701 Rundown: May 8, 2023

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

Man arrested following incident on Main Street

On Friday, April 21, just before 7 a.m., the Carrington Police Department responded to multiple calls about a man walking down the middle of Main Street with a gun, yelling at passersby.

Carrington Police Chief Christopher Bittmann arrived on the scene at 7 a.m. and saw 36-year-old Andrew Jager of Carrington walking down the street carrying a gun case just two blocks east of the school.

Bittmann confronted Jager and asked him to drop the gun case. After failing to do so, the confrontation turned into a physical altercation as Bittman attempted to handcuff Jager.

With the help of nearby bystanders, Jager was eventually detained.

Court documents say that a subsequent search revealed two concealed pistols on Jager’s person, a 9mm Ruger and a .22 caliber Derringer. Inside the gun case was a semi-automatic Remington 1100 12-gauge shotgun.

Jager has been charged with disorderly conduct, a Class B misdemeanor; preventing arrest, a Class A misdemeanor; three counts of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, each a Class C felony; two misdemeanor counts of carrying a concealed weapon and charges for the two pistols.

(Story by Amy Wobbema, The Foster County Independent)

Goose, Red rivers crest lower than previously expected

The last week of April has seen river levels across much of eastern North Dakota begin to recede, allowing much of the region to avoid a worst-case flooding scenario.

The Goose River at Hillsboro crested at 13.58 feet late Thursday, April 20. The river was expected to crest as high as 14 feet.

Nevertheless, the water level reached high enough to inundate much of the woodland Park and submerge portions of the Goose River Golf Course.

Officials at the course said the Nos. 1, 2, 3, 4 and 7 greens were underwater late last week, and crews began cleaning up the debris left by the flood April 21.

“We had a tremendous group of volunteers over the weekend,” said Ryan Opdahl, president of Goose River Golf Club.

“We did a lot of heavy lifting to get where we’re at right now.”

(Story by Cory Erickson, Hillsboro Banner)

Texas man suffers life-threatening injuries in rollover crash

On Thursday, April 20, at around 7:30 a.m., a 26-year-old male from Buda, Texas, sustained serious, life-threatening injuries during a one-vehicle rollover on Highway 73, approximately 18 miles east of Watford City.

The driver was westbound on Hwy. 73 when he lost control of his Jeep, according to the crash report released by the North Dakota Highway Patrol. The vehicle then entered the south ditch and began rolling.

Safety restraints were not being used by the driver, and he was ejected from the vehicle.

He was then taken by ambulance to the McKenzie County Hospital, then flown to Trinity Health in Minot.

The crash remains under investigation by the N.D. Highway Patrol.

(Story from the McKenzie County Farmer)

Gaming complaint names Wall of Honor

Charitable gaming generates a lot of money across North Dakota for a variety of different nonprofit organizations.

One of those organizations is Wall of Honor, but now, the North Dakota Attorney General's office contends three Bismarck-based distributors of gaming equipment conspired with Wall of Honor – a nonprofit that honors veterans, active duty personnel and first responders – to violate state gaming laws.

In a 14-page complaint released on April 11, the Attorney General alleges Western Distributing Company, Plains Games Distributing and Midwest Game Distributing conspired with Wall of Honor “to violate North Dakota’s gaming laws and rules.”

According to the complaint, Wall of Honor “sales personnel” visited a number of sites across the state offering gaming.

“The intent was to offer a Wall of Honor billboard (including the potential of payment for the Wall of Honor billboard) to entice site/lessor to switch charitable gaming organizations to a fraternal organization aligned with Western, Plains, and/or Midwest.

“In return, the fraternal organizations would use funds from gaming to donate back to Wall of Honor.”

The allegations do not sit well with officers of Tioga’s American Legion Post #139.

“We only have high praise for Wall of Honor,” said Joe Griffin, Post #139’s gaming manager. He also called the allegations “insulting, ignorant and bogus.”

(Story by Brad Nygaard, The Journal)

Officials take first steps towards rebuilding legion

A local landmark in Rolla was lost to a fire last year, and now, progress on its replacement is slowly but steadily making progress.

When the flames were finally extinguished last summer, thoughts immediately turned to somehow replacing the iconic structure.

Officials from the Fred C Wagner post have spent the winter months going through various plans, all in an attempt to rebuild.

Commander Matt Dunlop described the process as tedious, but sounded encouraged about how things might come together.

“We’re going through zoning, and different regulations we need to meet but we’re hoping to start as soon as possible, which means this spring.”

The floor plan for the structure, which will be built at the same location, includes a building a bit larger than the one lost in the fire, measuring 50” x 76”. The old building measured 35” x 60”.

Dunlop said the new building will cost about $700,000, which far exceeds what the entity received from insurance after the building was lost.

“We received about $170,000 in insurance and are sitting at a little under $300,000, but we also need some funds for regular operations,” Dunlop said. “We’re in the process of writing grants and continue to look for donations.”

(Story by John Rosinski, Turtle Mountain Star)