December 14 – The following stories from this week appeared on
www.jamestownsun.com
and in The Jamestown Sun.
The Board of Directors of Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corp. approved unanimously on Monday, December 9
Funding the Flex PACE Program 2025
for the amount of $500,000.
If approved by the Jamestown City Council and the Stutsman County Commission, the 2025 Flex PACE program will be funded on an 80-20 split between cities and counties. The City of Jamestown’s share would be $400,000, while Stutsman County’s share would be $100,000.
In 2024, the JSDC participated in 12 Flex PACE loans totaling more than $640,000, said Alyssa Looysen, JSDC business director. She said the investment brought about $1.5 million and more than $14 million in private investment to the Jamestown area.
JSDC CEO Corry Shevlin said three projects – 201 Aesthetics, Charge on Together and Central Sales – will participate in Flex PACE lending in 2024.
“We kept those… in the form of full cash values, one because they’re still going to receive incentives and they’re still going to receive incentives from the Bank of North Dakota, but from our book side we didn’t feel comfortable doing that yet not to do until everything was fully done and implemented,” he said.
A bench was dedicated
honoring a fallen Mercer County Sheriff’s Office deputy
on Wednesday, Dec. 11, at the James Valley Career and Technology Center in Jamestown.
Deputy Paul Martin, 53, was killed during a high-speed chase that began on December 6, 2023 in Hazen, North Dakota.
Ian Matthew Cramer, 43, pleaded guilty in September in Mercer County District Court to murder while fleeing law enforcement, fleeing a peace officer, evading arrest, reckless endangerment, driving under suspension and possession of meth, cocaine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia. Cramer will be sentenced on December 30.
Cramer is also charged with theft of property, criminal mischief and reckless endangerment for allegedly taking the vehicle used in the chase from Sanford Medical Center in Bismarck, court records show. He pleaded not guilty to these charges, and the trial is scheduled to begin on January 22.
About 50 people, including local law enforcement officers and first responders, attended the bank’s dedication ceremony in Martin’s honor on Wednesday.
Martin grew up near Jamestown and graduated from Jamestown High School in 1989.
James Nygaard, a retired North Dakota Highway police officer, said Martin’s father, Fred, also worked at the James Valley Career and Technology Center.
The bench will be permanently mounted near the sidewalk on the boulevard in front of the James Valley Career and Technology Center.
Gross Welding in Bismarck made the bench, which was donated by the All Vets Club in Jamestown. Carol Martin designed the back of the sofa.
The Jamestown Police Department did just that
released the officer’s name
who shot and killed a man involved in a reported active-shooter incident outside Fred’s Den on December 3.
Sergeant Cory Beckman, a five-year veteran of the Jamestown Police Department, was the first officer on scene and the only one involved in a shootout with the suspect, Devin Quinn Fontenot, 27, Jamestown, according to Police Chief Scott Edinger.
Beckman is a member of the James Valley Special Operations Team, a K-9 handler from Briggs, and a member of the department’s peer support team.
He remains on standard paid administrative leave while the North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigation investigates the incident.
Fontenot refused to comply with an order to drop his weapon, endangering the safety of the police sergeant and others, Edinger said. Fontenot was shot by Beckman.
Fontenot died of wounds sustained by gunfire.
Food insecurity is increasing
in North Dakota, according to Ethan Liu, a research specialist at the Sheila and Robert Chailey Institute for Global Innovation & Growth at North Dakota State University.
Liu’s data shows that overall food insecurity in North Dakota rose from 4.8% in 2020 to 8.5% in 2022. The most recent statistics are available.
“If the family feels like they are having trouble affording food, then there is food insecurity,” he said. “The big cities have more resources than the rural areas.”
Liu said food insecurity in North Dakota is less than nationally. The national average for food insecure families is 13.1%.
“Almost all (North Dakota) counties have food insecurity below 20%,” he said, “but we can do better.”
According to Liu’s report, food insecurity by county in North Dakota ranged from a low of 5.8% in Renville County to a high of 21.4% in Sioux County. Stutsman County had a food insecurity rate of 10.8% and is one of six counties in North Dakota with a food insecurity rate above 10%. Other North Dakota counties with food insecurity rates above 10% include Sioux, Rollette, Ramsey, Benson and Eddy counties.
The Salvation Army 360 Life Center in Jamestown is
is facing a critical shortage in the annual Red Kettle campaign
said Jerrgy Bergquist, chairman of the advisory board.
With just two weeks to go, the center has raised just over $14,000, far short of its $60,000 goal. This funding is essential to support The Salvation Army’s programs that serve individuals and families in need throughout the year, he said.
Bergquist said a significant challenge is the 1,100 outstanding volunteer hours for whistleblowers at red kettle sites. An unmanned boiler doesn’t make any money, but an hour with a volunteer bell ringer can bring in $80 to $100 — enough to feed three families for a week, he said.
“This campaign is essential to our mission,” Bergquist said. “Without achieving our goal, we may not be able to fully support the people who depend on us for food, shelter and other resources.”
The Salvation Army is asking the community to help close the gap by volunteering as a whistleblower or donating generously. Volunteers can register via
RegisterToRing.com
and are encouraged to create a meaningful holiday tradition while making a difference for neighbors in need.
