Wayne Byers Show – Morning – Dec 26

CSi Weather…

REST OF TODAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY. A 30 PERCENT CHANCE OF SNOW LATE
IN THE MORNING. HIGHS IN THE UPPER 20S. WEST WINDS AROUND 5 MPH
INCREASING TO 5 TO 15 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON.
.TONIGHT…INCREASING CLOUDS. LOWS AROUND 20. SOUTHWEST WINDS
10 TO 15 MPH.
.FRIDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS IN THE MID 30S. WEST WINDS 10 TO
15 MPH.
.FRIDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS AROUND 15. WEST WINDS AROUND
10 MPH.
.SATURDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 40 PERCENT CHANCE OF SNOW. AREAS
OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW IN THE MORNING. BLOWING AND DRIFTING
SNOW IN THE AFTERNOON. WINDY. HIGHS AROUND 20. NORTHWEST WINDS
15 TO 20 MPH INCREASING TO NORTH 25 TO 30 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON.
.SATURDAY NIGHT…DECREASING CLOUDS. AREAS OF BLOWING AND
DRIFTING SNOW IN THE EVENING. LOWS AROUND 10 BELOW.
.SUNDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. HIGHS NEAR ZERO.
.SUNDAY NIGHT…DECREASING CLOUDS. LOWS AROUND 15 BELOW.
.MONDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. HIGHS NEAR ZERO.
.MONDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF SNOW.
LOWS AROUND 15 BELOW.
.TUESDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS NEAR ZERO.
.TUESDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 30 PERCENT CHANCE OF SNOW.
LOWS AROUND 10 BELOW.
.NEW YEARS DAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF SNOW.
HIGHS AROUND 10.

VISIBILITY PROBLEMS CAN BE EXPECTED SATURDAY. WINDS WILL BECOME
 NORTH UP TO 30 MPH ALONG WITH FALLING SNOW. THE COMBINATION OF
 WIND AND SNOW MAY MAKE FOR POOR VISIBILITIES…ESPECIALLY IN RURAL
 AREAS.

AN INCH OF SNOW OR LESS EXPECTED SOUTH OF HIGHWAY 2.

ALSO WIND CHILL ADVISORIES MAY BE ISSUED SATURDAY NIGHT
 INTO MONDAY.

Bismarck (CSi) The North Dakota Aeronautics Commission reports, that North Dakota airports hit the million passenger mark in November 2013.

Fargo, Grand Forks, and Dickinson set records fro November passenger enplanements, and Williston had its best month ever, as the number of air travelers state-wide continues to increase.

North Dakota boarded one million passengers back in 2012, for the first time ever, and this feat has been accomplished one month earlier in 2013.

State Aeronautics Director, Larry Taborsky says, “Air travel is a safe and comfortable way of bringing friends and family together for the holidays.

North Dakota has more flights to more destinations than ever before. I’m pround of what the airports in our state have accomplished.”

In November of 2013 Jamestown boardings were 224 compared to 251 in November of 2012, a decrease of 27 or 10.76%

Jamestown (CSi) – The Jamestown Rural Fire Department was called to a propane tank fire Monday, about 3:30-p.m. in a Northwest Ypsilanti trailer park.

The cause of the fire was listed as a malfunctioning valve on the 100 pound tank.

Rural firefighters cooled the tank and manually close the valve.

No other structures were threatened, with damage confined to the tank and valve.

No injuries were reported.

Eleven rural fire fighters were on the scene, with four units about an hour.

Rural Fire Fighters were called out about 2:40-p.m., on Tuesday to a shop fire at a location in Ypsilanti at 8829 43rd Street Southeast.

The person reporting the fire said it was out before the units arrived on the scene, using a fire extinguisher.

Firefighters removed part of the ceiling of the shop, checking for hot spots, making sure the fire hadn’t spread from the chimney.

Two trucks and seven firefighters were on scene, for about a half hour.

