Dakota Beacon

Columnist Lloyd Omdahl wrote: “The crown prince of North Dakota's Norwegians and the pride of Velva is Eric Sevareid, perhaps the best known of all of our native sons and daughters.”  The former is true, but the latter is not.  Go back 35 years, Sevareid was very well known, but now, the average person is much more likely to recognize Angie Dickinson, Phil Jackson, Louis L’Amour, Peggy Lee, Roger Maris and Lawrence Welk.  Omdahl should be forgiven -- he is an enthusiastic Norwegian and as he said about his hero: “Sevareid remained a Norwegian all of his life.”  Omdahl pointed out that the week of Sep. 27 is Norwegian Week in ND, with the Minot Norsk Hostfest and a Sevareid Symposium in Bismarck.

Giddyup Bjoro -- let’s ride for the fiord.  Singer Bjoro Haaland, the “Norwegian Cowboy,” was back for his 25th Hostfest performance.

For many years Doreen Yellowbird was a writer for the GF Herald.  While she did news reporting, she was most known for articles about “Indian Country” and the natural beauty of ND and NW Minnesota.  Over a year ago, Yellowbird retired to the Ft. Berthold Reservation where she grew up and is a member of the Three Affiliated Tribes.  The general idea was she would relax and enjoy the slower pace of reservation life.  So much for that -- her return to the reservation coincided with the oil boom crashing onto the reservation.  Recent news articles indicate Yellowbird is tribal press secretary and spokeswoman.

Whew, that’s a relief -- ND retains the national extreme temperature record.  Utah was believed to have broken the record in 1985, but the National Climate Extremes Committee (you must know about them) recently determined the Utah record was insupportable.  ND is back on top with a record 1936 year in which Parshall recorded a low of minus 60 degrees and Steele reached a high of 121, a range of 181 degrees.  They remain ND’s all-time coldest and warmest temperatures.

If only more of us had the accomplishments of Alvin Kenner (90) of Leeds.  Alvin broke into farming when he was 16 and continued to farm for 74 years.  His obituary indicates he was a man of extraordinary and far-ranging talents.  He acquired farmland in both ND and Canada, formed ND’s first cable TV company, and it seems like he was a director of almost everything, ranging from Dakota Growers Pasta to the Greater ND Association.  He had armloads of awards, for example, 1977 “Durum Man of the Year.”  Kenner was a philanthropist and his hobbies are too numerous to mention.  Like many rural ND men of his generation, his formal education ended at the eighth grade.

Blue Cross Blue Shield announced that as of October 1 their ND health insurance premiums would rise about 5% for groups and 10% for individuals.  They attributed about 1 to 1.5% of the increase to health reform, but cautioned that health reforms to be phased in by 2014 may cause substantial additional increases.  BCBS estimated that medical inflation is running about 9%.

Trying to avoid poverty -- move to ND, the poverty rate is only 11%.  Don’t go across the river, the rate in Minnesota is 12%; even more risky, the rest of the country, where the rate is 14%.

Unwed mothers face many challenges, which can be complicated by poverty, drugs, alcohol and lack of education.  The mothers may lack family support.  The Perry Center in W. Fargo exists to help unwed mothers navigate a difficult period of their lives.  An unwed mother who has been spared many of those problems will speak at a fundraiser in Fargo for the Perry Center.  Bristol Palin will take time away from “Dancing With the Stars” to support other unwed mothers . . . and earn sizable speaker fees.

It lacked specificity, but intent was clear.  The Forum awarded Leafy Spurge “To the die-hard University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux logo fans who don’t seem to realize the logo has been retired . . . Supporters of keeping the logo are spitting into the wind.”  The Forumspeak never got around to describing any actual problems, but we could safely infer that Fighting Sioux supporters should lay down and die, as the Forum has urged for many years.

ND showed up in two Wall Street Journal articles on Sep. 27.  One article included a map showing branches of failed banks by state.  ND and Montana were among the very few states without a bank failure.  A second article discussed skepticism Democrats are facing in rural states.  The article stated “But nowhere is the drag on the party as conspicuous as in North Dakota” and went on to describe Rep. Earl Pomeroy’s close race.  The article noted certain ironies -- the state’s appetite for federal money coupled with its opposition to federal spending.  Another oddity was mentioned -- the state’s prosperity, usually good news for incumbents, hasn’t prevented a reluctance to support incumbent congressmen.

An AP article about laws regulating ND pharmacies appeared in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.  An old ND law requires pharmacists to control pharmacies.  The law locks out the Wal-Marts, Targets and Walgreens that dominate the pharmacy business in most states.  The article used the Central Pharmacy in New Rockford (1,400) as an example of how small communities depend on their drug stores for a variety of health services.  Supporters of the law fear the little drug stores would be crushed if the law is repealed.  Opponents say repeal is essential to freedom of choice and lower prices, and the present law protects the self-interest of only a few.  A repeal measure scheduled for the November ballot was disqualified on a technicality.

Tell me, what are those ugly little architectural appendages next to bars?  They are smoking shelters, better known as “butt huts.”  Most large ND cities have smoking bans on bars -- in order to retain some of their better customers, bars are building little shelters (300 square feet) that range from luxury suites to shacks.  So, don’t call the fire department if you see smoke coming out of a little building.

They are mostly women in their 30s and 40s who are longtime, trusted employees of tribal agencies.  They are secretaries, bookkeepers and treasurers.  What else do they have in common?  They are embezzlers.  A half dozen women working for either the Turtle Mt. Band of Chippewa or Spirit Lake Sioux have been indicted in 2010 for individual embezzlements -- one at the Belcourt Public Utilities Commission reached $244,000. 

In 2009, ND median household income rose to almost $48,000, an increase of 5% -- the only state to have an increase.  In the 2010 second quarter, the state had an astonishing 15% increase in taxable sales concentrated in western oil counties.  Williston sales increased 88%.  Many non-oil counties had decreases or small increases.