Dakota Beacon

CHS PULLS THE PLUG The future of Jamestown changed immediately when CHS, the nation’s biggest farm cooperative, canceled plans for a $3 billion nitrogen fertilizer plan in Spiritwood. St. Paul-based CHS cited rising construction costs and water supply issues. The abandonment will cost CHS $85 million. Instead of building in ND, CHS will invest $2.8 billion in Chicago-based CF Industries, the world’s largest publicly traded manufacturer of nitrogen fertilizers. ND Governor Jack Dalrymple expressed disappointment.

ND MAY GO ALONE “So far our analysis shows that the rule is far worse for North Dakota than we initially feared, and it appears we may have been treated more harshly than any other state in the country between the initial rule and the final one." -- ND Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem explaining why the state is considering a standalone lawsuit against new EPA rules for coal power plants. He said ND is unique because its power plants use lignite coal.

CONTINENTAL RESOURCES is the second-largest oil producer in ND; its CEO Harold Hamm is considered one of the industry’s shrewdest operators. However, last fall he made a costly guess on the direction of oil prices. Continental had hedges which protected it from falling oil prices and Hamm canceled the hedges believing oil prices were near a bottom. Since that time, U.S. crude oil prices are down more than 40 percent.

SEVERE TEACHER SHORTAGE The ND teacher licensing board approved a plan to allow “community experts” to be temporarily hired to fill teacher vacancies. Examples: A pharmacist teaching chemistry; a farmer for ag courses. The rule would last a year -- the need is greatest in rural communities. North Dakota United, a teachers union, opposed the rule and received editorial support from the Fargo Forum. The GF Herald took the opposite position and supported the rule.

LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES is the principal agency for sponsoring refugees in ND and Minnesota. A memorandum from LSS indicates they expect to settle several hundred refugees in Fargo for the fiscal year ending September 30 and about a third as many in Grand Forks. Many of those will be Somalis joining families already in ND. A Fargo School Board member said the new refugees will strain public schools -- she said it takes an average of seven years for a refugee student to be academically proficient in English. The CEO of LSS said she doesn’t think it’s a problem and rejected a petition to suspend settlements.

CONFLICT AMONG SOMALIS A significant number of young Somalis in Minneapolis have joined or attempted to join terrorists in Syria. A federal program in Minneapolis called Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) is designed to counter recruiting. Minnesota Somalis are divided over CVE. Some Muslim leaders say the program discourages their community from cooperating with authorities -- they characterize the program as a “federally coordinated assault on our civil liberties.” Other Somali leaders praise CVE saying it encourages foundations and corporations to invest in programs for young Somali. They said a task force monitors the program to minimize civil liberty issues.

MINNEAPOLIS TAKES A BOW “Rarely has a U.S. city done what Minneapolis has managed to do over the past several years: Commission some of the world’s leading landscape architects to design projects in and around its downtown.” -- Thomas Fisher, director of the Metro Design Center at the U. of MN. Fisher continued,
“When all eyes are on Minneapolis during the 2018 Super Bowl and the 2019 Final Four . . . they will see a park . . . with people gathering on a great lawn, engaging in outdoor activities . . . skating on a water plaza and warming up in a glass-enclosed pavilion . . . this open space will reflect our region well: the capital city of America’s North, with people unafraid of cold weather, remaining active year-round.”

“YOU CAN’T STOP THE REVOLUTION! Black Power is the solution!” -- The chant of Black Lives Matter demonstrators who briefly shut auto traffic and rail transit in St. Paul.

THE STURGIS MOTORCYCLE RALLY in the Black Hills ended last Sunday. An estimated record 1 million attended the 75th anniversary event. The attendance easily exceeded South Dakota’s population of 850,000. Other records were set: 233 crashes, including 152 injury crashes and 12 deaths.

THE FBI located its first new agency in 20 years in Williston to combat organized crime in the Oil Patch. Previously, the FBI had offices in ND’s four largest cities. Much of their work in ND is with Indian Reservations where the FBI has jurisdiction over major crimes.

HOPING FOR A MIRACLE "We want to be one of the top three states people are considering moving to." -- Sara Coleman, ND's director of tourism, explaining how the state hopes to find workers for 75,000 jobs in the next five years. The type of jobs that need to be filled: Nurses, truck drivers, engineers and diesel mechanics.

DOUBLE BAD It’s bad news when a UND department head is charged with felony counts of child pornography. It’s particularly bad news when that individual is chairman of the med school’s department of Family and Community Medicine. At $330,000 a year, Robert Beattie (55) is one of the highest paid public employees in ND. He is also a father and grandfather.

THE BUSIEST BEE Honey Bee Stoudt (88) was born in Savage, Montana, but became Jamestown’s first high school Homecoming Queen in 1947. She maintained a high profile ever since. She met Dick Stoudt in 7th grade band and seven years later they were married and began a whirlwind of activities including establishing a Teen Canteen and a German Band, which played Christmas carols on Jamestown street corners. If she wasn’t a member of an organization, her children were. At 50, she finished a double major in business and psychology at Valley City State that led to the establishment of, you guessed it, “The Honey Bee” giftware store. She held lessons of every type from French to dance. Her obituary said Honey Bee taught kindness, respect and responsibility and “was called to a purpose greater than serving herself.”

DAKTOIDS: Not our little Jamestown! The Police Department made 3 felony arrests amid the largest drug seizure in city history . . . Bismarck will get a 200-acre park along the Missouri River -- the first new state park in 25 years . . . Business leaders in ND are asking the University System to promote technical fields requiring two-year degrees -- for example, Bobcat employs 2,000 workers in the state and needs technically trained people.