MONDAY • JANUARY 1, 2018
MINOT DAILY NEWS
WWW .MINOTDAILYNEWS.COM
Dry conditions plagued 2017 In 2017 this wetland dried up due to a lack of rainfall. In some places there was just enough rain to keep crops alive, which meant a reduced har vest over much of western North Dakota. Photo by Kim Fund ingsland/MDN
NO . 1
T
From all appearances it looked like the winter of 2016-17, at least for snow depth, was going to be one for the record books. But the heavy snowfalls came to an abrupt halt. As spring arrived there was growing concern about a lack of precipitation throughout most of the state. By early June the situation was growing dire. The extreme range of North Dakota weather was increasingly evident. In early June the entire state was in need of rainfall. Nearly all of the state was declared to be in “moderate to severe drought” by the United States
By KIM FUNDINGSLAND • Staff Writer • kfundingsland@minotdailynews.com
he weather took the Minot region, and most of North Dakota, for a wild ride in 2017. The year started with drifts of deep snow courtesy of a series of three blizzards that began in late 2016.
Drought Monitor. The southern half of Ward County was exceptionally dry. Hayland was suffering and crop producers anxiously watched the skies for rain clouds that never came. Minot’s total precipitation for the year through the first week of June was just 1.36 inches, well below the longterm normal of 6.10 inches. The total included a mere 0.29 inches of rain in April and 0.63 inches in May. For many farmers the lack of moisture meant a very poor start to the growing season. As one National Weather Service forecaster described it, “In some
places seed has just given up, hasn’t had a chance.” By mid-July there was still no relief from the growing drought. Allen Schlag, Bismarck NWS hydrologist, compared the dry conditions to the worst drought period in U.S. history. “The current drought rivals what was experienced in the infamous “Dirty 30’s”, not in duration but certainly in terms of lack of moisture,” said Schlag. The facts backed Schlag’s analysis. Minot had received a scant 0.04 inches of precipitation in the first two weeks of July. The Souris River at Verendrye was
flowing at 40.4 cubic feet per second compared to the long-term average of 288 cfs. The gates at Lake Darling Dam, which releases water in the Souris, was closed to conserve water. The dry conditions continued through the end of July. Governor Doug Burgum declared a “drought disaster” for nearly all counties in the state. Much of Ward County was listed as being in “exceptional” drought, an increase in misery from earlier “severe” classification. 2017 will be remembered as the year See ONE — Page 2
Fixing up the city
NO . 2
City brings to a close major construction projects, Broadway Bridge ongoing
Kim Fundingsland/MDN
Minot Mayor Chuck Barney, center, cuts the ribbon celebrating the completion of the downtown Minot improvements project.
Eloise Ogden/MDN
The east Broadway Bridge opened to two lanes of northbound traffic in Minot, as construction was substantially complete for 2017 on the U.S. Highway 83 Broadway Viaduct Replacement Project.
M
By ELOISE OGDEN • Regional Editor • eogden@minotdailynews.com
ayor Chuck Barney cut the ribbon at a ceremony in October to celebrate the completion of the nearly $35 million, three-year downtown Minot improvement project. A number of dignitaries were on hand for the event. The project was the largest reconstruction effort in the city’s history to improve the basic underground and above ground infrastructure in the heart of the city.
The project included replacing miles of water, sanitary sewer and storm sewer pipes, concrete paved streets, curb and gutters, sidewalks, street lighting and other streetscape elements within roughly 26 city blocks in the downtown area over three years. Another project in a six-block section of East Burdick Expressway from 9th Street NE to 15th Street NE also was completed. The $4.3 million project included new water lines, sewer pipes and storm sewer lines. Many of the underground utilities were 100 years old and in need of replacement. The area now has new concrete sidewalks, curb and gutter and updated signage and traffic signals. A small section of East Burdick Expressway near the intersection
with 9th Street SE was slightly realigned to improve traffic flow and safety, and left turn lanes were added at 9th Street SE and 13th Street SE. East Burdick was opened to traffic in early November. The east Broadway Bridge also opened to two lanes of northbound traffic in Minot in latter November. Along with two lanes of northbound traffic, the older west bridge has two lanes of southbound traffic The replacement of both bridges was programmed to be a two construction season project, with work coming to a winter halt for the next three or four months, according to city officials. Lunda Construction will start demolition of the west Broadway Bridge in late winter, or early spring 2018, depending on the weather.
Contracting economy impacts budgets
T
NO. 3
axing entities facing declining property valuations and lower revenue forecasts had to make difficult decisions at budget time in 2017.
