FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) – The North Dakota Highway Patrol has released details of a fatal vehicle crash that took place at 9:58 A.M. on August 2nd.

A 68 year old man was traveling eastbound on Highway 2 when he struck a driver who was trying to cross those eastbound lanes. NDHP notes that the man tried to steer around the second driver in order to avoid the collision but was unable to do so.

The driver of that car, a 70 year old woman, was taken to a hospital in Devils Lake, but later died from her injuries.

The 68 year old man suffered only minor injuries. He is not being charged with any crime at this time.

NDHP also notes that this is an ongoing investigation, and that the names of the individuals involved will be made public at a later date.

Copyright 2024 KVLY. All rights reserved.

MANDAN, N.D. (KFYR) – The North Dakota Art Project works in the Art Workshop in Mandan and aims to foster creativity in the community.

The Art Workshop is a 24-hour studio in Mandan that is open to the community. There, the North Dakota Art Project aims to support local creativity by making art accessible to everyone.

“It’s not in your house, so that means you’ve got a place to go. You know being retired, you always have to have a place to go, and I never was one for coffee shops, so here I am,” said participant Ken Rogers.

The nonprofit organization provides funding for art supplies and classes for local artists. It particularly aims to help groups of people who may not have the resources to practice their crafts.

“Just helping people get into art, it can be a challenge, and finding funding to help people do that is kind of where we started,” said Chris Kraft, president of the North Dakota Art Project.

Participant Ken Rogers is a veteran and retired from the Bismarck Tribune. He likes to paint and draw at the studio and has been doing art for over five years. The Art Workshop provides a space for him to keep his art supplies and his art projects while he is in the process of finishing them.

He said the North Dakota Art Project can help veterans by providing them with a space to cope with complex feelings and memories from their service.

“Not everybody that leaves the service has a good time of it, so this is another way for them to express themselves,” said Rogers.

He also said that being surrounded by others who also have a passion for art in this studio gives people a chance to ask questions and become close with others who share a common interest.

The painting Rogers is currently working on is a portrait of a selfie he took with his wife on a ferry between Italy and Greece.

Copyright 2024 KFYR. All rights reserved.

BISMARCK, N.D. (KUMV) – The North Dakota Public Service Commission invited state and energy leaders to discuss data centers and their impact on the region.

The nearly five-hour-long meeting had data center managers, utility leaders and county representatives talking about the demand for these facilities and the amount of electricity they use.

Public Service Commission Chairman Randy Christmann said he wants everyone to come together to get a better understanding of these facilities and how they affect grid stability.

“A lot of this is new, and there may need to be new policies developed as well,” said Christmann.

The subject of data centers in North Dakota is controversial, especially in Northwestern North Dakota where the Atlas Power Data Center is located. Nearby residents continue to look to the courts to shut it down over excessive noise and a utility company has filed a federal complaint over congestion charges related to the facility.

Despite this, State Commerce Commissioner Josh Tiegen said there’s still demand for data centers, more so for AI processing versus cryptocurrency mining. A pair of projects discussed at this meeting could be worth $125 billion each.

“Want to talk about eliminating property taxes? Drop a $125 billion data center in the middle of your county. That’s a huge, huge revenue stream for the state, counties and local communities in a variety of ways,” said Teigen.

Teigen said when it comes to power generation, they are looking at converting natural gas from the oil fields into energy to support the grid.

Public Service Commissioner Julie Fedorchak said it’s beneficial to welcome data centers here instead of overseas.

“We want it in the U.S., we do not want our data being housed in other countries. We need to try our best to make this work here in America. For North Dakota, it’s a huge opportunity to make it work here where we have tons of power to sell to these kinds of entities,” said Fedorchak.

Fedorchak adds the cold North Dakota winters can also support data centers that generate lots of heat when processing.

Copyright 2024 KFYR. All rights reserved.