General News

A new law designed to protect consumers from massive air ambulance bills took effect in North Dakota on Monday.

North Dakota Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread says air ambulance service can be a frequent mode of transportation of patients to emergency medical care in rural states - but many patients are then sent outrageous bills for that service. He says consumers in North Dakota have reported bills totaling anywhere from $20,000 to $60,000. Godfread says now every health insurance plan sold in North Dakota is required to protect its consumers from these bills.

A Fargo man was found guilty of threatening a United States Senator after a four day trial by a federal jury.

56 year old Kevin Lee Olson of Fargo was convicted of Threatening Interstate Communications by sending a threatening email to North Dakota Senator Heidi Heitkamp on December 22 of last year. Olson's email to Heitkamp stated "It's (sic) seems the only consideration one gets these days is when one becomes a criminal. I guess I should find you, you (expletive), and shoot you in your red head!"

Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney says he’s encouraged by the actions of the Fargo-Moorhead Area Flood Diversion Task Force. The group – which included the Governors of North Dakota and Minnesota -- wrapped up a series of meetings aimed at moving the F-M Diversion project forward. Mayor Mahoney says the project is in a much better place than it was 6-weeks ago…

"...I believe they had six or seven parameters that were placed out there today. And we got consensus on all but about two of them. And those two, I think, we can work with the D.N.R. to get solutions."

After seeing rain in eastern and central North Dakota much of the morning, National Weather Service officials say the precipitation is changing over to snow. Meteorologist Pete Speicher says the new moisture is part of an incoming weather system expected to create blizzard-like conditions for parts of the listening area…

"...this afternoon the winds are really going to jump up. By 3 p.m., about the time schools will be getting out, we're looking for 45 to 55 mile-per-hour gusts. The will blow any new snow around creating reduced visibilities."