From The Borderland Radio News Center
Duerr pleads guilty to theft and preventing arrest Jason David Duerr, 42, of Devils Lake, appeared in Cavalier County court last week, submitting guilty pleas for the crimes of theft and preventing arrest. In December, it was reported that Duerr stole a van from the Dakota Supply Group in Fargo and transported it to Cavalier County, where it was recognized by officials. Duerr has been sentenced to three years in prison, first serving 13 months with 115 days served, and to pay just under $2,900 in restitution. Once released, he’ll be placed on supervised probation for an additional three years.
Campbell suspends House campaign
Grafton resident and former state Senator Tom Campbell announced last week that he was suspending his campaign for the state’s lone U.S. House seat. In a social media post, Campbell said he believes he can make more of a positive difference outside of U.S. Congress. With Campbell stepping out, the N.D. Republican race for the U.S. House candidacy has slimmed down to Julie Fedorchak, Rick Becker, and Alex Balasz.
Patel charged with human smuggling
Harshkumar Patel, 28, who went by the alias “Dirty Harry”, was charged with seven counts of human smuggling after he allegedly helped smuggle a family of four over the US-Canadian border. The family froze to death in a blizzard. Patel entered a not guilty plea during a teleconference last week. In relation to the same case, Steven Shand, 49, of Deltona, Fla., was indicted by a federal grand jury on human smuggling charges. Shand was originally arrested near Emerson, Manitoba, in 2022, hours before the bodies of four Indian nationals were discovered. They perished while attempting to cross the border. Shand was scheduled to appear in court last week on lesser charges, but the new indictments caused the trial to be postponed.
Benefit held for Wells family A silent auction and free will supper was held on Saturday at At the Hop Bar & Grill in Langdon for the family of Ryan Wells, 26. Wells passed away suddenly the previous weekend after being involved in a car crash outside of Langdon.
Grand Forks USPS to be modernized The Grand Forks United State Postal Service distribution center will remain open. After a review of the Grand Forks processing and distribution center was completed, the U.S. Postal Service has decided that the Grand Forks location will remain open and be modernized. The USPS now plans to invest up to $1.5 million as part of a 10-year plan to revitalize the nation’s aging postal network.
Meeting held to discuss workforce future at Marvin Last week in Grafton, there was a town hall meeting focused on Marvin in Grafton. The meeting was held at the Grafton Performing Arts Center to discuss the future of the Marvin plant in Grafton and its efforts to bring in a permanent Spanish-speaking workforce to the area.
Gas prices on the rise
Gasbuddy.com says the price per gallon now averages $3.33, which is $.38 cents higher than a month ago, and $.16 cents higher than a year ago. Gasbuddy says in its survey of 493 stations in North Dakota, the lowest price was $2.99 while the highest was $4.09 The national average price is $4.02.