Dakota Beacon

Just as you think (or hope) the Fighting Sioux matter has calmed -- the controversy lurches in a new direction.  At the end of June, 15 former presidents of the UND Alumni Association or the UND Foundation boards signed a letter declaring “that the Fighting Sioux nickname must be retired quickly.”  Their reasons were varied and often bitter.  David Iverson, author of the letter, said “Most, but not all of us, would have wished to see the nickname continue.”  Iverson characterized the NCAA as misguided, “but the reality is we need the NCAA more than they need us.”  Bismarck attorney Morris Tschider said signing the letter was “extremely difficult.”  He said “In 50 years of association with the university, I never saw or heard anything negative relating to the nickname.  This is going down because the Standing Rock Tribal Council refuses to allow the people to vote, and the position of the NCAA is ridiculous.”

Former governor Ed Schafer is also ready to throw in the towel, but said the NCAA position is “pure political correctness, not at all grounded in true philosophy.  It’s stupid.”

State Rep. Al Carlson, the author of legislation requiring UND to keep the Fighting Sioux nickname, has not been shy about associating UND President Robert Kelley with nickname opponents.  Kelley has undoubtedly been wounded by those generally unproven assertions.  In an editorial headed “Let’s play turnabout with Al Carlson,” Herald Editor Mike Jacobs explores unproven theories about Carlson.  Jacobs edged close to terminal cuteness when he said, “Still, I am more charitable toward Carlson than other critics.”

When Grand Forks had its disastrous 1997 flood, the city found it hard to stay out of the news.  A simultaneous flood and fire made for great stories and photos.  Later, GF became a poster child for successful disaster recovery -- for turning a lemon into lemonade.  Ever since, flooded communities have come to GF for counsel.  Minot is the latest.  A Herald article by Ryan Bakken notes GF was one of the first modern era communities to have such extensive flooding and the city benefited from many types of assistance.  Pat Owens, GF mayor at the time of the flood, says “Times are different” and Minot will likely have a difficult time attracting the same level of attention and aid.  The nation has disaster fatigue and fiscal stress.

Add one more project to the list of misspending due to reluctance to lower Devils Lake.  The road to Grahams Island State Park, now swamped by the lake, will be raised six feet at a cost of $15 million.  Like many before, the decision was easy because 80% of the cost is covered by the federal government.  Grahams Island is the state’s most popular park.

Columnist Lloyd Omdahl draws on his substantial experience in state government to analyze current political issues.  Some of his columns are also humorous accounts of a fictional small ND town and its Norwegian residents.  But in a July column, “In the future, there may not be a future,” Omdahl is nearly apocalyptic.  He said in the past it was largely lower class people who could think only of the present, but now all segments of society have a “I want it now” consumerism attitude.  He calls them “present-oriented” people who are an uninformed electorate, spendthrifts, dumbing down education and recklessly using energy.  Omdahl believes hard decisions are needed: “God has not guaranteed our existence in perpetuity.”

Properly responding to Omdahl’s concerns requires a certain absurdity, to paraphrase: “We must dislike the kind of people we’ve become.”

Bismarck schools got their first woman superintendent.  Tamara Uselman is new to Bismarck and was surprised by the attitude of people with flooded homes: “Everyone seems more concerned for people who appear to have it worse off than they do.”

The new Dunn County road superintendent came up with a compelling idea for repairing roads destroyed by oil development.  Every new well drilled involves 2,000 semi-truck trips.  Before a well is drilled, the county will enter an agreement where the developer agrees to restore related roads to their original condition -- a condition that will be documented by a pre-use inspection involving all parties.  The contract makes the oil industry a partner in road maintenance.  This idea seems likely to become a model for other oil counties.

For the moment, a Minot mutual fund sits near the top of the Wall Street hill.  Integrity Williston Basin (ICPAX) is the Wall Street Journal’s best one-year peformer among diversified domestic stock mutual funds.  The flood could not drown this fund, at June 30 the return for the last year was 72.5%.  As you might expect, the fund is largely invested in energy companies.

About ten years ago, I drove around Williston.  My recollection: it was one of the least attractive cities in ND.  There was a sprawl of idle industrial properties dotted by dreary fast food franchises and trailer homes.  This was a legacy of the earlier oil boom in the Williston Basin -- something hadn’t gone well.  Williston is very mindful of that experience as it attempts to deal with the current oil boom.  The city has a new master plan, but the Williston Daily Herald contends Williston is behind the curve in interpreting and enforcing the new plan.

Cirrus Industries is a Duluth manufacturer of light planes with a branch in Grand Forks.  Cirrus has just entered into an ironic contract to supply 25 training planes to the Air Force Academy in Colorado.  What is the irony?  Cirrus has been purchased by an arm of the Chinese government which, among its many activities, makes military and commercial aircraft.

MORE MINOT: Before losing schools for 1,000 students to the floods, Minot schools were already packed because of the oil boom . . . Same story on hotels and housing -- oil workers  had taken all the slack out of the market . . . Minot State is worried about availability of off-campus housing this fall . . . FEMA plans clusters of housing trailers in Minot -- several developments, each with 150-200 units . . .  Stop building your float -- the July State Fair Parade in Minot has been canceled. 

DAKTOIDS: ND has thousands of job openings -- contrary to common belief, only one-third are in the oil fields.