SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - FEBRUARY 21, 2016
ND STANDS OUT Police departments around the country are under fire for charges such as excessive force, targeting blacks, etc., particularly in minority communities. The anti-police attitude is discouraging and careers in law enforcement seem less attractive. Fargo is different.
OVERWHELMING SUPPORT Last week, Jason Moszer (33), a 6-year Fargo police officer, died of a gunshot wound sustained during a standoff with an ex convict. The degree of community support given to the officer’s family and the police department is exemplary. An officer working a concert after the death said he was approached by hundreds of concertgoers shaking his hand and offering support and condolences. The community is establishing a fund for the family, the state will provide free college tuition for the children, and the family and police department are flooded with gifts.
A DIFFERENT SCENARIO “Chief Janeé Harteau and I have been partnering on this work since I began my term as mayor. Minneapolis is a leader in this work nationwide. We are doing things few other cities have done. Ordinary reform won't do. Chief Harteau and I want to create a new culture of accountability, using every tool we have.” -- A commentary in the StarTribune by Mayor Betsy Hodges regarding proposed reforms for the Minneapolis Police Department. Her comments related largely to police relations with the black community and she used currently in vogue terms such as “procedural justice, racial reconciliation, and implicit bias.” At the conclusion of the commentary, the mayor conceded “To some, this will seem like so much wonky policy talk.”
“WHAT HAPPENED to North Dakota Democrats?” -- Heading for Mike Jacobs’ weekly GF Herald column. Jacobs said “the crux of it” is “Democrats haven’t found strong candidates.” Jacobs indicated another part of the question “was Forum Communications’ insistence that all its newspapers endorse the same statewide candidates -- almost always Republicans.” That was especially interesting -- Jacobs is the former publisher of a Forum paper and his comment suggests that in the absence of that directive there would have been more endorsements for Democrats.
THE DICKINSON REGIONAL AIRPORT needs to replace, well, almost everything. Runway, terminal, parking -- you name it. Airport manager Kelly Braun said they don’t need more capacity, rather, the airport has fallen into disrepair and does not meet federal regulations. While the federal government will pay for 90 percent of the cost, the airport first needs state money to acquire land to start the project. The state says please wait -- money is unavailable due to low revenues caused by the oil slowdown.
GUESS WHO? Who made four straight trips to a national championship hockey game and one national title in that span? You are struggling -- right? No, it’s not UND. The answer is the Williston State College Tetons and the National Junior College championship. The Tetons are chagrined -- they’ve just been dethroned as regional champs by the even more unknown Dakota College of Bottineau Jacks. The Tetons have crossed their fingers and are hoping for an at-large bid to the tournament in New York.
WHAT’S THIS? The Ralph Engelstad Arena Sioux Shop has tables of Fighting Sioux merchandise. How awkward! Who’s going to buy Fighting Hawk stuff when the real thing is available. As it turns out, UND must periodically authorize Fighting Sioux merchandise to maintain legal control of the trademark, otherwise, badly-intentioned people will snatch the brand. It’s use it or lose it.
FORMER SEN. KENT CONRAD is on an ISIS (Islamic State militant group) hit list. Why Conrad? It goes back to 2012 or earlier when he was on the Senate Intelligence Committee. He’s used to it -- his life was threatened three times when he was a U.S. senator and once when he was ND state tax commissioner. Curious sidelight: Conrad’s first wife is the sister of former ND governor Ed Schafer, now acting UND president.
BAILING OUT Former UND president Robert Kelley led what became an unpopular administration. He is gone and some of his associates are also eyeing the exit. The vice-president for Public Affairs and vice-president for Student Affairs are both interviewing other schools.
SUSPICIONS AT SPIRIT LAKE The body of Amanda Stach Engst (36) was found in the Sheyenne River last week on the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation. Her vehicle was found in the possession of Billy Joe and Crystal Herman at the time they were arrested. The Hermans lived at Spirit Lake -- both are serving sentences for robbery and face charges for other crimes. Engst, a Minnesota woman, had been missing since last October. Police are investigating the relationship between Engst and the Hermans.
ADDICTED BABIES The Williston area has a significant increase in the number of babies addicted to drugs. From 2012 to 2014 the number of pregnant women with drug dependencies doubled in the northwest corner of the state. Hospitals either don’t keep records or decline to identify the number of addicted babies. Babies born in Williams County (Williston) are often sent to Trinity Hospital in Minot for treatment of withdrawal symptoms.
POOR PROGRESS Minnesota passed a law in 2013 requiring schools to improve test scores, boost graduation rates and cut achievement gaps. The first progress reports are in: The St. Paul Public Schools (the state’s second largest district) did not meet any goals. Minneapolis (the largest) met few goals. The state will find it hard to comply with the law without progress in the large urban schools.
DAKTOIDS: A $53 million high school opened in Watford City where school enrollment doubled during the last five years . . . Young families have poured into Oil Patch communities like Watford City, but retirees are headed the other way. The number of retirees in Williston has declined -- some have gone out-of-state, but others went to Bismarck and Fargo . . . A poll indicates that 80 percent of nonresidents working in ND don’t intend to relocate to the state. Housing costs and availability are the biggest obstacles.
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