Wayne Byers Show – Evening – Feb 20

CSi Weather…

.SUNDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLEAR. LOWS AROUND 10 BELOW. SOUTHWEST

WINDS 5 TO 15 MPH.
.MONDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. BREEZY. HIGHS IN THE UPPER 20S.
.MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY. BREEZY. LOWS AROUND
20. HIGHS IN THE MID 20S.
.TUESDAY NIGHT…INCREASING CLOUDS. LOWS AROUND 5 BELOW.
.WEDNESDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. HIGHS 5 TO 10 ABOVE.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY…PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS AROUND
10 BELOW. HIGHS ZERO TO 5 ABOVE.
.THURSDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLEAR. LOWS AROUND 10 BELOW.
.FRIDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS 10 TO 15.

WIND CHILL VALUES BETWEEN 25 AND 50 BELOW ZERO ARE EXPECTED
SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING.

WIND CHILL VALUES AROUND 35 BELOW ZERO ARE POSSIBLE SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY MORNING…AND AGAIN WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY MORNING.

 

Jamestown (CSi) The Jamestown Tourism Grant/Executive Advisory Board met Friday at The CSi Technology Center at Historic Franklin School.

The agenda include grant requests for 2015.

The Frontier Village’s requests included:

A grant request for $34,930 to staff Frontier Village during the summer months.

Another is a grant request is for $11,700 for the horse operations run by Karen George during the summer months.

Also requested to tourism is $6,400 for the association’s Pioneer Days celebration planned for August 15-16, 2015.

Other grant requests were from:

Fort Seward for summer staffing: $9,800 in 2015

Stutsman County Memorial Museum, summer staffing: $7,000

National Buffalo Museum summer staffing: $14,794

Frontier Village Wild West Players, $800 for prop guns, ammo, and supplies.

The board voted to grant summer staff dollar allocation increases of four percent over what was expended by each entity in 2014.

Which was in 2014:

Fort Seward : $8,908.46

Stutsman County Memorial Museum: $6,240

National Buffalo Museum: $14,229

National Buffalo Museum: White Cloud Days: $3,596.42

Also approved was:

A grant of $11,700 for horse care for stage coach and pony rides.

For Frontier Village: 75 percent tourism funding from shared expenses for White Cloud Days, and Pioneer Days.

Frontier Village Wild West Players: $800 for prop guns and ammo the last request in 2012 was for $790

National Buffalo Museum …White Cloud Days request was $5,675 with the recommendation for 2015 of $2,000.

The board also voted to expend dollars for the Tourism Community Calendar project to Redplum Media for all expenses, that were not specifically allocated in Tourism’s budget, from allocated city funds.

 

Jamestown (CSi) The steering committee for Jamestown’s the Land Use and Transportation Plan (LUTP) have reviewed the plan for a final time, which lists five top priority projects with a total engineer’s estimate of more than $33 million.

RDG Planning and Design and KLJ Engineering were contracted to prepare the LUTP for Jamestown.

RDG Planning and Design’s Marty Shuket, pointed out that the five top priority transportation projects include: A road connecting Jamestown Regional Medical Center to U.S. Highway 281, an additional overpass over the BNSF main line tracks, improvements to downtown streets, replacing the bridge over the James River on 4th Avenue Northwest and upgrades to 3rd Street Southeast.

A second separated grade crossing over the BNSF railroad tracks is the second priority of the LUTP, planned for the intersection of 12th Avenue Southeast and 3rd Street Southeast, with the intersection of the two streets would occur on an overpass above the railroad tracks. The estimated cost is more than $13 million.

The LUTP plan includes removing Exit 257 from I-94 and creating an overpass from 17th Street Southwest to the Menards area. This portion of the plan has an $11 million estimated cost. These portions of the project could be built between 2029 and 2040.

Upgrading First Avenue and the downtown area are meant to slow traffic and make the area a destination, with one traffic lane in each direction with a center turning lane.

Shukert says replacing the 4th Avenue Northwest bridge over the James River will not improve traffic flows but is needed, with bridge replacement costs is estimated at about $400,000 and could occur between 2019 and 2023.

Also s priority is upgrades to 3rd Street Southeast to reduce the number of lanes and add bicycle paths to the street, and improve safety. The cost is estimated at $1.5 million and could be built between 2024 and 2028.

The LUTP is partially funded with state money, is used as a plan for growth in and around Jamestown and includes possible upgrades and additions to roads and zoning recommendations for potential areas of growth.

Jamestown City Council member, Dan Buchanan, Council’s liaison to the Planning Commission, said sales tax growth may be tempered by the incentive agreement that rebates the half percent city sales tax collected at Menards back to the company.

A final draft of the LUTP will be presented to the City Council on April 3, 2015. After a comment period, the plan is finalized. Executing any part of the plan would require action by the City Council.

