North Dakota leaders urge Obama to push pipeline completion

Opponents skirmished with law officers late Sunday and early Monday. The Sioux ― who have long suffered economically ― say the blocked-off bridge is the main access point to their reservation, and they are trying to protect the land and water that have sustained them for centuries.

Most Native Americans in the camp say they are always peaceful and in prayer, especially during the frequent demonstrations held near pipeline construction sites.

The main company behind the pipeline, Energy Transfer Partners, is building the line to transport crude oil from North Dakota to IL en route to the Gulf Coast.

Cranberry bogs in Washington state produce the nation’s fifth largest harvest of the vibrantly red-hued berries as each fall farm workers complete the process of raking the bogs for mature cranberries.

“Rob Keller with the Morton County Sheriff’s Department says protesters refused to obey police orders, and some pelted officers with rocks”.

Sophia Wilansky, 21, was listed in serious condition and was undergoing surgery at a Minneapolis hospital.

Energy Transfer Partners LP’s $3.7 billion Dakota Access project has drawn steady opposition from environmentalists and Native American activists, led by the Standing Rock Sioux tribe.

In a statement to the Los Angeles Times, the sheriff’s department denied using concussion grenades and suggested the injury was caused by explosives allegedly used by protesters.

Demonstrators have been occupying privately owned land in the path of the pipeline, claiming that they are the land’s rightful owners under an 1851 treaty with the US government.

President Barack Obama’s decision in September to temporarily scuttle the so-called DAPL seriously puts a damper on the holiday activities for those opposing the pipeline and for the company behind the project.

“We call on you again to direct the Army Corps of Engineers to approve, without further delay, the final federal easement for the Lake Oahe crossing of the Dakota Access Pipeline”, the members said.

Linda Black Elk, a member of the Standing Rock Medic and Healer Council of the Catawba tribe, said she treated protesters for injuries and hypothermia and they were soaked by water in temperatures as low as 23 degrees.

Emergency Services spokeswoman Cecily Fong said officials will request the additional funding from the state Emergency Commission on November 30.

The crossing is the final large segment of the $3.8 billion pipeline, which will carry North Dakota oil to IL.

When the pipeline originally was being planned it was set to run past Bismarck, but when questions were raised about whether it could pose a threat to the capital city’s water supply that serves a primarily white population, it was rerouted to pass just north of the reservation.

Standing Rock Sioux tribal members claim that a woman’s arm was almost blown off by a concussion grenade. Get twice-daily updates on what the St. Louis business community is talking about.