701 Rundown: April 29, 2024

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

Passing the bottle

As the saying goes, "All good things must come to an end."

But that doesn't mean that the fine fruit wines from Dakota Sun Winery are gone for good.

Business owners Bruce and Merleen Gussiaas sold the winery to Devin Quick of Williston in February, meaning the production of the award-winning wines will no longer be done from the family's rural Carrington farm in Nordmore Township.

From their entry into the wine-making business back in 2010, the Gussiaases have built the winery, and associated gardens, into a regional success story that has brought tasters from around the state and the country to their home roughly 6 1/2 miles northeast of town as the crow flies.

"It was a lot of experimentation," said Bruce. "When you're serving thousands of samples at shows, you figure out what people like, what works and what doesn't. Merleen was kind of the chief taste tester."

Their product has won numerous accolades on the worldwide stage, and a display shelf in the former winery building showcases medals and trophies from many prestigious competitions.

A trophy in the middle is of particular pride to the former owners, the 2018 Winery of the Year from the Indy International Wine Competition.

After deciding to retire, Bruce and Merleen were looking for prospective buyers for the winery.

"We were just in the process of slowing down, and were letting distributors know that we would no longer be providing the product," he said.

"Devin came to visit us at the winery and the gardens," Merleen said. "It was kind of her dream to own one, she told us."

Things progressed from there, and the sale was finalized on February 1. News of the ownership transfer was posted to Dakota Sun Gardens and Winery's Facebook page on Monday, April 15.

(Story by Erik Gjovik, The Foster County Independent)

Body found north of Beaver Bay

A body found north of Beaver Bay in the first weekend of April has been transported to Bismarck in hopes that the body can be identified.

According to Emmons County Sheriff Gary Sanders, a local fisherman discovered the body at around 5:50 p.m. on April 7 near the shoreline of Lake Oahe about 3.5 miles north of Beaver Bay.

“... He, along with three of his fishing partners, discovered a deceased on the shoreline,” Sanders reported in a press release dated April 9.

After deputies arrived on scene and began to investigate, it was determined the deceased was an unknown adult male.

“Due to the poor and deteriorating conditions of the body, it’s believed the body has likely been deceased for an extended period of time in the water and had recently washed up on shore,” the release stated.

As of April 9, Emmons County had no local missing person reports on file, but the Bismarck Police Department was contacted to see if they had any missing persons.

“Bismarck Police Department confirmed that they did, and it was determined that the discovered deceased body may possibly be that of a previously reported adult male, which had been reported by family members as missing from Bismarck last fall,” Sanders reported.

(Story by Kelli Ameling, Emmons County Record)

Business owner arrested

Jason Tracy, owner of the Jason’s Super Foods franchise, has been arrested in Mountrail County for kidnapping a child, along with two other charges.

According to public court documents, Tracy, 42, was arrested and charged with kidnapping, interfering with government or political function and the release of an unharmed child victim; fleeing a peace officer in a vehicle; and disobedience of a judicial order – all of which occurred on January 12.

Sheriff Corey Bristol of the Mountrail County Sheriff’s Office stated that Tracy went to a school in Renville county and removed one of his minor children from the school, which was in violation of a court order in his divorce case where his wife had custody of the minor.

A deputy from the Mountrail County Sheriff’s Office found Tracy at his residence and ordered that he return the child, at which time Tracy refused and fled the scene.

Tracy then drove to a second home where he was eventually found and arrested. The child was also found in the second home and returned to his mom in Renville County.

Tracy has a number of grocery stores in the state, of which two are located in Bottineau County in the cities of Bottineau and Westhope.

At the time of this article, Tracy’s store in Mohall has been sold and the remaining stores are all closed.

(Story by Scott Wagar, Bottineau Courant)

Building community in Park River

What started out as a campground and moved into a baseball complex is hopefully going to develop into a 64,000 square foot Park River Community Center.

Misty Praska, the director of Park River Parks and Recreation, said that whole development south of Highway 17 on the east end of Park River was always a three-phase plan.

“There were three phases. The campground, baseball complex and the third phase which is the community center,” she said.

“The first two phases have come to fruition and here we are at the third phase.”

It has been 10 years since the second phase of the development was completed and now a committee of seven is ready to embark on a $22 million community center that has a little something for everyone.

The initial plan is to try to raise the money for the facility locally, said Praska.

Ideally the committee would like to break ground in the fall of 2027, with the building to be located east of the ball diamonds.

(Story by Todd Morgan, The Walsh County Record)