Dakota Beacon

Dallas Schmidt stands 6 feet and is a barrel-chested 260 pounds.  The Cooperstown cowboy won a top ten finish in a national quarter horse competition in Columbus, Ohio.  But that’s not why he’s the subject of a GF Herald news article.  Schmidt and his wife stayed in a Columbus hotel after the competition.  Around 11 p.m., he put on his boots and went to the parking lot to retrieve a baby bottle from his semi-tractor.  As he stood on the running board facing the cab, two black males approached him from behind.  One said, “Give me your money.”  As he looked for a tool to defend himself, they moved closer.  That is when Schmidt instinctively back-kicked one of the assailants.  He was astonished to find his boot spur had punctured the assailants chin and tongue lodging in his mouth.  After Schmidt removed the spur, the assailants ran.  He said, “I’m just a cowboy.  I get to make a living on horseback.  The spurs are part of the attire.”

Lt. Gov. Jack Dalrymple can expect to be governor as early as December 7.  Since the elections, he has been discussing his priorities with state media.  His plans are surprisingly clear and specific . The big priorities are infrastructure, particularly the damaged roads in western oil country, and flooding problems at Devils Lake and Fargo.  He has also highlighted issues regarding energy development and higher education.  The Republicans have achieved a high level of control in the Legislature -- Dalrymple had a candid warning for his own party -- this is not the time to hoot, holler and overreach.

Drew Wrigley is a good choice for Dalrymple’s lieutenant governor.  At least, that seems to be the majority opinion around the state, and GF Herald Editor Mike Jacobs appears to agree -- he believes Wrigley has “impressive qualifications.”  But Jacobs also believes Dalrymple had other motives, namely, to put a collar on Wrigley, who might otherwise become a challenge to Dalrymple’s reelection as governor or even to a 2012 run for the U.S. Senate.

The state’s post election environment is pro-business and growth -- Dalrymple said he will continue Hoeven’s focus on “developing, growing and diversifying the state economy.”  Mike Jacobs referred to the Democrats as having “a devastated state party ticket” and the Bismarck Tribune said “the party is in the worst political situation it’s seen since statehood.”  However, dedicated liberals still abound and are biding their time.  Charles Linderman of Carrington (one of the state’s more inveterate letter writers) presents a humanistic view of recent events -- he believes the Democrats have little need for soul searching -- they “have pursued political policies that tend toward empathy for others and that are based on logical political, social and economic principles.”  

As for health care, Linderman stated, “There is no such thing as Obamacare,” it’s a “demonized version created by lies of the opponents.”  He lauds Earl Pomeroy for voting for the health care act saying “he did something very important and very courageous.”  Continuing in the Pomeroy context, Linderman said, “There are indeed worse things than losing an election.”  That comment may also have been very close to home -- Linderman’s wife Ellen had just lost her election bid for state representative in ND’s District 29.

“It’s time to move on.” --  With those words, the Williston Herald welcomed newly elected leaders, saying the tough work lies ahead.  “The housing situation in Williston isn’t a problem. It’s a crisis.”  The economy is busting with jobs, but there is no housing.  Oil tax revenues are at all-time highs, but longtime residents fear their rent could double.  Business has many new customers, but can’t find employees.  The Herald says housing is the key: “When Williston’s housing crisis is fixed, everything else will fall into place.”

Until now the Three Affiliated Tribes at the Ft. Berthold Reservation have determined tribal membership by lineal descent -- a policy that allows someone with any fraction of tribal blood to be eligible for tribal benefits.  The policy extended membership to people only slightly related to the tribes.  The issue has taken on special significance since the tribes recently began receiving oil revenues.  In the November election, the tribes approved an amendment that restricts membership to those having at least one-eighth tribal blood.  There is a stricter requirement for elected tribal leaders -- they must have one-fourth tribal blood.  Under the new rule, if members do not marry within the tribes, their descendants will eventually be excluded from membership.

The November elections also brought changes at the Turtle Mt. Reservation, ND’s largest tribal population.  Voters elected a new chairman and an almost-new tribal council.  Turtle Mt. struggles with crime, unemployment and drugs, but has little appetite for self-help.  New chairman Merle St. Claire said his economic development plan calls for the state “to come on board” and give us greater help.  He said, “It is time for the state of North Dakota to focus on the needs here at Turtle Mountain.  They have to help us create some opportunity here.”

The state’s 2009 income tax returns contained a few surprises.  First, there was quite a slip in the number of millionaires (those reporting income of over $1 million), dropping roughly from 500 to 400.  The reasons are not entirely clear, but Nodaks were probably reporting fewer capital gains because of bad prior investment years.  Also, interest rates were near all-time lows, lowering returns on CDs and money market accounts, investments popular with wealthy older ND residents.  Average income for all taxpayers slipped about 8 percent.  There the explanation is a little clearer -- it is believed the state’s very robust economy created more entry-level positions -- a conclusion reinforced by a jump in the number of returns.

Nodaks take pride in being levelheaded, not precipitous, and letting facts guide them to a reasonable conclusion.  That reputation was dented recently.  A popular 16-year old girl in Cooperstown committed suicide.  Before the tragedy had been investigated, Griggs County Sheriff Bob Hook unfortunately said that bullying may have played a role.  The statement triggered statewide bullying hysteria: anti-bullying gatherings and editorials, calls for prosecution and anti-bullying legislation, and sympathetic Facebook groups.  Nodaks at all levels seemed to be involved.  Hook has revised his remarks, he now says “the blame put on bullying has been out of control” and “it’s not the main driver for the suicide.”  Attention has shifted to identifying and treating mental illness.

