Dakota Beacon

"Look, we're going to build a world-class company, and we're going to build it with Class B kids" -- Doug Burgum.  The quote deserves interpretation:  Burgum (53), the former CEO of Great Plains Software (now part of Microsoft), does not mean “Class B” in the sense of second-rate, he is talking about the rural and small town students who attend ND’s Class B high schools -- talented people with a strong work ethic, a spirit of service and concern about others.  Burgum repeated the quote when he became the 37th person to receive the Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider award, ND’S HIGHEST HONOR.  Video messages from Microsoft founder Bill Gates and current Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer greeted the tearful Burgum at an award ceremony headed by Gov. Hoeven.  Burgum shares the award with people such as Lawrence Welk, Peggy Lee and Phil Jackson.

Joe Belford is a Ramsey County commissioner who serves as the voice of that region on Devils Lake flooding.  In mid-November, he was moved to say, “We’ve got to do something different than we’re doing now.  WE’RE NOT GETTING ANYPLACE.”  Belford believes that a new commission may be needed to settle the longstanding disagreements between ND and Manitoba about the diversion of Devils Lake.  Belford thinks the International Joint Commission, of which former ND governor Al Olson is a member, moves too slowly and is not an option.

Back to the Jamestown Sun’s “Bravos and Buffalo Chips.”  In October, they awarded a “Bravo to the partnership of Christian leaders and their EFFORTS TO CREATE CLIMATE CHANGE.”  Silly me, I thought climate change was a thing we are supposed to dread.

The Tribune reports that the League of American Voters had a poll conducted that showed Gov. John Hoeven would win a Senate race against Sen. Byron Dorgan.  The poll gave Hoeven 55 percent to Dorgan’s 36 percent with 9 percent undecided.  If the poll is valid, it’s a SURPRISING NEW DEVELOPMENT.  Democrats clearly thought it was not valid and released a statement saying the poll was slanted and biased, part of a political agenda.

Minot State University--Bottineau has changed its name again -- it is now Dakota College at Bottineau.  Got it.  WHATEVER THE NAME, it’s a college with vague justification and purpose (in the 1889 state constitution it was specified as a school of forestry).  The school is uncomfortable discussing enrollment and prefers to say it has over 600 students (website).  A call to the campus about full-time enrollment was problematic -- after conferring, a spokesperson said about half the students are full-time.  The school is not alone up there near the Canadian border -- the Turtle Mt. Community College (“The Spirit Within Us”) is not far away.

If you want an awkward conversation, try to discuss ND restaurants -- residents will strongly defend their local cafes and steakhouses.  CRITICISM IS NOT WELCOME and is suspected of having an elitist or pretentious purpose.  Yet, when a new chain restaurant comes to town, loyalties quickly shift.  Where are the longest lines in towns like Williston and Dickinson?  Applebee’s.  Bismarck swooned when Olive Garden came to the city -- Grand Forks wishes it were so lucky.

ELLEN CHAFFEE had a seemingly successful 30-year career in ND higher education, retiring in 2008 as the president of Valley City State.  So it was a surprise, when her career ended with a burst of bitterness.  She said throughout her career she experienced discrimination, was underpaid and had to work twice as hard because she was a woman.  According to Chaffee, she was isolated and had her leadership questioned by the state board of higher education.

It was not surprising then, that Chaffee was back in the news again recently as the spokesperson for a group of women who had been presidents of ND colleges or were on the Board of Higher Education.  They protested the fact that most top spots in ND higher education are currently held by white men.  They directed a letter to the governor and the university system demanding “affirmative action” to assure women and minorities are among the finalists “for any leadership position.”  The demands went further, “We ask them to reopen the search when all the finalists are white men.”  The sum of their demands constitute a QUASI QUOTA SYSTEM -- something often held to be illegal.  The letter also contained an implicit threat, saying that if the state of affairs did not change “laws and policies should be enacted that prevent it.”

Lucas Littleghost (29), his brother Cheyenne and a friend were tottering on the Burlington Northern railroad bridge in Fargo -- alcohol may have been involved.  Lucas toppled into the cold Red River and appeared certain to drown.  Josie Green, an 18-year-old Moorhead State student, came jogging by, dived in and fished Lucas out.  SHE IS HAILED AS A HEROINE; he is hospitalized.

UND’S law school draws satisfaction from a national survey ranking it 140 out of 180 law schools on the number of “Super Lawyers” produced.  THAT’S NOT SO GOOD, why were they thrilled?  Answer, they beat out South Dakota’s law school, which came in a paltry 142.

THIS AND THAT: People who relish pie and are used to getting theirs at the Tower Cafe & Fuel Stop (off I-94 near the Cass-Barnes county line) have cause for hope.  The old cafe was knocked to the ground, but Fargo investors are rebuilding it bigger and better than ever . . . In the recession, boardings at the nation’s airports have dropped about two percent.  But not in Fargo, where volume has risen eight percent.  The airport’s executive director says, “We’re still a drop in the bucket” -- Hector ranks 145th nationally and is served by four carriers . . . The late Samuel Skaff (94) ran Skaff Apartments, a multimillion-dollar business in Fargo-Moorhead.  He was a ND eccentric -- the McClusky native distributed over 140,000 tiny, white bibles during his lifetime.  Just a thought -- we could change the words to the popular Hawaiian song “Tiny Bubbles.”

DAKTOIDS: ND tourism grew by 11 percent from 2006-08 -- the second highest rate in the nation . . .  Nodaks pay their credit card bills on time -- their delinquency rate was only .66 percent, lowest in the nation; Nevada was 2 percent, three times the ND rate and highest in the nation . . .  Men in LaMoure County may be hopeless -- only 19 percent wear seat belts; women in adjacent Dickey County do much better -- 87 percent.  Overall, a majority of rural drivers in ND don’t wear seat belts.