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Thanksgiving!
The official newspaper of Cavalier County Theborderlandpress.com
In this issue:
Friday, November 22, 2024
Volume 3, Number 46
Rendezvous Region Scenic Backway
NDDOT, NDPRD, and Cavalier County partner to apply for grant to pave portion of highway By Hilary Nowatzki
Letters of support are being garnered for a project which would pave five miles of Highway 55 near the Pembina Gorge. According to Cavalier County commissioners, this project has
sioner. “When you get state and federal dollars involved now, it makes it more feasible, which we couldn't do it on our own. We don't have enough tax base to pay for it.”
natural, recreational, or archeological qualities. “It's a federal grant; it's nationwide. Like Austin [Lafrenz] said, it looks a
Community: Read the first of a three part guest series, ‘His Brother’s Flag,’ Pg. A5 Map courtesy of NDDOT.
been discussed for years, but only recently did it seem achievable. “Well, it's still not set in stone,” said Greg Goodman, county commissioner. “What the difference is is we have the state involved with applying for a federal grant to pave it.” The county has considered tackling this project on their own in the past, but due to costs, it seemed insurmountable.
Weather Nov. 22
Nov. 23
Dear Secretary Buttigieg: [Impacted Business/agency] supports the North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT) application for National Scenic Byways Program (NSBP) funding for the Rendezvous Region Scenic Backway Reconstruction Project.
Community: Gordy “Crazy Fingers” made a visit to Pembilier Nursing Center, Pg. A5
Views from the Borderland: Langdon’s Drama Club Team heads to state competition, Pg. B6
Secretary of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590
“It's the closest we've ever come since I've been on the commission to actually getting it done. I mean, we've discussed this for my time, 10 years, and that's just because of the cost,” added Stanely Dick, fellow commis-
The North Dakota Department of Transportation (NDDOT), North Dakota Parks and Recreation Department (NDPRD), and Cavalier County are partnering in a National Scenic Byways Program (NSBP) grant for the reconstruction of 5.5 miles of Cavalier County Road 55 (CR-55), part of the Rendezvous Region Scenic Backway, between 116th Ave NE (CR 39) to 122nd Ave NE, as shown on the map included with this article. The National Scenic Byways Program funds improvements such as byway facilities, safety improvements, and interpretive information along roads in the United States that merit recognition at the national level for their outstanding scenic, historic, cultural,
lot better when applying when you have the state with you,” said Goodman. “So this is better than us trying to do it on our own.” NDDOT is currently seeking local agencies and businesses to provide letters of support for the Rendezvous Region Scenic Backway Reconstruction Project by Dec. 4 2024. The application will be submitted on Dec. 13 with a final decision on the project expected by February 2025. Below is a sample letter of support for the project which can be used as a template. **SAMPLE LETTER OF SUPPORT** The Honorable Pete Buttigieg
The Rendezvous Region Scenic Backway Reconstruction Project will address concerns about safety and improve resiliency (including damage from previous storm events) on this portion of the Rendezvous Region Scenic Backway, which connects ND32 to ND-1 (parallel north-south highways that serve adjacent Canada/ United States border crossings) and is frequently used by US Customs and Border Protection and US Border Patrol personnel. It also provides access to numerous economic generators and recreational destinations in the area including the future Pembina Gorge State Park (current Pembina Gorge State Recreation Area). This grant application supports the implementation of a major highway safety and resiliency project within the community we serve. The project is needed because this road will experience increased traffic, including heavy recreational vehicles accessing the future Pembina Gorge State Park and other private businesses in the area. [Impacted Business/agency] would appreciate your favorable consideration in reviewing NDDOT’s Rendezvous Region Scenic Backway Reconstruction Project grant application.
Nov. 24
Northern port of entries hours slated to change 22/15
23/22
29/13
Human smugglers plead not guilty after two-year hunt By The Borderland Press staff
Beginning on Monday in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, is the trial of two men arrested in connection to a human smuggling operation. This same operation is the one which led to the death of a family of four outside of Emerson. In the overnight hours of January 19, 2022, hours after a blizzard, US and Canadian Border patrol agents were called out after agents from the Pembina port of entry apprehended Florida resident Steve Anthony Shand. Shand was discovered in a rural area of northwest Minn. carrying two Indian nationals inside of a passenger van and another five Indian nationals located nearby. Once daylight broke, Canadian officials would find the frozen bodies of two adults and two children 40 feet north of the border. Investigations into this incident would continue for over two years until U.S. officials arrested Shand’s alleged financier, Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, aka “Dirty Harry,” in February 2024. Allegedly, Patel would pay Shand upwards of $8,000 to smuggle people from the border and drive them to Chicago. Court affidavits indicate this incident was Shand’s sixth smuggling run. Both Shand and Patel have pleaded not guilty to the charges laid upon them. Jury selection is set to occur on Monday with the trial anticipated to run through the week.
