BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A mentally disabled Colorado man was set to be sentenced Friday for the murder of a Montana teacher whose death highlighted the downsides of an oil boom that has brought thousands of newcomers to the remote Northern Plains. Prosecutors...
Bismarck News
North Dakota workplace deaths examined in TV report
WILLISTON, N.D. – Before North Dakota oil worker Dustin Payne died last fall, he sent text messages to his girlfriend about safety conditions on the worksite. “I’m literally going to be welding something that’s full of oil. … Don’t (feel) comfortable welding this at...
In North Dakota, a Tale of Oil, Corruption and Death
FORT BERTHOLD INDIAN RESERVATION, N.D. — Tex G. Hall, the three-term tribal chairman on this remote, once impoverished reservation, was the very picture of confidence as he strode to the lectern at his third Annual Bakken Oil and Gas Expo and gazed out over a stuffed,...
N.D. oil boom ignites cash-spending splurge
WILLISTON, N.D. – The workers sometimes come in with stacks of $100 bills, their jeans and boots still covered in oil field mud as they scour the glass jewelry counter looking for clean sparkle. One oil field worker plopped down $25,000 for a diamond for his...
Man charged in North Dakota with masquerading as FBI agent
WILLISTON, N.D. — A convicted con man who swindled Nashville, Tennessee, businesses out of five-star hotel rooms, stretch limousine rides, helicopter rentals and expensive gifts didn’t fare quite as well during a month in the North Dakota oil patch, investigators...
Breathalyzer selfies paint a picture of U.S. drinking habits
The first data from breathalyzer selfies – measurements of blood-alcohol content by a new smartphone app – show that users drank the most on the weekend of the summer solstice, the longest day of the year. San Francisco-based breathalyzer manufacturer BACtrack...
Bismarck police investigating body found
BISMARCK, N.D. — Police are investigating a body found Thursday in northwest Bismarck, but they are releasing few details. Police Lt. Dwight Offerman said the body of a white male was found at 2:35 p.m., but did not have any identification. He said it was found by...
Student gets 65 days in jail for campus threats
JAMESTOWN, N.D. — A former University of Jamestown student has been sentenced to serve about two months in jail for threats he made on campus. Nineteen-year-old Robert Flores of Southgate, California, was accused last November of threatening to kill three students and...
Bismarck police say bank robbery suspect in custody
A man was arrested about seven hours after a robbery at Dakota Community Bank, Bismarck police said Tuesday night. “I can confirm there is somebody in custody,” Police Sgt. Darrin Heinert said. He said the man was taken into custody about 7 p.m., but he had no other...
Cleanup underway in Noonan
NOONAN, N.D. — A radiation team cleaning up an illegal oil field waste dump site in Noonan found an underground cache of the material and labels that are possible evidence of companies that contributed to the mess. The cleanup was expected to take all day Wednesday,...