Who is Jack Dalrymple?  You are about to find out.  He is the ND lieutenant governor and will be the next governor, if Governor John Hoeven is elected to the U.S. Senate.  Dalrymple is a low profile, but powerful person in the state.  His family established one of the Bonanza wheat farms in Casselton in 1875.  Dalrymple is a Yale graduate, one of the founders of Dakota Growers Pasta, an eight-term legislator, and a member of many boards and commissions.  He is a leading member of the Hoeven administration and is expected to continue its policies.

In the “Great Fire” of 1893, Fargo largely burned to the ground.  The fire destroyed City Hall, the business district and most of the homes of 6,000 residents.  Wooden buildings in the business district were mostly replaced with brick, partially explaining the large number of old brick buildings in today’s downtown Fargo.  The 1893 fire came to mind this week when a fire destroyed the Galleria, an apartment house with 150 residents and 62 units -- the largest fire in recent Fargo memory.

Isn’t hunting season fun?  The ND pheasant opener took place on a weekend in early October and six hunters were shot.  No report yet on the pheasants.

South Dakota hunters are looking for something in addition to pheasants -- exotic nude dancers.  Sure, there’s the pristine outdoors, but locals in Winner, SD, say dancers, high-stakes poker and drinking have long been a staple of pheasant hunting in SD.  Hunters expect to “Drink, eat and be merry” according to a Winner bar owner.

The Sioux nickname affects a great deal more than athletics at UND -- the name is embedded in many other ways.  For example,  UND’s highest alumni award is called the Sioux Award and hundreds of student pilots at the aviation school use the call signal “Sioux,” a preference of the FAA.  A task force has been formed for the purpose of cataloging all the ways the image and name are used.  Zealots say all Sioux references must go.  Bill Gorneau, a human resource director from the Turtle Mt. College and task force member, stated, “If you try to keep any part of the name, it will be very difficult.”   Not everyone is on that wave length -- Ryan Bakken of the GF Herald writes the “beautiful, majestic portrayal of a Sioux warrior has been voted the best logo in the country for good reason.”

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.  The UND women’s hockey team had every reason to be discouraged when they played the Gophers in mid-October in Minneapolis -- the Sioux had lost the previous 28 matches between the two teams.  But not this time, UND swept the series with the help of the Olympic Lamoureux twins who transferred to UND from . . . right, the U. of Minnesota in Minneapolis.  The Sioux women have now beaten the No. 1, 3 and 4 teams in the country.

“We are really stretched to a breaking point financially.”  Is this quote from a California city or a struggling financial institution?  No, the speaker is new NDSU President Dean Bresciani explaining why he will not be able to replace the retiring vice president for university relations.

The heading to a Forum article said “North Dakota Mural comes home.”  The million dollar James Rosenquist painting was shown to the public on October 7 at the Plains Art Museum in Fargo.  The 13’ by 24’ work becomes the most important public painting in the state and fits nicely on a large wall seen from the museum entrance.  The mural is filled with iconic ND images from windmills to the state bird and fish, all under an abstract starry sky.  Regrettably, there are no bison, but that didn’t prevent the NDSU marching band from playing “On Bison” at the dedication.  Declaring it James Rosenquist Day, Fargo enthusiasts kept muttering “miracle.”

ND farmers often cite a deep and abiding love of their farms.  Warren Rusch (88) of New Salem is one.  His obituary said, “Farming was Warren’s true calling and he was most assuredly a good steward of the land and animals . . . he improved on what his father had done . . . his heart remained with the land.”

Earl Wehner (82) of Dickinson served on the battleship South Dakota during WWII and he never got the experience out of his system.  Wehner, a skilled wood carver, has created a replica of the ship he loves.  It’s about ten feet long, made of oak, and faithfully includes details such as the gun turrets and towers you would see on the real thing.  Here’s where it gets a little strange.  The model ship has a latched door in its side -- open it and you will find three wooden boxes.  The ship is a casket; the boxes are for the ashes of Earl, his wife Winnie and their pet dog Kayla -- when they sail away.

In Jamestown, it may take the prairie people and new Somali residents a little time to know each other.  An employee of the Bethel nursing home called police when three Somali women demanded work and became upset.  She commented they were dressed in full-length, robe-like dress and head scarves.  One of the Somalis said, “One lady came out, she didn’t have a welcoming face”  and “Another lady came out and yelled ‘why you come three at a time.’”  Another of the three women said through an interpreter, “We can’t get a job because of our color and the way we dress.”  Somali men in Jamestown have easily found work at Cavendish (a potato processor), but the Somali women are having difficulties.

Three Saudi students were rather innocently taking a flight from Minneapolis to Grand Forks where they were to take English language classes in preparation for aviation training.  A crew member was alarmed when a “suspicious condition” was detected in the lavatory and the plane was diverted to Fargo.  In the confusion that followed, the three bewildered students were questioned by police and FBI.  Eventually, a UND car picked up the students in Fargo and took them to campus housing in GF.

ND school children are taught that counties are divided into townships, generally square blocks six miles by six miles (36 square miles).  Why this primer?  ND is having an unique experience -- a township in Sheridan County (county seat McClusky) has petitioned to be annexed by McHenry County (Towner).  The grievance: poor or nonexistent county services.  It’s unclear where this will go -- some think it’s serious, others see it as an attention getter.  The core problem in county services is shrinking population: in the 1910 census, Sheridan County had about 8,000 residents; today the estimate is 1,200 (about one person per square mile).

