Latest news with #Grafton
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Drug-induced liver injuries rise in the U.S. as supplements grow in popularity: What to know
It started with nausea and loss of appetite. Robert Grafton, of Turnersville, New Jersey, tried to convince himself he was just coming down with something one weekend in mid-March. Then came the itching and dark urine. Grafton, a former interventional radiology technologist whose wife is a nurse, recognized the hallmarks of liver failure. The otherwise healthy 54-year-old had a gut feeling that his herbal and dietary supplements were the culprit. 'I stopped taking everything, thank goodness,' Grafton said. 'If I hadn't known, if I was not in the medical field, I might have thought, 'Oh, I think I'm getting sick. I need to take some more of these supplements to help me feel better.'' When his symptoms had only worsened by midweek, Grafton visited his primary care physician. The doctor, he said, suspected hepatitis A, a liver infection that can be caused by consuming food or drink contaminated with the hepatitis A virus. Grafton's laboratory test results showed otherwise. 'My liver enzymes were super elevated, my bilirubin was really high — all the signs of liver failure,' Grafton said. 'I pretty much broke down, my wife as well. I was, at that point, thinking it was liver cancer, pancreatic cancer or something.' That Friday, less than a week after his symptoms had begun, Grafton was admitted to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, where he received a diagnosis. 'It turns out I had something called a drug-induced liver injury, which came from my supplements.' The liver is responsible for more than 500 functions in the human body, including filtering harmful substances from the blood. Some people's livers metabolize toxins more slowly than others, but too much of certain drugs can overwhelm even the healthiest liver. When taken in excess, acetaminophen, for example, the active ingredient in Tylenol, is among the most common causes of drug-induced liver injury, also called toxic hepatitis. Pharmaceutical products aren't solely the cause. Herbal and dietary supplements are causing liver damage with mounting prevalence. From 1995 through 2020, supplement-related liver failure requiring U.S. patients to be waitlisted for transplants increased eightfold, according to a 2022 study in the journal Liver Transplantation. In addition, a 2017 review in the journal Hepatology found that 20% of liver toxicity cases nationwide are tied to herbal and dietary supplements. Because 'multi-ingredient nutritional supplements' caused the majority of those cases, the authors said, it's hard to pinpoint which component(s) may be to blame. Whereas dietary supplements typically contain nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and amino acids from a range of sources such as fish oil, herbal supplements are a subset of dietary supplements composed of plant-based ingredients. Liver damage linked to supplements is rare. How rare is unclear. What is known is why cases are on the rise: More Americans are taking supplements. As many as 3 in 4 adults 18 and older take them, according to a 2024 survey by the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a trade group representing the dietary supplement and functional food industry. Almost 4 in 5 users said they prefer supplements to prescription or over-the-counter medications. By comparison, the 2017–2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey showed that 58% of adults 20 and older had used a dietary supplement in the past 30 days. 'I think people assume these things are safe,' said Dr. Dina Halegoua-De Marzio, a Jefferson Health hepatologist who treated Grafton. 'The No. 1 reason we see people taking these are for good health or to supplement their health, and so I don't think that they realize that there is a real risk here.' Grafton was one such consumer. The father of five became more health-conscious when he hit 50, going to the gym and starting a supplement regimen that included fenugreek, DHEA, ashwagandha, L-carnitine and nitric oxide. He continued that cocktail, with few changes, for years without incident. About a month before he got sick, Grafton added turmeric pills to the mix, with the goal of reducing inflammation. Then Grafton saw the social media promo he said helped set his health crisis in motion. Ironically, he bought an advertised turmeric-based liquid supplement in part because it claims to support long-term liver health. Similar products are widely available. 'The whole push with that is that you're getting a super-high, concentrated dose of turmeric and dandelion root and milk thistle, which I have always known from my medical past is good for liver health,' Grafton said. 'It all sounded good. … I thought I did enough digging.' He fell ill within a week of adding the liquid supplement to his routine. Even though Grafton stopped the turmeric pills the day he started the turmeric drink, Halegoua-De Marzio said, turmeric overload most likely caused his liver injury. Not only was the drink ultra-concentrated; the pills contained 2,250 mg of curcumin, a substance that comes from the root of the turmeric plant. The pills also include black pepper extract, which Halegoua-De Marzio warned increases absorption twentyfold. 