Dakota Beacon

Despite floods, ND continues to be the economically least stressed state.  The AP calculates a stress index for each county in the nation.  In May, ND counties accounted for five of the ten least stressed counties. The five counties are those housing the state’s four largest cities plus Morton County (Mandan).  Least stressed counties tended to be in ND and Nebraska.  The most severely stressed counties were in Nevada, Arizona and California’s central valleys.

The state was astounded when first quarter taxable sales were 34 percent greater than last year.  As might be expected, the big increases were in the western oil patch cities.  Increases are expected to moderate in the second quarter ended June 30.

“If you listen closely enough, you can almost hear those checkbooks slamming shut across the state.” -- Ralph Kingsbury, GF Herald economist.  While the state’s economy is becoming more diversified, farmers still set the tone in most ND counties.  This year’s heavy rainfall and flooding may cause farmers across the state to pull back on spending.

The heat and humidity plaguing much of the nation was very noticeable in ND, particularly in the Red River Valley where Fargo had a heat index of 116 degrees.  A visitor from Oklahoma said, “It’s different.  Oklahoma heat is like somebody following you around with a hair dryer. I’ve never experienced this.”

ND Senate Majority Leader Bob Stenehjem, was killed in an Alaskan car accident.  He is a member of the most prominent political family in the state -- his brother is Attorney General.

Nodaks are generally seen as cautious, law-abiding folks, but there are noticeable exceptions.  One is a persistent stubbornness about wearing seat belts -- the state has an uncommon percentage of single vehicle auto fatalities in which the driver is not wearing a seat belt.  Bob Stenehjem was driving without a belt at the time of his death -- two other adults in the car also were not using belts.  Rebecca Beitsch of the Tribune noted Stenehjem worked to ensure that fines for driving infractions in the state were kept low.

Lusk, Wyoming is near the point where the state lines of South Dakota, Nebraska and Wyoming meet.  On July 13th, two young men were killed there when their cars hit head-on on U.S. Hwy 85.  Strangely, the drivers came from Dickinson and Rolla, ND.  

“This puts us in a recalculation mode.” -- Jim Boyd, president of the Jamestown Regional Airport Authority.  Delta Air Lines service in Devils Lake and Jamestown is on the chopping block.  Average occupancy for flights from both cities is well below 50 percent.  Service at both airports is subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.  Are you ready for this -- the average cost of the service is $2,000 a passenger.  Federal budget cutters think that is a little too rich.

A page one article in the Wall Street Journal explains how ND’s low tuition is a draw for out-of-state college students.  Overall, 45% of the college students in the state are from other states; at NDSU, 55% of the students are in this category.  This is a deliberate strategy.  As the number of high school graduates in the state declined, the state chose to maintain the size of its university system by recruiting outsiders.  While this gives ND high school graduates a broad selection of colleges and courses, the question is whether the cost to taxpayers is reasonable.  When the average cost of educating each student exceeds average out-of-state tuition, each visiting student is an additional cost to ND taxpayers.

An editorial in the Minot Daily News was headed “Long, slow recovery begins.”  The Minot flooding will fade from the news, but the devastation remains.  One article described the trashing of the Minot Country Club, by no means the most serious problem, but an example of the extensive damage.  At the earliest, full operations at the club will not resume until 2012.  Another article stated the Minot zoo would be closed until 2012.  The animals board at zoos and parks around the country.

The perfect marriage?  The Turtle Mt. Reservation has a 60 percent jobless rate -- Minot needs workers for flood cleanup.  The tribe will provide qualifying members daily bus transportation from Belcourt to Minot -- a one-way trip is about 120 miles.

The Empire Builder began its run through ND in 1929 -- of those 82 years of service, 2011 is the most disrupted.  Amtrak service in the state will be resuming, except in Minot, where the depot and boarding platform are damaged by flooding.  The Minot depot was restored last year at a cost of $1.2 million.

In January, four American Indians were victims of related murders in Minot.  Six months later, the Minot Police Department has not identified any suspects.  A few months back, Minot Police Lt. Jason Sundbakken said, "Nothing new at this point.  We're waiting on some lab-related stuff. That's not real specific, I know, but that's where we're at right now."  That is apparently where they still are.

When Tribune writer Lauren Donovan gets on a story, she bores deeply.  She tells about Woody Fields (71) and Anne Ianniciello (65), who prefer to be called by their adopted Muslim names, Abdullah Muhammad and Aabidah Ann.  It’s hard to separate fact and fiction: Woody is a self-proclaimed genius and Ph.D. in psychology -- he says he is disabled by injuries suffered when he crashed an Air Force jet.  Anne is disabled by social anxieties.  The couple are in the news because they plan to buy a house in Goodrich (middle of ND) and turn the basement into a mosque.  They are planning to leave Zeeland (near SD line) where they pleaded guilty to charges of inhumane treatment of animals.  Folks in Goodrich are very interested.

It’s about time -- Gov. Dalrymple announced a gravity-flow outlet from Devils Lake into the Sheyenne River will open in spring 2012.  City residents in Devils Lake say that’s too long -- they want it this year.

The UND Fighting Sioux issue brings out rabid voices on both sides.  The Ralph Engelstad Arena at UND recently had a fire.  A Forum reader immediately identified the source of the problem: “The Great Spirit has spoken by damaging the sound system and ice rink in the Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks.  He was saying it’s time to stop the name and the logo must go.” 

A Bismarck Tribune editorial warned that reduced farm subsidies are almost a certainty in the current budget climate, and state leaders and farm organizations should begin working on market-based solutions to fill the gap.

Yeah, I buy that.  This item is not about ND -- it involves North Korea.  At the women’s World Cup soccer tournament, five N. Korean players tested positive for steroids.  The Koreans had a perfectly logical explanation: In June, their players were struck by lightning and were being treated with traditional medicines based on musk glands -- obviously, the source of the steroids.