Interest rates were riding high 25 years ago, and so was the UND Sioux basketball team. There were problems at the jail. And State Sen. Charles "Chuck" Goodman made a bold statement to get cheaper natural gas rates.
-- The First National Bank invited people to open individual retirement accounts with a promise of 14.75 percent interest. At the same time, an Associated Press story out of New York told of the nation's major banks raising prime lending rates from 15.75 percent to 16.5 percent.
-- Dan Clausen and Aaron Harris were keys to UND slipping by the University of South Dakota in a 79 to 78 win at Vermillion, S.D. The Sioux went on to win the basketball championship; they topped the North Dakota State University Bison 95-82 in the finals of post-season play.
-- State jail inspector Neil Fahlsing found that the positives outweighed the negatives here, but not by much. He noted 47 areas in full compliance with state codes, 41 not in compliance and 10 in partial compliance.
Among the most serious problems were insufficient recreation areas, poor lighting in cell blocks, lack of privacy for inmates, inadequate health care, no written jail policy and a lack of qualified personnel.
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North Dakota Attorney General Robert Wefald said he planned to be very liberal in granting variances to jails that did not comply to new state standards. Grand Forks County would have to spend $500,000 to bring the jail to Class 1 standing, where prisoners could be jailed up to one year.
-- State Sen. C.W. "Chuck" Goodman, R-Grand Forks, was not giving up hope for cheaper natural gas rates in the Red River Valley. He bought one share of NSP stock for $25. Then he made his bill payment to NSP, minus $637.19 owed for natural gas.
Goodman wanted to attend the NSP stockholders meeting May 26 with a huge batch of complaint letters from NSP customers. He had no quarrel with people on the local level in Grand Forks and said they didn't set policy. He would settle for paying at rates comparable to those charged in the western part of the state.
Gov. Allen Olson was in support of Goodman's NSP protest.
January had been cold 25 years ago, and the cold weather extended into February. A few people were still resisting the construction of the Columbia Road overpass. The East Grand Forks City Council members said they would endorse the project, because their ambulance service was provided in cooperation with United Hospital.
With the overpass, the ambulance could go right down U.S. Highway 2 (also known as Gateway Drive) to Columbia Road and reach the hospital quickly.
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Names in the news 25 years ago:
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-- Marc Chorney, former UND Sioux All American defenseman in 1981, was playing with the National Hockey League's Penguins in Pittsburgh.
