.

Council Member Buchanan commented about back up emergency water service provisions in the draft, to Jamestown Regional Medical Center.

The agreement includes a territory swap allowing the new Titan Machinery building to be served by Rural Water and an area south of the airport to be served by the city of Jamestown. It also sets the boundary between the two utilities as the city limits as they existed in 2010.

The city wants a 40-year contract, and Rural Water District wants to extend the contract beyond that if Rural Water still has debt to the federal government.

Thursday’s meeting follows a joint meeting on Tuesday this week, between the city council, and SRWD board members.

It was noted that attorneys planned to review new wording for the issues discussed at that meeting.

The parties have purportedly agreed on principle on the majority of issues, but desired different language.

Any agreement between the City and SRWD would require the agreement of USDA officials and representatives of the North Dakota Financing Authority because both the city and Rural Water are indebted to those organizations.

Mayor Andersen moved, and it was approved unanimously to have Ms. Norgaard authorize and submit the draft changes during the Thursday meeting to SRWD.

The issues and draft revisions move from the City Council to the Stutsman Rural Water District board for their review.

The meeting was shown live on CSi Cable 67 followed by replays.

Jamestown, ND  (KCSi-T.V. News)  —  Jamestown Police and Jamestown Area Ambulance Service were call to a vehicle – pedestrian accident, about 1:45 p.m., Thursday (May 30, 2013) at the intersection of 2nd Avenue, and 5th Street Northwest.

An eyewitness said a male was lying in the street and was taken away by ambulance.

More information, pending the filing of the police report.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – The North Dakota attorney general’s office is fighting an attempt to include a new lawsuit onto a challenge of a 2011 abortion law that a judge has called unconstitutional.
 
     East Central Judge Wickham Corwin said last month that he will rule in favor of the state’s sole abortion clinic in its challenge of a state law that limits the use of drugs to terminate pregnancies. Corwin has not officially ruled on the case.
 
     New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights filed a lawsuit in state court this month challenging a new state law that requires doctors who perform abortions to obtain hospital-admitting privileges. The group says the 2013 law raises the same “legal and factual matters” as the 2011 law.
 
     State attorneys say the laws are “separate and distinct.”

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – North Dakota Supreme Court justices are considering whether police officers illegally seized and searched a package in a synthetic drug case that resulted in the conviction of two Mandan business owners.
 
     William Nickel and Ryan Zueger were convicted last year of conspiracy to deliver synthetic drugs. The two own the Mandan smoke shop Big Willies. Their one- and two-year prison sentences were stayed pending the appeal.
 
     At the heart of the case is a package shipped by the business that officers examined without a warrant. Prosecutors say it was proper but defense attorneys disagree. The Supreme Court will rule later.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – North Dakota Lt. Gov. Drew Wrigley joined company leaders at the dedication of a new wind energy project center.
 
     With the completion of the Bison Wind Energy Center, North Dakota’s wind energy farms have the capacity to generate about 1,600 megawatts of electricity.
 
     Since 2010, Minnesota Power has installed 101 wind turbines throughout south-central North Dakota to produce renewable electricity.
 
     Since the first wind turbines were completed at Bison Wind Energy Center, a total of 750,000 megawatt-hours of electricity has been produced. This is enough to power 85,000 homes for a year. The electricity generated is delivered to Minnesota via a transmission line.
 
     Minnesota Power has invested about $500 million in to the Bison Wind Energy Center.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) – Backers of a North Dakota technology and business park for unmanned aircraft systems expect to finalize a contract for the facility in the next few weeks.
 
     The project known as Grand Sky will cover 225 acres on the Grand Forks Air Force base. Officials unveiled details for the park Thursday at an annual drone summit in Grand Forks.
 
     Grand Forks County Commissioner John Schmisek (SCHMEE’-zik) says it would be the largest industrial park in North Dakota. The anchor tenant is aerospace technology company Northrup Grumman.
 
     Schmisek says officials are wrapping up negotiations with the Air Force on the facility.
 
     Sen. John Hoeven says North Dakota should be a global leader in unmanned aircraft. The state is bidding to become one of six national test sites for drones.

 KENAI, Alaska (AP) – Tesoro has agreed to pay a $1.1 million penalty to resolve violations of federal air pollution laws.
 
