Dustin Monke

Dickinson mayor Dennis Johnson to resign at end of October

Dickinson’s mayor of more than 15 years said he is resigning at the end of the month.

Dennis Johnson, who has overseen the city’s growth since well before the start of the Bakken oil boom, said Monday during a regular city commission meeting that his position on the MDU Resources Group board of directors has created a conflict that is forcing him to choose between either remaining Dickinson’s city commission president or keeping his spot on MDU’s board.

“The annual amount of business between the City of Dickinson and MDU Resources and its subsidiaries is reaching an amount that exceeds the standards set by the New York Stock Exchange, and would result in me being designated a non-independent director,”

Johnson said at the meeting while reading from a prepared statement.

“If I am no longer an independent director, I have to leave the MDU Resources board. I prefer to remain on the MDU Resources board.”
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Editorial: New DSU president must bring pride, people back

Congratulations and welcome to Thomas Mitzel, the next president of Dickinson State University. Mitzel will become the newest leader in our community when he takes office in January, and a leader he will very much need to be.

Expectations have never been higher for an incoming DSU president. Mitzel will not only be expected to increase enrollment rather quickly, but also help the university establish a new and trustworthy alumni foundation, all while improving community relations.

We, and the rest of the community, want and expect DSU to return to its glory days. But there’s much Mitzel and his new staff must do before that happens.

He should listen to the needs of his faculty and staff, and weed out those who believe the status quo is the only way to go. He must convince the most hardheaded at his school that there are better ways of doing business than by ignoring problems and then wondering why problems linger for years.

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Transaction denied: Wells Fargo ATM destroyed by forklift in attempted robbery

A forklift was allegedly used in an attempt to break in to an ATM at the Wells Fargo bank in west Dickinson early Wednesday morning.

A forklift was allegedly driven nearly a mile from its construction site location and used in an attempt to rob an ATM at the Wells Fargo bank early Wednesday morning in west Dickinson.

The Dickinson Police Department is investigating the destruction of the ATM and the attempted theft of its contents after an alarm was triggered at about 12:14 a.m.

No money was stolen from the ATM in the incident and police have no suspects, Sgt. Dave Wallace said.

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Cutbacks in the Bakken: Baker Hughes layoff of 117 employees biggest signal yet of slowdown

Baker Hughes' Dickinson facility. — Baker Hughes’ Dickinson facility.

Falling oil prices and the resulting oil drilling slowdown in the Bakken Oil Patch has led one of the world’s largest oilfield services companies to make major cutbacks at its Dickinson office.

Baker Hughes sent a letter of notice to Dickinson Mayor Dennis Johnson on Wednesday, stating it was permanently terminating 117 employees here — most of them field operators and specialists.

In the letter, Baker Hughes stated that falling oil prices “have negatively impacted the market and reduced the overall need for the services provided by Baker Hughes.”

The Work Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act requires companies that plan to terminate more than 100 employees alert area and state workforce services, as well as the mayor of the city where the layoffs occur. Baker Hughes did not release how many workers it still employs at its Dickinson office.

Johnson said, in his 15 years as the city commission’s president, he cannot remember receiving a similar letter.

“Historically, at least for quite a while, there haven’t been any layoffs of that magnitude,” he said.

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Cigarettes caused downtown building fire

The Dickinson Fire Department works at a fire in downtown Dickinson on Tuesday night

Cigarettes started the fire that displaced the tenants of four apartments Tuesday night in a downtown Dickinson building.

The fire originated from a plastic cigarette disposal container, Dickinson Fire Chief Bob Sivak said. The container, sitting a second-floor deck area on the north side of the Jessen Building on the corner of Villard Street and First Avenue West, somehow ignited and started a fire because of multiple combustible materials nearby.

“We’re listing the cause of the fire as unintentional and related to smoking materials,” Sivak said.

Sivak said two apartments and the building’s roof were badly damaged by the fire, as was electrical wiring to the building.

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