wbAM2CSi Weather…

TODAY… MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A
20 PERCENT CHANCE OF RAIN SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON  30 PERCENT CHANCE IN THE VALLEY CITY AREA. HIGHS IN THE
LOWER 40S. SOUTHWEST WINDS 15 TO 20 MPH SHIFTING TO THE NORTHWEST
IN THE AFTERNOON.
.TONIGHT…MOSTLY CLEAR. LOWS IN THE UPPER 20S. WEST WINDS AROUND
15 MPH.
.SATURDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. HIGHS IN THE MID 30S. WEST WINDS 5 TO
10 MPH.
.SATURDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOWS IN THE LOWER 20S. NORTHWEST
WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH.
.SUNDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS AROUND 30. NORTHWEST WINDS 10 TO
15 MPH.
.SUNDAY NIGHT AND MONDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOWS 15 TO 20. HIGHS IN
THE UPPER 20S.
.MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY…MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOWS AROUND 10. HIGHS
16 TO 26.
.TUESDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOWS ZERO TO 5 ABOVE.
.WEDNESDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS AROUND 15.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY. LOWS ZERO TO 5 ABOVE.
.THURSDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS 15 TO 20.

Valley City (CSi) Valley City Administrator David Schelkoph has brought a grievance against Valley City Mayor, Bob Werkhoven, accusing Werkhoven of creating an abusive and hostile work environment.

Schelkoph said that the mayor told city commissioners and the city attorney that his goal once re-elected in 2014 was to get rid of KLJ and the City Administrator.

Schelkoph said City Attorney Russ Myhre and City Commissioners Duane Magnuson and Matt Pedersen have all said this statement is true.

Schelkoph said the mayor has been hyper-critical to him when the mayor speaks to him in private or public meetings. Schelkoph added that Mayor Werkhoven’s behavior is unprofessional and degrading.

Schelkoph says the mayor did not follow proper protocol concerning a sexual harassment allegation against Police Chief Fred Thompson and a “Toy Gun” incident involving Chief Thompson and a Valley City citizen.

 

Valley City  (CSi)  Valley City Mayor Bob Werkhoven  has  responded to some of the allegations filed against him this week.

He  has denied that he encouraged any citizen to make a complaint to the BCI to have Police Chief Fred Thompson investigated for pulling his service weapon on a citizen with a toy gun. Werkhoven Documents

The response included Werkhoven  saying that he believes City Administrator David Schelkoph did not follow the proper protocol concerning the handling of an allegation of sexual harassment brought to his attention concerning Police Chief Fred Thompson.

 

Jamestown (CSi) The Jamestown Area Chamber of Commerce 85th Annual Banquet was held Thursday evening, at the Jamestown Civic Center.

Award winners announced at the annual banquet.

2016 Young Professional of the Year

Morgan Bossman

2016 Outstanding Citizen of the Year

Reverend Terry Anderson

2016 Above and Beyond

William (Bill) Steinmetz

2016 Business of the Year

IDK Bar and Grill

City Beautification Awards

2016 Spot of Beauty

Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall

2016 Continuing Beautification of the City

North Dakota Game and Fish Department

2016 Business Landscaping

My Place Hotel

 

Jamestown (CSi) The Stutsman County Water Resource Board has selected AE2S Engineering as the best qualified to conduct a stormwater master plan study of the area surrounding Jamestown.

The Water Resource Board and a subcommittee of representatives of Jamestown and surrounding townships assigned to this project by the Water Resource Board interviewed AE2S, Interstate Engineering of Jamestown and Moore Engineering of West Fargo, N.D., on Wednesday.

The stormwater master plan has been in discussions since 2014 in Jamestown. The plan is intended to detail the amount of stormwater runoff in areas around Jamestown that could see potential future development. Information in the plan could be used to design stormwater mitigation plans that might be designed to handle runoff from large areas.

If the Water Resource Board subcommittee and AE2S cannot successfully negotiate the cost and timeline of the project, the subcommittee could select to negotiate with one of the other companies it interviewed Wednesday.

