SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - APRIL 27, 2014
KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOURSELF The Next Generation Energy Act is a Minnesota law which imposes restrictions on power plants outside the state -- think ND lignite plants. ND sued to block the law. A federal judge ruled the law attempts to regulate business in other states and is overreaching.
NOT HIS FINEST MOMENT It’s not often editorial writers in Bismarck, Grand Forks and Minot have the same opinion on the same day. It happened this week when daily papers in all three cities pounced on President Obama for further delaying his decision on the Keystone Pipeline. The Bismarck Tribune: “it’s a decision that lacks courage.” The Grand Forks Herald: “Obama . . . should be embarrassed and ashamed.” The Minot Daily News: “Keystone waffling continues.”
THE POPULAR TWINS You will find Fargo and Sioux Falls near the top of many lists regarding smaller cities (growth, business friendliness, good places to live, etc.). An article from the Sioux Falls Business Journal points out the remarkable similarities and successes of the two cities. Both are attractive to business and many of the same businesses are located in both cities.
LIKE-MINDED CITIES The I-29 twins have similar sized metro areas. Fargo is more of a college town; both are important in health care, but Sioux Falls more so. Fargo is more industrial; Sioux Falls more financial. The two are roughly the same distance from the Twin Cities, but the article indicated, surprisingly, that Fargo has the closer connection to the Minneapolis market. The Business Journal noted, “Both cities are in the southeast corner of their state, both are at the intersection of two interstates, both are the largest cities in each state and both are growing at a healthy pace.”
FARGO IS AN ENGINE OF GROWTH “No Joke: It Couldn’t Get much Better in Fargo” is the headline of an essay by Joel Kotkin in Forbes. Kotkins is an urban studies professor in California and a ND admirer. He indicated ND “leads the nation in virtually every indicator of prosperity.” He says Fargo’s resurgence is about “more than oil.”
FOOD FOR ALMOST ALL Feeding America finds ND has the lowest rate of food insecurity in the nation. Other states in the region such as Minnesota and South Dakota also do well. Generally, states in the deep south do poorly. Overall, ND has a food insecurity rate of about 8 percent with Indian counties a noticeable exception -- Sioux County had a rate of 18 percent (29 percent for children).
IT’S NOT THE LAND OF MILK AND HONEY The Great Plains Food Bank in Fargo deserves a share of the credit for ND’s strong showing in food security. The Food Bank said the need for service in ND has been rising, particularly, in western ND. Food Bank officials said ND’s reputation as a “land of milk and honey” for work has also attracted many people who arrive unprepared. No jobs. No housing. One official said: “All of a sudden, they need everything. They’re not making it where they’re at and they see North Dakota is the place to be. But if you come to North Dakota without a job or a skill,” the state is no better than where they came from.
THEY BECAME ENAMORED WITH THEIR NAME With ND’s booming ag and energy sectors, it would seem a company such as Titan Machinery in West Fargo could do no wrong. Well, they found a way. The $2 billion company is closing branches and reducing employee head count to deal with overexpansion, decreasing earnings and rising debt. Titan compares unfavorably in many ways to other public companies in its industry. Surprisingly, shareholders have hung on -- two years ago the share price hit $36, today, it’s about half that, but off a low of $14.
GOOD NEWS-BAD NEWS Korrie Wenzel, the new publisher of the GF Herald, spent his prior life in southeastern South Dakota. He approaches ND with a fresh look and perhaps a little skepticism. He listened to Gov. Dalrymple describe the state as one where companies are considered “good people,” taxes are low and there is a good regulatory climate. Grand Forks and the state are full of optimism and good news. Wentzel shares the optimism, but also sees problems: Farmers are handcuffed by a shortage of trains, there is a scarcity of labor and a housing crunch. Potential new employers have reason to be cautious.
EASY TO SAY Wenzel’s cohort, Herald opinion page editor Tom Dennis, has some unkind words for the state. He thinks it should be more proactive in anticipating emergencies. The train explosion in Casselton and abandoned radioactive filter socks are at the top of his list. The oil industry in ND is fast moving and will create emergencies. Dennis has high expectations -- the state can’t pour material time and resources into every possible emergency. There’s a need to prioritize, but it’s very difficult. Take the Casselton train wreck -- it was a unique accident and no one saw it coming, although hindsight indicates more should have been done.
SAY AAAH! The number of dental professionals in ND has doubled in the last ten years, but they are not where they are most needed. A legislative committee is considering the concept of midlevel dental professionals to serve rural areas. The committee chairman said, “Rather than having nobody looking at mouths, I would like to have somebody looking at mouths.” The ND Dental Association strongly opposes creating midlevel provider positions that, it says, require substantially less education and training than dentists.
THE SKY IS FALLING Well-known politicians sometimes have problematic brothers. President Clinton had brother Roger; President Carter’s brother was the Billy of “Billy Beer.” Former senator Byron Dorgan has a younger brother Darrell who had a less than illustrious career as director of the ND Cowboy Hall of Fame. Darrell has become an ecological alarmist -- he sees oil industry catastrophes lurking behind every rock. In a recent letter to ND papers he used the word “radioactive” 15 times and “toxic” 7 times (who’s counting?). While his concerns are appropriate, they are taken to the “shrieking” level.
OTHER BAD BROTHERS A dark side of most federal subsidy programs is fraud. Two Cooperstown brothers discovered that it was more profitable to collect crop insurance payments than harvest potatoes. They used various evasions, such as adding destructive chemicals to seeds, to assure their crops would fail. The government says the spud scam brought the brothers more than $2 million. One brother was convicted of defrauding a federal crop program in 1995.
REALLY! A group named ABATE promotes safety for motorcycle riders. Their annual dinner in Bismarck is being promoted as a “Jack Daniel’s Experience.”
DAKTOIDS: “Zombie homes” are a new part of the ND vocabulary. The term refers to about 250 Minot homes that remain abandoned after the 2012 flood . . . Grand Forks County farmland values were static from 1981 to 2008 when property tax valuations averaged $425 an acre. This year they reached $1,000 . . . Yup, the largest publicly funded building project in ND history. What is it? The new School of Medicine at UND -- deep pile-driving is the first stage in the construction of the $124 million building.
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