Dakota Beacon

The outbreak of tornadoes in northeastern ND and northwestern Minnesota on June 17th was one of the region’s “most significant in memory" according to the National Weather Service.  Forum weatherman John Wheeler said the outbreak was “one of the most destructive in this area in my 25 years as a meteorologist at WDAY.”  Wadena, Minnesota, about 90 miles east of Fargo on Highway 10, was the scene of greatest destruction.

Each month seems to bring a new crisis at Devils Lake.  Four inches of rain in mid-June added to already serious conditions.  Ramsey County officials have requested a helicopter for medical emergencies on isolated farms.  Snowplows are being used to clear debris floating onto roads and the Spirit Lake Casino road is precarious.  Gov. Hoeven toured the area and made it apparent where the state is headed, he said, “Ultimately, we’ve got to move more water out of Devils Lake.”  He said he and the state’s congressional delegation continue to press the Corps of Engineers to get the necessary permits to build a new outlet on the east end of Devils Lake.

Bring up the subject of NDSU’s recent problems, and the Forum twists, turns and acts very agitated.  The source of this angst is the state legislature, which the Forum believes is looking for a narrow excuse to attack NDSU while ignoring the school’s considerable growth and accomplishments.  Showing characteristic restraint, the paper describes legislators as less-enlightened, small-minded, myopic and punitive.  The Forum says former President Joseph Chapman is an easy target, but other guilty parties (unnamed) “have scurried for the weeds while pointing their dirty fingers at the former president” in a textbook display of “butt-covering.”  Other than that, everything is swell.

State Sen. John Andrist of Crosby responded to the Forum: “Some newspapers choose to byline their editorials.  The Forum doesn’t have to.  Editorial Page Editor Jack Zaleski’s pen is usually apparent. Mean. Nasty. Full of insulting adjectives.” 

ND has the third most young adults with college degrees, following only Washington, D.C. and Massachusetts.  Of ND residents age 25 to 34, 50% have college degrees, Minnesota is fourth (48%), while Arkansas is at the bottom (26%).  In the U.S. overall, 38% of young adults have degrees.  ND's trend is excellent, in an older group, all adults over 25, only 22% of Nodaks are college graduates, compared to 30% nationally.

In 2009, ND was one of only two states to have an increase in building permits; the other was Alaska.  Not entirely surprising, since ND also led the nation in per-capita income growth and had the lowest unemployment rates.  You might expect the housing starts would be in western ND where oil development is causing a tremendous housing shortage.  Not the case, according to State Data Director Richard Rathge housing starts took place mainly in eastern and central ND, because developers are still cautious about the energy boom.  Rathge expects to see strong growth in western housing in 2010, in fact, Williston housing permits to date in 2010 are double those in 2009.

Rathge said the housing starts are concentrated in larger communities.  Rural areas outside the oil development patches are not sharing the growth.  He used Wells County, a mid-sized county including Harvey and Fessenden, as an example, where only two building permits were issued in 2009.

Farm equipment, recreational vehicles, casino traffic, Minot AFB missile crews and, most of all, oil-field traffic -- Three Affiliated Tribes officials say traffic is overwhelming state highways on the reservation.  The main example, Hwy 23, the east-west route through New Town, carries more than four times the traffic of U.S. Hwy 85, the principal north-south artery on ND’s western side.  The TAT has a full push to persuade state and federal officials to create two four-lane highways through the reservation.

ND Budget Director Pam Sharp says, if oil production and prices stay where they are right now, at June 30, 2011, the state may have $500 million in its oil trust fund, double the $250 million previously estimated.

Darin Erstad of Jamestown was the first ND native to be a member of a baseball team that won the World Series (Roger Maris was born in Minnesota).  He is the only baseball player to win Gold Glove awards at three different positions.  As a senior in high school, Erstad was 1992 ND athlete of the year playing football, hockey and track, in addition to American Legion baseball.  He played baseball at the U. of Nebraska (which he recently gave $1 million) and was also the punter on their national championship football team.  After 14 major league seasons, Erstad is retired in Lincoln, Nebraska, but will be in Jamestown in July where he will attend an annual baseball tournament.

You might say Ben Klein (84) of Bismarck was a social being.  His obituary read like a politician’s with memberships including the Masons, American Legion, VFW, Elks, Moose and Eagles.  His ethnic bases were covered too; Klein belonged to both the Germans from Russia Society and Sons of Norway.  The Wilton native was a pipe fitter most of his life -- maybe he was just a “joiner.”

If you are a Nodak who recalls “Wild Bill” Langer you are probably drawing social security.  Langer may be the most controversial figure in ND history, having spent time in both the governor’s office and prison.  He died in 1959, but was active in ND politics from 1914 until his death.  Forum columnist Bob Lind interviewed Langer’s daughter Mary “Mimi” Gokey (85) of Fargo for an article written for Fathers’ Day.  It seemed appropriate for that day that Mimi recalled little of Langer’s blemishes, remembering him only as a “wonderful” father.

ND became a state in 1889.  Seven years earlier, in 1882, the last “great buffalo hunt” took place near what is now Hettinger.  Lauren Donovan of the Tribune reports that 2,000 Sioux rode out that year from Fort Yates, attacked a herd of 50,000 buffalo and killed 5,000 in two days.  Little did anyone know this was one of the last great hunts.  In the year of ND statehood, a bison census was taken by the Smithsonian Institute, only 1,100 remained, compared to the 60 million bison estimated to have once lived in North America.

In mid-May, a 92-year-old woman drove across the center line near Devils Lake, killing one motorcyclist and maiming two.  She received a $20 citation.  A GF Herald reader was outraged, asking “Is it because of her age” and wouldn’t a younger person be sitting in jail?  The reader hoped the family of the woman driver will pull her keys and not let her drive again.