Monke – Page 16 – Dustin Monke

Dickinson man arrested after driving truck full of weapons to D.C. to kidnap Obamas’ dog

WASHINGTON — A Dickinson man, who had a weapons cache in his vehicle and told U.S. Secret Service agents he was Jesus Christ, was arrested Wednesday in the nation’s capital on weapons charges after agents were alerted he was there with the intention of kidnapping the Obama family’s pet dog.

Scott Davy Stockert, 49, told Secret Service agents he drove from Dickinson to Washington alone in his Dodge Ram pickup truck. He brought with him guns, ammunition and other weapons, according to court documents.

He made a series of bizarre claims to the arresting agents, including that he was Jesus Christ — and that it could be verified by his license — that John F. Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe were his parents, and that he planned to run for president. He said he was in Washington because he was going to the U.S. Capitol to advocate for $99 per month health care.

“You picked the wrong person to mess with,” Stockert told agents, according to the court documents. “I will (expletive) your world up.”

Stark County Sheriff’s Major Ray Kaylor said Stockert’s family approached their office on Wednesday morning asking for help in locating him after they’d received text messages stating he was in New York City, and that he was driving to Washington with the intention of kidnapping Bo, President Barack Obama’s Portuguese water dog.

“He said his plan was the kidnap the president’s dog, Bo. He felt the dog was being neglected,” Kaylor said, adding Stockert’s texts said nothing about harming the dog.

Bo (L) and Sunny, the Obama family's new puppy, are pictured on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington in this photo released on August 19, 2013 by the White House. A North Dakota man who allegedly plotted to kidnap one of the Obama family's pet Portuguese water dogs was arrested with guns and ammunition at a downtown Washington hotel and is facing a weapons charge, The Washington Post reported on Friday. REUTERS/Pete Souza/The White House/Handout via Reuters FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS — Bo (L) and Sunny, the Obama family’s new puppy, are pictured on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington in this photo released on August 19, 2013 by the White House. A North Dakota man who allegedly plotted to kidnap one of the Obama family’s pet Portuguese water dogs was arrested with guns and ammunition at a downtown Washington hotel and is facing a weapons charge, The Washington Post reported on Friday. REUTERS/Pete Souza/The White House/Handout via Reuters

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From Dickinson to Frisco: Area Bison fans confident about chances for fifth national title

Sarah and Jared Twogood, of Dickinson, stand on the fi eld at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, following North Dakota State University’s victory over Illinois State in their fourth consecutive FCS championship game on Jan. 10, 2015.

Dave and Kay Moody aren’t exactly superstitious, but they aren’t taking any chances either.

The Moodys made their fifth annual trip to Frisco, Texas, this week the same way they did when they followed the North Dakota State University football team — and their son, senior Bison receiver Nate Moody — there in 2012.

The Moodys left Dickinson on Wednesday to drive to the Denver area and then flew to Dallas on Thursday morning and are staying at the same hotel they did during the first title season, Dave said, when Nate was a freshman who saw playing time in NDSU’s first title win.

“It’s kind of full circle,” Dave said. “That’s what we did the first year and we figured, let’s do it.”

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Theodore Roosevelt National Park makes N.Y. Times’ travel list

The Little Missouri River fl ows through the North Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park on June 6, 2013.

NEW YORK — The New York Times’ travel editors have named Theodore Roosevelt National Park as one of its “52 Places To Go in 2016.”

The park came in at No. 5 in the newspaper’s rankings, as it spoke fondly of the 26th president who was a champion of conservation.

The Times wrote: “Fly into Dickinson in western North Dakota to visit the park named after him, where rolling grasslands dotted with bison collapse into the spectacular red, white and gold badlands of tumbling mud coulees.

“Lonely dirt roads bring you to one of the park’s less-visited attractions, Elkhorn Ranch, about 35 miles north of Medora, where Roosevelt arrived in 1884 as a young New Yorker ready to raise cattle and heal from the deaths of his wife and mother.”

The park was one of 10 American cities or landmarks to make the list, and was the first U.S. place listed.

Other U.S. locations included Park City, Utah; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Washington, D.C., Providence, R.I.; East Bay, Calif.; Rosine, Ky., St. Louis; Marfa, Texas; and Beaufort, S.C.

Past year proof of life’s uncertainties

The only thing certain in this life is uncertainty.

Never was that more true than in southwest North Dakota in 2015.

We came into the year nervous about the state of the energy industry here as oil prices steadily dropped.

The commodity that had sparked so much growth, development and excitement in our little corner of the world all of a sudden wasn’t having such a great impact. Instead, everything seemed to hit pause, and oil companies began shuttering operations, taking down rigs and cutting workers by the dozen.

We now go into 2016 knowing it’s unlikely that the oil industry will soon return to the boom times that sparked and sustained our growth.

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Year of change in Oil Patch: City leaders move forward after unexpected crude price declines in 2015

An oil well pumps on the outskirts of northwest Watford City on Oct. 14. Despite the decline in oil prices, a hectic way of life continues in many Oil Patch cities, though some city leaders say 2015 brought many changes

Leaders in western North Dakota’s Oil Patch cities say life didn’t change as abruptly as many expected it to in 2015 as crude prices bottomed out, oil rigs disappeared from the landscape, and oilfield workers packed up and left the area in droves.

As traffic slowed, crew camps closed and apartments emptied, Williston, Dickinson and Watford City continued to build infrastructure and work on long-term projects while keeping a close eye on the industry for even the slightest changes.

“As a city, we haven’t had a chance to take a breath yet,” Williston Mayor Howard Klug said. “We had $100 million worth of projects going on. We’re finally getting them all buttoned up.”

In McKenzie County, which produces more oil than any county in the state, Watford City Mayor Brent Sanford said “it’s really business as usual.” But, he said, challenges are neverending, despite the creation of what city and county leaders believe is a long-term industry through both oil and natural gas production jobs.

“People are still busy,” he said. “There’s not a lot of job loss in Watford City, comparatively, and there are still job openings. There are still employers who are still trying to figure out plans for hiring the right amount of employees and the right employees.”

Dickinson, meanwhile, has fallen back on its manufacturing industry to soften the blow of massive oilfield job loss after what City Administrator Shawn Kessel said after the city experienced multiple years of 10 percent growth.

“I think people really have to look the whole thing in perspective. … That stuff is really not sustainable in the long term,” he said. “What the downturn has done has allowed our manufacturers to take advantage of the economy. They had a hard time expanding because of such a low unemployment rate. They couldn’t find employees. Now they can. Rather than having expansions happen in other communities, they can now look at Dickinson again. I think that’s great. I’m really glad to see that. It further diversifies our economy. It makes us more resilient in managing the back side of the boom.”

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