Dakota Beacon

ND is the No. 4 state in oil production.  Lynn Helms, the director of ND’s Department of Mineral Resources, says ND production will pass that of California in the second half of 2012 and will pass Alaska shortly thereafter, making ND the No. 2 state.  Currently, California produces about 539,000 barrels a day while Alaska produces 550,000 barrels.  ND wasn’t supposed to arrive this fast.

Good news, bad news.  Airports in western ND are setting passenger boarding records.  September boardings in Williston and Dickinson were up over 80 percent from the prior year; those in Grand Forks and Fargo stayed about the same.  Now, the bad news -- western airports need runway upgrades, and expanded terminals and parking.

Editorials in both the Minot Daily News and the Bismarck Tribune highlighted the rapidly developing need for affordable housing in western ND for people forced out of their homes by escalating rents.  The Trib editorial referred to “oil patch refugees.”

Because of the newness of many ND oil wells, there are not yet systems to collect and process natural gas from all wells.  It is common practice to flare (burn) the gas.  A system is being tested to use well gas as a substitute for diesel in engines powering drilling rigs.  This can save around $1,000 a day in fuel costs at each rig.

A Minneapolis Star Tribune article calls ND a “siren song of prosperity”  -- 27,000 Minnesotans worked in ND in 2009 -- the number is growing.  Keep in mind many of the workers live in border towns such as E. Grand Forks and Moorhead.  The article says ND is “the country’s fastest-growing economy” and has “the highest personal income gains.”  Many young Minnesotans have gone to the oil fields for adventure and money.  A Thief River Falls mother said her 22-year-old son makes $120,000 a year in ND as a crane operator.

The parents at a south-end Grand Forks elementary school have petitioned to reduce the number of English Language Learners (ELL) at the school.  Over 10 percent of the students are ELL.  While the students are identified only as immigrants and refugees, many are likely to be Somalis.  The parents are concerned that the ELL students take so much teacher time that other students are forgotten.  A few parents oppose the petitioners suggesting they are racist and intolerant of a vulnerable group.  The refugees arrived in Grand Forks as a result of resettlement programs of Lutheran Social Services.

Don’t call me “Buckwheat!”  The assistant principal in a Fargo high school will undergo sensitivity training for a calling a black student Buckwheat.  Buckwheat was a black character in “Little Rascals” comedies in the 1920s.

The Forum is getting tough.  Its young publisher, Bill Marcil Jr., said unequivocally: no “anonymous voices on our website.  I can no longer justify giving a platform to vultures who comment on our content.”  Come up with names and addresses or get out.

Do the GF Herald and Fargo Forum (both Forum companies) come up with “good cop, bad cop” editorials in totally independent fashion, or is there contrivance?  Tom Dennis of the Herald wrote, “On balance, North Dakotans remain satisfied with the existing system (for redistricting); and given the outlines of this year’s plan, they’re likely to stay that way.”  But the Forum was displeased, “Redistricting that makes it more difficult than it is now to recruit good candidates from rural areas can be perceived as an urban thumb on the scale.”  The Forum called for “something that will better serve rural North Dakotans.”  Both editorials were about redistricting that reduces the number of legislative districts in sparsely populated rural areas and increases those in more urban Cass and Burleigh counties.

“SheSays will be a trusted source of information for women who are smart and savvy.”  In early October, Forum Editor Matt Von Pinnon described the new daily section SheSays as an exciting change: “built daily for women by women.”  A trickle of dissents began coming in from women and by October 16th there was a torrent: The worst idea ever . . . journalistic talent wasted . . . stick to the news . . . boring . . . Good Housekeeping 1950 . . . gossip rag . . . when did Penne with Mushrooms become an important issue . . . and so on.  Will the Forum fine-tune the section, or will SheSays go the way of anonymous voices?

“This sense of moral superiority is pervasive in North Dakota politics.”  GF Herald Editor Mike Jacobs furnished many examples of what he called “a strong streak of moralism” in the state.  He speculated “Some of it probably arises from Norwegian pietism.”  He said this thinking “resonates with supporters of the (Fighting Sioux) nickname, native and white, who have wrested the moral high ground from nickname opponents.”

Whether Jacobs correctly identified the cause, he correctly described the attitude of Fighting Sioux supporters.  A state senator from GF said, “I personally don’t want to see the nickname go away.  A majority of people in the state don’t want to see it go away. And if you talk with the people in those two tribes (the Spirit Lake and Standing Rock Sioux tribes), the vast majority don’t want to see it go away. They gave it to us . . . and I think it should be their choice.”  Despite such strong feelings, Sen. Lonnie Laffen said he would reluctantly introduce a bill in the November interim legislature to repeal the name, because the NCAA leaves no options.

When cameras at the Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks focus on the “Beer Grandma,” the crowd roars its approval.  The Beer Grandma is 85-year-old Beth Delano who has attended UND hockey games for over 50 years and, yes, has an occasional beer.  UND President Robert Kelley wants the cameras to look elsewhere, feeling the grandma reminds viewers of the school’s unwanted reputation for excessive drinking.  Tom Dennis of the Herald thinks the fuss is silly and the Beer Lady presents “UND sports in a friendly and flattering light.”  He says, in fact, she is a “symbol of both proper fan behavior and responsible use of alcohol.”  Kelley also disapproves of the Fighting Sioux nickname.

The federal EPA is demanding that ND power plants spend $700 million on technologies to reduce regional haze, although ND has some of the highest air quality grades in the nation.  Improvement from the new equipment would be imperceptible.  In other words, the demand flunks cost benefit tests.  Herald opinion page editor Tom Dennis said, “Eventually, environmental regulations reach a point of diminishing returns . . . And it’s the point the ‘regional haze’ effort is at today.”  A Tribune editorial said the spending wanted by the EPA is “a cost that would trickle down to consumers without observable benefits.”

Doug Burgum, the former leader of Great Plains Software, wrote a testimonial to Apple Computer founder Steve Jobs.  Burgum said there is a direct line from Jobs through Great Plains Software to Microsoft’s presence in ND.  Burgum also said numerous local software start-ups gained leadership and investment from that heritage.