Year In Review 2016

MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA

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SUNDAY • JANUARY 1, 2017

MAIN: Lynn Johnson submits her ballot in early voting at the Ward County Administrative Building June 14.

BELOW: Tom Seymour, left, who retired from the Minot City Council, talks with Shaun Sipma, who took his seat, at a reorganizational session of the council in June.

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Minot decides to change

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inot residents stated unequivocally in June that they want a smaller city council.

The culmination of several months of activity by #MakeMinot, the June 14 election gave the citizens group a 75 percent margin of victory in its efforts to change the structure of city government. The ballot measure reduces the size of the council from 14 members elected from wards to six members elected at large, and it converts the mayor’s position to a voting member of the council.

The city followed up after the

By JILL SCHRAMM Staff Writer• jschramm@minotdailynews.com election with a series of ad hoc committee meetings to sort through the various ordinances that need to be updated and recommend revisions to accommodate the new government to be elected next June 13.

After scrapping a plan that would have doubled the mayor’s salary and greatly increased council members’ salaries, the Minot City Council approved the recommended changes on final reading

Dec. 5.

Along with passing the ballot measure in June, voters elected five new council members, including Shannon Straight and Shaun Sipma, two leaders with #MakeMinot. Other new members are Kenton Kossan and two former council members Stephan Podrygula and George Withus.

Sipma said #MakeMinot’s call for change in city government is

producing results in various areas.

He cited ad hoc committees reviewing liquor and nuisance weed ordinances as examples of progress.

“I think we are happy with what we have seen now, not only with the current council but talking with residents, we are still getting a lot of positive feedback,” Sipma said.

“The big test is going to be how many names we see on the ballot for that June special election,” he added. “We still have to get people engaged. We want to see good canSee GOV’T — Page 2

Minot was CONSTRUCTION CITY in 2016

M Jill Schramm/MDN

Construction workers prepare to work on the exterior cladding on one of the two parking ramps in downtown Minot. The exterior finish on both downtown parking ramps is to be completed by Feb. 10 under a bid award granted by the Minot City Council to Rolac Contracting of Minot. Total cost is $573,6778 with contingencies and architectural/engineering expenses.

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By ANDREA JOHNSON Staff Writer• ajohnson@minotdailynews.com

any Minot residents could be forgiven for thinking that 2016 was the year of never ending road and building construction in downtown Minot.

The first of two downtown parking structures was opened in February, following a 2 1/2 year long saga that city officials called “challenging.” The second parking ramp opened this fall.

Shaw-Lundquist and Associates of St. Paul, Minn., began work on the Renaissance ramp and the Central ramp in October 2013. The Renaissance ramp, which opened with 225 spaces, is located south of the big “M” building in downtown Minot. Work stopped on that ramp in the fall of 2014 amid concerns that subcontractors weren’t being paid. Then the city discovered that the ramp could not be completed for the original bid price of $10.5 million. The cost had ballooned to an estimated $19 million by December 2014, when the city officials met with Shaw-Lundquist and Cypress Development of Portland, Ore., representatives. The city of Minot ended up committing more than $9 million, See BUILD — Page 4

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Kelli Flermoen is the first woman to be named fire chief of the Minot Fire Department. During the summer, Flermoen collaborated with the American Red Cross to inspect and install smoke detectors in the homes of Minot residents.

2016 provided new opportunities

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Year In Review

Minot Daily News

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Thank you for your patronage in 2016.

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By ALLAN BLANKS Staff Writer • ablanks@minotdailynews.com

tablishments along hroughout 2016, with rainbow toned the city of Minot garden pallets. experienced sevAs downtown eral transitions. gained a much needed From the reconstrucfacelift, Beth Feldner tion of Minot Internaand Terri Philion tional Airport to the reestablished the Miss steady transformations downtown, a new era Minot Pageant. of leadership is taking With over $5,000 place in the Magic raised toward scholarCity. ship funds, the beauty When reviewing the pageant was well re2016 highlights, the ceived by aspiring confirst shift in leadership testants with opened with the genCassandra Stauffer der breaking success of earning the title of Kelli Flermoen, the Miss Minot.

Jill Schramm/MDN first woman to be After the Magic City named fire chief of After a nationwide search, Minot hired Tom Barry crowned Miss Minot in as the new city manager. Barry has plans to im- June, residents elected Minot.

With 20 years of prove flood, address budget matters and forge new members to the Minot City Council. service to the Grand strong partnerships with the Minot community.

Shannon Straight in Forks Fire Department, Ward 1, Shaun Sipma in the former battalion chief has made an immediate impact to Minot by Ward 3 and Kenton Kossan in Ward 7 are the newest adopting the 2015 International Fire and Building members of Minot’s political scene.

Code, which requires newly constructed and remodAffiliated with the informal organization called eled buildings to install an automatic sprinkler sys- #MakeMinot, Straight and Sipma seek to reform the tem. city council by creating smaller government and In addition to the implementation of automatic helping Minot rebuild from the 2011 flood.

Kossan, a state law enforcement official, plans to sprinkler systems, Flermoen has encouraged collaboration with the American Red Cross and volun- address criminal activity in Minot and establish a teerism from the community in citywide efforts to more transparent government that holds public officheck and install smoke detectors in Minot homes. cials accountable for their actions.

