Coming up on the evening report, hundreds miraculously survived the anhydrous spill.
Unfortunately, one man's life was lost.
We'll tell you his story.
And rescue crews are taking the heat over Friday's response time.
We'll hear their side of the story.
And I'm Nick Dreier live at the Dakota Square Mall where a lot of people have been affected by the derailment here on Friday morning.
As you see behind me, many are lined up here staking their claims and we'll have details on that.
Coming up on the evening report.
This is the evening report at 6 with the first full weather in the first 10 minutes.
Only on NBC North Dakota News, the news leader.
Good evening, I'm Kim Fundings-Land.
I'm Carina Lunde. Thanks for joining us.
As we reported yesterday, emergency personnel response coordinators expected the worst after Friday's tragic accident.
That's right. In fact, arrangements were being made for a temporary morn.
That morn, thanks to the work of some real heroes, which we will detail throughout this newscast, was never used.
We begin our continuing coverage tonight with the regretful story of the death of 38-year-old John Gravenger, the lone fatality from Friday's nightmare.
In the choking, threatening fog created by leaking anhydrous ammonia, John Gravenger and his wife Malia crashed through their garage door in an effort to find safety.
Visibility was near zero, and the Gravenger pickup became stuck near a neighbor's home.
I tried taking care of her as best I could, and I kept telling him and stressing him how bad she needed oxygen. She was swelling up, and then finally I hugged her.
Malia managed to struggle into the Juttonen home. John never made it.
I had a mask in my truck, you know, for ammonia and stuff, so I went out to my truck and got that on, and I could get it. John, he was laying in the driveway.
So I tried to get a hold of him and pull him in, but I couldn't do it myself.
Like a true friend and neighbor, Juttonen did the only thing that he could do.
So I more or less decided that we were not going to help John, other than cover him up because he didn't have much clothes on, so I got him a sleeping bag.
Malia suffered greatly from her exposure to the deadly ammonia and spent time in the intensive care ward at Trinity Hospital.
She has been removed from the ICU, but remains hospitalized. Her husband's funeral is scheduled for this Thursday.
While the loss of even one life is regrettable, the tally could have been much worse without the efforts of rescue personnel.
Although their thin ranks and resources were stretched to the limits, rescue teams did everything they could.
Nick Dreyer talked with some of the first rescuers out on Friday morning.
Fireman John Crill and Travis Boucher were off duty at the time of the derailment, but were called in for backup.
I went outside to start my van and looked down the street and the cloud of vapor was already coming at me, so it was kind of interesting.
I had to leave my family and go to work. It was pretty unique.
Both made it to work and phones were ringing out the hook. They were busy answering the phone calls.
They knew they were needed, so they jumped in a backup rescue truck, threw in as much equipment as they could find, and took off.
They received a call that a deputy was trapped out in the cloud of gas and went out looking for him, never imagining what it was like outside.
You can't see your hand in front of your face, and that's basically what it was like.
And we started driving into the, when we decided to go in, we got about 100 yards in and the condition just rapidly deteriorated.
We couldn't see anything. I was driving and I was asking John, I said, can you see anything? And he said no.
I was looking for some lines on the road to try to give me an idea of where I was going.
It was slow going. Mouchet says he was driving only by feel.
To their surprise, they found vehicles scattered along the bypass and people trying to drive into the deadly cloud.
They knew the deputy still needed them, but they were trained to help the people they come across first.
Luckily, Mouchet saw some flashing lights.
He had apparently gone off the road and slid all the way down and stuck into that fence at the bottom of the hill.
So he kind of half walked and slid down the hill.
Once the deputy was in safety efforts, went to the others still trapped in their homes.
You don't realize the magnitude of the cloud and how dangerous it can be.
And you just don't realize you can't just drive in and get everybody right away.
It's a tough situation and we tried to do the best we could.
Krill and Mouchet would like people to know that this was a collective effort and they were only part of a team.
We'll have more of their story at 10 and we'll check in with Nick live from CP Rail's claim center in just a few minutes.
Today's briefing at Emergency Operations Command at the City Auditorium revealed the continuing delicate nature of the cleanup.
On the second straight night, workers were pulled out due to high levels of ammonia in the air.
Last night again there was a small disturbance of the product came up from the soil and it shut down the operation.
So the progress has been slow.
They are out there right now as we speak collecting physical evidence on the site as they're cleaning up the derailment.
Today's crowd was told that the air quality continues to fluctuate in the evacuated area of Terra Sita Vallejo. Also the county is going to be asked to request additional relief.
