Compiled by LAUREN DONOVAN

Bismarck Tribune

Seems farmers in Wells County have gotten into the practice of farming too close the roadway.

The practice is putting federal highway funding in jeopardy for the county, and the Wells County Commission plans to get involved.

County Commissioner Mary Hager said the encroachment could cause the county to lose funds that are used for road maintenance.

The right-of-way on these roads - which includes farm-to-market roads - is legally 75 feet from the centerline.

That means farmers aren't supposed to seed crops, or fence any closer.

Wells County road foreman Melvin Southard said in some instances, farmers have encroached on a full half of the right of way.

He said he drove a 33-mile stretch of road, and found that only three farmers were abiding by the setback. A survey found that 95 percent of the roads were being encroached upon.

It'll be up to the landowners - not renters - to repair and restore the right-of-way, and North Dakota Century Code said the landowners are liable to the county for such activity.

Southard said restoring the road easement will be expensive.

"It will take thousands of dollars to correct," he said. "The landowner will have to pay for it outright or it will be assessed on the taxes."

Southard, in cooperation with the Wells County state's attorney, will be contacting landowners along all paved roads in the county to apprise them of the situation and plans for enforcement.

He did say the county will wait until after harvest so farmers can reap what they have sowed.

- The Herald-Press

Washburn appraised

Appraisers will be knocking on Washburn doors starting this week.

The city has contracted with a company, Vanguard, to inspect all properties in the city limits in order to set a fair market value and, thus, a taxable valuation on them.

City economic development director Milissa Price said the idea is to make sure homes' value is property established so that taxes are fair.

She said it's been 12 years since the last appraisal and home values have generally gone up since then.

Some older homes may be appraised for less and new homes likely will be appraised for more.

Appraisers will work through this week, from early in the morning until late in the evening.

The McLean County Sheriff's Department has a list of Vanguard employee license plate numbers and the appraisers also will have photo identification if anyone wants to see it before allowing them inside.

The appraisers will look at the interior and exterior and estimate the fair market value of each property. Homeowners will not receive a value estimate at the time of the inspection.

Price said the city hopes people will cooperate, since 70 percent of the homes have to be evaluated for a valid citywide appraisal.

- The Leader-News

Spread too small

Normally, Luann Dart of Elgin wouldn't buy the same groceries twice in one day, much less at two different stores.

However, she did it because she wanted to test the old "shop at home" challenge and find the cost spread between groceries in Elgin and groceries in Mandan.

Turns out the "spread" was hardly enough to coat a piece of bread, much less compensate her for the cost of fuel.

She picked 15 items, including meat, fruit, milk and other common items. She stuck to name brands and avoided sale items.

Last week, she bought those 15 items at the store in Elgin and then drove roughly 60 miles to buy the same items at a Mandan store.

The result: The groceries cost $1.02 less in Mandan. On the other hand, she spent $45 for gas and $26 for her family's lunch.

She figured in the end, it cost her $71 to buy those items by traveling to a bigger town.

She also figured she would have had to purchase $1,840 worth of groceries to make up the cost of gas alone.

Fay Behm with the U.S. Small Business Administration recently spoke in Grant County, where Elgin is located.

Behm pointed out that if people choose to buy the majority of their goods out of town, pretty soon they won't have any choice in the matter.

"… We will be forced to drive 180 miles to buy a gallon of milk," she said. "Why would we do that to ourselves?"

- Grant County News