In addition to the trio of Straight, Sipma and KosFollowing the January arrival of Flermoen, was the May installation of Rick Feltner, who was named air- san, Stephan Podrygula in Ward 3 and George port director at Minot International Airport.

Withus in Ward 2 rejoined the council .

After establishing a partnership with the Minot For Podrygula, his top priorities include better Park District, Feltner is helping Minot International flood protection, improved public safety and enAirport achieve fiscal success by saving an estimated couraging more public participation.

Alongside the new council members are the re$71,000 in landscaping and post-construction beaticent committee chair appointments. fication.

Lisa Olson chairs Airport and Franchise, Rick According to the city’s Airport Committee, a proposal was made to allocate a small portion of the Hedberg was appointed to Liquor and Gambling, landscaping savings toward a new security system Dean Frantsvog heads Finance, Miranda Schuler between the pre-screened and screened portions of chairs Public Works and Mark Jantzer heads Comthe terminal. munity Development.

Based on the committee’s findings, taxpayers will Another new face to Minot is Tom Barry, the resave an estimated $60,247. cently installed city manager.

During 2016, road construction brought chaos to As the public works director of Meridian, Idaho, patrons and businesses of downtown Minot.

Barry won the 2016 Leader of the Year Award from In an effort to brighten the spirit of struggling busi- the American Public Works Association.

Some of the platforms on Barry’s agenda include nesses, Carrisa Botton and Chelsea Gleich founded snow removal, budget matters regarding city efforts the Minot Street Art Movement.

On a weekly basis, dozens of volunteers painted to implement its disaster relief plan and flood proneon coated murals on the walls of downtown es- tection.

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didates come forward.”

For #MakeMinot to realize its mission, residents will need to get involved in helping move projects forward, especially post-flood recovery projects, he said.

“There’s going to be lots of things that need front people to take on,” he said. #MakeMinot formed in 2015 to present a petition that fall, asking for a ballot measure to decide whether to change the makeup of the council. The group proposed a smaller council as a way to increase government accountability, encourage public engagement and increase the number of contested races.

When the council determined

changes would be needed in the city’s home rule charter to allow for a different government form, voters went to the poll in March to approve those changes.

Meanwhile, the timeframe for voting on the #MakeMinot measure then became too tight to schedule an election, so the group withdrew its petitions after extracting a promise from the council to place its measure on the June ballot anyway. #MakeMinot asked for slightly different wording that changed the size of the council from five members to six members plus a voting mayor, which members said was based on feedback from the public regarding the original plan.

Shortly after the council had received #MakeMinot’s original petition, former mayor Orlin Backes suggested an alternative plan to reduce the size of the council that retained the ward system. It proposed one council member

from each of the existing seven wards, plus one elected at large.

Acting on advice from the Attorney General’s office, the city council declined to place a competing measure on the ballot with the #MakeMinot measure. However, in May, the council approved a resolution from council member Miranda Schuler to consider another measure if the #MakeMinot measure failed in June. That alternative called for four wards with two aldermen each.

The #MakeMinot measure received some opposition from those who questioned a smaller council’s ability to increase engagement while voicing concern that council members could come from a single part of town and will carry larger workloads. They also objected to losing the city liaison status that aldermen carry.

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Sunday, January 1, 2017, Minot (N.D.) Daily News

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Over 98 percent of the drilling now targets the Bakken and Three Forks formations.

– Lynn Helms Director of the N.D. Department of Mineral Resources

Helms said operators are shifting from running the minimum number of rigs to incremental increases throughout 2017, as long as oil prices remain between $50 a barrel and $60 a barrel West Texas Intermediate.

Despite the drop in oil production and oil prices, the state’s natural gas production’s most recent figures (October) showed an all-time high of 1.7 billion cubic feet per day.

The state’s number of producing wells also climbed to a preliminary new all-time high of 13,457 in October.

Eighty-four percent of the wells (11,325 wells) are now unconventional Bakken-Three Forks wells and the rest produce from legacy conventional pools, Helms said.

Effects With the slowdown in the oil fields, Minot and other communities felt the pain.

From a time when new apartment buildings, single-family homes, townhouses, condos and new businesses seemed to be popping up all over, much of that came to a screeching halt – with a few exceptions.

Building permits in the city of Minot for single-family, townhouses, condos, apartment units and new commercial dropped from a valuation of all permits from $144.4 million (year to date) in 2015 to $69.4 million (year to date) in 2016, according to the Minot Area Chamber of Commerce’s December Minot and Ward County report.

Vacancy rates for apartments were high and rental units’ owners were hurting from a lack of occupants or at least not the

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numbers they would have liked to have to fill their units. Some offered special deals just to entice people to rent from them.

The number of single family homes sold in Minot dropped from 612 (year to date) in 2016 to to 516 (year to date) in 2016.

The number of single family homes sold in Minot and surrounding totaled 694 (year to date) in 2016 compared to 811 (year to date) in 2015.

The average sale price for a single family home sold in Minot dropped slightly – $232,897 (year to date) in 2015 to $231,104 (year to date) in 2016.