I'm also going to take a disaster declaration to the county commission and recommend that that area is declared a disaster area.
What that will do hopefully is open up some federal resources also for those residents out there.
It still cannot be accurately determined when residents will be allowed to move back into the homes that have been evacuated in the Terra Sita Vallejo area.
Minot's local and rural emergency personnel spend much of their time training for various disaster incidents.
In fact, one such exercise was held in Minot this past summer simulating a derailment which included a chemical spill.
While such training saves lives, it cannot prepare responders for every situation.
There's no one way that you can train for every scenario.
So what you try to do is train primarily from a management point of view on how you bring your resources in, how you deploy them, and some of the side issues with that.
But to be able to train for every chemical at different levels, but you can never train for every specific incident.
Canadian Pacific Rail is dealing with a large number of claims since the derailment.
Live at their claims site is Nick Dreyer.
Well, thanks for a very large number.
As you can see, the crowd behind me here, a lot of people staking their claims as to what happened to them on early Friday morning.
Joining me now is John Burgundy, a spokesman for CP Rail.
Thanks for joining us tonight, John.
Certainly.
John, I guess my first question to you is can anyone come to this claims center?
Well, people who have been impacted by this derailment, had to go to the motel, had to seek some medical treatment, had to buy something because they couldn't get back into their home, certainly come down and talk to us about those issues.
Okay.
And what should they bring with them?
Well, receipts are always helpful, but even if you don't have those, because we realize people run pretty quickly when something like this happens, just come down and lay out in detail for us what happened and we'll talk it out.
Okay.
And John, how many claims have you taken?
You've been set up here since yesterday, I believe, right?
How many claims do you think you've went through already?
Well, I'm not certain of the number, but we've been here since Saturday, and as you can tell, there are a great number of people here today.
Okay, since Saturday.
Sorry about that.
John, is this what companies like CP Rail usually do when disasters like this happen?
It's an easy way to do this type of thing.
We understand that people had to pack up very quickly and leave, and they just have out-of-pocket expenses and it takes time for us to catch up to it.
But if there's somebody that has a problem and didn't have enough money, ran short, or just wants to talk to us about the claim, that's what we're here for.
Now, these people are fully refunded for this, and is there a maximum of how far it goes, or how does that work?
We just talk it out and have a look at your expenses and find out what's reasonable, and some people have unusual things.
They have to board a dog, didn't bring enough socks with us, the kids needed some toys or something.
So there are lots of things that potentially could be part of the claim.
Alright, thanks a lot, John.
John Burgney, spokesman for CP Rail.
Their claims office will be here near the J.C. Penney Court in Radio Shack in the Dakota Square Mall here.
So their hours are 8 to 8 right now, and they're scheduled to be here tomorrow too, as far as tomorrow.
So that's all I got from here, guys. Let's go back to the studio.
Thanks, Nick, and we'll hear more on what's happening at the claim center tonight at 10.
Well, if you have claims or questions, there are a number of organizations that are ready to help you.
Here is a list of numbers and websites.
If you need counseling or shelter, the number to contact, the Red Cross, 858-2828.
If you experienced or suffered inhalation problems during the anhydrous incident, contact the 1st District Health Unit, 852-1376.
If you need information about anhydrous and its effects, check the website, www.health.state.nd.us.
Also, if you have claims to file with the Canadian Pacific Rail, there is that center that Nick was at at Dakota Square Mall.
The phone number there is 858-9797.
Now let's take a quick look at our weather omenette.
Normal high is 18 degrees, a normal low of 1. Record high set at 54 degrees, that was in 1942.
A record low of 40 below zero in 1922. There's your sunrise and your sunset.
Remember to watch Kevin's 7-day outlook for tomorrow's high temperature,
and be caller number 3 at 852-4101 to win products from Chefs Dakota Deli.
Now let's check in with Chief Meteorologist Kevin Lawrence in the KMOT First-Warned Forecast Center for our forecast.
Kim and Karina, thank you very much and good evening everybody.
I hope you're bundled up because we are in the dead of winter and is it cold outside, down to our south, hard to believe, but it's a lot warmer.
Let's go ahead and get to it and I'll show you exactly what I'm talking about.
Our first full weather of course in the first 10 minutes.
Take a look at these temperatures. It's really a wide variety of numbers for this evening.
Two degrees right now above zero here in Minot. Nine in Williston, one degree in Devils Lake, four in Grand Forks.