 

FARGO, N.D. (AP) – Depressed farm prices are leading to more layoffs at Fargo’s Case-New Holland manufacturing plant.

Parent company CNH Industrial America says about 70 full-time workers will be laid off as a result of poor market conditions.

Employees were notified Thursday. Company spokeswoman Kathleen Prause says the layoffs will occur early next month.

More than 260 workers at the plant have been laid off in five rounds of cutbacks since November 2014.

The Fargo plant is one of CNH Industrial’s two major North American manufacturing plants. It makes tractors and payloaders.

 

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — Kevin Cramer has officially announced that he is running for a third term as North Dakota’s lone U.S. representative.

The announcement follows Fargo business man Jack Seaman announcing his bid for the seat. Seaman, received the Libertarian Party of North Dakota’s endorsement, lost his bid for the same seat to Cramer in 2014.

DuWayne Hendrickson of Minot also announced he will seek the Republican endorsement for the seat. No Democrats in North Dakota have announced a run for House.

 

BISMARCK–Sarah Vogel has announced that she will not seek the Democratic-NPL endorsement for governor, leaving the field wide open to Republicans vying to hold the seat.

Vogel, a former agriculture commissioner who had formed an exploratory committee and attended fundraisers around North Dakota, said she was better able to advance her causes as a lawyer and through civic engagement.

 

FARGO, N.D. (AP) – A Minneapolis man accused of bringing women to North Dakota for prostitution has pleaded guilty to a federal sex trafficking charge.

U.S. Attorney Christopher Myers says 31-year-old Ronnel Johnson was arrested on Interstate 94 near Valley City while traveling from Minnesota to the western North Dakota oil patch.

Johnson this week pleaded guilty to one count of transportation for the purposes of prostitution. He faces up to 10 years in prison when he’s sentenced April 18.
MINOT, N.D. (AP) – A Minot man and woman are facing multiple felony counts of counterfeiting. The Minot Daily News reports that 22-year-olds Canthony Cooper Junior and Taylor Coleman made initial court appearances this week.

 

FARGO, N.D. (AP) – A Spirit Lake Reservation man convicted of sexually assaulting a child as she slept has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison.

A jury last October convicted 41-year-old Jay Littlewind Sr. of aggravated sexual abuse of a child. Authorities say the Tokio man engaged in a sex act with the child in 2008 as she lay sleeping.

U.S. Attorney Christopher Myers says Littlewind will be on supervised release for five years following his prison time.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – A presidential search committee at the University of North Dakota has decided to include the current president of Minot State University in its upcoming round of in-person interviews.

The search committee last week narrowed its list of candidates from 41 to 15 but decided to continue accepting applications. The committee met via phone conference Thursday to decide whether to further consider MSU president Steve Shirley and Cynthia Lindquist to be the next president of the Grand Forks-based university.

The committee decided to advance Shirley but moved to not interview Lindquist, the current president of Cankdeska Cikana (kahnk-DEHS’-kuh sih-KAWN’-uh) Community College in Fort Totten.

The committee will next interview candidates in person Feb. 1 and 2 in Minneapolis.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – The federal government has finalized procedures to insure a new crop that’s being grown to produce jet fuel.

Farmers in North Dakota last year planted 6,000 acres of the mustard seed variety known as carinata, but insurance agents were unclear about how to go about insuring it.

Beginning this year, the crop can be insured under canola and rapeseed crop insurance provisions.

Dave Archer at the federal agriculture research lab in Mandan says the government recognized that the crop is gaining in popularity.

Canadian seed producer Agrisoma Biosciences contracted with North Dakota farmers for last year’s acreage and has a goal of 50,000 acres of carinata this year.

 

FARGO, N.D. (AP) – President Barack Obama has nominated an assistant U.S. Attorney for North Dakota to serve as a federal appellate judge.

The president announced Thursday that he has selected Jennifer Puhl to serve on the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. She was chosen to succeed Judge Kermit Bye, who announced in 2014 that he would retire to “senior status” on the court.