The unemployment rate in Minot and Ward County rose over the past year from 2.5 percent in October 2015 to 3.1 percent in October 2016 in Minot and from 2.4 percent in October 2015 to 2.9 percent in Ward County. These are higher than the state’s unemployment rate of 1.9 percent in October 2015 and 2.2 percent in October 2016.

But the North Dakota, Minot and Ward County unemployment rates are much lower than the U.S. unemployment rate of 4.8 percent in October 2015 and 4.7 percent in October 2016.

The number of total airline passengers at the Minot International Airport dropped significantly – from 316,574 as of October 2015 to 264,684 as of October 2016.

Although the slowdown in the North Dakota oil field was felt by many in the city and surrounding area, economic hope rebounded at the end of 2016 with a major Air Force project being planned.

The Air Force recently launched the multi-billion dollar, long-term program to replace the 1970s-era Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles in the Minot missile field.

The program primarily involves upgrading the missile, communications, launch facilities and launch control centers.

It will have a significant impact on the Minot community and other communities with nearby Air Force ICBM wings.

Minot AFB’s 91st Missile Wing is responsible for operating, maintaining and securing 150 Minuteman III missiles in underground facilities across several counties. The two other wings are at F.E. Warren AFB in Wyoming and Malmstrom AFB in Montana.

In November a team from Lockheed Martin visited Minot to make plans for the major missile upgrade. While in the city the team members met with Minot Area Chamber of Commerce officials to discuss the program and the effect it will have on the local community.

Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Northrop Grumman, all qualified military contractors, have submitted proposals recently for the ICBM upgrade program.

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he slowdown in the North Dakota oil patch influenced many lives and facets of the city of Minot and surrounding area in 2016.

Oil production in the state hovered around slightly more than a million barrels a day for much of the year, then dropping from a million barrels a day to 981,039 barrels a day in August, the North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources reported.

Oil production continued below a million barrels a day in September but then crawled up to 1.04 million barrels a day when state regulators released the October figures in early December.

The most recent oil production figures normally are about two months behind.

Rigs actively drilling in the oil fields had declined from 64 in December 2015 to 52 the first month of 2016.

That rig number fell even further to 32 in March. It stayed in the high 20s in April and May and then remained in the low 30s from July through October.

The rigs numbered 27 in May, the lowest number of rigs actively working in the oil field since July 2005.

The rig count finally started going up in November with 37 rigs actively working and by early December, it reached 40.

This was still very low compared to mid-2012 when the state had an all-time high of 218 rigs working in the oil field, the N.D. Department of Mineral Resources reported.

Although the rig count is down in each of them, the five most active counties for oil production are Divide, Dunn, McKenzie, Mountrail and Williams.

“Over 98 percent of the drilling now targets the Bakken and Three Forks formations,” said Lynn Helms, director of the N.D. Department of Mineral Resources.

Only one rig was actively drilling on federal surface in the Dakota Prairie Grasslands, Helms said in early December.

He said eight rigs were actively drilling on the Fort Berthold Reservation in early December. The 1,523 active wells on the reservation were producing 180,306 barrels of oil a day. Fort Berthold is one of the hotspots for oil production in the state. Wells still waiting on completion numbered 161 on Fort Berthold in December.

Oil prices started out in January at $21.13 a barrel and dropped to $18.07 a barrel in February. For the next nine months, the oil price fluctuated but remained in a range between $26.62 and $39.31 a barrel, according to the Mineral Resources Department. In early December, the price was at $40 a barrel, a long way off from the all-time high of $136.29 a barrel on July 3, 2008.

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By ELOISE OGDEN Regional Editor• eogden@minotdailynews.com

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The slowdown in the oil fields in North Dakota hampered growth in Minot and surrounding area, including real estate and housing construction.

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OIL FIELD SLOWDOWN AFFLICTS MINOT AREA

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Year In Review

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This was the home where Richie Wilder Jr. murdered his ex-wife Angila Wilder in November 2015.

A memorial picture of Angila Wilder is shown in the front window of her home in northwest Minot in late December 2015.

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mostly from Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery dollars and the MAGIC Fund.

By December 2015, some 35 parking spaces in the first structure were opened, with a grand opening for the first parking structure held in February.

The second downtown parking structure, the Central ramp, opened in May with another 225 parking spaces.

City officials said the added parking in both structures will help downtown retailers and building owners.

However, at the end of the project, the city of Minot discovered that more money was owed to finish the exte-

By ANDREA JOHNSON Staff Writer• ajohnson@minotdailynews.com

rime continued to dominate the headlines in Minot in 2015.

In January, Anthony Campbell was convicted of beating and stabbing Shannon Brunelle to death in an apartment garage on Sept. 15, 2015. Campbell, who maintains his innocence, will serve 30 years for the crime.

In mid-December, another high profile murder case ended in a conviction when a jury found Richie Wilder Jr. guilty of stabbing Anthony and cutting his ex-wife Campbell Angila Wilder 44 times in her home in November 2015. The former couple had battled over custody of their children and a judge had ordered them to communicate only via email. Wilder, who maintains his innocence, faces up to life in prison without parole when he is sentenced next year.

In September, another high proRichie file case ended when former school Wilder Jr. superintendent Charles Soper, 52, was sent to prison for up to 40 years for sex crimes involving three teenage male victims.

