701 Rundown: December 26, 2022

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

Former, current city leaders trade barbs in heated exchange

 Chuck Punton, who served as a city commissioner from 1987 to 1992, traded barbs with a current commissioner at the Hillsboro commission’s December meeting.

 Punton criticized commissioners Dave Sather and Mike Kress because they were still accepting health insurance benefits provided by the city.

 In 2020, city leaders had decided to cut costs, which meant no longer offering insurance to new commissioners. Sather and Kress were commissioners before 2020, and so were grandfathered in and allowed to keep their insurance benefits.

 Punton pointed out city leaders have been bringing up the possibility of utility rate increases as they try to get the city’s books in order. Punton argues that instead of raising rates, they should costs on expenses like insurance that Sather and Kress are still using.

 Punton saved his hardest hitting questions for Sather, asking why he and Kress accept health insurance offered to them by the city, which costs close to $800 per person every month.

 “I think it’s a concern of the people out there. It’s something that should be aired,” Punton said.

(Story by Cole Short, Hillsboro Banner)

Firefighters respond quickly to save home

 An early morning fire on Sunday, Dec. 11 on Kittson Avenue in Grafton has displaced a mom, her daughter and their family dog.

 A fire that started in the living room of their one-story home displaced Red River Regional Director Dawn Mandt, her daughter Kathryn and their dog Charlie. Mandt said she escaped the fire by exiting through her bedroom window.

 “I am a light sleeper so I believe I must have heard a noise and woke up,” said Mandt. “I opened my bedroom door and all I could see was smoke and flames. I shut the door grabbed my phone and went out my bedroom window.”

 Kathryn was with friends at the time and was not at home. Their dog, Charlie, was barely spared, as he had to be resuscitated. Unfortunately, their 3- to 4-month-old pet kitten, Maverick, did not survive the blaze.

 “The police were on scene within a couple of minutes of me calling in the fire. Fire Chief Brad Martinson arrived a minute or two later and in less than 10 minutes the fire department arrived,” said Mandt. “I was amazed how quick the response was and in a situation like that as firefighters will tell you minutes matter.

 “I truly believe it was their quick response that saved my house,” she aded.

 The fire itself was contained to within the living room, though smoke and soot damage has left the home unlivable for the time being.

 Mandt estimated that her and her family will have to remain out of the house for up to four months.

(Story by Todd Morgan, The Walsh County Record)

Commissioners dismiss allegations of election improprieties

 The Wells County Board of County Commissioners at their regular December meeting dismissed an allegation by rural Chaseley resident, Lydia Gessele, that there were improprieties that occurred during the Nov. 8 general election.

 She also demanded that the county’s six precincts be reestablished as polling sites and that ballots be counted by hand instead of the standard computer-generated count - accepted and used by the state’s 53 counties. Those demands were also dismissed.

 District 3 commissioner Leon Klocke refused to comment on Gessele’s suggestion that the county “drop the machines” at primary and general elections.

 “This discussion isn’t going anywhere,” he said. “We have to move on, we’ve got business to take care of.”

 There are checks and balances in place, submitted commission chairman Stan Buxa. Directing his comments to Gessele, he added, “You have to trust the system. It works.”

 Wells County Auditor Stutlien later added, “The election went great. We did well.”

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

Abandoned puppies get new homes for holidays

 Around this time a month ago, before the latest winter blizzard, a litter of puppies were found abandoned in a wheat field just outside the town of Rolla.

 The puppies, eight in total, were found in a box sitting at a fork in the road on a seemingly empty plot of land. Half of them were still and lifeless, as the thin cardboard was all that separated them from the harsh cold.

 Word spread, and eventually a nearby resident, Howard Good, came by to pick them up.

 “He loaded them all up and brought them back to the farm and my mom nursed them back to health,” said Wade Good, Howard’s son.

 After enjoying some milk and getting accustomed to their new environment and rescuer, the puppies quickly began looking better and more lively. The Good family worked with friends and the community to get them foster homes.

(Story by Ethan Mickelson, Turtle Mountain Star)

Local jail is closed

 The Bottineau County jail is officially closed due to staffing and meal issues, and all of the county’s inmates have been sent to the Rugby jail.

 “We might be open in a week or two, but it depends on getting staff,” said Bottineau County Sheriff Steve Watson. “We do have staff members but not enough to keep the jail open at this present time.

 “One of the things keeping the jail closed is that some of the people we have hired have to go to a three-week course and we are waiting for that to be completed.”

 The jail is also reportedly struggling to contract with a business to get meals prepared for the inmates.

 “We have talked to a few people, but we haven’t found someone to make meals for the inmates,” Watson said. “We are hoping to contract with someone soon, it just depends on the business places in town.

 “And another thing we have to look at is getting a dietician and I don’t know who we are going to get to do that job.”

 Watson wanted to assure the public that, despite the jail’s closure, policing and dispatching will continue as normal without interruption.

(Story by Scott Wagar, Bottineau Courant)