BISMARCK — An Arizona couple who lost a federal lawsuit over a vehicle that was rented during the Dakota Access Pipeline protests in south-central North Dakota have had part of their case revived.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently sent part of Michael and Jessica Wood’s case back to U.S. District Court in Bismarck, reopening the door for the couple to pursue monetary damages from a Bismarck rental franchisee and two of its employees. Trial has been scheduled for Nov. 18.

Michael Wood Jr., of Glendale, Arizona, a former U.S. Marine and Baltimore police officer, rented a Suburban from Hertz in 2016 when he came to Bismarck as part of an effort to bring hundreds of military veterans to a DAPL protest camp. The goal was to support opposition by tribes and environmentalists to the oil pipeline being routed near the Standing Rock Reservation and under its Missouri River drinking water supply.

The vehicle became snowbound in a blizzard and wasn’t returned to the rental company. The dispute that followed between Wood and Hertz resulted in Wood being charged in January 2017 with felony theft. Wood and his wife, Jessica, were detained at the U.S. border in California when returning from a Mexico vacation in August 2019, though they were not arrested.

Prosecutors in March 2020 dropped the theft charge, but Wood and his wife sued in March 2021, alleging Hertz Corp. officials falsely accused him of stealing the Suburban in retaliation for his social media criticism of the company’s service or his support of the pipeline protest. The defendants disputed the retaliation allegation.

U.S. District Judge Dan Traynor later in 2021 dismissed the City of Bismarck and two police officers as defendants in the civil rights lawsuit, along with two Hertz employees in Oklahoma. The Woods voluntarily dropped Hertz as a defendant after the company declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy amid the coronavirus pandemic. That left Bismarck franchisee Overland West Inc. and two of its employees — Alexandria Huber and John Kaelberer — as the only remaining defendants in the suit that sought unspecified monetary damages.

Traynor about a year ago ruled against the Woods on all of their claims — malicious prosecution, negligence, breach of contract, infliction of emotional distress, and negligent training and supervision. The Woods appealed.

A three-judge panel of the 8th Circuit recently upheld Traynor’s ruling that Overland did not breach its rental contract with the Woods. But the panel ruled that the Woods had presented enough evidence to possibly convince a jury of their claims of malicious prosecution, negligence, and negligent training and supervision.

The judges concluded “the Woods presented sufficient evidence that Kaelberer lacked probable cause to believe that Wood had stolen the vehicle when he contacted police,” and that “further, a jury could infer malice based on Kaelberer’s testimony that he filed the police report to collect a debt, and testimony that Overland employees were aware of Wood’s negative tweet and considered it harassing and threatening.”

The judges also said there was enough evidence that a jury might conclude Overland employees’ efforts to reach out to Wood before contacting police were insufficient, and that Overland failed to properly train its employees regarding the filing of stolen vehicle reports.

The Woods’ attorney, Roberto Alejandro, said, “We agree with the 8th Circuit’s decision and now turn our attention to preparing for trial.”

Defendants attorney Joel Flom did not respond to a Bismarck Tribune request for comment before being withdrawn from the case. The defendants’ new attorney, Bradley Beehler, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation in North Dakota is revitalizing its agricultural roots through a substantial greenhouse complex, set to become one of the largest in the United States. As reported by Jack Dura, this initiative aims to grow leafy greens, tomatoes, and strawberries, allowing the tribe to achieve greater food sovereignty decades after their fertile lands were flooded by the construction of the Garrison Dam. The first phase of the project, costing $76 million, includes a 3.3-acre greenhouse and additional facilities, with plans to expand to 14.5 acres, significantly enhancing the tribe’s capacity to produce fresh produce.

This greenhouse project is part of a broader movement to increase food sovereignty among Native American tribes, spurred by supply chain disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic. By investing in local food systems, tribes across the nation are reclaiming their ability to feed their communities independently. The Mandan, Hidatsa, and Arikara Nation’s greenhouse will support the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation’s 8,300 residents and provide produce to other reservations and food banks in isolated areas. The operation is expected to create 30 to 35 jobs initially, with production goals of up to 15 million pounds of food annually.

A key element of this initiative is the use of natural gas resources from North Dakota’s Bakken oil field. The tribe plans to capture and compress natural gas, traditionally flared off, to heat and power the greenhouse and produce fertilizer, addressing environmental concerns and reducing waste. This project not only reconnects the tribe with their agricultural heritage but also leverages modern resources to ensure sustainable and independent food production for the future.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – The nonprofit organization Nation of Patriots tours the country with the goal of supporting veterans who are in need. Their unique fundraising effort reached Sioux Falls Sunday with a special ceremony.

The annual “Patriot Tour” brings an American flag across all fifty states in just 115 days, mostly by motorcycle. The flag has always either formerly been flown in a military operation or over the White House. Flag bearers are responsible for honoring and protecting the flag as they travel through their state and are relieved of their duties after they pass it to the next flag bearer in the next state in a ceremony. As they unite to honor members of the armed forces, they take in donations to be directly given to veterans who need help financially.

The South Dakota chapter received the tour flag Sunday from the Nebraska chapter at Veterans Memorial Park in Sioux Falls. For veterans like the Regional Manager Kevin Stoterau, who served in both the Navy and Army for 38 years, it’s an honor to help those who also served our country, whom he considers to be brothers and sisters.

“Me being a career military and a disabled veteran, I mean, I get nothing,” said Stoterau. “I’m not in financial crisis. Everything, the gas, the hotels and whatnot, I pay for out of pocket and I can. But to me helping a fellow veteran is extremely important.”

Stoterau’s spouse, Dawn Ackerman Stoterau, takes pride in being the flag bearer for this stretch of the tour.

“It means everything,” Ackerman Stoterau described. “I’m an incredibly proud American and I don’t care what side of the aisle you are, what your political views are, we all have one common factor and it’s this flag and the men and women who fought for it and continue to fight for it.”

Though she didn’t serve in the military, she’s seen the special bond veterans have with one another firsthand and been welcomed into the family. Giving to brothers and sisters with shared experiences is a cause worth the mission.

“It’s something unlike anything you’ll see anywhere else,” Ackerman Stoterau explained. “It’s a privilege to be included in that and the stories I’ve heard about different conflicts, wars from all of these veterans, it makes you cry, it makes you laugh and it makes you prouder than you ever thought you could be.”

“Being in the military, one thing it taught me [was] all family does not have to be blood,” Stoterau recalled. “It’s a family-orientated thing. You learn you have a lot more family than you ever knew.”

Stoterau said that what makes the Nation of Patriots special is that they can make sure that the money makes it to the intended recipients in the donor’s state. While there are many great nonprofit organizations that help veterans, the Nation of Patriots is volunteer-led and every penny donated goes directly to a veteran’s family that has been vetted, cutting past operating costs.

“It is an extremely worthy cause. It’s transparent. I’m not putting any other organization down. There are plenty of organizations out there that you see advertisements for, but not all of the money that gets donated goes to a veteran. A lot of them have overhead expenses, they have employees.”

Donations can be made in person at each stop of the tour or can be made on their website. If you are a veteran in need of financial assistance, a grant application can be found here.

The flag will make its next stop in Watertown at VFW Post 750 on Tuesday. From there, Army veteran Tim Simonton will be the flag bearer until it gets handed off to the North Dakota chapter in West Fargo. The tour ends in the state where it started and this year’s tour started in Kansas.

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