The boys were 14 or 15 at the time of the crimes in 2014 and 2015. None were Soper’s students.

Charles The new year will bring Soper more focus on other high profile charges.

Dr. Marc Eichler, a Minot neurosurgeon, will go on trial in federal court in Bismarck on Feb. 7 on charges that he abused two girls last year when they were 12 and 13. A federal grand jury indicted Eichler on June 1 of two counts of production of materials depicting the sexual exploitation of minors; two counts of attempted production of materials depicting the sexual exploitation of minors; one count of receipt of materials Marc involving the sexual exploitation of miEichler nors; one count of attempted receipt of materials involving the sexual exploitation of minors and one count of transfer of obscene materials to minors.

State charges against Eichler were dismissed.

In October, the mother of one addict facing charges expressed frustration with the system.

“Two of my son’s friends have died in the past two years because of drug overAaron doses,” Nancy Bommelman, Bruce mother of Aaron Bruce, told

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rior walls of the two parking structures. The low bid for the project came in at $505,000 and was awarded to Rolac Contracting of Minot.

Meanwhile, work continued on the second phase of three years of work to improve city streets and infrastructure.

Work accomplished in Phase II included extensive water main, sanitary sewer and storm sewer replacement and new curb, streets, sidewalk and lighting. Two additional blocks of the Phase II project are scheduled to be completed in 2017 along with final improvements scheduled under Phase III. At a grand opening ceremony in November, Mayor Chuck Barney said the completed project was exciting

the Minot Daily News in October. “My son was jailed for drugs. I’ve asked for help for my son. I took him to Trinity and they said he’s not at that point. What’s he supposed to be, dead?”

Bruce is charged with manslaughter, a Class B felony, in the July 1, 2015, heroin overdose death of his friend Aidan Vanderhoef. He has pleaded innocent to the charges and is scheduled to go on trial on July 13.

Local law enforcement officials also have noted the parade of drug addicts and drug dealers who almost daily appear in district court in Minot and keep the jails full.

Bob Barnard, Ward County’s interim sheriff, said in October that he has placed money in the sheriff’s office budget for 2017 to contract with medical professionals to do mental health and drug addiction evaluations of prisoners. It may be a first step toward a trend of seeking treatment for some offenders rather than incarceration.

Minot Police Chief Jason Olson also spoke about the need to focus on treatment instead of prison for low level drug offenders. Olson serves on two legislative committees that are looking at alternatives to drug offenses.

Drug offenses are also a contributing factor to other cases that are currently winding their way through district court.

Captain John Klug, Minot Police Department: Without (citing) numbers, I would say that property crimes such as thefts and burglaries continue to be very tasking on the department and our investigative resources. We continue to investigate these crimes, but in many cases we have very limited information and no suspect source unless there is video of the incident. Many of our thefts are solved through recovery of property. Motor vehicle thefts continue to be a major issue as well and in most cases the vehicles are found abandoned, therefore, the crime goes unsolved.”

Parents have been charged with child neglect for allegedly permitting children to be around drugs.

Several people charged in district court this year who appeared to have stolen money to fuel their drug habit. Other people who were charged with assaulting significant others or family members were allegedly high on drugs or drunk at the time.

Vincent Musi, who robbed several Minot businesses at gunpoint last May, told a judge at his sentencing hearing that an addiction to drugs was a contributing factor.

“The only thing I can say, your honor, is I went down the wrong path with drugs,” Musi told Judge Doug Mattson in August. “Before this I had Vincent no criminal record. I moved here and Musi I got way too into drugs.”

Musi claimed that he became addicted to opiates after they were prescribed when he broke his collarbone.

and helped develop the character of downtown Minot.

Elsewhere in downtown Minot, work continued on the $40 million expansion of the Ward County Jail, which followed completion of a new office building for county workers, where workers took occupancy late last year.

The expanded portion of the jail is expected to open in 2018, increasing the jail’s capacity from 104 to 300 beds.

The project has exceeded original spending projections.

A new $43 million airport terminal in Minot opened in late February. Officials praised the terminal as triple the size of the former terminal and one of the most modern in the country. It was part of an overall $75.7 million airport improvement project.

Even though air travel has slowed, federal, state, and local officials who spoke at a dedication ceremony last spring said the investment in the new airport was still money well spent.

School officials also have celebrated construction of John Hoeven Elementary, the first new school constructed in the Minot school district for decades, and two new classroom additions at Edison and Perkett Elementaries.

The building projects were paid for with a $39.5 million bond issue approved by Minot voters in 2014. School officials said the new elementary has helped address overcrowding and meant the district could do away with many of the portable classrooms that had been used at schools in the district.

Year In Review

Sunday, January 1, 2017, Minot (N.D.) Daily News

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WEATHER WOES presented challenges for farmers and ranchers NO . 6

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the weather, beef producers were able to find some benefits from the unseasonable conditions.

“The long fall is beneficial to livestock producers because it extends the grazing season and allow opportunities to forage,” said Julie Schaff Ellingson, the executive vice president of the North Dakota Stockmen’s Association.

Along with prolonging the grazing season, calves benefited from the abnormally warm weather too.

