New Guard brigade to be announced

FARGO (AP) - The National Guard on Monday is expected to announce plans for a Fargo combat support brigade that could bring 500 new jobs to the area.

Master Sgt. Dave Peterson said the new brigade will combine other military units across the state.

Don Canton, spokesman for Gov. John Hoeven, said he cannot confirm specifics yet. He said the details will be released Monday.

Maj. Gen. Michael Haugen, adjutant general of the state National Guard, and Brig. Gen. Dennis Jacobson, assistant adjutant general, are scheduled to speak at the news conference.

Peterson said recruiting also is under way for a new National Guard military police unit in Fargo. The 191st Military Police Company is expected to have 170 members, with 84 stationed in Fargo and 43 each in Bismarck and Mayville.

After Monday's news conference, the Chamber of Commerce of Fargo Moorhead will have a ribbon-cutting ceremony to dedicate a new National Guard storefront recruiting office.

Tests find only traces of contaminant

WEST FARGO (AP) - Tests at a former dry cleaning site have found only traces of gasoline components.

The Environmental Protection Agency ordered the tests last month after workers at the site intermittently smelled gasoline odors from vents. The site is being cleaned of perchloroethylene, a chemical often used in dry-cleaning businesses.

EPA spokeswoman Joyce Ackerman said tests showed traces of gasoline components being picked up by the cleaning system. The EPA will take no further action, she said.

"My theory is that it's just some kind of residual in the ground," she said.

The ground at the site is being cleaned with a process called thermally enhanced soil vapor extraction, which basically cooks the chemicals out of the ground.

Cleanup could finish by the end of the year. Its estimated cost is around $2.8 million.

Minot community bowl tops list

MINOT (AP) - A committee lists a community bowl first on a list of new facilities needed in this city.

The city's Community Facilities Ad Hoc Committee, representing 24 community organizations voted over the past week.

Minot activities director Pat McNally and Minot State Athletic Director Rick Hedberg have said that a community bowl is needed to keep Minot in the running for major sports events and to replace current stadiums in need of repair.

Mayor Curt Zimbelman has said he would form another committee to work on details.

Gov. Pawlenty deer-less in opener

PERHAM, Minn. (AP) - No deer for the governor this year.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty said he didn't bag a deer in his third annual Governor's Hunting Opener Saturday.

Pawlenty and his brother hunted near Perham, in Otter Tail County, on the opening day of Minnesota's firearms deer season. The governor said they saw a fawn and a small doe that "almost jumped into the stand with us," but nothing else came.

"We got buck fever, and ended up with nothing," Pawlenty said.

Pawlenty said they hunted for about 4½ hours, from 6:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Last year, Pawlenty shot a small, four-point buck in the Governor's Hunting Opener near Grand Rapids. He failed to bag a deer in his first governor's deer hunt, near Brainerd in 2003.