wbPM3CSi Weather…   .SUNDAY…INCREASING CLOUDS. NOT AS COLD. HIGHS IN THE UPPER 30S.  SOUTH WINDS 10 TO 20 MPH.
.SUNDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF RAIN…  SNOW AND SLEET. NOT AS COLD. LOWS IN THE UPPER 20S. SOUTHWEST  WINDS 10 TO 15 MPH.
.MONDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY. SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN…SNOW AND SLEET  IN THE MORNING…THEN SLIGHT CHANCE OF RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON.  HIGHS IN THE UPPER 30S. CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION 20 PERCENT.
.MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 20 PERCENT
CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW. LOWS IN THE LOWER 20S. HIGHS IN THE MID
30S.
.TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOWS IN
THE LOWER 20S. HIGHS IN THE UPPER 30S.
.THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS AROUND 40.
LOWS IN THE LOWER 20S.
.FRIDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 40S.

ON SATURDAY…SNOW WILL CONTINUE TO PUSH
SOUTHEAST THROUGH THE AFTERNOON…TAPERING OFF FROM NORTH TO SOUTH
LATE SATURDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING.
STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL AMOUNTS ARE STILL EXPECTED TO RANGE FROM ONE
TO THREE INCHES WHEN ALL IS SAID AND DONE SATURDAY EVENING.

SUNDAY NIGHT INTO EARLY MONDAY WITH THE WARMER AIR
MOVING ACROSS, A CHANCE OF SLEET/FREEZING RAIN.

 

FARGO, N.D. (AP) – Fargo police are now treating the death of a man early Friday as a homicide.

Lt. Joel Vettel says the man’s body was discovered behind the Bison Center Strip Mall about 1 a.m. Friday. He says a cause of death was not immediately determined. The man was not immediately identified.

Meanwhile, the state medical examiner has determined that a homeless man found dead in Fargo on Jan. 9 died of hypothermia. The body of 48-year-old Randy Lafontaine was found under a flatbed truck, on a day when the temperature reached 24 degrees below zero.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – North Dakota’s Supreme Court has upheld the suspension of a Fargo judge accused of sexually harassing a female court reporter.

The Supreme Court, in a unanimous ruling made public Friday, concluded that East Central District Judge Wickham Corwin violated North Dakota’s code of judicial conduct.

Corwin is accused of trying to start an affair with his former court reporter and retaliating when she rejected his advances.

A disciplinary panel of the Supreme Court had recommended that Corwin be removed from the bench for two months without pay and cover about $12,000 in court costs. The Supreme Court cut the suspension to one month without pay beginning Dec. 1.

Corwin’s term as a judge in Cass County ends on Dec. 31. He says he won’t seek re-election.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem (STEHN’-juhm) says a two-day law enforcement operation in the state’s oil patch region resulted in more than 20 arrests.

Stenehjem says the operation ended Thursday and was the result of a long-term undercover investigation by state, local and federal agencies. He says the operation targeted organized drug rings and other illegal activity in northwestern North Dakota.

Authorities say about 50 traffic stops were made during the crack-down, and agents seized “quantities” of guns, drugs and money.

Stenehjem says 14 people who entered the U.S. illegally also were arrested. He says those people have been turned over to the U.S. Border Patrol.

 

MINOT, N.D. (AP) – American Red Cross officials in North Dakota say they are assisting four families that lost their homes due to flooding in the northwest part of the state.

The Red Cross plans to help the East Fairview families with food, clothing and lodging

Officials say a casework team will meet with the families on Saturday. The team will also work with health services in the area to determine if there are any medical needs on site.

East Fairview is located about 40 miles west of Watford City on the Montana border.

Officials say a shelter opened Thursday. The Red Cross in Montana and the Dakotas is providing the shelter with cots, blankets and food.

 

DICKINSON, N.D. (AP) – Students, parents and school leaders in Dickinson are laying plans to rebuild after someone set a fire in their Catholic high school.

Former Trinity High School principal Thomas Sander is in the county jail on charges he se started the fire in the administrative offices last week.

But the destruction to their school isn’t fazing families.

One parent says they’re strong Catholic community that will rebuild and get stronger through it.

 

MANDAN, N.D. (AP) – An assisted-living facility in Mandan is working to get its state license reinstated.

The state Department of Human Services last month revoked the license of Lakewood Landing after complaints about its services. Medical Services Director Julie Schwab says it’s the first time Human Services has taken such action against an assisted-living facility.

Lakewood Landing administrator Judy Pepple says the cause was personnel issues that have since been resolved. Schwab disputes that.

Schwab says safety concerns include medication management and supervision of residents with memory loss.

 

MINOT, N.D. (AP) – A host of country western music stars have been booked for this year’s Norsk Hostfest (HOOST’-fehst) in Minot.

