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Monday, February 01, 2016

SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - FEBRUARY 1, 2016

“BRESCIANI is the well-dressed, well-educated, well-spoken, well-paid, well-traveled outsider who is maybe just a little too polished to fit in around these parts.” -- Forum columnist Mike McFeely explaining or defending NDSU President Dean Bresciani. McFeely’s main contention: Fargo and ND can’t appreciate Bresciani’s sophistication. In another column, McFeely alleged residents in the Fargo area do not grasp “the bigger picture” of NDSU’s importance and they unnecessarily criticize Bresciani for small things. Partially because of NDSU, McFeely said, “Today's Fargo is youthful, vibrant, progressive, explosive.”

DIFFERENT VIEW The ink was barely dry on McFeely’s comments, when the head of the ND university system said it’s an “embarrassment” that Bresciani flew business class to India earlier this month. Chancellor Mark Hagerott plans to change travel policy to require university presidents to fly coach. Hagerott said he will let Bresciani decide whether to pay back the difference between the $8,300 business class ticket and a coach ticket which is between $1,000 and $2,000.

ANDRIST SAYS IT’S CONFUSING “That’s why I’m so baffled why The Forum sprinkles the leftism of Mike McFeely all over the paper, often on the front page, disguising it as journalism with only a barely visible ‘Commentary’ label in 8-point type.” -- John Andrist, respected former state senator and former publisher of the Crosby Journal, alleging the Forum blends journalism and commentary.

FARGO IS DIFFERENT from the rest of the state and has a much more diversified business economy. Swanson Health Products is a good example -- the rapidly growing company has about 680 employees and says it is “the largest privately held supplier of vitamins and supplements.” Swanson is being sold to a private equity firm which specializes in mid-market consumer product companies.

THE KILBOURNE GROUP announced it will acquire an additional 11 commercial properties in downtown Fargo. When the transaction is complete, Kilbourne will own 37 properties representing seven percent of downtown square footage. Kilbourne is controlled by Doug Burgum, Republican candidate for governor, and has been one of the major beneficiaries of property tax exemptions discussed below. The company is also one of three developers competing to develop city-owned lots in the heart of downtown -- Kilbourne proposes a $28 million project providing 381 parking stalls and 143 housing units.

CONTROVERSY OVER TAX BREAKS Fargo makes extensive use of property tax moratoriums granted largely for the renovation of downtown commercial property. Critics say the credit policy was intended to “widen the city’s economic base” and “expand the tight housing market,” not to benefit office buildings and retail space. A city committee is updating the incentive policy to bring it more in line with current practice. A city commissioner says tax incentives have had a large role “in making downtown vibrant again.” The complex issues involved are summarized in an outstanding article by Forum reporter Tu-Uyen Tran -- he joined the GF Herald in 1999 and began at the Forum in 2014.

GHOSTS No, Grand Forks residents are not seeing ghosts, although an outdoor, temporary art installation in a field near the Alerus Center has that name. “Ghosts” consists of three pieces of antique farm equipment painted white and set in a snow-covered field. The installation will be bathed in light to improve the effect. For those with an ag bent, the exhibit includes a 1920s thresher, a 1960s combine and a 1970s swather. This is the first large-scale effort of the GF Public Art Commission and the white equipment will leave about the same time as the snow.

“THIS IS A BIG-TIME SCIENCE PROJECT. There might be a handful of penetrations into deep crystalline rock, but none to this kind of depth — very rarely has a bore hole been attempted at these depths.” -- John Harju, Associate Research Director of the Energy and Environmental Research Center in Grand Forks. EERC will drill a 16,000-foot hole near Rugby, ND, for a $35 million study sponsored by the U.S. Dept. of Energy.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS: Bachelor's Degree in Engineering, Architecture, Sciences or other related fields -- 5 years experience as a mid-senior level leadership position. From a UND posting for a Manager of Sustainability and Energy Services with a floor salary of $75,000. Is UND ignoring the market? Michigan Tech reports that starting engineering salaries are in the $60-70,000 range, while mean average salaries for engineers are around $100,000.

DOUBLE TROUBLE "So if you wanted a med school, congratulations, you were in the right time frame." -- Gov. Dalrymple telling Grand Forks that UND was fortunate to get its new med school complex and other capital projects funded while state revenues were at all time highs. UND will be hit doubly hard by expected state budget reductions, because UND already had a $5 million budget shortfall before new reductions.

CONCORDIA COLLEGE in Moorhead reduced staff and eliminated programs last year because of declining enrollment. Enrollment continues to skid and Concordia will make similar cutbacks this year, plus offering faculty incentives for early retirement. Moorhead State University is also financially challenged and is one of the Minnesota universities in a state-supervised recovery plan.

BLACK LIVES MATTER is not getting the reception it hoped for in Minnesota -- too many demonstrations have been taken to an extreme. A Star Tribune Minnesota poll indicated 63% of Minnesotans hold an unfavorable view of BLM, while only 13% had a favorable view (nearly 5:1). Police were viewed favorably by 91% of Minnesotans, while only 26% of blacks held that view.

THE MANHATTAN INSTITUTE says evidence does not support BLM’S main contention (that police lethal force unequally targets blacks) -- the views of average Minnesotans seem closer to the mark. A think tank report points out “blacks actually face a lower level of lethal force by police than either whites or Hispanics . . . 4 percent of black homicide victims are killed by the police, compared with 12 percent of white and Hispanic homicide victims.” The greatest threat to blacks comes from violent criminals within their own communities.

DAKTOIDS: A majority of ND GOP legislators support governor candidate Wayne Stenehjem . . . Reuters reports further tightening of capital spending by major companies in ND oilfields . . . Minot State President Steven Shirley and Cankdeska College (Spirit Lake Res.) President Cynthia Lindquist are late-filing candidates for the UND presidency . . . Carmen Berg from Bismarck, the first and only Playboy centerfold (1987) from ND, is working today as a real estate agent in Beverly Hills.

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