SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - APRIL 18, 2016
“CHANTS OF ‘LET’S GO SIOUX’ and ‘Sioux forever’ rang out from the crowd as the frustration of coming so close so many times in the national tournament finally turned to elation.” -- GF Herald. UND won the NCAA Division I hockey championship with a 5-1 win over Quinnipiac (Connecticut). UND made 8 unsuccessful trips to the Frozen Four since a national title in 2000. Coach Brad Berry made history as the first rookie coach to win a national championship.
WELL-BEHAVED Fans celebrated throughout the night in Grand Forks, but were relatively calm. An overturned Toyota Prius was the most significant casualty. By far, the most common Twitter comment was “Sioux Forever.” Last Sunday, over 6,000 fans greeted the hockey team at the Ralph -- hundreds bought championship gear at the Sioux Shop.
HOW DID THEY REACT IN MINNESOTA? A Star Tribune headline read ”'Go Sioux!' chants echo as North Dakota wins NCAA hockey title.” The article had well over 100 comments, many along the line of the following:
“I just read an article that included interviews with the ND players. They have a feeling for the school and their team that I have never ever heard from MN players going back to the 1980's and since. Maybe it's the size of the school or something else. But their resolve, loyalty to the program and commitment to winning is reflected in their effort on the ice.”
GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS From 1990 to 2000, 47 of ND’s 53 counties were losing population; in recent years, only 21 counties were losing population. These are rural counties where residents are older and agriculture requires fewer and fewer workers. There is no obvious reason why these rural counties should expect to grow.
SMALLER, BUT WELCOME Jamestown is shaking off the loss of a proposed $2 billion nitrogen fertilizer plant which would have radically changed the city. Something new and smaller is coming over the horizon, an investor group is proposing a $150 million cellulosic ethanol plant. For those of you who don’t speak cellulosic -- a Danish technology would process corn waste and wheat straw into ethanol and byproducts.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE MENARDS MAKES During the fourth quarter of 2015 retail sales in ND decreased compared to 2014. Jamestown had a 19 percent increase in the same period -- a Menards home improvement store opened in September.
VACCINATIONS Columnist Rob Port has a Libertarian streak -- he believes you should be allowed to eat cheeseburgers and die of a heart attack at 45. But, in at least one area, he makes an exception. He believes falling vaccination rates in ND are putting children at risk and public health officials should limit exemptions.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? Actor Josh Duhamei has been the face of ND in ads produced by the state’s tourism bureau. In Los Angeles, Duhamei was pictured wearing a Burgum for governor t-shirt.
THE MOOSE WAS KILLED and so was the semi that hit it. The moose accident happened on I-94 a little east of Dickinson. The Game and Fish Dept. is dealing with the dead moose and a tow truck is disposing of the semi.
LET THEM EAT PAMPHLETS Nearly 1,500 members of the Three Affiliated tribes have signed a petition asking for an independent audit of the tribe’s spending which, if you haven’t noticed, exceeds $100 million. The tribal chairman urged patience and said the Tribal Business Council distributed pamphlets to explain the budget.
SISTER NICOLE KUNZE has been elected prioress of the Benedictine Sisters of Annunciation Monastery in Bismarck, but it doesn’t end there. In her role as prioress, she will be president of the board of trustees at the Univ. of Mary with leadership positions at St. Alexius Health and Garrison Memorial Hospital. Her new position will require Dr. Kunze to resign as an Associate Professor of Chemistry at U-Mary.
OFFICIALS DISAPPOINT “Still, it’s disappointing how few local public figures have been willing to back Freeman in at least plainly clearing these cops of an unspeakable barbarity.” -- Star Tribune columnist D.J. Tice lamenting the reluctance of Minnesota politicians to show support for the Hennepin County Attorney’s determination that police acted properly in the Jamar Clark shooting. Tice singled out the governor as an example: “Gov. Mark Dayton’s statement following Freeman’s announcement seemed particularly craven, actually distancing the state’s top elected official from the decision.”
FIGHTING UGLY RHETORIC “We want to stand apart from some very ugly rhetoric.” -- Abdi Warsame a Somali member of the Minneapolis City Council. The council donated used firetrucks and a crime-lab vehicle to strengthen ties with a sister city in Somalia. Somalis in the Twin Cities have spoken out against comments by Republican presidential candidates calling for closer monitoring of Muslims living in the U.S.
HOW WOULD YOU RULE, if you were the judge? Mohamud Mayes of Minnetonka MN was shot in the head by police officers after he hit them with his car. He has pleaded guilty to first-degree assault on a police officer, which could result in a sentence of 20 years in prison. His attorney asks for no prison time -- the reason: a prison sentence could get Mayes deported to Somalia.
TEST NOT In Minneapolis South High School, only 50 of 400 students have consented to take a standardized math test. Abdinasir Abdulkadir is one of the students refusing the test -- he argues the exam only assesses the abilities of white, middle-class students. Teacher union activists and the school culture reject the idea the tests are necessary.