Scheduled Jamestown projects by the North Dakota Department of Transportation through 2018 include a $10 million upgrade to 17th Street Southwest from U.S. Highway 281 to the Interstate 94 exit, a reconstruction of Exit 260 on I-94 estimated at $2.9 million and safety improvements and resurfacing to the U.S. Highway 52 Bypass.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – North Dakota lawmakers are increasing state spending on roads as they see slight decreases in per-capita federal spending.

Figures compiled by The Associated Press show total per-capita spending available to the state from the Federal Highway Trust Fund declined 2.6 percent from 2008 to 2013.

The fund provided $268 million to North Dakota in 2013, or $370 per person – nearly triple the $126 national average.

House budget writers approved a $1.1 billion “surge funding” bill intended to fast-track money for highways and communities.

The amount approved by the House Appropriations Committee is $36.2 million less than the Senate’s version. The committee reworked the bill to give less to communities and more to the state Transportation Department for roads.

The legislation includes $450 million in funding for state highways.

 

Jamestown (CSi) The American Red Cross has announced that over 50 hotels have donated rooms for 2015 in their ‘Rooms for Red Cross’ program.

Eight hotels in the Jamestown/Valley City/Devils Lake area have donated over 50 rooms for 2015.

Participating hotels in the area include: AmericInn Lodge & Suites (Valley City), Holiday Inn Express (Jamestown), Gladstone Inn & Suites (Jamestown), Buffalo Motel (Jamestown), Comfort Inn (Jamestown), Sleep Inn & Suites (Devils Lake), Oxenrider Motel (Ellendale), and the Carrington Inn & Suites.

Last year, over 400 disaster calls were received in the region and left adults and children without anywhere to go. Volunteers with Red Cross responded to house/apartment fires more frequently and invited them to take a room with their ‘Rooms for Red Cross’ campaign.

Jamestown Red Cross Community Volunteer Leader, Jeff Wolsky, adds, “When we are helping a family after a fire, having these rooms available is a huge help,” They are just tremendous community members.”

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – North Dakota’s Senate has voted to exempt dairy and swine operations from the state’s anti-corporate farming law.

Senator’s voted 27-18 to allow corporations to operate dairy and hog farms. The measure now goes to the House.

Supporters of the bill say it would improve farmers’ access to capital and spur the state’s economy. Opponents say the current law blocks unfair competition from big, out-of-state corporations.

Jamestown Republican Sen. Terry Wanzek says dairy and hog farm operations are in serious decline in North Dakota and his bill is aimed at saving those industries.

The state’s anti-corporate farming law dates back to 1932. It now allows corporations with as many as 15 shareholders to own farms or ranches, as long as the shareholders are related.

 

Jamestown (CSi) A Public Input Meeting will be held in Jamestown on March 5, 2015, to discuss proposed improvements to ND Highway 20 near Jamestown

The rescheduled Public Input Meeting will be held, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Gladstone Inn & Suites, 11 Second Street Northeast, in Jamestown (in the Gladstone 3 Room). The meeting will utilize an open house format.

The purpose of the Public Input Meeting is to discuss proposed improvements for ND 20 from the Jamestown urban limits extending north 21.3 miles. The meeting will provide opportunity for public input. Staff from NDDOT and Stanley Consultants will be present to provide project information and answer questions.

 

Jamestown (CSi) JRMC in the Community is proud to announce an exciting opportunity for the Jamestown community. Tony Buettner, brother of Dan Buettner who is the author of The Blue Zones, reached out to JRMC with a request to come to Jamestown and present about The Blue Zones as well as how a community becomes a Blue Zone. JRMC will be coordinating his visit to our community. We invite you to a presentation that is open to the community on Thursday, March 5, 2015, from 6-7 pm at ND Farmers Union.

The presentation by Tony Buettner, Blue Zones is called: “Secrets of a Long Life” and will be followed by a Q and A session on how Jamestown, ND can become a Blue Zone.

To find the path to long life and health, Dan Buettner and his team study the world’s “Blue Zones,” communities whose elders live with vim and vigor to record-setting age. In Tony’s talk, he shares the 9 common diet and lifestyle habits – Power 9® – that keep them spry past age 100.

Tony Buettner debunks the most common myths and offers a science-backed blueprint for the average American to live another 12 quality years.

 

STANLEY, S.D. (AP) – The North Dakota Highway Patrol says an Idaho man is dead following a crash Friday morning near Stanley.

Fifty-three-year-old Michael Ducker, of Meridian, Idaho, was driving northbound on Highway 8. The Patrol says Ducker drifted into the southbound lane and collided with an oncoming Mazda hatchback driven by Alabama-resident Steven Schoeny.