Government budgeting process reveals tight finances for 2018 By JILL SCHRAMM • Senior Staff Writer • jschramm@minotdailynews.com
Taxpayers who were to receive their statements just before Christmas likely saw higher bills, particularly with the elimination of the 12 percent state discount on property taxes. The state ended the discount while instead picking up most costs incurred by county social service agencies, which is expected to have less impact in lowering taxes. The year began with significant state budget cuts. Minot State Univer-
sity students were expected to see 4 percent tuition hikes in each of the next two years and decreased services to offset state funding cuts. President Steve Shirley said state budget cuts forced $8.6 million in budget reductions over the past two years, prompting the elimination of 51 positions — equaling 20 full-time faculty positions and 31 staff positions. Of those, many were eliminated through attrition. About 16 people recently received no-
Andrea Johnson/MDN
tification that their contracts will not Erik Ramstad Middle be renewed this year. School entered the fall Other cost-cutting measures inat or near capacity enrollcluded reorganizing academic administration positions by eliminating dean ment for the 2017-18 term. positions at MSU’s three colleges, reducing departmental operating budgets, consolidating some departments gave final approval to a 2017-2018 and changing the ways that adjunct budget with a $3.36 million deficit. faculty and professors teaching over- Total estimated revenue is $98.6 load assignments are calculated. The Minot Public School Board See THREE — Page 2
2 Minot (N.D.) Daily News, Monday, January 1, 2018
serving you since
serving you since sserving e rv ing yyoo u ssince in c e
Jill Schramm/MDN
Happy New Year! 701-852-2544
mcgeelaw.com
Full Service Plumbing & Heating Needs
838-8612 www.MinotPlumbingHeating.com
Committed to the community, working to make your life better.
Best Wishes In The New Year
W
NO . 4
New Ward County Jail By KIM FUNDINGSLAND • Staff Writer • kfundingsland@minotdailynews.com
ard County opened a new jail addition in 2017. The expansion, which increased inmate capacity from 104 beds to 300, was officially completed Nov. 3. Prisoners were ushered into the new facility in mid-December, a schedule that allowed ample time for staff from the sheriff’s department to become aquainted with the new facility. As part of the introduction of the new jail, known as the Ward County Detention Center, a fundraiser for the Domestic Crisis Violence Center was held. About 30 people paid $50 each to undergo mock arrests and be placed in a cell overnight. The exercise gave jail personnel a chance to practice procedures necessary for future operation of the new facility. The center was completed several months ahead of schedule. The targeted date for completion of construction was June 1. It was in 2012 that voters approved a 10-year, half-cent sales tax to generate $39.3 million for county building projects. The projects were to be a new jail, new county office building, renovation of the courthouse and existing jail, roads and other infrastructure. However, it soon be-
One
Continued from Page 1
that spring and summer rains never came. Moisture conditions became so bleak that some farmers in the state were cutting and baling crops for livestock feed rather than attempting to harvest them for sale. It wasn’t until August that the Minot region and other areas of the state received measurable rainfall. Minot registered 2.25 inches of rain in August. It was welcome, especially after having less than a half-inch recorded in July, but arrived too late to rescue most failing pastures and crops. Additional rain fell over select areas of
Three
serving yo u since
serving you since
Minot Daily News
2400 Burdick Expy East, Minot
1911 1913 1913 1917 1918 1921
serving you since
Completion of the new Ward County jail occured in 2017. Inmates began occupying the new facility in late December.
McGee Hankla Backes P.C. Law Firm
serving yo u since
serving yo u since
serving yo u since
1884 1901 1906
Year In Review
came apparent that more money would be needed to complete the projects. In 2015 voters were asked by the county to approve an extension of sales tax collections for an additional $37 million. Voters approved the plan, which called for an estimated $40 million to be spent on the new jail and construction began. 2017 proved to be an interesting year at the old Ward County jail. The jail had been under a full-time compliance monitor from January 2015 through July 2017. The monitor was assigned by the North Dakota Department of Corrections following an investigation into the death of inmate Dustin Irwin in October 2014. In December 2017 Sheriff Bob Barnard reported to the Ward County Commision that the monitor visited the jail a few times in the second half of 2017, typically spending less than a day to conduct spot reviews on certain areas of operation.
Sheriff Steve Kukowski resigns
Ward County accepted the resignation of suspended Sheriff Steve Kukowski in April. The resignation included payment of $75,000 to Kukowski the state in September and October, including the Minot area, but it was sporadic. Total moisture for the year would be less than half of normal at most reporting points, but some greening-up of pastures before the first frost was an encouraging development. However, soil moisture content remains very low heading into the first months of 2018.
Late summer snow
The amount of snow that fell in Minot in late 2016 and early 2017 caused a myriad of problems for the city’s snow removal crews, not the least of which was where to put the tons and tons of snow removed from clogged city streets. A deci-
as part of a separation agreement approved by a 4-1 vote of Ward County commissioners. Kukowski had been at the center of attention in the county following charges brought against him for reckless endangerment and being a public servant refusing to perform public duty. The charges stemmed from the death of inmate Dustin Irwin on Oct. 6, 2014. Following a review of the matter by Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, Kukowski was suspended from his duties by then governor Jack Dalrymple. The suspension was later upheld by the current governor, Doug Burgum. Citing financial savings to the county should the lengthy court action cease, Ward County commissioners voted behind closed doors to dismiss both civil and criminal proceedings against Kukowski and the sheriff thereby avoided any trial on the matters. Leann Bertsch, Bismarck, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Director, had called the allegations against Kukowski “pretty serious” and said that “this is the most egregious situation I’ve ever run into” in 12 years in her position. sion was made to utilize the parking lot at the Sertoma Sports Complex on Minot’s north side. So much snow was dumped there that it soon became known as “snow mountain.” A Caterpillar was used to push the snow higher and higher as a steady stream of trucks brought more and more snow to the site. The Minot Daily News and I. Keating Furniture World teamed up for a contest where entrants would offer their best guess as to when the snow pile would be completely melted. The contest came to an end July 31 when the once massive pile of snow finally disappeared under the summer sun.
