Year in Review, Part 2 - Tuesday

We continue our look at the top stories of the year 2008 Tonight andamp lt a href andamp quot http www kxnet com t jim-olsonandamp quot class andamp quot kxInlineLinkandamp quot andamp gt Jim Olsonandamp lt aandamp gt focuses on the major local news of March and April March and April s headlines were dominated by a high-profile murder trial Alice and Donald Wiley had been shot and murdered at their rural andamp lt a href andamp quot http www kxnet com t sykestonandamp quot class andamp quot kxInlineLinkandamp quot andamp gt Sykestonandamp lt aandamp gt home and their house had been set ablaze Aron Nichols and his one-time girlfriend Tamara Sorenson - the Wiley s daughter - were on trial In the end a andamp lt a href andamp quot http www kxnet com t devils-lake-ndandamp quot class andamp quot kxInlineLinkandamp quot andamp gt Devils Lakeandamp lt aandamp gt jury found Nichols guilty of two counts of murder saying he had shot and killed the couple before setting the fire Jurors also found Sorenson guilty of being an accomplice to the crimes Both were later sentenced to life in prison And family members of the Wileys thanked law enforcement officers for discovering the crime in what had been set up to look like an accidental fire In late March the FBI was called in to investigate a bank andamp lt a href andamp quot http www kxnet com t robberyandamp quot class andamp quot kxInlineLinkandamp quot andamp gt robberyandamp lt aandamp gt in andamp lt a href andamp quot http www kxnet com t souris-ndandamp quot class andamp quot kxInlineLinkandamp quot andamp gt Sourisandamp lt aandamp gt A worker at the andamp lt a href andamp quot http www kxnet com t bottineau-county-ndandamp quot class andamp quot kxInlineLinkandamp quot andamp gt Bottineau Countyandamp lt aandamp gt town s bank said she had been knocked out by a robber who stole money from the vault But within days that worker Tamara Lynn McDonald admitted she had staged the robbery to cover up her theft of about 18 000 from the bank She was sentenced to four months in a halfway house and three years probation A winter-long search ended in April near Stanley as the body of Russell Kilen was discovered near his burned car close to the abandoned town of Corinth The 89-year-old Kilen had last been seen in November at the andamp lt a href andamp quot http www kxnet com t cenexandamp quot class andamp quot kxInlineLinkandamp quot andamp gt Cenexandamp lt aandamp gt in Stanley and several wide ranging searches had been performed Ultimately two men working in the area noticed the burned car and found Kilen s body nearby Officials speculate his car became stuck and he had tried to walk for help but died of exposure With projections of the lowest peak ever for andamp lt a href andamp quot http www kxnet com t lake-sakakaweaandamp quot class andamp quot kxInlineLinkandamp quot andamp gt Lake Sakakaweaandamp lt aandamp gt for the summer of 2008 the andamp lt a href andamp quot http www kxnet com t corps-of-engineersandamp quot class andamp quot kxInlineLinkandamp quot andamp gt Corps of Engineersandamp lt aandamp gt continued working to assure access to the lake by working on several boat ramps in the state In April a new study of the andamp lt a href andamp quot http www kxnet com t bakken-andamp lt a href andamp quot http www kxnet com t oilandamp quot class andamp quot kxInlineLinkandamp quot andamp gt oilandamp lt aandamp gt -formationandamp quot class andamp quot kxInlineLinkandamp quot andamp gt Bakkenandamp lt aandamp gt Shale Formation s potential for oil production raised eyebrows The US Geological Survey said it was the largest oil reserve in the lower 48 states and estimated at least two billion barrels of oil could be produced with current technology The study only solidified the belief that a major increase in oil production would continue The Bakken was a key subject of a major oil conference held in Minot in late April And evidence of the oil expansion showed in andamp lt a href andamp quot http www kxnet com t williston-ndandamp quot class andamp quot kxInlineLinkandamp quot andamp gt Willistonandamp lt aandamp gt s taxable sales figures for the first quarter of 2008 - up 27 from the previous year The state s congressional delegation announced in April that andamp lt a href andamp quot http www kxnet com t minot-air-force-baseandamp quot class andamp quot kxInlineLinkandamp quot andamp gt Minot Air Force Baseandamp lt aandamp gt had been chosen to be home to a new squadron of B-52 Bombers The move would basically double to number of bombers at the local base and add an estimated 75-million dollars to the economic impact of the base on the local economy A new WalMart store opened in Bottineau in early March - making Bottineau the smallest town in the state to be home to a andamp lt a href andamp quot http www kxnet com t wal-martandamp quot class andamp quot kxInlineLinkandamp quot andamp gt Wal-Martandamp lt aandamp gt Minot s andamp lt a href andamp quot http www kxnet com t daycareandamp quot class andamp quot kxInlineLinkandamp quot andamp gt Daycareandamp lt aandamp gt situation came into the spotlight in April when ING announced it was closing its daycare center to make room for more business-related activity Dozens of families were forced to find new daycare arrangements - and the move led to the formation of a mayor s committee looking into the daycare situation in the area A dry spring led to a frenzied day of firefighting near Minot on April 19th Two separate fires broke out threatening various parts of the city Firefighters had to move quickly to steer the flames away from heavily populated areas although at least one home was destroyed by the fire Helicopters from the National Guard werre called in to help fight the flames by dropping water on the fire The fires came as every county in western andamp lt a href andamp quot http www kxnet com t north-dakotaandamp quot class andamp quot kxInlineLinkandamp quot andamp gt North Dakotaandamp lt aandamp gt issued burn bans due to a prolonged spell of dry spring weather Hundreds of area families got exciting news in mid-April - their National Guard soldiers were coming home from andamp lt a href andamp quot http www kxnet com t iraqandamp quot class andamp quot kxInlineLinkandamp quot andamp gt Iraqandamp lt aandamp gt The 164th had been providing security in Iraq and the 132nd had been doing water purification in that country On April 14th the governor told families their men and women would be coming home But some weather delays caused the actual homecoming to be delayed into May meaning it s something we ll cover in the next installment of our look at 2008 Jim Olson KX News CAM 1 - 3Shot Last Look Wrap