Local News

North Dakota National Guard heading to southern border

BISMARCK, N.D. (KVRR) — North Dakota National Guard will be deploying soldiers to help with border protection. About 125 soldiers from a Bismarck-based unit will be sent to the U.S. border with Mexico later this year for an undetermined amount of time. They will assist Customs and Border Protection along the border. The soldiers from the 957th Engineer Company are…

Air Force plans training exercise over Northern Plains

Minot AFB B-52BISMARCK, N.D. – The U.S. Air Force is planning a massive training exercise over the Northern Plains states. The maneuvers are set for July 19-23 over the Powder River Training Complex. The training area is the largest in the continental United States. It covers nearly 35,000 square miles of air space over the Dakotas, Montana and Wyoming. Officials…

Man killed by officer in Olivia was 32-year-old father

OLIVIA, Minn. – Friends and family have identified the man who was fatally shot by a police officer over the weekend in western Minnesota. A cousin, Jessica Laro, identified him as 32-year-old Ricardo Torres Jr. He was shot in alley about 2 a.m. Sunday in Olivia. Officials say Torres was armed and confronted a police officer. Laro says Torres would…

Fireworks keep Fargo Police & Fire busy overnight

Fargo, N.D. (KFGO/KVRR) – Fireworks calls have kept the Fargo Fire and Police Departments busy on the 4th of July. Firefighters responded to 15 fires. At least 12 of the fires were fireworks-related.  Two fires were grass fires; three fires were dumpster fires; one was a wood chip fire; and, nine were structure fires. The one fire that caused significant…

Victim in Massive Vehicle Pileup Friday Near Grand Forks Identified

GRAND FORKS, N.D. — The name of a man killed when a semi crashed through a line of stopped vehicles at the intersection of Highway 2 and Airport Road in Grand Forks is identified. He is 61-year-old Eric Jayne of Des Moines, Iowa. The highway patrol says 54-year-old Steven Piechowski of Felton, Minnesota was behind the wheel of the semi…

Drought may be driving up North Dakota pelican population

BISMARCK, N.D. – Abnormally dry weather may have helped boost the number of American white pelicans nesting in north-central North Dakota, considered North America’s largest refuge for the big-billed birds. Results of an aerial survey show 16,600 pelicans nesting at the Chase Lake National Wildlife Refuge, an increase of about 2,400 birds from a year ago when high water gobbled…

U.S. Supreme Court backs Minnesota Amish in septic tank fight

MINNEAPOLIS – The U.S. Supreme Court has sided with an Amish group in Minnesota that’s fighting efforts to compel them to install septic systems. The case pits families with the traditionalist Swartzentruber Amish in southeastern Minnesota against Fillmore County. Minnesota courts have sided with the county, but the Supreme Court sent the case back to the Minnesota Court of Appeals…