1. Police crack down on street racing on Fargo streets
Many of the more than two dozen bill drafts submitted by North Dakota lawmakers for consideration in their upcoming special session attempt to restrict vaccination requirements and the teaching of critical race theory in public schools — divisive causes expected to add to the Legislature’s busy workload when it reconvenes next week.
The state Legislature is set to meet in Bismarck starting Nov. 8 for a tightly packed special session with specific emphasis on redrawing legislative districts and allocating federal coronavirus relief funds .
But 26 mostly unrelated bill drafts filed by lawmakers can still become law if they make it through a Republican-controlled vetting process at the beginning of the session and subsequent floor votes. GOP leadership said they expect one or two proposals on vaccine mandates and critical race theory to move forward.
Read more from The Forum's Patrick Springer
2. Project Tundra responds to concerns of carbon dioxide leakage at landmark permit hearing
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Scientists and executives behind Project Tundra appeared before North Dakota regulators Tuesday, Nov. 2, to discuss permitting of the high-profile carbon capture proposal in a hearing that focused in part on the safety of the company's underground storage process.
Grand Forks-based Minnkota Power Cooperative’s Project Tundra, the billion-dollar plan to retrofit Milton R. Young coal plant in Oliver County for carbon capture, would be the largest facility of its kind in the world if it succeeds, and state leaders hope it could also provide a blueprint for the decarbonization of other coal-fired power plants in North Dakota and beyond.
Read more from The Forum's Adam Willis
3. Sale of Fargo nightclub's liquor license gets conditional approval
Months after the suspension of Africa Restaurant & Nightclub's liquor license, the Fargo City Commission has conditionally approved the transfer of the facility's liquor license to a local real estate business.
The owner of the building, 518 Properties, owned by Tyler Brandt, aims to assume operations with an agreement to purchase the license from the club’s previous owners.
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Commissioners earlier revoked the license because of public safety concerns, including the shooting death of a club bouncer at a nearby parking lot in May.
Read more from The Forum's Kaity Young
4. Iowa study finds humans gave COVID-19 to deer
A new study of the Iowa white tail deer population reveals that humans gave the animals a dozen variations of the coronavirus in 2020 and 2021, causing asymptomatic infections that the animals then spread rapidly amongst themselves.
While previous research had reported 40% of deer studied had been exposed to the coronavirus, the new findings are the first to document human-to-animal infection in the wild.
Deer-to-human transmission has not been established.
Read more from Forum News Service's Paul John Scott
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5. A look inside West Fargo's newest school: Horace High School
West Fargo School District officially has three high schools.
After delays due to a number of variables including the construciton' industry's supply chain issues, Horace High School welcomed its freshman student class into the building on Wednesday, Oct. 27.
The students, who have remained at Heritage Middle School since the start of the 2021-22 school year, attended virtual classes Monday and Tuesday to allow teachers and administrators the time to move into the building and set up classrooms.
Officials said the delay was due to a number of issues mostly beyond the contractors' control said Mark Lemer, construction coordinator for the district.