Nodaks are a modest bunch -- not likely to brag -- truly uncomfortable with praise (and they don’t get much).  Getting the “big head” is a deadly sin.  Is that starting to change?  The Delta Sky magazine has a 30-page feature on ND which Tom Dennis of the GF Herald describes as “almost impossibly upbeat.”  It’s the talk of the state and is the type of breathless article you see in travel magazines, sugarcoated, but partially informative.  Dennis cautioned, “Don’t let the highs get you too high and the lows get you too low, as a wise person once said.” 

It’s worthwhile, particularly if you haven’t been in the state recently, to read the article.  Go to “deltaskymag.delta.com” and click on “Read the Magazine.”  The “Profile of North Dakota” can be found on pages 115-145 of the October issue.

Many Nodaks have done well in the arts: theater, music, literature and movies, but few have achieved notable success in visual arts.  Painter James Rosenquist (76) is one of the few; he grew up in Grand Forks, went to college in Minnesota, worked in New York and now lives in Florida.  He began his career as a billboard painter at a time when artists actually painted the signs.  So it’s not surprising that he is best known for monumental paintings -- his most well-known piece is 85 feet long.  He became a top “pop artist” and his work is seen in art galleries around the world -- much of it has political themes.  Today, October 7, a 13 feet wide by 24 feet tall Rosenquist mural will be unveiled at the Plains Art Museum in Fargo.  “The North Dakota Mural” is valued at over a million dollars -- I’ll see it next week and give you a report.

ND is loosening up, right?  Maybe.  Certain hair salons in Fargo relaxed their customers with a complimentary glass of chardonnay.  After all, that’s not much for a $100 client.  The Fargo Police Dept. doesn’t think so -- they ordered the salons to stop serving alcohol or obtain a liquor license costing $800-1,000 with further annual fees.  The salons put away the chardonnay -- business isn’t quite that good.

“Simply put, I have no money for anything” -- NDSU President Dean Bresciani gave his first state of the university address and, not surprisingly, it was aimed at  state legislators and was mostly about money.  Bresciani said he needs support “so faculty, staff and students can excel.”  He said facilities are also a problem: “Most are in a condition that threatens our productivity, and wastes valuable state resources.”

UND President Robert Kelley was more indirect in his state of the university address.  He indicated UND was “healthy financially,” but enrollment had pretty much reached the limit of campus facilities.  An example, the Law School has been warned by the ABA that the school’s space could become an issue in accreditation.  The implication: enrollments will need to be frozen unless there is more investment.  Kelley indicated UND’s focus will now be quality more than quantity.

Companies controlled by Tom Petters, a Minneapolis businessman, committed the biggest corporate fraud in the history of Minnesota.  Petters has been sentenced to 50 years in prison.  Fingers of the fraud touched ND in several ways, including losses to certain banks.  A bankruptcy trustee is attempting to “claw back” payments made by the fraudulent companies in years preceding the bankruptcy.  The trustee has filed a lawsuit against Fargo businessman Michael Hofer for $36 million on the theory he should have seen “red flags” indicating his returns “were too good to be true.”  Expect the matter to drag on for a few years.

ND is one of eight low debt states, those with the lowest ratio (less than 1%) of debt to state GDP.  Almost all of the low ratio states are clustered in the upper Great Plains, ND neighbors such as Nebraska and SD.  Almost all the high ratio states (4-8%) are on the coasts, states such as California and Mass.

Oil and relative prosperity keep ND in the national news these days.  In 1983, the state was in the news for an entirely different reason.  Gordon Kahl, a leader of tax protestors Posse Comitatus, was involved in a shootout in Medina which killed two federal marshalls.  A few months later Kahl was killed in another shootout in Arkansas.  He was both a highly decorated WWII turret gunner and a former federal inmate.  Kahl’s life is the subject of books and  movies.  You can share a little of that life.  Kahl’s 1951 Chevrolet two-door was released by the feds in 2006, has only 19,000 miles and is on sale at Clearview Automobiles in Edina, Minn.

Like many prairie counties, Stutsman County (Jamestown) has historically bad rural roads.  The roads were often upgraded from section line prairie trails and have weak subgrades which may include even fence posts and vegetative matter.  Gravel and paving merely form a facade which has been pounded to bits by the heavy farm vehicles now being used.  A 17-year wet cycle has further broken down the poor roads and exhausted township and county budgets.  For the moment, there is a lot of hand wringing and little agreement about what to do.

Mike Zimmerman is the county road superintendent -- he makes the solution seem rather obvious.  It costs $1,700 each year to maintain a mile of gravel road, If you convert a paved road to gravel the maintenance cost is $2,600 a year, to reconstruct old pavement the lifetime cost is $31,300 a year, and to construct new pavement $40,000 a year.  Zimmerman thinks 100 miles of old pavement in Stutsman County should be recycled to gravel.

Almost like clockwork, ND’s congressional reps announce new gifts for constituents.  In one of these carefully timed serial announcements, Sen. Conrad and Rep. Pomeroy said ND will receive a $300,000 grant from the USDA to support Open Fields, a federal program that gives incentives to farmers and ranchers to allow hunting on their land.  Nice, not much money, and I’m sure both the landowners and hunters like it, but is this the type of program that justifies increasing the national debt?  An alternative would be to have individual states decide whether they wish to fund such relatively lightweight federal programs.  It would be a start.

DAKTOIDS:  Census data indicates about 300,000 Nodaks have German ancestry, while 200,000 identify themselves as Norwegian (a 3:2 ratio).  These two groups account for over three-fourths of the state’s population . . . The oil industry in western ND has an acute power shortage -- many companies are forced to power their wells with generators . . . An AP survey indicates ND and SD are the least economically stressed states; Nevada and California the most . . . A Bismarck Tribune editorial referred to ND's economy thusly: "Truly, this is the land of milk and honey."

