Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883

701 Rundown: June 5, 2023

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

City questioned over steps to recall mayor

At a Hillsboro City Commission meeting on Monday, May 15, a downtown business owner asked commissioners to spell out the legal steps necessary to remove the city’s mayor.

Allison Bertsch, who owns the Hillsboro Inn and the former Dakota Heritage Bank building with her husband, Brian Whisney, asked city commissioners to go through the recall process for Hillsboro City Commission President Levi Reese.

Reese was elected to a four-year term in June 2022.

At the meeting on May 15, Bertsch questioned the commissioners about why three city officials all recently resigned.

Reese responded that one of the officials – City Commissioner Mike Kress – appeared to explain his reason for resigning in a newspaper article.

In the May 9 edition of the Hillsboro Banner, Kress said disagreements at city meetings had taken a toll.

In the article, Kress also pointed to a letter he received from Reese expressing concerns about the construction of two sheds.

At the city meeting, Reese apologized that the letter might have led to the resignation.

“I am sorry that a letter, if that’s the case here, made that big of a deal to have three commissioners – a city commissioner and two planning and zoning commissioners – resign over it,” Reese said.

(Story by Cole Short, Hillsboro Banner)

Favorable weather speeds planting in Walsh County

A recent run of good weather in Walsh County has spurred farmers in that area, many of which already have the majority of their farms seeded.

Above normal temperatures and below normal precipitation this spring allowed producers to quickly make substantial progress in their spring planting.

“We have had 10 days of nice planting weather and with this large equipment farmers can plant a lot of acres in a short period of time,” said Myles Flaten, marketing manager at Walsh Grain Terminal in Park River.

He also said that it would be safe to assume that farmers within a 16-mile radius of Park River (which is approximately 18 miles west of Grafton), have upwards of 80 percent of their crop planted.

A forecast in mid-April suggested mostly dry weather through the end of May, and wheat forecasters were predicting North Dakota will have its wheat crop in the ground before June.

The amount of corn acres planted is also expected to increase, according to Flaten, who said last year only 36,200 acres of corn was planted in 2022, compared to 62,000 corn acres planted in 2021.

He added that he expects 60,000 corn acres to be planted in 2023.

“I think last year many producers were planning to plant corn but the season got so late that they backed off their acres,” he said. “Some of that occurred this year, but I expect our corn acres to be similar to what they were in 2021.”

(Story by Todd Morgan, The Walsh County Record)

Two more resignations as citizens wonder ‘what the hell is going on?’

A string of resignation from City of Rolla officials continued last week, deepening questions about what is going on within the confines of local government.

In the span of just two weeks, two department heads and a deputy auditor have resigned, as well as three of the city council’s six members.

Councilman Tyler Bergsrud became the latest member to leave his position, joining former councilwomen Paula Wilkie and Eleanor McCloud.

Former auditor Erica McDougall and deputy auditor Shelby Campbell have also resigned.

In his resignation lette dated May 16, Bergsrud echoed many of the same themes invoked in Wilkie and McCloud’s letters.

“I can no longer serve in the capacity that I was elected to serve in with the current state of the council and employee turnover,” wrote Bergsrud.

“Outside entities and personal vendettas have outweighed what is right for the city of Rolla. I cannot in good conscience be part of a board that allows these things to happen.”

He continued, “There are rumors and perceived threats that are influencing key decisions that are being made.

“Growing up here and this being a small community it is against my beliefs and values not to support one another, businesses, and listen to citizen concerns to better our community.”

Police Chief William Poitra has also resigned, leaving just two officers in the department.

Rolla’s mayor said a special meeting will take place to address the open seats on the board.

(Story by John Rosinski, Turtle Mountain Star)

Gussiaas directs $5,000 donation to ‘Blessings in a Backpack’ program

Local farmer Brandon Gussiaas recently directed a $5,000 Bayer Fund America’s Farmers, Grow Communities donation to Carrington’s Daily Bread.

Carrington’s Daily Bread will use the funds to supply food in the 2023-2024 school year with the “Blessings in a Backpack” program.

“We are incredibly blessed by Brandon and his decision to direct these funds to the Blessings in a Backpack program," said Jan Bakke and Anna Grenz, co-directors of Carrington’s Daily Bread.

“This donation will cover five weekly distributions of the bags of food, bags that include two protein, two fruit, two breakfast and two snack options for the child’s weekend.

“It needs to be noted that this is the second time Brandon has blessed this program! We are so thankful!”

Since 2010, the America’s Farmers programs have awarded nearly $65 Million to nonprofits, aspiring ag students and public schools across rural America.

Farmers are leaders in their communities, which is why America’s Farmers programs rely on them to help identify the worthiest causes.

(Story from The Foster County Independent)