Dakota Beacon

“Leasing in Burke and Renville counties (on the Saskatchewan border) is funded by Chinese money through a London corporation.”  Should we call the FBI -- sounds very suspicious?  Maybe not, the speaker is Lynn Helms director of the state Dept. of Mineral Resources and he was discussing potash exploration in four northwest ND counties.  If commercial quantities of potash are verified, production will probably be shipped to China for use as fertilizer for growing rice.  Horizontal wells would be drilled into potash formations and waste oil-field water would be used to dissolve the potash for processing and shipment to the West Coast.  Potash could become another arrow in ND’s quiver of mineral resources.

Tribune columnist Clay Jenkinson sketched a picture of where economic developments are taking the state:  Farms will grow bigger and use more technology.  Rural populations outside the energy counties will continue to decline, but the largest cities will grow and the state will become more urban.  In particular, Bismarck will benefit from energy investment, research and training.  Western ND will have the greatest change -- Jenkinson believes oil and gas infrastructure is already industrializing the landscape.  The Badlands, where he sees pressure from every direction, is a special concern.

Jenkinson noted, that while ND is among the top ten states in the production of both oil and coal, ND is 21st in total energy production.  The latter ranking is based on 2008 data.  At the time, ND had no nuclear production and relatively small production of natural gas and hydro, all important national sources of energy.  When 2010 total production data becomes available, ND’s increased production of oil and gas will move the state up in the rankings.  Because the state is one of the smallest in terms of population, it is already one of the top energy producing states on a per capita basis, a basis on which Wyoming is easily the top state.  The per capita aspect is important, because it is a measure of how energy wealth is shared.

ND oil production continues to boom.  The state currently accounts for six percent of U.S. crude production and may  be on track to reach ten percent.  These are rates that were unimaginable a few years ago.  The side effects of increasing industrialization are more frequently in the news.  A train carrying isopropyl alcohol and acid caught on fire when it hit an oil semi near Williston.

Columnist Lloyd Omdahl is convinced that Measure No. 1 to save 30 percent of state oil revenue will pass handily in the November election.  But he doesn’t like it.  He thinks the money will be locked up and unavailable for large emerging demands in the state’s highway system and water management.

National demand for gasoline is dropping and ND refines more gasoline than it uses.  Consultants concluded it would be hard to justify new gasoline refining capacity in the state.  Diesel is a different matter -- demand within the state is growing and the state has experienced shortages.  However, the consultants concluded the rate of return on a diesel refinery would be around 9 percent -- not enough to justify investment risk.  Public financing or subsidies would probably be required to make the deal work.  The study was funded by the federal Dept. of Energy and overseen by the ND Ass’n of Rural Electric Cooperatives.

Is there no respect?  Neither candidate for the U.S. Senate in ND has received much support from Democratic or Republican national campaign committees, and outside activist groups are bored.  What all this means is Tracy Potter has been unable to mount a significant challenge to John Hoeven and the race is considered all but over.

The U.S. House race in ND between incumbent Earl Pomeroy and Rick Berg has been too close to call.  That may shift -- in late October, the state’s largest newspapers all endorsed Berg.

ND is called a “flyover” state, but is also viewed as an “eatover” state.  In past years, the state has been represented by McDining and the tall signs of fast food franchises.  But today, there are independent restaurants in ND’s largest cities with capable kitchens, creditable wine lists and good service.  They are packed, even on weekday evenings -- Perkins and Applebee’s aren’t  the only choices.  The Bistro in the Canad Inn in Grand Forks, 10 North Main in Minot, the Pirogue Grille in Bismarck and Monte’s on Broadway in Fargo are good examples of the new breed.

It was one of those situations that makes you wonder how it all worked out.  Two tired Florida women stood near the car rental counters at the Fargo airport.  One of the women had a son at a bible college in Ellendale -- the two were unable to rent a car for the 140 mile trip, because they did not have a credit card.  An agent said credit cards are the only form of payment at all the agencies -- their systems don’t accept cash or checks.  The agent suggested a taxi -- ouch!

Immigrants are not a major issue in ND politics, that is a reason why an opinion piece in the GF Herald stood out.  The co-authors were senior executives of the Minneapolis Foundation and the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce.  Their message: Immigration is good for Minnesota.  It hailed immigrants as a source of labor, consumers and taxpayers.  Minnesota has concentrations of Somali, Hmong and Mexican immigrants, although the column indicated they represent only 6.5 percent of the state’s population.  What was the objective of the column; how did it relate to the Herald’s mostly Red River Valley readers?  Not clear.  The Herald obviously thinks its readers can learn from issues emerging in southern Minnesota and the Twin Cities.

The Plains Art Museum in Fargo was mentioned here because of the dramatic James Rosenthal mural recently installed.  The museum has a notable presence in downtown Fargo in a brick building that began over 100 years ago as an International Harvestor distribution center.  The building was redesigned in 1997 with an atrium topped by a vaulted skylight and facing 3-levels of galleries.  Many of the timber and industrial features of the original building have been retained creating an informal, warm feeling.  The museum is an asset enjoyed by few metropolitan areas the size of Fargo-Moorhead.

Along with a new federal court house, a new library and the downtown campus of NDSU, the museum brings people and vitality to Fargo’s city center.  These investments have encouraged the renovation of historical buildings for retailing, restaurants and professional offices with the expectation of more to come.  The museum uses a little mentioned source of funding -- last year it netted over $400,000 from charitable gambling at its Blue Wolf Casino.  The Plains Art Museum is one of the few museums to have a gaming manager on its staff.