Fergus Falls Forum

Severe weather, which caused numerous tornadoes throughout the area, swept through on Thursday, and the latest reports are showing at least three deaths. Of those two deaths, one person died in Almora, Minn. (roughly 40 miles east of Fergus Falls), and another person died in rural Polk County. In southern Minnesota, one person was killed on a farm west of Albert Lea.

According to emergency officials, the Almora, Minn. woman was found dead in tornado debris.

The tornado in Almora was part of a severe weather system that rolled across the majority of Minnesota, as well as parts of North Dakota, which flattened  homes, wrecked a gas station, and knocked down an abundance of trees.

A tornado in Mentor, Minn., a community located roughly 25 miles east of Crookston, destroyed a convenience store, and killed one person in the process according to the Minnesota State Patrol.

The Minnesota State Patrol says the tornado came through town and traveled northwest, changed directions, and damaged cabins on Maple Lake. The only remains of the convenience store in Mentor is the north-facing wall, a small portion of the west-facing wall, a few 2×4′s, and corrugated metal.

In addition to damage in Almora and Mentor, the city of Wadena, Minn. was in the process of having a parade to celebrate an “all-school” reunion when a tornado tore through the city.

Just after 5:00PM, several buildings were completely destroyed, including the Wadena-Deer Creek High School, and the Wadena Area Community Center. As of late Thursday night, there were thirteen reported injuries, however no fatalities. Mike Carr, a Wadena County Sheriff, said that damage is so severe in Wadena, its not safe to enter the city.

The above photos are courtesy of Kevin Winkler.

Was your afternoon affected by severe weather? Did you have to seek shelter? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

The Fargo Marathon is quickly approaching, and the group behind the annual Dough 4 Joe motorcycle run is hoping to generate even more funds for area cancer patients by starting “Running 4 Joe”.

Running 4 Joe is being organized to represent the Dough 4 Joe efforts. All participants who represent “Running 4 Joe” are being asked to collect pledges, which the members behind Dough 4 Joe hope will increase donations to their cause.

Dough 4 Joe is asking that all Fergus Falls community members as well as their friends who are interested in joining their efforts are encouraged to register for the Fargo Marathon. The Fargo Marathon is on May 21st through May 22nd.

All participants will be recognized and receive a t-shirt the weekend of the Dough 4 Joe motorcycle run that kicks of at the Silver Dollar Saloon in Elizabeth, MN on July 24th, 2010.

Those who are interested are asked to contact either Les or Laura. They can be reached at (218) 205-7694 or at ls_sk8er@hotmail.com, respectively.

A brief history of Dough 4 Joe

In June 2006, Joe Sampson was diagnosed with brain cancer and fought a long battle with it for 2 years. On May 3rd, 2009, Joe passed away with his family and friends by his side. Throughout his diagnoses he suffered from a total of 9 brain tumors and several other spinal tumors. He fought through various surgeries, chemotherapy treatments, as well as radiation treatments. His friends and family say he always kept a beautiful smile on his face throughout his battle with cancer.

Joe’s family quickly realized how financially stressful this type of situation can be. With piles of medical bills, not to mention caregivers losing hours at work, or in some cases not working entirely, some bills were forced to remain unpaid.

Joe’s family and friends wanted to make a difference for other area families in similar situations, and therefore started “Dough 4 Joe” in his remembrance.

Fergus Falls-based Otter Tail Corp. is expecting to record a charge of nearly $1.7 million in the first quarter due to the recent federal health care overhaul. According to Otter Tail Corporation, in a regulatory filing earlier this week, the charge will amount to 5 cents per share.

Otter Tail Corporation, among other companies, currently receive a government subsidy to keep prescription drug benefits for their retirees, and have been able to deduct their expenses. However, under the recently passed health care legislation, that will end in 2013.

Companies throughout the country are announcing the charges now because accounting rules dictate that they must book them during the period a new law is enacted.

