wbPM4CSi Weather…

TONIGHT…CLOUDY WITH A 40 PERCENT CHANCE OF SNOW IN THE JAMESTOWN AREA, 50 PERCENT CHANCE IN THE VALLEY CITY AREA. LOWS IN THE
 LOWER 20S. NORTH WINDS AROUND 10 MPH.
 .TUESDAY…CLOUDY WITH A 40 PERCENT CHANCE OF SNOW. HIGHS AROUND
 30. NORTHWEST WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH.
 .TUESDAY NIGHT…CLOUDY. SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS AFTER MIDNIGHT.
 LOWS 15 TO 20. NORTHWEST WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH. CHANCE OF SNOW
 50 PERCENT IN  THE JAMESTOWN AREA, 40 PERCENT IN THE VALLEY CITY AREA.
 .WEDNESDAY…CLOUDY. SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS IN THE MORNING. HIGHS
 IN THE LOWER 20S. NORTHWEST WINDS 10 TO 15 MPH. CHANCE OF SNOW
 30 PERCENT.
 .WEDNESDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOWS 5 TO 10 ABOVE. SOUTHWEST
 WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH.
 .THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS IN THE LOWER
 30S. LOWS IN THE MID 20S.
 .FRIDAY AND FRIDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS IN THE UPPER 30S.
 LOWS IN THE LOWER 20S.
 .SATURDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF SNOW. HIGHS
 IN THE LOWER 30S.
 .SATURDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 30 PERCENT CHANCE OF SNOW.
 LOWS IN THE LOWER 20S.
 .SUNDAY…CLOUDY WITH A 20 PERCENT CHANCE OF SNOW. HIGHS IN THE
 UPPER 20S.
 .SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOWS AROUND 15. HIGHS
 IN THE UPPER 20S.

 

A MIX OF LIGHT RAIN AND SNOW WILL SLOWLY SPREAD INTO THE AREA WITH A TRANSITION TO SNOW BY MONDAY NIGHT.

A BRIEF BREAK IN THE PRECIPITATION WILL BE POSSIBLE ON TUESDAY…BEFORE THE NEXT ROUND OF LIGHT SNOW MOVES THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT INTO EARLY WEDNESDAY.

TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS THROUGH WEDNESDAY SHOULD
RANGE FROM 1 TO 3 INCHES.

 DRY  THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT

SATURDAY… A CHANCE OF SNOW FROM THE TURTLE MOUNTAINS
 SOUTH INTO THE JAMES RIVER VALLEY. ONCE THE COLD FRONT SLIDES
 THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT…THE PRECIPITATION WOULD CHANGE OVER TO SNOW  THEN END SUNDAY AFTERNOON. BOTH THE GFS AND ECMWF SHOW WINDY/GUSTY
 NORTHWEST WINDS SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY.

PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS  WITH THE SNOW APPEAR LIGHT AT THIS TIME. 

 

Jamestown (CSi) The Jamestown City Council’s Finance and Legal Committee on Tuesday will consider approving the request for Sabir’s II, LLC (Nam Sabir) of Valley City, to assume the CGBG $220,400 equipment loan of BCG Jamestown, LLC (James and Sherry Heyer) Buffalo City, Buffalo City Rotisserie Grille, as part of the purchase of the restaurant business located at 103 First Avenue South.

Any recommendation for approval is subject to approval from the ND Division of Community Service.

 

Jamestown (CSi) The North Dakota Highway Patrol reports that at approximately 6:40 a.m., Monday , an eastbound 2000 GMC straight truck hauling frozen pizzas was coming from Valley City, headed to Fargo. Near milepost 319, five mile east of Buffalo, The driver, the lone occupant, 46 year old James McEwen, of Fargo, lost control of the truck causing it to tip onto its passenger side in the south ditch. The truck box was compromised during the crash, causing the pizzas to spill out into the ditch. McEwen, was not injured but was brought to Mercy Hospital in Valley City to be checked out by a private party.

He was wearing a seat belt.

Jamestown (CSi) The Spiritwood Energy Park Association (SEPA) Board of Directors, heard Monday from Great River Energy, Senior Project Manager Rich Garman.

He presented updates at the Spiritwood Energy Park, including the close out of the SEPA Rail Loop.

Permanent signage to indicated the location is planned for this Spring requiring minor construction.

JSDC CEO Connie Ova discussed funding for BNSF rail switches.

