AROUND NORTH DAKOTA: Man faces assault charges ... Pipeline work progresses ... Levings, Hall top tribes' primary ... more

Man faces assault charges

BISMARCK — A man has been charged in federal court with an assault on Standing Rock Indian Reservation.

Frankie Marshall, 20, pleaded not guilty to assault with a dangerous weapon and assault resulting in serious bodily injury. Trial is scheduled for Oct. 19.

Court documents accuse Marshall of punching an 18-year-old woman numerous times and kicking her at least once.

Investigators said Marshall was arrested Aug. 2 while hiding in the closet of a Fort Yates home.

Pipeline work makes progress

BOWMAN — A Canadian company building a natural gas pipeline through North Dakota said most of the 1.6 million feet of right of way has been cleared.

Bison Pipeline spokesman Cole Buergi said the work includes grading, trenching and mowing to prepare the corridor for pipe.

TransCanada Corp.’s $600 million Bison Pipeline would start west of Gillette, Wyo., and run to southwestern North Dakota. From there, it would link up with the Northern Border Pipeline near Glen Ullin that moves gas to the Midwest.

Levings, Hall top tribal primary

NEW TOWN — Three Affiliated Tribes chairman Marcus Levings will face former two-time chairman Tex Hall in November for a repeat of the election showdown four years ago on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.

The Bismarck Tribune reported that Levings and Hall bested a field of 16 in this past week’s tribal primary. Tribal spokeswoman Doreen Yellow Bird said the unofficial tally had 529 votes for Hall and 415 votes for Levings.

Levings beat Hall by more than 200 votes in 2006, but the contest dragged on for months while Hall lost his appeal to the National Indian Gaming Commission and tribal courts.

The tribe has 12,000 enrolled members. The general election is slated for Nov. 2.

Panel discusses religious symbols

DICKINSON — The Dickinson Human Relations Commission last week began the process of formulating a recommendation to the City Commission regarding religious symbols on public property.

City Administrator Shawn Kessel had asked the Dickinson Human Relations Commission to formulate a recommendation as a proactive approach to address questions regarding display of religious symbols on public property.

“It is important to be proactive, so that if someone wants to put something up, the city will have a policy in place, and the decision will have more basis than a yes or no, citizens will get answers that are well-thought-out and to the books,” said Jackie Miller, president of the Dickinson Human Relations Commission.

N.D. companies cited in death

DICKINSON, N.D. — The Occupational Safety and Health Administration had fined two North Dakota companies in the April death of an oil field worker near Killdeer.

OSHA documents cited by The Dickinson Press show a crew was hoisting a bridle line and equalizer onto an oil rig when the rigging failed and dropped the load onto Larry Due, 64, who was working 120 feet below. The Hebron man was killed in the accident.

Black Hills Trucking Inc. was fined $14,000. An attorney for the company said the citations are being reviewed.

Nabors Drilling USA LP has contested a $7,000 fine.

License offices close for training

BISMARCK — Drivers license offices in North Dakota will be closed Thursday and Friday.

The state Transportation Department said the closures are necessary so employees can attend annual training sessions.

Motor Vehicle offices will remain open as scheduled and will process vehicle registrations, vehicle titles, vehicle license plates and tabs.

Innovate ND set Monday in Fargo

FARGO — Lt. Gov. Jack Dalrymple and Commerce Commissioner Shane Goettle will kick off the Fifth Annual Innovate ND competition at 11:30 a.m. Monday at the Fargodome. The news conference will be held in advance of the opening luncheon for Marketplace of Ideas.

Program sponsors and two winners from last year’s competition will also participate in the announcement to discuss their business startups and how Innovate ND helped get them going.

Innovate ND is a statewide initiative designed to help entrepreneurs turn innovative concepts into viable new North Dakota business ventures. For a $250 registration fee, participants gain access to a proven venture-building process and a chance to win one of five $15,000 prizes.

Nearly 700 participants and 350 teams have enrolled in the competition since 2006. Last year, 203 participants submitted 107 ideas. Innovate ND has been instrumental in the development of more than 100 North Dakota businesses, the North Dakota Department of Commerce said.

Turkish university, BSC teach online

BISMARCK — Bismarck State College has entered into its first formal international agreement to offer online energy courses to Turkish students in collaboration with Izmir University, Istanbul.

Under the agreement, BSC will provide courses for three different associate degree programs and Izmir University will provide general education courses.

Students will enroll at and receive their degrees from Izmir University, which also has agreements with Boston University, New York University and other major U.S. colleges.

‘Rains delay work on power plant

BROOKINGS, S.D. — Record rains have slowed construction of a power plant in eastern South Dakota.

Bismarck-based Basin Electric Power Cooperative says its $405 million Deer Creek Station near Brookings is still on schedule for an August 2012 opening.

Project coordinator Curt Person told the Brookings Register newspaper that heavy rains have caused some setbacks.

“If we’re behind schedule, it’s not much,” he said. “Nothing we can’t overcome.”

Construction began in July for the facility that will provide electricity to 135 rural electric systems in nine states.

Basin construction coordinator Lucas Tiegen said about 90 workers are pouring foundations for some of the main plant buildings and erecting an office building. Most of August was spent on site preparation and road building, he said.

The plant will use gas and steam to produce electricity and will have a capacity of about 300 megawatts, or roughly enough energy to power 300,000 homes.

Oil rig numbers drop in U.S., N.D.

HOUSTON — The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. dropped by 11 this week to 1,650. North Dakota lost one rig.

Houston-based Baker Hughes Inc. said Friday that 967 rigs were exploring for natural gas and 673 for oil. Ten were listed as miscellaneous. A year ago this week, the rig count stood at 1,017.

Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, Texas lost 12 rigs, Louisiana dropped by 4, while New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Wyoming each lost two rigs. Alaska, Arkansas, California and Colorado each gained two rigs. Oklahoma and West Virginia remained unchanged.

States battle ‘funny honey’

RALEIGH, N.C. — You might call them the Honey Police — beekeepers and honey producers ready to nab shady sellers of sweet-but-bogus “funny honey.”

North Carolina is the latest state to create a standard that defines “pure honey” in a bid to curb the sale of products that have that label but are mostly corn syrup or other additives.

Florida was the first state to adopt such standards in 2009. It’s since been followed by California, Wisconsin and North Carolina. Similar efforts have been proposed in at least 12 other states, including the Dakotas.

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