SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - APRIL 6, 2015
HOW THOUGHTFUL! The always helpful Minneapolis StarTribune urged readers to suggest a replacement for the UND Fighting Sioux nickname. Minnesota readers were ready and eager -- the number of suggestions quickly surged past 100. They ranged from the playful “Lutefisk Lovers” to a bitter NDSU grad’s “Fighting Sewage.” One response belittled the nickname loss saying UND should be called the “ND folders” after having “one of the best nicknames in all of sport” and folding to political correctness. That inspired the suggestion “Political Corrects.” Another suggestion was also condescending: “The Prairie Dogs. A name signifying dust-laden communities and easy targets.”
KINDER AND MORE MODERATE COMMENTS A StarTrib reader suggested letting ND Indians choose the nickname, saying they might select the “Fighting Sioux.” A more restrained idea: “How about just The Sioux? Or is that still too offensive.” Tongue-in-cheek: “Fracking Sue” and “Fighting Chippewa.” More practical and common sense: “RoughRiders.”
YES, THERE IS IRONY The Wall Street Journal came right behind the StarTribune. The Journal article focused on the current NCAA hockey tournament. It noted that UND was searching for a nickname: “Until then, North Dakota plays on nameless. Should it win the tournament, the team formerly known as the Fighting Sioux would become the first Division I champion in any sport without a nickname in recent history.” The article also acknowledged the extreme regret felt by Nodaks: “Fighting Sioux so clearly conjured all the qualities that North Dakotans took pride in—loyalty, courage, tradition and their unique connection to the place."
UND WON THE WESTERN REGION PLAYOFFS held at the Scheels Arena in Fargo and moves on to the NCAA Frozen Four. Playoffs are supposed to be held at neutral sites, but sometimes there are few bids to host those sites. The coach for one UND opponent noted “obviously this was not a neutral site.” The 5,000-seat arena was filled with a rowdy, standing room-only “Fighting Sioux” crowd.
THE NICKNAME IS NOT FORGOTTEN “I think you look at attendance rates throughout the whole college hockey, it’s no question UND is number one for a reason. You go across the whole state, it’s UND Fighting Sioux colors and bleeding green and stuff. It’s pretty special to be a part of.” -- Comments from UND goaltender Zane McIntyre in a GF Herald article about how team energy was boosted by extraordinary fan support.
AVERAGES CAN BE DECEPTIVE ND no longer has the lowest unemployment rate -- Nebraska has that distinction. NE’s rate is 2.7%; ND is 2.9%. It’s rarely mentioned, but the majority of ND counties have unemployment rates well above the state average. Some are quite high, such as Rolette County’s (Turtle Mt. Reservation) 12% rate and Sheridan County’s (McClusky) 9% rate. The low state average is achieved because of extremely low rates in northwest counties -- a cluster of counties there have rates in the 1.5-1.8% range.
WAS SHE WEARING A SCARF? Rachel Chepulis (26) was wanted in connection with a jail escape in Devils Lake. She should have been easy to spot -- about 200 pounds, tall, blond and, oh yes, a distinctive black widow spider tattoo on her neck. By the way, she was not the escapee, that’s Wesley Brown. Chepulis is a jailer who is believed to help Brown escape. Nineteen days after the escape, both were arrested in North Bend, Oregon, a small coastal city. Brown has a wife and children in Watford City.
WAITING FOR THE NEW ARRIVALS Who are Luckee, Shantell, Kayla, Tamara, Phyllis, Amanda and another Kayla? No, they are not a singing group. They are all charged with felony possession of methamphetamine inside the women’s prison in New England, ND. The warden said, “Contraband, does it get into the Facilities? Yes.” How? In the body cavities of new arrivals.
GOOD EXAMPLES? The ND teacher licensing board met this week. Guess who was on the agenda for disciplinary action? Yes, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Kirsten Baesler and her former fiance Todd Tschosik, a Bismarck teacher. Both brought plenty of baggage from recent and past escapades. The board did not take disciplinary action against either. Baesler intends to run for re-election next year.
FOREWARNED IS FOREARMED In February, high winds and icy roads pushed three camper rigs off I-94 near Jamestown. The lesson: observe conditions, be wary and drive slow. The message didn’t get through. Last Friday, seven crashes occurred in the same area, including a semi that rolled on its side blocking the westbound lanes of I-94. The Highway Patrol said tersely “The drivers were going too fast.”
DAKOTA SPIRIT AgENERGY, an ethanol plant near Jamestown, plans to be fully operational this summer. The plant will require about 24 million bushels of corn a year. Stutsman County, where the plant is located, grows about 19 million bushels a year. All corn deliveries to Dakota Spirit will be made by truck -- expect a stream of trucks from the region converging at the plant. Another stream of trucks will be outbound with waste and byproducts.
WELL NOW! “Ever since I moved to Fargo in 1979 . . . I’ve had the sense that some of those who’ve been born and raised in Fargo hold themselves in a particular regard.” -- Dean Hulse, a writer and environmentalist in Fargo, writing in support of a mayoral candidate who is a relative newcomer. Hulse didn’t stop there, “Now, a majority of Fargo’s population is comprised of people who didn’t grow up here, some of whom might be getting as tired of homey provincialism as I am.”
DAKTOIDS: Of course, you know ND is a little breezy. As a reminder, the Forum published a list of peak gusts over the most recent weekend: Glen Ullin and Dickinson -- 69 mph; Fargo -- only 52 mph . . . In the 1940s, the Larimore area (just west of Grand Forks) became known as the Shelterbelt Capitol of the world. The shelterbelts are dying and disappearing without replacement -- the land is too valuable . . . Eleven trains of crude oil leave ND each day -- over half are headed for East Coast refineries and about a quarter are going to the West Coast.
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