701 Rundown: June 20, 2022

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

Rain slows planting progress

“The worst planting conditions of my lifetime.”

That’s how one Foster County resident recently described the past two months.

“What about the spring of 2020?” I asked. “We had corn in the field until March, and wet conditions prevented the planting of nearly 40 percent of the cropland in Foster County.”

He thought for a second and then responded, “I think this spring has been more difficult.”

This year Foster County experienced its fourth wettest April in 125 years, and that trend continued in the weeks that followed.

The NDAWN station at the Carrington REC recorded 6.66 inches of precipitation in May. That’s 3.9 inches above normal.

The weather station at McHenry reported 7.63 inches for the month.

Some areas around the county reported even higher amounts.

Two people told me that they thought only about 20 percent of the soybean acres had been planted by June 1.

In the wettest fields, producers will need to decide whether to plant late with a reduction in crop insurance coverage or to take the prevented planting crop insurance indemnity.

(Story by Jeff Gale, Foster County Independent)

Vandalism comes to Tommy Turtle Park

The Bottineau County Sheriff’s Department and the Bottineau Courant were called to Tommy Turtle Park Friday morning concerning vandalism to the park’s kiosk and the Tommy Turtle statue.

According to Steve Watson, sheriff of the Bottineau County Sheriff’s Department, an unknown suspect(s) entered the kiosk where the cabinets’ locks were damaged by knocking them out, tourist information was messed about and a light switch on the bathroom wall was damaged after an individual used the bottom of his or her shoe to smash the light switch.

The Tommy Turtle sculpture saw the left ski on the snowmobile broken into two pieces and the right ski also saw some damage.

The sheriff’s department is investigating the crimes at the city park. The department is requesting that if anybody knows something about the crimes that were committed in the park that they report it to the police department.

According to North Dakota Tourism, Tommy Turtle is the largest snowmobile-riding turtle in the world and is a tribute to the area’s excellent winter activities.

(Story by Scott Wagar, Bottineau Courant)

Dunseith School breaks ground on new CTE center

A groundbreaking ceremony held at the Dunseith High School last week was more than just ceremonial shovels in the ground.

Despite some windy conditions, the mood amongst officials at the groundbreaking for a new career and technical education (CTE) center will be the first upbeat.

When completed, the CTE center will be the first of its kind in the state and provide graduates with an immediate bridge from the halls of high school into the workforce.

Dunseith Superintendent David Sjol called the day a milestone, noting it took nearly five years of planning to finally reach the point of construction.

“People have put their faith in us and we take that seriously,” Sjol said. “This will allow our students to come out of our program ready to go, right away, with limited training needed.”

The roughly $15 million dollar phase one will conclude with a building that will house a variety of classrooms and other ventures.

Sjol said the new structure, located just east of the current high school, will also include a business department, a family and consumer science office and a school store.

(Story by John Rosinski, Turtle Mountain Star)

Public records request includes Lietz

In a front page article that ran in the June 1 issue of the Cass County Reporter, it was reported that Broc Lietz was one of two private citizens who made a request to the City of Casselton for public information records but that he later ‘withdrew’ his request.

After the article was published, Lietz informed the Cass County Reporter he had not withdrawn his request.

In an attempt to clarify the matter, City of Casselton Auditor Sheila Klevgard provided a written statement about the status of Lietz’ request.

“I don’t believe I ever said he withdrew his request but rather that he had not replied to my email and had not paid the invoice that I had sent. Knowing the request would not be acted upon until payment is made, it could be inferred that not paying the invoice is a withdrawal of the request.”

Lietz stated Klevgard sent him an invoice and indicated via email that she would proceed with the request upon receipt of payment. He said she did not place a deadline or time line on when he needed to take action on that information.

“This is an example of the exact claim I have been making all along in this process,” Lietz said. “The city and elected officials have not been forthright, and in some cases flat out dishonest.”

(Story by Angela Kolden, Cass County Reporter)

Red River flooding continues in eastern Walsh County

Flooding along Walsh County Road No. 2 continues to challenge not only the county commission, but also landowners and the people who live along it.

Walsh County Superintendent Jason Johnston inspected portions of Walsh County Road No. 2 and said every mile that he drove has damage on it.

The figure that was bandied about by the commission was $10 million over the last seven years that the county has spent on the road, which begs the question, when is enough, enough?

“We can’t keep on doing the same things and expecting different results,” commissioner Dennis Skorheim said. “It is the most expensive road in the county.”

To give the commission an idea of how extensive the flooding is east of Interstate 29 and along the Red River, Johnston said they closed Schuster’s bridge on Walsh County Road No. 2 March 23, and as of Friday, June 3, there was still three to four feet of water running over it, he said.

The water in recent years seems to be staying higher longer, resulting in even less time for farmers to get into their fields.

(Story by Todd Morgan, The Walsh County Record)