Latest North Dakota news, sports, business and entertainment:

Devils Lake-IRRIGATION Devils Lake irrigation test project ends Bismarck, N.D. (AP) Officials are pulling the plug on a $1.5 million project they had hoped would show that irrigation might be part of the solution to Devils Lake flooding.

But they are floating hope that a similar project outside the basin might succeed.

A test project that began in 2005 looked at whether water from the upper Devils Lake basin could be used to irrigate crops reducing the amount flowing into the lake and boosting crop yields at the same time. Officials say it was hampered by wet conditions and soil types less amenable to irrigation.

Jeff Frith with the Devils Lake Basin Joint Water Resource Board says engineers who worked on the test are using about $300,000 in leftover money to develop plans for a similar project along the Sheyenne River between Devils Lake and Cooperstown. Frith says existing maps already have identified soil types in the area that might better handle irrigation. But he says any such project would be well in the future.

WORKERS RETURN 2 Valley City firms bring back employees VALLEY CITY, N.D. (AP) Two Valley City companies that laid off workers earlier this year have rehired many of them.

Local economic development director Jennifer Feist says Eagle Creek Software is recalling employees because of new contracts it has secured. The company laid off 15 employees in early July.

The John Deere Seeding Group also has been calling back workers.

That company laid off 89 employees in May.

Information from: Valley City Times-Record, http://www.times-online.com FSA COMMITTEE 5 North Dakotans join Farm Service Agency board BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) Five North Dakota ranchers and farmers have been named to serve on the state's Farm Service Agency committee.

North Dakota's Senators Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad and Rep.

Earl Pomeroy announced the appointments on Friday.

The new FSA committee members will help oversee how the agency implements federal Agriculture programs in the state.

The new members of the committee are: rancher Todd Hall from near Killdeer, farmer and rancher Lynn Jacobson from near Alamo, rancher Marie Marshall from near Towner, farmer and rancher Lucy Matejcek from near Grand Forks and farmer and rancher Marcy Svenningsen from near Valley City.

REST AREAS-WIRELESS WiFi available at some ND rest areas BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) North Dakota's Transportation Department is providing wireless Internet for the public at 14 visitor centers and rest areas along Interstates 29 and 94 and U.S. Highways 2 and 83.

Officials say WiFi certified access points are being used. No login name, password or cost is involved.

Signs will be posted inside the visitor centers and rest areas where the WiFi is available.

BARK PARKS Dog parks lead to wagging tails in ND cities Jamestown, N.D. (AP) Jamestown officials are still considering whether to have a dog park, after talking about it for more than four years. Opponents worry about noise, smell, traffic and children's safety.

Officials in Fargo, Bismarck, Minot and Grand Forks say they heard those same fears. They say the dog parks in their cities have turned out to be successful. In Dickinson, a dog park is expected to be open next spring.

Roger Gress is the executive director of the Fargo Park District. He says two dog parks there have done well and he thinks money for a third already is lined up. He says dogs are well-behaved and their owners pick up after them.

Arlette Moen is the executive director of the Circle of Friends Humane Society in Grand Forks, which operates one of two dog parks.

She says they're an excellent addition to any community.

Information from: The Jamestown Sun, http://www.jamestownsun.com MORE ND OIL? Another new oil formation for ND? BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) Geologists believe a crude-bearing cache beneath North Dakota's already prolific oil patch can be tapped using new technology.

The Birdbear, a thin oil formation locked within muddy limestone and dolomite more than 2 miles underground. Geologists believe it can be brought to the surface using horizontal drilling technology.

One company already has had some success tapping the Birdbear in southwestern North Dakota, and geologists believe the formation is similar in the north-central part of the state.

Industry officials say they're having too much success with the rich Bakken and the Three Forks-Sanish formations above the Birdbear to busy themselves with it for now.

Troy Marsden, a city council member in Bottineau, says more rigs and wells in the north-central North Dakota would boost tax revenue and jobs.

He says people would welcome the drilling activity.

WEST FARGO SPEEDWAY Schatz takes control of West Fargo speedway WEST FARGO, N.D. (AP) The father of World of Outlaws Sprint car champion Donny Schatz has been given control of the Red River Valley Speedway in West Fargo, and is already making changes.

The local Fair Board voted to give businessman Danny Schatz a three-year lease of the track with an option for another three years.

Schatz says weekly races are being moved from Fridays to Wednesdays. He says he also wants to find ways to make the half-mile track more competitive for drivers, though an earlier idea to shorten the track has proved too expensive.

The Fair Board had been considering shutting down the track because of financial problems.

Information from: The Forum, http://www.in-forum.com (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 11-22-09 1609CST | save this article / add to your favorites list