 MINOT, N.D. (AP) – Minot police say a Colorado man was captured after he kicked out the rear window of a police cruiser and took off.
 
     Police say 27-year-old Rodney Dale Smith of Colorado Springs was arrested on Tuesday for criminal trespass after allegedly entering a Minot home and destroying some property.
 
     Police say Smith escaped from the police car while on his way to the Ward County Jail. Police say he was captured after a short chase.
 
     In addition to criminal trespass, Smith has been charged with two counts of criminal mischief, disorderly conduct, escape and preventing arrest.

 FARGO, N.D. (AP) – A self-styled bounty hunter who spent 64 days in jail for breaking down the wrong door in a hunt for a fugitive in Fargo has pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor charges and sentenced to time served.
 
   27-year-old Rene Greeno, of Summerville, S.C., pleaded guilty Tuesday to criminal trespass, giving false information to law enforcement and criminal mischief.
 
     Judge Steven Marquart gave Greeno credit for the time he spent in jail following the September incident.
 
     Greeno and four others were accused of kicking in a Fargo woman’s apartment door while they were searching for a wanted man. Court documents say Greeno and members of his team lied to Fargo investigators about breaking into the woman’s apartment.

 FARGO, N.D. (AP) – The state attorney general says North Dakota State University violated open records laws when it failed to provide a citizen with a contract involving the school’s technology park.
 
     C.T. Marhula had asked for the paperwork in May. Chuck Hoge, the secretary of NDSU Research Park Venture, LLC, denied the request on the grounds that Park Ventures is not a public entity subject to open meeting and record requirements.
 
     Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem (STEN’-jem) said in an opinion issued earlier this week that Park Ventures was created by state statute and performs the “governmental functions” of raising money to finance and encourage business. He said that makes the company subject to open records laws.

 WASHINGTON (AP) – Securing passage for a new five-year farm bill tops the to-do list for North Dakota’s congressional delegation as it heads into 2014.
 
     House and Senate negotiators hope to have an agreement early next year. But Republican Sen. John Hoeven says his first task will be making sure negotiations don’t get off track.
 
     Hoeven is a member of the committee negotiating an agreement.
 
     Democrat Sen. Heidi Heitkamp says she’s also focused farm bill. Both Hoeven and Heitkamp say that if the legislation is approved, they will then focus on its implementation and making sure it works for North Dakota’s farmers and livestock producers.
 
     Other congressional issues on North Dakota lawmakers’ radar include energy legislation and new water projects bill.

 BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – Gov. Jack Dalrymple has named a 15-member advisory panel on pipeline safety in the wake of a massive spill in western North Dakota.
 
     The group includes state and federal officials, oil and gas industry officials and engineers.
 
     Dalrymple says the panel will provide recommendations for the best technology to monitor and control oil and gas pipeline systems in the state.
 
     The move to review pipeline safety stems from a Sept. 29 oil pipeline rupture that spilled more than 20,000 barrels of oil across several acres of farmland near Tioga.
 
     Officials say the panel’s first meeting is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 9.
 

 BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – Thousands of miles of underground gathering pipelines in North Dakota are being mapped under new rules that require companies to report the locations to the state.
 
     The North Dakota Legislature this year passed a broad measure that requires pipeline owners to submit the whereabouts of gathering pipelines and notify regulators when the lines are abandoned. A $75 million fund from oil tax revenues also is being established pay for pipeline reclamation, if the pipeline’s owner is not located.
 
     The North Dakota Industrial Commission, headed by Gov. Jack Dalrymple, approved the rule changes last week.
 
     The new rules are being hailed as much needed by regulators, industry and the state’s biggest landowner group.
 
     Don Morrison with the Dakota Resource Council called monitoring the pipeline locations “a big step.”

DICKINSON, N.D. (AP) – A partnership of the North Dakota state courts, the bar association and the University of North Dakota law school is looking to address a shortage of lawyers in rural counties with clerkships for law students.
 
