SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - JANUARY 11, 2021
GOVERNOR IS BULLISH In his State of the State address, Gov. Doug Burgum said that during the last year ND “has seen a ‘flock of black swan events’ that disrupted every aspect of life.” The swans included the pandemic and a difficult year in agriculture and oil. The Governor was hopeful about the 2021-23 biennium saying the time is right to invest in infrastructure, diversify the economy and undertake long-term projects using the Legacy Fund, the state's oil tax savings account.
HUSTLE, AND MORE Forum columnist Jon Hauser had “three great words that are necessary ingredients to a successful 2021:”
- Hustle — “I do not know of any successful people who lacked hustle. Talent alone is never enough.”
- Grind — “Perform repetitive tasks over and over in order to attain a goal. Goals are not reached in a day they are reached daily.”
- Execution — “Stop talking and put in the work . . . there are those who may not talk a lot but what you discover is they simply consistently get the work done.”
Hauser said he loved being on a team with people who hustle, grind and execute.
ACADEMICS TO STUDY DAKOTAS ND and SD will become the subject of academic studies about the pandemic. At least, that is the view of Dr. Paul Carson, an infectious disease specialist at NDSU. The two states had different policies regarding the pandemic. After vying for worst-in-the-nation per capita, the two Dakotas mended and now have relatively small differences. ND is currently among the five lowest states in new virus cases per capita. Dr. Carlson said the states’ similarities make them an ideal comparison, they are: similar population sizes, ethnic makeups and urban-rural mixes, as well as governors reluctant to intervene for much of the pandemic. A lengthy Forum article by Adam Willis included the reactions of various health experts.
RESERVATION HOT ZONE The Minneapolis Star Tribune sent a reporter and a photographer to the Standing Rock Indian Reservation to see the impact of the coronavirus. Their report said Standing Rock “has rapidly devolved into one of the most alarming hot zones in the Midwest.” Cases have surged 400% from 106 in early August to 550 cases (about 7% of residents) in late November. By way of background, Standing Rock is a 3,625 square mile reservation straddling the ND/SD border — about a third of the area is in ND (Sioux County) and the remainder is in SD.
THE CAUSES The reservation was portrayed in bleak terms — a dozen or more relatives from several generations may live in a 2-bedroom mobile home. The Standing Rock Sioux are considered to have poor health and limited access to health care — they are nearly twice as likely to die from the virus as whites. The Standing Rock Sioux also may not have taken enough precautions. Nearby Sioux tribes barricaded roads into their reservations during the pandemic — Standing Rock chose to provide access to its casinos.
THIRTY PERCENT STINGS The ND Department of Trust Lands contends 38 oil and gas companies owe “hundreds of millions of dollars” for delinquent royalty payments. The delinquencies result from disagreements about appropriate deductions and several of the companies are litigating the issue. Under current law, the companies will owe annual rates of 30% in interest and penalties on the delinquent amounts. The ND Petroleum Council says those rates are “extremely punitive" and supports proposed legislation which would reduce the rate to prime rate plus 4%, currently a total of 7.25%.
HERALD SUPPORTS REBELS The GF Herald started the year with an editorial that may prove to be one of its strangest of the new year. The Herald urged residents to join a rebellion in East Grand Forks against Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s order to limit restaurants to providing takeout. The editorial noted that potential customers of EGF restaurants could easily travel a few hundred yards to establishments on the ND side of the river. The Herald feared a prolonged state order could mark the end of the EGF businesses and encouraged residents to support a fund raiser for two restaurants which were in legal trouble for defying the order.
DID THE EAGLES TANK? The Philadelphia Eagles lost their last game of the season playing against Washington. They are accused of throwing the game in order to get a more favorable spot in the NFL draft. ND athletes may be on both ends of the Eagles post-season plans. Former NDSU QB Carson Wentz was classified inactive for the Washington game and appears to be on his way out. Trey Lane, the current NDSU QB, may be a player the Eagles are eager to draft.
THE LARGEST BUILDING IN ND is under construction north of the Fargo airport. The Amazon fulfillment center will be larger than Fargo’s West Acres shopping center. Amazon is starting to recruit a portion of the 500 employees needed for a business opening later this year. Entry level workers will be paid $15 an hour and receive full benefits. A similar, but larger Amazon center being built in Sioux Falls, SD, is scheduled to open in 2022.
FORUM COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY is the parent of four daily newspapers in ND all of which, except the
Dickinson paper, are printed in Fargo. Forum is reducing its footprint by moving printing for the three papers (Jamestown, Grand Forks and Fargo) from the Forum building in Fargo to Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.
CORRECTION: A Bismarck reader kindly pointed out the Tribune no longer prints a Sunday edition.
DAKTOIDS: Notable F-M area 2020 deaths: Mark Andrews, former U.S. Rep. and Sen. from ND; Hiram Drache, Concordia history professor, speaker and author . . . Iris Westman age 115 was ND’s oldest person and the second oldest person in the nation. The 1928 UND graduate died Sunday in Northwood . . . Creighton University’s economic index for ND rose from 57 in November to 63 in December.
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