Otter Tail Power, based in Fergus Falls, Minn., provides electricity to roughly 130,000 customers in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota. According to the company website, they have over $1.2 billion in revenues and over 4,000 employees across many industries. They have diversified operations in electric, manufacturing, health services, food ingredient processing, plastics, construction, as well as transportation.

A multi-state drug bust led to the arrest of six people at two residences in Barnesville on Friday.

According the the Clay County Sherrif’s Department, search warrants allowed investigators to seize 8 ounces of methamphetamine, 75 grams of marijuana, 18 grams of hallucinogenic mushrooms, two guns, a vehicle, as well as nearly $15,000 in cash. The methamphetamine seized alone has a street value of roughly $40,000.

The Barnesville, Minn. drug raid also led to a search of a residence in West Fargo, where authorities found 6 ounces of methamphetamine and almost $15,000 in as well.

Debbie Dinae Neels, 42, of Barnesville, James Bradley Asplin, 41 of Barnesville, Shay Marie Asplin, 36 of Barnesville, Ashley Marie Haug, 23 of Fargo, Carl Mervin Renecker, 43 of Barnesville, and Aleise Nicole Lafayette, 26 of Barnesville were all arrested.

The West Central Minnesota Narcotics Task Force, North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Cass County Drug Force, the Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Department, federal agencies, and police from Barnesville, Moorhead, and Fargo all helped the Clay County Sheriff’s Department in the bust.

DETROIT LAKES, Minn. — (9:15 a.m.) The Minnesota Department of Transportation and the Minnesota State Patrol urge motorists to drive with caution as flooding affects area highways in Wilkin and Big Stone counties.

Road closures

The following state highways are closed until further notice:

• Highway 75 near Kent is closed from Wilkin County Road 24 to Wilkin County Road 22. Water is receding, but Mn/DOT crews are repairing washed out shoulders and a section of roadway under the railroad bridge. Traffic continues to be detoured using Wilkin County Roads 3 and 26.
• Highway 12 east of Ortonville is closed from Highway 75 to Big Stone County Road 21. The roadway is under water, causing dangerous driving conditions. Traffic is detoured using Highway 75 and Big Stone County Road 21.

Open – use caution

The following state highways are currently open but conditions can change rapidly. Motorists should use extreme caution approaching the following areas:

• Highway 12 east of Big Stone County Road 21 at Horseshoe Lake – Open to traffic, watch for water on the roadway.

Open – water receded

The following state highways are open and water has receded – water is no longer a threat to the roadway:

• Highway 75 one mile north of Kragnes – Open to traffic.
• Highway 200 east of Mahnomen at Twin Lake Creek between Mahnomen County Roads 3 and 4 – Open to traffic.

For more information

• Call 5-1-1 or log on to www.511mn.org for road condition information when traveling in western Minnesota where potential flooding conditions exist.
• Log on to www.dot.nd.gov/travel-info/ for North Dakota current road conditions.

·         Listen to your National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather radio or local radio stations for weather and flood warnings.

The Red River in Fargo-Moorhead, and the smaller rivers that feed it, are rising faster than predicted just a few days ago and are on pace to approach the record flood levels seen last year.

The National Weather Service predicted that the Red River in the Fargo-Moorhead area would reach 38 feet by early Saturday morning, which will leave the area roughly one week to prepare once again. The new prediction came two days after the National Weather Service announced it would hit 28.2 feet by Friday, which essentially is a prediction increase an a two day span.

According to the Forum of Fargo-Moorhead, the Red River in Fargo has been outpacing expectations since late last week. It hit its 18-foot flood stage early on Saturday, a day before that was supposed to happen. Then, on Sunday, it was barely 2 feet shy of its 25-foot moderate flood stage, which late last week wasn’t supposed to happen until mid-day Wednesday.

Cass County Sherrif, Paul Laney said, “People need to realize it’s here. It’s here. It’s here today. If you need to protect your home, the time is now.”