“Most of the calves are born between the middle of March to the end of April,” Ellingson said. “For the most part, we were able to avoid a lot of storms and excessive cold. So, this made for a milder calving season for so many people.”

After an astronomical market in 2014, the beef industry saw a sharp decline during 2015.

As 2016 comes to a close, Ellingson said the market is becoming more stable which provides producers reasons to be optimistic.

“As of late, prices tend to be on the rebound and have moderated some,” Ellingson said.

While the beef industry strives to stabilize its market, the NDSA is ensuring the strength of the business by encouraging younger ranchers to participate in Tomorrow’s Top Hands Beef Leadership Summit.

“Young people are embracing beef production as a career goal,” Ellingson said. “I think that shows promise for our industry’s future.

Over the course of the year, we have had a surge of interest from young people and they are taking on more active roles in the organization.”

Although 2016 provided difficult challenges, Brekke believes 2017 will be a better year and encourages farmers and ranchers to work hard and always hope for the best.

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According to the National Weather Service in Bismarck, from MarchMay, Minot and its surrounding region averaged a record setting 47 degrees.

In addition to the increased warmth, farmers and ranchers saw 21.3 inches of precipitation which is five inches above the normal average.

Excessive rain, moisture related diseases and powerful winds contributed to the stress of crops and farmers alike.

Throughout Burke County, reports of wheat streak mosaic virus infected the spring wheat while hail storms in early July damaged fields in Bottineau, Pierce and McHenry counties.

Based on figures from the USDANASS, spring wheat dipped from $4.59 per bushel to $4.37.

Beyond the influence of weather, Brummond shared that lowered commodity prices stunted the profits made by farmers.

“The reason it’s a tough time in agriculture has to do with the commodity prices,” Brummond said. “You can produce a lot and do your best producing the yield but when the prices are so low, your bottom dollar is still going to be tough.”

Corn showed a steep drop in price as its average cost per bushel slumped from $3.35 to $2.95.

In spite of the weather-beaten season, commodities such as soybeans rose from $8.45 per cwt to $8.93 per cwt and canola increased from $14.80 per cwt to $15.90.

“There’s good sides to everything,” Brekke said. “We were able to get all of our crop off in good condition, our barley all made malting and the quality was really good. The wheat didn’t have any disease and we had the best yield in corn we’ve ever had. So, all hard work pays off.”

While farmers worked to overcome

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fter experiencing the warmest winter in 14 years, farmers and ranchers across North Dakota faced excessive amounts of precipitation alongside weather related damages to crops and fields in 2016.

Pam Brekke, a farmer from Edmore, described 2016 as an overall nightmare.

“We got over 39 inches of rain,” Brekke said. “Our fields were so wet that we couldn’t harvest. So, we ended up having to rent track to put on our combines to keep them afloat in the mud. Every day was such a struggle, you were spinning in mud and it was such a burden. I cannot wait for this year to be over.”

From the onset, 2016 was met with optimism as the warm weather provided favorable conditions for calving and harvesting crops.

However, the warm conditions along with the added rain prompted concerns about fungal infections from farmers.

“Yields were really good this year,” said Paige Brummond, the Ward County Extension agent in Minot.

“Growing conditions were okay, we had an early spring which resulted in an early harvest for a lot of people. In all, the yields were very good across the county and throughout the region.

However, some of the durum and some of the wheat had issues with diseases. When the quality of the crop isn’t as high, the price received for the crop takes a hit.”

A comparison provided by the USDA- National Agricultural Statistics Service during the months of October 2015 and October 2016 reveal that durum wheat dropped from $6.53 per bushel down to $5.44 per bushel.

Another decline was reported as winter wheat fell from $3.80 per bushel to $3.24.

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Travis Johnson, left, and his brother Tanner provide feed to the cattle at the Johnson farm in the Burlington area.

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Year In Review

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By JILL SCHRAMM Staff Writer• jschramm@minotdailynews.com

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he rezoning of a piece of Trinity Health’s property light in the spring of 2013 when Trinity’s infectious disin southwest Minot in November was a major step ease physician, Dr. Casmiar Nwaigwe, reported that three toward breaking ground on a new medical park elderly individuals tested positive for and were subsequently determined to have a similar strain of hepatitis C. this coming spring.

At least 52 patients were infected with a genetically It was among medical news ranging from grants for nursing programs to hepatitis C lawsuits that made head- similar strain of hepatitis C, but health officials have not identified a source. Most of the infected patients spent lines in 2016.

Trinity’s architectural firm, TEG, was in Minot over the time at ManorCare’s facility in Minot.

ManorCare claims drug diversion at Trinity Hospital course of the year, holding numerous meetings with hospital department heads and staff to discuss design of the new caused the outbreak, which was then proliferated by reuse of neehospital complex. dles by a Mortenson ConTrinity outstruction, Minreach phleneapolis, held an an botomist. open house in NoTrinity vember for contraccountered tors and there is no subcontractors. evidence of Mortenson is a a drug diverleading builder of sion in healthcare, sports which an inand cultural facilifected perties in the United son used a States, with projects needle that that include the was later new Minnesota reused by Vikings stadium in another perthe Twin Cities, the son. Trinity Alerus Center in suggests Grand Forks and ManorCare the newly concreated its structed Sanford own probMedical Center in lems.