You can make out the Arctic fronts here just by looking at these temperatures right about here is where it would be,
the southern extent because Bismarck is 27 degrees and Dickinson 27 as well, 30 in Henninger and 34 in Moabridge.
So again a wide variety of temperatures just like it was yesterday.
If you were driving from Minot to Bismarck, definitely a big temperature change, 25 degrees.
Here's a look at the first-warned superview satellite where we are seeing mostly cloudy skies throughout the area.
And for the remainder of tonight we will be seeing some scattered snow flurries. Picking up some fresh snow this morning,
not a whole lot but a couple of inches. The farther east we go to Minot, the more it snowed,
where Devils Lake getting between four and five inches earlier today.
Now that activity has now moved into northern Minnesota and we also saw some snow southwest of Minot.
A very narrow band between Bismarck and the Magic City.
We had that snow around Lake Sakaka, we up toward Botano and Rugby over toward Devils Lake,
picking up the most snow as I mentioned. But it looks like for tonight all of us will be seeing just some scattered,
mainly a light snow flurry activity. Here's what's going on.
We've got the cold air already in place here for most of the KMOT viewing area.
But where you see this frontal boundary draped here, this stationary front where we've got the red and the blue, red and blue,
that means this front's not going to be moving all that far down to the south.
So where you see it here, this will be separating temperatures that are below zero from those that are above zero for tonight.
Look at these overnight lows, six below zero and Minot five below and Willis and look for some scattered snow flurries
remaining above zero areas closer to the interstate. Northwest winds tonight five to fifteen miles per hour.
Now for those of you in Rowlett County, Botano County and points to the east,
there is a wind chill advisory for this evening. Wind chill is running about twenty-five below zero.
So again, officially an advisory for far north central North Dakota over toward the northeastern corner of the state.
Cold weather continues for tomorrow, but notice it'll start as a warm front early in the day.
That's good news as warmer air will begin pressing into the region.
Therefore by Friday I think we're going to see some warm air across the region for tomorrow.
Again, a cold day five degrees, scattered snow flurries, wind becoming southwest by late in the day five to fifteen miles per hour.
Let's talk about that warm up here, a significant one, five to twenty-eight between Wednesday and Thursday,
and then forty degrees, it's possible on Friday. That might be pushing it, but we'll keep a close eye on it.
I think it might be forty closer to the South Dakota border, but I wouldn't be surprised if we do hit the upper thirties in our neck of the woods.
So there's your seven day forecast.
So then Kim and Karina, it's back into the single digits for highs by next week with more snow.
Welcome back.
We do have one quick correction to make, American Red Cross phone number is 852-2828, not 858.
Still to come on the Evening Report, Congressman Earl Pomeroy sent a message out to emergency personnel, and why not survivors today? We'll hear from him.
From NBC North Dakota News, you're watching the Evening Report at 6, with news anchors Kim Fundingsland and Karina Lunde,
first warm weather with chief meteorologist Kevin Lawrence, and sports with Andrew Vitalis.
This is the News Leaguer, KMOT-TV 10.
Northwest Tire, the right tire, the right price.
NDAD, proud sponsor of KMOT closed captioning.
Welcome back. As the story of the derailment unfolds, more and more stories of heroism are emerging.
North Dakota Congressman Earl Pomeroy visited the city today and applauded the effort of those on the front line during that perilous morning.
We had people driving into a cloud of pure poison where they could see nothing to try and assist the rescue of people that were stuck in that situation.
I mean, you know, literally laying their lives on the line for others doesn't get any more courageous than that.
We've got some real heroes here, and we've got to acknowledge that.
Pomeroy said the action of Minot's emergency personnel kept a very dangerous situation from becoming much more severe in terms of fatalities.
The IRS Tax Tour kicked off today in North Dakota.
The program is designed to provide face-to-face help to people in areas where there are no local IRS offices.
Teams will crisscross the state between today and late February, hitting 21 communities.
Officials will answer questions, hand out forms, and help with tax problems.
Appointments are necessary. The same services are available at IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers here in Minot, Bismarck, Fargo, and Grand Forks.
Getting to be that time of year.
Oh, it is.
Let's see how our agriculture markets did for the day.
This ag market report is brought to you by Sun Prairie Grain, a division of Senex Harvest States.
Fed cattle not available today. Cows $1 to $2 higher. Hogs were 50 cents higher. Lambs were steady.
14% spring wheat at $2.74 down 3. Milling Durham unchanged, and sunflowers unchanged as well.
