2012 Year in Review: September & October - KXNet - Bismarck/Minot/Williston/Dickinson

2012 Year in Review: September & October

Autumn of 2012 brought volunteers from across the nation to the Turtle Mountains, continued expansion in the Williston area, and many other major news stories.
Jim Olson has a look at headlines from September and October as he continues a look at 2012 in review.

September brought an influx of volunteers to the region.  A group called New York Says Thank You - formed after the outpouring of help after the 9-11 attacks - brought it's resources to the area.
The visitors displayed a special US flag that once flew over the World Trade Center site.
Then they headed to Bottineau to begin erecting Annie's House - a handicap accessible ski lodge for Bottineau Winter Park named for Ann Nelson - the Stanley native killed in the terrorist attack.
The long weekend of work by the volunteers produced a structure ready for finishing by local volunteers.  They hope to have Annie's House open by February.

A freak accident near Watford City on September 17th ended with a semi truck sticking through the wall of a school, one driver dead, but no injuries among students or staff.  It happened at Johnson Corners Christian Academy when the driver of a car pulled in front of a semi truck, causing a crash that killed the car's driver.  The truck's controls were disabled and the truck caromed off the accident, up a hill, and through the school's east and south walls.  Inside, students and staff happened to be in areas not hit by the truck.

The mayor of Balfour in McHenry County was arrested in mid October, charged with eleven counts of gross sexual imposition.  Investigators say Dale Yost had sexual contact with five girls under the age of 15.

Fire broke out in a concrete grain elevator in Carpio on October 24th.  The fire led to a days-long effort to remove grain and get at the source of the smoldering mess.

Minot State University reported it was facing a deficit of nearly two million dollars because of a decline in enrollment since the 2011 flood.  MSU President Dr. David Fuller said if the trend of dropping enrollment continues at its previous pace, the shortfall could hit three million dollars.

Meanwhile, the State Board of Higher Education approved the "Pathway to Success," a program including a new three-tier system for tuition that Minot State officials said could hurt the university's efforts to resume enrollment growth.

An Alaskan senator joined North Dakota Senator John Hoeven to tour oil country in September.  Hoeven and Barbara Murkowski were working on legislation to strengthen the country's oil production.

Delta Airlines announced it was adding service to Williston as that town's airport continued it's historic growth.

Mercy Medical Center in Williston dedicated a new Birthplace and Outpatient Surgery Center as the facility dealt with a near-tripling of the number of births per year in the past several years.

Downtown Minot welcomed the groundbreaking for Artspace in late September. The nine million dollar facility will host 34 apartments for rental to artists and their families when the building opens in late 2013.

While construction went on downtown, destruction of flooded houses continued - and the city and health officials issued warnings to owners of homes not cleaned out since the flood that they may soon be condemned and torn down because of health risks.

As October came to an end, county officials were reporting a brisk turnout of voters taking advantage of early voting options.  The news foreshadowed election day where turnout was very high in North Dakota.  We'll talk about that tomorrow.  With 2012 in review, Jim Olson, KX News.