     Judge Gail Hagerty wrote the program proposal for the courts and Legislature, which funded stipends for three clerkships this summer.
 
   The goal was to make law students and young people beginning their practice aware of all the benefits of working in rural communities.
 
     Tony Weiler, executive director of the North Dakota State Bar Association, said retiring rural attorneys used to have one or two coming up behind them. Now when they retire, there might not be one for miles.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – Bismarck police arrested the same man twice this year for panhandling, accounting for all of the panhandling cases in the city this year.
 
     Officer Pat Renz says  that an officer arrested a 61-year-old Bismarck man for the misdemeanor offense Saturday afternoon. Renz says an officer saw the Bismarck man in a street median holding a sign that said, “Merry Christmas homeless.” He says the man refused to give the officer information, and the officer arrested him.
 
     Police say the man had $947 in cash in his pockets.
 
     The man also had been arrested earlier in the year but the case was dismissed by prosecutors.
 
     North Dakota’s capital city began cracking down on aggressive panhandlers last year after complaints by people who felt intimidated or threatened.

GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) – Michele Anderson says someone found her 1993 Edinburg High School class ring that had been lost for 20 years.
 
     The  ring was found on Monday in a snow pile along a Langdon street.
 
     Anderson had just graduated from high school when she exchanged class rings with her then-boyfriend. But her boyfriend claimed he lost the ring while working on a cattle farm near Langdon.
 
     Anderson says the ring was found on the birthday of her late brother, Mike, who was killed in a car accident in 1990. Anderson, who was 15 at the time, was driving the car. 
 

     Anderson’s three sisters believe the ring’s discovery is some sort of message from their brother.

In sports..

 NATIONAL  BASKETBALL  ASSOCIATION

 NEW YORK (AP) – The New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets were blown out at home yesterday. Kevin Durant poured in 29 points and Serge Ibaka (ih-BAH’-kah) added 24 as the Oklahoma City Thunder picked up their 11th victory in 12 games, crushing the Knicks 123-94. Taj Gibson finished with 20 points and eight rebounds as the Chicago Bulls ripped the Nets 95-78/

    UNDATED (AP) – Chris Bosh and Dwyane (dwayn) Wade each scored 23 points as the Miami Heat picked up their sixth consecutive win, 101-95 over the Lakers in Los Angeles. James Harden dropped in 28 points and Dwight Howard had a double-double of 15 points and 20 rebounds in Houston’s 111-98 win at San Antonio. In the final game of the night, the Golden State Warriors beat the L.A. Clippers 105-103 behind David Lee’s 23 points.
      Clippers star forward Blake Griffin scored 20 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. But Griffin was ejected with 10:43 left in the fourth quarter after getting into a shoving contest with Andrew Bogut, who was charged with a flagrant foul but remained in the game.
 
       TOP-25  COLLEGE  BASKETBALL
  HONOLULU (AP) – No. 14 Iowa State is heading back to the mainland after rallying to win the Diamond Head Classic championship game.
 
     DeAndre Kane poured in 23 points, including a big 3-pointer with less than two minutes left in the Cyclones’ 70-66 win over Boise State at Honolulu. Melvin Ejim (EHJ’-ihm) had 15 points and 10 rebounds to help Iowa State overcome 23 points by tournament MVP Derrick Marks.
 
     The Cyclones are off to the first 11-0 start in team history.
  

NFL…

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – The Minnesota Vikings plan a big weekend for fans as the team closes out its final season at the Metrodome. The festivities begin Saturday with a “Last Season, Last Call” event from 4-7 p.m. at Mall of America Field. Season ticket owners get a final chance to take commemorative photos on the field, near the Vikings ship or in the team’s locker room. At Sunday’s final game against Detroit, every fan who enters the stadium will receive a pennant celebrating the final season.
 
     GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) – Packers linebacker Clay Matthews will miss Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears for the NFC North title after aggravating a right thumb injury. Green Bay didn’t practice yesterday but issued an injury report as if it did. Matthews was listed as out. Matthews got hurt during a sack in Sunday’s 38-31 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

 FEMALE ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
 
     Serena Williams wins 3rd AP Athlete of Year award
 
     UNDATED (AP) – Serena Williams is The Associated Press’ 2013 Female Athlete of the Year, easily winning a vote by news organizations.
 
     It’s the third AP award for the tennis star, who also won in 2002 and 2009.
 
     Williams went 78-4 in 2013, including a 34-match winning streak and 11 titles. Her French Open and U.S. Open championships raised her Grand Slam total to 17 singles trophies. She was ranked No. 1 from February until the end of the season.
 
     Williams received 55 of 96 votes in the AP results announced Wednesday.
 
     Brittney Griner, a two-time AP Player of the Year in college basketball and the No. 1 overall pick in April’s WNBA draft, finished second with 14 votes. Swimmer Missy Franklin was next with 10.
 
     MLB…

 
     CLEVELAND (AP) – Former major league player and broadcaster Mike Hegan has died at age 71.
 
     The son of former Indians catcher Jim Hegan was a one-time All-Star and a lifetime .242 hitter with 53 homers and 229 RBIs in 965 games. He was part of the Oakland Athletics’ 1972 World Series team after helping the New York Yankees win the 1964 American League pennant.
 
     Hegan spent 12 seasons as a broadcaster with the Milwaukee Brewers and had a 23-year run behind the Cleveland Indians’ mike before retiring in 2011.
 
     The Indians say Hegan had his family by his side when he died Wednesday morning in Hilton Head, S.C. No other details were provided by the team.
 

In world and national news…

LITCHFIELD, Maine (AP) – It may be Friday before some people who lost power in a weekend ice storm get it restored. Utility officials say tens of thousands of people in Maine, Michigan and Canada are still without electricity, although crews have been working to get it back on. In Maine, about 35,000 homes and businesses don’t have power, and forecasters are predicting up to 6 inches of snow today for some areas.  

WASHINGTON – Mailing a letter is about to get a little more expensive.

Regulators on Tuesday approved a temporary price hike of 3 cents for a first-class stamp, bringing the charge to 49 cents a letter in an effort to help the Postal Service recover from severe mail decreases brought on by the 2008 economic downturn.

Many consumers won’t feel the price increase immediately. Forever stamps, good for first-class postage whatever the future rate, can be purchased at the lower price until the new rate is effective Jan. 26.

The higher rate will last no more than two years, allowing the Postal Service to recoup $2.8 billion in losses. By a 2-1 vote, the independent Postal Regulatory Commission rejected a request to make the price hike permanent, though inflation over the next 24 months may make it so.
 
     ISLAMABAD (AP) – A new video has been released in which a 72-year-old American kidnapped in Pakistan by al-Qaida more than two years ago says he feels “totally abandoned and forgotten.” Development worker Warren Weinstein is appealing to the U.S. government for his release.
 
     BANGKOK (AP) – Thailand’s election commission is urging the government to delay upcoming elections as clashes between security forces and anti-government protesters turn deadly. A police officer was killed today and nearly 100 people injured during demonstrations in Bangkok by protesters pushing for the ouster of Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra (SHIN’-uh-wah) and the delay of Feb. 2 voting.     
 
     VATICAN CITY (AP) – One day after bombing attacks targeted Christian areas in Iraq, Pope Francis is urging people to speak out against the persecution of Christians. Francis didn’t mention any countries in his remarks today in St. Peter’s Square, but he said unfortunately more Christians are experiencing discrimination and violence now than in Christianity’s early times.   
 
     NEW YORK (AP) – It didn’t get there in time for Christmas, but it could come today or Friday. UPS and FedEx say poor weather earlier this week and overloaded systems are partly to blame for packages customers were expecting for Christmas not reaching their destinations in time. UPS has brought in extra workers to sort out those delayed packages. Amazon.com says it will refund some of its customers and give them a $20 credit toward a future purchase.