701 Rundown: June 28, 2023

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

Strong winds topple power lines near Casselton

A mile of transmission lines went down northwest of Casselton Friday evening due to localized high winds.

A nearby resident had their driveway blocked and reported the downed lines.

Zach Thronson, a lineman with Otter Tail Power, was the first on scene.

“I was the first one there and my head was at a point where I knew the first thing we needed to do was ground the line and clear the wires so those people could get in and out of their driveway,” he recalled.

According to Otter Tail Power Communications Manager Rebbecca Michael, power was restored within eight hours and linemen are continuing to make repairs in that area.

Carl Jones, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Grand Forks, said the incident wouldn’t have been caused by a tornado.

“It was most likely a straight line wind,” he explained. “Last week we had some thunderstorms producing downdrafts.

“When the thunderstorm builds and produces rain and hail high in the atmosphere, and that load drops and rain evaporates, it accelerates at the surface and creates gusty conditions.”

(Storm by Angela Kolden, The Cass County Reporter)

No fireworks allowed at Grafton’s SummerFest this year

Grafton Fire Chief Ken Popiel addressed the city council Monday and went on record to explain why the fire department is no longer lighting off fireworks.

“Quite a few years ago, before I was chief, the chamber had a group from New Rockford,” said Popiel. “They came up and lit the fireworks for them and were paid by the chamber.”

Eventually, however, the group from New Rockford were no longer interested in doing it anymore, and it was discussed by the fire department if they should do it instead.

A couple of volunteers from within the department decided to take it up on their own time, but eventually they too decided not to continue doing it after a few years.

Now, discussions have once again turned to whether or not the fire department should take it on.

“There again we decided that it was too much of a liability on us if someone was to get hurt,” said Popiel. “We as a department have always been out there with our equipment in case something were to happen.”

“After addressing that, no one volunteered to do it. That’s when we told the chamber we were not interested in it. We recommended that they get a professional to do it.”

However, nothing has worked out in time for this year.

“We really have no choice than to scrap the fireworks this year for SummerFest,” said Chamber Director Shirley Burns.

(Story by Todd Morgan, The Walsh County Record)

Drug war drags on

Rolette County experienced a drastic increase in drug-related crimes last year, according to statistics produced by the Rolette County Sheriff’s Department.

Drug and narcotic violations rose more than 45 percent over 2021 figures while arrests for those crimes jumped by more than 18 percent.

Rolette County Sheriff Nathan Gustafson said there are individuals facing “big charges” for drug-related crimes within the county.

“We have deputies who live here and are from here and they all care about what happens here,” he said. “They are putting their heart and soul into this job because their families are here.”

He added, “When [Bryant] Mueller and [Tony] Sims were sheriffs, they got out and worked. They knew about the drug problem and did this to combat it.

“I feel like we’re getting back to that. All my deputies can write warrants and they’re all getting drugs off the streets.”

Meanwhile, federal law enforcement is also aiding the Bureau of Indian Affairs as they crack down on drugs in the Turtle Mountain Reservation.

Justin King, the head of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Omaha Division, said that investigations during the past three years linked directly to the Turtle Mountains have yielded 70 arrests, as well as the confiscation of 30 pounds of methamphetamine, 5,000 fentanyl-laced fake pills, 22 firearms and $100,000 in drug proceeds.

(Story by Jason Nordmark, Turtle Mountain Star)

Barking up the wrong tree: dredge the reservoir

A Fessenden resident is suggesting Harvey and Wells County take a different approach to resolving issues with the stagnant Harvey Dam and reservoir.

Anne Ehni, who is the publisher of The Herald-Press and is with the Soil Conservation District office in Fessenden, is convinced the reservoir is Harvey is becoming increasingly stagnant for two reasons.

First, the flow of water has slowed to a crawl, and second, because the dialogue in rectifying the matter has languished into nothing more than a routine of questions and answers as to what the problem is.

Ehni is attempting to convince all involved with the Harvey Dam and reservoir that dredging is an option that deserves to be explored.

The need is for more water in the reservoir, explained Ehni, citing the argument made for decades.

That is something that could be accomplished by dredging the reservoir. “It’s something that should be considered.”

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

West side water work stops in its tracks

The Carrington City Council received some bad news at their meeting last week.

Boring under the Canadian Pacific Railway for the West-side Water Expansion Project didn’t go so well.

During the meeting held on Monday, June 12, engineer Travis Dillman explained that the trenching company is requesting an extension of the completion date to July 31 due to problems with boring under CP Rail.

Dillman explained that when they were trying to put in the steel casing, they kept breaking a rod by hitting something underground.

He also said that the two other bores went well. “They are going to try boring five feet in another direction, but it takes time to get approval from CP Rail,” said Dillman. The question to the council was should the city agree to the July 31st completion date. If they do, then they may only assess liquidated damages after August 1 if the July 31st deadline hasn’t been met.

A very rough estimate of at least $25,000 was estimated for the cost to the city for the complication.

A motion was passed to extend the completion date to July 17.

(Story by Leasa A. Lura, Foster County Independent)