Compiled by LAUREN DONOVAN

Bismarck Tribune

The old saying that North Dakota has six months of winter, quickly followed by six months of road construction, will be put to the test in Watford City.

The community is poised to grin and bear seven months of road construction right through the heart of town.

At $7 million, the work will be the most expensive infrastructure in the community's history.

Two streets - Main and Fourth Avenue - will be replaced.

Partly because the project also includes sidewalk replacement, Main Street will be closed to traffic for three months starting in June and the only way to get to businesses along the commercial district will be through their back doors.

City engineer Lowell Cutshaw may have said it best: "You can't have an omelet without breaking any eggs."

While the character of the community and its business owners will be sorely tested, the end result will be worth the trouble.

The asphalt road will be repoured with concrete. New sidewalks will be graced with ornamental trees and decorative street lights. New storm sewers will be installed and two new walking paths will be added to the town's path system.

People will have to rethink how they get around and get used to walking a few alleys.

McKenzie County Farmer publisher Neil Shipman said, "With everyone's support, it will be business as usual for downtown Watford City during the construction period."

- McKenzie County Farmer

Oil creeping east

Residents of McLean County may soon feel the ground rumbling beneath them.

It's not an earthquake; it's the tremor of oil activity, and it may be moving closer to McLean County.

The county will get top billing in an April 29 oil and gas leasing sale conducted by the State Land Department.

More mineral acres in McLean County than any other county have been nominated for leasing in the sale.

The 4,000 acres are in 64 tracts, ranging from 40 to 160 acres in size.

The McLean County acres will account for nearly one-fourth of all acres nominated for the sale.

Next door in Mountrail County, oil activity is going great guns with 23 rigs actively drilling.

McLean County recorder Dewey Oster said the landman business has been on the wane these past few months.

However, more than 1,000 mineral leases were recorded in 2007, compared to 60 the year before.

Oster said it's hard to say what the leases will bring. He said in the '70s, the county had one year with more leases recorded than the 1,000 in 2007.

"And certainly, the countryside is not dotted with oil wells. Most certainly, technology has improved in the area of exploration and production, but that oil can still be an elusive commodity to locate," Oster said.

Oster said McLean County doesn't appear to be the hottest commodity for leasing now and that a limited number of drilling rigs are going to the best known locations.

- McLean County Independent

Paint attack

A pair of young men - certainly old enough to know better - were busted for painting the town back in February.

The two - David Sperling, 19, of Wishek, and Kyle Nagel, 24, of Wishek and Napoleon - were charged with 24 misdemeanor counts of criminal mischief.

The charges stem from a nighttime spree of using paintball guns to splatter homes, businesses and buildings in Wishek and Lehr.

Sperling pleaded not guilty at his initial appearance Monday and is scheduled to be back in court April 28, when Nagel will have his initial appearance.

The investigation was conducted by the McIntosh and Logan county sheriff's departments and Wishek police.

- Ashley Tribune

Fire takes all

Larry Schafer said he and his wife, Shirley, never had very much.

After a fire ripped through their rural New Leipzig farmyard March 29, they have even less.

The couple was outside, preparing to get afternoon feed to their cows, when they smelled smoke.

Within what seemed like minutes, flames were jumping over the hilltop headed straight toward their yard.

Larry Schafer said he grabbed the hose, "but what little water came out didn't do anything."

Shirley felt the first lick of panic and ran to the house to grab her purse and call 911.

With wind gusts approaching 50 mph, it wasn't long and flames were devouring all their outbuildings, their equipment, chicken coop, everything in the yard.

In the wind, neighbors' efforts to try to disk a fire break proved futile, though one neighbor was able to lead the cows to safety and is keeping them until the Schafer's fences can be rebuilt.

Firefighters from New Leipzig and Mott responded, but New Leipzig chief Larry Friedt said they couldn't do much. "When we got there, there were just flames all over the place. It was just way out of control." In the end, it took 20 firefighters and many volunteers to get the fire in hand.

Only the smoke-blackened house was saved, but only because firefighter David Hoherz got to the scene early and sprayed the house.

Friedt said the fire started a mile and a half to the west, where a neighbor was burning trees the day before. Saturday's wind picked up a spark, and off it went.

Grant County has issued a complete fire ban until further notice.

- Grant County News