The Official Newspaper for Foster County
The Official Newspaper for Foster County
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Posted November 13, 2024 Local funding for Foster County townships has effectively been cut in half. The Foster County Commission carried a motion to do so at their regular meeting on Thursday, Nov. 7. Since 2022, the 18 townships of Foster County have each been receiving an annual credit of about $4,500 from their county government, which has gone toward blading and snow removal bills. Combined, that's approximately $80,000 a year the county hands out to its townships, and now commissioners...
Posted November 18, 2024 Last August, Foster County commissioners claimed that nearly $100,000 was owed to them by Wells County, which caught several county officials there off guard. The nearly $100K amounted to four years' worth of social service payments owed to Foster County that hadn't been distributed, and Wells County commissioners only learned of the problem after an article came out in the Independent. In the months since, Wells County Auditor Dan Stutlien and others have been poring...
Carrie Cotton has seen a heap of charges filed against her in recent weeks. On Monday, Nov. 19, the Carrington resident was charged with eight counts of impersonating law enforcement officials, and since Nov. 14 she's been charged with 12 counts of violating a restraining order, one count of stalking, two counts for harassment via repeated telephone calls and one more count for disorderly conduct - harassment. Six of her impersonation charges have since been dismissed for lack of probable cause,...
CARRINGTON, N.D. – November 6, 2024 Tuesday, Nov. 5 was decision day in America, and the unofficial results from the 2024 general election are in. Here in Foster County, nearly 65% of eligible voters cast ballots, a total of 1,717, making their decisions known on several important races. The only Foster County-specific races in this year's general election were four uncontested contests, three for seats on the county commission and one for the director who represents the county on the G...
October 16, 2024 Foster County commissioners recently learned that county-owned property at Juanita Lake is being misused by private residents. At their regular meeting on Tuesday, Oct.15, commissioners set a deadline for residents living on Juanita Lake to remove private property constructed on county-owned land. Dennis Swanson and Bruce Gedrose, two residents currently living on Juanita Lake, were in attendance on Tuesday for the discussion and were told they have until Nov. 15 to remove...
Since opening in the spring of 2022, Gettin' Sauced BBQ and Catering has become a go-to source for excellent food in the region. The catering and food truck business has traveled throughout the state, satisfying their customers at every stop and growing their burgeoning reputation. Whether it's brisket, pulled pork, nachos, mac-and-cheese or street tacos, people just can't seem to get enough of their delicious food. Things have gone so well, in fact, that Gettin' Sauced won't just be a catering...
Elected officials in Eddy and Foster County weighed in on Measure 4 recently, which will appear on the ballot this November. And now, local residents are doing the same. If approved, Measure 4 would prohibit all political subdivisions in North Dakota – such as counties, school districts and cities – from collecting tax based on the assessed value of property. Those taxes are used to fund critical services in communities across the state, including water, sewage treatment, fire departments, law e...
On Tuesday, Oct. 1, the Foster County Commission approved the minimum sale price for seven delinquent tax properties within the county.. The owners of each respective property have not paid property taxes on them for the past three years, thereby making them delinquent. The delinquent tax sale has been scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 19 at 10 a.m., and will take place at the county auditor's office in the Foster County Courthouse. The minimum sale price of each property was determined by adding up a...
At a special meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 2, Foster County commissioners came to an agreement with representatives of Garrison Diversion and the Red River Valley Water Supply Project (RRVW) regarding open-cuts on two roads within the county. Foster County and Garrison Diversion first discussed the issue during a meeting in early September, when Kip Kovar – Garrison Diversion's deputy program manager for the RRVW – told commissioners about an apparent misunderstanding, which could have cost Garriso...
The upcoming general election on Tuesday, Nov. 5 is undoubtedly an important one, but the election’s implications won’t just be felt nationally. Voters in North Dakota will also be asked to consider five separate ballot measures. As voters continue to inform themselves about their choices this November, here is a comprehensive look at each of those ballot measures. Constitutional Measure No. 1 Measure 1, if approved, would modernize language in the North Dakota Constitution used to describe the...
This November, voters will decide whether to eliminate valuation-based property taxes in the state of North Dakota. The issue will appear on November ballots as Measure 4, which would specifically prohibit all political subdivisions in North Dakota – such as counties, school districts and cities – from collecting tax based on the assessed value of property. The measure was placed on the ballot after a petition gathered enough signatures to qualify, and now its proponents and opponents are criss-...
At a brief regular meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 17, Foster County commissioners approved a final budget and certificate of levy for 2025. The documentation presented to commissioners shows a total mill levy of 100.83, or approximately $3.276 million in taxes to be collected in 2025. Of that, 29.53 mills will go toward the county's general fund and 25 mills, or about $800,000, has been levied for county roads. Meanwhile, 10 mills have been levied for both the ambulance and capital improvement. Overa...
Posted September 18, 2024 A dead body was discovered in rural Foster County last week. According to Foster County Sheriff Justin Johnson, the body was discovered approximately five miles northeast of Carrington, N.D. on Wednesday, Sept. 11, when a neighbor happened to come across it while mowing the individual's yard. The body was soon identified as Richard Montonye, a man in his 60s who Johnson said had been living in Foster County for around 12-15 years. He was discovered outside his house bet...
