A lot of folks are wondering why the northwest corner of the capitol grounds is fenced in.
The answer? A new parking lot.
Two-hundred 80 new parking stalls are going in time for the upcoming legislative session.
Safety is a major reason.
Lawmakers take up 175 spots. Visitors and lobbyists take up about another 100 spaces.
They hope the new lot will eliminate parking on curbs and along roads that had been allowed during the session.
"Were always concerned about a child or even an adult that might step out inbetween a vehicle and of course in wintertime in North Dakota there could be ice or snow on the road and people just sometimes don't slow down so it's really a safety factor and were doing it as a parking addition landscaping enhancement," says Facility Management Director John Boyle.
The parking lot will be done by November 1st. Landscaping may continue into next spring.
Fifty six trees have been removed, but 108 new trees are going in. Six are being transplanted.
Sunday, May 19 2013 10:40 PM EDT2013-05-20 02:40:22 GMT
Officials say some areas on the road near Jamestown were 10 to 14 inches deep. It may be hard to tell but this is actually interstate. Drivers were down to about five miles an hour just west of Jamestown
Two westbound semi trailers were swept off the road and had to be pulled out early Sunday, and some eastbound vehicles were stranded until the water receded enough to let them proceed.
Sunday, May 19 2013 10:37 PM EDT2013-05-20 02:37:32 GMT
A freedom ride was canceled due to the rainy conditions, but a barbecue, silent auction and fundraiser for a family in need went on as scheduled. Proceeds from this annual event usually go to a child
A freedom ride was canceled due to the rainy conditions, but a barbecue, silent auction and fundraiser for a family in need went on as scheduled.
Sunday, May 19 2013 10:34 PM EDT2013-05-20 02:34:34 GMT
Firefighters, police and chaplains respond to a church Sunday morning to educate a congregation about emergency preparedness. It's not everyday you see a Bismarck fire truck parked outside of a church
Pastor Carr has been here for four years, and says recent events around the country led him to want this plan as part of their service.
Sunday, May 19 2013 10:31 PM EDT2013-05-20 02:31:55 GMT
A young group of church members takes their mission outside to surprise a family who lost their home to a fire. "It's kind of one of those things where you don't have to say anything, speechless moment,
They are walking outside in the rain to drop off money raised for the Nelson family--who lost their home to a fire just down the road.
Saturday, May 18 2013 7:01 PM EDT2013-05-18 23:01:07 GMT
A local health care provider says if you're a child and you have to be in the hospital, your stay should be as fun as possible. "Take a big breath. Go. Good job." They're any hospital's smallest
A local health care provider says if you're a child and you have to be in the hospital, your stay should be as fun as possible. "Take a big breath. Go. Good job." They're any hospital's smallest
In the spring of 1963, a prominent civil rights leader led dozens of protesters on a four-mile march from a predominantly African-American college campus to the center of Charlotte's downtown.
In the spring of 1963, a prominent civil rights leader led dozens of protesters on a four-mile march from a predominantly African-American college campus to the center of Charlotte's downtown.
The president and CEO of The Associated Press says the government's seizure of AP journalists' phone records was "unconstitutional" and already has had a chilling effect on newsgathering.
The president and chief executive officer of The Associated Press on Sunday called the government's secret seizure of two months of reporters' phone records "unconstitutional" and said the news cooperative had not...
President Barack Obama is delivering the commencement address at Morehouse College, the historically black, all-male institution that counts Martin Luther King Jr. among its alumni.
President Barack Obama, in a soaring commencement address on work, sacrifice and opportunity, on Sunday told graduates of historically black Morehouse College to seize the power of their example as black men graduating from...
Syrian activists say government airstrikes and heavy shelling of a strategic town near the Lebanese border have killed at least 16 people, including rebel fighters.
Syrian troops pushed into a rebel-held town near the Lebanese border on Sunday, fighting house-to-house and bombing from the air as President Bashar Assad tried to strengthen his grip on a strategic strip of land running...
Just weeks after a tense border standoff, China's new premier headed to India on Sunday for his first foreign trip as the neighboring giants look to speed up efforts to settle a decades-old boundary dispute and...
Just weeks after a tense border standoff, China's new premier visited India on Sunday on his first foreign trip as the neighboring giants look to speed up efforts to settle a decades-old boundary dispute and boost...
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The North Dakota Department of Transportation says water is on both the eastbound and westbound lanes of Interstate 94 about three miles west of Jamestown.
The North Dakota Department of Transportation says water is on both the eastbound and westbound lanes of Interstate 94 about three miles west of Jamestown.
Evangelist Franklin Graham prayed on a sidewalk outside the Pentagon Thursday after his invitation to a prayer service inside was withdrawn because of comments that insulted people of other religions. More>>