Latest North Dakota news, sports, business and entertainment:

hemp FARMERS PROTEST Farmers try to plant hemp at drug agency in Va.

ARLINGTON, Va. (AP) Farmers from North Dakota and Vermont and four others trying to plant hemp seeds at the headquarters of the Drug Enforcement Administration have been arrested.

Arlington County police spokeswoman Detective Crystal Nosal says six people were charged with trespassing on Tuesday. They were among 21 people protesting the ban on farming of hemp, which is related to the illegal drug marijuana.

The Hemp Industries Association says the protesters turned to civil disobedience for the first time. The group is lobbying lawmakers on Capitol Hill. They want to grow hemp for non-drug products.

North Dakota farmer Wayne Hauge and Vermont farmer Will Allen were among those arrested. Police say they had shovels in hand but did not appear to have any drugs and caused only minor damage to the lawn.

GRASSLANDS GRAZING New western ND grazing agreements put on hold Bismarck, N.D. (AP) New grazing agreements that were set to take effect on the Little Missouri National Grasslands in western North Dakota have been put on hold for another week.

The Forest Service issued 10-year agreements to the Medora and McKenzie County grazing associations. The old agreements that had governed the administration of grazing permits on the grasslands the past 20 years expired Monday.

Mark Goeden, a Forest Service resources staff officer, says the grazing groups on Tuesday asked for more time to review the final agreements, which were developed after 10 months of negotiations.

Goeden says the associations have been given until next Tuesday to look over the agreements.

Keith Winter, president of the McKenzie County Grazing Association, says his group still disagrees with the Forest Service on "several" issues, though he would not immediately say what they are.

Clint Schneider, president of the Medora Grazing Association, did not immediately return a telephone call Tuesday seeking comment on that group's position.

YOUTH COUNCIL Youth Council: ND isn't just prairie, there are job opportunities BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) A newly formed advisory board of North Dakota young people thinks it would be a good idea to start talking up the state's job opportunities to seventh and eighth graders.

The state Youth Council held its first meeting Tuesday in Bismarck. The group will be looking at ways to encourage North Dakota young people to stay in the state after they graduate from high school or college.

The council includes 16 people ages 17 to 24. Lt. Gov. Jack Dalrymple is serving as chairman.

The young people on the council say more college scholarship money and internships at private companies are needed, along with better opportunities to earn college credits in high school.

Twenty-four-year-old Joe Heilman works at Pedigree Technologies in Fargo. He says it would be useful to have a job shadowing program for high school students to help them decide what they want to focus on in college.

Other council members say North Dakota advertising should focus more on the state's available jobs and less on its wide-open spaces and "Wild West" image.

HERITAGE DESIGNATION Landowners speak out against heritage designation BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) Landowners in a five-county area along the Missouri River in North Dakota are speaking out against a new National Heritage Area designation.

The designation by Congress of the Northern Plains Heritage Area is aimed at promoting heritage and history in Burleigh, McLean, Mercer, Morton and Oliver counties. Promoters and residents are to come up with a management plan over the next three years.

Neil Effertz of rural Bismarck says the $15 million project was started without landowners being notified. Clint Fleckenstein says he bought a small bit of land and now feels like he has a $15 million "baby-sitting job" keeping track of how the federal money is spent.

Tracy Potter, who headed the campaign to get the designation, said he expected some people to be upset. But he said private property can't be acquired, developed or accessed without the landowner's permission.

Information from: Bismarck Tribune, http://www.bismarcktribune.com CENTER'S CENTENARIANS 6 at Valley City center are 100 or older VALLEY CITY, N.D. (AP) There are plenty of golden years at the Sheyenne Care Center in Valley City.

Six of its residents range in age from 100 to 104.

Centenarian Katie Bruns takes reaching 100 in stride, as does Josephine Baker, who is four years older. Both women are in good health. Bruns, who looks younger than 100, says, "the good Lord gave me the time to live this long." Glenn Myers is 101 as is Alpha Buhr, who is Josephine Baker's niece, even though they are just three years apart.

Isabella Bertram is 100. Mildred Schroeder will be 101 on Jan.

14.

Avis Nybeck, a Sheyenne Care Center neighborhood planner, says she enjoys hearing the centenarians talk about their lives. She says, "You just stand in awe of more than 600 years of knowledge." Information from: Valley City Times-Record, http://www.times-online.com NEGLECT CHARGE Charge reduced for couple with 39 cats FARGO, N.D. (AP) A Fargo couple who faced felony child neglect charges for having 39 cats in their feces-littered home have been sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to lesser charges.

Brandie Sherman on Monday pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of deprivation of a minor. Gary Sherman did the same on Sept. 29.

Both will be on unsupervised probation for a year.

Brandie Sherman says there are now only four cats in the home, and that the couple's 17-year-old daughter, who called police in April because her parents were fighting, is back in the home.

A simple assault charge against Brandie Sherman for allegedly punching her husband in the face was dismissed.

Information from: The Forum, http://www.in-forum.com RESTAURANT PRANK Bismarck restaurant damaged by prank BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) Police report $2,500 in damage to a Bismarck fast food restaurant after a prank caller persuaded the assistant manager to set off the restaurant's fire suppression system.

Police say the restaurant manager at the KFC restaurant reported the incident Monday.

Lt. Randy Ziegler said the assistant manager got a call around 3 p.m. on Oct. 7, saying the fire suppression system should be checked. Ziegler said the caller said the system had been shut off via computer and that police and fire departments would be notified if the assistant manager did not pull a pin to test the system.

Ziegler said the assistant manager pulled the pin, setting off the fire suppression system and causing damage that forced the restaurant to close.

Information from: Bismarck Tribune, http://www.bismarcktribune.com INTERSTATE ROLLOVER Youngsters treated, released after rollover FARGO, N.D. (AP) Authorities say a 15 year-old Fargo boy and his 12-year-old brother were treated at a hospital and traffic was slowed for about an hour after the sport utility vehicle in which they were riding rolled on Interstate 94 in Fargo.

The SUV came to rest in the westbound driving lane. The boys were treated and released.

Authorities said the driver, a student at Fargo Shanley High School, was given a citation for failing to use proper care.

Information from: KFGO-AM, http://kfgo.com (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 10-13-09 1604CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list