DAKTOIDS: Tom Dennis at the Herald sees the housing shortage in Grand Forks imperiling potential growth in unmanned aerial systems.
WELL-BEHAVED Fans celebrated throughout the night in Grand Forks, but were relatively calm. An overturned Toyota Prius was the most significant casualty. By far, the most common Twitter comment was “Sioux Forever.” Last Sunday, over 6,000 fans greeted the hockey team at the Ralph -- hundreds bought championship gear at the Sioux Shop.
HOW DID THEY REACT IN MINNESOTA? A Star Tribune headline read ”'Go Sioux!' chants echo as North Dakota wins NCAA hockey title.” The article had well over 100 comments, many along the line of the following:
“I just read an article that included interviews with the ND players. They have a feeling for the school and their team that I have never ever heard from MN players going back to the 1980's and since. Maybe it's the size of the school or something else. But their resolve, loyalty to the program and commitment to winning is reflected in their effort on the ice.”
GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS From 1990 to 2000, 47 of ND’s 53 counties were losing population; in recent years, only 21 counties were losing population. These are rural counties where residents are older and agriculture requires fewer and fewer workers. There is no obvious reason why these rural counties should expect to grow.
SMALLER, BUT WELCOME Jamestown is shaking off the loss of a proposed $2 billion nitrogen fertilizer plant which would have radically changed the city. Something new and smaller is coming over the horizon, an investor group is proposing a $150 million cellulosic ethanol plant. For those of you who don’t speak cellulosic -- a Danish technology would process corn waste and wheat straw into ethanol and byproducts.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE MENARDS MAKES During the fourth quarter of 2015 retail sales in ND decreased compared to 2014. Jamestown had a 19 percent increase in the same period -- a Menards home improvement store opened in September.
VACCINATIONS Columnist Rob Port has a Libertarian streak -- he believes you should be allowed to eat cheeseburgers and die of a heart attack at 45. But, in at least one area, he makes an exception. He believes falling vaccination rates in ND are putting children at risk and public health officials should limit exemptions.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? Actor Josh Duhamei has been the face of ND in ads produced by the state’s tourism bureau. In Los Angeles, Duhamei was pictured wearing a Burgum for governor t-shirt.
THE MOOSE WAS KILLED and so was the semi that hit it. The moose accident happened on I-94 a little east of Dickinson. The Game and Fish Dept. is dealing with the dead moose and a tow truck is disposing of the semi.
LET THEM EAT PAMPHLETS Nearly 1,500 members of the Three Affiliated tribes have signed a petition asking for an independent audit of the tribe’s spending which, if you haven’t noticed, exceeds $100 million. The tribal chairman urged patience and said the Tribal Business Council distributed pamphlets to explain the budget.
SISTER NICOLE KUNZE has been elected prioress of the Benedictine Sisters of Annunciation Monastery in Bismarck, but it doesn’t end there. In her role as prioress, she will be president of the board of trustees at the Univ. of Mary with leadership positions at St. Alexius Health and Garrison Memorial Hospital. Her new position will require Dr. Kunze to resign as an Associate Professor of Chemistry at U-Mary.
OFFICIALS DISAPPOINT “Still, it’s disappointing how few local public figures have been willing to back Freeman in at least plainly clearing these cops of an unspeakable barbarity.” -- Star Tribune columnist D.J. Tice lamenting the reluctance of Minnesota politicians to show support for the Hennepin County Attorney’s determination that police acted properly in the Jamar Clark shooting. Tice singled out the governor as an example: “Gov. Mark Dayton’s statement following Freeman’s announcement seemed particularly craven, actually distancing the state’s top elected official from the decision.”
FIGHTING UGLY RHETORIC “We want to stand apart from some very ugly rhetoric.” -- Abdi Warsame a Somali member of the Minneapolis City Council. The council donated used firetrucks and a crime-lab vehicle to strengthen ties with a sister city in Somalia. Somalis in the Twin Cities have spoken out against comments by Republican presidential candidates calling for closer monitoring of Muslims living in the U.S.
HOW WOULD YOU RULE, if you were the judge? Mohamud Mayes of Minnetonka MN was shot in the head by police officers after he hit them with his car. He has pleaded guilty to first-degree assault on a police officer, which could result in a sentence of 20 years in prison. His attorney asks for no prison time -- the reason: a prison sentence could get Mayes deported to Somalia.
TEST NOT In Minneapolis South High School, only 50 of 400 students have consented to take a standardized math test. Abdinasir Abdulkadir is one of the students refusing the test -- he argues the exam only assesses the abilities of white, middle-class students. Teacher union activists and the school culture reject the idea the tests are necessary.
DAKTOIDS: Tom Dennis at the Herald sees the housing shortage in Grand Forks imperiling potential growth in unmanned aerial systems.
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