Michael Beaver, the former sheriff of Griggs County and a former Eddy County deputy, has been charged with a felony for tampering with public records. The charge relates to Beaver's time as Griggs County Sheriff earlier this year, and his response to a controversy about aggressive policing at a community event. Beaver was criticized by residents and Griggs County commissioners when several troopers of the North Dakota Highway Patrol (NDHP) were patrolling in and around Cooperstown the night of...
BY NATHAN PRICE On Wednesday, Sept. 11, around 160 local fourth graders got to experience the pioneer way of life in Manfred, N.D. Churning butter, blacksmithing, riding in horse-drawn wagons – these are just a few of the many activities associated with pioneer life on the prairie over a century ago. And that's exactly what local youth were doing last Wednesday at the 3rd annual Manfred Field Day. Organized by Manfred Historic and Preservation Inc., Manfred Field Day is designed to give local y...
At the Foster County Commission meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 3, representatives of Garrison Diversion and the Red River Valley Water Supply Project (RRVW) came together to clear up what could be a costly, $2 million misunderstanding. Kip Kovar, Garrison Diversion's deputy program manager for the RRVW, told commissioners on Tuesday that he approached the commission back in February 2021 about using "open-cuts" on roads as necessary for the pipeline project. The RRVW was designed to provide an...
At their regular meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 20, Foster County commissioners heard once again from residents unhappy about the decision to turn Club Hall Road back to gravel. This time, residents of eastern Foster County expressed their opposition in the form of two letters requesting the commission reverse their decision. Both letters were signed by dozens of individuals in opposition to turning the road to gravel. Both letters make the exact same request, but one was signed by 56 Foster County...
At their regular meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 6, Foster County commissioners were given an update on the Bordulac train derailment clean-up efforts, including that all rail cars have now been removed from the derailment site. Foster County Emergency Manager Andrew Kirking said the rail cars have been staged nearby where they'll undergo investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB), who were on site from August 6-9. "The incident has transitioned from a 'response' operation to...
Foster County commissioners are officially requesting nearly $100,000 from Wells County, which they argue amounts to four years' worth of social service payments owed to Foster County that haven't been distributed since 2020. A letter being drafted by Foster County State's Attorney Kara Brinster at the request of commissioners, will soon be sent to the Wells County commission requesting exactly $92,757.88. A motion to send the letter was carried unanimously at Foster County's commission meeting...
The Central Prairie Human Service Zone (Central Prairie) has a new director. Madison Crisman, who's been the zone's interim director since February of this year, has now officially been hired for the role of director. She took the interim job after the zone's previous director, Julie St. Germaine, resigned and took a position in western North Dakota to be closer to family. Since then, Crisman has earned the zone board's endorsement and respect, and looks forward to continuing her work as...
Ryan Baron, the former Midkota superintendent accused of possessing child pornography and soliciting nude photos from a student, is now facing federal charges. Baron, age 41, was federally indicted on June 6, and all previous charges filed against him in the Southeast District Court were dismissed on Monday, July 8, to give way to the federal case. And now, an alleged co-conspirator identified in the indictment has pleaded guilty after reaching a plea agreement with federal prosecutors. Aaron...
At their regular meeting on Tuesday, July 16, Foster County commissioners received written updates on the Bordulac Train Derailment and subsequent clean-up effort. Letters from Fire Chief Ken Wangen and Emergency Manager Andrew Kirking were delivered to commissioners which informed them of progress and setbacks of the ongoing clean-up efforts. Kirking wrote that barricades have been placed on either side of the accident site to control traffic after a civilian pickup truck drove straight...
On Tuesday, July 9, Kristopher Abshere appeared in the Foster County Courthouse for sentencing after pleading guilty to gross sexual imposition. Abshere was charged with the Class AA felony last June after he was discovered to have impregnated a 14-year-old girl. Court documents say the sexual relationship between Abshere and the girl began in Carrington while he had been living with her and her family since May 2021, and continued when he and the family moved to New Rockford in the fall of...
Facing concerns over road maintenance costs and a road department stretched thin, commissioners in Foster County have recently been debating whether to grind up the paved Club Hall Road and turn it to gravel. Located in eastern Foster County, the Club Hall Road cuts through Eastman and McKinnon Townships for eight miles between Kensal Road (85th Ave Northeast) and Highway 20. For residents in the area it's a road they use often, and they weren't happy to hear it may soon be turned to gravel....
On Thursday, May 23, at approximately 4:04 a.m., a vehicle occupied by three area residents was involved in a police chase through the streets of Grand Forks that reached speeds of over 100 miles per hour. According to a press release from the Grand Forks County Sheriff’s Office, one of their deputies initiated a traffic stop of a red Dodge Charger for crossing the centerline in the city of Grand Forks. “The vehicle briefly stopped, and then proceeded to flee at a high rate of speed,” state...
