Dakota Beacon

ND election results held a significant surprise -- Democrat Heidi Heitkamp won the U.S. Senate race. Heitkamp’s strength came from Fargo and Grand Forks, while her opponent did well in Bismarck and Minot. Republicans won all statewide offices by substantial margins and retained lopsided control of the Legislature. Obama carried only six ND counties: three predominatly Indian counties and three rural counties at the edge of the Red River Valley.

The Wall Street Journal was fascinated by ND last Friday. A smiling and gesturing Heidi Heitkamp looked out from a picture in an article about Democratic senate candidates who were running away from President Obama. Heitkamp was quoted as messaging Obama: “You’re headed in the wrong direction. You made bad decisions.” Another article described how the the light, sweet crude oil coming out of ND is undercutting the economics of Canada’s oil sand production. About half of that production involves upgrading bitumen into synthetic crude -- a process which breaks-even at a crude oil price of about $100 a barrel. U.S. crude is trading well under $90 a barrel.

Tom Dennis at the GF Herald believes he detects a shift in ND’s political culture. The state is feeling more self-reliant and less dependent on Washington. Instead of viewing Washington as a critical source of support, Nodaks are beginning to see its debt and deficit problems as a threat to stability. Dennis cautioned Nodaks to remain attentive to Washington, reminding them the state still has two Air Force bases and an unresolved farm bill.

Jamestown is ready to rumble. A $350 million generating plant completed at Spiritwood Station in 2011 has since been idle. Owner Great River Energy announced the plant will begin operating in about two years providing steam to customers near the facility and electricity for Minnesota. Cargill Malt will be the first to utilize the steam; the next customer will be Cenex Harvest States’ $1.2 billion nitrogen plant slated for completion in 2016. Dakota Spirit AgEnergy is potentially the next customer -- the 65 million gallon ethanol plant is still in the process of obtaining permits.

Juices are flowing elsewhere in Jamestown. Five organizations, including the city schools and parks, are discussing a $30 million community activity center adjacent to Jamestown High School -- an ambitious project for a city of 15,000. The Two Rivers Activity Center will probably require a one-cent sales tax. The project has skeptics -- some feel the city should first upgrade its failing sewer system.

Jamestown is an example of business growth outside the Oil Patch. Valley City is another. John Deere is making a $20 million addition to a plant in Valley City that presently employs over 300. The larger plant is expected to add 100 employees in the next five years. The ND National Guard will invest $30 million in the same industrial park over the next few years.

The Jamestown Sun gave a nod of approval and a “Bravo” to the Jamestown College Athletic Department which received an award for recognizing and developing character among its athletes. Perhaps the college has a little leftover secret sauce to share with NDSU.

The question raised in a Forum article headed “Who represents North Dakota?” could easily be boiled down to this answer: older white men. The thesis of the article is that women, minorities and young people are underrepresented in the ND Legislature. The chairwoman of the department of sociology at Minnesota State in Moorhead took a dim view: “It’s pretty bleak in terms of representation in elected office.” State Sen. Connie Triplett from Grand Forks said “the Legislature will never be representative of the population as long as it is part-time.” However, the article fell short of identifying any widespread dissatisfaction with the current makeup of the Legislature. Perhaps it would be better to poll ND citizens on the subject rather than consulting academic sociologists in Minnesota.

Columnist Lloyd Omdahl also felt a little bleak. He believes the initiative process in ND is an indictment of representative government. He was most concerned about a natural resource initiative that fell off the ballot because of fraudulent petition signatures gathered by NDSU football players. Omdahl felt the natural resource issue was one in which the Legislature ignored public opinion. He offered a rather strange explanation: he said legislative races in ND are not determined by issues, rather, candidates representing small districts are judged on personal relationships and community activities. That is very close to describing representative democracy.

The Coyote Power Station near Beulah put its long-term coal supply contract out for bids. In 2014, N. American Coal will replace Dakota Westmoreland, the present supplier. Lauren Donovan of the Bismarck Tribune writes that this is more than a routine rearrangement of suppliers -- it could mean the end of the United Mine Workers in Coal Country -- N. American is not a union employer. The union has been quick to assert the new contract is an effort at union busting. Coyote’s owners, represented by operating partner Otter Tail Power Co, said N. American offered a better deal and the issue of unions did not come up when bids were evaluated.

Say you want to convert a former school to a hotel in California or New York -- get ready for lawsuits, EIRs, demonstrations and endless hearings. Stanton, ND -- no problem. The City Council in the small Coal Country town quickly approved and fast-tracked a $5.5 million conversion of a former school into a 157-bed hotel to house workers for power plant maintenance projects. The developer wants a backup liquor license in the event the town’s only bar closes.

MOST INTERESTING RUMORS: Sen. Kent Conrad as Sec. of Agriculture and former Sen. Byron Dorgan as Sec. of Energy.

DAKTOIDS: Ola Moe showed up in Bismarck, GF and Williston -- who is he? Ola is the Norwegian Minister of Petroleum and Energy . . . If you are a congressman, your salary is roughly double that of a top elected official in ND.