SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - DECEMBER 19, 2016
ELUSIVE LEADERSHIP Governor Jack Dalrymple told the Forum Editorial Board the sprawling pipeline protest camp operates outside the control of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and it is difficult for officials to identify a clear leader. The governor was accompanied by Lt. Gov. Drew Wrigley who said, "The Native Americans are being used, absolutely being used, by these outside agitators," and "The state of North Dakota is not in conflict with the Standing Rock tribe." The camp organizers have names such as Sacred Stone Camp, Indigenous Environmental Network, Honor the Earth, and International Indigenous Youth Council.
SINCERE, BUT UNWISE Rob Port says he doesn’t doubt the sincerity of Standing Rock’s fight against the pipeline. He said, “What I question is the wisdom in allowing their cause to be taken up by professional agitators who make a living from conflict.” Port noted that pipeline opponents raised $11 million with 285 fundraising accounts. This week it was reported that only 300 people remain at the camp from a peak that may have been as much as 10,000.
PLEA IGNORED “These protestors have and continue to find sanctuary on federal land, where they stage and plan criminal activities to be executed in our communities. However, every time we have asked the federal government for assistance, they have instead responded with resistance.” -- From a letter to President Obama from Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier and eleven other law enforcement signatories requesting financial and manpower aid from the federal government.
GOOD JOB “His executive proposal is pragmatic and responsible. It's a good blueprint for lawmakers and the new governor.” -- Fargo Forum editorial response to Gov. Dalrymple’s proposed budget. Legislative leaders are skeptical and believe the budget should be more conservative. This week, Doug Burgum became governor and Dalrymple exited to a standing ovation. For over 30 years, Dalrymple had varying roles in ND government.
REFUGEES ARE A PUZZLE Local government in Fargo is trying to understand the cost of refugee resettlement. It’s not easy. Lutheran Social Services, the principal resettlement agency, said in fiscal year 2016 they brought 558 refugees to ND, 22 percent more than they expected. The bulk of the refugees came to Fargo. In addition to direct resettlements, LSS said there are many secondary refugees, those that move to ND after first resettling in other states. LSS says it is unable to track secondary refugees. LSS receives money to assist primary refugees for three to eight months, but receives nothing for secondary refugees, who become dependent on local government.
OPPOSING VIEWS A Star Tribune editorial urged Gen. John Kelly, Trump’s choice to head the Dept. of Homeland Security, to visit Minnesota and benefit from its efforts “Countering Violent Extremism.” The Tribune said Minnesota was ramping up efforts to build a resilient Somali community. The editorial said, “We must speak with honor and respect about all communities . . . this is not a matter of being ‘politically correct.’ “ Readers disagreed, one wrote, “What efforts would that be? Tax dollars to placate the immigrants? Pulling back cops from doing their jobs? Politicians turning a blind eye to the real issues? Sanctuary cities?”
INTEGRATED AND SUCCEEDING “Not all integrations are as successful as the Hmong in Minnesota.” -- Star Tribune. The article continued, “The success of the Hmong in Minnesota . . . results from their striking a balance between adapting to the surrounding culture, preserving the pillars of their own way of life, and taking advantage of the natural common ground they have found with their new and improbable neighbors.” A Pioneer Press analysis finds Asians in Minnesota are charged with crime at a lower rate than any other group.
“BLACK RESIDENTS are by far the most overrepresented minority group in Minnesota's criminal justice system. Just 6 percent of the state population is black, but nearly 20 percent of the serious criminal cases in 2015 had black defendants.” -- Star Tribune. Black leaders blame the disparity on racial profiling and “over-policing.”
SINCERE, BUT UNWISE Rob Port says he doesn’t doubt the sincerity of Standing Rock’s fight against the pipeline. He said, “What I question is the wisdom in allowing their cause to be taken up by professional agitators who make a living from conflict.” Port noted that pipeline opponents raised $11 million with 285 fundraising accounts. This week it was reported that only 300 people remain at the camp from a peak that may have been as much as 10,000.
PLEA IGNORED “These protestors have and continue to find sanctuary on federal land, where they stage and plan criminal activities to be executed in our communities. However, every time we have asked the federal government for assistance, they have instead responded with resistance.” -- From a letter to President Obama from Morton County Sheriff Kyle Kirchmeier and eleven other law enforcement signatories requesting financial and manpower aid from the federal government.
