Dakota Beacon

THE FARGODOME is not doing well during the pandemic — it lost money in 2020 and is expected to have a loss this year.  But ordinarily the Dome is a moneymaker — it has a reserve fund of $48 million.  A recent study shows that the Dome contributed $70 million to the local economy in 2019.  The General Manager said that shows “the Fargodome is an important part of the economy and quality of life in the region.”  Dome patrons are 55% nonresidents and 45% local.  NDSU football is the biggest source of revenue.

CASES CENTERED IN FOUR LARGEST ND CITIES  Total coronavirus cases are gently rising in the state, but the increases are centered in the four counties housing the largest cities.  Last Tuesday, Cass County had over half the state’s active cases and the four largest counties had over 80%.  Wednesday, Burleigh-Morton counties reported a 131% increase in active cases since March 24.

TAXABLE SALES AND PURCHASES in ND were down an anticipated 14% in 2020 from 2019.  Oil Patch counties were responsible for a large part of the decrease.  McKenzie County (Watford City) and Mountrail County (Stanley) were both down 40% and Williams County (Williston) was down 39%.  Bismarck was down only 4% and Fargo 5.5%.  Despite a drop of 40%, Williston still managed to edge out Grand Forks as the fourth largest city for taxable sales and purchases.

DON’T FEEL SORRY  Actually, ND legislators don’t do badly for compensation.  The Forum indicates each legislator earns at least $41,500 for a session, including free medical insurance estimated to have a value of $1,400 a month.  One legislator says the tax-free medical benefit is an important aid to recruiting candidates for the Legislature.

THE BASTIAT CAUCUS   You will hear this name from time to time — what is it?  Members say it’s an unofficial, voluntary study group of legislators within the ND House and Senate that adhere to principles of the Republican party.  Their principal purpose is to study and formulate positions on bills.  They are viewed in a more sinister light by the  minority party which sees them as an extra-conservative subgroup whose extreme views become a giant distraction in the legislative process.  The caucus was founded by Rep. Rick Becker of Bismarck.

A SURGE OF WORKERS is swarming towards Fargo-Moorhead.  The Forum says expect 7,700 construction workers in connection with the F-M diversion project and another 500 employees at the new Amazon distribution center.  City Commissioner John Strand said a “tsunami of senior citizens” will be looking for a place to live as they move to Fargo to be closer to health care.  City leaders are translating the foregoing into an immediate need for affordable housing.  They hope existing tax incentives will meet the need, but agree it may be time to review their effectiveness.

BUFFALO CITY PARK  Since 2019, a group in Jamestown has been planning this project, a theme park with attractions associated with bison, American Indians and ND history.  The biggest obstacle is the price tag — $60 million.  Backers now have a gleam in their eye caused by a bill expected to be signed by the governor to use a portion of Legacy Fund revenues for infrastructure.  That is now their main hope for financing.  The fund has yet to hire a manager for investments within ND, let’s hope when the position is filled projects like the Buffalo City Park receive very careful scrutiny.

JUSTICE IN INDIAN COUNTRY  "When you are wronged in Indian Country as a Native person, you've got to realize that it could be the people who wronged you who are in control of the tribal government, who are in control of the police force, who are in control of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.” — Chase Iron Eyes, the lead attorney for the Lakota People’s Law Project, believes “Justice in Indian Country is tenable at best.”  The police shooting of tribal members is likely to slip quietly in and out of the local news, while the police shooting of a Black man creates a wave of protests.  There have been two police killings of tribal members in ND in the past three weeks.

WILLISTON DURING THE OIL BOOM  Columnist Mike Jacobs directs your attention to a book review by Clay Jenkinson in “Governing” magazine of “The Good Hand” by Michael Patrick Smith.  The writer spent 10 months working in the ND oil fields in 2013 at the height of the boom and the book describes that experience.  The book is more about the sociology and culture of booms than it is about ND.  It shows the impact of the boom on people and landscape in the Oil Patch.  You can read Jenkinson’s review at the Governing website, governing.com.

CHEATED!   Outrage.  Every state in the lower 48 potentially will receive federal money to expand or improve Amtrak, except South Dakota.  Wyoming, which has no Amtrak, is getting money for a hypothetical spur from Denver to Cheyenne.  Lines in SD connecting service to Sioux Falls (from Omaha) and Rapid City (from Cheyenne) are cost prohibitive — SD would not be able to afford its share.  The last rail passenger service in SD was 1969.

A LITTLE SLOWING  Creighton University released its Institute for Supply Management index for March.  The index fell slightly from February in SD, ND and Minnesota ending at 69, 69 and 60, respectively.  Compared to pre-COVID levels, employment is down 2.7%, 3.8% and 5.1%, respectively.  Wage rates are higher in all three states compared to pre-COVID.

DAKTOIDS:  Not bad — ND has two of the top-five teams in the Football Championship Subdivision — NDSU #2 and UND #5 . . . In 1900, Minnesota’s immigrants came from Germany, Sweden and Norway; in the last decade, it’s Somalia, Laos and Vietnam.