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Tuesday, September 22, 2009

SCHMID - LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST: SEPTEMBER 22, 2009

They were all there—Fighting Sioux supporters and opponents alike addressed the State Board of Higher Education in mid-September.  STEVE FOOL BEAR from Standing Rock asked the board for more time “for the sake of democracy.”  RON HIS HORSE IS THUNDER, the outgoing Standing Rock chairman, had a different democracy in mind and urged the board to stand fast and keep its promise to decide the fate of the nickname on October 1, 2009.


Meanwhile, the Spirit Lake Tribe raised the volume, seeming to say “we want to be heard and this is what we really mean,” as they issued a new resolution GIVING “PERPETUAL” USE OF THE FIGHTING SIOUX NICKNAME TO UND.  Not everyone heard them—an opponent from Spirit Lake said, “We will not quit until we get the results we want.”

 


Cost overruns on NEW HOUSES FOR UNIVERSITY PRESIDENTS were at the top of the news in mid-September.  Both NDSU and UND ran past their budgets for the houses and were a little slow notifying the Board of Higher Education—Chancellor Bill Goetz demanded explanations.  Herald columnist Ryan Bakken doesn’t seem to think there will be any death sentences, he noted, “The last time a chancellor stood up to NDSU President Joe Chapman, the chancellor was told his services were no longer needed.”

 


WHAT ND COLUMNISTS ARE SAYING: TOM DENNIS of the Herald feels the board of Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota and the State Board of Higher Ed have both performed weakly.  In each case, he recommended training for the directors.  Well, OK, that’s diplomatic and better than nothing, but wouldn’t it be better to appoint directors who didn’t need training.  Dennis also commented how Minnesota was losing its status as a progressive state with a high level of civil engagement.  Dennis believes the gist of the problem was captured in a 2004 report from the Minnesota Community Project founded by Walter Mondale: “Minnesotans are convinced that government is wasteful and inefficient, and squandering hard-earned tax dollars on programs that are not run well or do not benefit all people equally.”

 


CLAY JENKINSON of the Tribune held forth on health reform.  Here’s where he stands: “Personally, I’d like us to create a European-style full cradle to grave national health care system.”  Sensing that would not happen soon, he went to his backup plan:  “Trust the so-called Gang of Six.”  Sen. Kent Conrad is a leading member of that gang— Jenkinson called him “an Ideal Legislator to address the health care problem” and suggested putting Conrad in charge, saying he is a senator who can balance “idealism and common sense.”  Widely read ND columnist LLOYD OMDAHL commented on the loss of civility in public life.  He said, “Americans are running scared” and “we have become paralyzed with fear of losing our privileged world.  The incivility indicates that we have started eating each other.”

 


An earlier newsletter mentioned that a Canadian border station in ND, which handles a handful of vehicles each day, was to receive a $15 million overhaul under the guise of stimulus spending.  It had the appearance of having been handcrafted by someone like, say, Sen. Byron Dorgan.  That conclusion seems to be wrong or, at least, confusing.  Dorgan has denounced the project saying that Homeland Security was treating the economic recovery money like a “BOTTOMLESS PIT.”  Homeland Security has halted the project for review.

 

 

Former White House political adviser Karl Rove will be inducted in the Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame at the Norsk Hostfest in Minot.  Is it straightforward?  Well, no, it has become a HOT POTATO.  The ND Democratic Party criticized Gov. Hoeven regarding the induction, calling Rove “a political attack dog.”  That may, or may not, be the reason Rove will be introduced at the Hostfest by Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem. None of this seems a problem at Concordia College in Moorhead where Rove is also speaking.

 


THIS AND THAT: Cathay is a Wells County town which has withered down to a grain elevator and a few houses.  One of the houses was occupied by Michael Tresenriter, the leader of a methamphetamine ring.  The Wells County state’s attorney has charged 22 members of the ring . . . What was a 65-man delegation from countries such as Kazakhstan and Ukraine doing in Jamestown?  The group spent a couple days at the Big Iron farm show in Fargo, after which they visited Dura Tech, a farm equipment manufacturer in Jamestown.  They were sponsored by the ND Trade Office . . . ND has this problem of Drinking, Driving, Rolling and Dying.  Larry Gruebele (53) of Lincoln gave it a new twist as he careened home from a bar in an all-terrain vehicle, rolling and dying.

 


DAKTOIDS: The ND oil industry produces more than oil—it also produces salt water, over 500 million gallons a month.  About half is disposed, the other half is used in wells to enhance oil recovery . . . American Airlines will join four other airlines at the Fargo airport and will offer service to Chicago.  AA was in Fargo from 1992 to 1994.

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