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SUNDAY, JULY 19, 2020 Business: 5-6 Calendar: 2 Classified: 10-11 Comics: 7 Editorial: 4 Nation/World: 13-16 Obituaries: 3 Sports: 8-9 Weather: 2 Inside Year: 140 Issue: 24 Copyright: 2020 COLLEGE HOCKEY Creativity on display during UND scrimmage. Page 8 To get your Herald: (701) 780-1215 (800) 811-2580 News tips: (701) 780-1136 Sports: (701) 780-1120 For the very latest in news, read the Herald online at gfherald.com. By Sydney Mook Grand Forks Herald Two teenagers were arrested late Friday in connection with the shooting death of former UND Provost Tom DiLorenzo. Charleston Police announced late Friday night that two ju- venile males, ages 15 and 16, were arrested and face murder charges. The incident occurred in downtown Charleston Friday morning. DiLorenzo, who in June re- tired as provost of UND after seven years, was with his wife, Suzanne Aus- tin, at approxi- mately 6:15 a.m. when two young men armed with a handgun de- manded money from the couple. DiLorenzo, 63, was shot during the robbery attempt and was taken to a local hospital, where he died, according to a police report. Austin, who was recent- ly named provost at the College of Charleston, wasn’t injured. Throughout Friday, the re- action in Grand Forks was one of shock and sadness. Local- ly, news of the incident broke around noon. By the end of the day, the death was national news, with at least one national TV news network reporting on it during a 5:30 p.m. broadcast. Early Herald coverage in- cluded comments from ma- ny who knew and worked with DiLorenzo, and those reactions continued into the late after- noon and early evening after the Saturday edition of the Her- ald went to print. “I am stunned, shocked and deeply saddened,” said Peter Johnson, a longtime UND em- ployee who has worked in var- ious communications-related capacities at the university, in- cluding interim vice president for University and Public Affairs and chief liaison officer. “Tom’s tenure as provost and vice president for Academic Af- fairs has had a profound ef- fect on UND,” Johnson said. “The ramifications of that ten- ure may not be felt until some point in the future. But in total, the effect is and will be signif- icant.” Joshua Wynne, former in- terim president of UND and dean of the medical school, re- membered DiLorenzo for his hard-working nature and com- mitment to UND. “To earn your retirement and then six weeks later be gone is incredibly sad,” Wynne said. “I’m sure he was working until the minute he walked out the Two arrested, charged in DiLorenzo death DiLorenzo DILORENZO: Page 2 By Ann Bailey Grand Forks Herald D avid Otto thought Li’l Red Express Truck was pretty cool when Dodge featured it in the late ‘70s, but he couldn’t afford to buy one then. Some 40 years later, Otto still thought the trucks were classics, had the cash and got the Li’l Red. His 1979 pickup is one of 5,100 made that year and one of a total of 7,200 trucks Dodge produced. In 1978, the first year that Dodge featured the Li’l Red Express Truck, the company produced 2,100. People aren’t on the fence about what they think of the pickups, Otto said. “You either like them or you hate them,” said Otto, notably falls into the former category. Otto, who lives in Grand Forks, spotted his half-ton, two-wheel drive Li’l Red Express Truck in a farmstead tree grove he drove by near Minto, N.D., several years ago and asked its owner if he could buy it. They agreed on a price of $6,500. Otto is happy that, after all those years, he found the unique pickup he had admired as a 21-year-old. “This one was close, and the timing was right,” Otto said. “I haven’t had to restore the outside at all.” With the help of his son, Nick, and a couple of car repair guys, Otto replaced the pickup engine. “It’s got a lot of power for the size of it and the weight of it,” he said.” It handles good because it is two-wheel drive. “If you feel like lighting up the tires, you can do that,” Otto said. “When they came out, they were the fastest zero to 100 vehicles of the years. They were faster than the Corvettes or other vehicles of that time.” Otto enjoys traveling to class car shows and cruise nights across North Dakota, behind the wheel of his Li’l Red Express Truck. “I put 3,000, 4,000 miles on it a year,” he said. The pickup’s exterior has a few rock chips and dings on it, but Otto believes those are worth the experience of using it for road trips, not just for show. “I want to drive it. If it’s just going to sit in the garage, I would sell it,” Otto said. The attention his pickup has garnered has been positive. “You get lots of thumbs up driving down the highway, that’s for sure,” he said. Besides getting the pickup out on the road, Otto enjoys taking it to Cruz Night on Thursdays in Grand Forks. The event, hosted by the Northern Cruz Car Club, is held at 6 p.m. Thursdays in the Gordmans’ parking lot, near Culver’s restaurant, on 32nd Li’l Red David Otto’s muscle pickup still cruisin’ Herald graphic by Kimberly Wynn Dodge released the Li’l Red Express Truck in 1978. It not only looked good, but these trucks were also real performers. In 1978, it was the fastest American-made vehicle from 0 to 100 mph as tested by Car and Driver magazine. By Jeremy Turley Forum News Service BISMARCK — Thir- ty-four oil and gas companies operating in North Dakota have not paid tens of mil- lions of dollars in over- due gas royalty pay- ments owed to the state for public school fund- ing. Many are waiting for a drawn-out court case to unfold as inter- est and penalties accu- mulate on their tabs. The names of the firms on the hook for old royalty payments have not been public- ly released in the past, but the state Depart- ment of Trust Lands provided them follow- ing a request by Forum News Service. The list of companies includes many of the giants of North Dako- ta’s Oil Patch, includ- ing Continental Re- sources, Hess, Whiting, Oasis Petroleum and ExxonMobil subsidiary XTO Energy. Continen- tal Resources, which is chaired by billionaire businessman Harold Hamm, was the state’s top gas royalty payer in fiscal year 2020. Most of the compa- nies maintain out-of- state headquarters, but a few are based in North Dakota, including Dick- inson’s Armstrong Op- erating, which is owned by U.S. Rep. Kelly Arm- strong’s father, Mike. Company controller Scott Lafond would not comment on the royal- ty payments, citing on- going litigation. Forum News Service made at- tempts to reach all of the firms, and several offered the same reply, while many others did not respond to requests for comment. Land Commissioner Jodi Smith noted that all of the firms have been in contact with the de- partment, demonstrat- ing varying degrees of willingness to cooper- ate. The exact amount of money owed by each of the 34 “out-of-com- pliance” firms is 34 firms have not paid fees for ND gas, oil You either like them or you hate them. DAVE OTTO, owner of a Li’l Red Express Truck Pamela Knudson Grand Forks Herald After production of “Peter Pan” was shut down in March, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the North Dakota Ballet Company and Academy is bringing the be- loved, whimsical story to the stage Thursday and Friday, July 23-24. Performances begin at 7 p.m. at the Empire Arts Center. A limited number of tickets will be available for each show to allow for social distancing. Tickets, $18 for adults and $15 for students, are available online with the Empire Arts Center’s box office at www.empireartscenter. com. “We are so excited to be able to finally make this show hap- pen,” said Lauren Paulson, di- rector. “The dancers jumped back into rehearsals with so much en- ergy; I know they cannot wait to bring their characters to life.” “(The audience) will follow Pe- ter Pan and Wendy on a journey through Neverland and meet the Lost Boys, Captain Hook and, of course, Tinkerbell,” she said. North Dakota Ballet Company and Academy to present ‘Peter Pan’ ROYALTIES: Page 3 PETER PAN: Page 2 LI’L RED: Page 2