Just an hour south of Fargo lies the Wahpeton-Breckenridge area, which is also experiencing flooding throughout the area. There, the Red River is expected to reach 12 feet by Tuesday, and could reach 18 to 19 feet by the end of the

Confident of the city’s flood protection, Breckenridge Mayor Cliff Barth said they will protect residents to the best of their ability. But with above-average temperatures and precipitation expected within the next 8-10 days, he’s encouraging everyone to take any precautions necessary.

“I want people to know they need to protect themselves – as far as sump pumps, as far as plugs for their basement,” he said. “They need to be ready to take care of themselves. We can’t protect them from all of that.”

Last week, Jamestown Area Ambulance lost two ambulances, which happens to be half of their fleet, due to crashes.

One of the vehicles crashed on Interstate 94 on February 8th while transporting a patient to a Fargo hospital, and was a total loss. Just three days later, a another ambulance was damaged in a collision at an intersection in Jamestown.

Nancy Miller, the Business Manager for Jamestown Area Ambulance, said vehicles from Ringdahl Ambulance in Fergus Falls had to be brought in due to the crashes.

Miller also said that the damaged ambulance will be in the repair shop for up to three weeks, and it may take up to four months to replace the ambulance that was totaled.

Jamestown Area Ambulance is owned by Fergus Falls-based Ringdahl Ambulance.

The Wahpeton School District appointed Rick Jacobson as the new superintendent on Monday. According to board President, Deb Mauch, they chose him because of his experience, as well as his background in finance.

Wahpeton was forced to find a new superintendent after Mike Connell, who currently holds the position, announced that he would be retiring at the end of the school year, after serving the district for 21 years.

Jacobson accepted the offer on Monday, and the district issued a two-year contract on Tuesday. He will assume the role as superintendent on July 1, and receive a salary of $105,000.

Jacobson was selected out of a group of five finalists, after hearing input from staff, teachers, students, as well as administrators.

Wahpeton is located 25 miles west of Fergus Falls, and serves nearly 1,200 students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade.

With temperatures in the 30′s this past week, Fergus Falls residents surely have enjoyed the weather. However, reality will kick back in this weekend after we welcome winter back from its short vacation.

According to the National Weather Service of Grand Forks, a major snow and freezing rain storm will makes its way into the area late Friday night, and early Saturday morning. The storm will move from the southern Red River Valley into Minnesota, and will mainly effect west central/north west Minnesota.

The immediate Fergus Falls area is expected to get anywhere between 6 to 12 inches of snow. When the snow is over with, blowing and drifting snow will also several impact any travel Sunday night and well into the day on Monday.

While it’s too early to determine exact measurements, due to fluctuating temperature forecasts, Fergus Falls could get up to a half-inch layer of ice as well.

As always you can trust Fergus Forum to have the latest weather information, as well as up-to-the-minute weather-related delays and cancellations.

Conan O’Brien is considering everything from a talk show on Jewish Life TV to starring in a Pink Visual porno dubbed “Conan the Bangbarian”. Jokes aside, he is also considering working at a Fargo hip-hop radio station, Y94.

As soon as word got out that Conan O’Brien and NBC were in argument over the “Tonight Show”, the comedian started to get job offers from around the country.

If O’Brien accepts Y94′s position, he would be a sidekick to hosts Rat, Zero, and Megan on the station’s “Morning Playhouse” program.

The Fargo pop station offered him a position on its “Morning Playhouse” program as a sidekick to hosts Rat, Zero and Megan.

On the Monday night episode of the “Tonight Show”, O’Brien said “I could do that”, when he was talking about the Y94 job offer.

Fans of O’Brien can vote on which job offer he should pursue on the the Tonight Show’s website at www.tonightshowwithconanobrien.com.

Fans can vote on which offer he should pursue on www.tonightshowwithconanobrien.com.

At 4:00 PM on Tuesday, Y94′s job offer was second to Pink Visual’s “Conan the Bangbarian” movie.