701 Rundown: July 24, 2023

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

Two people found deceased

At around 7:53 p.m. on July 5, 2023, the McKenzie County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of two deceased individuals having been found dead at a single-family residence south of Watford City.

When law enforcement officers entered the home, they found one juvenile female and one adult male deceased and with apparent gunshot wounds.

Law Enforcement determined the incident was isolated and that no danger was posed to the community, based on information received and evidence at the scene of the crime.

The incident is currently under investigation, and no further information is available.

(Story from the McKenzie County Farmer)

Corps of Engineers to replace Drayton Dam

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as part of an environmental mitigation project, has agreed to a $7.7 million project to replace Drayton Dam.

The project aims to remove ecological barriers, restore natural resources and reconnect the entire river.

Demolition of the existing bridge – located near Drayton, N.D. – is already underway, and in its place will eventually be a new dam with an arched rock rapids fish passage structure, which will allow the passage of fish and improve public safety.

The project will also include a new fishing platform that can be easily accessed from the nearby parking lot adjacent to the river.

The Corps’ contractor, Harvey Sand and Gravel LLC in Harvey, has been stockpiling rip rap and boulders for the new rock way and placing sheet piling as retaining walls since August of 2022 in preparation for the removal of the old dam.

The new dam will include a sloping set of rapids with a rock passageway that will end at the face of the old dam.

Rocks and boulders will be placed in patterns, creating pools through which fish can freely pass.

The project will remove the last impediment to fish between the source of the Red River at Wahpeton, North Dakota/Breckinridge, Minnesota, to the St. Andrews Lock and Dam in Lockport, Manitoba, north of Winnipeg.

(Story by Todd Morgan, The Walsh County Record)

Saving the reservoir

Stakeholders in the Harvey Reservoir, a 250-acre body of water, met on Monday, July 10, with hopes that they can extend the life of the reservoir.

Yearly surfacing issues have been compounded by generational use of landowners, farmers and ranchers in the Upper Sheyenne Watershed, from the headwaters in Sheridan County to the end users at the Harvey Reservoir.

The meeting lasted 2.5 hours, and at its end there was a brief visit to the reservoir itself.

The 25 stakeholders in attendance, as well as four representatives from the State Capitol in Bismarck, came to an agreement on a path forward.

First, they agreed to initiate a study to assess the quality of the reservoir’s water, followed by a second phase that would implement the initial study’s plan of attack.

Harvey City Auditor Karen Nordby and Garrison Diversion Director Bill Ongstad, of Harvey, both said it was a “great” meeting.

With regard to dealing with the government, however, they said “the wheels turn slowly.”

The synopsis of the meeting is that two grant applications submitted by the Wells County Soil Conservation District office in Fessenden will initiate action to resolve the water quality issues in the reservoir, resulting in a plan to rehabilitate the Harvey recreation complex.

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

HHS alum, Fargo race organizer killed in bike crash

Mark Knutson, who graduated from Hillsboro High School in 1988, was killed in a truck-bicycle crash Sunday morning, July 9 in Detroit Lakes, Minn.

According to the Detroit Lakes Police Department, Knutson, 53, was on his bicycle going west in the 1100 block of South Shore Drive when he was struck by a west-bound pickup truck pulling a boat just after 7 a.m.

The driver of the pickup truck has been identified as 42-year-old Jacob Grabowski of Fargo, authorities said.

No criminal charges have been filed and the investigation is ongoing.

Many in the fitness community were shocked by the news, as Knutson played a massive role in creating and directing one of the biggest events for that community every year.

Once upon a time, the Fargo-Moorhead area hadn’t seen a marathon in 18 years, and that’s when Mark Knutson and Mike Almquist double-handedly decided to change that fact.

That was back in 2005, when it seemed crazy to propose a 26.2 mile race on the streets of Fargo and Moorhead – but the two of them pulled it off, and built the event into a yearly spectacle.

(Story by Jeff Kolpack of Forum Communications, taken from the Hillsboro Banner)

Ribbon-cutting ceremony

On July 6, 2023, almost exactly 1 year since the ground breaking of the Dakota Regional Medical Center was celebrated, the medical center had a ribbon-cutting ceremony to commemorate the opening of the new facility.

At the ceremony, CEO and Administrator Nikki Lindsey spoke about the success of the Capital Campaign team in reaching its $2.5 million goal.

District 29 representative Don Vigesaa was also in attendance, and spoke to the crowd on behalf of the Capital Campaign and reported statistics of the effort.

The campaign has received 96 gifts and pledges so far, totaling over $2.7 million.

Vigesaa thanked the community, noting that direct mailing alone brought in over $30,000.

He also thanked the alumni of the Cooperstown High School, who gave $400,350, as well as the business community in the area, who contributed $479,000 in donations.

(Story by Jill Larson, Griggs County Courier)