Fargo.

The HCR The $275 milFile photo ManorCare lion construction project is expected Trinity Hospital, shown in November, will be replaced with the con- facility in Minot came take just over 2.5 struction of a new medical complex in south Minot. under new years, finishing in management in 2015 with acquisition by North Shore 2019.

The project covers more than a million square feet, Health Care. It now operates as Minot Health and Rehab.

On Nov. 29, the 21 plaintiffs seeking damages agreed with 850,000 square feet enclosed. It calls for a connected six-story hospital and clinic building, along with a spa- to an undisclosed settlement with Trinity in North Cencious three-story facility for behavioral health services. tral District Court. Victims had dropped their claims Plans call for 208 beds throughout the center, includ- against ManorCare in June to focus on Trinity. One plaining 157 nursing beds, a 20-bed intensive care unit and tiff who had intervened in the case in October is continan emergency/trauma center with 27 treatment bays. The uing his lawsuit.

Asked by residents in September to assist with their site area covers 76 acres and will include more than efforts to bring free hepatitis C screening to Minot, 1,900 parking spaces.

The proposed construction is considered the first Mayor Chuck Barney, on behalf of the Minot City Counphase of the project. Trinity plans future construction of cil, contacted Trinity and First District Health Unit about ancillary structures and additional medical buildings. providing screening. Both declined, citing information Trinity is seeking up to $430 million in bond financ- from the North Dakota Health Department and Centers ing, of which most would go toward construction of a for Disease Control that widespread testing is unnecesnew medical complex. Trinity officials presented initial sary.

Sanford Health offered assistance but agreed to proplans to the Ward County Commission in November. A vide the testing only if it received an invitation to do so public hearing is planned Jan. 17.

Last summer, Sanford Health also closed on the pur- from First District, which was not forthcoming due to pochase of land along 16th Street Southwest for a future sition of the CDC and health department. hospital. How soon that project moves forward will deAlso in September, Trinity announced a five-year pend on the response to Sanford’s new clinic and how $1.75 million donation aimed at ensuring Minot State quickly the clinic expands to its full provider capacity, University and Dakota College at Bottineau continue to graduate a robust pool of quality nurses. hospital officials said.

Trinity committed $1.25 million to MSU’s Department Sanford opened its new Northwest Clinic in Minot Aug. 1. The $1.52 million, 6,800-square-foot facility at of Nursing and $500,000 to Dakota College’s nursing pro1500 21st Ave. NW is a sign of commitment to Minot, ac- grams. The initiative, “Nursing for the Future,” ensures cording to medical center officials on hand for the dedi- the nursing department can continue to admit up to 33 cation. students each semester. The donation continues a previNorthwest Clinic opened with 13 providers and a goal ous five-year commitment made by Trinity to MSU. to grow to 36 providers in two to five years. Once fully It adds a new commitment to Dakota College, which expanded, the clinic will employ about 115 support staff. operates an extension of its one-year practical nursing Sanford’s other clinic, in south Minot, offers primary and two-year associate degree registered nursing procare, occupational medicine and walk-in care. Northwest grams in Minot. Dakota College will put Trinity’s funds Clinic offers family medicine, medical oncology, general toward equipment, technology and salaries. Trinity will surgery, orthopedics and sports medicine, podiatry, neu- continue to provide classroom and laboratory space for rosurgery and adult and pediatric cardiology.

Dakota College’s programs in Minot.

In other medical news of the year, a lawsuit that aims The Trinity Hospital Foundation announced in June to place blame for a hepatitis C outbreak in Minot con- that it would match any donations made to the foundation for nursing scholarships through July 15. tinues to work its way through the court system.

“Trinity Health Foundation started the scholarship ManorCare Health Services is seeking punitive damages against Trinity Health for negligence, unjust en- initiative because of the projected shortage of 800,000 richment, negligent supervision, negligent retention and nurses across the United States and the devastating effraud/deceit. Trinity calls the claim “replete with self- fect that will have on health and wellness in our region. serving and conclusory allegations which are not sup- Trinity Health Foundation wanted to address the nursing ported by the evidence, extensive accusatory language in shortage head on and build a vibrant and talented pool of a transparent attempt to create a case where none exists, nurses who will provide the best care possible,” Trinity and ‘red herrings’ which have no demonstrated relation- Foundation Director Al Evon said in a statement in Deship to the HCV Outbreak and are based on pure specu- cember.

The foundation’s appeal added $38,448 to the fund. lation.”

The lawsuit arises out of an outbreak that came to The foundation awarded 10 scholarships of $3,000 each.

Year In Review

1998 1999 2003 2007 2007 2007 2013 2013

serving yo u since

Sunday, January 1, 2017, Minot (N.D.) Daily News

JAIL UP , Jill Schramm/MDN

File Photo

Ward County Sheriff Steve Kukowski.

Jail was a contributing factor in the failure of jail operation to meet certain standards required by the state.

Kukowski was charged with two counts of reckless endangerment and one count of public servant refusing to perform duty as a result of the investigation into the death of Irwin.