Stutsman County COO Casey Bradley indicated that the Stutsman County Commission will decide on helping to fund the project.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – The state oil authorities say all but five barrels of brine have been cleaned up from a spill that occurred near Tioga this weekend.
 
     The North Dakota Oil and Gas Division says the Hess Corporation reported on Saturday that 320 barrels of brine were released and contained at the BLDU central tank facility in Williams County.
 
     Brine is an unwanted byproduct of oil production and is considered an environmental hazard by the state. It is many times saltier than sea water and can easily kill vegetation exposed to it.
 
     The company says the cause of the spill was a piping leak.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – A new rule aimed at curbing the wasteful burning of natural gas in North Dakota and one that would make crude oil safer for shipment would be void under a proposal by a group of Republican lawmakers.
 
     The three-member North Dakota Industrial Commission that includes GOP Gov. Jack Dalrymple approved the two regulations last year.
 
     GOP Rep. Keith Kempenich of Bowman is pushing the measure that would give lawmakers more oversight in oil-related rulemaking. Kempenich told a Legislative committee Monday that such rules should have gone through Legislature’s Administrative Rules Committee, which has the power to block, change or delay new regulations.
 
     State Mineral Resources Director Lynn Helms says the Industrial Commission’s process was thorough. Helms says voiding the new rules would have serious fiscal consequences for the state.

 

FARGO, N.D. (AP) – The acting mayor of North Dakota’s largest city says he wants the job on a permanent basis.
 
     Tim Mahoney announced Monday that he is officially running in the special election for Fargo mayor, tentatively set for April. Mahoney took over the position when Mayor Dennis Walaker died in December after a battle with kidney cancer.
 
     Brad Wimmer, a former city commissioner who lost to Walaker in the June election, is also a candidate for mayor.

 

 WILLISTON, N.D. (AP) – Authorities have filed a negligent homicide charge against a man involved in a fatal crash in northwestern North Dakota.
 
     Court documents show that 35-year-old Brock Burnham, of Granville, is due in court March 12, and could enter a plea at that time to the felony charge that carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
 
   Burnham is accused of recklessly causing a crash on U.S. Highway 85 near Alexander in 2013 that killed Casey Finn, of Rapid City, South Dakota.
 
     Burhnam’s attorney did not immediately respond to an Associated Press request for comment.

 

MINOT, N.D. (AP) – Formal charges are pending against a woman accused of assaulting a Minot police officer over the weekend.
 
     Authorities say officers responded to a hotel early Saturday to help the manager evict three disorderly people staying in one of the rooms. Police say the 24-year-old woman refused to get out of bed, then struck an officer on the side of the head with her hand and tried to flee after being handcuffed.
 
     She was arrested on charges of simple assault on a peace officer, fleeing and possessing drug paraphernalia.
 
     Two men in the room also were arrested on various charges.
 

 

 FARGO, N.D. (AP) – A Minnesota man accused of running an illegal gambling operation in North Dakota has reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors.
 
     Court documents show Gerald Greenfield, of Bloomington, Minnesota, plans to plead guilty to transmitting wager information and money laundering. Details of the plea agreement have not been released.
 
     Greenfield is charged in federal court with three counts, including conducting a sports betting business and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
 
     Federal prosecutors say Greenfield took approximately $10 million each year in wagers and discussed receiving “several million dollars” from gamblers in Fargo. Greenfield allegedly ran the gambling operation for four years and made an annual profit of between $500,000 and $600,000.
 
     Greenfield previously pleaded guilty to running a $2.5 million mortgage fraud scheme in the Twin Cities.

 

  WATFORD CITY, N.D. (AP) – A Dallas-based oil company says someone has vandalized one of its oil well sites near Watford City, causing more than 250 barrels of oil to be released.
 
     Petro-Hunt L.L.C. reported Monday that 260 barrels of oil were released, contained and recovered at a site about 25 miles northeast of Watford City.
 
     Company spokesman Fred Hosey says someone came onto their unsecured site, broke the seals on the tank valves and opened them. He says the oil was released only within a protective berm.
 
     Hosey says while vandalism isn’t common at their sites, it does happen. He says occasionally it’s a local with a bone to pick, but most of the time authorities never find the culprits.
 
     The incident has been reported and the local authorities are investigating.

