701 Rundown: Feb. 20, 2023

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

Man charged with aggravated assault following a stabbing near Arnegard

Monty Lee Parker III, 30, of Beaumont, Texas, has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a Class C felony, after allegedly stabbing a man near Arnegard, N.D.

At around 5 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 30, the McKenzie County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call from the McKenzie County Hospital where a witness reported a stabbing that had occurred around two hours earlier during a physical altercation between Parker III and the victim.

The female witness said she struck Parker III in an attempt to help the victim, but eventually, she saw Parker run to the kitchen where he grabbed a knife and later used it to stab the victim in the neck region.

The victim was rushed to the McKenzie County Hospital and ultimately airlifted via helicopter to Minot for more intensive care.

Parker was arrested and booked at the McKenzie County Correctional Facility. His bond was set at $100,000.

(Story by Ashleigh Plemper, McKenzie County Farmer)

Pipeline project cutting across Wells County

Wells County once again finds itself in the path to move water cross-country.

The Red River Valley Water Supply Project (RRVWSP) is a drought and economic development initiative designed to deliver Missouri River water to central and eastern North Dakota via buried pipeline.

The pipeline is already under construction and is expected to cost $1.16 billion and benefit around half the state’s population.

The pipeline will cut through Wells County beginning in the southeast corner of the county at Bilodeau Township in 2024, and moving from east to west along Highway 200 from Carrington to McClusky.

Three miles of the pipeline in Bilodeau Township are expected to be completed in 2024, and construction bids on the Wells County section of the project will be awarded next July.

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

Water tower issues, age begin to force city to act

The water tower most motorists see when driving into St. John might be on the verge of a complete overhaul.

Jim Olson of AE2S Engineering told St. John commissioners that the current 50,000-gallon tower isn’t large enough to accommodate the expanding school district and has simply outlived its life.

“It’s a 1960s tower that is starting to create more and more problems for the city,” Olson said “There are pages of problems with the existing tower and it’s froze up many times. The water treatment plant can handle a new tower and the city has lined up some preliminary funding.”

That preliminary funding amounts to $75,000, and comes from the state water commission to be used for the pre-construction phase. Olson said additional grant dollars will be sought out once plans and other specs are approved.

The engineer said he expects the project will cost up to $1.8 million.

“If the money is there we would put it out to bid and see what bids come in,” said Olson. “The city can always refuse all bids and start over, but ideally we’d put it out for bids in the winter.”

St. John Mayor Donald LaRocque said the council has discussed the matter at hand, but has decided to wait until they receive public input before making a decision.

(Story by John Rosinski, Turtle Mountain Star)

Co. Road 3 discussion draws a crowd

With well over a dozen western Divide County residents in attendance, Divide County Commissioners discussed their plans regarding the County Road 3, which have now changed.

“This commissioner board’s priority is Co. Road 3,” Commissioner Chico Eriksmoen told the 20 assorted farmers, ranchers and school district officials gathered at the meeting. “We want to get the road paved out there.”

However, without some form of help from the N.D. Legislature, the county’s options are limited. One resident in attendance said the county’s current predicament stems from the failures of past commissioners.

“If previous commissioners had done their jobs we wouldn’t be here today,” said Elkhorn Township resident Wade Bjorgen. “The funding has been sliding over to the east continually. They gave us the runaround.”

Potholes and other road failures have plagued the 12 miles of Co. Road 3 covered by the double chip-seal surface, especially on the southern end of the road where there’s increased traffic due to oil field activity.

Because no help from the N.D. Legislature is expected, commissioners said they’d likely focus on that southern end first.

“We’d appreciate that,” responded Bjorgen. “My suggestion would be to take care of that south end where there’s oil activity and it’s in the worst shape.”

(Story by Brad Nygaard, The Journal)

Architects pitch idea for new auditorium, career and tech center in school district

Representatives from Icon Architectural Group have presented a plan to build a new auditorium and career and technical education center to members of a committee studying facility improvements.

Icon’s director of project development Kyle Kvamme, and Todd Blixt, an architect with Icon, pitched an idea to build a 14,000 square foot auditorium and a new career and technical education center, along with music and shop rooms.

The structure would go on the southeast of the elementary school, and would address handicap accessibility issues that exist inside Hillsboro High School and remove portions of the high school that generate the most complaints, said Blixt.

Back in December, Icon pitched the construction of a new classroom building, but that idea did not gain much support.

“The more we started thinking about the first plan, we decided that it didn’t make a lot of sense,” Blixt said. “All of the areas that we talked about saving (in December) have handicap accessibility issues.”

Further discussions are still necessary, and school officials are working to get a survey completed and eventually distributed in hopes of getting feedback from community members.

(Story by Cole Short, Hillsboro Banner)