GOOD JOB “His executive proposal is pragmatic and responsible. It's a good blueprint for lawmakers and the new governor.” -- Fargo Forum editorial response to Gov. Dalrymple’s proposed budget. Legislative leaders are skeptical and believe the budget should be more conservative. This week, Doug Burgum became governor and Dalrymple exited to a standing ovation. For over 30 years, Dalrymple had varying roles in ND government.
REFUGEES ARE A PUZZLE Local government in Fargo is trying to understand the cost of refugee resettlement. It’s not easy. Lutheran Social Services, the principal resettlement agency, said in fiscal year 2016 they brought 558 refugees to ND, 22 percent more than they expected. The bulk of the refugees came to Fargo. In addition to direct resettlements, LSS said there are many secondary refugees, those that move to ND after first resettling in other states. LSS says it is unable to track secondary refugees. LSS receives money to assist primary refugees for three to eight months, but receives nothing for secondary refugees, who become dependent on local government.
OPPOSING VIEWS A Star Tribune editorial urged Gen. John Kelly, Trump’s choice to head the Dept. of Homeland Security, to visit Minnesota and benefit from its efforts “Countering Violent Extremism.” The Tribune said Minnesota was ramping up efforts to build a resilient Somali community. The editorial said, “We must speak with honor and respect about all communities . . . this is not a matter of being ‘politically correct.’ “ Readers disagreed, one wrote, “What efforts would that be? Tax dollars to placate the immigrants? Pulling back cops from doing their jobs? Politicians turning a blind eye to the real issues? Sanctuary cities?”
INTEGRATED AND SUCCEEDING “Not all integrations are as successful as the Hmong in Minnesota.” -- Star Tribune. The article continued, “The success of the Hmong in Minnesota . . . results from their striking a balance between adapting to the surrounding culture, preserving the pillars of their own way of life, and taking advantage of the natural common ground they have found with their new and improbable neighbors.” A Pioneer Press analysis finds Asians in Minnesota are charged with crime at a lower rate than any other group.
“BLACK RESIDENTS are by far the most overrepresented minority group in Minnesota's criminal justice system. Just 6 percent of the state population is black, but nearly 20 percent of the serious criminal cases in 2015 had black defendants.” -- Star Tribune. Black leaders blame the disparity on racial profiling and “over-policing.”
VIOLENT CRIME AND DRUG CRIME in eastern ND more often than not involves former Minnesota residents, usually from the Minneapolis area. This week, a heroin dealer from Minneapolis, arrested in a Devils Lake motel, had been released in Minnesota after convictions for murder and assault.
THE MINNEAPOLIS CITY COUNCIL is looking for problems to solve. They want the city to stop doing business with Wells Fargo Bank. Wells is a target because it loaned money to the owners of the Dakota Access Pipeline. The bank has 11,000 employees in Minneapolis and is a leading supporter of downtown.
KINDNESS should be its own reward, but Jodi Rae Ingstad received more. The KIND Foundation gave her $100,000 for spreading kindness. The 50-year-old Valley City woman was one of seven winners from among nearly 5,000 national applicants.
A VICIOUS CHIHUAHUA brutally attacked two Grand Forks Sheriff’s Officers attempting to serve a theft warrant on the dog owner’s daughter. When the deputies tried to enter her home, Gloria Corona (55) said she “would set the dog on them.” She refused to restrain the dog and one deputy received a bite on the hand. Daughter Rita was located in the home and her mother was detained for hindering law enforcement. Despite the bad outcome, the Corona family thinks their little dog is heroic.
ART AND BIRDS Frank Kelley, 80, died in Fargo. In 1960 he received a M.S. in art with an ornithology minor from the U. of Minn. He used this unusual combination of majors by teaching art at UND for 35 years and becoming an active Grand Forks “Birder” who participated in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count.
THE NDSU BISON football team faces James Madison Univ. (Harrisonburg, Va.) tomorrow in FCS semi-finals at the Fargodome. The game will be televised on ESPN2 -- NDSU got there with a win over SDSU 36-10. A careful reader caught a mistake in last week’s newsletter. The UND football team lost to Richmond 27-24, not 27-4. The game was close and Richmond won with a last-second field goal.
DAKTOIDS: When Doug Burgum (60) became governor this week, he arrived with a new wife, Kathryn Halgaas. His first wife, Karen Stoker, owns Fargo’s Hotel Donaldson . . . Oil production in ND returned to over one million barrels a day in October. Winter weather is expected to bring it back down.
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