Paradox on the Prairie.  Creighton University in Omaha reports that in 10 Midwest states “While the farm sector is experiencing healthy growth, Rural Mainstreet businesses continue to report waning economic fortunes.”   Why is that?  Here are some possibilities:  Although agriculture is doing well, as farms get larger, small town market areas continue to lose population.  Large farms are sophisticated, high volume buyers and are quite willing to bypass local merchants for better deals on equipment, parts and supplies.  The Internet helps farmers spot those deals.  Many rural household purchases, such as clothing, are also made on the Internet.

As small towns downsize, local government has to do the same.  A Herald article with the heading “The small-town blues” tells how police departments are being dissolved in most incorporated cities.  ND has only 46 remaining police departments -- less than the number of counties.  Most police work is contracted to county sheriff departments.  The ND League of Cities says many cities are down to a part-time city auditor and a maintenance person.

Right now, the future of corn ethanol doesn’t look good.  A Grafton ethanol plant, one of ND’s first, is being sold piecemeal on the auction block.  A large ethanol plant near Jamestown never got beyond the planning stage.  In its place, something called the Dakota Spirit AgEnergy biorefinery is having a very slow birth.  Dakota Spirit would produce ethanol from crop residue such as wheat straw and corn stalks, requiring as much as 480,000 tons a year.  Much is unknown about the logistics of harvesting, baling, transporting and storing feedstock in that volume.  Can it be done at a profit?

The impact of the oil boom on Minot was dramatized by separate articles appearing the same day in the Minot Daily News.  One announced that Halliburton, an oil field services company, would build a $15 million facility in a new energy park.  The other announcement met mixed enthusiasm, the Ward County Commission approved a permit for temporary housing near Minot for 200-300 people (a “man camp”).  Neighbors immediately crouched in a defensive position.

A Wall Street Journal article had a tantalizing picture of a highrise city in the Arctic.  Something that doesn’t exist now, but could if there is more global warming, if the Northwest Passage becomes a reality, and oil and gas development becomes practical in the Arctic.  The article is a speculation about the “New North” of which the U.S. and seven other nations would be a part.  ND is one of the northern border states which would be included.  Winnipeg and Saskatoon are regional cities named to benefit.  The “New North” would be in the area above the 45th parallel north, the halfway point between the Equator and the North Pole.  The 45th parallel runs on the Montana-Wyoming border through South Dakota crossing Minnesota near Minneapolis.

There seems to be little question there was a large failure of financial controls at NDSU under the administration of former president Joseph Chapman.  Ask the acting president who followed Chapman and had to get control of campus cash flow.  State audits continue to detail the problems, yet, the Fargo Forum remains in denial.  Here’s their peculiar editorial description of the problems: “The missteps were symptoms of an extraordinary period of dynamism at NDSU.”  Well, that puts a new face on dynamism.  The editorial went on to say “auditors should not make policy for the university” and audits should not be used to punish a university.  OK, free passes for everybody.

The GF Herald took a different tone.  In an editorial about NDSU and leadership the Herald said, “But leadership sets the tone, and clearly, Chapman’s sense of entitlement filtered down several layers to improperly influence his management staff.”

A Forum article on college readiness contains several startling disclosures.  Of particular interest, the chairman of the math department at NDSU estimates about 55% of freshmen in math are taking remedial courses.

The war of words between Devils Lake and Valley City worsens.  Listen to the president of Save the Sheyenne in Valley City: “There should be absolutely no water from the East Bay of Devils Lake or Stump Lake going into the Sheyenne.”  Devils Lake sees an emergency, city engineer Mike Grafsgaard says: “If you don’t call a situation where we’ve spent $700 million protecting property and moved hundreds of homes and businesses and lost 140,000 acres of cropland an emergency, I don’t know what is.”   

Pumps on the west end of Devils Lake provide background music for the arguments -- they lift water 200 feet over a ridge from Devils Lake into the Sheyenne River at an electricity cost of $10,000 a day.  Water could be drained out the east end of the lake by gravity.  Every major roadway leading to Devils Lake is under construction and will remain so for the next couple years.  The levy system around the city is being increased from 8 miles to 12 miles -- parts of the city of Devils Lake are 22 feet lower than the lake.

The Minot Daily News made a dry observation about a $6 million federal Education Department grant to build a new Minnewaukan school away from the rising waters of Devils Lake.  The News said, “If a new school is built in Minnewaukan, and the lake continues to rise and floods more of the town, forcing residents to move, will there be any students left to attend classes in the new school.”  Your federal dollars at work.

ND residents get a very high return on the federal taxes they pay.  In some prior years the state received nearly two dollars of federal spending for every dollar of federal taxes paid.   A Tribune column by Edward Lotterman discussed why some states get back little more than half of the taxes they pay, while others, like ND, enjoy the opposite result.  One of his comments seemed tailored for parts of ND: “Some farming counties . . . have little economic base other than agriculture and with aged populations have the highest ratios of federal dollars received versus taxes paid . . . because of ag subsidies, Social Security and Medicare.” 

DAKTOIDS:  ND Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem says the state has a huge problem -- last year there was one DUI arrest for every 100 people in the state -- one-third are repeat offenders . . . ND already makes more gasoline than it uses -- consultants say that if the state adds more refining capacity it should be for diesel fuel.

GF Herald Economist Ralph Kingsbury is horrified by flooding in the Devils Lake Basin.  Not just the lake itself, but a large part of northeastern ND.  Kingsbury said, “I know some of the people whose farms are there.  What is happening to them is terrible, and people who are trying to stop some of the few legitimate and scientific solutions (to lower the lake) that the governor and others have proposed should be ashamed of themselves.”  Forum Opinion Page Editor Jack Zaleski also jumped aboard: “It’s a waste of millions of dollars to raise dikes when the cheaper and smarter way to protect from the rising lake is to lower the water.”

