701 Rundown: Jan. 24, 2022

Here’s your weekly rundown of some of the most interesting headlines from newspapers across North Dakota.

Well pad explodes, shakes nearby Grenora

Folks living in the Grenora, N.D. area got an early wakeup call Monday, Jan. 10, when oil tanks exploded shortly before 6 a.m.

“It shook windows in town,” said Grenora Fire Chief Justin Hanson.

Hanson added that there were no reports of injuries as a result of either the explosion, or its effects in nearby Grenora.

The Stout 2917-IBH well in Fertile Valley Township, owned by Koda Resources Operating, LLC of Colorado, hosts both oil and gas tanks.

Divide County Emergency Services Manager Jody Gunlock, who visited the site early Monday, said there were an estimated 1,300 barrels of crude in the tanks, equating to more than 54,000 gallons.

Koda representative Jason McLaren said Monday afternoon the fire appeared to have burned itself out.

(Story by Brad Nygaard, Journal)

Natural gas on indefinite timeline

Harvey and Wells County officials learned this week that a timeline for natural gas to reach the north central region of the state is as predictable as the route the pipeline will take.

There are nearly as many routes as there are companies wanting to lay the pipes, according to officers with Dakota Natural Gas, a Minnesota company that has designs on siphoning off the gas from the major pipeline for delivery to Harvey, Wells County and the region.

And when that will be depends on when the North Dakota Industrial Commission chooses the exact route the pipeline will take from the Bakken oil reserves to the state’s eastern front, principally either Grand Forks or Fargo or both cities.

Once the Industrial Commission determines the route of the east-west pipeline and the company laying the pipe is chosen, then Dakota Natural Gas will go to work in bringing natural gas to Harvey, Rugby, Velva, Bottineau and Towner.

(Story by Neil O. Nelson, The Herald-Press)

Hillsboro gets $500K to help with literacy

This Hillsboro School District has been awarded a $500,000 grant from the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction to improve the literacy of students in prekindergarten through high school.

Superintendent Paula Suda informed the Hillsboro School Board about the grant award Thursday, calling the pending influx of state money “great news for the district.”

“This will be very good for our learners and our teachers,” Suda said. “We’re excited about that.”

Hillsboro was one of only seven schools in the state to be selected for the literacy grant.

(Story by Cole Short, Hillsboro Banner)

Voters say ‘no’ to Mapleton Middle School

Voters in the Mapleton School District sent the school board and administration back to the drawing board Tuesday, January 4 after defeating a $5.3 million bond referendum.

Of the 302 voters who cast a ballot during Tuesday evening’s blizzard, 158 were opposed to the proposed building project and 144 voted in support of it.

If approved, the district would have added a middle school to its current PK-6 building and expanded the elementary school to include more classroom space to accommodate its rapidly growing student enrollment.

The school board will not meet until next week during its regular monthly Board of Education meeting. At the time, it will discuss steps moving forward, according to principle Jenna Farkas.

“I, personally, would like to get some communication out there to find out their why,” said Farkas. “Why it failed and what we can do to make it better and try again.”

(Story by Angela Kolden, Cass County Reporter)