Dakota Beacon

The dust from the 2011 Legislature is still settling, but western ND is waking up to an unprecedented level of state largesse.  Roads are the big one -- oil country will get $610 million -- western residents have never seen money like that.  North-south highways 85 and 22 are early priorities, as is highway 23 running east from Watford City to New Town and beyond.  Rebecca Beitsch of the Tribune writes that it takes awhile to get these projects rolling -- much of the work will happen in 2012.  The Western Area Water Supply project serving oil country receives $150 million of loans.  Lastly, there is $100 million of loose change for oil impact projects other than water and roads.

Dikes near Portage la Prairie, Manitoba, were deliberately breached to spare 850 homes further down the Assiniboine River towards Winnipeg.  The breach flooded 150 homes.  Portage is about 75 miles from the ND border and about 50 miles west of Winnipeg.  The Souris River flowing from ND is a major tributary of the Assiniboine River, which joins the Red River in Winnipeg.  Something similar took place in Louisiana, where authorities flooded parts of Cajun country to avert disaster in New Orleans.

Most of the Spirit Lake Reservation is in Benson County.  The reservation adjoins the south side of Devils Lake.  Minnewaukan is on the western tip of the lake and is the Benson County seat.  The county is 55 percent Indian and 43 percent white, while the school in Minnewaukan is 90 percent Indian.  The school received $7 million to rebuild on higher ground -- while the relocation is underway, a $1.2 million, 3,000-foot berm has been built to keep the lake away from the present school.

Richard Betting is the voice of Valley City on Devils Lake flooding.  Betting and his acolytes persistently insist that the flooding is caused by farmland drainage into the lake -- even as that farmland slips under water.  In a letter to the Forum, a Devils Lake resident said it’s time for Betting to stand aside -- that Betting “has created the equivalent of a loaded gun for his hometown” by standing in the way of real solutions.

Ernest Grotte, an 82-year-old farmer, turned over a symbolic shovel of mud in the Tolna Coulee.  He was one of over 1,000 gathered there to urge government to use the coulee as an outlet for Devils Lake.  One speaker said, “If Stump Lake (an extension of Devils Lake) spills, it’s going to hurt people in Valley City, in Lisbon, all the way to West Fargo, and every place in between.”  

Minnesota’s financial problems will persist, even if the economy improves.  The Federal Reserve reports Minnesota has, in addition to runaway pension liabilities, a $1.5 billion unfunded state liability for OPEBs (other post-employment benefits), such as retiree health benefits.  Minnesota local governments have equally great OPEB liabilities -- an extreme example, the Hibbing school district has a $66 million liability that represents 600 percent of its annual payroll.  Duluth has a liability that is over $200 million.  ND is a major exception among states -- its OPEB liabilities are low and already partly funded.  A large part of the reason for the contrast, tightfisted ND provides few retiree benefits for government employees.

Public employee unions are under intense scrutiny in financially stressed states.  That is not the case in ND, but union members there are nervous.  The ND Public Employees Association is considering a merger with the Education Association.  The executive director of the NDPEA said, "Public employees are under attack all over the country. The last thing we want is for policymakers of any kind to use us against each other or turn us against each other."

The GF Herald’s Tom Dennis thinks former NDSU President Joe Chapman’s tenure was the worst thing and the best thing that ever happened at NDSU.  The worst thing was to launch an aggressive expansion of enrollment without foreseeing the financial consequences.  Underfunding eventually brought the school to its knees.  The best thing, according to Dennis, was the dynamism and excitement brought about at NDSU.  So where does this all go?  Dennis contends the Legislature must understand that UND and NDSU power modern technologies vital to the state’s future, but growth should not get out in front of funding as it did at NDSU.

Sarah Vogel (65) is a former ND ag commissioner who went on to become a litigator, often bringing class actions suits on behalf of farmers and ranchers.  She is retiring from her law firm in Bismarck.  Her career can best be summarized by a quote: “you never feel sorry for an insurance company, a bank or government.”

The Minnesota Dept. of Natural Resources fitted GPS collars on 16 deer in a test area 80 miles east of Grand Forks.  The purpose was to study deer movement.  Alas, wolves quickly finished off six of the deer.

The new owner “is from the area,” and interested in “carrying the flag,” as in keeping Whitey’s tradition and name.  Quotes from the seller of Whitey’s, the venerable East Grand Forks restaurant, which was sold for $650,000 (minimum price) in a brief auction.  That price goes a long way in EGF -- the second floor of the building has seven apartments.

Delay, delay, delay.  Simply put, that is the strategy of the residents of Oxbow, a small town south of Fargo, to stall Red River diversion.  As proposed, diversion would wipe out Oxbow.  At a cost of $1,000 per household, the residents have hired an attorney and engineering consultant to find the right technicality.

The Fargo Forum wins many awards, let’s give them one more -- the “cliche” award.  Following is an excerpt from a recent editorial tirade: “The Legislature’s Johnny-come-lately intervention demonstrated an abysmal lack of enlightened leadership and political courage, favoring instead pandering to the squeaky wheel.”

The obituary for Martha Haibeck (79) of Tuttle includes a list of her interests and hobbies -- one may be a first in obituaries, “snacking.”

DAKTOIDS: With 16,000 bison, ND is the nation’s #3 bison producer.  South Dakota is #1 with about 39,000 bison . . . Five UND students have received degrees in UAS (unmanned aircraft systems) Operations -- the five are the first in the nation to do so . . .  Sen. Kent Conrad spoke at UND’s commencement about the urgency of the “fiscal crisis;” at the same time, Secretary of Defense Robert Gates spoke at NDSU about “the value of public service” . . . Sales rocket in oil country: Williams County (Williston) barely makes ND’s top ten counties in population terms, but in 2010 its taxable sales of $1.6 billion were second only to Cass County (Fargo).