By The Borderland Press staff
As we approach the five year anniversary of the first diagnosis of COVID-19, some border towns are feeling some reprieve as hours at the northern port of entries are slated to change. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, hours were significantly reduced at numerous ports of entry along the Canadian border- namely Walhalla, Neche and Maida being the primary ones affecting The Borderland Press readers. Walhalla was reduced from 10pm to 6pm, Neche from 10pm to 4pm and Maida from 10pm to 5pm. In the Spring of 2023, the Walhalla City Council, Walhalla Area Chamber of Commerce, Cavalier Chamber of Commerce and the Mayor of Neche co-sponsored a petition that was circulated in hopes of enacting change. Walhalla Chamber of Commerce Executive DIrector Rebecca Davis testified in front of the House Judiciary subcommittee in Grand Forks in May of 2024 alongside North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley, Cass County Sheriff Jesse Jahner and Renville County Sheriff Roger Hutchinson - each speaking on different elements of the Border Crisis from the need for extended hours to additional personnel. Davis shared how the reduced hours had affected tourism, the agricultural industry, the economic hardship and families in the border communities. Prior to the 2023 petition, in a letter dated April 25, 2022 to Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary Brian Hyer with the US Department of Homeland Se-
curity and Commissioner Chris Magnus with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Governor Doug Burgum had urged Customs and Border Patrol to restore pre-pandemic hours of operation citing at that time a $300 million loss of tourism business. “These April 2020 reductions were clearly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, as CBP had just completed a round of adjustments to hours of service at several North Dakota ports of entry in November 2019,” Burgum wrote. Burgum said at that time Canada had restored normal hours of operation at its ports of entry. In a statement released November 18 from Senator Kevin Cramer’s office, hours at the Walhalla port of entry would be extended until 8pm, Neche until 6pm and Maida will remain open until 5pm. “As a northern border state, North Dakota’s 18 ports of entry play a vital role in facilitating cross-border travel and trade,” said U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND), co-chair of the American-Canadian Economy and Security (ACES) Caucus. “While these adjustments in ports of entry operating hours are much needed, we need to restore hours of operation at our border to pre-pandemic levels. The COVID-19 pandemic is over, and it’s time the operating hours at our ports of entry reflect it.” Although hours coming stateside may be increasing, hours heading north of the border have reduced. Canadian ports of entry will be aligning their
hours with the United States ports of entry. “This will allow CBP to increase border security while facilitating legitimate cross-border trade and travel. CBP officers will be deployed to busier ports of entry, enabling the agency to use its resources most effectively for its critical national security and border security missions. “These adjustments formalize current operating hours that have been in effect for more than four years at 13 ports of entry across the northern border with eight ports of entry expanding hours. A small number of ports will see reduced hours in an effort to continually align resources to operational realities. Travelers who use these affected crossing locations will have other options within a reasonable driving distance,” read a statement from the CBP. A statement by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) echoed the same response. “These adjustments are based on an analysis of operational pressures, peak periods, and services required at the ports of entry, to minimize the impacts on border communities. Almost all of these ports of entry are processing an average of two or less cars or commercial trucks per hour during the hours that will no longer be in operation, and travellers have an alternative border crossing option within a 100 km radius,” the CBSA statement read. “This alignment will also allow both countries to return in-
admissible travellers and goods to the other country, which is more difficult when one side of the border is closed while the other remains open.” While some residents are eager for the new hours to go into effect, others aren’t impressed by the change and say it still isn’t enough. “It’s two years too late,” said a local resident. “I still want an answer as to why hours never resumed after COVID restrictions were lifted. Why, when Canada went back to pre-COVID hours, didn’t the US side?” Some residents still feel like it doesn’t alleviate the strain among families on both sides of the border. “It doesn’t help them see their grandkids' Christmas programs, school programs,” another resident lamented. Local businesses aren’t sure if it is enough either. As the Walhalla Co-op currently closes at 8pm, a reduction from pre-COVID 10pm hours won’t be extended if travelers aren’t stopping to get fuel, snacks or other supplies after 7:30pm. “While any expansion of hours at the border is a good thing, this action almost feels like a dismissal of the concerns of small towns along the border,” said Leeroy Carpenter, a Walhalla City Councilman who worked tirelessly advocating for change. Carpenter noted that the new policy was announced without any input cont’d. on page A2