Puhl must still be confirmed by the full U.S. Senate.

A North Dakota native, Puhl has worked in the U.S. Attorney’s office in Fargo since 2002. She currently serves as a criminal supervisor and is also a member of the appellate team.

The 8th Circuit includes Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – Hollywood actor Josh Duhamel (doo-MEHL’) is helping promote his home state of North Dakota. The state Tourism Division on Thursday announced that Duhamel is the face of its 2016 advertising campaign. Duhamel appeared on NBC’s “Today” show to plug his latest movie and the state. Duhamel is being paid $475,000 for his North Dakota tourism work.

In sports…

Jametown (CSi) Jamestown High School Blue Jay Noah Wanzek has verbally committed to the UND football team, to play wide receiver.

As a senior, at JHS, he made 36 receptions for 620 yards and four touchdowns. Wanzek’s receiving yardage was almost 60 percent of Jamestown’s passing offense.

As the Blue Jays punter, Wanzek had a 72-yard punt in a game last season and also posted multiple boots of 55-plus yards. He also plays free safety.

Wanzek chose UND over Minnesota State-Moorhead for football and the University of Jamestown for basketball.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – North Dakota’s Game and Fish Department is offering 5,815 wild turkey licenses for the spring hunting season, the same as last year.

Hunting Unit 21 in Hettinger and Adams counties will remain closed to hunting this year due to a low number of turkeys there.

Spring turkey licenses are available only to North Dakota residents. The application deadline is Feb. 10.

The spring turkey season opens April 9 and continues through May 15.

BOYS HOCKEY

West Fargo 5, Jamestown 1
Grand Forks Central 7, Grafton-Park River 1
Minot 3, Mandan 0
Wahpeton-Breckenridge 6, Morris Benson Area Storm, Minn. 2

 

BOYS BASKETBALL

Jamestown 74, Bismarck Legacy 60
Devils Lake 62, Fargo North 50
Dickinson Trinity 78, Richardton-Taylor 29
Drayton/Valley-Edinburg 49, Cavalier 44
Edgeley-Kulm-Montpelier 68, Midkota 42
Enderlin 68, Fairmount-Campbell-Tintah 49
Fargo Oak Grove Lutheran 80, Kindred 61
Garrison 51, Max 47
Hankinson 66, Central Cass 64
Hatton-Northwood 65, Griggs County Central 59
Hillsboro/Central Valley 59, Midway-Minto 52
Larimore 65, North Border 39
Lisbon 63, Maple Valley 56
Milnor-North Sargent 61, Richland 56
North Shore – Plaza 80, Trenton 49
Northern Cass 57, Wyndmere-Lidgerwood 55, OT
Park River/Fordville Lankin 72, Finley-Sharon/Hope-Page 56
Solen JV 66, Wakpala, S.D. 22
Thompson 55, May Port CG 30
Trinity Christian 57, Divide County 41
Wahpeton 68, Fargo South 57
GIRLS BASKETBALL

Bismarck Legacy 67, Jamestown 55
Bismarck Century 58, Mandan 40
Bowman County 58, Beulah 40
Des Lacs-Burlington 59, South Prairie 36
Devils Lake 61, Fargo North 41
Edgeley-Kulm-Montpelier 74, Midkota 28
Garrison 48, Max 35
Glenburn 66, Surrey 56
Grant County 51, Washburn 36
Hazen 56, Linton-HMB 39
Kenmare 43, Ray 42
Kidder County 41, Shiloh Christian 36
Killdeer 38, Mott-Regent 37
Kindred 51, Fargo Oak Grove Lutheran 43
LaMoure-Litchville-Marion 63, Oakes 30
Langdon-Munich 70, Drayton/Valley-Edinburg 51
Lewis and Clark-Berthold 50, Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood 28
Minot Bishop Ryan 66, Minot Our Redeemer’s 44
New Salem-Almont 65, Center-Stanton 44
North Star 63, Cavalier 32
Rugby 51, Velva 36
Sawyer 73, Drake/Anamoose 45
St. John 63, Boissevain, Manitoba 45
Stanley 72, Powers Lake 47
Towner-Granville-Upham 50, Nedrose 24
Trenton 48, North Shore – Plaza 27
Turtle Lake-Mercer-McClusky 69, Flasher 46
Wahpeton 64, Fargo South 44
Wakpala, S.D. 48, Solen 45
Warwick 73, New Rockford-Sheyenne 44
Westhope-Newburg 48, Bottineau 47