'When you cook with turmeric, that could be really safe. But some of the supplements now are 2,000 mg plus, which is a very high dose of turmeric,' she said. Coupled with black pepper, 'the liver now has to break down that supplement and it can't. It could make it really sick.' The supplement spectrum includes everything from powders that claim to promote muscle growth to gummies that promise to reduce stress. When it comes to herbal supplements, natural doesn't necessarily mean better or safer, Halegoua-De Marzio said. 'That's what I hear from patients all the time — 'Oh, I want something natural' — this fear of prescription medicines being unsafe,' she said, adding that while prescriptions bear their own risks, they've gone through rigorous clinical trials. Supplements aren't subjected to the same premarket testing. Among herbal ingredients tied to toxic hepatitis, turmeric is the most commonly consumed in the U.S., according to a study published last year in the journal JAMA Network Open. Following that are green tea extract, ashwagandha, Garcinia cambogia, red yeast rice and black cohosh. About 15.6 million Americans take supplements containing at least one of these six botanicals, the study found. Most reported doing so on their own, not under a doctor's advice. Prescription medications are tightly regulated and therefore more easily quantified; it's difficult to determine how many people consume supplements whose ingredients can cause liver damage. A goal of the JAMA Network Open research was to capture this magnitude — at least where herbal supplements are concerned — said co-author Dr. Robert Fontana, a professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School. 'It's important for other doctors to know, for the general public to know,' Fontana said. 'The denominator of use is going up.' Fontana and Halegoua-De Marzio are part of the Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network, a research group backed by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health. More than 1,800 patients have been enrolled since the program's 2004 inception, with 19% of cases tied to supplements. Previous research has estimated that the U.S. sees 44,000 cases of liver damage linked to medications and supplements annually, including 2,700 deaths. The actual incidence is likely higher, Fontana said. Liver failure symptoms can be vague, so some people may be unaware they have the condition. People who sought natural remedies in the form of supplements may be wary of seeing a doctor. Others, Fontana said, may be embarrassed about inadvertently harming themselves; botanical users in his 2024 research were older, wealthier and more educated than nonusers. 'When you're the patient, you're like, 'Why did this happen to me?'' Fontana said. ''What do you mean, this stuff isn't safe?'' For Joanne Slavin, a registered dietitian and professor in the department of food science and nutrition at the University of Minnesota, consumer education on the risks and rewards of supplements is critical. 'We really only know human data when something goes wrong,' she said. The Food and Drug Administration maintains a searchable database of recalls, market withdrawals and safety alerts but can't vet supplements for safety or effectiveness before they hit store shelves. Only once they're on the market does the agency have the authority to penalize 'adulterated or misbranded' products. That's thanks to the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, which limited the FDA's reach. The number of supplements on sale today is almost 20 times as many as three decades ago. Consuming supplements comes with risks, the FDA warns. 'Dietary supplements may contain ingredients that can have strong effects in the body, even if the ingredients are natural or plant-derived,' the agency said in a statement to NBC News. 'Adverse events are more likely to occur if consumers take supplements in high doses, take multiple supplements or take supplements instead of or in addition to medications.' According to the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), dietary supplements can't make claims concerning the prevention, diagnosis, mitigation or curing of a disease. 'Dietary supplements can't say they can cure your cold, they can't say they can prevent your Alzheimer's or your cancer,' CRN President and CEO Steve Mister said. 'If you see (such) a product out there, it is blatantly illegal.' In short, he said, supplements are intended for healthy people who are trying to stay healthy. While everyone should ideally get all nutrients through a balanced diet, Slavin said, she recognizes that dietary supplements have their place. People who don't eat red meat, for instance, may need to seek an alternate source of iron. 'A supplement is fine, sure,' she said. 'But that's on the individual basis rather than the public health basis for the whole world.' Monitoring how many vitamins or mineral supplements are taken daily is straightforward, Slavin said. The federal Office of Dietary Supplements has established daily upper limits for nutrients, from vitamin A to zinc, which vary by age and sex. Calcium, for example, has an upper limit of 2,000 mg per day for adults 51 and older — including food, drink and supplements. Herbal supplements have no such boundaries and aren't as well studied. 'Everything can be toxic at a certain amount,' said Andrea Wong, CRN senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs. 