Dakota Beacon

ANTIQUE ROAD SHOW visited the Fargo area in June and the resulting three-part series began showing last Monday evening.  The first episode took a dramatic turn when a guest learned that a Rolex watch purchased for $346 was now worth in excess of $500,000.  The guest tumbled to the ground in astonishment and the incident gained national attention.  The remaining two episodes will show on PBS on February 3 & 10.  The series was filmed at Bonanzaville in W. Fargo.

BOUNDLESS OPPORTUNITY  "The state of our state today is that it's strong, it's growing and it's full of boundless opportunity.”  Gov. Doug Burgum asked his audience to look past doubts about the state — that it's "too small, too distant, or too cold" to succeed — to "realize our fullest potential.” — This was the substance of Gov. Burgum’s annual address presented this year on the UND campus.

UAS POTENTIAL  Burgum's talk made multiple references to the importance of the state’s unmanned aircraft industry — a point emphasized when a small drone flew out of the darkness to make a delivery to the speaker.  Burgum included another of his favorite topics, the nearly $7 billion Legacy Fund, and repeated his key spending rule for a legacy project: that it "have lasting impacts beyond our current generation.”  He also mentioned the enormous contribution of the ND oil industry to the state and nation.

GOV. BURGUM was in high company last weekend at a Washington, D.C. party given by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.  Rob Port reported other attendees were figures such as Burgum’s former boss, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, Jared Kushner and wife Ivanka Trump, and Sen. Mitt Romney.  Burgum spokesman Mike Nowatzki said no tax dollars were involved.  Another Forum columnist, Mike McFeely, didn’t like what he saw.  Eager to provoke, he called Burgum a “reliable bootlicker” who dons a tuxedo to mingle with elites, slipping back into cowboy boots and a flannel shirt on his return to ND

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A PRECOCIOUS CHILDHOOD  Burgum’s childhood and family life in Arthur, ND, was the subject of a lengthy Forum article.  His father, a WWII veteran, died when Burgum was a freshman in high school.  His family, including an uncle, closed ranks around him and helped him resume a normal life.  Burgum was a curious, studious and entrepreneurial youngster.  Upon his father’s death, his mother went back to work as dean of home economics at NDSU.   The article said his parents “instilled in him the sense of gratitude with which he approaches state government.”

POLITICAL WRECKAGE  Mike Jacobs’ column was headed “North Dakota Democrats wrecked their own ship.”  The column traced the history of the Democratic-NPL party and its loss of power.  Jacobs may have inflicted some damage of his own by making the following comment: “The collapse of the Democratic Party leaves North Dakota with its least distinguished congressional delegation ever at a time of national crisis, with one senator mute and one a mouthpiece and a House member with promise but no current clout.”

BLOOMBERG MONEY flows towards ND.  Presidential candidate, billionaire and former NY mayor Mike Bloomberg is getting ready to hit the state.  He is looking for state Democrats to fire up his campaign — he is offering $18,000 a month for a senior advisor and $15,000 a month for a state director.  Democrats should tumble over each other for those jobs.

THE MORE THE MERRIER  “We have more elected officials per capita than any other state, with twice as many elected officials than any other state except South Carolina.” — Lloyd Omdahl in a column contending ND has “the flattest power structure” in the nation.  Omdahl suggests “going to a one-house system with each member elected by a single district.”

BUFFETT BUSINESS  What’s the connection between Warren Buffett and the Bismarck Tribune?  Buffett is selling all Berkshire Hathaway publications to Lee Enterprises for $140 million.  Lee owns the Bismarck Tribune.  As part of the deal, Berkshire will make a $576 million, 9% loan to Lee and become its sole lender.

WARY EYE  The city staff in Grand Forks is making more than the usual preparations for spring flooding.  The NWS indicates an 80% chance of reaching the threshold of “major flooding.”  The city administrator said it could be a “top five flood.”  The heightened risk is a result of a particularly wet fall.

THE P-CARD PROGRAM is a growing service used by 180 public entities in ND and allows individual employees to make annual purchases totaling $123 million.  The heaviest users are NDSU and UND.  The program which is administered by JP Morgan streamlines the purchasing process and earns rebates for the participating public entities.  The program is the subject of a four-part series by the Forum News Service.

STAY FCS  Forum columnist Mike McFeely cites a survey of ND sports fans of which 41% were NDSU football fans and 27% were followers of UND hockey.  Collectively, the respondents did not want NDSU to leave FCS football for the higher level FBS by a 36% to 30% margin; the remaining 34% didn’t care or were unsure.  Oddly, it was UND hockey fans and residents of western ND cities who most favored the Bison going to the FBS.  Figure that out.

GRAND FORKS GIRL SCOUTS attend “Cookie University” to learn tricks of the trade.  The program is hosted by a sorority at UND and teaches business skills and strategies for selling cookies.

THE CHALLENGE  “We must use our outrage and frustration as fuel to be persistent in challenging the status quo and holding our elected officials accountable for addressing these disgraceful gaps within our public education system.” — Nekima Armstrong, a civil rights attorney, berated Minneapolis Public Schools for unequal educational outcomes.  MPS data indicates, for example, 75% of white students are reading at proficiency, a level reached by only 18% of black students.  Of all behavior and disciplinary actions, 75% were black students.

ONE RESPONSE  Cheryl Persigehl, a member of the Racial Justice Network, proposes to reduce the achievement gap by “implementing an African-rooted curriculum across the district (MPS) in 2020.”  The approach would emphasize black history and culture.  She said an African-centered curriculum should be substituted for one which is white-centric and such a change is key to black students’ success.

DAKTOIDS:  It’s early, but prospects “loom high” for spring flooding in the Red River Valley . . . A retired professional hockey player plans to run for mayor of Grand Forks.  He said, “I think we’re just kind of stagnant and need to get some new energy and some growth going back in Grand Forks” . . . The Missouri River running through ND is the longest river in North America.