Dakota Beacon

“Nothing new at this point” -- Minot Police commenting on the three-month old, unsolved quadruple murder of an American Indian family.  A Somalian national with a history of violent crimes is the father of the child of one of the victims.  He is held by immigration authorities and considered “a person of interest” in the case.   

Former ND Governor Al Olson has a unique view of the UND Fighting Sioux controversy.  In the early 1990s, then UND President Charles Kupchella named Olson to an advisory committee concerning the nickname.  At the time, surveys conducted by UND’s Bureau of Governmental Affairs indicated all constituencies around the state supported the nickname with the exception of UND faculty and staff.  Olson said the committee concluded the university had an adequate basis to retain the nickname, a conclusion reinforced by subsequent events, such as the favorable Spirit Lake referendum.  

Olson’s committee was “shocked” when the NCAA found the name “hostile and abusive.”  Olson thinks the NCAA scapegoated UND as a way of offsetting continuous criticism from academic intelligentsia.  Olson said the NCAA ”is a flawed organization.”  His views emerged in an interview with the Herald’s Chuck Haga.

Through the long up and down history of the Fighting Sioux nickname, the Forum has been quite consistent -- it always demeans the nickname and its supporters.  The Herald has been more balanced, generally reflecting the ebb and flow of the issue.  On Sunday, April 24, positions seemed almost reversed.  Herald editors Mike Jacobs and Tom Dennis became prophets of doom --  UND was cornered by the NCAA, sanctions would bite and get worse, a rich athletic tradition might go down the drain.  Matt Von Pinnon at the Forum was positively benign: “Survey after survey (including the Forum’s own) show most North Dakotans support retention of the ‘Fighting Sioux’ nickname and logo” -- so accept the NCAA sanctions and get on with life.  Lloyd Omdahl also opined on the issue -- his view, described in a word, was “sour.”

A Herald article was headed “Why won’t Grand Forks grow?”  The GF-EGF metro area grew only one percent during the last decade.  The city of GF had a goal of reaching a population of 58,000 by 2010 -- its actual population was only 53,000.  Meanwhile, population and job growth rates in Bismarck-Mandan and Fargo-Moorhead significantly outstripped GF.  Staff reductions at GFAFB were a big problem, but not the only.  Populations at UND and GFAFB are transitory -- they don’t stay and multiply.  GF doesn’t attract many new residents, but loses residents to better job opportunities in Bismarck and Fargo.

The Tribune’s Clay Jenkinson has been content writing “slice of life stories” for his weekly column.  But recently Clay drove through oil country and found it “shocking and eye-opening.”  He devised a blockbuster proposal featuring a 10-member governor’s commission of altruistic citizens.  A name was needed -- Clay liked “Energy and Spirit of North Dakota.”  The well-funded commission would issue a series of five white papers.  The first would “lavishly” document the current state of affairs in oil country, the following three would analyze future needs and consequences, and the fifth would recommend a distribution of oil riches consistent with ND values.  If this idealistic vision materialized, could you imagine politicians keeping their hands off it?

See the April “New Yorker” magazine.  “Kuwait on the Prairie,” a 10-page article about life and oil technology in the Williston Basin, is one of the most comprehensive attempts thus far by a national magazine to describe the impact of the Bakken oil discovery.  Explaining the tolerance for “fracking” in ND, the article said, “Oil is very popular, and the economy here is a long-suffering agriculture economy.”  Passing a big contemporary house near Williston, the author was told, “New home, new car, new boat.  New wife, probably.”

South Dakota and ND are about as similar as two states can get, yet their residents sometimes have widely different habits.  The percentage of households in ND relying only on cellphones is one of the highest in the nation; the percentage of such households in SD is almost the lowest in the nation.  In households without kids, 18% in ND rely only on landlines; in SD that number is 51%.  There was a mumbled explanation involving the Black Hills, but no clear explanation was forthcoming.

Senator Conrad said, speaking about federal subsidies, “Agriculture is going to have to be cut.  That’s just the reality.” He added that the state would also have to accept cuts in highway and energy projects.  When this comes from a ND senator, it is likely to be true.

A town meeting held by Sen. Kent Conrad in Devils Lake ended with a heated exchange between the senator and Jeff Frith, a manager for the Devils Lake Basin Joint Water Resources Board.  “When Frith attempted to continue, Conrad stood, visibly upset, ending the meeting and leaving” according to the Devils Lake Journal. The Journal said the exchange reflects the depth of “emotion and stress” as the battle with lake flooding “goes on and on ... and on.”

FLOODARAMA!  When flooding threats drop in the larger cities, so do the headlines, but there is still a lot going on.  Oslo, Minnesota, is on the Red River about 20 miles north of Grand Forks.  The town was an island during most of April.  On April 21, Oslo’s mayor looked over the situation from a helicopter and reported the river was “still about eight miles wide around here.”  There is a 50 percent chance Devils Lake will hit 1,455 feet in June.  The gym floor at the Minnewaukan school is 1454.5 feet -- wave action can be as high 4 feet -- you get the picture.  The Corps of Engineers is proposing a 3,000-foot dike to protect the school while it is relocated to new “West” Minnewaukan.  

Cleveland is about 20 miles west of Jamestown in a closed basin that is filling a little more each year -- the Schlaht family farm is now marooned on an island.  The family uses ATVs to reach their vehicles -- then they drive 40 miles to bypass flooded roads and reach the Interstate 5 miles away.  This summer they will relocate the farm buildings.  Valley City area flood work and cleanup is estimated to cost $6 million.  The city has only 7,000 people, the area can’t have more than 10,000 -- that’s $600 for every man, woman and child.

GEM (Global Electric Motorcars), a Fargo company that makes small electric vehicles, will be acquired by Polaris Industries.  Polaris started as a pioneer snowmobile company in Roseau (MN) and is headquartered in Medina, a wealthy Minneapolis suburb.  Polaris also recently acquired Indian Motorcycles.  All three businesses involve small vehicles and engines.

What are the lingering effects of the 1996 film “Fargo?”  The head of ND’s Dept. of Commerce said, “The staying power of that movie has been incredible.”  Fargo doesn’t seem to mind -- the Convention & Visitors Bureau brought a replica of a wood chipper with a leg sticking out to a tourism conference.  They hope to obtain the real chipper for future displays.