701 Rundown: July 18, 2022

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

Rolette County’s new radio network will increase chances of saving lives

Dispatching in Rolette County has become more effective.

Local officials recently completed installing the Statewide Interoperable Radio Network (SIRN).

SIRN is described as a communication system for first responders to serve and protect citizens. Although there are three dispatching centers left in the state to install the new system, it has been a collaborative effort by state, county and municipal public safety agencies.

Rolette County 911 Coordinator Ryan Hiatt said the new system, which officials began using a couple weeks ago, will streamline operations and could end up saving a life.

“It’s more efficient and allows us to do a number of good things, including setting off sirens remotely if we have to,” Hiatt said.

Rolette County 911 operator Wesley Kom said, “We can also page out law enforcement and fire or ambulance at the same time if we have to.”

(Story by Jason Nordmark, Turtle Mountain Star)

College receives a threat of a bomb

Dakota College at Bottineau (DCB) received a bomb threat Friday morning which brought law enforcement and first responders to the college’s campus to assist in the threat.

Not only did DCB receive a bomb threat, but so did three other colleges in the state, adding to the mystery of what took place on Friday morning.

According to Jerry Migler, Ph.D., dean of DCB, a bomb threat was sent to Dakota College, Bismarck State, Dickinson State and Lake Region State.

Steve Watson, sheriff of the Bottineau County Sheriff’s Department, said the message came to Dakota College shortly after 11 a.m. and stated that there was a blue backpack with a bomb in it that was placed in the Arntzen building, and that the bomb would go off in an hour and 10 minutes.

The fire department secured the area (a block around the college), and the sheriff’s department, BCI, border patrol and maintenance workers from the college went from building to building on the campus to clear and secure each structure and discovered no bomb on DCB’s campus.

The incident is under investigation by the Bottineau County Sheriff’s Department and BCI.

(Story by Scott Wagar, Bottineau Courant)

Minto school embarks on expansion project

The school district in Minto is currently undergoing a major renovation that will include the addition of four new classrooms and a revamped front office space. Construction is expected to be completed in the spring of 2023.

The construction is part of, but not limited to, a $9.62 million grant received by North Valley Career and Technology Center through the North Dakota State Board of Career and Technical Education.

Minto’s portion of the grant is estimated at $3.176 million.

Minto’s School Board had the wherewithal and the vision to make the project a reality and planned for it ahead of time, knowing the school needed a remodel. As a result, bids were already let and construction has already begun.

“We have a very progressive school board. They are very visionary and proactive as to how they address challenges,” said Shane Robinson, Minto Public School Superintendent.

According to Robinson, the plan is to add four new classrooms for the career and technical education (CTE) classes and also add some office space in front of the building.

Revamping the front office will also create a secure entry where you have to go through the front office to get into the school.

(Story by Todd Morgan, The Walsh County Record)

Vote to be decided with drawing

The final seat on Crosby’s city council will be chosen by chance during the city council’s regular meeting, July 11.

A recount of votes cast for a two-year unexpired term between Don Anderson and Marzell Trussell came back with the same results as those from the election canvassing board: a tie.

State law now requires determining the winner by drawing a name in the presence of the rest of the city council.

Results from the recount came in at 188 votes apiece. That’s down two votes each from the 190 votes recorded for each candidate by the canvassing board.

The difference is because four votes originally canvassed were not included in the recount totals.

They were omitted because those ballots weren’t initialed by an election judge when cast, as required.

Trussel, who was present for the recount, took the results with humor and grace.

“Mud wrestling it is,” he joked.

Plenty more folks have weighed in on social media suggesting everything from arm wrestling to adding a chair to the council table.

(Story by Brad Nygaard, The Journal)

A piece of history comes down

Small towns in North Dakota have often been recognized by the elevators that dot the landscape. They can be used as a landmark to watch for as you approach a community.

Last week, the elevator in Palermo came down and the elevator in Stanley started to come down after years of not being in use.

The City of Stanley had worked with BNSF to bring down the structures in Stanley over safety concerns.

The process was lengthy as they worked to make sure the structures were brought down safely with BNSF hiring the demolition crews and arranging for the disposal of the materials.

The city started the process in earnest in January of 2021 when City Attorney, Kendra Richard, reached out to BNSF. In April, they received a response from the BNSF Public Affairs office. After the city sent materials, including pictures of the buildings, BNSF did their own inspection of the site in May of 2021.

In June they marked the building as a priority and started their own work on demolition, which P&Z Administrator Amanda Dennis says was a major benefit to the City of Stanley, saving them the costs of working on demolition.

She said they willingly took over the work once they realized the true condition of the structures.

(Story from the Mountrail County Promoter)