FARGO, N.D. (Valley News Live) — Statewide, primary turnout came in just under 21%, with a little over 125,000 ballots cast across North Dakota.

Cass County, which led the state in early in-person voting, finished at about 19% overall turnout.

This was also the first year that absentee ballots had to be received by Election Day, and nearly 87% of those ballots were returned.

Fargo mayoral race turnout

Inside Fargo, the numbers get more specific. The city’s 2026 population is estimated at about 138,574 people. In the mayoral race, 21,610 ballots were cast.

If you stack that against the entire population — kids, non-citizens, everyone — that works out to about 15.6% of Fargo residents casting a vote for mayor and about 7.3% of everyone living here voting for the winner.

Election officials say there are 63,316 active voters in Fargo. Based on that, about 34.13% of eligible voters took part in the mayor’s race, and about 15.93% — nearly 16% — of eligible voters cast a ballot for Josh Boschee.

For context, state election officials say that in the last Fargo mayoral election in 2022, 23,950 votes were cast. But that primary also included a U.S. Senate contest at the top of the ballot — the kind of high-profile race that tends to draw more voters.

This time around, neither U.S. Senate seat is up, and there’s no governor’s race either, so the mayoral and local contests had to do more of the work driving turnout on their own.

Ballot shortage at Atonement Lutheran Church

Officials confirm they ran extra ballots to Atonement Lutheran Church, but say that’s normal as turnout shifts between vote centers.

According to the auditor, it didn’t create any lines they’re aware of, didn’t change the outcome, and mainly meant that some polling places took a little longer than usual to get their materials back in.

Infrastructure sales tax approved

Voters overwhelmingly approved keeping Fargo’s 1% Infrastructure Sales Tax. The measure passed with 15,255 votes, or 72.89%, in favor. 5,673 votes, or 27.11%, were against.

That means the existing 1% tax will remain in place until December 2048, rather than expiring in 2028.

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) – Severe thunderstorms rolled through Northeast Ohio on Wednesday night, bringing down trees and knocking out power to thousands.

The heaviest damage seemed to be in Lorain County in the city of Lorain and Amherst. The Amherst Fire Department said there are large trees down on Jackson Street and Cleveland Avenue.

Check FirstEnergy’s, AEP’s, and Cleveland Public Power’s websites for the latest outage numbers.

More storms will work through the area overnight, as another disturbance reaches the area after midnight.

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These storms will be ordinary in nature, though they could contain heavy downpours.

These storms should last through the middle of the day tomorrow, before clearing later in the day.

Lightning strike in Brunswick.

West Park neighborhood lightning show in Cleveland.

Submit any photos and videos from storm below.

Check back with the 19 News First Alert Weather team for the latest weather forecast.

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RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) -A cold front moving through South Dakota will bring strong winds Thursday, with gusts up to 50 mph expected in northwestern parts of the state.

Wind advisories have been issued for Buffalo, Lemmon, Spearfish and areas near Rapid City. The strongest winds are expected in northwestern South Dakota, north and east of the Black Hills, up into the Buffalo area.

Wind timing and intensity

Winds are expected to build during overnight hours into Thursday morning and continue through midday. The strongest winds are forecast around 10 to 11 a.m. Thursday.

Winds will begin calming around 5 to 6 p.m., with breezy conditions continuing around 8 p.m.

The east side of the state could see some 50 mph wind gusts.

Rain and thunderstorms are possible

Showers are moving into the area, with heavy rain in northeastern Wyoming. Sheridan and Gillette could see heavy activity with possible thunderstorms.

Rapid City and western South Dakota will initially see dry conditions as upslope flow squeezes moisture out of the northern and western slopes of the Black Hills. Showers will move through the rest of Thursday, especially north of Interstate 90.

Some areas could receive about a half-inch of rain, though model data shows variations. Additional rain is expected Sunday, with temperatures about 10 degrees below average.

Front stalls across the region

The front is expected to stall over Ekalaka, Alzada, and Belle Fourche, and into central Meade County, including Union Center, and into Ziebach County.

Temperature outlook

Morning lows on Thursday will drop to 40 degrees in Gillette and 51 degrees in Rapid City. Temperatures will fall below average across much of the region after the cold front moves through.

Highs on Thursday will reach the 70s in Pine Ridge, Kadoka, Sheridan, and Belle Fourche. Temperatures will rise back to the 70s and 80s on Friday.

Another cooldown is expected Saturday with the next front. Temperatures in the hills could drop into the 50s, with highs of 56 in some areas and 62 in Deadwood. Spearfish and Hot Springs will see temperatures similar to the plains. Phillip and Pine Ridge will warm into the 80s by Friday.

Rapid City will hit 77 Tuesday and 83 Wednesday as high pressure moves into the area and temperatures stay moderate through the end of the week.

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