With 2007 in the rear-view mirror, it's time to wrap up our look at the top news stories of the year just-ended. Jim Olson has a look at what was in the headlines in the final two months of 2007. A man whose first murder trial was held in Minot was on trial again in Bismarck in November. Moe Gibbs was facing a second murder trial because the Minot trial in the summer ended in a hung jury. In his second trial, Gibbs was found guilty of killing Mindy Morgenstern and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. The case of a rural Sykeston couple murdered in their home on Easter took some turns late in the year. The man accused of murdering Donald and Alice Willey, Aaron Nicols, wrote a letter to the attorneys for the other defendant - Tamara Sorenson - saying that she had played no part in the murders. But at a hearing in Devils Lake, the judge ruled the charges against Sorenson would not be dropped after hearing prosecutors say that the letter actually helped them make the case against Sorenson. The trial for Nicols and Sorenson is scheduled to begin in March. A Williston State College professor who had been dismissed from his job was reinstated after a hearing at the college in November. English and humanities professor Jason Gee had been fired for insubordination, but a hearing panel determined he should not have been let go. The panel recommended Gee get his job back, which President Dr. Joe McCann agreed to. Tension between the Ward County Board and the Water Resource Board, which is appointed by commissioners, led to the resignation of county engineer Roger Kluck. Kluck first stepped down from his duties with the Water Board, citing conflicts between that group and the county commission, but then resigned altogether to take a new job at Minot State University. The committee dreaming up plans for a new multi-sport complex - the so-called community bowl - picked a design for a new field located where Herb Parker Stadium now stands at MSU. The group also began a petition drive to get a tax question on the June ballot to pay for the project. Community bowl committee members are planning a trip to St. Cloud next week to inspect a similar facility there. The growing oil business in the Mon-Dak region made many remember the boom-then-bust of the 1980s. But Williston city officials say they're in a much stronger position as the current upturn hits high gear. They hosted a daylong forum to discuss the problems and opportunities of the oil boom. The project to turn US Highway 2 into a four-lane highway from Minot to Williston made big strides in 2007, with work for the year coming to an end as November arrived. The project was designed to take ten years, but will finish up in only five - when the final 29 miles is paved. Minot native John Hoeven, who will finish his second term as governor next year, announced he would seek a third term in office. If re-elected, Hoeven would go into the record books as the only person to win three consecutive four-year terms as North Dakota governor. Meanwhile, former governor Ed Schafer accepted a request from President Bush to be nominated to the position of US Agriculture Secretary. If confirmed, he would be the first US Ag Secretary from North Dakota. His confirmation process should finish up in the first several weeks of 2008. Jim Olson, KX News. Our look back at 2007 will conclude later in the newscast with another one of our favorite stories of the year.