'It's really up to the manufacturers and the researchers who are looking at these ingredients to determine what is the beneficial amount … then also look at what would be the amount where you start seeing some evidence of toxicity.' She said it's important to let your doctor know about any supplements you're taking or starting. Some supplements may interfere with prescription medications or each other, or be unsafe for people with certain medical conditions. For example, the FDA advises against taking any combination of aspirin, vitamin E, prescription warfarin or herbal supplement ginkgo biloba — all are blood thinners and may increase risk of stroke or internal bleeding. According to Fontana, some people are even genetically susceptible to supplement-induced liver damage. 'That means there's a biological basis as to why they were the one in 1,000, one in 10,000 people who took this and got into trouble,' Fontana said of supplements. 'The same thing is true for prescription drugs; we're finding genetic associations.' The federal LiverTox database is a free tool highlighting medicines and supplements linked to liver injury. The liver is usually a forgiving organ, Fontana said. Grafton's was. His hospital stay was brief, and he said his blood work had returned to normal within weeks of ceasing supplements. Additional testing revealed no permanent damage to his liver. He said he has a new lease on life and resumed his health kick — with one notable exception. 'I don't take any supplements whatsoever.' This article was originally published on
NBC News
27-05-2025
- Health
- NBC News
Rates of liver injuries rise in the U.S. as supplements grow in popularity
It started with nausea and loss of appetite. Robert Grafton, of Turnersville, New Jersey, tried to convince himself he was just coming down with something one weekend in mid-March. Then came the itching and dark urine. Grafton, a former interventional radiology technologist whose wife is a nurse, recognized the hallmarks of liver failure. The otherwise healthy 54-year-old had a gut feeling that his herbal and dietary supplements were the culprit. 'I stopped taking everything, thank goodness,' Grafton said. 'If I hadn't known, if I was not in the medical field, I might have thought, 'Oh, I think I'm getting sick. I need to take some more of these supplements to help me feel better.'' When his symptoms had only worsened by midweek, Grafton visited his primary care physician. The doctor, he said, suspected hepatitis A, a liver infection that can be caused by consuming food or drink contaminated with the hepatitis A virus. Grafton's laboratory test results showed otherwise. 'My liver enzymes were super elevated, my bilirubin was really high — all the signs of liver failure,' Grafton said. 'I pretty much broke down, my wife as well. I was, at that point, thinking it was liver cancer, pancreatic cancer or something.' That Friday, less than a week after his symptoms had begun, Grafton was admitted to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, where he received a diagnosis. 'It turns out I had something called a drug-induced liver injury, which came from my supplements.' Rising rates of liver damage The liver is responsible for more than 500 functions in the human body, including filtering harmful substances from the blood. Some people's livers metabolize toxins more slowly than others, but too much of certain drugs can overwhelm even the healthiest liver. When taken in excess, acetaminophen, for example, the active ingredient in Tylenol, is among the most common causes of drug-induced liver injury, also called toxic hepatitis. Pharmaceutical products aren't solely the cause. Herbal and dietary supplements are causing liver damage with mounting prevalence. From 1995 through 2020, supplement-related liver failure requiring U.S. patients to be waitlisted for transplants increased eightfold, according to a 2022 study in the journal Liver Transplantation. In addition, a 2017 review in the journal Hepatology found that 20% of liver toxicity cases nationwide are tied to herbal and dietary supplements. Because 'multi-ingredient nutritional supplements' caused the majority of those cases, the authors said, it's hard to pinpoint which component(s) may be to blame. Whereas dietary supplements typically contain nutrients such as vitamins, minerals and amino acids from a range of sources such as fish oil, herbal supplements are a subset of dietary supplements composed of plant-based ingredients. Liver damage linked to supplements is rare. How rare is unclear. What is known is why cases are on the rise: More Americans are taking supplements. As many as 3 in 4 adults 18 and older take them, according to a 2024 survey by the Council for Responsible Nutrition, a trade group representing the dietary supplement and functional food industry. Almost 4 in 5 users said they prefer supplements to prescription or over-the-counter medications. By comparison, the 2017–2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey showed that 58% of adults 20 and older had used a dietary supplement in the past 30 days. 'I think people assume these things are safe,' said Dr. Dina Halegoua-De Marzio, a Jefferson Health hepatologist who treated Grafton. 'The No. 1 reason we see people taking these are for good health or to supplement their health, and so I don't think that they realize that there is a real risk here.' Grafton was one such consumer. The father of five became more health-conscious when he hit 50, going to the gym and starting a supplement regimen that included fenugreek, DHEA, ashwagandha, L-carnitine and nitric oxide. He continued that cocktail, with few changes, for years without incident. About a month before he got sick, Grafton added turmeric pills to the mix, with the goal of reducing inflammation. Then Grafton saw the social media promo he said helped set his health crisis in motion. Ironically, he bought an advertised turmeric-based liquid supplement in part because it claims to support long-term liver health. Similar products are widely available. 