Dakota Beacon

Minot has very interesting dynamics. The city is growing rapidly -- a population of 41,000 in 2010 is believed to have already grown to 50,000. The city has extraordinary demand for building materials for its own residential and commercial growth, for growth in the region it supplies, and to repair flood damage. May we add that Minot has very low unemployment -- if you have a pulse, you can get a job. As a result of all these factors, home improvement retailer Menards can not find enough people to staff its Minot store. The parent company in Eau Claire, Wisconsin devised an aggressive and expensive fix. It will hire and train 50 workers in Wisconsin, where there is a relatively high unemployment. The workers will be flown, 25 at a time, for 4 and 5-day shifts in the Minot store. Menards will pay for everything: lodging, meals and travel time.

You would think Minot and Ward County would celebrate their growth -- wrong, they are whining, but with cunning purpose. The Oil Patch lies just to the west of Ward County and is creating a huge demand for county services. Here’s where whining kicks in, the county cries that, because it has so few oil wells, it receives only a pittance of oil money. Where did this lead -- the Ward County commissioners contacted the governor’s office seeking funding assistance for renovations to county offices, the courthouse and jail. You know -- oil money.

The Oil Patch has created statewide low unemployment. A job fair was held at Jamestown College and there were more jobs than applicants. An example, Dakota Growers Pasta Co. in the east central city of Carrington (2,300) has nine openings plus paid internship opportunities. A representative of the pasta company says it’s hard to attract workers to a rural area.

ND is flattered to be picked the best-run state in the nation. The pick has led to comments like this from a Minot Daily News editorial: “Well, now everyone else knows what we’ve known for quite some time.” That probably crosses into hyperbole -- what everyone more likely knows is the state, while doing a good job, would top very few lists without “Fracken in the Bakken.”

Oil Patch counties lead ND’s growth and income, but that’s not the whole story. Purely agriculture counties such as LaMoure and Cavalier have per-capita income over $70,000. ND’s per capita income of $47,000 is seventh in the nation, higher than all bordering states and the national average. Ironic -- Cass County, long ND’s economic engine, has per-capita income below the state average.

There are many definitions of millionaire. For the ND Tax Department, millionaires are taxpayers with over $1 million of adjusted gross income (“income” millionaires). In 2011, there were 634 such millionaires, an increase of nearly 20 percent over 2010. Average AGI in the state rose 15 percent to $61,000 in 2011 from $53,000 in 2010. And, yes, you guessed correctly, the increases are pushed by oil royalties.

A Walsh County farmer was quoted “I pay taxes and my son has a right to flunk out of the university.” GF Herald publisher Mike Jacobs disagrees -- he favors tougher admission standards and believes students should earn admission, unlike the current policy which admits almost almost all high school graduates. He notes only half of the freshmen entering ND universities graduate within six years. He says, “Such a dismal graduation rate means that colleges and universities are spending more money than they should to provide degrees -- and students are spending more money than they should to get them.”

Tribune columnist Clay Jenkinson tries very hard not to spiral out of control. He said the job description he most wants is “Defender of the Subtle Magnificence of the Great Plains.” That modest statement preceded his prescription for saving the Badlands and Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Sixteen months ago, Crystal Sugar union workers were close to arrogant --they voted 96% to reject a management offer. A lockout commenced and there have been subsequent votes -- in the latest, rejection votes dropped to 55%. Meanwhile, Crystal has trained new employees and the whole matter looks like a miscalculation by union leaders. Is this the same union that took down Twinkies and Ding Dongs?

Dr. Paul Gunderson is the subject of a “Prairie Profile” in the Minot Daily News. Gunderson is a Ph.D. in Epidemiology who lives on farm near Harvey and is on the staff of Lake Region College in Devils Lake. His career has been quite eclectic -- one of his projects was a study of high suicide rates among male farmers. He concluded the pattern was related to pesticide usage, because the suicides occurred in late spring and early summer. Gunderson believes the pesticides reduced a chemical in the brain that retards depression. The study never gained widespread acceptance.

Editorials and columns around the state keep trying to explain how Heidi Heitkamp swam against the current to victory in the U.S. Senate race. I say “trying” because thus far no one has offered a totally convincing explanation. Lloyd Omdahl was the latest to write on the subject. Most writers give up on conventional possibilities and conclude Heitkamp must have just been most likable.

In 2007, Northwood had a devastating tornado. Today, the small city southwest of Grand Forks is almost completely recovered. Tribune columnist Ryan Bakken attributes the success to lack of diversity. Almost everyone in Northwood is Norwegian and they trust each other. A UND sociologist who studied the recovery said the locals “defined themselves as self-reliant, independent, hardy, tough Norwegians with a strong work ethic who wouldn’t give up to adversity.”

Will this catch fire? The elves at the Jamestown Sun awarded a Bravo to siblings John and Heather McDougall for creating the “bogobrush.” The bogobrush is an environmentally friendly toothbrush made from bamboo. Coming next -- bamboo teeth.

DAKTOIDS: ND has the second-highest rate (67%) of religious adherence in the nation after No. 1 Utah (79%) . . . The value of building permits in Williston ($400 million) exceeds Fargo and Minot combined -- Williston plans to annex an additional eight square miles . . . Dickinson has 16 hotels and another 17 under construction . . . One of the biggest pieces of news this year in ND is something that didn’t happen. Devils Lake stopped rising and, in fact, dropped three feet . . . The Jamestown Medical Center expects a record 370 births this year -- obstetrics units have closed in Carrington, Oakes and Valley City.