Continued from Page 1
Hwy 2 & 52 Bypass E 1 Mile East of K-Mart South Minot, ND • 852-3576
MINOT, ND • 852-0324 N.D. License #1408 Free Estimates
WESTLIE
FORD • LINCOLN 500 South Broadway 852-1354 • 1-888-WESTLIE www.westliemotors.com
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
million and total estimated expenditures is $102 million. About 17 percent of the district’s operating budget is in its reserve fund, which will be reduced to 14 percent to make up the budget deficit. The district’s operating budget was reduced by $700,000 and eight teaching positions were eliminated. There were reductions in equipment purchases and building maintenance projects. Baseline wages for school employees increased by only a quarter of 1 percent. Property valuation in the district is down about 7 percent, causing the number of mills levied by the district to increase by about 1.6 mills. School district funding received from the state and county oil and gas related revenue also went down. About 64 percent of the district’s budget is funded by the state. Per pupil state aid, at $9,646, did not increase for the 20172018 school year. “This is the most challenging budget I’ve ever dealt with in my 30-plus years of being a business manager,” Scott Moum told the school board in presenting the preliminary budget. The City of Minot’s share of the property tax on a median home valued at $182,000 was projected to go up $192 to satisfy the 2018 budget given final approval by the Minot City Council. The council rejected a proposal to replace reduced employee wage increases with other assorted budget cuts. City
Jill Schramm/MDN
A city street sweeper sweeps around one of the new garbage carts introduced with automated trash collection in 2017. Manager Tom Barry, working with department heads, had found $531,622 in cuts that were offered as an alternative to lowering the proposed pay increases in the preliminary budget by half. The council voted 2-5 to reject the city manager’s proposed cuts and keep the reduced wage increase. Delaying implementation until July reduces the cost of the city pay plan, which had called for an overall 3.5 percent increase in spending on employees. Council member Stephan Podrygula expressed his objection by voting against the final budget, which includes $101.6 million for operations. With debt, capital improvements and pass-through funds, the budget totals $141 million. “The budget is really a statement of our priorities, and I don’t agree with those priorities,” Podrygula said. “We are facing significant cutbacks in the quality and quantity of city services. I just can’t justify that. The city had eliminated 19.5 full-time staff positions
through attrition and reassignments. The budget pushes back some capital improvement projects to hold off $2 million in spending and limit debt. In drafting the preliminary budget, requests from departments were scaled back, affecting fire and police, engineering, streets, equipment, property maintenance, inspection, sanitation, airport, public works, cemetery, water and storm sewer. The result was a preliminary budget proposal that already included about $5 million less in spending than requested, or about 19 mills. The Ward County Commission approved a $51.76 million budget for 2018 that includes a $1.28 million property-tax increase. Estimates were the owner of a $200,000 home would pay an extra $61 on the county portion of the total tax bill, assuming no property valuation change. Valuations have dropped for many residents. The owner of a quarter of farmland at an average assessed value per acre of $586
would pay almost $32 more per quarter, assuming no valuation change. Overall spending is down $3.8 million in the 2018 budget. The largest decreases are $5.4 million in the highway department and $3.8 million in Social Services, due to the state picking up social services expenses in a two-year pilot study. However, on the revenue side, income other than property tax is expected to be down 29.6 percent, and lower valuations are reducing the income per mill of property tax. In drafting the budget, the commission fixed a tax error that was generating more money than allowed by law for senior citizen programs. A misreading of a state guidance manual on mill levy limits led to too much levy being assessed. To correct the error, tax collections for the remainder of 2017 were to be held in account for the aging council and distributed as part of the 2018 allocations. Meanwhile, next year’s 1-mill levy will be cut back to account for the excess taxation in 2017. In its budget, Minot Park District proposed to finish bringing irrigation to the soccer complex and provide for portable, off-season turf at Maysa Arena. The projects won’t have much impact on the tax levy. The park board adopted a $9 million budget that is up only about 1 percent and includes a $7.2 million tax request that is largely flat from the past year. The budget revives a building levy the park board let lapse this past year. The levy is projected to raise $467,650 for future projects.
Flood protection inches forward in 2017
M
NO . 6
By KIM FUNDINGSLAND
215 Main St. South, Minot
701.838.1705
The $30 million flood protection project for Minot was a collaboration of local, state and federal partners. The cost share for the project was supported by 75 percent funding ($22.5 million) from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, 15 percent funding ($4.5 million) from the City of Minot and 10 percent funding ($3 million) from the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services. This past summer, residents of the valley from Burlington to Sawyer also received their first look at the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s preliminary flood plain map, released June 9. The map showed impact on about 3,200 properties in Minot and another 800 properties in Minot’s two-mile extra-territorial area with the change in the flood plain. Staff from the State Engineer’s office, the Hazard Mitigation Program and Houston Engineering joined FEMA representatives at a series of July meetings to address individual property owner’s questions about the new map. The City of Minot raised issues with the map that FEMA will need to address. City Manager Tom Barry informed the city council in October that, in light of those concerns, adoption of a final flood plain See FIVE — Page 5
Revamped city council seated in 2017
serving yo u since
cludes levees, floodwalls, a major pump station and a pedestrian opening to the river. It spans from just west of Broadway to the east side of Third Street Northeast, on the north side of the river, covering about six blocks of flood protection. Phases II and III will be built by Wagner Construction. This phase of the project spans from the U.S. Highway 83 Bypass to Third Avenue Southwest on the north bank of the river. It consists of about 9,000 linear feet of earthen levees, a roadway closure structure at 16th Street Southwest across the river from the water treatment plant, and a large stormwater pump station located near Perkett Elementary. The State Water Commission also granted the final $20 million carryover appropriation from the 2015-17 biennium to the Broadway pump station construction, which is part of Phase 1 of the flood protection project. Meanwhile, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working on a study to determine whether there is a federal interest in participating financially in the project. In August, the city held a ceremony to mark the end of a two-year construction project on a floodwall to protect the water treatment plant from future floods similar to that experienced in Minot when the Souris River flooded in 2011.
