Earlier this week, a couple of the Morton County commissioners said they had been watching the Burleigh County meeting on Monday and were surprised there weren't more fireworks between the sheriff and commissioner regarding separating administration of the jail from the Sheriff's Department.

The Burleigh County Commission and Sheriff Steve Berg had planned on taking up the issue, but both sides are awaiting an attorney general's opinion and didn't want to take up the matter until they have it.

Morton County Commissioners Bob Christensen and Dick Tokach told me they had considered a similar separation when Bob Erhardt became sheriff.

Erhardt said the commission had talked to him about it, but he had preferred to remain the main administrator of the jail as his predecessors had. I called former commission Chairman Richard Bendish, who confirmed the commission had asked state's attorney Allen Koppy about a possible separation of responsibilities. Bendish said Koppy advised against it and the commission dropped the matter.

Capital Electric vs. MDU

After the story about Capital Electric Cooperative filing a complaint with the Public Service Commission over Montana-Dakota Utilities attempting to serve the Boulder Ridge subdivision in Bismarck, I had a chance to speak with Capital Electric attorney Carol Larson of Pringle & Herigstad, P.C.

While Larson wouldn't come out and say the complaint was a hedge against a Bismarck City Commission decision to award the franchise to MDU, she did say the outcome of the city commission's decision may determine whether Capital Electric continues to pursue a PSC ruling.

This Tuesday, MDU and Capital Electric are scheduled to make their cases on providing service to Boulder Ridge before the Bismarck City Commission. Each has been asked to file a brief and give a 20-minute presentation. According to Larson, Capital Electric still plans on participating, despite its complaint to the PSC.

MDU's Dan Sharp says MDU will maintain the PSC does not have jurisdiction since it is a franchise issue and the state is prohibited from interfering in a municipality's right to grant a franchise.

Better sound

The Mandan City Commission used its new sound system at Tuesday's meeting.

Gone were the snaps, crackles and pops, replaced by the clear resonances of the commissioners' voices. But there are still a few bugs in the system, as the sound tended to cut out while someone was speaking.

In the background I could see a concerned city administrator, Jim Neubauer, mouthing over and over, "talk into the mike"; at least that's what I think he was trying to say. It appears the microphones are strong directionally, but fall outside what seems to be a very narrow range, and the clear voices turned into whispers. I figure they'll get the kinks worked out of the system before too long.

A couple of people have asked me why the Mandan City Commission doesn't televise their meetings like Bismarck does. Commissioner Sandra Tibke has mentioned that the commission has talked about it, but wanted to wait until the sound system problems were fixed. Well, those are remedied so maybe in the future we'll see something. The commission has talked a lot about improving communications with the residents of Mandan, and this could go a long way in achieving that.

(Reach reporter Gordon Weixel at 250-8255 or gordon.weixel@;bismarcktribune.com.)