BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – Federal food assistance for low-income persons is set to freeze on Saturday because of the gridlock in Washington.

Terry Hornbuckle is a 65-year-old disabled widow, and she wonders how she will be able to make up for SNAP payments if they are paused in November due to the government shutdown.

“Any penny that comes into this house is absolutely pinched until it screams,” said Hornbuckle.

The government shutdown started almost a month ago. Democrats want a resolution on expiring health care tax credits. But Republicans demand that Democrats end the shutdown before they negotiate anything.

“Well, we’re going to get it done. The Democrats have caused the problem on food stamps,” said President Donald Trump.

Hornbuckle is just living off her late husband’s Social Security. She finds it unfathomable that the shutdown is hurting society’s most vulnerable.

“I’m being used as a weapon. I’m marginalized. I’m collateral damage,” said Hornbuckle.

The state Department of Health and Human Services has funds it could use to resume SNAP, but federal rules prevent this.

On Thursday, Governor Kelly Armstrong will announce a plan that could help North Dakotans bridge a possible gap in food assistance after Nov. 1.

Hornbuckle said this would be a meaningful step in the right direction.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz recently announced that he is sending $4 million in emergency funding to food shelves in advance of the SNAP benefits pausing.

Governor Armstrong’s office has not elaborated on what he is planning to announce on Thursday afternoon. We’ll be at the press conference and let you know the details as soon as we hear them.

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WOODWORTH, N.D. — The 57-year-old man who drowned Sunday morning, Oct. 26, near Woodworth was a lieutenant with the Knoxville Police Department in Tennessee, according to the department’s Facebook post.

Gordon Gwathney, of Knoxville, died after the kayak he was in tipped over in a slough about 15 miles northwest of Woodworth, according to information provided by the Stutsman County Sheriff’s Office.

Gwathney was on a duck hunting trip with three friends.

“This is an incomprehensible loss for our agency and the entire Knoxville community,” Knoxville Police Chief Paul Noel said in the Facebook post on Sunday. “Gordon was beloved by our department and so many members of our community. He was a truly exceptional police officer who mentored generations of officers, dedicated his entire life to service and embodied the true spirit of community policing.”

The Stutsman County Sheriff’s Office said Gwathney was duck hunting with three friends in a slough. Gwathney was in a kayak and went to retrieve a duck that was shot in the slough. Winds were 30-40 mph at the time of the accident.

While out on the water, the kayak capsized and Gwathney fell into the water, the sheriff’s office said. The sheriff’s office said he was not wearing a life preserver but had waders on.

First responders located and removed Gwathney from the slough before he was transported by Carrington Ambulance to CHI St. Alexius Health Carrington, where he was pronounced dead.

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department is investigating the accident.

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