serving yo u since
Staff Writer kfundingsland@minotdailynews.com
inot’s City Council was given a completely new look in 2017. Voters who had made the decision to cast off the system of 14 aldermen that had been running city government, two councilmen from each of 7 Wards, voted for six of nine candidates to provide new direction for the city without Ward affiliation. Elected June 13 to the “new look” council were Shaun Sipma, Shannon Straight, Josh Wolsky, Mark Jantzer, Lisa Olson and Stephen Podrygula. Sipma, Straight, Jantzer, Olson and Podrygula were incumbents and Wolsky a newcomer. Three candidates falling out of the top six at the ballot box were David Shomento, Edward Montez and Kenton Kossan. Under the streamlined system the mayor, Chuck Barney, became a voting member of the council. In late 2017 Barney made it known that he would not be running for re-election in
Your full Service Western Store
serving you since
Jill Schramm/MDN
A resident checks out FEMAʼs preliminary flood plain map with a map assistant in Burlington, where one of a series of flood risk meetings was held in July.
serving yo u since
onstruction bids that were lower than expected on the initial phases of flood control in Minot could help to speed the completion of flood protection in the Souris River Basin. Favorable bids were among good news about flood protection that developed during 2017. On Dec. 4, Minot City Council accepted bids that were 17 percent below cost estimates on the first three phases of work in Minot. The North Dakota Legislature approved an appropriation in April that provides $193 million for the Minot portion of the project over the next eight years. The Souris River Joint Board plans to break ground in the spring on construction costing about $99 million, which is about $20.5 million less than projected. Ryan Ackerman, SRJB administrator, said the State Water Commission has approved using some of the savings to assist Minot with property acquisitions for the flood protection project. At a meeting Dec. 8, the commission released about $2.3 million to the city, which represents the state’s 65 percent cost-share on the $3.56 million saved on phases I and II of the project. That still leaves about $11 million in state money saved. Ackerman said stakeholders will be discussing in the coming year how to use those saved dollars to continue to advance the project. Additional money could be used for property acquisitions in Minot, which has a need for additional dollars to continue buyouts. The city had purchased 101 properties this year as of Dec. 13, spending nearly $25 million. Some saved state dollars also could be re-directed to flood protection in Burlington or to the rural reaches, in which case the spending would not count against the $193 million allocated to Minot. “There’s a need for acquisitions but there’s also a need to advance some of these projects that are already in design,” Ackerman said. “The bidding environment is fantastic right now. We should try to get as many of these projects out to bid while we can realize some savings.” The first phase of the nearly $1 billion Mouse River Enhanced Flood Protection Project will be built by Park Construction. The Fourth Avenue Floodwall Project in-
www.trinityhealth.org
serving you since
By JILL SCHRAMM • Senior Staff Writer • jschramm@minotdailynews.com
serving yo u since
NO . 5
Jill Schramm/MDN
Josh Wolsky, right, was a newcomer to a revamped Minot City Council in 2017. At left is councilman Shannon Straight. 2018. Sipma immediately announced that he would seek to replace Barney. As of mid-December, no one else had formally announced they will contest Sipma for the mayor’s position. The top three vote-getters in
the 2017 council election were elected to three-year terms. They were Sipma, Straight and Wolsky. The second three votegetters, Jantzer, Olson and Podrygula, were elected to oneyear terms. The staggered terms were deemed necessary so that
only half of the new council would be on the ballot in future elections. Winners in the upcoming June 2018 election will serve four-year terms as will those elected in 2020, meaning half the council will be elected every four years there-after.
serving yo u since
C
Flood project advances with low bids, state money and redirected sales tax
1922 1927 1947 1931 1933 1936 1937 1943 1951 1956
3
serving yo u since
Jill Schramm/MDN
serving yo u since
City Public Works employees practice erecting the floodwall closure across 16th Street near the water treatment plant in July.
Monday, January 1, 2018, Minot (N.D.) Daily News
serving you since
Year In Review
1415 S Broadway St 701 852-1001
3515 16th St SW Minot, ND 58701 701-852-0141
Happy Holidays!
858-1200 www.srt.com
1957 1960 1963 1964 1970 1971 1972
Have A Great New Year!
Schock’s Safe & Lock
Eloise Ogden/MDN
Front, from the left, Vice President Mike Pence, with Gov. Doug Burgum and Col. Matthew Brooks, commander of the 5th Bomb Wing, is shown after leaving Air Force Two on Oct. 27, at Minot Air Force Base. In back, from the far left, are Heather Wilson, secretary of the Air Force, and Sen. John Hoeven.