     The Environmental Protection Agency reached the agreement with Tesoro over alleged violations of the Clean Air Act at four refining facilities that produce gasoline, including one in Kenai.
 
     EPA accused Tesoro of failing to comply with record keeping, reporting, sampling and testing requirements under the agency’s fuel program. It said the violations also occurred at facilities in Salt Lake City, Utah; Mandan, N.D. and Anacortes, Wash.
 
     EPA says the fuel program requirements are in place to ensure that gasoline complies with fuel quality and performance standards. If not, EPA says there could be an increase in harmful air pollution.
 
     Tesoro is being required to implement a plan to prevent future violations.

MINOT, N.D. (AP) – The city of Minot is getting $18 million from the federal government for an effort to revitalize the city’s downtown.
 
     The money through the U.S. Economic Development Administration is part of disaster recovery funding approved by Congress. Minot is continuing to recover from historic Souris River flooding in the summer of 2011.
 
     The city is adding $4.5 million of its own money to the project dubbed Imagine Minot. Other money is coming from a local economic development fund and the federal Housing and Urban Development agency, but most of the funding for the $140 million business and residential renewal project will come from private investments.

WILLISTON, N.D. (AP) – A Chicago developer wants to revitalize downtown Williston with a $16 million investment, but opponents say the loss of an existing parking lot would be detrimental to businesses.
 
     The Renaissance Companies is proposing a six-story complex on Williston’s Main Street that would house retail and office space, 45 apartments and underground parking.
 
     The  project would replace a city-owned parking lot, and it has created a divide among residents and also city commissioners.
 
     Mayor Ward Koeser is one supporter. He says something needs to be done to “energize” the downtown area.
 
     Business owner Rex Byerly says the parking lot is heavily used and the project likely would put him out of business. He says it would be “the death of downtown.”

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) – The longest-serving active state district judge in North Dakota is retiring in a few months.
 
     Northeast Central District Judge Joel Medd plans to step down from the bench in Grand Forks on Sept. 1. Medd was appointed by then-Gov. Arthur Link in 1979 and since 2006 has been the longest-serving judge in the state.
 
     Medd was born in Langdon and grew up in Anamoose. He graduated from the University of North Dakota law school in 1975.
 
     Medd recently took about six weeks off following open-heart surgery.

In world and national news…

BEIRUT (AP) – Syrian President Bashar Assad is vowing to respond to any future Israeli strike on his country. Israel has carried out several airstrikes in Syria in recent months that are believed to have destroyed weapons shipments bound for Hezbollah (hez-BUH’-lah). In an interview with a Lebanese TV station own by the militant group, Assad warned that Syrian forces “will respond to any strike with a similar strike.” 
 
     WASHINGTON (AP) – The Obama administration is accusing Iran of supporting terrorism around the world at levels not seen since the 1990s. In its country reports on terrorism for last year, the State Department says Iran has supported plots in Africa, Europe and Southeast Asia, including an attack on a bus carrying Israeli tourists in Bulgaria that killed six. It says other strikes were thwarted in India, Thailand, Georgia and Kenya.
 
     NEW YORK (AP) – New York City’s police commissioner is describing suspicious letters mailed to President Barack Obama and Mayor Michael Bloomberg as angry complaints about gun control efforts. Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly says he won’t quote directly from the letters, but they include threats about shooting people in the face. The two letters to Bloomberg tested positive for traces of the deadly poison ricin. The FBI is analyzing the letter intercepted by the White House mail facility.
 
     NORMAN, Okla. (AP) – Tornado watches and warnings are up for parts of Oklahoma, and forecasters say nasty weather is also possible today over portions of Arkansas, Kansas and Missouri. The Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., warns there is a moderate risk of severe weather over much of eastern and central Oklahoma. Storms will also be possible in the mid-Mississippi Valley into the upper Midwest Thursday afternoon and night.
 
     LOS ANGELES (AP) – Astronauts who one day travel to Mars could be bombarded with a lot of cosmic radiation. Using data from a radiation sensor aboard the NASA rover Curiosity, scientists estimate that a round-trip voyage would expose astronauts to an amount equivalent to getting a full-body CT scan every five or six days for a year. The finding, in Friday’s issue of the journal Science, only includes radiation exposure on a Mars flight. It doesn’t include time spent on the planet’s surface.