Dakota Beacon

Note:  This will be the final edition of this newsletter.  I have enjoyed preparing it -- I hope you have found it interesting.

Dale Schmid

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INCONCLUSIVE  “It (a 2019 survey) showed good job satisfaction on average, but also that more than a quarter of Mayville State University employees were ‘likely’ or ‘very likely’ to leave in the next year.”  — A quote from a GF Herald report about an investigation of MSU they have been working on for months.  The quote was pretty much the tone of a lengthy report describing numerous accomplishments by MSU President Brian Van Horn, but also a pattern of complaints, often anonymous, abut his behavior towards staff.  The complaints were investigated by MSU or the ND University System and were generally inconclusive with vague recommendations such as Van Horn should “seek leadership counseling.”  Mark Hagerott, the chancellor of the NDUS, summarized Van Horns’ three-year evaluation, “Overall, it was a job well done!”

GATE CITY BANK, headquartered in Fargo, has about a 30% market share of checking accounts in ND, the largest share of any bank.  It also has another distinction, the Brookings Institution called Gate City an “overdraft giant,” one of six banks with deposits of $1 billion or more that got at least half of their income from overdraft fees.  In 2020 Gate City got 59% of its net income from overdraft charges.  Kevin Hanson, the bank’s president, said their overdraft fees of $32 are average for banks in the area.  He said much of their business comes from servicing checking and savings accounts, differing them from banks with heavy commercial and agricultural lending.  Hanson said customers could avoid the overdraft fees by purchasing overdraft protection. 

A FISHY DEAL?  Grand Forks is slipping further behind Bismarck and Fargo and is eager for growth.  The  City Council is considering a business subsidy for SeaQuest, an Idaho-based company that develops and operates large aquariums.  Grand Forks is considering a $1 million subsidy for a 17,000-square-foot aquarium in a former Kmart store.  SeqQuest’s CEO said the attraction would be the number one destination in Grand Forks.  The company has nine aquariums — the closest is in a suburb of Minneapolis.

OLYMPIC MEDAL CITY  Only three Nodaks have won medals at the Summer Olympics: Long jumper John Bennett (1956), runner Cliff Cushman (400 meters, 1960) and boxer Virgil Hill (1984).  All three won silver.  Three others have won medals in the Winter Games: Ken Purpur (silver1956) and Monique and Jocelyn Lamoureux (silver in 2010 and 2014, gold in 2018).  All six athletes are from Grand Forks.

IT SEEMED ROUTINE when a ND Highway Patrol trooper approached a car at a rest stop on I-94 with the woman driver passed out inside.  As the trooper woke her up and placed her under arrest for being under the influence of drugs, she suddenly became active, put her car in reverse and dragged the trooper across the rest stop.  He managed to get back in her car, then she attempted to take his weapon.  Bystanders helped get the 35-year-old Jamestown woman out of the stolen Buick.  She is held in the Stutsman County jail for numerous felonies and misdemeanors.

DEADLY FORCE  In August, a new law reduces restrictions for ND citizens to use deadly force in self-defense.  A citizen may use deadly force without retreating in circumstances where their life is threatened.  The new law eliminates “a duty to retreat.”

DAKOTA DOZEN is the title of an article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune which names six “must see” attractions in each of the Dakotas.  The article by the newspaper’s travel editor clearly intends to present unusual choices.  For example, the inspiration for the state’s nickname is omitted for both states: Peace Garden for ND and Mt. Rushmore for SD.  The Heritage Center in Bismarck is included for ND, but in fifth position — it deserves better.  The top three for ND are No. 1 Medora, No. 2 Scandinavian Heritage Park in Minot and No. 3 The Enchanted Highway between Gladstone and Regent.  SD’s top three are No. 1 Falls Park in Sioux Falls, No. 2 Children’s Museum in Brookings and No. 3 Dignity Sculpture on I-90 near the Missouri River. 

PROTESTORS SAVED BY POLICE  A bizarre aspect of the Enbridge pipeline protests: Two protesters, a 21-year-old Michigan man and a 20-year-old Minnesota woman, crawled into the pipeline at the Willow River crossing.  They became trapped in 130-degree heat and were at the end of their oxygen, but still refused to come out.  A member of law enforcement with a self-contained breathing apparatus entered the pipe and attached ropes to the couple so an exterior crew could pull them to safety.  The couple was treated for abrasions and oxygen and heat related issues, then booked into the Aitkin County jail.

TESLA COP CARS  The Eden Prairie, Minnesota, Police Department has a pilot study using a Tesla electric car.  The sticker price for a Tesla Model Y is more than double the Dodge Chargers they are now using, but the life cycle cost of the Tesla is less than the Dodge.  ND communities may be interested — one of the main considerations in the study is cold weather performance.

THE SALE OF COAL CREEK STATION has held headlines for months.  Minnesota owner Great River Energy has a potential deal to sell the plant to Rainbow Energy Center, a Bismarck energy trader.  Great River supplies electricity to 28 rural Minnesota cooperatives serving about 1.7 million people.  Great River’s member cooperatives must approve the deal, which includes a valuable transmission that runs more than 400 miles from Coal Creek in central ND to Minnesota.  

THE RAINBOW ENERGY deal also includes an agreement by Great River to purchase power from the Coal Creek plant for ten years.  The idea of purchasing coal-generated electricity from ND is a considerable source of annoyance in Minnesota.  The terms of the deal have not been announced, but directors of the 28 cooperatives have been studying it for a month.  It seems strange that the media has not found a way to learn the terms.