1505 North Broadway
701-852-3161
Happy New Year!
firstwestern.bank Member FDIC
serving yo u since
serving you since
NORTHSTAR STEEL INC. 616 37th Ave. SW
852-3744 Have A Safe & Happy New Year!
ȪȶɃɇȺȿȸ ɊɀɆ ɄȺȿȴȶ
1975
852-5126
Historic Day:
M
NO. 7
Vice President Mike Pence’s visit to Minot AFB By ELOISE OGDEN • Regional Editor • eogden@minotdailynews.com
INOT AIR FORCE BASE – Vice President Mike Pence promised airmen at Minot Air Force Base the Trump administration will rebuild the nation’s military. Speaking to about 200 airmen in a B52 hangar at the base on Oct. 27, Pence told the group it’s a great honor for him to serve as vice president to a president who cares so deeply about the men and women of the Armed Forces of the United States, their families, and the veterans. “I believe that history will record that President Donald Trump is the best friend the Armed Forces of the United States will ever have,” Pence said. Pence made a promise to the group of airmen: “Under President Trump’s leadership, we’re going to rebuild our military, we’re going to restore the arsenal of democracy, and we will once again, as a nation, give our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guard the resources and the training you need and deserve to accomplish your mission and come home safe. That’s my promise to every one of you and your families.” His promise drew loud applause from the airmen. The Minot base is the only Department of Defense dual-wing, nuclear capable installation. The bomb wing has two squadrons, the 69th and 23rd bomb squadrons, with B-52 bombers. The 91st Missile Wing has Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles in underground facilities in several counties. Pence told the group that the week earlier, American and allied forces liberated Raqqa, a city in Syria. “Many of you were a part of that historic victory. America is defeating ISIS because the brave men and women of Minot took the fight to ISIS in the air, and on the ground, and I came to say thanks to the team here at Minot for a job well done.” He said the Minot bomb wing’s B-52s were responsible “for over 700 danger-close strikes to support the coalition for freedom in the region.” Col. Matthew Brooks, commander of the 5th Bomb Wing, Col. Colin Connor, commander of the 91st Missile Wing, Gov. Doug Burgum, Sen. John Hoeven and Congressman Kevin Cramer and others joined the vice president for his visit to the base. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp was unable to attend. Pence, flying in on his plane, Air Force Two, was accompanied by Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson. Security was high at the base for such a historic visit. Initially, it was believed Pence was the first vice president to visit the Minot base. Later, further research revealed Vice President Spiro T. Agnew visited Minot for a speech in September 1970 while in office. Agnew didn’t speak to airmen at the base as Pence did. He went there to play tennis with then commander of the 810th Strategic Air Division Bryce Harlow. Pence’s visit in October came a few days before President Trump would travel to the Korean Peninsula. While the president has made it clear the U.S. has, in his words, “great strength and patience,” Pence said all options are on the table. “Anyone who would threaten our nation should know that America always seeks peace, but if we are forced to defend ourselves or our allies, we will do so with military power that is effective and overwhelming.” He said those gathered at Minot AFB would play a critical role, again. “Now more than ever, your Commander-in-Chief is depending on you to be ready, stay sharp, mind your mission, and your airmen, and be that credible deterrent that has assured the security of the American people for generations.” He said the “brave men and women of Minot Air Force Base may yet be called upon to be the instruments of American power. And if that day comes, we know you will be prepared.” He thanked the men and women at Minot AFB for their service and their vigilance. “May God bless you. May God bless your families and your mission and may God continue to bless the United States of America,” said Pence.
Submitted Photo
Col. Matthew Brooks, 5th Bomb Wing commander, briefs airmen before they deploy at Minot Air Force Base on March 9, shown in this Air Force photo. More than 400 airmen deployed to the Middle East. They returned later in the year and then more airmen from Minot AFB took their place in the Middle East operation.
B-52s bring the fight to the enemies: 1st time in 12 years B-52 deploy to Middle East for combat operations
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE – For the first time in 12 years, B-52 bombers from Minot Air Force Base deployed to the Middle East for combat operations in 2017. The Air Force Global Strike Command B-52 bombers and more than 400 airmen from the Minot base deployed early in 2017 in support of U.S. Central Commandʼs Operation Inherent Resolve in the Middle East. The group included airmen from Minot AFBʼs 5th Bomb Wingʼs 23rd Bomb Squadron and other base units. The operation is U.S. Central Commandʼs combined joint task force operation to eliminate ISIS terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria. Later in 2017 the 23rdʼs personnel and bombers along with personnel from other units returned to the Minot base, swapping places in the Middle East with the baseʼs other bomb squadron, the 69th. This group of personnel and bombers would remain in the Middle East until the April 2018 timeframe. That would wrap up the B-52s being in the theater and they switched out with B-1 bombers, Col. Sloan Hollis, vice commander of the 5th Bomb Wing, told members of the Minot Area Chamber of Commerceʼs Military Affairs Committee. Hollis said the 23rdʼs personnel and bombers “flew over 500 sorties.” “They dropped well over 4,000 bombs, several thousands of targets engaged – did a lot of good work in the fight against ISIS (in) Iraq and Syria. Weʼre happy to have them back,” he said. “(It was) one of the largest air campaigns that has gone on since Vietnam is what they said,” he added. Many people from Minot AFB are deployed to Southwest Asia and other places all over the world and those deployments are constantly changing, said Lt. Col. Jamie Humphries, chief of Public Affairs at Minot AFB.