Forum writer Patrick Springer discusses rising concern about Devils Lake.  Cities downriver on the Sheyenne are starting to wake up to the problem.  An uncontrolled release of water through the Tolna Coulee would flood from one-third to half of Valley City’s south side.  “We’d be in a world of hurt,” said Valley City Mayor Bob Werkhoven.  “There wouldn’t be much left of the business section of the city.”

We have more evidence that Nodaks of Norwegian ancestry can’t stop talking about politics.  Gayle Graveline (74) was born to a Norwegian family in Walhalla and married Larry Darling when she was 18.  In 1960, the couple moved to Santa Rosa, California, where they eventually opened a restaurant, which became known for colorful banter and Gayle’s apple pie and potato salad.  Her obituary said Gayle constantly engaged customers in conversations about politics, anything that “created controversy” --  I was a witness.  Once, when I told Gayle I planned to visit Grand Forks, she asked me to bring back a menu from Whitey’s in E. Grand Forks, one of her favorites.  I did and she hung it on the wall.  Her restaurant had an informal country-kitchen manner, but also had its standards -- I once saw the crusty Gayle evict an entire family.

The Minot Daily News reports some landowners on the Ft. Berthold Reservation are not receiving their oil royalties -- delays can be months or even years.  Numerous federal agencies participate in executing the payments -- the agencies are stymied by properties with multiple owners (pooled properties).  The bureaucracy of the Bureau of Indian Affairs seems to be the biggest problem.

A federal civil rights policy called “disparate impact” may itself be discriminatory according to the Minot Daily News.  MDN is not alone in criticizing this law which says if a practice disproportionately affects a racial group it may be deemed racial discrimination.  The example given by the MDN involves employers who screen prospective hires by checking criminal backgrounds.  The EEOC says it may not be acceptable to reject blacks simply because they have arrest records.  To do so would create “disparate impact.”  MDN says “telling employers they cannot in good faith attempt to hire the best workers possible is wrong, too. In effect the policy discriminates against prudent employers.”

Delvin Cree, a member of the Turtle Mt. Band of Chippewas, alleges tribal leaders are corrupt and incompetent and says tribal communities need ethical leaders.  That’s too much for another tribal member, Logan Davis, who says Cree casts tribal members in “a harsh and tawdry light.”  Davis accused Cree of contributing to Indian stereotypes and said he needs to “present his views with more sensitivity.”

The GF Park District operates a fitness club called Center Court which thrived before UND opened its Wellness Center.  Then monthly visits dived from 30,000 to 18,000.  Center Court is plotting a comeback with a $22 million replacement facility.  Proponents believe the new facility will succeed because they looked at Fargo, Bismarck and Minot where about 25% of  residents have Y memberships.

Get your Sarah Palin gear!  The ND Republican party is is using eBay to sell a Fighting Sioux hockey jersey autographed by Sarah Palin.  Bidding became irrational -- in late August, 68 bids had been received -- the last about $5,000.

A speaker's fee for Bristol Palin is $15-30,000.  Bristol who?  She is the 19-year-old whose fame springs from being both the daughter of Sarah Palin and an unwed mother.  She will be speaking in W. Fargo in early October at a fundraiser for a home for unwed mothers.  In case you are interested, there is a little flexibility in her fee.

It’s a delightful image -- hitchhiking hummingbirds lounging in the soft down of migrating wild geese.  GF Herald Editor Mike Jacobs punctured the myth in one of his bird columns -- he says hummingbirds “do it by themselves.”

Forum Editor Matt Von Pinnon thought it was no big deal when he asked readers for feedback on the Forum’s policy of publishing bankruptcy flings.  The result was unexpected, the Forum received over 100 letters, many phone calls and over 700 online votes.  Reactions went both ways, although online voters favored continuing the policy by a 5-4 margin.  Von Pinnon will huddle with Publisher Bill Marcil.

Here’s a quote from a Forum editorial blasting legislators who challenged costs in the ND University System: “One legislator, Rep. Mark Dosch, R-Bismarck, wanted to see a cost-benefit analysis for a science building upgrade at Valley City State University, as if science education or research can be measured like a road or drainage ditch.”  Costs in higher education can and should be subject to cost-benefit analysis -- not the only consideration, but an important one.  Maybe the Forum favors the major alternative -- which all too often drives investment decisions in the NDUS --  political analysis.

Joel Kotkin is a respected social demographer from Los Angeles who has had a long-term interest in ND.  Nevertheless, he may have been tripped up by bad assumptions about the state.  Kotkin flew into Minot to address the Governor’s Rural Community Summit.  He suggested ND was missing the boat by not attracting foreign students to its universities.  In fact, the state has a large number of foreign college students.  Dickinson State has hundreds of Chinese students and NDSU just reported a 12 percent increase in an already substantial international enrollment.  ND University System representatives shook their heads. 

The ND Youth Council was formed to gather ideas for making the state more attractive to young people -- the council’s report is out.  One council member said it well: “The problem of youth retention in the state is complex” and “council members didn’t find a magic bullet.”  Most recommendations in the report range from the mundane (expand student loan disclosure) to the dubious and expensive (“fun buses” in small towns to take youth to metro areas).

DAKTOIDS:  Nodaks are lucky to have some of the lowest electric power rates in the nation.  But that may cause them to be wasteful -- the Council on an Energy Efficient Economy ranked ND 49th out of 51 . . . Enrollment in Stanley schools has increased about 20 percent because of the oil boom.  New teachers can neither find nor afford housing -- rent can be 75 percent of take-home pay.  The school district is constructing duplexes . . . Allegiant Airlines serves ND’s four largest cities with destinations such as Las Vegas and Phoenix.

