North Dakota
Letter: Bismarck taxes are at reasonable level
![Letter: Bismarck taxes are at reasonable level](https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/bismarcktribune.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/1/54/1548df4e-9784-11ed-8710-230dd2839946/63b787b1806f8.preview.jpg?crop=756,397,0,14&resize=756,397&order=crop,resize)
I actually admire Marlan “Hawk” Haakenson, notably throughout winter snows. He’ll at all times be my good friend and HERO as the person who gave us these great snow gates, and he obtained it finished over the “kicking and screaming” of those that thought it might by no means work. An actual success for all of us.
However I can not help his petition to roll again property taxes. My daughters in Iowa and New Jersey pay far more taxes than we do. Ask folks you already know who pay taxes in different related measurement cities in America, and I wouldn’t be stunned if they’d gladly commerce tax payments with you.
Our taxes are cheap and applicable giving us this nice metropolis and county by which we now have made our houses. That is really greenback for greenback the most effective locations to dwell in America! I’m grateful yearly for our previous and current metropolis and county commissioners, faculty board and park board members. They’ve given us, they usually proceed to offer us, glorious police, fireplace, emergency companies; well-kept streets and parks; great faculties; our nice Bismarck Veterans Memorial Public Library; plentiful clear water and good sanitation; and accountable and devoted authorities in any respect ranges. We really feel very blessed to have lived, labored, retired, and raised our household in such a wonderful metropolis. What taxes we pay for every thing is just put, an actual discount! We’re not going wherever, as we all know that is one of the best place for us to dwell.
One of the simplest ways to indicate your help for our great metropolis and county is to NOT signal Hawk’s petition. I do know I gained’t signal it, and if it will get on the poll I’ll vote NO!
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North Dakota
Sex crimes case against Dakota Prairie school counselor dismissed
![Sex crimes case against Dakota Prairie school counselor dismissed](https://cdn.forumcomm.com/dims4/default/be76e60/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1000x600+0+0/resize/1777x1066!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Ffcc-cue-exports-brightspot.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com%2Ffccnn%2Fbinary%2Fgavel_binary_877420.jpg)
GRAND FORKS — At the conclusion of a Friday morning, June 21, preliminary hearing in Nelson County court, Judge Kristi Venhuizen dismissed the case against a former Dakota Prairie School counselor alleging that he solicited, lured and sexually assaulted students.
Brendon Thomas Parsley, 48,
was charged with three Class C felonies in February
for crimes he allegedly committed against two students to whom he provided counseling services.
The purpose of a preliminary hearing is to determine if there’s probable cause to support criminal charges being filed. Preliminary hearings can be waived by the defense. If the hearing is held, the state must provide evidence that probable cause exists to continue prosecuting the defendant.
The defense can question any of the state’s witnesses and also may, but is not required to, bring in its own.
North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations Special Agent Derek Madson testified for the state. He testified about interviews with the two alleged victims in the case, during which they spoke about Parsley’s alleged inappropriate conduct.
The crime of solicitation of a minor was filed due to allegations that, when one of the alleged victims was in Parsley’s house, he asked her if she was going to get on the bed and instructed her to leave after she hesitated.
The crime of luring a minor by electronic means was filed due to allegations that Parsley sent Facebook messages that were sexual in nature to the aforementioned minor.
The crime of sexual assault was filed due to allegations that Parsley made sexual contact with a minor as she was leaving a counseling session.
The charge of solicitation was dismissed without prejudice during the hearing, because it had incorrectly been filed as taking place when the alleged victim was under 15 years old. Madson, and the alleged victim herself, testified she was 17 at the time of the offense.
Jayme Tenneson, representing the state, requested that the charge be amended to solicitation of a minor older than 15, which would be a misdemeanor rather than a felony, according to his court statement.
However, the defense argued, and the judge agreed, that it was inappropriate to amend a charge during a preliminary hearing — it should have been done beforehand, when there was time for both parties to present arguments of probable cause for that charge.
It would have to be recharged accurately later.
Mark Friese, representing Parsley, called a private investigator to testify, as well as both the alleged victims.
Tenneson argued that calling the alleged victims to testify was undue harassment. However, by the end of the hearing, Venhuizen said if anyone was at fault for harassing the women, it was the state.
Tenneson failed to amend the information document prior to the hearing after Friese contacted him about the following errors: the luring charge was documented as occurring in 2014, however, the alleged victim testified it happened between 2015 and 2016; the sexual assault charge was documented as occurring in 2008, however, the alleged victim said it happened in 2009.
Amendments can be made to information documents as long as it doesn’t materially affect the criminal allegations, however, failing to do so before the preliminary hearing resulted in an inability to establish probable cause for any of the charges as they were presented.
The case was dismissed entirely, though charges may be refiled.
North Dakota
Obituary for Philip George Freeman at Gregory J. Norman Funeral Chapel
North Dakota
North Dakota AG Wrigley makes first public comments about Epic Companies investigation
![North Dakota AG Wrigley makes first public comments about Epic Companies investigation](https://media-cdn.socastsrm.com/wordpress/wp-content/blogs.dir/2431/files/2024/06/attorney-general-drew-wrigley-march-2024-kfgo-756x675.jpeg)
Attorney General Drew Wrigley (R-ND)
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFGO Prairie Public Radio) – More than a month after KFGO News reported that West Fargo-based Epic Companies closed and is under investigation, Attorney General Drew Wrigley has made his first public comments.
Wrigley was asked about Epic during a news conference in Bismarck where he released 2023 state crime statistics.
“It’s obviously a very concerning matter,” Wrigley said. “There’s not always criminal wrongdoing, but if there is evidence of that, we pursue those investigations. Sometimes, they’re civil in nature, but whatever category it falls under, it’s concerning in nature. It’s being monitored, and it’s being evaluated, and it’s being investigated.”
Epic owns or manages commercial and residential buildings across the region and was hired to run “Norsk Hostfest” in Minot, which is back under local control for this fall’s event.
Epic has laid off employees and a number of contractors and suppliers say they’re owed significant amounts of money.
No one from the company will comment. Several sources say the company is under both state and federal investigation.
Among the agencies investigating is the state securities department.
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