Dakota Beacon

Estimates of spring flooding were raised for the majority of the state.  Those for Devils Lake were particularly grim.  The National Weather Service spring flood outlook for Devils Lake shows about a 70 percent chance the lake will rise three feet higher than its current level.  Estimates for the James, Souris and Missouri rivers were also raised.

I don’t know much about hockey (and am about to prove it), but a description of Andrew Panzarella, who will be joining the UND hockey team in the fall, left me quite impressed.  Panzarella is a defenseman who has played in the U.S. Hockey League the last four years and is now with the Waterloo Blackhawks.  He must be a good student of the game since he has spent 615 minutes (over 10 hours) studying it . . . from the penalty box.  His coach says, “He has a mean streak as long as the day.”  Panzarella would have been right at home in the best hockey movie of all-time, “Slap Shot” starring Paul Newman.

Several bills to protect UND’s Fighting Sioux nickname are before the Legislature.   A House Education Committee hearing on the bills lasted more than eight hours and at its peak was attended by over 150 people.  There was emotional testimony from both sides, although an AP article said “Supporters of the Fighting Sioux nickname and logo greatly outnumbered its critics.” 

The UND Fighting Sioux issue has a significant new twist.  The Commissioner of the Summit League said it was UND that caused the League to insist the nickname issue be resolved before UND’s membership could be considered.  In other words, UND used the League to pressure the State Board of Higher Ed to resolve the issue.  Commissioner Douple went on to say “he would have had no other good reason to do it (offer an ultimatum on the nickname).”  UND later turned its back on the Summit League and joined the Big Sky Conference.  

A UND spokesman said President Robert Kelley “categorically denies” the Commissioner’s statement.  A GF Herald editorial says that, while evidence in the matter is scant, "Kelley has earned the benefit of the doubt."

Lower taxes, less government and more freedom are the agenda of FreedomWorks, an organization for which ND native Dick Armey is chairman.  Armey grew up in Cando and earned degrees from Jamestown College and UND.  He received a PhD in economics from the U. of Oklahoma and became an economics professor in Texas.  Texas sent Armey to Congress, where he eventually became House majority leader.  Armey left Congress, but remains a political figure who is not easy to categorize -- he would phase out farm subsidies, privatize social security, replace the progressive income tax, but, as he indicated in a recent Wall Street Journal editorial, also favors reduced defense spending.

“Paupers, idiots and the insane” may no longer be appropriate language for ND’s Constitution.  The state senate voted 46-0 to place an amendment erasing the language on the state ballot in 2012.  The phrase is part of archaic poll tax measure which would also be removed by the proposed amendment.

Consultants advise there is little or no demand for a new gasoline refinery in ND.  They indicate a diesel refinery might work, but would require a subsidy.  For years, the Three Affiliated Tribes having been working on an application for a refinery on the Ft. Berthold Reservation near Makoti.  The application is stalled because the EPA contends the tribes have not provided adequate analysis about the amount of pollutants that would be emitted by the proposed refinery.  The EPA says it has been requesting the information for more than a year.

A Herald article laments the closing of the last brand-name bookstore in Grand Forks.  The other three largest ND cities each still have a Barnes & Noble store.  Barnes & Noble was replaced as operator of the UND bookstore in 2009 and a B. Dalton store was recently closed.  The article includes notes of hopefulness that, when the national economy recovers and all is well again, a national chain will invest in a new bookstore in GF.  That scenario seems quite unlikely.  The combination of GF’s flat population and Amazon’s growth in both hard copy and e-books makes the prospect of a name bookstore in GF seem dimmer and dimmer.

You probably suspected as much, but now it’s confirmed -- in 2009 the oil industry was ND’s leading industry with a direct economic impact of $5 billion, easily passing agriculture which has an impact of about $3 billion.  A study prepared by researchers at NDSU also indicated the oil industry provided over 18,000 jobs in the state in 2009.

Immediately following the above item in the GF Herald was the following: “A Texas man pleaded not guilty . . . in the shooting of a Louisiana man in North Dakota’s oil patch.”   The men were working on a pipeline project.  Those calling for greater diversity in ND are getting it.

Sen. Conrad was unable to attend the State of the Union speech because he was home with a cold.  But he watched intently on TV and considered the speech “inspirational,” except for that part about eliminating earmarks.  Sen. Hoeven and Rep. Berg were there; Hoeven said the talk “sounded some of the right themes,” but lacked specifics.  Berg said Obama failed to lift “the cloud of uncertainty” delaying economic recovery.

They’re doing it again -- letting selective facts conceal the truth.  A Bismarck Tribune article began “North Dakotans were among the best in the nation in science testing in grades four and eight.”  Yes, average scores in ND (162) were better than the national average (149).  Science does appear to be a strong suit of ND students, but if you compare the scores of white students in ND (165) to white students nationwide (162) the difference is quite narrow.  Indian students in ND (135) scored very similar to national Indian counterparts.  There you have it -- ND science students do well compared to Hispanic students in New Mexico and Black students in Mississippi, but are near average in any apples to apples comparison with white counterparts.