Home Contact Register Subscribe to the Beacon Login

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - AUGUST 22, 2014

SONGS FOR A SOGGY DAY The gold t-shirt had outlines of ND and SD with the words “Friends Forever.” The t-shirt was held on one side by SD Gov. Dennis Daugaard and on the other by ND Gov. Jack Dalrymple, he appropriately casual in jeans and a bright red shirt. The two states made up the former Dakota Territory and became states on Nov. 2, 1889. The governors exchanged quips and heralded the unique relationship between their states. The occasion was a soggy day celebration of the 125th birthday of the states. The Bismarck rain didn’t dampen the spirits of the guests who were entertained by ND artists such as Chuck Suchy and the Tigirlily sisters.
 
DAKOTA PIONEERS HAD TO BE RESOURCEFUL “The traits the rest of America is also coming to associate with North Dakotans . . . are hard work and resourcefulness.” -- U.S. Sen. John Hoeven on ND’s 125th anniversary. He said, “Today, we’re the fastest growing state in America, with the fastest growing economy and the lowest unemployment rate. Our per capita income is 30 percent higher than the national average.” The U.S. Chamber of Commerce ranked ND No. 1 among all states for overall economic performance and job creation for the past decade. Hoeven acknowledged there was “more hard work ahead . . . we have the challenges and growing pains of a vibrant and developing state.”
 
WHAT WOULD ELWYN ROBINSON SAY NOW? “Unlike our first 120 years we now face ‘the too-few mistake.’ Too few roads, too few railroad tracks, too few schools . . .” -- The caption of a Trygve Olson cartoon in the Fargo Forum. The cartoon speculated about what UND historian Elwyn Robinson would say if he were alive today. Robinson famously developed the concept of ND’s “too much mistake” -- a period near the end of the 19th century when the state wildly overbuilt almost everything in anticipation of a flourishing future which didn’t materialize. Now, infrastructure in western ND seems underdeveloped.
 
THE OIL BOOM INSPIRES MANY DREAMERS -- proposals for huge projects come and go. Question: Is real estate developer The Prime Group one of the dreamers? The PG is proposing a $150 million, 600,000 square foot convention center in Williston, which comes with a 300-room hotel. Sketches show eye-popping, huge glazed cubes. PG is ready to go and wants to break ground in early 2015 and roll out the fabulous new center in 2016. There are a few hitches -- PG doesn’t have funding or approvals -- they want Williston to provide $40 million of the financing. How would overcommitted Williston pay for the project?
 
NOT SO FAST! “The Herald might be ready for another dust-up, but few others of us are.” -- Hal and Kathy Gershman, he the former head of the GF City Council and she a professor at UND. The Gershmans responded to a GF Herald editorial urging UND to “pick up the pace” in finding a new nickname. The Gershmans went on to say, “The fact is, there isn’t a single, solitary animal or bird totem or color (such as “Crimson”) that would serve as an adequate replacement for the name Sioux. That was a name known and respected by all, one that immediately conveyed a sense of power and inspired players to greatness.”
 
REMAIN STEADFAST “Discontinuing the Fighting Sioux name was something forced on North Dakota by outside powerful interests.” -- A UND graduate thanked the Gershmans and concurred that UND should not pick a new nickname. Dr. Mark Schneider said “our state has a history of standing up for what is right . . . we should remain steadfast.”
 
WE KNOW WHAT’S BEST FOR YOU could easily have been the motto of the National Coalition Against Racism in Sports and Media when it threatened to sue the Warroad (MN) Public Schools for civil rights violations. The target: the Warroad Warriors American Indian logo. Warroad reacted immediately and Henry Boucha, an Ojibwe, met with the coalition’s board of directors in Minneapolis to explain the history and tradition of the logo. The coalition owned up to a mistake, apologized and withdrew the litigation threat. The Warroad residents had spoken. If UND, Grand Forks and ND had shown the same determination and courage at an early point, they might still have the Fighting Sioux.
 
2014 ACT SCORES The national average on the ACT test was 21.0. Minnesota (22.9) and South Dakota (21.9) bettered the national average, while ND (20.6) and Montana (20.5) were below. However, that’s not the whole story -- 100% of students took the test in ND and MT, while in MN (76%) and SD (78%) only college bound students took the test. As you can easily imagine, those not taking the test in MN and SD would lower scores. Nationally, only 57% of students took the test. ND students scored poorly in English and reading, but scored closer to national averages in math and science.
 
WHERE’S MY LODGE? Over the years, everyone kind of stood and watched while the river eroded Sakakawea Village on the Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site. The earthlodge sites are being whittled away -- 30 of 55 remain. Supt. Wendy Ross has sounded the alarm -- she says it’s time to do something. She is formulating a management plan which may include stabilization of the river bank.
 
LIFE’S NOT SO BAD Today, you hear many discussions of class inequality -- the one (or the five) percent pitched against the rest of America. I grew up in a typical ND community where there were basically no economic or social classes -- with small exception, everyone was in the same boat. Donavon Zakopyko (77) of Casselton was one of those people. His obituary describes a satisfying, but unremarkable life. “He was in the lumber business for most of his life he usually came home smelling of pine and cedar” and “Don loved . . . mowing grass on his John Deere.”
 
DAKTOIDS: My Bad! ND’s 2014 Teach of the Year has been under criminal investigation since February -- so far, no charges and no comments . . . Author Louise Erdrich lives and works in the Twin Cities, but she grew up in ND and the subjects of her books often reside there. Erdrich has received numerous awards, the most recent is the Dayton Literary Peace Prize’s distinguished achievement award . . . ND’s November ballot will contain four measures proposed by the Legislature and three measures initiated by citizens. Lloyd Omdahl summarized the seven measures in his column and predicted they will spur a higher than usual turnout.

Click here to email your elected representatives.

Comments

No Comments Yet

Post a Comment


Name   
Email   
URL   
Human?
  
 

Upload Image    

Remember my personal information

Notify me of follow-up comments?