Storms damage Fargo area

FARGO (AP) - Heavy rain and wind blew down a tent and destroyed a concession stand at the North Dakota Horse Park here as the race track's Labor Day meet was ending, manager Rob Lynch said.

The tent, about 160- by 40-feet, was held up by large metal poles, and some were sheered off by Monday night's high winds, Lynch said.

Despite the damage, he said, the track will open Friday for three days of harness racing.

Heavy rain Fargo-area flooded streets and underpasses, and some marble-size hail was reported about 7:30 p.m. Sirens sounded in Fargo, West Fargo and neighboring Moorhead, Minn., after a tornado warning was issued.

At the Wild Rice Bar and Grill south of Fargo, two travel trailers and a pickup topper were destroyed. The bar's sign was torn down, along with a fence.

White Shield man jailed in robbery

A White Shield man has been sentenced to nine years in prison for robbing a convenience store on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.

Thomas Clifford Eagle, 20, was sentenced on Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Bismarck. U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland ordered Eagle to serve five years probation after his release.

Eagle pleaded guilty in June to robbery within Indian Country and carrying a firearm, U.S. Attorney Drew Wrigley said.

Wrigley said Eagle entered a convenience store brandishing a 12-gauge shotgun and demanded money from a clerk on Dec. 18. Eagle was stopped by the Highway Patrol near Minot, where a 30-minute standoff ensued, he said.

Eagle eventually threw the shotgun in a ditch and surrendered, Wrigley said.

- Associated Press

Wet weather delays beet harvest

FARGO (AP) - After a night of heavy rain, American Crystal Sugar delayed its pre-pile beet harvest by a couple of days at two of its Red River Valley factories.

The pre-pile harvest allows American Crystal growers to bring in about 10 percent of the crop to prepare factories for the full harvest next month.

American Crystal spokesman Jeff Schweitzer said the pre-pile harvest had been scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday in the Moorhead and Crookston, Minn., factories, but it was pushed back to Thursday and Friday. Factories in Hillsboro and East Grand Forks, Minn., are to start up next week, he said.