Dakota Beacon

Wayne Sanstead is ND superintendent of public instruction, but apparently not a reader of these pages.  As noted here earlier, ND students had an average score of 162 on national science tests, while the national average for white students was an identical 162.  ND’s white students had a score of 165.  Viewed from any angle, the performance of ND schools and students in science is average.  Sanstead has a very different take, in a letter to the Forum he said, “I believe The Forum should join in heralding the strong work of our schools and students in leading the nation in science scores.”  His view is based on an overall national average score of 149, an average reduced by the relatively weak performance of minority students.  

In a Sunday column, GF Herald Editor Mike Jacobs made a spirited defense of higher education in ND.  In particular, he defended ND’s high percentage of out-of-state students, because they support a broader choice of programs for students from ND.  He made the following statement:

“For all of its history, North Dakota has aspired to provide the best education for our young people that we can afford. Plainly put, this aspiration distinguishes our state from others, such as Mississippi, Montana and South Dakota.”  South Dakota, maybe, but one recent ranking of U.S. colleges shows a number of public universities in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming ( western states with similarly small populations) that are more highly ranked than any in ND.  The ranking and others like it are not conclusive, nor the only indicators of education quality, but the broad direction signs are clear.

The sun shines most brightly just before dipping below the horizon.  The ND House passed a bill 65-28 to require UND to retain its Fighting Sioux name and logo.  It’s hard to tell whether this is merely a last ditch effort to retain the name, or a meaningful rebound of nickname support.  Archie Fool Bear of Standing Rock said the vote “was a good thing for the people of North Dakota” and “It shows a majority of the people of North Dakota don’t have a problem with the name.”  He added, “The name does not create prejudice.”  State Rep. Eliot Glassheim of Grand Forks voted against the bill.  He acknowledged the name and logo are “strong and meaningful,” but said they could not be kept “without dooming the University of North Dakota to never ending controversy.”

As usual, the Fargo Forum was eager to help with the issue.  They deemed the House bill “a stunning display of legislative incompetence” and said “the bill is a tilt at a windmill.”

Residents on the Ft. Berthold Reservation weren’t worrying about nicknames, but were greatly concerned about the effect of the oil industry on reservation roads and traffic.   Three Affiliated Tribes Chair Tex Hall said the reservation “has been impacted more than any other of the 656 recognized tribes in the United States.”  The TAT is requesting grants from the BIA Highway Safety Program.

Do you recall the Symbionese Liberation Army?  They were a bad California group that blew up police cars, robbed a bank, and kidnapped Patty Hearst in the 1970s.  Sara Jane Olson was the alias of a Fargo-born woman who was part of the group.  After a 24-year period of avoiding the law, she was captured by the FBI, pleaded guilty and went to prison.  She was released on probation in 2009, and, today, lives quietly as Mrs. Fred Peterson in St. Paul.  This is a long way of getting to the present, where the daughter of Sara and Fred, Sophia Shorai (28), is a contestant on Hollywood’s “American Idol.”  Sophia was born in Zimbabwe while her mother was a fugitive -- Shorai is a middle name derived from the Shona people in Zimbabwe.  Sophia sings old standards such “Georgia On My Mind.”

Each passenger that flies out of Jamestown on a commercial flight requires a federal subsidy of $380.  The subsidies are paid under the Essential Air Services Act.  Devils Lake and Dickinson also use the program.  Repeal of the EAS program could eliminate or reduce commercial flights to those cities.  A U.S. Senate amendment to repeal the program was defeated; a separate House bill was pending.  A Jamestown airport official said the program is vital for Jamestown, “We had hoped to wean ourselves off it but we’re a few years away from that.”  And have been for many years.

One-fourth of U.S. counties are experiencing a “natural decrease” in population, that is, deaths exceed births.  This is hardly news in ND where a majority of counties had this phenomenon for years -- however, the state’s population remained stable, rural counties emptied, but the population of the two largest cities increased.  Now, some previously declining western counties are growing as a result of the oil boom and the state is experiencing a modest increase in population.

In a letter to the Forum, environmentalist Dean Hulse tells how as farms grow larger, the farmer “must forsake the values of husbandry and assume those of finance and technology.”  That is, at least in part, a true statement.  Managers of large farms must develop financial and marketing skills, as well as understanding the technology that is increasingly part of farming.  Hulse, who has a background with the Dakota Resource Council, longs for a simpler ND with small farms and flourishing small communities.  He regrets rural depopulation and the loss of social structure in rural communities.

Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux are nearing the end of their first season with the UND women’s hockey team.  Olympic stars Jo and Mo blew out nearly every record for their Fighting Sioux team: wins, scoring and attendance.

All’s well that ends well.  The Carrington High School wrestling team was nearly tripped on the way to the state championships by a raccoon.  Two Carrington seniors won state Class B titles, while their team placed fourth.

ND legislators are required to disclose a conflict of interest only when a bill affects them “directly, individually, uniquely and substantially.”  Any wonder that ND legislators rarely disclose a conflict of interest?

DAKTOIDS: The Red River Valley grows and processes about half of the nation’s sugar beets . . . How important is the Air Force Base to Minot’s economy?  The direct annual economic impact of the base is a half billion dollars and it has a total of 13,000 personnel.