Coming up in sports, it was a big day for the Minnesota Twins.
Find out how a loss in court was a win for their fans. More on that next.
Tonight.
Well, your chiropractic healthcare needs.
What's happening with the Twins today?
Well, we're not out of the clear yet, but this is a very, very big step into having Twins baseball this season.
So let's cross our fingers and hope it actually turns out.
Well, according to the courts, the Minnesota Twins will most likely be back this season.
Today, the Minnesota Court of Appeals upheld an injunction requiring the Twins to finish out their lease and play the 2002 season at the Dome.
The Twins are expected to appeal that ruling to the Minnesota Supreme Court in the middle of February,
but that would mean that the court would have to make a ruling on it before the start of spring training, which is highly unlikely.
It's a huge step forward for the Twins supporters, and for the first time since contraction began, some people can finally start breathing a sigh of relief.
The crazy situation, Andrew, when the Twins employees are left with this sentiment, it was a good day today.
We lost in court. I mean, that's one of the great ironies of this whole thing that here the Twins are trying to get out of their lease.
The ownership in Major League Baseball, more specifically, was trying to get out of the lease that they had signed.
So they lost. The Twins lost the court ruling today.
And I would imagine there are people over at Kirby Pocket Place, 34 Kirby Pocket Place, who today are quite ecstatic with the news that they got.
The Premier goes on to add that he feels it would be next to impossible for the Supreme Court to rule on this issue by the start of spring training.
Good news. Over to college basketball. If you think that the Minot State women's basketball team is disappointed with their performance this weekend, you're right.
People admit it. The Beavers dropped a heartbreaker to the Hard Rockers, putting them at 8-3 in conference play.
Or even though they lost, MSU knows they should have won and be able to play with and be the best.
It fares well for them in the future.
I think in their minds, I think that we really believe that we are as good of a team as South Dakota Tech.
We played well for 35 minutes of the ball game. It's just the five-minute lapse that really kind of hurt us.
And I don't know if that was fatigue or what it was, but you play against a great team like that, you've got to play almost a perfect ball game.
We know that we are capable of beating them because we have before. And I don't know. It's disappointing that we lost, but we know we can play with them. We know we can beat them.
Meanwhile, disappointing can sum up the men's mood as well. The Beavers lost two over the weekend, placing them three games out of second place.
They know the term must-win applies to them from here on out.
Every home game is a must-win if you want to finish at the top of the league.
Because if you're losing at home, you're giving away some games.
So in some sense, they're must-wins just because we want to stay up near the top.
Well, definitely we have a good shot at making the national tournament.
Maybe not so much for first place because Jamestown is still undefeated, but for sure we can make the national championship easily.
We just got to pull out some tough wins this weekend and then coming up with here on in Dakota State.
Well, turning our attention to tonight, it's gut check time for the Monarch High basketball team.
Bismarck is at the odd, and with summing up the demons, one word comes to mind, and that's athletic.
They're playing well. They've lost four games in the league by five points.
Three of them have been in overtime, so we know that we're going to be in for a tussle.
They're probably the most athletic team in the West, and they defend very hard, and we know that it's going to be a dogfight.
They're going to want a low-scoring game, and we want a little bit more up-tempo, but it's going to be a dogfight.
It always is between the two teams.
Tepapo, that one's 730. Lots of action going on tonight.
Thanks, Andrew. We'll be right back.
All Street started the day with mixed numbers. Here's how it finished.
This market update is brought to you by Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., committed to your financial future.
The Dow is down over 58 points in trading on this Tuesday, and NASDAQ is down over 47 points, and Standard & Poor is also down today.
Coming up tonight at 10, the stent has become a very popular and effective treatment for clogged arteries.
Now a new drug-coded stent could make the treatment even more effective. We'll show you how it helps tonight.
Where are you going to be headed tonight?
Big, big night in local sports, Monmouth High basketball, Monmouth High hockey, wrestling, it's all there.
Okay, thanks, Andrew. And thanks for joining us tonight. We'll see you at 10 o'clock.
The MSU Beaver Hockey Club is in action as they take on Mankato State University, January 25th and 26th at the All-Seasons Arena.
Game time both nights is 730. Tickets are $6 for adults, students, seniors, and military $5, children $3, and MSU students with ID get in for just two bucks.
And remember to call the game time hotline. Friday night, January 25th is KMOG night, so come on out and catch the MSU Beaver Hockey Club in action, January 25th and 26th at the All-Seasons Arena.