'The whole push with that is that you're getting a super-high, concentrated dose of turmeric and dandelion root and milk thistle, which I have always known from my medical past is good for liver health,' Grafton said. 'It all sounded good … I thought I did enough digging.' He fell ill within a week of adding the liquid supplement to his routine. Despite Grafton stopping the turmeric pills the day he started the turmeric drink, Halegoua-De Marzio said, turmeric overload likely caused his liver injury. Not only was the drink ultra-concentrated, the pills contained 2,250 mg of curcumin, a substance that comes from the root of the turmeric plant. The pills also include black pepper extract, which Halegoua-De Marzio warned increases absorption twentyfold. 'When you cook with turmeric, that could be really safe. But some of the supplements now are 2,000 mg plus, which is a very high dose of turmeric,' she said. Coupled with black pepper, 'the liver now has to break down that supplement and it can't. It could make it really sick.' The supplement spectrum includes everything from powders that claim to promote muscle growth to gummies that promise to reduce stress. When it comes to herbal supplements, natural doesn't necessarily mean better or safer, Halegoua-De Marzio said. 'That's what I hear from patients all the time — 'Oh, I want something natural' — this fear of prescription medicines being unsafe,' she said, adding that while prescriptions bear their own risks, they've gone through rigorous clinical trials. Supplements aren't subjected to the same premarket testing. Among herbal ingredients tied to toxic hepatitis, turmeric is the most commonly consumed in the U.S., according to a study published last year in the journal JAMA Network Open. Following that are green tea extract, ashwagandha, Garcinia cambogia, red yeast rice and black cohosh. About 15.6 million Americans take supplements containing at least one of these six botanicals, the study found. Most reported doing so on their own, not under a doctor's advice. Prescription medications are tightly regulated and therefore more easily quantified; it's difficult to determine how many people consume supplements whose ingredients can cause liver damage. A goal of the JAMA Network Open research was to capture this magnitude — at least where herbal supplements are concerned — said co-author Dr. Robert Fontana, a professor of internal medicine at the University of Michigan Medical School. 'It's important for other doctors to know, for the general public to know,' Fontana said. 'The denominator of use is going up.' Fontana and Halegoua-De Marzio are part of the Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network, a research group backed by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health. More than 1,800 patients have been enrolled since the program's 2004 inception, with 19% of cases tied to supplements. Previous research has estimated that the U.S. sees 44,000 cases of liver damage linked to medications and supplements annually, including 2,700 deaths. The actual incidence is likely higher, Fontana said. Liver failure symptoms can be vague, so some people may be unaware they have the condition. People who sought natural remedies in the form of supplements may be wary of seeing a doctor. Others, Fontana said, may be embarrassed about inadvertently harming themselves; botanical users in his 2024 research were older, wealthier and more educated than nonusers. 'When you're the patient, you're like, 'Why did this happen to me?'' Fontana said. ''What do you mean, this stuff isn't safe?'' FDA doesn't monitor supplement safety before sale For Joanne Slavin, a registered dietician and professor in the department of food science and nutrition at the University of Minnesota, consumer education on the risks and rewards of supplements is critical. 'We really only know human data when something goes wrong,' she said. The Food and Drug Administration maintains a searchable database of recalls, market withdrawals and safety alerts but can't vet supplements for safety or effectiveness before they hit store shelves. Only once they're on the market does the agency have the authority to penalize 'adulterated or misbranded' products. That's thanks to the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, which limited the FDA's reach. The number of supplements on sale today is almost 20 times as many as three decades ago. Consuming supplements comes with risks, the FDA warns. 'Dietary supplements may contain ingredients that can have strong effects in the body, even if the ingredients are natural or plant-derived,' the agency said in a statement to NBC News. 'Adverse events are more likely to occur if consumers take supplements in high doses, take multiple supplements or take supplements instead of or in addition to medications.' According to the Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), dietary supplements can't make claims concerning the prevention, diagnosis, mitigation or curing of a disease. 'Dietary supplements can't say they can cure your cold, they can't say they can prevent your Alzheimer's or your cancer,' CRN President and CEO Steve Mister said. 