Midwest
Jury convicts North Dakota lawmaker of misdemeanor speculation
A jury in North Dakota on Friday convicted a state lawmaker of a misdemeanor in connection with a state-leased building he has ownership ties to. A legislative leader said he disagrees with the verdict and plans to review the statute and rules involved.
Republican Rep. Jason Dockter, of Bismarck, was charged in December 2023 with speculating or wagering on official action. He pleaded not guilty. The charge has a maximum penalty of 360 days in jail and/or a $3,000 fine. Dockter declined to comment on the verdict but said he will consider an appeal. His sentencing has yet to be scheduled.
A criminal complaint alleged that, as a member of the North Dakota House of Representatives, Dockter voted “on legislative bills appropriating money to pay for property he had acquired a pecuniary interest in,” against the law and legislative rules. The charge arose from complaints to the state Ethics Commission.
NORTH DAKOTA LAWMAKER HIT WITH MISDEMEANOR CHARGE IN SPECULATION CASE
Republican House Majority Leader Mike Lefor said the case is concerning because “legislators aren’t going to feel comfortable knowing what a conflict of interest is.”
“I’m thinking that we need to visit legislative rules, look at state statutes and have a thoughtful conversation with the Ethics Commission so that we can make absolutely sure that legislators are not looking over their shoulder worrying about does it rise to the level of a conflict of interest or not?” Lefor said.
He called it a “slippery slope” for scenarios of a legislator who is a teacher voting on an education bill or a farmer voting on agricultural issues.
Prosecutor Ladd Erickson declined to comment on the verdict.
Republican North Dakota state Rep. Jason Dockter chairs a legislative meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023. (AP Photo/Jack Dura, File)
Dockter’s charge is part of a nearly two-year-old controversy involving the building, leased by the late Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem for consolidating divisions of his office, that under Stenehjem incurred a cost overrun of over $1 million that hasn’t been fully reconciled.
Stenehjem’s successor, Attorney General Drew Wrigley, disclosed the overrun and that Stenehjem’s state email account was deleted days after his death in January 2022 at the direction of his executive assistant, Liz Brocker, who later resigned. A prosecutor declined to bring charges for the deleted emails.
Dockter is a co-owner of companies that own and worked on the building. He was friends with Stenehjem, but has denied any wrongdoing in the lease arrangement. Dockter was first elected in 2012. He was reelected in 2022 without opposition.
Democratic House Minority Leader Zac Ista called on Dockter to resign after the verdict. Dockter said he has no immediate plans to do so. Lefor said he doesn’t expect the Republican-majority House to take any immediate steps against Dockter.
The Legislature is not in session, and isn’t scheduled to convene until January 2025, after a December organizational session.
The cost overrun and deleted emails shocked state lawmakers, who raised concerns about trust and transparency. Earlier this year, Wrigley’s office recovered thousands of Stenehjem’s emails through a cellphone backup and released them in response to records requests. Stenehjem’s phone data became part of an investigation into former state senator Ray Holmberg, who is accused of traveling to Europe with the intent of paying for sex with a minor. Holmberg’s trial is set for September.
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SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Vermillion guard Taylor Reuvers is staying home as the junior announced her commitment to USD via X on Tuesday.
Reuvers earned first team All-State honors as a sophomore, averaging 27.8 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 4.7 assists per game. The 2028 graduate led her squad to a 13-9 record for the 2025-26 season.
A missing Wisconsin teen was found safe after mysteriously vanishing from home four years ago as her family had believed she was “lured away.”
Joniah Walker, 19, was safely discovered on May 25, the Milwaukee Police Department told WISN on Tuesday.
Police officials didn’t disclose where Walker was found or provide any further information on the case, including whether the teen was with someone else.
Walker, then 15, had disappeared from her Milwaukee home on June 23, 2022.
Walker’s mother, Tanesha Howard, said she last saw her daughter lying in bed when she left for work the morning of her disappearance, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
“Joniah was lying in bed because she had just finished school. I went in to give her a hug before leaving for work,” Howard told the organization.
The mother and daughter duo had talked on the phone several times throughout the day before Walker “suddenly stopped responding.”
Walker was supposed to meet her father to apply for a summer work permit but failed to arrive at the designated time.
“He called me and said that Joniah wasn’t picking up her phone,” Howard said. “That is when I immediately knew something was wrong. I left work right away.”
A nearby ring camera captured Walker leaving the apartment complex at around 2:30 p.m. in the Brewer’s Hill neighborhood, a mile-and-a-half north of Downtown Milwaukee.
Video footage showed the teen carrying a large green backpack.
It was the last known sighting of Walker until she was reportedly found last month.
Howard believed her daughter had met someone online after she deleted her digital footprint and never returned.
“Somebody stole her…that was my first instinct,” Howard said. “But when I saw that she left with a big backpack that I had never seen, that’s when I knew. I was like, someone lured her away.”
The protective mother issued multiple pleas for her daughter to come home, begging Walker to “call me,” WISN reported in July 2022.
