wbPM2CSi Weather…

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

 

THUNDERSTORM CHANCES SPREADING EAST ACROSS CENTRAL NORTH DAKOTA WEDNESDAY EVENING, AND  THURSDAY.

A STRONG SYSTEM WILL BE MOVING SOUTH AND EAST ACROSS NORTH DAKOTA THURSDAY EVENING, WITH SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS.

ANOTHER AREA OF PRECIPITATION WILL DEVELOP ACROSS SOUTHWEST NORTH DAKOTA OVERNIGHT THURSDAY/EARLY FRIDAY. THIS AREA OF PRECIPITATION MIGRATES EAST ACROSS SOUTHERN NORTH DAKOTA FRIDAY DAYTIME INTO FRIDAY NIGHT AND CONTINUES SATURDAY BEFORE ENDING.

AFTER A DRY DAY ON SUNDAY…THUNDERSTORM CHANCES RETURN SUNDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY.

 

ROBINSON, N.D. (AP) – A pickup truck rollover crash north of Robinson has killed one teenager and injured two others.
 
     The Highway Patrol says a 15-year-old Steele boy who was a passenger died in the Tuesday night crash. The 15-year-old Steele boy who was driving and a 13-year-old Tuttle boy who was a passenger were hurt. Names were not immediately released.
 
     The patrol says the crash happened shortly after 9 p.m. on a gravel road. The teens were returning from an area lake when the driver lost control. All three boys were thrown from the vehicle.

 

Jamestown (CSi) With the Jamestown Land Use and Transportation plan, there was a gathering Tuesday at City Hall, with the 17th Street Owners Group.

Input from the owners in attendance included, keeping the on- and off-ramp access to Interstate 94 in the area of the current exit 257.

The North Dakota Department of Transportation has indicated it considers the ramp a safety hazard, as the eastbound exit ramp connects to the left-hand lane at the exit.

The Land Use and Transportation Plan addresses the means to improve the safety or how to handle traffic if the ramp was eliminated.

RDG Planner, Marty Shukert said, an option includes replacing the left-lane exit overpass with a new overpass for local traffic, allowing local traffic from the proposed Menard’s location and JRMC to travel to Jamestown without going through an interstate exchange. It would also reduce the amount of traffic utilizing the interchange at U.S. Highway 281.

Other options include adding a lane to I- 94 through Jamestown and include an exit for westbound traffic at the new overpass near the proposed Menard’s location.

Suggestions varied on how to improve safety.

Randy Williams, of Crossroads Repairs, said reducing speeds on Interstate 94 would improve safety, and that when streets were constructed that connect Jamestown Regional Medical Center to the U.S. Highway 281 area near Walmart and the Buffalo Mall, the amount of traffic utilizing exit 257 would be reduced.

Shukert and Bob Shannon, from KLJ, will present updates on the status of the plan at 5 p.m. Wednesday, June 4, 2014, at the lower level conference room at City Hall.

　

Jamestown (CSi) Officials with Great River Energy report, that a full staff has been hired at Spiritwood Station for the coal-fired generating plant, and preparations are on-going for startup later this summer.

Officials don’t see new draft rules concerning carbon emissions from coal-fired generating plants as an obstacle to starting operations at Spiritwood Station this fall.

GRE Vice President and General Counsel, Eric Olsen, said,”We will be going online on November 1st.”

He adds that The draft rules by the Environmental Protection Agency require states to implement guidelines to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide by 2030. The proposed rules are currently in a 120-day comment period.

He says the rules, have “No effect on the Spiritwood Station.”

Plant construction began in 2006 and was completed in 2011.

Spiritwood Station is a combined heat and power facility that will generate up to 99 megawatts of electricity and supply steam heat to the Cargill Malt plant and Dakota Spirit AgEnergy ethanol plant now under construction at Spiritwood.

The ethanol plant is slated to begin operations during the first quarter of 2015.

　

FARGO, N.D. (AP) – An interim suspension has been lifted against a Grand Forks attorney who was cleared on charges he conspired to kill a confidential informant, but Henry Howe won’t be able to practice law for a few more months.
 
     The criminal complaint accusing the 73-year-old Howe first of murder conspiracy and then of witness tampering was dropped last month after the credibility of a key witness was questioned. Howe was suspended on Jan. 31.
 
     The state Supreme Court last week approved a motion by its disciplinary counsel to drop the interim suspension resulting from the conspiracy charge, but noted that Howe must still serve out another suspension stemming from an immigration case.
 
     The court in March banned Howe from practicing for six months when justices ruled he failed to provide proper representation.

 

　BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – Nearly two times as many same-sex couples from North Dakota have filed for marriage licenses across the border in Clay County than Minnesotans have.
 
     Deputy Recorder Lisa Kunze says 40 of the 68 same-sex marriage licenses filed in the county have been between two North Dakotans. Five more involved one North Dakota resident.
 
     Same-sex marriage became legal in Minnesota in August.
 
