SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - DECEMBER 15, 2014
AMAZING GROWTH The ND Tax Department released data about the growth of incomes in the state from 2006 (the start of the oil boom) to 2013. Here are highlights:
- Total income more than doubled
- The number of taxpayers jumped 37 percent
- Average individual adjusted gross income in 2013 was $72,000, up from $43,000 in 2006
- In 2013, over 1,000 taxpayers reported income greater than $1 million -- their income was largely from oil royalties and over half was paid to mineral owners living outside the state
A BUMP IN THE ROAD? A Moody’s Analytics report said ND “will navigate through lower oil prices gracefully” in the near term. Nodaks hope that’s so, because oil prices are currently around $69 a barrel, while the state’s proposed budget for the 2015-2017 biennium assumes oil prices will start the period at $74 and end at $82. The break-even price for oil companies in the state is estimated to be in the $40-60 range.
“ALL THERE IS TO DO HERE IS WORK.” -- A Williston resident bemoaned the lack of amenities. A researcher at the Heartland Institute sees that as a reason so many experienced workers leave the area after six months or a year and are reluctant to bring their families to Williston. The researcher says the area needs public services and businesses to catch up with growth.
BISON ANGST The NDSU Alumni Association and Foundation is a busy place with 26 full-time and 8 part-time staff. Is the new CEO performing a much needed house cleaning or is he an unreasonable tyrant? Twelve employees resigned this year including three who were formerly the highest-paid employees. They are not happy. The board and its executive committees are in closed-door sessions trying to answer the questions.
NEW DIGS FOR THE COURT The 90-year-old Liberty Memorial Building in Bismarck is used by the State Library. The building’s classical style is very much to the liking of Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerald VandeWalle. Perhaps that was an influence when Gov. Jack Dalrymple included $40 million in his proposed budget to remodel and expand the building as a new home for the ND Supreme Court. The building is fronted by eight large columns, the Chief Justice was inspired to say, “It’s so classy.”
A NEW ROUGH RIDER Congratulations to Justice VandeWalle who is the longest-serving chief justice in the nation and in ND history. He will be the 41st recipient of the ND Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award, the state’s highest commendation. Gov. Dalrymple will present the award on January 7 after VandeWalle’s State of the Judiciary address.
PEGGY LEE, who was selected for the Rough Rider Award in 1963, is the subject of a new biography, “Is That All There Is,” by James Gavin. Outwardly, Lee was a glamorous, successful figure, but the bio indicates that persona concealed a melancholy, often unhappy life. Lee died in 2002 at age 82. A WSJ review describes Lee’s upbringing in the Jamestown area as bleak -- she was born Norma Deloris Egstrom, the child of an alcoholic railroad depot agent. It’s not all bleak, Gavin credits Lee for becoming a “musical genius” with a sense of swing and a rhythmic fluency grounded in the blues. The book is a possibility for your Christmas list.
FROM ROMANCE TO THERAPY Forum publisher Bill Marcil Jr. writes an occasional column -- almost always about his personal life and sometimes emotional. Marcil has indicated his mother finds his columns uncomfortably personal. The columns seem heartfelt and sincere, but are unusual subjects for the publisher and CEO of a daily newspaper. This week Marcil spoke of his struggles to be a romantic man and then veered into a discussion of a personal crisis experienced 17 years ago, when “My world had been turned upside down” and “I needed some help to be right side up.” The column ended with encouragement to those needing help during the holiday season.
CHRIS MAGNUS continues to make news. He headed the Fargo Police Department from 1999 to 2006, when he took over a troubled police department in Richmond, California, a crime-ridden industrial city roughly the size of Fargo. Magnus encountered tough going in his early years in Richmond -- he was the target of lawsuits and harassment -- but his reforms eventually prevailed. He is nationally acclaimed for reducing crime and murder rates. This week he received attention for joining a peaceful demonstration in Richmond against police violence. Earlier, he was in the news for being the nation’s first police chief in an openly gay marriage.
MANNING is the county seat of Dunn County, which has the dual distinction of being in both Oil and Coal Country. Manning (pop. 125) is the second smallest county seat in the state and over 100 years old -- in that time, Manning has never had niceties such as paved streets, curbs and gutters, and storm sewers. Feeling the flush of oil prosperity, Dunn County engineers estimated the cost of the aforementioned improvements for Manning -- the tab was $8.1 million. Oops! That’s about $65,000 per resident. The county is scratching its head -- is the cost justified and, if so, who should pay?
DRUNK AND SPEEDING WITHOUT SEAT BELTS About 40% of fatal crashes in ND involve speeding and about the same percentage involve alcohol. About 75% of fatalities did not wear seat belts. Some good news -- fatal crashes and related deaths in ND were down around 11% in 2014.
DAKTOIDS: A regional economist said ND lost about 2,400 manufacturing jobs, or 13 percent, during the bottom of the recent recession, but 1,800 of those jobs have been regained and the rest are expected to come back by early 2015 . . . State universities at Mayville and Minot made a list of the 30 most “attractive yet affordable” colleges in the nation . . . CEO David Berg of American Crystal Sugar announced a payment of $37 a ton for the 2014 beet crop -- the payment is about half the 2012 payment and Berg called it “miserable” . . . You already knew this -- the National Weather Service says ND’s weather is the most unpredictable in the nation.
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