Jennifer Nettles, Josh Turner, Merle Haggard, B.J. Thomas and Danielle Bradbery all are scheduled to perform at the annual Scandinavian heritage festival. Other headline entertainers include comedian Bill Engvall and musician Doc Severinsen. The former Tonight Show bandleader will perform with the Minot Symphony Orchestra.

The Hostfest draws about 60,000 people each fall. This year’s 37th annual event is Sept. 30 through Oct. 4. Tickets go on sale May 16.

 

 

In sports…

MINOT, N.D. (AP) – Jack Christensen scored a game-high 20 points to pace Wahpeton to a 57-39 consolation win over Fargo Shanley at the North Dakota Class A boys state basketball tournament Thursday.

Christensen shot 8-for-14 from the field and made 4 of 7 from the free throw line. He also led the Huskies (18-6) with four assists. Blaze Irwin was 50 percent from 3-point range and finished with 11 points and six rebounds.

The Deacons (9-15) were led by Patrick Strom with 13 points, despite being 0-for-6 from 3-point range. As a team, the Deacons shot just 3-for-25 from long range. Kelvin Caga had two 3-pointers and Matthew Wolbaum had one.

Luke Rotunda led the Deacons with nine rebounds.

MINOT, N.D. (AP) – Bismarck held a two-point lead at half and stretched it to a 62-44 consolation win over Minot on Friday at the North Dakota Class A state boys basketball tournament.

Taylor Schafer was 10-for-22 from the field and made 2 of 3 from the free throw line to score a game-high 23 points for the Demons (17-7). Jon Tharaldsen shot 50 percent from the field for eight points and collected a game-high 12 rebounds.

The Demons got eight points from James Iron Eyes’ 3-for-5 shooting, including two 3-pointers and Seth Heilman added nine points.

The Magicians (16-8) were led by Braydon Lund’s 3-for-7 shooting from the field and 7-for-11 from the line for 13 points and 10 rebounds. Colter Hustad added 11 points.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – North Dakota’s Game and Fish Department is reminding anglers that midnight Saturday is the deadline to get permanent fish houses off state waters.

Portable fish houses can still be used after the deadline if they are removed daily.

Saturday also marks the end of the darkhouse spearfishing season in North Dakota.

 

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) – Closer Glen Perkins and the Minnesota Twins have agreed to a four-year contract that guarantees the pitcher $22,175,000.

Perkins had been due $4,975,000 this year and $3.75 million in 2015 under his previous deal, which included a $4.5 million team option for 2016 with a $300,000 buyout.

His new contract calls for him to earn $4,025,000 this year, $4.65 million in 2015, $6.3 million in 2016 and $6.5 million in 2017. The Twins have a $6.5 million option for 2018 with a $700,000 buyout.

 

In world and national news…

LONDON (AP) – After six hours of talks, Secretary of State John Kerry and Russia’s Sergey Lavrov haven’t found a way to ease the crisis in Ukraine — where residents in the Crimean region are holding a secession vote over the weekend. At the talks, Lavrov made it clear that Russian President Vladimir Putin won’t decide what to do with Crimea until after Sunday’s vote. Kerry, meanwhile, said the U.S. and the international community won’t recognize the outcome of the referendum.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Amid the tensions over the crisis in Ukraine, the Obama administration is denouncing moves by Moscow to put new restrictions on independent Russian media. Thursday, Russia banned several websites known for their criticism of the government, as well as a blog run by a prominent opposition leader.

NEW YORK (AP) – New York City’s fire commissioner says no one is still missing in the aftermath of a gas explosion that leveled two buildings and left eight people dead. But he says the rescue operation will continue in case there are unknown survivors still in the rubble. Salvatore Cassano says workers hope to clear all the debris by mid-day Saturday. That’s when detectives and fire marshals will be able to access the basements of the buildings to begin their investigation into what might have caused the blast.
WASHINGTON (AP) – Despite a disastrous start for the new health care program, and continued Republican opposition, President Barack Obama says enrollment is high enough to make the program stable for the millions who have signed up. He spoke to the WebMD website. Enrollment for the current year expires at the end of the month, and officials are hoping for a late rush of applications beyond the 4.2 million they say have already signed up.

NEW YORK (AP) – An Indian diplomat has been re-indicted on U.S. visa fraud charges that touched off an international stir after she was arrested and strip-searched in New York last year. The new indictment essentially reinstates the charges against the woman (Devyani Khobragade (dayv-YAHN’-ee KOH’-bruh-gah-day)). On Wednesday, a judge dismissed the previous indictment for diplomatic immunity reasons but left a door open to federal prosecutors to revive the case. The diplomat is back in India, and it’s unclear when, if ever, she might appear in court in New York again. Prosecutors say she fraudulently obtained a work visa for her housekeeper and lied to the government about the maid’s pay.