Around the State: September 16, 2024

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.

Accident Insurance policy jumps to $17,800

The Kenmare Public School board held their monthly meeting on the first day of school, Wednesday, Aug.21.

A final decision on the Hartford Accident Insurance policy was a timely topic with the potential renewal date coming up. The board had discussed this at an earlier meeting this summer as the supplemental accident insurance had jumped in cost by about 200% from the previous year, increasing from about $6,000 to $17,800.

Business manager Mary Ann Melin had done some research to compare the increase in premiums over the past eight years. She said that it was a $2,000 policy per year in 2016, and it has steadily increased each renewal period. Melin asked area school business managers about whether their districts carry this insurance anymore, and the only school that did is the size of about 20 students.

It was recommended by the board to not renew this policy because it is a supplementary insurance to help with accident expenses that a family's regular insurance does not cover.

(Story by Tracey Houck, the Kenmare News)

Wilkinson charged with murder, assault

Derick Wilkinson, 34, was charged with second-degree murder and assault of an intimate partner by strangulation, according to a criminal complaint from the Federal Bureau of Investigations.

According to the FBI criminal complaint, on August 9, Officer Dave Kamp with the McLean Sheriff's Department, during regular patrolling of the White Shield neighborhood, noticed smoke coming from a residence on Bloody Knife Street.

Kamp responded and attempted to enter the residence, but could not gain entry.

Then, one of the home's residents, Derick Wilkinson, exited. He resides there with his girlfriend, "Jane Doe" and two minor children.

Wilkinson broke a window to enter the home, while Kamp was able to remove the two children from it. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was performed on one child.

Garrison Fire Department responded to the fire call and extinguished the fire.

A body, assumed to be "Jane Doe" was located in a bedroom.

An autopsy was performed August 13 on "Jane Doe", and it was revealed that her hyoid bone was broken, which is a strong indication of strangulation. Also, there was no soot in the trachea, indicating she was deceased before the fire.

After reviewing the home security camera footage, it showed Wilkinson at the residence the night before the fire.

According to the affidavit, Wilkinson allegedly assaulted "Jane Doe" with his hands, feet, a table and a bookshelf. It also showed Wilkinson putting his hands and arms around "Jane Doe's" neck and dragging her across the floor by her hair.

Federal prosecutors believe Wilkinson killed his girlfriend by strangulation, and his attack was caught on their home surveillance camera.

Both minor children said they witnessed Wilkinson "hurting" "Jane Doe".

(Story by Tyson Matthews, the McLean County Independent)

'Bakken Con' coming soon

Casey Baker isn't looking to reinvent the wheel, or in this case, the concept of a comic convention. Instead, he wants to bring a piece of it closer to home.

Baker was at a convention last September when the idea came to him on his way home to Williston: Why not hold a convention here?

The very next day, he started the process.

Fast-forward to almost a year later as the clock is ticking closer and closer to the start of Bakken Con, a comics and pop culture convention to be held at the Raymond Family Community Center Sept. 6-8.

The event will include several staples familiar to convention-goers: vendors, cosplay contests, trading card game competitions and guests including retired pro wrestler Ted DiBiase.

(Story taken from the Journal, Crosby)

County meets with Herberg Dairy reps

Questions about the availability of underground water in the region dominated the recent Traill County Board of Commissioners meeting in Hillsboro.

County commissioners spent nearly an hour visiting with reps from Riverview LLP, the Morris, Minn.-based company planning to build a 25,000-cow dairy in Herberg Township, about seven miles southeast of Hillsboro.

"One of the main concerns people have is the water situation. How is the dairy going to affect the aquifers in the region?" asked commission chair Les Amb of Portland.

Neil Breidenbach, general manager of the East Central Regional Water District, told commissioners that reps from the regional water supplier were excited about Riverview's planned $180 million dairy operation.

Although company officials have estimated the dairy could require 700,000 gallons of water a day, Breidenbach said the region's underground aquifers could easily supply enough water to meet those demands.

Based off estimates supplied by the state, the aquifer near Hillsboro contains about 52 billion gallons of water.

(Story by Cole Short, the Hillsboro Banner)

Helping out by fixing up

As workers on top of Linus Nadeau's house stripped away the remnants of shingles, the real damage is evident inside.

Brown and black stains stripe a portion of the kitchen ceiling while a large trash bag is anchored to the plaster above the front door.

Nadeau first noticed the roof issues in October 2021. Two wind storms did most of the damage, and as time went on, the home's lid got progressively worse.

"It's been like this for two years," said Nadeau, noting the bad spots. The estimate to fix the damage came to $4,200, which far outstretched his Social Security income. Nadeau approached the Turtle Mountain Tribal government for help and was told he was "on the list." That was in 2022.

Not willing to wait any longer, Nadeau made a call of his own to see if his status as a veteran would muster any support.

Not only did it help, workers were at his door two days later.

Rolette County VFW Commander Mark Laducer was on the other end of that call.

The project consisted of replacing 14 sheets of plywood as well as the removal of skylights.

(Story by Jason Nordmark, the Turtle Mountain Star)