As a result, Gov. Jack Dalrymple suspended Kukowski pending a court resolution. The move was originally rejected by county commissioners but they reversed their opposition a day later.

Chief Deputy Bob Barnard was named interim sheriff in Kukowski’s absence and had his salary increased to $9,405 per month, the same amount as Kukowski. Despite the suspension, commissioners voted to continue to pay Kukowksi his regular monthly salary. Kukowski has a jury trial scheduled to begin Jan. 3.

The state assigned a monitor to oversee jail operations. Such monitoring is generally expected to be for less than one year. In the case of the Ward County Jail, the monitor remains in place. His initial 12-month period expired in June 2016 but the state informed Ward County that additional work was required. The cost of the monitor’s first year in Minot was $96,000, an amount paid by the county. A similar cost is expected as the monitor continues to oversee procedures at the jail in 2017.

“We thank you for your patronage in 2016”

Celebrating 10 years in 2017

857-6050 1-800-713-4337

1525 31st Ave. SW Suite E • Minot

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onstruction on a new addition designed to expand the capacity of the Ward County Jail, and the removal of the county sheriff in favor of an interim sheriff, provided continued news on the county front during 2016.

Jail construction was one part of a county building project included in a tax proposal approved by Minot voters. The other two parts of the project were the construction of a new office building and renovation of the existing courthouse and jail.

With construction complete on the new county office building in 2016, jail expansion rapidly grew from the ground up.

However, it was not without a series of changes and adjustments.

At one point, citing budget concerns, the architects responsible for the construction of the jail expansion cut 28 jail cells from the project.

Later, county commissioners approved a plan to put the 28 jail cells back into the expansion. The expansion, which is expected to be completed in May 2018, is a nearly $40-million project designed to increase the jail’s capacity from 104 to 300 beds.

A primary feature of the jail addition is a two-story cell block that will be monitored by a single control room. The steel holding cells for the new facility are of the prefabricated variety and are expected to be installed in early 2017. A portion of the new jail, which will include new offices for the Sheriff’s Department, is situated to the north of the existing jail on a parking lot purchased from the Minot Daily News.

A reason cited for proponents of the new jail was over-crowding, the same issue that led, in part, to the suspension of Sheriff Steve Kukowski at mid-year. Kukowski had often appeared at meetings of the Ward County Commission to detail problems incurred with an increase of prisoners in the jail. Often there were more prisoners than bunks, which strained jail facilities and staff.

It was not until the death of inmate Dustin Irwin that over-crowding of the jail became an issue of statewide concern. Irwin died a few hours after being transferred to the custody of Burleigh County. The investigation that followed by the Bureau of Corrections concluded that over-crowding at the Ward County

in 2016

500 N 8th Street 701-222-6100

2215 16th St NW, Minot 701-857-4070

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Staff Writer • kfundingsland@minotdailynews.com

Serving You Since

C

By KIM FUNDINGSLAND

sheriff out

Serving You Since

NO. 8

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839-2767

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The exterior of the Ward County Jail expansion shows most of the work complete in December, with construction crews now focusing on the interior.

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Jill Schramm/MDN

Framing for the Ward County Jail expansion took form in July.

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2013 2013

111 45th Ave NE, Minot

701.852.6092

8 Minot (N.D.) Daily News, Sunday, January 1, 2017

Year In Review

Minot wins $74.3 million in resiliency competition

City working on program projects

Mayor Chuck Barney, right speaks at a news conference with now former city manager Lee Staab, left, last January to discuss Minot’s award of $74.3 million in the National Disaster Resilience Competition.

T

he city of Minot started off the year with big news when it was awarded $74.3 million in the National Disaster Resilience Competition.

Sens. John Hoeven and Heidi Heitkamp made the announcement Jan. 19.

Minot was one of 13 communities selected from 40 applicants to receive the award. The applicants included both cities and states.

At a press conference held later on Jan. 19, Minot Mayor Chuck Barney said city residents should be proud and excited about the announcement.

“This is a game changer. This is going to change the face of our community for generations to come,” Barney said at the news conference. “We are going to be prepared, not only to weather disasters in the future, but it’s going to improve the quality of life in our community. It’s going to give us a leg up. It’s really going to be a map for this city and this community moving into the future.”

Minot’s application was developed with the help of consultant CDM Smith and public input. The city had sought $182.7 million “for projects to reduce flood risk and water management, build, resilient neighborhoods and foster economic resilience and diversification.”

Lee Staab, who was city manager when the city worked on the grant application and at the time it was awarded, said the community as a whole was integral to the outcome of the competition.

He said more than 60 public meetings were held in Minot and

NO . 9

Jill Schramm/MDN

By ELOISE OGDEN Regional Editor• eogden@minotdailynews.com

up and down the Souris River Basin.

“We heard from a wide range of folks who opened our eyes to what we need to do in order to be more resilient. All of the effort from each of you who participated has paid off in a big way today,” Staab said.

Support for Minot’s application also came from Gov. Jack Dalrymple, North Dakota’s congressional delegation, the International Souris River Board, Souris River Joint Board, Ward County, Assiniboine River Basin Initiative and many local business partners.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development congratulated the city on its Phase 2 application.

Minot’s total award was $74,340,770. HUD agreed to partially fund all of the project that the City of Minot outlined in the Phase 2 application, according to a city news release announcing the award.

