Soon two new restaurants will open their doors on the East Grand Forks Boardwalk. The Drunken Noodle and Banquets at the Boardwalk are nearing completion. Both are taking over space formerly occupied by on the riverfront. The Drunken Noodle a pasta and noodle restaurant is tentatively set to open on January 30th taking over the space formerly occupied by Applebees which closed in August 2011 when its lease expired. The Banquets at the Boardwalk set to open in mid-February replacing Touch of Magic, another banquet facility which closed back on December 31, 2011. Drunken Noodle, which got its start in downtown Fargo, is almost done overhauling the former Applebee’s space. Scheer and the other owner, his son Thamrong Dechawuth, began leasing the space last fall. The restaurant will offer pasta and noodle dishes from all over the world, and it also is the Fargo owners’ first restaurant with a full liquor license and a full-service bar. Scheer said the restaurant, which will have seating for about 150 and a staff of about 20 employees, will have a different atmosphere than Little Bangkok, a downtown Thai restaurant he and Dechawuth own just a few blocks away. Work to remodel the old Touch of Magic space began Jan. 1 right after that business closed. Moss said the space will have seating for up to 550 and room for another 100 on the deck. Banquets at the Boardwalk will boast a fresh new look and several new features, including a media room for meetings and the ability to break the space into smaller rooms for meetings, bridal showers and other smaller events. The space also will have a new lounge, the River’s Edge Lounge, which will offer high-end cocktails and fine-dining options that will be open to the public whenever the banquet room isn’t booked. In a community filled with so many new eateries East Grand Forks now adds two more to the list of places for us to dazzle our taste buds.

Source: WDAZ-TV

UND women’s basketball coach Gene Roebuck to retire after this season

Legendary women’s basketball coach Gene Roebuck, a 25-year veteran at UND, has announced he will retire at the end of this season. Roebuck, a native of Velva, N.D., transformed UND into one of the powerhouse programs of NCAA Division II – winning national titles in 1997, 1998 and 1999 – and has taken the school through a transition to Division I status. “I am proud to have represented this university with pride and respect,” said Roebuck through a release. “After five years of the transition, the program is going in the right direction. The tradition of women’s basketball at UND will go on. It’s time for me to move on. Until that time, I will coach as hard as I always have.” Roebuck’s program turnaround was almost immediate. In 1986-87, the team went 7-20. The following season, in Roebuck’s first season as head coach, UND went 22-6 and advanced to the NCAA regional tournament. In his third season, the team won the North Central Conference, won the NCAA Central Region tournament and advanced to the national quarterfinals. In his 10th season at UND, Roebuck and his team claimed the ultimate prize, winning the 1996-97 national championship. UND beat rival North Dakota State in Fargo to win the regional title and followed that by winning the national championship at home, sweeping the three-game Elite Eight tournament by an average margin of victory of more than 24 points per game. UND Women’s Basketball and the Greater Grand Forks community will miss you Gene. I have watched you coach many, many games and you are truly a coach’s coach.

During routine traffic stop in Grand Forks, toddler tells deputy about mom’s drug habit

A Grand Forks, N.D., child, whose mother was pulled over Thursday, allegedly told a Grand Forks County sheriff’s deputy that “Mommy smokes weed all the time,” according to a court affidavit. Kaitlyn H. Campbell, 20, was driving with Jessica P. Gordon, 19, of Park River, N.D., and Campbell’s 1-year-old son and 4-year-old daughter on Thursday. It started as a routine traffic stop at 2:07 p.m. at the 5600 block of South Washington Street. The deputy pulled the car over because the driver’s view was obstructed and spoke with Campbell about a registration issue, the affidavit said. He then learned that Gordon had two outstanding warrants and moved to arrest her. In doing so, he reported that he could smell a “strong odor of marijuana” coming from the car. Searching the car, the deputy and his colleagues found marijuana, several marijuana pipes and a dugout with residue, the affidavit said. One of the pipes and the dugout was found at the feet of the 1-year-old. Referring to a pipe, the 4-year-old allegedly told deputies, “That’s Mommy’s.” She also allegedly said that Campbell used marijuana all the time. The affidavit said Gordon took responsibility for three of the pipes and a baggie of marijuana. The children were taken to the sheriff’s department and picked up by one of their grandmothers. The 4-year-old is listed as a witness in the affidavit. Both women were charged with endangerment of a child, a Class C felony, and misdemeanor counts of possession of drug paraphernalia. Gordon is also facing a misdemeanor charge of possession of marijuana. A Class C felony is punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

WDAZ-TV