Dakota Beacon

ALTRU HEALTH SYSTEMS  Last week, I mentioned a series of problems at Altru which climaxed with the firing of the CEO and CFO.  The problems included downgrading of Altru’s bond rating and reducing the size of a new hospital in the midst of construction.  This week a GF Herald investigation went deeper into Altru’s deteriorating financial condition.  The health system lost money in 2017, 2018 and appeared headed for even larger losses in 2019.  Cash was down to only a few months of operating expenses.  Multiple consulting firms are being used to stem problems — one was paid $12 million.  Management declined to opine on the system’s financial health, preferring to say the entire hospital industry faced challenges.  Altru is skidding into trouble — this should be more apparent when their 2019 financial results are released.

FOR ALTRU, IT’S A CRISIS  Altru was correct in saying that other hospitals are facing financial challenges.  A report from Minnesota indicates hospital margins slipped in 2018.  Two-thirds of Minnesota hospitals had positive margins, one-third did not.  It was described as a challenge, not a crisis.  Overall, Minnesota hospitals had a median operating margin of 1.7% in 2018.

STATE REVENUES for ND's general fund are running well above projections for the 2019-21 budget.  Total revenues are 7.6% ahead of forecast; sales tax, the largest revenue source, is about 8.9% ahead of forecast.

SPOILSPORT  The proposed $1.2 billion Red River Valley Water Supply Project would move water from the Missouri River to the Red River Valley in the event of drought.  The state of Missouri has sued to block the pipeline which would carry the water.  The suit alleges the water would be diverted for "speculative industrial uses."  Missouri has a history of opposing proposals by ND to divert water out of the Missouri River Basin. 

SOCIAL DISTANCING  There have been no cases of coronavirus reported in ND, and no individuals classified as a person under investigation.  However, three people returned from China are voluntarily practicing “social distancing” — staying away from people other than their family.

A TRIPLE  ND Supreme Court Justice Jerry VandeWalle, after decades on the Court, is one of the most well-known people in the state.  He is a UND business (1955) and law (1958) graduate.  In an unprecedented move, UND gave VandeWalle three simultaneous honors: The President’s Medal of Honor, the Alumni Association’s Spirit Award and a law school courtroom named in his honor.

FLOOD INSURANCE  “One way to protect yourself and your family financially is to consider purchasing a flood insurance policy.” — From a letter co-written by ND Gov. Doug Burgum, his insurance commissioner and homeland security director.  The letter said there are conditions that “raise the specter of a potentially tumultuous spring flood season looming ahead.”

FORUM WINS IN MINNESOTA  The Forum reported it won top honors in the The Minnesota Newspaper Association’s annual contest — it received the Vance Trophy for being the best daily newspaper in Minnesota based on the totality of awards.  The article implies the Minneapolis Star Tribune and St. Paul Pioneer Press were included in the contest.

THE “NEWSROOM NOTEBOOK” in the Bismarck Tribune promised a comparison of the two Dakotas.  I rubbed my hands in anticipation of an economic and political rundown.  It turned out to be mostly about attitudes and customs, for example, outlying residents of both states were said to be jealous or resentful of their respective largest cities, Fargo and Sioux Falls.  The article concluded the two states were “more alike than different,” but at the same time groused that Minnesotans couldn’t tell any difference at all referring to the two states merely as the “Dakotas.”

DID BISMARCK HAVE A SLOW NEWS DAY?  Saturday’s lead article in the Bismarck Tribune was headed: “Department K-9 to retire early due to a knee injury.”  The Burleigh County Sheriff's Department is retiring a K-9 dog who spent three years mostly helping officers detect drugs during traffic stops.

SHORT SEASON  The Hiilsboro plant of American Crystal Sugar finished processing sugar beets three and a half months earlier than normal.  In early November, American Crystal told farmers to stop delivering beets from their damaged fields and about one-third of the cooperative’s acreage was left in the field.  The cooperative’s growers harvested 36% less tonnage in 2019 than 2018.  Sugar beets are one of the major crops in the Red River Valley.

MOUNT FARGO  The movie “Fargo” forever associates the city with snow.  A Wall Street Journal article this week, which connected Fargo and snow, didn’t help.  The article describes Fargo as a “snow magnet,” not because of snowfall in the city, but because prevailing winds drift snow easterly across the flat Red River Valley until it piles up against Fargo’s buildings, trees and cars.  The city loads the snow on dump trucks and then dozers push the snow into what becomes Mount Fargo.  Maybe the city needs a giant snow fence on its western border.

THEY REMAIN MIDGETS  The Dickinson Public Schools will take no action at this time to change their nickname.

THIS AND THAT  ND oil production is forecast to level off in five years, plateau for about 10 years and then begin a slow decline . . . Bison football will play the Rose Bowl Champion Oregon Ducks in a season opener at Eugene on September 5th . . . Gary Tharaldson (hotel magnate) is ND’s richest man and only billionaire . . . Stutsman (Jamestown) County’s labor force and population are slowly declining and the average resident is five years older than the state average.

DAKTOIDS:  ND is second only to Alaska as the coldest state — Minnesota is third . . . A reminder of what keeps Minot going — the MAFB and its 12,000 personnel contribute over a half billion dollars to the local economy . . . Forbes reports the state of ND has one of the strongest financial positions in the nation . . . The Dakotas and Minnesota are among the five worst states for tipping; most of the five best are in the Northeast . . . It could change easily, but oddsmakers have the UND hockey team a 9/2 favorite to win the 2020 NCAA championship.