'If you see (such) a product out there, it is blatantly illegal.' Dietary supplements have their place In short, he said, supplements are intended for healthy people who are trying to stay healthy. While everyone should ideally get all nutrients through a balanced diet, Slavin said, she recognizes that dietary supplements have their place. People who don't eat red meat, for instance, may need to seek an alternate source of iron. 'A supplement is fine, sure,' she said. 'But that's on the individual basis rather than the public health basis for the whole world.' Monitoring how many vitamins or mineral supplements are taken daily is straightforward, Slavin said. The federal Office of Dietary Supplements has established daily upper limits for nutrients, from vitamin A to zinc, which vary by age and sex. Calcium, for example, has an upper limit of 2,000 mg per day for adults 51 and older — including food, drink and supplements. Herbal supplements have no such boundaries and aren't as well studied. 'Everything can be toxic at a certain amount,' said Andrea Wong, CRN senior vice president of scientific and regulatory affairs. 'It's really up to the manufacturers and the researchers who are looking at these ingredients to determine what is the beneficial amount … then also look at what would be the amount where you start seeing some evidence of toxicity.' She said it's important to let your doctor know about any supplements you're taking or starting. Some supplements may interfere with prescription medications or each other, or be unsafe for people with certain medical conditions. For example, the FDA advises against taking any combination of aspirin, vitamin E, prescription warfarin or herbal supplement ginkgo biloba — all are blood thinners and may increase risk of stroke or internal bleeding. According to Fontana, some people are even genetically susceptible to supplement-induced liver damage. 'That means there's a biological basis as to why they were the one in 1,000, one in 10,000 people who took this and got into trouble,' Fontana said of supplements. 'The same thing is true for prescription drugs; we're finding genetic associations.' The federal LiverTox database is a free tool highlighting medicines and supplements linked to liver injury. The liver is usually a forgiving organ, Fontana said. Grafton's was. His hospital stay was brief, and he said his blood work had returned to normal within weeks of ceasing supplements. Additional testing revealed no permanent damage to his liver. He said he has a new lease on life and resumed his health kick — with one notable exception.
ABC News
23-05-2025
- Climate
- ABC News
NSW residents begin flood clean up
Samantha Donovan: We begin tonight with the flood disaster in New South Wales. Four deaths are confirmed so far. Thousands of homes are without power and many residents remain stranded in an area stretching from the state's central coast up to Grafton in the Northern Rivers region. The rain has eased in that area but an enormous logistical operation is underway. Getting supplies of food, water and other essentials into isolated communities is a major priority for authorities and on top of that the risk to lives remains. Alison Xiao filed this report. Alison Xiao: In Port Macquarie about 300 kilometres north of Sydney, locals like Dale Jordan are helping bring supplies to neighbours who've been stranded. Dale Jordan: We've got a lot of the locals on the north shore who need just basic supplies like water, eggs, milk, alcohol obviously. So we've got some local guys here, local oyster farmers and boaties who are actually willing to go over in the waters. Alison Xiao: Others in the town like Julie Norman are still cut off from their homes by floodwaters and running low on supplies. Julie Norman: We have no power now and we have no internet of course but I can still use a gas stove and we're having lots of Suimins. Yes, noodles. Probably till Sunday we've got milk in the cupboard, long life milk, Vegemite. So we all have Vegemite sandwich early. Alison Xiao: She dealt with similar floods four years ago and is waiting anxiously for waters to recede so she can check on her home. Julie Norman: If it starts receding now and it looks like it, my house might be saved. Last time I lost all my photographs, my family albums and everything so I've put them up high before I left the house. Then last time I lost everything so I know what to expect. Alison Xiao: Further south but inland from the coast, fifth generation dairy farmer James McRae is counting himself lucky he hasn't lost any livestock but many of his neighbours in Barrington haven't been as fortunate. Mr McRae says many farmers who can't get back to their properties are feeling anxious about their animals. James McRae: We've heard stories of farms losing all of their young stock, calves and heifers and stuff. There have been dairies and are currently dairies that are out of action and they haven't been able to milk the cows and those cows are in a real state at the moment which is really hard for the farmers, incredibly mentally difficult for the farmers. Alison Xiao: Although the intense rainfall has eased in some of the worst hit towns including Taree and Kempsey, authorities are urging people to take care with dozens of emergency warnings still in place. Many main roads are also still cut off by flood water or landslips. The Premier Chris Minns says it still might not be safe to venture out. Chris Minns: We're asking people to look at the app rather than the sky to make a determination about whether it's safe to go home or to