BISMARCK, ND (KXNET) — Here are the top stories that dominated the news during the past week, curated by the KX News digital staff:

1: Bottineau man drowns at Lake Darling. According to the Renville County Sheriff’s Office, around 9:55 a.m., eyewitnesses saw 73-year-old Douglas Trengen backing a boat into the water to launch. The boat drifted away unattended when it came off the trailer and Trengen went into the water in an effort to retrieve the boat.

2: Search leads to discovery of fatal Benson County crash. On Tuesday, September 19, law enforcement officials received a report of an overdue motorist, prompting a search for the missing vehicle. At approximately 1:33 p.m., officers discovered the Mercury, and the driver — a 73-year-old woman from Devils Lake — was pronounced deceased on the scene.

3: Crash south of Minot results in injuries. According to the North Dakota Highway Patrol, a GMC Yukon, driven by a 43-year-old Minot woman, was driving north on Highway 83 with a Buick Enclave, driven by a 79-year-old Newburg man, following behind when the Yukon came to the intersection and tried to turn left. The Enclave hit the rear end of the Yukon and both vehicles stopped in the center median.

4: Man arrested after odd incident along Sunset Drive in Mandan. Police in Mandan arrested a man who they say led officers on a chase and smashed into a police car. The man was reported walking along 27th Street and jumping in front of vehicles on the road. When police arrived, the man got into his car and drove away. As officers tried stopping the man, they said he wouldn’t pull over. They say the man then backed up and hit a police officer’s car before getting on I-94.

5: Minot North High School’s $200 million future. In less than a year, a new high school in Minot will be filled with students. But Minot North High School is providing more than just beautiful new amenities. Leaders say it’s reshaping the entire school district.

6: Man arrested after Bismarck police chase to go to federal trial. A man arrested following a police chase in Bismarck is now being charged in federal court. Kyle Johnson was previously charged in April, when he led police on a high-speed chase throughout Burleigh County before it ended on South Washington Street. Officers at the scene stated that Johnson had a gun on him, causing officers to shoot at him, but that Johnson was not seriously injured.

7: Where refugees in North Dakota are arriving from. Stacker referenced data from The Refugee Processing Center to compile statistics on the number of refugees and their countries of origin resettled in North Dakota in August 2023.

8: One killed in Eddy County plane crash. A plane crash in Eddy County has resulted in the death of a Jamestown man after the pilot lost control of his aircraft. An Air Tractor Agriculture plane was spraying a sunflower field on the east side of Highway 281, approximately five miles south of New Rockford. While flying west after spraying a pass, the pilot of the plane struck an electrical wire with the plane’s tail fin.

9: North Dakota Supreme Court hears Nikki Entzel’s conviction appeal. Nikki Entzel, who was convicted this past year for the death of her husband Chad Entzel, has filed an appeal for her sentence. Entzel’s attorney argued while Nikki may have been responsible for conspiring to start her house on fire in order to claim insurance money, she had no plans to murder her husband, who was in the house at the time. He also said the state should have brought Entzel’s co-conspirator and lover, Earl Howard, to the stand for questioning about whether or not he was responsible for the murder of Chad Entzel.

10: Three North Dakota schools honored with U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon awards. The three ND schools that received Blue Ribbon awards this year are Taylor-Richardson Elementary, Rugby High School, and William S. Gussner Elementary. The Blue Ribbon highlights schools with the highest and most improved levels of academic achievements in the country.