Latest news with #GrandForks
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
Early morning storms cause wind damage, power outages in Grand Forks
Jul. 27—GRAND FORKS — A line of thunderstorms that blew through early Sunday morning caused wind damage in Greater Grand Forks and tornado warnings south of the city. The National Weather Service office in Grand Forks reported that the line of thunderstorms caused wind gusts up to 73 mph as it went through the city shortly after 2 a.m. Sunday, July 27. The NWS has gotten reports of tree damage and parts of the city and the county, but not many reports of hail, which was a possibility with the storm. "The line of severe storms had mainly winds as they came through Grand Forks County," said Jennifer Ritterling, a NWS meteorologist. "I've seen several (wind damage) reports and some have called in with trees down and large branches." And as of Sunday morning, there was a chance that more storm weather could be on the way, into Sunday evening. "There is a continued chance for some severe weather, albeit not as high as it was (Saturday)," Ritterling said. "Greatest chances are going to be south and east, more lake country than over Grand Forks." Two tornado warnings were posted south of Grand Forks as the storms went through, in the areas of Northwood and Thompson. All warnings have since expired. Power was knocked out in parts of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks, according to reports from Xcel Energy, East Grand Forks Water and Light and Grand Forks Emergency Management. Crews are working to get power restored, and all outages in East Grand Forks were resolved Sunday morning. Outages in parts of Grand Forks continued into the morning, with around 1,324 customers without power as of 9:30 a.m., according to Grand Forks Emergency Management. Damage throughout the city mostly involved downed tree branches, although construction signs were blown over and garbage cans were strewn throughout town. Devin McCleary, an employee of the Grand Forks Parks Department, said he was called to work at roughly 7 a.m. He spent Sunday morning with a lift truck and chainsaw, clearing downed branches from streets. "Right now, we're just getting rid of hazards and the stuff that's blocking the streets and safety issues and then we'll come back through and actually clean it up," he said. The damage, he said, "is pretty decent, but I've seen worse," he said. The city did not receive any damage to infrastructure, according to Grand Forks City Administrator Todd Feland. The city is currently assessing tree damage and will be supporting the Grand Forks Park District in cleanup for trees that fell or received damage. "The streets are strewn with leaves and branches, so we'll get those cleaned up this week with street sweepers and see if we have to do some pick-up with trucks with some of the trees," Feland said. Unofficial rainfall numbers showed less than a quarter-inch in Sunday morning's storm. After Sunday, the weather is expected to calm, with highs in the mid-70s to 80s and mostly sunny weather. Solve the daily Crossword
Daily Mail
14-07-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
North Carolina paraglider triggers huge explosion after flying into live power lines above river
On a picturesque summer evening in North Dakota, a powered paraglider was flying through the air when disaster struck. With the sun in his eyes, he flew over a bridge above the Red River on the evening of July 8, only to strike the power lines hanging over the water. The collision triggered a massive explosion as the man and his equipment sank into the water. The identity of the paraglider has not yet been revealed. Dusty Howlett was on a walk with his brother around 8:30 pm when he captured the incident on video and later posted it to TikTok. In a recent upload, he said that he loved power paragliders and ultra-light aircrafts like this one, and often took notice when he saw them flying around. On their walk, the brothers saw the aircraft a few times, and finally got a wave from the pilot as he flew over the water in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Just seconds later he collided with the power line with an explosive crackle. As the pilot fell into the lake and Howlett watched in horror with a very mid-western: 'Woah! Oh no! Oh geez!' He, and other onlookers, immediately began yelling to the man in the water and Howlett called 911. He told the Grand Forks Herald, 'My first instinct was to jump in the river and try to go after him, but I can't swim, and everyone knows that even if you're a good swimmer, you don't want to jump in that river.' He said the Red River had a notoriously strong undercurrent, making it difficult to perform a successful amateur rescue. Fortunately, the body of the aircraft was light, and though it flipped upside down, it floated in the water. Soon, the man's head popped up and he gave a thumbs up to the crowd, signaling that he was okay. 'It's just a miracle that not only did he survive, but he was uninjured,' Howlett said. Howlett said emergency services arrived within just a few minutes and quickly helped the man out of the water. Local first responders do a few water rescues each summer, since the city is located next to the Red River, and thoroughly train for all manner of water-based emergencies. But Scott Nicola, battalion chief at the Grand Forks Fire Department, said 'this is going to probably be the first and last time' that his team performed a water rescue on a paraglider. First responders reported that the man's paraglider cords had gotten tangled around his foot and the accident could have been much worse. Had he hit his head or collided with the power lines with the body of the aircraft, the man could've drowned and died. Gliders are often temperamental to steer, as well, even if he'd spotted the powerline, he still may have been unable to avoid it. The local fire department advised that locals wishing to visit the Red River should use life jackets even when not directly in the water. Keeping flotation devices on hand while on the ground nearby or even above the water could prevent accidents like this one.