 

NATIONAL  BASKETBALL  ASSOCIATION

Final    Indiana            111    Atlanta            92
Final    Denver              117    Washington    113
Final    Memphis            103    Milwaukee        83
Final    Toronto            103    New  York          93
Final    New  Orleans    114    Sacramento    105
Final    Chicago            114    L-A  Lakers      91
NHL-ALL-STARS
UNDATED (AP) – The National Hockey League’s All-Star break has begun. That means there are no games on ice last night or today before All-Star Weekend begins in Nashville. The competition will take place Sunday with the regular season resuming play Tuesday.

TOP-25  COLLEGE  BASKETBALL

Final    (  8)  Maryland              74    (  3)  Iowa                      68
Final    (12)  Michigan  St.      76              Northwestern      45
Final    (23)  Oregon                  83    (18)  Arizona                75
Final              Syracuse              81    (25)  Notre  Dame          66

TOP-25  WOMEN’S  COLLEGE  BASKETBALL

Final          (  2)  South  Carolina        81              Mississippi          62
Final          (  3)  Notre  Dame                54              Georgia  Tech        42
Final          (  7)  Ohio  St.                    76              Northwestern        73
Final          (10)  Texas  A&M                  59              Alabama                  56
Final          (11)  Florida  St.              96              Wake  Forest          55
Final                    Vanderbilt                71    (12)  Kentucky                69
Final  OT    (13)  Mississippi  St.      65    (19)  Tennessee              63
Final          (14)  Louisville                75              Clemson                  33
Final          (17)  Miami                          57              Virginia  Tech      45
Final          (22)  Missouri                    52              LSU                          46
NBA…

NBA-ALL-STAR RESERVES

Warriors add two more to West All-Star squad

NEW YORK (AP) – For the first time in 40 years the Golden State Warriors will have three players in the NBA All-Star game.

Draymond Green and Klay Thompson have been picked for the Western Conference team, one week after the league allowed that Warriors guard and NBA scoring leader Stephen (STEH’-fehn) Curry would start.

Sacramento’s DeMarcus Cousins, Houston’s James Harden, San Antonio’s LaMarcus Aldridge, the Clippers’ Chris Paul and New Orleans’ Anthony Davis were also chosen for the West squad for the Feb. 14 game in Toronto.

The Raptors’ DeMar DeRozan will represent the home team and is joined by fellow East reserves Jimmy Butler of Chicago, Detroit’s Andre Drummond, Miami’s Chris Bosh, Washington’s John Wall, Atlanta’s Paul Millsap and Boston’s Isaiah Thomas.

 

NFL-TICKET ABUSES…

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) – An official says New York authorities are investigating whether the NFL is engaging in anti-competitive practices on its ticket-selling website.

State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has released a report criticizing “price floors” for tickets, particularly by sports leagues including the NFL.

The report says many NFL teams encourage or even require ticket holders to use Ticketmaster’s NFL Ticket Exchange platform, where the seller is prohibited from cutting the price below face value.

An official with knowledge of the investigation says Schneiderman’s office is investigating and wants the price floor removed.

 

SUPER BOWL-GOLDEN TEAM

Hall of Fame names 50 Year Super Bowl squad

CANTON, Ohio (AP) – Voters for the Pro Football Hall of Fame have chosen what is being called the Super Bowl 50 Golden Team. The Steelers dominate the list with seven players chosen.

