ND lawmaker sentenced for DUI

A North Dakota Republican lawmaker has been sentenced to serve nearly a year of unsupervised probation to pay $1,000 in fines and fees after pleading guilty to a drunken driving charge earlier this month. The charge is connection to a traffic stop least month, during which Nico Rios blasted police with vulgar, homophobic and anti-migrant language.  His sentence also includes a 10-day suspended jail sentence, a mandatory evaluation and a victim impact panel. A misdemeanor charge of refusing a chemical test was dismissed. He must also pay $50 for an open container violation. Calls have grown for him to resign. Last week, Republican House Majority Leader Mike Lefor removed him from the Legislature’s interim Judiciary Committee. Lefor and local and state Republican Party leaders have called on Rios to resign. Rios has apologized for his behavior and says he has no immediate plans to resign. He says he plans to seek help for alcoholism.

AP