Updates From The Williston Wire -- January 5, 2018

But first this: best news all week! Every Thursday I take our oldest granddaughter up to Lewisville (TX) for water polo practice. I watch for awhile and then head over to the McDonald's across the street to do a bit of blogging. For the past three years, the television in this particular McDonald's has been tuned to CNN. Last night ... drum roll ... it was tuned to Fox. I caught up with the manager, whom I know quite well by now, and thanked him for "changing the network." He smiled, apparently appreciated the feedback. I hope this was not a one-time change. 

From the Williston Wire:

Watford City automobile dealership.

At one time in the early 2000s, Watford City was the home to three new car dealerships. But changes in the requirements for dealers to maintain their new car franchises made it more and more difficult for small town owners to make the investments. But with the city's population growing to more than 7,500 in the past four years, one of the biggest questions area residents as well as economic development groups were asking was, "when will a new car dealership open again in Watford City?" That question was finally answered when the owners of Red Rock Ford in Williston, Dickinson and Fergus Falls, Minn., announced plans to open a new dealership in Watford City.

New Town police department:

The New Town Police Department is close to moving into its new, permanent home. Chief Tyler Rintamaki updated the New Town City Council on the progress of remodeling the interior of the New Town City Hall to make it suitable to house the department. The final installation of new locks and other details are all that remain before Rintamaki and his five officers relocate. When the City of New Town reestablished the police department in 2012, it was housed in an older manufactured building east of the Civic Center. That building deteriorated over the next few winters and the force relocated to the old Vocational Education building.