On offense, the breakdown includes Joe Montana at quarterback, Emmitt Smith and Franco Harris in the backfield, wide receivers Lynn Swann and Jerry Rice, Jay Novacek (NOH’-vah-chehk) at tight end, and linemen Mike Webster, Art Shell, Forrest Gregg, Gene Upshaw and Larry Allen.

On defense, they chose Reggie White, Joe Greene, Charles Haley and Randy White up front with linebackers Jack Ham, Ray Lewis and Jack Lambert along with defensive backs Ronnie Lott, Deion Sanders, Mel Blount and Jake Scott.

 

PGA TOUR

SAN DIEGO (AP) – Scott Brown is a first-round co-leader at the PGA’s Farmers Insurance Open in San Diego.

Brown birdied his last hole for a 30 on the front nine and a 6-under 66 total. He played on the tough South Course at Torrey Pines, which was 2 1/2 strokes harder than the North Course where Andrew Loupe shot his 66 in the opening round.

Phil Mickelson followed a double-bogey on the par-4 second hole with six birdies for a 69.

LPGA TOUR…

PARADISE ISLAND, Bahamas (AP) – Paula Creamer (KREE’-mur), Charley Hull and Catriona Matthew each opened with 5-under 68s to pull into a seven-way tie for the lead through one round of the LPGA’s season opener in the Bahamas. Alison Lee, Ashlan Ramsey, Mika Miyazato (MEE’-kuh mee-uh-ZAH’-toh) and Haru Nomura also shot 68s to grab a share of the lead, one shot ahead of Jennifer Johnson and Min Seo Kwak.

Michelle Wie (WEE) was stung by a bee on the way to a 3-over 76. Second-ranked Inbee Park withdrew because of back pain shooting an 80, the second-worst round of her LPGA Tour career.

GOLF-SINGAPORE OPEN

SINGAPORE (AP) -Top-ranked Jordan Spieth (SPEETH) is a shot off the pace in the lightning-suspended first round of the Singapore Open.  Spieth posted a 4-under 67 to trail clubhouse leader Keith Horne of South Africa.

AUSTRALIAN OPEN…

MELBOURNE (AP) – The opponent for top seed Novak Djokovic (NOH’-vak JOH’-kuh-vich) in the final of the Australian Open will be determined in a few hours.  Second seed Andy Murray is facing Milos Raonic (ROW’-nihch) of Canada in the semifinals.

Djokovic advanced to the title match with a four-set win over Roger Federer.

 

In world and national news…

WASHINGTON (AP) – Economists surveyed by data firm FactSet are predicting anemic growth for the final three months of 2015 but say things will be better in the current quarter. The Commerce Department reports October-December GDP today and the forecast is for annual growth of 0.9 percent. Sinking oil and stock prices and weakness in China and other emerging markets have raised U.S. concerns.

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – Donald Trump may have been a no-show but he was still stealing the show as his rivals made their final case to voters ahead of Iowa’s kickoff caucuses. Just three miles from the site of the final GOP presidential debate before voting begins, Trump held what amounted to a cross between his typical rally and a fundraising telethon to benefit veterans that he says raised $6 million.

JERUSALEM (AP) – Published reports say U.S and British intelligence agencies have been doing some code-breaking and drone monitoring at Israel’s expense. Reports by the German daily Der Spiegel and the investigative website The Intercept say surveillance feeds of Israeli drones have been monitored for nearly 20 years, based on documents leaked by Edward Snowden.

GENEVA (AP) – Organizers of the Syrian peace talks slated to begin in Geneva today face the prospect of having only one side to talk to. The main Syrian opposition group says it’s staying away unless its demands are met for United Nations implementation resolutions lifting the sieges on rebel held areas and halting bombardment of civilians in Syria.

BERLIN (AP) – A migration monitoring agency is sounding a warning today about the influx of refugees and other migrants trying to reach Europe. The International Organization for Migration says deaths of refugees and migrants crossing the Aegean Sea between Turkey and Greece are “increasing at an alarming rate.” Spokesman Joel Millman says 218 people have died in January alone.