LOCAL
EDITORIAL
Ag event honors Nelsons Page 4
Hat Tips and more! Page 8
Serving the Region Since 1907
Vol. 114 No. 42
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BLIZZARDS
2020
Bowman County Budget STAFF REPORT
O
n October 1, the Bowman County Commission voted to confirm the 2020 county budget after a short budget hearing. Compared to last year, the 2020 budget has nearly halved, dropping roughly 47 percent from the previous year. The large decrease was due to a much lower funding of the County Road & Bridge budget, which dropped roughly 67.1 percent from the previous year. County Commissioner Rick Braaten explained that the total budget for 2020 dropped because the County had used a significant amount of saved funds to complete two major road projects in 2019, the Griffin road project and Camp Crook road project. “Last year we had some money left over from the Surge fund,” said Braaten. “It was money that the state had set aside for funding to fix roads. In 2019 we used that money for two road projects.” Ultimately, Braaten said the biggest change in the budget related to healthcare insurance costs
OCTOBER 18, 2019
affect local crops and communities BY BRAD MOSHER Country Media
I
t was predicted to be a “Category Five” blizzard in North Dakota with the possibility of causing massive closures and power outages throughout the state. For western North Dakota, the blizzard proved to be much less than predicted while the storm hit central and eastern North Dakota hard. Still, when the storm hit Thursday, it forced the closure of the state's major east-west freeway, I-94, with icy conditions east of Dickinson and east of Bismarck all the way to Fargo. While the rest of the state was hit with heavy snow, winds and
road closures, the impact was less so in the western part of the state. Highway 22 remained open with icy conditions and warnings from the Department of Transportation to reduce speed on roads in the area. But for the farmers in North Dakota, the change is weather has had an immediate impact, especially in the eastern part of the state where crops had not been harvested yet. Western farmers hit The recent bout of harsh winter weather has actually given some farmers a break, according to Hettinger County's NDSU Extension agent Duaine Marxen. “With the wind and the amount of moisture coming down, yes we lost a few beets and depending on how many guys still have beans out there. “Anyone
with canola … yeah this would be tough on them.” The area first was hit by a frost on Sept. 27, Marxen said. “That wasn't county wide. It was on the east side of the county.” Later, on a trip down Highway 49, he saw other crops that had been touched by frost. “Since the, everybody has been hit. That was the first frost date (Sept. 27), but on the west side of the county, it wasn't quite that soon, but it wasn't that many days after.” Marxen even noted that the durability of sunflowers couldn't hold off the cold for long. “Sunflowers can take the frost pretty good, but when you start going down to 27 (degrees), that's going to take them out.” Growing season ended for most farmers when they had their first 27 degree night, the county agent explained. “27 (degrees) is enough to end everything,” he said. “That is why when you look through the country, the
corn is all brown. “The biggest issue is about the maturity level of corn. About 85 percent of the corn was mature. There is going to run about 15 percent that wasn't or that was late planted and didn't make it. So that corn is going to be wet and a little light.” Soybean crops have been the most impacted by the recent cold weather, Marxen said. “The first snow went away fast enough. It was gentle and it went away fast. That never touched the soybeans. This storm, with that wind, that we got Wednesday night... that was the one that hurt. If you had beans out there, you could have some pod shatter.” The losses the farmers face may enough to hurt but not use insurance to help, the agent said. “We had most of the beans harvested already. You are going to have a little bit of loss,” he said, noting that the weather was supposed to improve through the middle of the month. ”If we have more of a normal week, it won't be long. Even could air would not be that bad because the
SNOW » PAGE 2
BUDGET » PAGE 3 Local.............2, 3, 4, 7 Classifieds............5, 9
Snow covers the Bowman County Courthouse after Friday’s snowstorm. Photo by Casandra Horn.
State.........................6 Obituaries.................7 Editorial....................8
Weekend WEATHER
SAT
57º/36º
SUN
43º/31º
Recommendations for cold weather safety BY FRANK TURNER
reporternd@countrymedia.net
T
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he first day of winter starts on December 21st this year, but as North Dakotans let’s face it – winter is here. Despite the calendar telling us it's only mid October, locals should prepare for blizzards, intensely cold winds, and overall less than ideal weather conditions. Just last week, the entire Midwest experienced their first blizzard of the season, and although the weather may seem to improve in the short terms, Sheriff Frank Eberle with the Bowman County Sheriff’s Office said that people should start preparing for more winter weather. Although Eberle said he was in no hurry to jump into the cold season, he did suggest that locals
start to winterize their vehicles. Specifically, people should load their vehicles with shovels, extra blankets, phone chargers, “anything that can tide you over until help can get to you if you have difficulties during travel,” he said. As many know, weather in Dakotas can be unpredictable from year to year. In times of severe weather conditions, the sheriff’s office can send out a local No Travel Advisory. Otherwise, the North Dakota Highway Patrol can issue a road to be closed. According to Eberle, driving on a closed road is a class B misdemeanor, an arrestable offence. “A No Travel Advisory highly suggests that you don’t travel for obvious reasons,” he said. “If the road is closed, we are not obligated to respond to a closed road because of the high risk of spoken danger.”
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Eberle said it is imperative that people listen to advisories and travel warnings. When someone disre-
gards the warnings, they can put both themselves
SAFETY » PAGE 3
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