wbPM4CSi Weather…

TONIGHT…INCREASING CLOUDS. LOWS AROUND 20. WEST WINDS 5 TO
10 MPH.
.WEDNESDAY…CLOUDY WITH A 30 PERCENT CHANCE OF SNOW, 40 PERCENT IN THE VALLEY CITY AREA. HIGHS IN
THE MID 30S. NORTHWEST WINDS 5 TO 10 MPH INCREASING TO AROUND
15 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON.
.WEDNESDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 30 PERCENT CHANCE OF
SNOW, 40 PERCENT CHANCE IN THE VALLEY CTY AREA. LOWS IN THE LOWER 20S. NORTHWEST WINDS AROUND 15 MPH.
.THURSDAY…PARTLY SUNNY. HIGHS AROUND 30. NORTHWEST WINDS 10 TO
15 MPH.
.THURSDAY NIGHT…DECREASING CLOUDS. LOWS 15 TO 20.
.FRIDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 40S.
.FRIDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLEAR. LOWS IN THE MID 20S.
.SATURDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 30S.
.SATURDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 30 PERCENT CHANCE OF SNOW.
LOWS 10 TO 15.
.SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT…MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A 20 PERCENT CHANCE
OF SNOW. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 20S. LOWS 5 TO 10 ABOVE.
.MONDAY…MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 20S.

A COOLER AIRMASS NUDGES INTO NORTHERN AREAS ON SATURDAY…WITH A

STRONGER PUSH OF COLD AIR COMING LATE SATURDAY NIGHT INTO EARLY SUNDAY.

THIS WILL ALSO BRING PRECIPITATION CHANCES THROUGHOUT THE REGION.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – The case of a flight attendant accused of using bomb threats to disrupt SkyWest flights he worked in the upper Midwest and on the East Coast last year might not make it to trial in either North Dakota or Virginia.
 
     Court documents show the Virginia case may be transferred to North Dakota. Prosecutor Gary Delorme says that would indicate a plea agreement or a change of plea might occur. He says cases generally don’t get transferred for trials.
 
     Justin Cox-Sever’s attorney says they’re “discussing all his options.”
 
     Cox-Sever is accused of making bogus bomb threats on a July flight from Charlottesville, Virginia, to Chicago, and on a September flight from Minneapolis to Dickinson, North Dakota. His North Dakota trial this week has been delayed until April.

 Washington  (CSi)  Senator Heidi Heitkamp has announced “Fix My Mail”, a survey to gather feedback from North Dakotan’s regarding mail delivery and service.

Senator Heitkamp has been overseeing the U.S. Postal Service and started her Fix My Mail initiative January 2014. After collecting more than 200 stories from residents of the state, she has created a new Fix My Mail survey to gather feedback to identify where additional improvements are needed.

“North Dakotan’s have experienced mail delivery and service challenges for years – that’s why I’m working to keep the U.S. Postal Service accountable for continued improvements. But North Dakotans can and do make a difference by speaking up,” said Heitkamp.

Some areas Heitkamp hopes to improve include mail delivery concerns in rural communities, longstanding mail delivery and service issues, and legislative fixes to alleviate mail delivery service challenges.

 

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – North Dakota’s Game and Fish Department is urging winter anglers to consider removing their fish houses early this year in areas where ice conditions are deteriorating.
 
     The state deadline to remove fish houses isn’t until March 15 but ice is deteriorating due to recent warm weather, particularly in the south and west regions of the state.
 
     The wildlife agency says the long-range weather forecast predicts temperatures to continue above normal. Education Coordinator Brian Schaffer says mild weather can quickly result in unstable ice.
 
     Schaffer says there have been several reports of vehicles breaking through the ice in recent days.

 

 MINOT, N.D. (AP) – A Nevada man accused of bringing a 16-year-old girl to North Dakota for prostitution has been sentenced to about eight months in prison.
 
     Nineteen-year-old Kevin Fleming on Monday pleaded guilty to felony human trafficking. He was sentenced to 247 days in prison with credit for 73 days already served. He also must pay more than $1,000 in fees.
 
     Fleming is from Carson City, Nevada. His North Dakota sentence will run at the same time as a similar sentence in Nevada, and he will serve the time in that state.
 
     Tayari Meadows, of Las Vegas, also was charged with human trafficking in the case. She pleaded guilty earlier and spent about eight months in prison.

 

In sports…

 GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) – The University of North Dakota men’s hockey team remains at No. 4 in both national polls after a weekend sweep of unranked Minnesota Duluth.
 
     Quinnipiac continues to top both the USCHO.com poll and the USA Today/USA Hockey Magazine poll, followed by Boston College and St. Cloud State. Defending national champion Providence rounds out the top five in both polls.
 
     The Fighting Hawks travel to No. 13 Omaha this weekend.

 

In world and national news…

WASHINGTON (AP) – President Barack Obama’s proposed path to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay is short on specifics. Obama’s plan to Congress would transfer most detainees to a facility in the U.S., but it’s not clear where that facility would be located and whether it could be ready by the end of his term. Moving detainees to U.S. soil is currently illegal and lawmakers have shown little interest in removing the restrictions.
 
     WASHINGTON (AP) – Republican White House hopeful Ted Cruz is telling Nevada residents that he would expand the detention center in Guantanamo Bay if elected president. Cruz is responding to the president’s plan to shut down the facility. The Texas senator is locked in a tight primary battle for second with Florida Senator Marco Rubio ahead of tonight’s GOP caucuses in Nevada. Front-runner Donald Trump is fighting for a third-straight victory.
 
     WASHINGTON (AP) – Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee are refusing to hold hearings on any Supreme Court nominee until after a new president is elected. The message comes in a letter sent by the committee to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. They say the move protects “the will of the American people.” The action is certain to have repercussions in the presidential race, but also in congressional contests where vulnerable Senate incumbents face tough Democratic challengers.
 
     BOULDER, Colo. (AP) – The Colorado woman whose fetus was cut from her womb says she doesn’t hate the woman who attacked her but is angry about all the pain she caused. Michelle Wilkins spoke Tuesday after a Colorado jury convicted Dynel Lane in the attack last March. She faces anywhere from 16 to 120 years in prison when she is sentenced in April. Prosecutors say Lane lured Wilkins to her home with a Craigslist ad for maternity clothes. She then hit and choked Wilkins before using two kitchen knives to cut out the unborn girl, who died.
 
     CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – North Carolina state lawmakers may try to override a decision by the Charlotte City Council allowing transgender people to choose bathrooms in private businesses that correspond to their gender identity. Republican state house Speaker Tim Moore says the council went “against all common sense” and created a “major public safety issue” with its vote. The state legislature can vote to cancel North Carolina local government policies.