Around the State: May 16, 2022

The counties and cities within the state of North Dakota hold many interesting news stories.

Here are just a few of the feature stories that others are reading in communities around the state.

Filing error leaves nobody on ballot for mayor

There will be no candidates listed on the ballot for commission president in Tioga this June, despite initial filings showing a contested race.

A review of would-be candidate Kevin Litten’s petition, following the April 11 filing deadline, revealed an error on his paperwork. Litten turned in the petition to challenge Natalie Bugbee, the incumbent, for the position of commission president.

Litten’s petition and statement of interest for the position have since been disqualified, according to City Auditor Abby Salinas, due to his listing the position as a “four-year term” instead of two years.

“I had to kick his out,” said Salinas.

Bugbee, after learning her opponent had been disqualified on what she called a “legal technicality,” has chosen to withdraw her petition, removing her name from the ballot. She explained she didn’t want a repeat of the “miscommunication” surrounding her appointment last summer.

“I’m not putting the city through that. Having the girls, having the office, blamed for not making sure that his application was completely done. That’s not their job,” said Bugbee. “It will just have to be write-ins I guess.”

Bugbee has not decided whether she will campaign as a write-in candidate. Litten, reached early Tuesday, said he will be mounting a write-in campaign for the June 14 election.

(Story by Jacob Orledge, the Tioga Tribune)

Searching for Tyler

When news broke recently that 18-year-old Tyler Schaeffer of Beulah was missing the community took action.

According to Beulah Police Chief Frank Senn, no fewer than 100 citizens showed up to aid in the search for Tyler, who was last seen between 1 and 3 a.m.

Authorities spent a day conducting on-foot searches of Riverside Park in Beulah and the surrounding area, with Senn explaining there was some indication that Tyler was heading in that direction. Tyler’s last known location was outside the Congregational Church on 3rd Ave. NW in the early morning.

With Tyler missing for over 48 hours, Senn said cool temperatures were reason for concern.

“He wasn’t dressed for the weather, and we’re looking at prolonged exposure,” Senn said. “You can be hypothermic anytime you compromise your core body temperature.”

(Story by Alyssa Meier, the McLean County Independent)

Two court battles saved Kenmare Park Square

Kenmare Park Board officially took possession of the downtown park square in April 2022, upon action by the Kenmare City Council.

Since the time Kenmare was officially platted, 125 years ago on May 8, 1897, the park square has existed as an undeveloped block (Block 2) at the center of the business district.

Kenmare Park Board was formed 111 years ago, on April 11, 1911. The board has managed the downtown park square for many decades, so the transaction last month may appear to some to be just a paperwork formality, transferring ownership from the City of Kenmare to the city’s Park Board.

It wasn’t always so cut and dried in Kanmare’s earliest years, however.

Twice, once in 1904, and again in 1907, E.C. Tolley, his employer, and his associates, attempted to cut up the town square to be sold off as business lots.

Apparently the property known as the park square was never officially dedicated as a park, but interesting to note that even after two court battles, it wasn’t until May 16, 1931, that the park square was recorded with the Ward County Register of Deeds office as a “public square, park and common.”

(Story by Terry Froseth, the Kenmare News)

Power outage leaves thousands in the dark

When the latest blizzard hit on April 22, residents and businesses felt ready. After all, they survived the previous storm which forecasters had already predicted would outrank the one from a week earlier. But what wasn’t predicted was how the second blizzard would be the perfect storm for a widespread power outage resulting in thousands upon thousands of local residents being without power for 24 to 48 hours, and even longer.

“The best way to put it for MDU, is it was unprecedented,” said Mark Hanson, Montana-Dakota Utilities spokesman. “We’ve had outages before for three or four days. But generally, it’s been concentrated.”

When the blizzard hit on April 22, Hanson said the damage was extensive and widespread, specifically in the northwest corner of the state.

Hanson said the work to restore power hasn’t been easy due to muddy conditions. In may cases, Hanson said the crews had to have a large tracked-vehicle pull bucket trucks from pole to pole to get through the mud.

“When we get everybody back on power, our contractors will probably stay in the area for about a month or more repairing and replacing additional poles on other transmission lines that aren’t in service right now,” he said.

(Story by Ashleigh Plemper, the McKenzie County Farmer)

Snow compromises school roof

The Tioga High School’s weight room is going to need a new roof after the weight of 46,000 pounds of snow bowed the ceiling and cracked the door frame.

The weight room and adjacent hallway will be closed for the remainder of the school year and repairs to the roof are expected to be done this summer.

The repairs are going to be a “little spendy,” according to Carolyn Eide, Superintendent.

They called out a contractor to shovel the snow off the roof to avoid further damage because the school’s custodians determined it was too dangerous to stand on the damaged roof without safety equipment.

“They actually had a harness hooked up from the top of the gym,” said Eide.

The interior has visible and extensive damage. The ceiling of the hallway leading into the room, made of metal panels, is visibly cracked.

“Above the doors when you walk into that weight room there’s a piece of sheet rock hanging off,” said Eide. “The wood frame that’s holding that door is actually split.”

Observers can clearly see the deformed state of the ceiling upon entering the room. The ceiling panels, cracked in places, bowed along the center due to holding up the weight of the snow.

(Story by Jacob Orledge, the Tioga Tribune)