In case you missed it in The Sun the week of Sept. 11, 2023
Sep. 16—The following stories from this week appeared on
and in The Jamestown Sun.
First responders and other community members paused on Monday, Sept. 11,
to remember those lost in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks
on the United States.
The Jamestown Patriotic Council organizes the 9/11 Remembrance event to honor those who died on 9/11 and in the subsequent global war on terrorism. The event on Patriot Day drew about 75 people at Zonta Park, where a prayer was given by the Rev. Bob Boyar of First United Presbyterian Church, first responders and veterans leaders were acknowledged, and the Star Spangled Banner and Taps were performed.
Andrew Berkey, operations manager for Jamestown Area Ambulance, spoke at the event. He said he was 7 years old on 9/11 and learned through the years about that day and the actions of real-life heroes.
The program concluded with a Freedom Walk led by Ladder 1 of the Jamestown Fire Department, the American Legion Post 14 Color Guard and Jamestown Boy Scouts, ending at the All Vets Club where a meal was served.
The Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corp. Board of Directors approved on Monday, Sept. 11,
a lot sale in the Bloom Business Park to All Day Trucking
.
The purchase price is $108,500 for 10.85 acres, which is lot four in the business park.
The Bloom Business Park is located in Bloom Township, about 2 1/2 miles east of Jamestown and directly east of Cavendish Farms on 3rd Street Southeast. The lot was the last available in the business park.
The funds from the lot purchase will go back to the city and county at an 80-20 county-city share if the sale is approved by the Jamestown City Council and Stutsman County Commission. Stutsman County would receive $86,800 while the city of Jamestown would get $21,700.
All Day Trucking, owned by Ben and Darcy Mickelson, is an agricultural commodity and transportation business that focuses on sourcing, handling, storing and manufacturing agricultural byproducts, said Alyssa Looysen, business development director at JSDC. A series of flat storage building and commodity-handling equipment that will be able to store, unload and reload byproducts will occupy the land.
Taxable sales and purchases in Jamestown are nearly
one-third higher in the first half of 2023 than pre-pandemic levels
.
Records show a 32% increase in taxable sales and purchases in the first half of 2023 in Jamestown over the past five years, led by a 19.4% increase in retail sales in the same period, according to the Office of North Dakota State Tax Commissioner.
Retail sales increased from $63.8 million in 2019 to $79.2 million in 2023, up $15.4 million.
Coronavirus was first diagnosed in the U.S. in January 2020 and in North Dakota in March of that year. The 2019 sales and use tax statistics are prior to any disruption of the economy by coronavirus.
Manufacturing showed a 63.5% increase in the same five-year period rising from $3.5 million in 2019 to $9.6 million in 2023, up $6.1 billion.
The University of Jamestown will be wrapping up one project
in the next couple of months while work another one start
s.
The university is expected to start using the Nelson Family Bubble around Nov. 1, and UJ officials will break ground on the renovation of Voorhees Chapel and the construction of the new center for faith and life this fall.
Construction on the Nelson Family Bubble — an indoor athletic and wellness facility that will be located next to Harold Newman Arena — is on time and on budget, said Dustin Jensen, vice president for student affairs and dean of students at UJ.
UJ officials plan to hold a groundbreaking ceremony on Oct. 5 for the renovation of Voorhees Chapel and the construction of the new center for faith and life.
"You will start to see some trees getting removed and some things as we move into the later fall with the idea that construction will begin in the spring, probably end of April, early May as students are finishing up a semester," said Polly Peterson, UJ president. "We will do some things a little bit before that that aren't completely disruptive for the students but then once classes are done you will see all of the construction get pretty ramped up and it will take about a year."
While the project is happening, Voorhees Chapel will be offline and a new home will need to be found for services, she said.
The James River Valley Library System Board of Directors in a 4-3 vote approved entering into a contract with JLG Architects for a
site study of the Masonic Temple
to see if it is a viable option for the expansion of Alfred Dickey Public Library.
Library board members Gail Martin, Robert Hoekstra and Joan Morris, a Stutsman County commissioner who is an appointed member to the board, were opposed at the meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 13.
Joe Rector, library system director, said the site study will cost $15,600. He said it will cost about $8,000 for the structural, mechanical and electrical engineering study.
Lee Dobrinz, project manager at JLG Architects, said the site study of the Masonic Temple includes having structural, mechanical and electrical engineers look at the structure of the building and its capacity and looking at the mechanical and electrical systems to get a better understanding of their conditions. He also said the site study includes a written assessment of what the JLG team thinks the condition of the Masonic Temple is and recommendations of what improvements will be needed for the building's use.
The
revised plan for a new regional electric transmission line
between Jamestown and Ellendale includes a narrower corridor than previous plans.
"We started in May with a 10-mile wide study," said Jason Weiers, manager of transmission line development for Otter Tail Power. "Now we have identified three possible corridors and narrowed them to a half mile. We are looking for feedback from the landowners."
Project officials displayed the revised plan to landowners in Jamestown, Edgeley and Ellendale this week.
The planned 345-kilovolt power line connects substations at Ellendale and Jamestown allowing electricity to pass in either direction as needed for the stability of the regional grid.
Landowner input could help determine the placement of the poles where they will cause a minimum of disruption to the farm operation, Weiers said.
