The Bismarck Tribune from Bismarck, North Dakota • 1

Going green We're all Irish on 8-8 Details, 6B March 11, 2009 St. Patrick's Day The ofiBismarcic Life, 1C rrn TVOfl Going dancing rfr NDSU advances to the 4 NCAA tourney 1 Sports, ID www.bismarcktribune.com 75 cents Serving the region since 1873 2506210 to subscribe Wednesday, 1 WJ mi Mum FUJI piftssiid smi 1.111. 1114 id. for most of his life, adding that union members urged him to run for the agriculture commissioner post in 1996. "Even though I have been elected four times as a Democrat in a fairly Republican state like North Dakota, I've always run as Farmers Union member," Johnson said.

He said he will return to By BRIAN DUGGAN Bismarck Tribune Roger Johnson was elected to become the National Farmers Union president on Tuesday and will end his 12-year tenure as North Dakota's agriculture commissioner. Johnson defeated Pennsylvania Farmers Union President Larry Breech for the NFU presidency during the union's convention in Washington, D.C., this week. Johnson will now head one of the largest national agriculture lobbying groups, which boasts about 250,000 members. During a Tuesday press conference in a Washington hotel, Johnson said that he has been associated with Farmers Union North Dakota later this week to begin tying up loose ends in the agriculture department before formally stepping down. He did not give a specific date for his resignation, but said it would be in about a month.

"There are a lot of things that I'm going to have to wrap up," Johnson said. Former NFU President Tom Buis resigned in late February to take the helm of Growth Energy, a lobbying group that is pushing ethanol fuel. Johnson earned $81,743 annually during his tenure as agriculture commissioner. Liz Friedlander, the spokeswoman for NFU, said the organization would not disclose the amount Continued on 4A Johnson Blues fires its top executive ft Elbert said he and other board members have fielded angry telephone calls from policyholders about a Cayman Islands retreat attended last week by Unhjem, marketing vice president Chad Niles, and 33 employees and their guests. The trip cost the Unhjem By JAMES MacPHERSON Associated Press Writer Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota has fired its president and chief executive officer after being criticized for a Caribbean retreat attended by more than 30 sales employees and guests.

Mike Unhjem has been the Blues' top executive since 1991. The insurer said its 13-member board voted to fire Unhjem on Monday. The company said Tim Huckle, executive vice president of health operations, will serve as interim president and CEO. Blues Chairman Dennis Elbert said the decision to fire Unhjem, 55, was necessary to move forward and to rebuild public trust. "There's been a lot of positive change and many good things under his leadership, but it became apparent a change of leadership was needed," Elbert said.

insurer more than $250,000, or about $6,500 per couple, the company said. Unhjem later said the company "should have more adamantly questioned the, appropriateness'' of the retreat. Elbert said the insurer has since scrubbed such trips, which came at a time when it is seeking increases in three rate categories. Unhjem has said they are Continued on 5A TOM STROMMETribune A line of cars make their way onto West Rosser Avenue from Main Avenue before sunrise on a cold and snowy Tuesday morning. Residents of central North Dakota awoke to snow-covered roads and below-zero temperatures, with wind chills in the minus-20 range, but were spared the brunt of the late winter blizzard that closed down counties to the south and east of Bismarck-Mandan.

Heavy snow hits the Midwest Bisinesses, courts, schools and two highways closed ByDAVEKOLPACK Associated Press Writer 94 from Jamestown to Fergus Falls, Minn. The northbound lane of 1-29 was closed from the North Dakota border to Watertown, S.D. "It's not getting any better. It's still snowing, it's still blowing and the drifts are getting higher," Fargo's director of operations, Al Weigel, said at 4 p.m. "There's all kinds of people out FARGO Heavy snow driven by wind gusting to 40 mph brought parts of the upper Midwest to a halt Tuesday, closing courts, schools, businesses and two major highways.

Up to a foot of snow was forecast Wall Street sees best day of 2009 there despite Tuesday tor lomorrow won i oe mucn better for the roads. We'll parts of eastern North Dakota and western Minnesota. The National try to get the major the warnings, and many of them were stuck on roadways, he said. Those drivers would be picking up the tab for towing, Weigel said. "I'm amazed what neoDle HEAVY SNOW MISSES BISMARCK While the eastern half of the state suffered from more than 8 inches of snow in some parts, with wind cutting visibility to half a mile, western and central North Dakota struggled through its own low temperatures, some blowing snow and nearly 3 inches of the white stuff by mid-afternoon.

