Dakota Beacon

Just when it seemed the whole UND Fighting Sioux nickname matter could not become more bizarre -- it has.  Members of the SPIRIT LAKE TRIBE sued the Board of Higher Ed to delay the deadline for dropping the nickname.  The tribe claimed the tie to UND gives them a platform to popularize Sioux history and heritage.  A district court dismissed the suit.  If it seems strange that the Sioux brought the suit, it is equally strange that the presiding judge and the state Attorney General (representing the Board) both praised the Sioux plaintiffs.  Despite the adverse ruling, all parties were critical of the Board’s decision to accelerate the deadline for resolving the nickname.  The judge called the Board action “disingenuous.” 

LAUREN DONOVAN is one of the state’s most interesting journalists.  Donovan is a writer for the Tribune who covers communities and businesses in western ND.  She shapes complex issues into interesting, insightful stories, unlike some journalists who record events like court reporters.  In a recent issue of the Tribune, Donovan had two stories that display her versatility.  One was about a nursing home in Hettinger where the State Health Dept. found deficiencies that might justify closing the facility -- an action which would trigger a community crisis.  The other story was much happier, it was about an oil gusher discovered on Williston city property -- the booming city may get royalties of $1 million a year from a single well.

An earlier newsletter discussed the failure of AGRARIA, a Washington, DC, restaurant founded in 2006 by the ND Farmers Union.  Agraria has been “rebranded” as Farmers & Fishers and is being managed by a consulting firm.  You might ask why the NDFU didn’t walk away when their concept restaurant foundered.  It’s not easy.  A large restaurant normally comes with a long-term lease -- you can’t walk away.  If there is trouble, your basic choices are to go bankrupt, sell at a serious loss, or cross your fingers and continue to operate.  

WALK BEFORE YOU RUN.  I reviewed Agraria’s brief history: In 2006, the NDFU hired a development specialist to raise money for Agraria.  When investors asked about the FU’s lack of restaurant experience, the specialist, Mark Watne, basically responded “no problem.”  He said in DC, “They love it. They get it. That it’s farmer-owned will make it unique.”  Then Mark shared his secret -- he was already thinking of additional restaurants in Philadelphia, Denver and Chicago.

WATER GOING AND COMING.  “We’ve been told it’s one or the other.  Either way, we’re between a rock and a hard place.”  Fargo Mayor Dennis Walaker was talking about the city’s simultaneous need for flood control diversion of the Red River ($1 billion) and the Red River Valley Water Supply Project ($660 million), a drought protection plan diverting Missouri River water to the Fargo area.  Sen. Dorgan has warned that the federal government is unlikely to support both projects at the same time.  Fargo must choose a priority.

THE BANK OF NORTH DAKOTA is wearing its worrying hat.  Congress is considering taking banks out of the student loan business.  The BofND is the state’s largest provider and student loans make up 30% of its portfolio.  The bank is credited with keeping the student loan default rate in ND at 4 percent, compared to a national average of 7 percent.  Sen. Conrad said a rescue is on the way -- an exemption for the BofND -- then he galloped away on his stallion.

HOW SOON HE FORGETS.  Sen. Conrad skillfully manages two images -- portraying himself as a fiscal conservative and social moderate at home, while joining his party in voting for “Big Government” programs in Washington.  As a “deficit hawk,” Conrad opposed much of the stimulus program before he voted for it (“But in the end, I had to weigh the risk of not acting”).  He said he adamantly opposed a Senate maneuver know as “reconciliation” -- he voted for it (in the interest of party unity).  In July, he insisted that in order for it to work, a health care bill must be bipartisan; in December he voted for a bill which had no Republican support.  The balancing act becomes tougher and tougher.

Sen. Dorgan also voted for the health care bill and seems to be taking a beating in ND.  He faces reelection in 2010.  A Rasumussen Reports poll in December has Dorgan (36 percent) trailing Gov. Hoeven (58 percent), with 6 percent undecided.  The poll found 64 percent of Nodaks oppose the health care bill.

The American Heartland covers a big part of the country: The western border is a tier of states running from North Dakota to Kansas, as you go east the area tapers northerly above the Ohio River, ending in Ohio, possibly Pennsylvania.  In all of the 12 or 13 states in this vast region, THE DOMINANT ANCESTRY IS GERMAN.  There are only a few exceptions, for example, Indian reservations in South Dakota and a big patch of Norwegians in the northern Red River Valley.  While Minnesota is often thought of as the home of Scandinavians, Germans there outnumber Norwegians over 2:1, even if you toss in the Swedes, it’s still 3:2.  In ND, it’s a little closer, Norwegians and Swedes are 35%, Germans are 44%.  YAH or maybe YOU BETCHA! 

IS THAT ALL SHE DID?  Sister Edane Volk (101) was probably modest, as was her obituary. One paragraph summarized just a portion of her accomplishments: “In 1953, she was elected prioress of Annunciation Monastery, a position she held until 1966. Under her leadership, the Benedictines built a new monastery designed by noted architect Marcel Breuer, began the University of Mary, staffed a number of Catholic schools and opened rural hospitals. There were also expansion projects at St. Alexius Medical Center and Garrison Memorial Hospital.”

DAKTOIDS:  ND’s mortgage delinquency rate of 1.4 percent is the lowest in the nation.  The national rate is 6.4 percent . . . The tri-state area of ND, SD and WY had record federal oil and gas leases in 2009 -- most were in ND . . . The state population is estimated to have increased almost one percent in 2009 -- a reversal of declines early in the decade.  The ND population peaked in 1930.