The news release said the projects are: – “Reduce flood risk and in-

crease resilience. The flood risk reduction projects proposed below reframe Minot’s approach to flood risk reduction, from an infrastructure-only approach to a layered strategy of grey, green and nonstructural techniques to reduce risks and costs while adapting to a changing climate.

– “Build affordable, resilient neighborhoods. So that people who move out of harm’s way through the buy-out program can remain in Minot. For civilian military personnel at Minot Air Force Base who want to put down roots in our City. For our most vulnerable residents including the elderly, the disabled, and the homeless.

– “Foster economic resilience and diversification. Three activities are included in this project: a Center for Technical Education, relocation of the MSU (Minot State University) Art Department Complex to downtown, and moving City Hall outside of the flood plain along with a new one-stop social services facility.”

After the award was an-

nounced. HUD and city staff were scheduled to begin working through the steps necessary to receive the grant and determine specific funding for each of the projects listed above.

By October, the city’s National Disaster Resilience Program was under way including initial plans for a proposed buyout of the Moose Lodge for a floodwater storage area as well as other proposed buyout areas under the program. Moose Lodge administrator Mike Stenvold said the lodge will continue to have a presence in Minot despite the proposed buyout.

Through the resilience program, the city also began an affordable housing study in June that was scheduled for completion in December, said Cindy Hemphill, Minot city finance director.

Community stakeholders also have been meeting to discuss a family homeless shelter.

An estimated $1.8 million of the $74.3 million grant from the National Disaster Resilience Competition could become available to get

a technical education center started in Minot.

Barney said the city and its consultant, CDM Smith, have reached out to Minot State University, Dakota College at Bottineau, an affiliate campus of MSU, and Minot High School to open discussions about the next step in using the resilience grant to create a technical center. The next step is to identify the needs in the community and determine the types of programs that a center could offer.

CDM Smith now is reaching out to economic development and employer groups to find out where the needs are for technically trained employees.

The original idea was to build a new building at the north end of the parking lot north of the MSU Dome. However, the resilience program is looking at incorporating a technical center into the revitalization of downtown. An exact location has not been identified yet.

The resilience grant money must be spent within six years of being awarded.

Photos by Kim Fundingsland/MDN

ABOVE: Minot’s Main Street didn’t escape the effects of the Christmas blizzard. This photograph was taken in late December at the south end of Main Street.

LEFT: A jogger takes a break to check his cell phone on a beautiful fall day in Minot.

2016 WONDERFUL WEATHER YEAR N O . 10

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tatistically, 2016 was one of the nicest weather years in North Dakota history. Statistics aside, anyone who has lived in North Dakota for a few years knew it was a very unusual year. It was so unusual that the sound of lawnmowers replaced the chugging of snowblowers, many of which saw little or no use during the winter season.

Snowfall was limited in the Minot region last winter. The dreaded bone-chilling cold of January never gripped the area.

There was so little snow that there was talk of dry ground that would be detrimental to the planting season. While a wet, spring snowfall brought much needed relief to farmers and ranchers, it had little effect on everyday life.

A barometer of how nice the winter actually was can be found in the number of days Lake Sakakawea was frozen, just 78. The big impoundment was declared frozen until January 13, 2016 and was declared ice free April 1. Only two earlier ice free dates had been recorded for Lake Sakakawea – March 27, 2012 and March 31, 2000. However, the realty was that boats were numerous on Lake Sakakawea several weeks before “official” ice out. That was possible because ice

By KIM FUNDINGSLAND Staff Writer • kfundingsland@minotdailynews.com free status wasn’t declared until a particularly stubborn sheet of ice that had blown up against the dam had melted away.

The early spring meant that ice on Lake Darling a short distance northwest of Minot disappeared earlier than usual too, so much so that the Fish and Wildlife Service moved the boat fishing opener from May 1 to April 26. The early opener was a first in the history of the Upper Souris National Wildlife Refuge.

Late February was particularly warm. Bismarck saw a record high of 68 degrees Feb. 27. Minot reached 55 degrees the same day. It was a prelude to the early spring and more than agreeable summer temperatures. Unseasonable temperatures were the rule until mid-November. By December the Minot region was engulfed in snow, most of which fell during a series of three influential storms. The second and third storms reached official blizzard status, leaving many to

wonder if the winter ahead had more to come.

The “Christmas Blizzard” of 2016 pummeled the Minot region and dumped anywhere from 12 to 22 inches of snow throughout the area. The total snowfall for December eclipsed records for the month and set the stage for the possibility of having one of the highest snowfall totals ever for the winter season.

The Climate Prediction Center’s long-range winter outlook was issued Dec. 15 and provided a confirmation for those who feared a more typical North Dakota winter than what has been experienced for several years. Although the outlook included a reduced influence from La Nina, saying the ultimate effect of the cooling of Pacific Ocean waters remains uncertain, it nevertheless concluded that the winter of 2016-17 was likely to be colder than normal.

The long-range outlook didn’t contain any warning of heavy snowfall for the winter, but the year closed out in the Minot area with one of the deepest snowpacks in history through the month of December, leaving residents wondering what to expect in January and February.