Mcintosh County wasn't so lucky: Some parts of that south-central county had an estimated 8 inches of snow by late afternoon. The rest of the week may be a little better, though; precipitation was supposed to have ceased by this morning, and temperatures after today could rise into the 30s. Thursday could get into the 20s and Friday should have lower 30s, said Janine Vining, a meteorologist with the Bismarck office of the National Weather Service. "Hopefully, we'll have a slow melt," Vining said of the warming trends for the weekend. Crystal KReid weather Service roadways done for the posted blizzard warnings and morning Commute, DUt it winter storm Will MJ111C UI11C IU gci the residential streets done." warnings for wide areas of North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota.

market has hit its bottom. "One day isn't going to make a trend," said Kurt Karl, chief U.S. economist at Swiss Re. Citigroup Chief Executive Vikram Pandit said in a letter to employees that the bank had operated at a profit for the first two months of this year and was on track, based on historical trends, to make $8.3 billion for the quarter. Pandit said the bank has had its best performance since the third quarter of 2007, the last time it booked a quarterly profit.

The news broke a months-long torrent of bad Continued on 4A BySARALEPRO andTIMPARADIS AP Business Writers NEWYORK Wall Street snapped out of its stupor and posted its best performance of the year Tuesday, finding a badly needed glimmer of optimism in the most unlikely of places: Citigroup is actually managing to turn a profit. The 379-point gain for the Dow Jones industrials, a rally of almost 6 percent, was a welcome break from almost uninterrupted selling. But just as almost nobody expects the banks to snap back to health, almost nobody thinks the Al Weigel, FargO director think they can Of Operations drive through," he said. Truck driver Kyle Kraft had planned All three states reported school closings. North Dakota officials closed Interstate 29 from the Canadian border to the South Dakota state line and the westbound lanes of Interstate 94 from Steele to Jamestown.

Earlier, Minnesota and North Dakota authorities shut down a 130-mile stretch of Interstate a quick trip from Princeville, 111., to Fargo and back on Tuesday but had to pull into a hotel parking lot after 1-94 was closed. "The truck stops are jammed-packed, with no place to park," he said. Continued on 5A Longtime Tribune newsman John Peterson dies everyone thinks about him. 4 Ex-Tribune newsnhn John Peterson in 198 7. (From 1 Tribun files) summer of 2008.

During his tenure, he saw the Tribune move from downtown to its location on Front Avenue. The Tribune also went from six days to seven days, and then changed from an afternoon to morning paper. Throughout this time, he remained a constant at the paper. Former Tribune Editor Dave Bundy offered this remembrance of Peterson: "An editor can't care what later served as night metro editor. In 1975, he was inducted into the North Dakota Wrestling Hall of Fame.

When he retired in 1996, he was again serving as city editor. But he couldn't stay away from the business. He returned on a part-time basis in 1997, helping with special projects, the editorial page and working on the copy desk. He again retired in the He became sports editor in 1961. In college, he was involved in wrestling, cross country and track.

In 1964, he was named North Dakota Sportswriter of the Year. He resigned in 1965 and returned to Wisconsin to work in his hometown of Two Rivers. When he returned to the Tribune in 1970, he was accompanied by his wife of a year, Bethel. Over the years, he was John Peterson was many things to the Bismarck Tribune: sports writer, Capitol reporter, editorial page editor, city editor, mentor and friend. Most of all, he was a newspaperman.

He spent nearly 50 years in the business, most of them at the Tribune. Peterson, 72, died Tuesday in Bismarck. A native of Wisconsin and a graduate of Luther College in Iowa, Peterson joined the Tribune in 1958 as a reporter. There are too many people with too many conflicting and competing complaints. But you pick a few people, and you really care what they think about you.

John Pete was one of those people. I wanted to make him proud. As proud as I was to count him a friend." Peterson is survived by his wife, Bethel; a daughter, Karleen; a son, Kyle; and four grandchildren. Services are pending. known as "John Pete" to everyone at the Tribtjine.

He served as city editor, mentoring reporters and photographers; he did a stint covering the Legislature; and Home again Local woman who was reported missing last fall back in N.D. IB Classified 6C Money 6D Crossword 9C Morning Briefing. 6A Deaths 7A Movies 5B General info 800472-2273 Circulation 25f8210 Classified $410B measure Congress sends huge spending bill to Obama for his signature 2A Thursday State's lakes could face die-offs from severe weather I 1 81.