     A lawsuit filed by six couples in South Dakota two weeks ago left North Dakota as the only state in the country with an unchallenged constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
 
     The Minneapolis-based attorney behind that lawsuit has said he’s considering a similar motion in North Dakota. Advocates and opponents alike say a challenge wouldn’t be surprising.

 

WILLISTON, N.D. (AP) – North Dakota’s Land Board is awarding $18 million in grants to fund airport and infrastructure improvement projects in the state’s oil patch.
 
     Gov. Jack Dalrymple announced there grants Wednesday.
 
     Dalrymple’s office says $9.1 million will go to infrastructure improvement in 13 western North Dakota cities.
 
     Another $8.9 million will go to airport improvement and expansion projects in Williston, Watford City, Crosby, New Town, Bowman and Mohall.
 
     The Land Board’s grants to North Dakota airports are in addition to the more than $18 million in federal grants the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded state airports in May and June.
 
     The infrastructures of western North Dakota’s towns have struggled to keep up with sharp population growth in recent years brought on by the oil boom.

 

 MINOT, N.D. (AP) – A former Forum Communications Co. executive has been named publisher of the Minot Daily News.
 
     The Ogden Newspapers publication reports Steven McLister replaces Steve Herron, who had been publisher since May 2010.
 
     McLister is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio. He began his Forum career with The Daily News in Mitchell, South Dakota and later was promoted to publisher in Willmar, Minnesota. He was general manager of The Forum of Fargo-Moorhead from July 2000 to July 2007 and later was named to oversee the Forum’s Duluth News Group. In March 2009, The Forum named him vice president of newspapers, a position in which he supervised the publishers of Forum Communication’s 34 publications.
 
     McLister says joining the Minot Daily News is an opportunity to return to a hands-on role in publishing.

 

 FARGO, N.D. (AP) – The North Dakota National Guard is hosting a music camp for military children in Fargo.
 
     The camp will be taught by the 188th Army Band at North Dakota State University this week.
 
     Guard officials say children musicians and vocalists will have a chance to “broaden their musical horizons” while they interact with other military children from across the state.
 
     Children will learn about military music, song writing and performance techniques.
 
     Guard officials say the camp is meant to help children explore music as a tool to improve resiliency, self-esteem and team work.
 
     The event will run Thursday through Sunday. The children will perform in a free concert Sunday at NDSU’s Babbling Brooks Outdoor Stage.

 

In sports…

 WAHPETON, N.D. (AP) – An annual football game involving the high schools in neighboring Wahpeton, North Dakota, and Breckenridge, Minnesota, will continue.
 
     The future of the game that has been played every year for nearly a century was in doubt because of football district realignment in Minnesota. But the Daily News reports the Minnesota State High School League allowed schools to request that certain matchups continue.
 
     The league granted the request for the annual Wahpeton-Breckenridge Harvest Bowl to continue. Breckenridge athletic director and football coach Chad Fredericksen says that’s good news, because the rivalry game in late August or early September “sets the tone for the whole season.”

 

In world and national news…

WASHINGTON (AP) – Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl may not be the last American being held by the Taliban. A pregnant American woman, Caitlan Coleman, disappeared in Afghanistan in late 2012 with her Canadian husband, Joshua Boyle. And The Associated Press has learned that her family received two videos last year in which the couple asked the U.S. government to help free them from Taliban captors. U.S. law enforcement officials say they consider the videos authentic, but that it’s not clear just when and where they were made.
 
     WASHINGTON (AP) – According to the Senate’s top Democrat, some of the Republicans who are criticizing the White House for the prisoner swap that freed Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl have said in the past that no member of the armed forces should be left behind. Speaking Wednesday on the Senate floor, Harry Reid said Republicans are trying to use Bergdahl’s release to score “political points.” Republicans have criticized the lack of notice to Congress, as well as the decision to send five Taliban officials to Qatar (GUH’-tuhr). Some Democrats have also questioned the exchange.
 
     LUHANSK, Ukraine (AP) – For the third time since Tuesday, rebels in eastern Ukraine have taken control of a border guard base. A rebel fighter says the goal is to create a “humanitarian corridor” that would allow civilians to flee Ukraine for Russia to escape the fighting there.
 
     WASHINGTON (AP) – Some of the people who signed up for health insurance under President Barack Obama’s new law may not be getting that insurance after all. According to a government document, more than 2 million of those people have data discrepancies — on income, citizenship, immigration status and other factors. The administration says it’s triple-checking consumer information to make sure that only those who are legally entitled to the health care subsidies are getting them.
 
     FRESNO, Calif. (AP) – California officials have decided to add the gray wolf to the state’s endangered species list. At a meeting Wednesday, the state’s Fish and Game Commission voted in favor of the listing, which will keep the animal safe from hunters’ crosshairs. The decision requires a second vote in August to become final. Cattle ranchers opposed to endangered or threatened status say the wolf is a threat to valuable herds. Environmentalists, though, say there are places where wolves and livestock exist together.