1976
Eloise Ogden/MDN
B-52 bombers like this one at Minot Air Force Base and airmen from the base are supporting an operation to eliminate ISIS terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria. Base personnel and planes normally have been supporting the bomber presence in the Pacific with deployments to Guam.
serving you since
serving yo u since
852-2181
serving you since
sserving e rv ing yo y o u ssince in c e
7000 Hwy 2 East
=Veen =da^YVnh n n
serving yo u since
Year In Review
“Sharing & Growing with the Minot Community”
serving yo u since
serving you since
4 Minot (N.D.) Daily News, Monday, January 1, 2018
Two Convenient Locations To Serve You!
1509 S. Broadway 2400 10th St. SW
Monday, January 1, 2018, Minot (N.D.) Daily News
1982 1982 1982 1983 1985 1986 1990 1990 1990 1996 1994 1992
5
Five
to go through Ward County on previous and current bond issues. The county incurs no debt obligation. Approval simply allows Trinity Health to issue tax-exempt bonds, which are a less expensive way to finance projects. Bonds are secured by Trinity’s revenues and assets. Ward County is insulated from any liability and is paid a fee for providing conduit service. Raymond James & Associates is serving as underwriter in Trinity’s bond sale. Last year, Trinity spent $23.2 million on buildings and equipment, $144.2 million on goods and services and $214.2 million in payroll. The total direct impact on the region in 2017 was $381.6 million, with $63 million indirect impact, for an overall impact of more than $444.5 million. That impact will grow with the new medical complex. “This initiative is not only about improving the future of health care in our region; it is about investing in the future of the northwest region of North Dakota. This investment is slated to be the largest private economic development initiative in western North Dakota and will generate hundreds of new jobs,” Trinity stated. The project calls for a connected sixstory hospital and clinic building. Plans are for 208 beds, including 157 nursing beds, a 20-bed intensive care unit and an emergency/trauma center with 27 treatment bays. The site will include more than 1,900 parking spaces. Teams of Trinity department leaders have worked throughout the year with the project manager, Yates Construction, and architects and other contractors to refine the project. Trinity announced in March that it was discontinuing its relationship with its original construction manager, Mortenson
Construction of Minneapolis. Project costs produced by Mortenson were significantly higher than expected. Trinity contracted with Yates in April. The North Dakota Health Department must weigh in on the final plans to ensure the project meets state health rules. Trinity will continue to have a presence in downtown Minot after the construction, although there may be movement of services and personnel. Plans are to continue to provide primary care at Medical Arts Clinic and to maintain services in Trinity Health East. Trinity Health West would provide out-patient care. Cancer care and advanced imaging would remain at Trinity-Town & Country. While providing health care is a key function of the medical center, Trinity also demonstrates its nonprofit mission to benefit the community in a number of ways. These include conducting a community health needs assessment, implementing strategies to meet identified community health needs, providing a wealth of free education to consumers to improve health and quality of life in the community and providing charity care and other uncompensated or under-compensated care to members of the community in need. Trinity operations that are part of its non-for-profit mission aren’t taxed, but any leased facilities, such as medical office buildings, or businesses, such as pharmacies, are taxable. Last year, Trinity paid $278,278 in property taxes to Ward County and $285,500 in total property taxes, which includes taxes paid on properties in other counties. A number of leases include property taxes in the monthly payment so about $100,000 gets paid indirectly. Trinity also paid nearly $300,000 in sales taxes last year.
serving yo u since
rinity Health was on track in 2017 to issue $380 million in tax-free bonds by year’s end to finance a new hospital and medical park in southwest Minot. Anticipating construction to begin in earnest in the spring, Trinity sought approval from the Ward County Commission in November to issue Health Care Revenue Bonds. The county commission previously approved up to $63 million for Trinity in August to refinance existing long-term debt at a lower interest rate, and to cover preliminary construction costs as a first step toward the construction. The re-financing provided some funding for the initial earthwork, including the completion of three roads. Contractors also erected fencing around the 42-acre construction site. Other acreage in the 72-acre site is for future expansion. The second bond issuance will be used with operating funds and private philanthropy to finance construction of the new healthcare complex, including architectural, construction, equipment and other costs associated with the new campus buildings. Trinity, as a not-for-profit organization, has no owners, shareholders or investors so any earnings are re-invested into the community in the form of new facilities, technologies and health programs, according to Trinity. The organization is governed by a board of directors, consisting of residents of the region who serve without compensation to provide leadership, strategic direction and feedback necessary to respond to community needs. Also as a 501c3 not-for-profit hospital, Trinity is able to pursue bonds under TaxExempt Private Activity Bonds rules. Hospitals must go through a “conduit issuer,” such as a county or city. Trinity has elected
serving yo u since
By JILL SCHRAMM • Senior Staff Writer • jschramm@minotdailynews.com
serving yo u since
T
NO . 8
Trinity on track in 2017 with new medical complex plans
serving yo u since
serving yo u since
serving yo u since
Year In Review
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!
ACKERMAN SURVEYING & ASSOCIATES, INC. 1907 17th St. SE
838-0786
1400 37th Ave SW • Minot
104 Main • Williston 852-6565 800-735-5866
1711 12th Ave. SW • Minot 838-8401 Bismarck 701-751-4401 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 2015 & 2016 Readers’ Choice Winner!