Lloyd Omdahl went outside ND in his weekly column to examine a federal judge's decision to reverse a California law banning same sex marriage.  Judge Vaughn Walker has been criticized for being an activist judge who overturned a decision of California voters -- Omdahl would have none of those arguments.  But, as he is apt to do, near the end of his column, Omdahl pivoted and declared “that Walker came to the wrong conclusion.”  Omdahl said Walker “will be reversed in the appellate process” because of “a number of unfounded suppositions and conclusions” and a failure to see a compelling state purpose for protecting traditional marriage.

Tribune columnist Clay Jenkinson has a liberal bent, but on a long drive to Kansas he listened almost exclusively to conservative talk radio.  He got an earful about Obama, Justice Elena Kagan and Judge Vaughn Walker (above).  Jenkinson does not share most of those talk show views, but believes they were spoken “from deep conviction.”  His conclusion: “We’re in for a wild ride come November.”

This year’s inductees into the Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame are a varied lot: The late John Odegard founded the UND School of Aerospace, actress Tippi Hedren is known for her role in the Hitchcock movie “The Birds,” Lute Olson achieved records as basketball coach at the U. of Arizona, and the aforementioned Lloyd Omdahl is a ND newspaper columnist and former lieutenant governor.  Hedren is a Minnesota native; the other three grew up in ND.  Induction will take place in September at the Minot Norsk Hostfest.

“Jamestown and Valley City are connected and it’s important our communities grow together.”  The Jamestown Sun made this comment as it gave the local Chamber of Commerce a “bravo” for including Valley City in its leadership classes.  The “growing together” thing may be a little puzzling to residents of both cities.  They are over 30 miles apart and both lost population in the last decade.

Jamestown’s population is about 15,000. The number of Somali families applying for housing there is now 550 -- 20 Somali families live in housing provided by the Stutsman County Housing Authority, more are living in Jamestown without SCHA assistance.  Dave Klein, the executive director of SCHA, attributes the long list of applicants to a shorter waiting period in Jamestown than elsewhere.  Most Somali refugees have limited English and Jamestown public schools have instituted English Language Learning programs.

US Sen. Byron Dorgan will be stepping down after more than 40 years of public service.  He is the state’s most liberal congressman and a product of its populist history.  Friend and foe alike acknowledge his substantial influence -- the federal money he has helped siphon into the state runs into the billions.  In Grand Forks alone, Dorgan will be remembered for flood protection, efforts to keep GFAFB open, and fathering the Red River Valley Research Corridor.  GF City Council President Hal Gershman said, “I can think of no one in the history of North Dakota who has done more to improve our state in ways that will last generations.”   Republicans are in the forefront in ND these days, but Dorgan’s legacy is a substantial challenge.  How can the state both deplore federal spending and continue to love huge federal benefits?

Fargo area officials signaled they will support lowering Devils Lake by releasing water into the Sheyenne River.  However, their support comes with a price.  Fargo and West Fargo obtain drinking water from the Sheyenne and they want federal assistance for water treatment.  Fargo Mayor Dennis Walaker said: “Devils Lake is a real significant problem and we sit here and argue about sulfates.  But the reality is that the city of Fargo would like some assistance.”

ND continues to take heart from its students scores on national tests.  Supt. of Public Instruction Wayne Sanstead said, “We’re still above the national (average), which is always a good sign, but we’re not making any real movement upward, and the flatline bothers us.”  Sanstead was referring to the ACT test taken by graduating high school seniors.  The state had an average score of 21.5 making it #30 in the nation.  All states bordering ND have higher scores.

White students in ND (89%) score well below the national average for whites -- that should bother Mr. Sanstead most.  Many states that do poorly on an overall basis, such as New Mexico (#42) and South Carolina (#44), have scores for white students that handily beat ND.  Both NM and SC have a large percentage of either black or Hispanic students, groups which do poorly on the test in almost every state.

The Organic Seed Alliance is one of a number of environmental organizations which oppose the growing of GMO sugar beet seeds in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, the sole US source of such seed.  A San Francisco federal judge has revoked the government’s approval of the seeds.  If the revocation were to stick, it could upend the US sugar beet industry for two to three years.  GMO sugar beets provide about one-half of US sugar supply.  The judge expressed little sympathy for any disruption his decision may cause.

Today’s flush of prosperity, makes it easy to forget the desperate realities of ND in the 1930s Depression.  Helen Kay Dockter Just was born in Lawrence Welk country in 1919.  As a teenager she felt fortunate to learn to sew in a program funded by the National Recovery Act.  Her world steadily improved and led to a long and productive life in Berlin, ND.  She died at 90 -- her obituary read, “Helen lived a life of humility and kindness.  She never knew an enemy and modeled grace and understanding to all.”

By mid-August, the Red River Valley reached a record number of severe weather events: 158 severe thunderstorm warnings -- 115 tornado warnings.  In all of 2009, the respective numbers were 52 and 53.  We need to blame something, let’s make it El Nino.  

DAKTOIDS: Indian tribe chairmanships are highly coveted -- they bring influence and perks.  There are 16 candidates for chair of the Three Affiliated Tribes at Ft. Berthold . . . A Tribune editorial noted the great and growing talk about Bakken crude oil in ND, but reminded readers that in 2008 ag was still 36 percent of the state’s economy (before federal payments) with another 10 percent coming from the manufacture of farm equipment . . . A man who moved from Michigan for  work summed up Williston like this: “Great jobs, bad housing.”