 

 WILLISTON, N.D. (AP) – Officials are updating a comprehensive plan for Williston that is just a few years old, saying the original plan did not take into account the rapid growth that the oil patch hub has experienced.
 
     The Williston Herald reports that the updated plan will address regional land use, transportation and economic development. It’s being done by officials with the city, Williams County, the state Transportation Department and a consulting group. Public input also is a part of the process.
 
     City Planner Donald Kress says the original plan developed from 2008-2010 assumed a population of 30,000 people in the year 2020. That number has already been surpassed.
 
     Kress says, “one year here is three years in most other cities.”
 
     The update is expected to take about a year to complete.

 

STURGIS, S.D. (AP) – A new scam is surfacing in the lead-up to the 75th anniversary of the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally – bogus home rentals.
 
     At least three properties in the city that are not for rent have shown up on the Craigslist online ad site as being available for rent. Police Chief Jim Bush says this is the first time in his 35 years overseeing the rally that he’s dealt with phony home rental listings.
 
     Homeowners Terry and Jeanne Setera are a victim. They worry thst come August, someone will show up on their doorstep, ready to move in.
 
     The state Attorney General’s Office is working with Craigslist to address the matter.
 
     The 75th annual rally Aug. 3-9 is expected to attract more than 1 million people.

 

FARGO, N.D. (AP) – Fargo area residents borrowed a record 1 million items from the city’s library in 2014.
 
     Library officials say books and magazines accounted for 46 percent of the overall circulation, while assorted non-print items and media, including e-books, DVDs and CDs, accounted for 36 percent of the circulation numbers.
 
     Officials say most of the growth in the library’s circulation figures occurred within the youth collection. In addition, last year’s statistics show that residents are borrowing more e-books. More than 55,000 e-books were checked out in 2014, that’s a 44 percent increase over 2013.
 
     Library Director Tim Dirks says June had the highest single-month circulation in the library’s history with slightly less than 100,000 items borrowed.

 

In sports…

NEW YORK (AP) – NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy says the NFL is investigating whether the Patriots deflated footballs used in their AFC championship game victory over the Colts.
 
     McCarthy said Monday morning he cannot provide any other information now.
 
     The inquiry was first reported by the website for WTHR-TV in Indiana, citing an unnamed source.
 
     The NFL rule book says “it is the responsibility of the home team to furnish playable balls at all times.”
 
     The game operations manual notes that people who alter footballs or allow an unapproved football to be used in a game can be disciplined with fines or other punishments.
 
     The Patriots beat the Colts 45-7 to reach the Super Bowl. New England will play Seattle for the NFL title on Feb. 1.

 

In world and national news…

 ATLANTA (AP) – The Rev. Martin Luther King’s daughter is calling on people to not only celebrate her father’s legacy of acting out against injustice but also to remember his message of nonviolence. Bernice King invoked the deaths of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, Eric Garner in New York City and the fatal shooting of 12-year-old Tamir Rice in Cleveland, Ohio at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta today. King called on those gathered to “help this nation choose nonviolence.”
 
     NEW YORK (AP) – A spokesman for New York City’s law department says the city has decided a settlement was in its best interest in the case of a Brooklyn man who says he was choked and unable to breathe during a 2013 encounter with police. The city will pay Kevin Dennis-Palmer Sr. $75,000 to settle a lawsuit. The suit was filed a month before Eric Garner told officers, “I can’t breathe,” as they wrestled him to the ground on Staten Island in July. Garner died.
 
     BRUSSELS (AP) – European Union foreign ministers say Arab countries are on the front line of battle against terrorism and more cooperation is needed.  EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini (feh-deh-REE’-kah moh-gehr-EE’-nee) says an “alliance” is needed to boost cooperation and information-sharing.
 
     CONAKRY, Guinea (AP) – Schools shuttered during the height of the Ebola crisis in Guinea are reopening. Employees at the doors of schools in the capital were taking temperatures of everyone who showed up Monday. Only those with normal readings were allowed to enter the building. Many parents kept their children home after rumors flew through the capital that masked workers were seen at a school building.
 
     NEW YORK (AP) – Amazon is getting into the movie business. Amazon Studios has announced plans to begin producing and acquiring original movies for theatrical release and, within weeks, video streaming. The announcement marks a new foray into the movie business for the online retail giant, which has in recent years developed a slate of TV series. Most recently, its acclaimed “Transparent” won two Golden Globe awards.