Thank You For A Great 30 Years!
Your Family’s Vehicle Is Our Family’s Business
837-1301
covery program toward the new programs. The proposal authorizes $800,000 to be used in an acquisition program to buy and clean up blighted properties. With the proposed involuntary program, which will not involve eminent domain, owners will be offered current property values. The other part of the plan authorizes another $800,000 of the CDBG-DR money to go into a small business revolving loan fund. The city would seek a matching amount from the federal Economic Development Administration.
serving yo u since
one of the projects in Minot’s National Resilience Program. By adjusting input data, the tool can offer insights into potential benefits related to buyouts, lowering reservoirs ahead of expected high water flows, increasing storage at Lake Darling, building the flood control project and other scenarios. A plan for removing blighted homes and establishing a business loan fund moved forward with support of the Minot City Council. The council approved re-allocating unused money in a 2012 Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Re-
serving you since
flood protection once the Northwest Area Water Supply project collects an additional $40 million, expected to occur in 2024, the committee determined. In preparing the 2018 budget, the city council voted to divert sales tax allocated to the MAGIC Fund and the Community Facilities Fund to flood protection for the next year. Last fall, the council got its first look at a Souris River Decision Support Tool for measuring how river basin changes can affect flood risk. The creation of the modeling tool is
serving yo u since
Jill Schramm/MDN
Ryan Ackerman, Souris River Joint Board administrator, left, talks with Minot City Council member Stephan Podrygula at a Corps of Engineers meeting on the Maple Diversion Nov. 16.
serving yo u since
serving yo u since
map for Minot could be delayed. Minot and the Souris River Joint Board are challenging the assumptions of the analysis that went into the preliminary flood map with regard to the impact of reservoir draw down on flood risk. There also is concern related to the guidance used in developing the maps – or the protocols for drafting the maps. The concern focuses on how the regulatory floodway was delineated. If FEMA determined guidance wasn’t followed, the floodway identified on the map will have to be redrawn. If the analysis of the reservoirs changes, the mapping effort would essentially have to start over because a change in flow rate would be felt throughout the downstream. Originally, FEMA had projected finalizing the map in July 2018, although the agency had noted the time frame would be subject to any appeals or issues needing to be resolved. Even once the map is finalized, jurisdictions have six months to get their ordinances in place before implementation. Also this past year, a Minot city sales tax ad hoc committee recommended increasing the half percent of sales tax for flood control to a full cent by 2021. The city’s second penny of sales tax also should shift to
serving yo u since
Continued from Page 3
BAR & BOTTLESHOP 2015 N. Broadway
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Celebrating 28 Years
701-839-8896 4121 S. Broadway • Minot
and cakes too!!
A Cookie Gift & Bouquet Company
www.cookiesforyou.com
K im Fun di ng s la nd /M D N
839-2767
500 N 8th Street 701-222-6100
“We thank you for your patronage in 2016”
601 24th Ave. SW
858-9800 Enjoy Life . . . You’ve Earned It!
T
NO . 9
Wilder murder case By ANDREA JOHNSON • Staff Writer • ajohnson@minotdailynews.com
he year 2017 was bookended by hearings for a husband and wife who plotted a murder and, in the process, effectively orphaned three children. A jury found Richie Wilder Jr. guilty in December 2016 of the brutal stabbing murder of his ex-wife, Angila Wilder – the woman he had battered during their marriage and had continued to battle over custody of their two children. Angila Wilder, who was pregnant, was found dead on the floor of her bedroom at 519 16th Street NW on Nov. 13, 2015. The woman was stabbed or cut 44 times in the face, neck and upper chest with her 2-year-old son in another bedroom nearby. Some of the wounds were three or four inches deep. Richie Wilder Jr. closed the bedroom door behind him, but left the toddler alone with his murdered mother for hours. The boy wasn’t found until his father arrived home hours later. Angila Wilder’s live-in boyfriend, Chris Jackson, called a cab when he wasn’t able to reach Angila Wilder on the phone and came home to find his door kicked in. During the December trial, it emerged that Richie Wilder Jr. had tried to frame Angila Wilder’s current boyfriend for the murder. However, rock solid evidence proved that the other man had been at work at Walmart all night. Judge Gary Lee sentenced Richie Wilder Jr. to life in prison without parole on May 3. “This was a cold, calculated, cowardly act that resulted in the death of a sleeping victim who was murdered in her own bed,” said Lee, who also forbade Richie
Wilder Jr. to have any contact with his two children by Angila Wilder. Richie Wilder Jr. appealed that decision and Lee reconsidered. Months later, Lee said he would allow the children to decide Cynthia for themselves whether Wilder they want contact with Richie Wilder Jr. once they reach adulthood. Weeks after the sentencing, there was another twist in the case. Richie Wilder Jr.’s current wife, Cynthia Wilder, was arrested after she told an old flame that she had helped Richie Wilder Jr. plan the murder and helped him clean up afterwards. Cynthia Wilder, who taught kindergarten for the Minot Public Schools, admitted that she waited outside Angila Wilder’s house on certain nights to find out just when Jackson left for work. On the night of the murder, she watched her husband leave in her Honda Pilot and knew what would happen. Her two stepchildren, a girl and a boy, were staying with her in the apartment that night along with her own toddler daughter. Richie Wilder returned home after the murder, took a shower and Cynthia Wilder helped him clean up blood evidence in the car. Richie Wilder Jr. told his wife that “Angila had fought (and) that it got sloppy.” After they cleaned up, Richie Wilder Jr. and Cynthia Wilder had sexual relations. She went to sleep and he left to