Yahoo
12-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Two northeast North Dakota teachers among Teacher of the Year finalists
Jul. 11—GRAND FORKS — Four finalists have been named for the 2026 North Dakota Teacher of the Year. North Dakota State School Superintendent Kirsten Baesler announced the finalists on Friday, July 11. They are: * Emily Dawes, a first-grade teacher at J. Nelson Kelly Elementary School in Grand Forks, * Hannah Sagvold, a business education teacher at Lisbon Public School, * Frannie Tunseth, who teaches fourth through eighth grades at Mayville-Portland-Clifford-Galesburg Public School in Mayville and * Leah Wheeling, a sixth-grade physical education and digital literacy teacher at Simle Middle School in Bismarck. The four finalists were selected from a pool of 48 North Dakota County Teachers of the Year, who were named earlier this year. Baesler plans to visit all all four finalists' schools during the upcoming academic year, a release from Baesler's office said. The winner will become a candidate for the national Teacher of the Year award. "These finalists represent the skilled, compassionate educators that we blessed to have in our North Dakota schools," Baesler said in a statement. "Our Teacher of the Year program is intended to lift up the teaching profession and show the respect, appreciation, and admiration we have for our teachers, and celebrate the work they do to educate the young people who represent our future." The four finalists will be interviewed by an eight-member screening committee, which will make the final selection, the release said. The 2026 North Dakota Teacher of the Year is expected to be announced in September. North Dakota's 2025 Teacher of the Year is math teacher Kendall Bergrud, of Wachter Middle School in Bismarck. His successor will begin serving as the state Teacher of the Year on Jan. 1, 2026.
Telegraph
09-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
The US has become terrifyingly vulnerable to Chinese drone sabotage
The Trump administration has embarked on measures to ban sales of US farmland to 'foreign adversaries' – in this instance, particularly to China. It is a welcome move – if overdue. Though China owns much less US land, often via corporations, than numerous other countries, concern has been growing that it could become a potential foothold for hostile activity, beyond any impact on food security. In the digitalised battlefield of drones and communications disruption, an unobserved presence on the ground can enable devastating sabotage – as Russia discovered to its cost during Ukraine's recent strikes on its strategic bomber fleet. Beijing has thus far been able to exploit some serious loopholes in the law. In the past, presidential orders have been used to attempt to prevent China from buying land too close to US military sites. But because the committee on foreign investment in the US (CFIUS) was primarily tasked with blocking PRC acquisition of sensitive US businesses, its jurisdiction did not address the purchase of greenfield sites. This led to a farcical situation in 2021, when a Chinese firm bought land about 12 miles from the Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota, currently focused on strategic air and space reconnaissance using drones and satellites. In June 2023, CFIUS determined that it lacked the authority to intervene, and other mechanisms had to be used to deal with the problem. The US agriculture secretary, Brooke Rollins, commented this week that foreign purchases of US farmland were being used as 'weapons to be turned against us'. At Tuesday's briefing on the National Farm Security Action Plan, she said that it was 'time to take back our land'. With the Trump administration's new decision, she will join the CFIUS and is required to report to the committee any purchase of land by foreign adversaries that may pose a risk to national security. Future Chinese land purchases will likely be banned outright, while the administration has declared its intention to 'claw back' land that China already owns. This gives teeth to President Trump's long-term planning. Shortly after returning to office, he signed a memorandum instructing CFIUS to restrict Chinese investment in critical sectors including technology, infrastructure, energy, agriculture and raw materials. This broad-spectrum approach to combatting China correctly reflects Beijing's own many-sided assault on its rivals. At Wednesday's Chinese ministry of foreign affairs press briefing, the spokesperson criticised the US decision, which 'would ultimately harm the interests of the US itself'. This language is conventional, but more hostile reactions will likely follow. Washington cannot afford to run scared of China's threats, however, particularly if it leaves the US vulnerable to new and emerging threats. The experience of the UK, in this regard, is instructive. There are several strategic US air force bases in Britain. In November 2024, numerous drones were detected breaching the restricted air space of several such bases. The suspicion is that the drones were conducting surveillance for a state actor. If so, it is likely that the operation was Russian. Other drone activity has been reported on US soil, with a particular peak in December 2024 which has been investigated by the FBI with support from other agencies. The chairman of the US House foreign affairs committee has suggested that in this case China may have been responsible. In the UK, while the Government recently accepted that the Chinese threat has increased on a broad front, the policy response has been lacking. Britain's China policy remains fundamentally unrealistic, naive and aspirational. Above all, it lacks honesty as to the adversarial threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party's strategic ambitions. Britain evidently has much to learn from the US.
Yahoo
06-07-2025
- Yahoo
Grand Forks man accused of possessing methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana with intent to deliver
Jul. 6—GRAND FORKS — A Grand Forks man appeared in court Wednesday, July 2, after law enforcement searched his impounded vehicle and reported finding a little more than 1.5 pounds of methamphetamine, half a pound of marijuana and .02 pounds of cocaine. Marcus Shawn Robertson, 42, is charged with Class A felony possession of at least 50 grams of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, Class B felony cocaine possession with intent and Class C felony marijuana possession with intent. The Class A felony has a maximum 20-year prison sentence. On Monday, June 30, the Grand Forks Narcotics Task Force assisted the Grand Forks Police Department on a follow-up investigation at the PD's impound yard, according to a declaration of probable cause summary filed in the case. A K9 responded on scene and did a free air sniff on a white 2011 Buick Enclave, which had no license plate but was registered to Robertson, the declaration said. The K9 alerted to the presence of drugs inside the vehicle, so a probable cause search was carried out. Law enforcement alleged they found approximately 743 grams of methamphetamine, 227.5 grams of marijuana and 11.5 grams of cocaine. Robertson, in custody at the Grand Forks County Correctional Center at that time, was called and confirmed the vehicle was his, as well as all of the property inside it. During his initial appearance Wednesday morning, July 2, Robertson's bond was set at $100,000 cash or surety. His preliminary hearing and/or arraignment are scheduled for 9 a.m. Aug. 11.
