Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883
Here’s your weekly rundown of some of the most interesting headlines from newspapers across North Dakota.
School closes for two days amid pandemic highs
Divide County School Superintendent Sherlock Hirning knew Friday there was a good possibility school would be called off on Monday.
Too many staff and subs were absent due to COVID - either because they were sick, had a household contact, or their daycare was closed.
“We’ll see what the weekend does for us,” Hirning said.
It didn’t do enough.
The district, Sunday night, called off Monday classes and shifted hours for Wednesday to a full day, rather than the half day originally scheduled for an early dismissal.
By Monday evening, classes for Tuesday were called off, too, as more positive COVID cases emerged in the community.
On Friday, Jan 21, both the state of North Dakota and Divide County surpassed all-time highs for active COVID-19 cases.
(Story by Cecile Wehrman, The Journal)
District 22 Rep. Michael Howe campaigning for Secretary of State
District 22 Representative Michael Howe has announced he is running for North Dakota Secretary of State.
During a recent interview with the Cass County Reporter, Howe said that after Al Jaeger announced he would not be seeking re-election, two people Howe highly respects -- retired District 22 Representative Wes Belter and North Dakota Congressman Kelly Armstrong -- both encouraged him to consider running.
“It wasn’t something I was aspiring to do,” Howe said. “But after Weis said, ‘you should look at this’, I started giving it some thought.”
At age 35, if elected, Howe would be the youngest Secretary of State in North Dakota history.
(Story by Angela Kolden, Cass County Reporter)
$500,000 gifted by Elm River Credit Union
One local credit union recently found a way to give back to the community in a big way. Elm River Credit Union, with locations in Page and Kindred, announced donations made to various local organizations, totaling $500,000. Elm River has recently merged with First Community Credit Union, headquartered in Jamestown.
“The Elm RIver Board of Directors and I wanted to find a way to give back to the communities that have helped us as a credit union to grow over the years,” said recently retired Elm River Credit Union CEO, Erin Olstad.
“Since 1954, we have served members and the community. This is one way we could leave a legacy from Elm River, as we look to a new and bright future as First Community Credit Union, while continuing to serve the area,” added Olstad.
Among the 38 organizations that received portions of the $500,000 awarded, were the Hope Ambulance Department, Cass County Food Pantry, Kindred Dollars for Scholars and the Baldwin Presbyterian Church.
(Story by Lisa Saxberg, Steele County Press)
National Weather Service: Spring flood outlook iffy, but not all ‘doom and gloom.’
Keep those stocking caps and mittens on hand - winter in the Red River Valley remains far from over.
But hydrologists with the National Weather Service in Grand Forks have started looking ahead to March and April, and the potential threat of spring flooding in the Red River Valley.
The weather service recently released its first flood outlook for 2022, which indicates the threat of flooding along the Red and Goose rivers will be elevated this spring - especially compared to 2021.
“It’s not looking doom and gloom, but obviously everyone knows there’s going to be a higher threat than we saw with the drought conditions we had last year,” said Amanda Lee, a weather service hydrologist. “... So you’re basically looking at minor to moderate flooding in the Hillsboro area.”
(Story by Cole Short, Hillsboro Banner)