Tracy Potter has a novel idea for saving Social Security.  The Democratic candidate for ND’s US Senate seat would require employers and employees to pay a 6.2% social security tax on unlimited earnings, rather than the present $107,000 cutoff.  However, those paying the additional tax would receive no increase in benefits.  His opponent, Gov. John Hoeven, said Congress has rejected that plan before because it won’t work.  Potter also opposes raising the retirement age.

A Bismarck Tribune editorial said the Bush tax cuts should be allowed to stand.  Increasing taxes by allowing the cuts to lapse and raising taxes for those who make more than $250,000 would stifle the economy, because “wealthy citizens make investments in the nation's businesses and industry.”  The Tribune said, “Rather than reduce the deficit, eliminating the cuts would in all likelihood slow the economy enough to require additional deficit spending as a counter.”  The top one percent of income taxpayers already pay as much as the bottom 95 percent, but since the rich have so few votes, it is a politically tempting calculation to further increase their taxes.

Tribune editorials are thoughtful and unambivalent -- close to mainstream thinking in ND.  A recent editorial took on a touchy subject -- the constitutional right of every child born in this country to become a citizen.  The Tribune believes eliminating birthright citizenship should be considered.  Editor John Irby handicapped two initiatives which may be on the fall ballot.  He approved of establishing a state Legacy Fund (to save oil and gas revenues) and repealing restrictive and unfair pharmacy ownership laws.

Tribal schools are the poorest academic performers in ND and have costs per student generally exceeding state averages.  Officials from the ND tribes testified they need more, guess what . . . money and greater control of classrooms.  They told a US House committee the schools must provide more instruction in Indian languages and culture to build self-esteem necessary to succeed in other courses.

GF Herald Editor Mike Jacobs wrote at length about the well-known benefits and challenges of the ND oil boom.  Then he got to what he really wanted to say -- that the state’s political campaigns give little attention to “a larger vision for the state’s future.”  He ended, “How about it, candidates?  Let’s hear your ideas.”

In a later editorial, Jacobs shifted to the subject of water.  He identified three issues on which compromise and concession will be necessary: The Fargo flood diversion, the drainage of Devils Lake, and the increasing amount of water required for hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the oil industry.  He could have added Fargo’s proposed diversion of water from the Missouri River.

Grand Forks hired a consultant to get to the bottom of retail sales “leakage.”  Herald economist Ralph Kingsbury says there is concern GF is becoming a secondary market, meaning shoppers from the GF area and Canada are doing their ordinary shopping there, but doing their more expensive discretionary shopping in Fargo and even the Twin Cities.

First the good news.  UND made the Princeton Review’s list of the “The Best 373 Colleges” in North America, and UND is off the list of top liquor-swilling party schools.  Here comes the “but,” UND is now rated the #1 school for students who study the least and #19 for having the least accessible professors.  Well, if you are not studying anyway, who needs professors?

Women’s hockey got off to a slow start at UND, but the future may be brightening.  The Olympic Lamoureux twins will be joined next fall by two Olympic players from Sweden and one from Finland.  Other top-rated Scandinavian players are also joining the team.

“It’s kind of a natural thing,” Larimore wheat farmer Paul Hofer was talking about dust.  ND farmers are on full alert because of the possibility the EPA may attempt to regulate ag dust.  ND’s congressional delegation says “significant dust” is generated by basic activities required to produce food.  Sen. Dorgan said any changes need to have “a deep reservoir of common sense” and we want to be sure new requirements “are not going to be inhibiting activities in the farm states.”

Theodore Roosevelt National Park near Medora needs to thin its elk herd.  The park called for volunteers to do the shooting --  it got them, 13,000 and counting from 38 states.  Now that’s a problem, because they only need to kill 275 elk -- a computer will winnow the number of volunteers down to 260, about one hunter for each elk.

Nodaks are enjoying good earnings, but 2009 earnings dropped a bit from a record 2008.  Bismarck was the only metro area in the Dakotas or Minnesota to have a rise in earnings in 2009. Per capita earnings fell three percent in Fargo-Moorhead, but still slightly surpassed the national average.

Sturgis, SD, spends a year clearing up court cases related to its annual Motorcycle Rally --- then it’s time to start all over again.  The rally can draw up to 750,000, close to SD’s entire population of 800,000, and is the state’s biggest event.  The 2010 rally held in early August had ten related deaths -- the death of a Mandan man may bring the count to 11.  Sturgis is in the Black Hills about 125 miles south of Bowman, ND.  The rally has little direct impact on ND, although many riders pass through the the state enroute to the rally.

DAKTOIDS:  Three sisters, each over 90, clumped their walkers down the hallway of a Fargo senior center on their way to watch a Minnesota Twins game on TV.  Many ND women are living into their 90s -- men, a few years less . . . A bevy of tornadoes hit farms in the Wahpeton area on a recent Saturday evening.  The Al Kosel family is missing a barn and a pickup -- the pickup should come down someplace . . .  Marion Morrison -- John Wayne to you -- got his toughness during summers on his uncle’s ranch in Towner.  Minot Daily News writer Kim Fundingsland believes it is likely, although evidence is hard to find . . . The dean of the UND School of Medicine estimates the state will be short 160 physicians (mostly primary care) by 2025.

Tribune writer Lauren Donovan observes, “some struggle to ‘get their heads around’ the idea of North Dakota as a major economic player.”  In a lengthy Sunday article, Donovan described how state departments such as Workforce Development, Commerce and Transportation are scrambling to define needs in the 17-county oil patch for themselves and the 2011 Legislature.  Overall, they expect to have “the most comprehensive survey ever taken of infrastructure needs and social impact from oil development.”  One key objective: separate short-term needs driven by oil development from long-term needs after the drilling is largely complete.  Officials say their assessment is difficult because of the fast moving nature of the oil industry in ND.