use your local roads. Alison Xiao: There have been four confirmed deaths in these floods but the Premier says without the work of emergency services performing more than 600 flood rescues the death toll could have been far worse. Chris Minns: Without the SES, without the volunteers we would have had hundreds of deaths and we're in deep deep gratitude to those people who volunteered their time or work for emergency services. Alison Xiao: The SES Commissioner Mike Wassing says the focus of the response is starting to shift. Mike Wassing: Recognising the tempo that we're starting to see that is slowly decreasing the rescue operations that is allowing our resupply focus to turn to those people that have been very patient and I appreciate the community's patience where you have been isolated that we're actually able to focus more on our resupply. Alison Xiao: Cameron Anderson is an emergency management specialist from La Trobe University and was a volunteer firefighter in the Victorian Black Saturday bushfires in 2009. He says there are many priorities that authorities are balancing. Cameron Anderson: People who are cut off from supplies are always a concern. Food and medication is another one that can run down quite quickly that can cause people who are otherwise vulnerable to become even more so after emergency and they can be a real challenge ensuring they get the support they need. The other challenges with floods can be the damage to infrastructure so we can have power and access to clean water can be cut off. Alison Xiao: He says both residents and volunteers are feeling weary. Cameron Anderson: We're seeing particularly with climate change we're seeing these disaster events happening more severely. We rely very heavily on volunteer emergency services in Australia and they're already seeing some challenges with getting enough members to undertake their workload. So it can put you know quite a burden on them and be quite a challenge when it comes to balancing those things. Alison Xiao: Cameron Anderson says there's still a long road ahead. Cameron Anderson: A lot of the challenge with floods comes from the fact that you know unlike fires and some of the other emergencies that Australia can experience flooding is quite a long-running and quite a dirty emergency. Floods have you know once they're long lasting after the flood waters recede then communities and responders are left with mud, mould you know along with the building damage and displacement. Then you've got social recovery and you know we need to rebuild people's confidence and their place in the community and adjust them to what that new normal looks like for them. And of course then there's the challenge of building back better. Samantha Donovan: Cameron Anderson is an emergency management specialist at La Trobe Uni. That report from Alison Xiao and Myles Houlbrook-Walk.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Walsh County Sheriff's Office to consider funding county jail project through sales tax
May 21—GRAFTON, N.D. — In a statement, Walsh County Sheriff Ron Jurgens said there is a possible path forward for the county jail, which was the subject of a failed referendum vote earlier in the month. The referendum had two measures, meant to help fund the construction of a new jail and sheriff's office. While the measure for an increase to the county's general fund levy failed, a 0.75% sales tax passed. This could be used to fund the project, Jurgens said. "We are fairly confident we can still utilize the sales tax revenue as long as it's for the stated purpose of constructing a jail and/or sheriff's office," he said. "Our state's attorney is researching this more deeply to be fully certain." The sheriff's office will be meeting with The Samuels Group, the construction company involved in the jail project, next week after official canvassing results of the referendum votes are in. The two groups will discuss what options, if any, they have with the funds available to them, Jurgens said. The jail project has been a conversation for the past five years for the county to find what the best solution to dealing with the aging facility would be. The plan for a new jail and sheriff's office was chosen and the referendum made. Members of the county, including Jurgens and Sid Samuels from The Samuels Group, held multiple informational meetings about the state of the jail, outlining issues in available beds, storage, leaks, heating, cooling, plumbing and other areas. Jurgens, Walsh County Commission Chair Kristi Brintnell and District Court Judge Barbara Whelan all said the jail could close within a year if nothing is done to improve its conditions. During a recent meeting with the Grand Forks Herald, North Dakota Gov. Kelly Armstrong said he is in talks with Walsh County about the jail. "We'll be in contact with them and figuring out if there are ways in which we can help," he said.
ABC News
22-05-2025
- ABC News
Locals step up to help in NSW flooding emergency
Police have reported the first death in relation to the flooding event impacting the NSW Mid North Coast. The body of a 63-year-old man was found inside a property impacted by flooding at Moto. The widespread flooding is covering a large swathe of the NSW coast from The Entrance on the Central Coast to Grafton in the Northern Rivers. Jeremy Thornton is an insurance broker in Taree, one of the worst affected areas, whose business is in the town's CBD. He told ABC NewsRadio's Sarah Morice he's already been helping people since 3am on Tuesday.
