Latest North Dakota news, sports, business and entertainment:

Fighting Sioux nickname Board pres: Judge order on UND nickname 'bizarre' Bismarck, N.D. (AP) The president of North Dakota's Board of Higher education says a judge's order on the University of North Dakota's Fighting Sioux nickname is "bizarre." Northeast District Judge Michael Sturdevant has barred the board from changing the nickname before a Dec. 9 court hearing in Devils Lake.

Board president Richie Smith says the board was not consulted before the judge granted a request for a restraining order. The request came from a group of Spirit Lake Sioux tribal members.

The tribal members say UND cannot take any action to change the name for another year. They also contend the board has no authority to ask the tribes for a 30-year agreement to use the name.

Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem is holding a meeting with Smith and board attorney Pat Seaworth on Thursday to discuss the case.

ND PRESIDENTIAL THREAT ND man charged with threatening president BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) A North Dakota man has been charged with threatening to kill President Barack Obama.

At a court hearing Tuesday, 22-year-old Eric Allen Hirchert told U.S. Magistrate Judge Charles Miller that he was unemployed and that he had no money.

Miller appointed Orell Schmitz of Bismarck as Hirchert's attorney. Schmitz did not immediately return telephone calls seeking comment.

Authorities said Hirchert was arrested Friday on charges that he assaulted his mother at her Washburn home, allegedly after she told him to stop making the threats.

McLean County prosecutor Ladd Erickson said Hirchert's mother told authorities that her son had been threatening to kill Obama for about two weeks. She said he struck her in the face after she told him to stop.

Erickson said he notified federal authorities and they charged Hirchert on Monday with threatening to kill the president.

FORGED PRESCRIPTION CHARGE Ex-supervisor pleads not guilty to drug charges Grand Forks, N.D. (AP) A former supervisor at a regional human service center has pleaded not guilty to charges that she forged prescriptions to get painkillers.

Tami Byzewski (beh-ZES'-kee) is charged with two counts of illegally obtaining a controlled substance.

Authorities say the 39-year-old Byzewski used the prescription pad of psychiatrist at the Northeast Human Service Center in Grand Forks. She allegedly forged his signature and had the prescriptions filled at area pharmacies in August. She also faces drug-related charges in Minnesota.

Byzewski supervised more than 20 state employees in a program that serves people with mental illnesses. She resigned in September.

Information from: Grand Forks Herald, http://www.grandforksherald.com OPERATION PAINT BY NUMBERS Man sentenced to life for meth distribution ring Fargo, N.D. (AP) A man has been sentenced to life in prison for leading a conspiracy to bring hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine into North Dakota through the Turtle Mountain Indian Reservation.

Miguel Angel Chavez told U.S. District Judge Ralph Erickson at his sentencing Tuesday that he was sorry for his crimes.

Prosecutors said the operation led by Chavez, who lived in Washington and Oregon, brought at least 200 pounds of meth into North Dakota. They said about $2.2 million changed hands.

A federal jury convicted Chavez of six counts, including money laundering, identity theft and a continuing criminal enterprise.

The continuing criminal enterprise charge carried a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.

The investigation, known as Operation Paint by Numbers, began in 2002 with the seizure of meth in Fargo. Prosecutors say it got its name from the numbers put together by analyzing telephone calls and other records that painted a picture of the crime.

HOUSE CRASH PLEA Woman pleads guilty in house crash Minot, N.D. (AP) A woman has pleaded guilty to drunken driving and other charges in a Sunday night crash into a Minot girl's bedroom that pinned the 15-year-old under a car.

Willie Jo Starr of Minot will have to serve at least 90 days in jail.

Police say the 21-year-old Starr was driving a car that crashed through a house and landed on top of the teenager, who was sleeping in her bed.

Rescue workers freed the girl and took her to Minot's Trinity Hospital for treatment. Prosecutor Brad Peterson said the girl suffered a broken pelvis.

Court records show Starr has a history of charges involving alcohol and driving under suspension. She pleaded guilty Monday to drunken driving, aggravated reckless driving and providing false reports to law enforcement officers.

Judge Richard Hagar ordered a presentence investigation and set bond at $5,000. Starr faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 90 days because the crash caused injuries.

Information from: Minot Daily News, http://www.minotdailynews.com Mountrail County FATAL Minivan crash kills ND woman STANLEY, N.D. (AP) The Highway Patrol says a minivan crashed into the rear of a truck that was stuck, killing a 78-year-old passenger in the minivan and injuring two others in Mountrail County.

The patrol said an 80-year-old man driving the minivan and another 78-year-old woman passenger were injured. All three occupants were from Kenmare but their names were not immediately released.

Authorities said the truck was headed from Stanley to an oil rig site when it got stuck as it was making left turn onto a gravel road. The patrol said part of the truck's trailer was in the northbound lane of state Highway 8, north of Stanley, when it was struck by the minivan about 7 p.m. Monday.

Authorities said the minivan struck the rear passenger-side corner of the trailer and slid onto the shoulder of the road.

The truck driver was not hurt.

Medcenter One CEO Bismarck doctor named Medcenter One CEO BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) A doctor has been picked to head Bismarck's Medcenter One health system.

Dr. Craig Lambrecht has been with Medcenter for 17 years. Most recently, he has been the chief operating officer. He'll take the job of president and chief executive officer on Jan. 1.

Lambrecht succeeds Jim Cooper, who is retiring.

Lambrecht says the biggest issues facing the Bismarck health system involve recruiting and retaining doctors, as well as Medicare reimbursement.

Cooper has been Medcenter's CEO for eight years.

Medcenter One includes a hospital, clinics and long term care facilities. Lambrecht says it's a great team.

Information from: KCND-FM, http://www.prairiepublic.org SMALL GRAINS Small grains estimates virtually unchanged BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) The Agriculture Department has revised its estimates for production of small grains such as wheat and barley but the changes are small.

Estimated U.S. spring wheat production is down less than 1 percent from the Sept. 30 estimate and durum wheat production is down 1 percent. Total production of all types of wheat is virtually unchanged.

U.S. production of both oats and barley also is almost unchanged from the September estimate.

The late September small grains summary usually is USDA's final word on grains production. This year, the agency re-contacted farmers in Idaho, Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and Wyoming because wet weather during the initial survey period had significantly delayed harvest.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 11-10-09 1600CST | save this article / add to your favorites list