FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) — A Spirit Lake man who pleaded guilty to producing, distributing and possessing child porn gets 30 years in prison. Court documents show 29-year-old Johnson Tollefson produced child porn in Dilworth. It depicted a toddler-age female. He then distributed the child porn to other users of the social media network Tumblr in exchange for other child porn….
FORT TOTTEN, N.D. (KVRR) – A six-year-old boy died after he was mauled by a dog Sunday on the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation in Fort Totten. Sources tell KVRR News that the FBI and other law enforcement agencies are investigating the circumstances that led up to the incident. They say the dog, which was captured, did not have a history…
DEVILS LAKE, N.D. (KVRR) — A man wanted on three outstanding warrants is arrested in Devils Lake after a high speed chase in a stolen vehicle. Benson County deputies and K-9 got 25-year-old Lars Hinton into custody as he tried to flee on foot after tire deflation devices were used and the vehicle became stuck near Pizza Ranch. It all…
By: Jeannie Kopstein WASHINGTON, D.C. (KVRR) — Two Native American tribes are suing North Dakota over newly drawn political boundaries they argue illegally dilute votes from indigenous communities. North Dakota’s Turtle Mountain and Spirit Lake tribes filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court last month. It alleges that the map does not comply with section two of the Voting Rights…
SPIRIT LAKE RESERVATION – A federal grand jury indicts a Fort Totten man in a deadly shooting. Thirty-four-year-old Cody Belgarde faces first degree murder charges. The U.S. Attorney’s Office says he shot and killed a juvenile male on the Spirit Lake Reservation on January 14th. The body was discovered after a house fire report. Federal law enforcement continues to investigate….
NORTH DAKOTA — Twenty six people are charged in what is being called an unprecedented drug distribution enterprise on Indian country in North Dakota. Operation Blue Prairie is the investigation into a large drug ring taking place on North Dakota’s Spirit Lake, Turtle Mountain and Fort Berthold Indian Reservations since 2015. “It was the objective of this conspiracy to target…
WASHINGTON – The Senate Indian Affairs Committee, which Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota chairs, passes a bill to return criminal jurisdiction to the Spirit Lake Reservation for crimes committed there. It repeals a 1946 statute authorizing North Dakota to prosecute certain crimes committed by, or against, members of the Spirit Lake Tribe. The Spirit Lake Nation has its own…
FARGO, N.D. – Two Spirit Lake Indian Reservation men have been sentenced in federal court for the murder of Carla Yellowbird. 21-year-old Daylin St. Pierre will serve 27 ½ years in prison for murder and conspiracy to commit robbery. 24-year-old Dakota Charboneau was sentenced to 50 years in prison for murder, aiding and abetting and use of a firearm during a…
JAMESTOWN, ND — A Woodworth, North Dakota woman has been sentenced to over four years in prison for an adoption scam. Betty Jo Krenz entered Alford pleas to felony and misdemeanor charges of theft of property. A charge of unauthorized use of identifying information was dropped. She acknowledges there’s enough evidence to be convicted, but she does not admit to the…
BISMARCK, N.D. – Amid issues that North Dakotans won’t be able to vote if they don’t have an address on their ID, Republican Secretary of State Al Jaeger says “every voter will be given a ballot.” However, he has not said every ballot will be accepted. Native American tribes failed with legal challenges to the law. They argue many people on…