“She is my youngest daughter, so I always call her by ‘baby girl’ because that is exactly who she is, my baby girl,” she said. “She is what I would describe as a perfect daughter. She is angelic, soft spoken and very intelligent.”
Walker was one of the faces of a legislative push by Wisconsin State Rep. Shelia Stubbs (D-Madison) seeking to pass a bill to create a Missing and Murdered African American Women and Girls Task Force, according to Fox6 Now.
Stubbs says she believed Walker was still alive, telling Howard to hold out hope for her daughter’s return.
“I believed Joniah was still living, and I said that to her – I don’t believe Joniah is dead, it’s only a matter of time,” Stubbs told the outlet.
“I think right now, the family needs their privacy,” Stubbs added. “I know there are so many questions, but I think as time goes by when they are ready to tell their story, they will tell it.”
Tigers call up Ben Malgeri from Triple-A Toledo; Trei Cruz sent down
Ben Malgeri called up from Triple-A Toledo; Trei Cruz optioned, Burch Smith to 60-day IL. Malgeri: 9 HR, .322 vs LHP.
NEW YORK – The Detroit Tigers showed no fear or intimidation facing Cam Schlittler, the New York Yankees superstar who entered Tuesday, June 30, as the favorite to win the American League Cy Young award.
The Tigers weren’t timid, either. They were aggressive and decisive, launching four homers off Schlittler in a 9-3 victory at Yankee Stadium.
It was stunning, to say the least.
Meanwhile, lefty Tarik Skubal was his usual outstanding self for the Tigers (37-49). Skubal picked up the win, allowing one earned run off two hits while racking up nine strikeouts.
The Tigers danced off with their second straight win at Yankee Stadium. Meanwhile, the Yankees (48-37) drew plenty of boos after losing their sixth straight. The Tigers will go for the three-game sweep on Wednesday (1:35 p.m., Detroit SportsNet).
At the plate: Tigers use long ball to crush Yankees
Schlittler has had a historic start to the season for the Yankees. He came into the game with a 1.62 ERA, the second lowest ERA by a Yankees pitcher through his first 17 starts of a season since it became an official stat in 1913.
“He’s the best pitcher in the American League right now,” Skubal said before the game.
Which was obviously no small statement coming from Skubal.
But the Tigers played with no fear. Catcher Dillon Dingler started it off by hitting a ball 337 feet. Yes, it was caught. But it was a sign of things to come.
The next Tigers hitter, Kerry Carpenter, smashed a ball to deep center. Spencer Jones, the Yankees outfielder, went above the wall and it looked, for a split second, like he robbed the homer. But the ball hit the palm of his glove and it popped out, squirting over the fence for a 410-foot round-tripper.
It was a massive moment, considering a catch would have ended the inning.
But that left a door open for the Tigers to start jacking more homers through.
Riley Greene, the next batter, smashed a homer to right, a 424-foot blast that landed in the second deck.
That was also an important moment, considering Schlittler had only given up two homers all season to lefties – the Tigers had equaled it in back-to-back plate appearances.
In the first inning, no less.
Colt Keith continued the onslaught, pounding a single up the middle.
Then Spencer Torkelson got into the act, launching a homer to left on the 10th pitch of the at bat. It was a no-doubter that went 405 feet.
To recap: Facing the best pitcher in the American League, at least to this point in the season, the Tigers crushed three 400-foot homers in one inning.
Another fun Schlittler fact: He had allowed one run or fewer in 13 of his starts this season, leading MLB.
Then, Greene did it again. He hit his second homer of the game in the third. Yes, maybe he should get more days off, like he did on Monday.
Schlittler gave up six runs in four innings, his worst start of the season.
Tigers outfielder James Outman turned it into a rout with a three-run homer in the sixth.
On the mound: Tarik Skubal was dealing
The Tigers had a 4-0 lead before Skubal even took the mound.
He did allow a homer to Ben Rice, which was not exactly a stunner. The Yankees slugger crushed his 23rd homer of the season, cutting the Tigers lead to 4-1.
But after that point, Skubal just rolled and the Yankees never really had a chance to get back into this game.
He gave up one earned run in six innings of work, recording nine strikeouts with no walks.
The Tigers took a 9-2 lead into the ninth. Tyler Holton came in to pitch the ninth and he gave up a run.
Next up: Tigers try for the sweep
The Tigers will finish their three-game series in Yankee Stadium, a day start that will feature right-hander Troy Melton (4-1, 2.39 ERA) against right-hander Will Warren (7-3, 3.75).
Melton will try to keep up the Tigers’ outstanding starting pitching.
In the first game, on Monday, Tigers righty Casey Mize became the first pitcher in the Tigers’ 126 seasons to throw seven or more innings, allow one hit or less, no runs, no walks and strike out 10 or more in an outing. The 10 punchouts matched his career high.
Contact Jeff Seidel at jseidel@freepress.com or follow him @seideljeff.
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