Both Schoeny and Ducker’s passenger Paul Williams were injured in the crash.

 

FARGO, N.D. (AP) – A Fargo man has been charged with terrorizing for allegedly threatening to kill his former co-workers.

Gary Bush was fired from Luther Family Ford on Thursday morning.

Court documents show that Bush called a former co-worker and told her was sharpening knives and that the company would need to hire an all new quick lane crew. He allegedly told his former co-worker that he killed five people in the military and would soon double that number.

Police say Bush denied making the threats.

Bush’s court-appointed attorney was not in the office Friday. A number for Bush could not be located.

 

FARGO, N.D. (AP) – A Fargo man accused of being drunk while operating a Zamboni ice-grooming machine during a high school hockey game has pleaded not guilty to driving under the influence.

Steven Anderson allegedly was drunk on Jan. 30 when he was smoothing the ice for a girls’ game between Davies High School and Williston High. Spectators alerted South Sports Arena officials that Anderson allegedly was driving the Zamboni into the boards and appeared impaired.

Police say Anderson’s blood-alcohol level was 0.30, nearly four times the legal limit for driving.

The 27-year-old Anderson appeared in court on Thursday. A pretrial conference is scheduled March 25. He could face up to 30 days in jail and a $1,500 fine if convicted.

Court documents show Anderson pleaded guilty last month to an unrelated DUI charge.

 

MINOT, N.D. (AP) – Minot Air Force Base has named a dormitory in honor of a soldier who died while helping save the lives of three comrades during the Vietnam War.

The base’s 5th Civil Engineer Squadron has renamed Dormitory 221 as Etchberger Hall in honor of Chief Master Sgt. Richard Etchberger.

Etchberger was stationed at a secret radar site on a mountain in Laos near the Vietnam border when he died helping others during the Battle of Lima Site 85 on March 11, 1968.

In 2010, Etchberger was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military award for valor.

 

In sports…

Jamestown (CSi) The Jamestown Blue Jays boys hockey team has advanced to a state

qualifier game at the West Region tournament with a 4-0 win over Williston, on Friday morning.

Jamestown next plays the loser of Friday night’s Bismarck Century-Minot game  to go to the state tournament in Fargo.

Jamestown (CSi) The Jamestown Civic center will host eight area Class B girl’s basketball teams starting Monday February 23, 2015, for the right to go to the North Dakota State Basketball Tournament.

Four single-elimination games start Monday at 3-pm.

Semifinals are set for 6-pm and 7:30-pm on Tuesday.

The championship game will be Thursday night at 7:30-pm after the third-place game.

Monday, February 23rd

3-pm: #1-D6 Napoleon-GS vs. #4-D5 Barnes County North

4:30-pm: #2-D5 Carrington vs. #3-D6 Strasburg-Zeeland

6-pm: #1-D5 LaMoure-LM vs. #4-D6 Medina-PB

7:30-pm: #2-D6 Kidder County vs. #3-D5 Ellendale

 

In world and national news…

WASHINGTON (AP) – He says his Republican critics had plenty of “gloom and doom” predictions about the economy — but President Barack Obama says those forecasts haven’t come true. Speaking to the Democratic National Committee Friday in Washington, Obama delivered a rousing defense of his economic policies. And he said his own agenda is the one Democrats should carry heading into next year’s elections.

BRUSSELS (AP) – Greece is getting a four-month extension on its loans. Under a deal reached with its creditors in the 19-country Eurozone, Greece has promised not to pursue any “unilateral” measures that may affect the country’s budget targets. Friday’s meeting in Brussels came after Greece’s new left-wing government demanded more time to negotiate new agreements with its partners that wouldn’t hit Greek citizens as hard.

ST. LOUIS (AP) – A Missouri prosecutor Friday has been defending his handling of the Ferguson police shooting — even as protesters repeatedly disrupted his speech. Bob McCulloch, speaking at the Saint Louis University law school, had to compete with protesters angry over a grand jury’s decision not to charge a police officer in the August shooting death of Michael Brown. When protesters chanted, “Black lives matter,” McCulloch responded that “all lives matter.” There have been several legal and ethics challenges to McCulloch’s handling of the case.

LONDON (AP) – Rights organizations are calling for urgent steps to be taken to protect private calls and online communications. This, after allegations that U.S. and British agencies hacked into the networks of a major data card maker. A story on the website The Intercept, based on documents leaked by Edward Snowden, says agencies hacked into the company’s networks to steal codes that let the U.S. and British governments eavesdrop on mobile phones around the world.

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) – A push by a national anti-abortion group to outlaw a particular abortion procedure and to have it re-defined as “dismemberment” is moving ahead in the Kansas state legislature. The measure was approved today by the state Senate. It was drafted by the National Right to Life Committee as part of its effort to restrict abortion incrementally.