Around the State: March 14, 2022

The counties and cities within the state of North Dakota hold many interesting news stories.

Here are just a few of the feature stories that others are reading in communities around the state.

Human remains found near Minto

On February 18, at approximately 5:30 p.m. the Walsh County Sheriff’s office responded to a report of a burned vehicle approximately one mile north of the City of Minto. Within the cab portion of the vehicle, it was reported that there was possible human remains. Due to weather conditions, compacted snowdrifts and the location of the vehicle, heavy equipment was utilized to clear a path to get to the scene.

Upon arrival, deputies were able to determine the registered owner of the vehicle via a partially burned (N.D.) license plate. Upon closer inspection of the vehicle, it became evident there were human remains in the driver’s seat of the vehicle.

The human remains were taken to UND Forensic Pathology Lab for an autopsy. The Walsh County Sheriff’s office, in conjunction with the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation are currently working with the North Dakota State Crime Lab to get a positive identification on the human remains.

This is an ongoing investigation and no further information will be released at this time.

(Story taken from the Walsh County Press)

Council to look at growing deer population

There are some things that come with the territory and for Watford City, it’s the growing deer population. So the question local residents have posed is at what point do they become too much?

“Deer within the city limits has been an issue for decades,” said Mayor Phil Riely. “We expanded quick and we kind of inherited a certain population of deer.”

When you look at the full realm of problems the world has today, Riely might just tell you it’s one to have.

“Last weekend, I took my motorcycle out and in a 20-minute ride, I probably counted 50 deer.”

Needless to say, Riely says there’s probably 70 deer that see the city as their home.

As some residents have encouraged the deer to hang around by enticing them with thrown out leftovers, placing salt lick stands and/or deer feeders on their lawns, others have shook their heads in opposition, cursing the animals as a nuisance to their gardens, flower beds, shrubbery and trees.

“We understand the deer are pests. But there are people that like the deer. They feed them,” he said. They’re always going to be a pain for some and a blessing for others.

Riely said the council will be holding a public meeting at 6 p.m. on Monday, March 7, to listen to the public’s concerns on the deer population.

(Story by Ashleigh Plemper, the McKenzie County Farmer)

Tech connects relatives in Ukraine conflict

Vlad and Maryna Pustovit are asleep in their home in Kyiv, Ukraine, when their American cousin messages to ask if they are okay.

Just at this moment, the couple’s 18-year-old daughter comes into the room to say she’s heard something odd.

As the communication continues, it is clear the explosions being witnessed on television by Crosby native Dan Olsen are the same as those that awakened this relatives in Ukraine.

“I’m watching live TV here and three more explosions happen,” Dan relates, so he messages Maryna again, “Did you hear that?”

“Yes,” she answers, technology connecting them, in real time, during a Russian invasion the whole world is now witnessing. “She’s like, ‘You’re all the way across the world and you message me we’re being attacked.’”

“With modern technology and Facebook, we actually have members all sharing the same surnames,” on both sides of the ocean.

“The messages have been flying back and forth across the pond,” said Dan, as the Russian onslaught continues.

Recently, Maryna called and said she and Vlad, their daughter and baby son, had made it to near Lviv, which is on the western side of the country, closer to Poland.

They holed up there while Vlad’s brother and parents remain hunkered down in their neighborhood south of Kyiv.

It’s just too dangerous, they said, to be moving about right now.

“I get so angry,” said Dan, thinking of his Ukranian friends and relatives being displaced.

(Story by Cecile Wehrman, the Journal, Crosby)

Dickinson man sentenced for bank fraud

U.S. District Court Judge Daniel L. Hovland sentenced Ryan Gregory Lee, age 43, from Little Elm, Texas, to 4 years in federal prison for the charges of Bank Fraud, Aggravated Identity Theft, and Possession of Stolen Mail. Hovland also sentenced Lee to 3 years supervised release.

On November 15, 2021, Lee pleaded guilty to four counts of Bank Fraud, two counts of Aggravated Identity Theft and one count of Possession of Stolen Mail.

The investigation determined between October 2019 and May 2020, Ryan Lee stole mail and checks from residents’ mailboxes located in Dickinson and later created fraudulent bank accounts utilizing residents’ personal identifying information contained.

Law enforcement later identified that Lee, during multiple financial transactions, possessed and tendered the reported stolen checks. Lee altered the checks payee information, dollar amounts, and signatures and used other individuals’ personal identifying information to cash or tender these checks as payment at Wal-Mart or at banks in Dickinson.

Additionally, law enforcement discovered that Lee used other individuals’ personal identifying information to conduct unlawful financial transactions and create fraudulent bank accounts for his own private gain.

(Story taken from the New Town News)

Cooperative agreement links law enforcement

On Tuesday, February 23, top law enforcement officials from across eastern North Dakota met at the Spirit Lake Casino & Resort to sign a Special Law Enforcement Commission Deputation Agreement.

The deputation agreement deputized state and local law enforcement officers from seven separate agencies, including the Eddy County Sheriff’s Office, to assist the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) with law enforcement for the Spirit Lake Reservation, and vice versa.

Other law enforcement agencies that signed the agreement include the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, Ramsey County Sheriff’s office, Benson County Sheriff’s office and the City of Devils Lake Police Department.

(Story by Nathan Price, the New Rockford Transcript)