701 Rundown: May 16, 2022

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

House fire in north Carrington

Carrington Fire and Rescue was dispatched to a single family home at 486 11th Avenue N. for a small fire Sunday morning, May 1, around 8 a.m.

Most of the structural damage occurred in the kitchen area in the southeast portion of the home, according to Fire Chief Ken Wangen.

The home is located several blocks west of the Foster County Courthouse at the corner of the 11th Avenue and 5th Street N.

Wangen said, “The owners were not home at the time [of the fire], so thankfully, no one was injured.”

The house did receive significant smoke damage as a result of the fire, and the cause of the blaze is being investigated by the State Fire Marshal’s office.

(Erik Gjovik, The Foster County Independent)

Soybean processing plant approved

The proposed soybean plant near Casselton received a green light from city officials Monday evening.

Council members passed motions to approve the final permitting and zoning requests required in order for construction to begin.

The decision involved approving three recommendations from the city’s Planning and Zoning Committee, including approving a request to rezone the building site from agriculture to heavy industrial, approving a Conditional Use Permit to allow construction and approving the preliminary plat map.

The room was standing room only, as both those who are in support of the project (including its developers) and those who oppose it being built in close proximity to city limits, gathered to hear the council’s decision.

Some residents took to the podium as well, some using an undertone that suggested impending legal action if the board approved permitting.

Ultimately, the motion to approve the rezoning passed 5 to 1, and after further public comment asking the council to “pause” prior to voting on the conditional use permit, because, “it is moving too fast,” the conditional use permit was also approved 5 to 1.

Finally, the plat map was also approved 5 to 1.

(Story by Angela Kolden, Cass County Reporter)

Power outages leave thousands in the dark

When the latest blizzard hit on April 22, residents and businesses felt ready. After all, they survived the previous storm which forecasters had already predicted would outrank the one from a week earlier.

But what wasn’t predicted was how the second blizzard would be the perfect storm for a widespread power outage resulting in thousands upon thousands of local residents being without power for 24 to 48 hours, and sometimes longer.

“The best way to put it for MDU, is it was unprecedented,” says Mark Hanson, Montana-Dakota Utilities spokesman. “We’ve had outages before for three or four days, but generally, it’s been concentrated.”

When the blizzard hit on April 22, Hanson says the damage was extensive and widespread, specifically in the northwest corner of the state.

With 18,000 customers out of power on the outage map on the morning of April 24, by early afternoon Hanson says lineman were able to make major headway in a short span of time.

“By Monday afternoon, we were at about 1,500 without power,” he says. “So within about 24 hours, it got cut down from 18,000 to 1,500 customers.”

(Story by Ashleigh Plemper, McKenzie County Farmer)

Burros mascot gets a name after voting

Hillsboro-Central Valley’s Burros mascot has a name - and it’s fit for a champion.

After weeks of voting by students, staff and the public, administrators at Hillsboro High School announced Thursday that the mascot has been named Champ.

Superintendent Paula Suda said Champ clipped Bruno by two votes in the final tally, although Bucky had strong support in the naming competition as well.

“We’re happy with the name. It was my personal choice, but I would have been fine with Bucky, too,” Suda said. “Bucky definitely had a good shot at being picked.”

School officials announced the naming contest March 14 and received more than a dozen suggestions for the costumed mascot, which made its debut Jan. 15 in a girls basketball game between the Burros and Northern Cass.

After whittling down the list to four finalists - Champ, Bruno, Bucky and Blaze - administrators asked teachers, students and the public to chime in on their favorite.

(Story by Cole Short, Hillsboro Banner)

Harvey teacher schmoozes with DC lawmakers

When Bret Dockter was named Teacher of the Year in Harvey and Wells County, he never dreamed a year later he would be in Washington, D.C., gladhanding politicians, touring the capitol along with 56 of the best teachers in the country.

Dockter’s busy calendar year started to unfold last September when he was named the 2022 North Dakota Teacher of the Year.

“You’d think it’d set in, but here it’s April and it really hasn’t,” Dockter admitted three weeks ago.

The Harvey 6th grade teacher’s celebrity status hit home far from home on April 23, when he found himself in Washington, D.C., where teacher honorees from across the country were the toast of the town.

The group even had an audience with President Biden and the First Lady. At the Capitol, Dockter had the opportunity to meet with North Dakota Senator John Hoeven and N.D. Rep. Kelly Armstrong, in addition to South Dakota Senator John Thune and Representative Dusty Johnson.

“We also visited the Smithsonian and many of the national monuments,” said Dockter.

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

Walsh County Emergency Manager called to task

Walsh County Commissioner Karen Anderson questioned Emergency Manager Brent Nelson in regard to his duties as emergency manager.

She passed out before the discussion a manual describing the roles and responsibilities of emergency managers.

Anderson took exception to the fact that Nelson, who lives on the south branch of the Park River, had water problems of his own and had difficulty leaving his yard due to high water.

Nelson said his role would have been the same whether he was taking phone calls and monitoring his computer and email from his office in Grafton or from his home.

“Technology has changed a lot in 10 years, all the calls coming into our office were answered and covered on a 24-hour basis. All my calls were forwarded to my cell phone. I was available,” he said.

Nelson added the big thing with this flood was that it took everyone by surprise and the water came up in such a hurry that no one had time to prepare.

“We did as much as we could to help people,” he said. “We are an office of two plus dispatch. We did our best to get the people the help they needed.”

(Story by Todd Morgan, The Walsh County Record)