Dakota Beacon

IOWA COULD BE A TAIL WIND  ND is a commodity state and its two large commodity sectors, oil and ag, have been in a slump.  The ag sector may be stabilizing.  Forum ag columnist Mikkel Pates summed up the outlook for north-central South Dakota, also applicable to much of ND: The “spring wheat harvest looks good, and row crops show promise with timely rains. Meanwhile, crop pricing opportunities have been poor but could improve with the effect of the devastating Iowa windstorm.”

CROSS YOUR FINGERS  “But the Bakken is sitting at a weird precipice, and no one is quite sure whether things are about to get better or a lot worse.” — From a Forum article about ND oil workers trying to survive hard times.  The oil sector has lost 11,000 jobs in ND since the start of the pandemic.  ND Oil & Gas Director Lynn Helms predicts at least a year, on an optimistic timeline, before the state’s oil production returns to 2019 levels.  His prediction is considered rosy.

SAME TIME NEXT YEAR   Normally, members of the ag community troop to Carrington this time of the year for the Carrington Research Extension Center annual row crop program.  This year the updates on corn, dry beans, soybeans and sunflowers will be presented to farmers and crop advisers by video.  Topics include treating crop diseases, fertilizer rates and discussions of varieties.

ALERUS HEALTH in Grand Forks shows weakness.  Poor financial results have caused it to lay off staff and cease construction of a new hospital.  Sanford Health, the giant out of Sioux Falls, SD, has been waiting and watching.  Sanford plans to open a new clinic in south Grand Forks next spring to complement those it has in East Grand Forks.

HUB OF THE WEST  Bismarck Mayor Steve Bakken said "In western North Dakota, we're kind of the hub.”  That is apparently the reason Costco is opening it first store in western ND in Bismarck, a city that ordinarily would be considered too small for a Costco store.  The Bismarck store is between those in Billings, MT, and West Fargo (the only other ND store). 

CHEAP MONEY  The City of Minot sensed it was the right time — it refinanced improvement bonds at a .76% interest rate and Ward County did the same at .72%.  New bonds for flood protection at 1.94% were a little steeper, as was refinancing of Minot’s airport debt at 1.43%.  These seem like terrific rates and, if the country gets a little inflation, they will seem even better.

GRAND PLANS describes a 60-turbine wind farm planned on the Standing Rock Reservation near Ft. Yates — it will be the first on a ND reservation.  The reservation managed the planning stage with grants from the federal Dept. of Energy, but has no money for the $325 million project.  A tribal rep said they are “seeking donations as the tribe’s resources have been drained amid the coronavirus pandemic and a drop in revenue from Prairie Knights Casino following the pipeline protests in 2016 and 2017.”  They hope to partner with a developer and investors.

BUY FARGO  Fortune magazine designated Fargo the third best city to invest in real estate.  Austin, TX, and Fayetteville, NC, were first and second, respectively.  Columbus, OH, came in at fourth place and Sioux Falls, SD, rounded out the top five.  Fargo was selected because it had prime-age buyers and affordable homes.

IRIS WESTMAN lives quietly in a health center in Northwood, ND.  At 115, she is the oldest person ever in ND and one of the world’s top 10 supercentenarians.  Iris was a 1928 graduate of UND and earned an advanced degree at the U. of Minnesota in 1946.

CORONAVIRUS CASES ARE ON THE RISE  In the last week, ND set records for new cases and active cases.  Grand Forks County leads the pack followed closely by Burleigh County (Bismarck).  Six counties, the four largest plus Morton (Mandan) and Stark (Dickinson) have 76% of the state’s active cases.  Gov. Burgum’s administration is considering selectively raising risk levels in those counties.  ND's seven-day average had the highest percentage increase in the nation.

STURGIS FALLOUT  As the motorcyclists rode out of Sturgis, so did the coronavirus.  On Tuesday, 8 states reported cases related to the rally, ND had 17, SD had 37 and MN had 27.

MINORITY VIEW  Forum columnist Ross Nelson said, “Even the New England Journal of Medicine states that ‘We know that wearing a mask outside health care facilities offers little, if any, protection from infection...the desire for widespread masking is a reflexive reaction to anxiety over the pandemic.’”  He said, “Masks are a feel-good attempt at comforting ourselves.”

WOLF STORY  In October 2018, a 29-year-old New Mexico resident, Jordan Grider, entered the Boundary Waters Wilderness in Minnesota with the objective of camping there through the winter.  A conservation officer discovered his abandoned camp and later discovered his remains, mostly bones.  His death is officially a mystery, but not to his mother.  Rebecca Grider is convinced he was surprised and attacked by a pack of wolves.  “I suspect he was caught the first night,” she said. “They said, ‘Lunch!’”  A U. of Minnesota wolf researcher doesn’t buy it.  Thomas Gable thinks such an attack would have been “infinitesimally rare” and believes it was more likely wolves devoured Grider’s already dead body.

DAKTOIDS:  UND students arrive on campus with more than their gear, on Sunday the school had 333 students, faculty and staff who were isolated or in quarantine for coronavirus . . . Minot bars and restaurants took a blow when the Minot AFB tightened pandemic restrictions and barred its personnel from using those facilities . . . Menards is a Wisconsin-based company with over 300 home improvement stores — the Menard family gave the NDSU Foundation a $5.5 million gift for scholarships, fellowships and faculty positions.