Around the State: November 13, 2023

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.

Watch the salmon run

Did you know you can watch chinook salmon run upstream in Lake Sakakawea State Park?

A few Sundays ago, the Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery in Riverdale hosted two separate hikes on a part of the North Country Trail. (The North Country Trail runs from Middlebury, Vermont, and ends in Riverdale, N.D.) One hike was a longer five-mile hike, the other a shorter one-and-a-half miles.

Aaron Von Eschen, the Project Leader at the Garrison Dam Fish Hatchery, explained more about the salmon running up the river.

"It is not a river; it is a drainage ditch of the hatchery. The water flowing in there is temporary depending on the time of year when we divert water through it to attract the salmon to run up it, or if we are draining ponds," Von Eschen said. It is still Missouri River water, though, that has passed through the hatchery from Lake Sakakawea."

Many of the salmon below the dam will travel down to Lake Oahe in South Dakota and mature in the reservoir before returning. Some will stay below the dam where the discharge creates a cold-water habitat for them to remain.

"Juvenile salmon will imprint to specific water chemistry during critical stages of their development," Von Eschen said. "These young salmon will imprint to the hatchery water which allows them to find their way back when they mature."

Salmon run up the channel every year. They return as adults usually between the ages of one and three.

The hikes together had about 35 people attend. The Garrison Dam Fish Hatchery and the North Country Trail host events throughout the year.

(Story by Tyson Matthews, nordaknorth.com, taken from the Hazen Star)

Chevron to buy Hess in Bakken shakeup

The head of North Dakota's largest oil and natural gas advocacy group says news of Chevron buying Hess could bring unprecedented technological advances to the Bakken.

The transaction carries a total value of approximately $60 billion. It comes on the heels of another massive industry acquisition in early October; ExxonMobil's purchase of Pioneer Natural Resources, a deal that also topped $60 billion.

"I think from a North Dakota standpoint we're sad to see that Hess brand go, but at the same time, with a major like Chevron, this is now a technology play. We've got decades of potential oil here, but it's going to take a lot of investment to get another one-percent out of the ground. We have the best technology in the world, and we still leave 85 out of every 100 barrels in the ground, and a company like Chevron can bring more investment and technology here. So I think we've got to look at the bright side and be confident there is a lot of interest in the oil play here and we know it's going to be here for decades to come."

(Story by Steve Hallstrom, the McKenzie County Farmer)

Explosion rocks Alexander

An explosion occurred on an oil pad west of U.S. Highway 85 near Alexander on October 21. The blast was reportedly felt as far away as Grassy Butte.

According to Karolin Jappe, McKenzie County emergency manager, three tanks on the site were affected, though the cause of the explosion had not been determined.

Multiple agencies responded to the fire, but according to Jappe, the flames were nearly extinguished 15 to 20 minutes after the arrival of the volunteer Alexander Fire Department.

There were three wells on the pad, but only one was operational at the time of the incident.

No injuries were reported.

(Story taken from the Mountrail County Promoter)

Traill VSO abruptly resigns

Traill County Veterans Service Officer Sheri Pearlstein of Hatton turned in her resignation after 17 months on the job.

Pearlstein sent a three-paragraph email to members of the Traill County Board of Commissioners recently announcing her immediate resignation.

In her email, Pearlstein said she had been given an improvement plan outlining four ways to boost her job performance.

Pearlstein didn't disclose in her email any of the specifics outlined in the performance review, but she contended that the recommendations were subjective.

"In order for employee evaluations to meet ethical standards they need to contain quantitative empirical data," Pearlstein wrote.

"The Performance Improvement Plan failed to meet these basic ethical standards."

County Auditor Glenda Haugen confirmed that county officials met privately with Pearlstein to discuss her job performance.

Haugen declined to discuss specific recommendations that were shared with Pearlstein during the meeting.

(Story by Cole Short, the Hillsboro Banner)

Former Ray police chief charged

A federal grand jury in Maryland has charged a former police chief in Ray and four others with a conspiracy to illegally acquire machine guns and other regulated firearms.

Charged in the indictment, was James Sawyer, 50, of Ray; Sean Sullivan, 38, of Gambrills, Maryland; Larry Vickers, 60, of Charlotte, North Carolina; James Lafoya, 45, of Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Matthew Hall, 53, of Four Oaks, North Carolina.

The indictment alleges that the defendants conspired to acquire machine guns or other restricted firearms, such as short-barreled rifles, by falsely representing that the firearms would be used for demonstration to law enforcement agencies, including the police departments in Ray and in Coats, North Carolina.

Hall was the police chief in Coats, according to the indictment. Sullivan was an intelligence analyst with the Department of Homeland Security, and Tafoya and Vickers owned and operated firearms-related businesses in New Mexico and North Carolina.

The indictment alleges that Sawyer, Hall, and other conspirators signed "law letters" used to obtain restricted firearms for demonstration to law enforcement agencies with no exception that the weapons would ever actually be demonstrated to their respective police departments.

The defendants allegedly intended to import the machine guns and other firearms into the United States to resell them for profit or to keep for their own use and enjoyment.

(Story taken from the Journal, Crosby)