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N.D. (AP) – Union workers at the Tesoro oil refinery at Mandan have ratified a contract. The deal leaves current benefits in place along with a 40 percent cut to pensions.

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) – The Game and Fish Department is expanding a baiting ban in south central North Dakota after three cases of chronic wasting disease in deer were documented in the area. Chronic wasting is a fatal illness that affects members of the deer family.

MINOT, N.D. (AP) – A former Belcourt firefighter says he’ll plead guilty to a charge that he tried to burn down a house where his children lived. Joseph Morin faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, although no sentencing date has been set. No one was injured.

FARGO, N.D. (AP) – The athletic directors for the University of North Dakota and North Dakota State are discussing whether to resume the schools’ football rivalry. But it’s unclear how much progress has been made. The schools have tentative game dates in Fargo in 2015 and in Grand Forks in 2017. The Sioux and Bison haven’t played football against each other since 2003.