dispose of the bloody clothing and murder weapon. He put the incriminating items in a bag weighted down by a cinder block and tossed it into the river. Richie Wilder Jr. and Cynthia Wilder discussed how to get their stories straight for the authorities. Cynthia Wilder told her old friend that she stuck to the story they agreed to, but her husband didn’t. After Richie Wilder Jr. was arrested, Cynthia made contact with an old flame on Facebook, hoping to resume her romantic relationship with him. She made statements that alarmed him and he agreed to record his conversations with her in May. Cynthia Wilder was arrested in May and has been held in the jail ever since. In November, she changed her plea to guilty of conspiracy to commit murder. She faces a sentence of up to life without parole when she is sentenced in March. For a time Cynthia Wilder had temporary guardianship of her two stepchildren, a girl who was 12 and a boy who was 6 at the time of their father’s sentencing hearing in May. The children are now living with their maternal grandmother out of state. The grandmother has been appointed their guardian. Cynthia and Richie Wilder’s 4-year-old daughter was living with her paternal grandfather out of state as of this summer. Richie Wilder Jr. is appealing his conviction to the North Dakota Supreme Court and wants a new trial. According to media reports, he has been transferred to a prison in California. Cynthia Wilder is still being held at the Ward County Jail, awaiting her sentencing.
Drugs were a growing problem in North Dakota in 2017
T
Central District Court Judge Todd Cresap was faced with what he said were two lousy choices. A young woman with a history of drug addiction was back in his court, asking for another chance. She curled up on a bench, with her boyfriend’s arm settled around her, as she waited for her hearing. On the stand, she told the judge how much
she had hated being in the Ward County Jail and how terrified she was to go back there. She was waiting for a bed to open up at a treatment center, but it would be weeks or months before she had a spot. In the meantime, she kept screwng up – a relapse last spring, kicked out of a drug treatment program in Fargo for multiple write-ups and disputes with other residents. Her probation officer felt she had no other recourse but to send her back to jail. It was her best chance at achieving an extended period of sobriety. But the woman was trying again to get things together, was working and living with her boyfriend. Should Cresap send her back to jail to give her a chance to stay sober or should he let
her stay free while she was waiting for the treatment bed, knowing there was a chance she might keep using drugs? The woman’s probation officer had a drug testing kit in her car in the courthouse parking lot. Cresap told the probation officer to test the young woman right then and there, in the courthouse bathroom. Minutes later they came back to the courtroom. The probation officer said her client had broken down and admitted to using drugs the previous night, even though she had just testified otherwise on the stand. Judge Cresap revoked her probation and sent her to jail until the treatment bed opened up. The North Dakota Attorney General’s Office reported last year that the number of people jailed in the state for drug or alcohol offenses had more than doubled in the past five years. Meth violations quintupled from 2010 to 2015 and people arrested for heroin violations increased by 4,300 percent. For people like the young woman in Cresap’s court, sobriety can be a matter of life and death. The Center for Disease Control reported a 21 percent increase in overdose deaths in the state from May 2016 to May 2017.
2013 2013 2017
serving yo u since
1900 22nd Ave SW 701-837-1900
NO . 10
By ANDREA JOHNSON • Staff Writer • ajohnson@minotdailynews.com
he drug problem in Minot is on display every day at the Ward County Courthouse, in the endless parade of people charged with drug dealing or drug possessions, in thefts to support their habit, in the partners they have assaulted while high on drugs and in the children who have been neglected and sent to foster care because their parents are too high to take care of them. Some schools in the area, like police officers, are now supplied with Narcan so they can revive the victims of a potential overdose should it become necessary. Resources are stretched, sometimes to the breaking point, and judges and prosecutors and defense attorneys are left with imperfect solutions to combat the problem, as happened on a day in mid-December, when North
serving yo u since
sserving e rv ing yyoo u ssince in c e
serving yo u since serving yo u since
serving yo u since
Our O ur Ser SService ervic ervic vicee Mak Makes es the Differ Difference D ifference ifferenc ence
serving yo u since
serving you since
C o nv i c t e d m u r d e r er R i ch i e W i l d er J r. w a s s e nt e n c e d fo r h is f a il e d e s c a pe f rom t he Wa rd C o u n t y J a il i n Au g u s t 2 0 1 5. H e a ls o a p p e ar e d at a he a ri ng t ha t w i l l d ec i d e w he the r he w i l l b e a bl e t o h a ve c o n t a c t w it h h i s t wo c h i ld r e n .
Brodway, 4920 N. Br odway, #1 701-839-0167
serving yo u since sserving e rv ing yyoo u ssince in c e Serving You Since
Serving You Since
2013 2013
Year In Review
111 45th Ave NE, Minot
701.852.6092
2215 16th St NW, Minot 701-857-4070
sserving e rv ing yyoo u ssince in c e
1997 1998 1999 2003 2006 2007 2007 2012
6 Minot (N.D.) Daily News, Monday, January 1, 2018
2305 Elk Drive 701-837-9999