One of the trickiest aspects of the survey is determining how to help workers who do not have the high wages of oil field workers.  Some are underemployed and working in lower wage jobs in the retail and service industries.  They often can’t afford training needed to obtain one of the thousands of jobs opening each year in the ND oil industry, but are confronted by high rents and a shortage of housing.  Job training programs are expected to be one outcome of the survey.  Recommendations for affordable housing is another.

Columnist Clay Jenkinson shares his travel experiences with Tribune readers.  Recently, he returned from Cairo marveling at a city with 70,000 people per square mile.  He noted that with such density ND’s population could fit into a single township “with oodles of room to spare.”  Yes, many oodles, a ND township is six miles square and at Cairo’s density would accommodate about 2,500,000 people, roughly the population of a mid-sized state like Nevada.

Do small town people seem to dress better than they used to?  An online shopping service reports that Nodaks are far and away the No. 1 online shoppers in the nation.  Why do they spend so much time with their noses pressed against the window waiting for the UPS truck?  The remoteness, cold, limited local choices?  They all make sense, but there must be something else.  All surrounding states share some of those features, but compared to ND they barely participate in online shopping.  South Dakota is ranked No. 49.

She is a prostitute who blackmailed a Valley City pastor right out of his job, but Bunny Byington is not remorseful.  She merely sees her experience as one of life’s small slips. “I am not a stupid fool.  I just made a stupid, foolish choice.”  Bunny’s current ambition is to get out of jail and write an inspirational book for women about multiple chances to turn their lives around.  Go Bunny!

Fargo Forum editorial policy is puzzling.  Why does an otherwise solid newspaper have such overheated editorials?  It appears to go something like this: Opinions delivered in a moderate voice and recognizing both sides of an argument are easy to ignore.  To make an editorial point, it pays to exaggerate, raise the volume and use rousing adjectives.  The Forum’s August 1 editorials (relatively mild) included the following.  An unsigned editorial headed “ND kids apparently don’t count” was about the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s No. 12 (top 25 percent) ranking of the state on the well-being of children.  ND had previously ranked No. 7.  The editorial concluded the ranking “suggests an embarrassing and shameful poverty of spirit” in the state.

A second editorial by Editorial Page Editor Jack Zaleski lambasted downstream opponents of the F-M flood diversion.  He labeled their arguments “stupid” and full of “hyperbolic exaggeration.”  His parting shot: “They should say they just don’t want the damn thing, and to hell with the 175,000 people in the Fargo-Moorhead metro. After all, that’s what they really mean.”  See, I may be merely making the Forum’s point -- that their editorials draw attention.

The Forum ran out of prairie roses.  Each week the Forum awards prairie roses to good people, leafy spurge to miscreants.  On August 2, tolerance exhausted, the Forum had nothing left but leafy spurge -- their most sour mood in recent years.

ND has a long list of higher education institutions.  First, the public university system with six 4-year schools and five community colleges.  Additionally, there are five tribal colleges.  That’s 16 taxpayer supported colleges in ND, making the state one of the most over-colleged in the nation on a per capita basis.  South Dakota has a smaller number of public colleges than ND.  Wyoming’s mix, while not ideal, probably makes the most sense -- it has one public university, seven community colleges and one tribal college.

The Standing Rock Sioux are quite proud of their new $40 million (per campus website) replacement for Sitting Bull College at Ft. Yates.  They graduate about 50 students with associate degrees -- that’s an $800,000 facility investment to support each graduate.  It’s a one hour trip to Bismarck where there is a private 4-year university, a public community college and another tribal community college (UTTC).  It’s difficult to say which of the 16 publicly supported colleges is most redundant, but it is not difficult to see that the total number and type of colleges exceed the state’s reasonable needs.

Be watchful driving out on the prairie -- strange things may happen.  A Max woman was cruising blithely along US Highway 83 when a lightning strike deployed the air bags in her car causing a big surprise and minor injuries.

Classify this under “I don’t understand:” Mandan’s Leadership, Pride and Image Committee urged the city commission to spend $45,000 on a “Made in Mandan” theme.  Proponents say it will “improve pride” and complement the city’s other theme, “Where the West Begins.”  The commission is skeptical, unlike the mayor, who said, “We have an image problem and we have to address that.”

Try this rat snake on for size!  An apparently dissatisfied customer tossed a 2-1/2 foot rat snake through the drive-in window of Taco Johns in Williston.

The Thunder Mt. Rockfest at the Rock Dakota Ranch in Sawyer (July 7-10) had disappointing attendance.  Bands such as Rock Sugar, Survivors, and Blood, Sweat and Tears were stiffed. Brian Hill of Rock Sugar said, “The festival didn’t go as good as they (the promoters) wanted, they panicked and are turtling . . . or, they’re just evil and they’ve taken the money and split.”

Sykeston native Esther Kundert of W. Fargo worked for the government for 25 years, mostly with the IRS, before throwing it over and becoming a barista at Red River Coffee.  Esther died in August at age 74.

In May, 92-year-old Faith Mitzel drove in the opposite lane near Devils Lake killing one motorcyclist and seriously injuring two others.  After a $20 fine, she’s back.  The day before her 93rd birthday, she was stopped for a traffic violation in Devils Lake --  no driver’s license, no insurance and no current license on the car.  Faith still thinks she’s done nothing wrong and should be able to drive.  Happy Birthday!

DAKTOIDS:  Easy to see why budget officials in Minot are grinning -- the assessed value of homes rose about 10% again this year . . . Another Minot score -- the State Fair and its new grandstand had over 300,000 visitors -- a new record.