701 Rundown: Jan. 20, 2025

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

Belcourt man shot

According to the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians’ (TMBCI) Facebook page, there was a shooting in Belcourt where a law enforcement officer shot and killed an individual after a call was made to assist the individual.

Jamie Azure, chair of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, said that on December 29, a law enforcement officer from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Office of Justice Services (BIA-OJS) responded to a report of a suicidal man with a firearm.

At the scene, shots were fired by an officer of the BIA-OJS at the man they were responding to who was killed in the incident.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) out of Minneapolis is the primary agency leading the shooting investigation.

“We are aware of the incident and the investigation is ongoing,” stated the FBI to the Bottineau Courant. “There is no additional information available at this time.”

The BIA-OJS officer involved in the shooting has been placed on administrative leave pending a full investigation.

(Story by Scott Wagar, Bottineau Courant)

Foster County appoints Roller to commission

During their regular commission meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 7, the Foster County Commission appointed Paul Roller to the District 4 seat recently vacated by Scott Beumer.

Chairperson Becky Hagel said that Beumer had reached out to Roller about joining the commission, and after initially declining the offer Roller has now decided to accept an appointment.

Roller is originally from a dairy farm in Wells County, but now resides in Carrington and since 1999 has worked at Dakota Central, where he is their network technical coordinator.

He graduated in 1983 from the North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton with a degree in electronic communications systems technology, and previously worked with Sykeston Communications.

Roller moved to Carrington from rural Sykeston in 2011, and was a member of the Carrington Job Development Authority for several years, as well as the local Cub Scout leader.

Commissioners said no other individuals had reached out to put their name forward, and a motion to appoint Roller was carried unanimously.

On Wednesday, Roller told the Independent that he decided to accept an appointment to the county commission because he feels a need to give back to his community.

"I felt I needed something that allowed me to pay back," he said. "Scott Beumer approached me and asked if I'd be interested and originally I said no, but the more I thought about it I figured this is probably the place that I can fulfill the need to give back that I have."

With the appointment, Roller will hold the seat for two years until Beumer's term officially ends in 2026. He will then have the option of running for election to a full 4-year term.

(Story by Nathan Price, The Foster County Independent)

Fallen trees on power line caused Ray fire

The cause of one of the two Williams County Fires that burned a combined 89,000 acres in October was determined to be trees falling onto a power line, according to the Office of the North Dakota Fire Marshall.

According to a report released on Monday, Jan. 6, from Deputy State Fire Marshal Doug Pierre, lead investigator of the fire, the easternmost fire started at a farm property approximately 15 miles southeast of Alamo.

Pierre and other state and local investigators, including Assistant Fire Chief Clint Perdue of the Ray Fire Protection District, arrived at the property on Oct. 7 after the fires were extinguished.

While there, investigators found evidence of downed trees and power lines just north of the property.

“The heel of the fire had electrical distribution lines and two trees down on the ground,” Pierre said.

The report said some of the downed electrical wires were snapped and discolored in some places where something would have fallen onto the wires.

(Story by Jordan Rusche, The Journal)

Bakken Bonanza: Massive untapped oil reserves found in northeastern McKenzie County

Beneath the familiar landscape of North Dakota’s oil fields lies a hidden treasure: hundreds of millions of barrels of untapped oil.

A new study reveals that significant untapped oil reserves exist within the middle of Three Forks reservoir of the Bakken Petroleum System in western North Dakota. The announcement was made by Nathan Anderson, Director of the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources, and Ed Murphy, North Dakota State Geologist.

The study, detailed in Report of Investigation 135 and Report of Investigation 136, indicates that hundreds of millions of barrels of recoverable oil remain undeveloped in this formation.

This discovery holds significant potential to bolster North Dakota’s economy, which has historically relied heavily on the oil and gas industry.

(Story by M.K. French, McKenzie County Farmer)