Dakota Beacon

“Today we are at an incredible moment in our state’s history, and we are ready to write the next great chapter.” -- Gov. Jack Dalrymple in his state of the state address. He went on to say, “In state government itself, we have found a model that has stood the test of time. Which is to fund our priorities responsibly; build strong reserves for the future; and provide tax relief whenever possible.” Dalrymple outlined his principal initiatives for the next two years -- he is one of the few governors in the nation positioned to make this type of speech.

”We can no longer serve the growing needs of one area of the state at the expense, by cannibalizing, of other parts of the state.” -- ND Chief Justice Gerald VandeWalle describing a statewide crisis in judicial services. The chief justice asked the legislature for three additional judgeships. The population of oil-producing counties is growing, but criminal cases and lawsuits dealing with oil properties are growing more rapidly.

“Out-of-state man” is a term being used more frequently in media reports about crime in western ND. An example, the Stark County State’s Attorney says an Iowa man tried to shoot a Gladstone resident in the face with a sawed-off shotgun. Other Iowa men doing concrete work in the area were charged as accomplices.

Homelessness is on the rise in ND. At the end of 2011, the state had about 1,100 homeless of which 40 percent were from out-of-state. People come into the state seeking oil boom jobs, but some can’t find employment or can’t afford housing. The top reason for homelessness in ND is mental illness.

Alarms are being sounded on the east side of the Red River. Border cities such as East Grand Forks and Moorhead are concerned they will lose residents and business because of lower taxes and higher growth in ND. Statewide property taxes in Minnesota have roughly doubled in the last ten years. The Minnesota Legislature has been asked to allow border cities to reduce business property taxes for competitive reasons.

Doug Burgum is known as a founder of Great Plains Software and later as a Microsoft executive. His Kilbourne Group is involved in numerous redevelopment projects in downtown Fargo. But the Wall Street Journal featured him in an article about “upscale entertaining” and winter barbecuing. The article showed Burgum’s penthouse “pied a terre” atop a four-story building in downtown Fargo, where his guests enjoyed gourmet appetizers, as bison steaks and salmon sizzled on an outdoor grill. His family and friends were shown bundled in down clothing on a rooftop deck in freezing weather. Burgum said the fresh, clean air added to the meal, which, thankfully, was served indoors.

Something else is sizzling -- business in western ND. Here are a couple samples: Marco is a St. Cloud, Minnesota copier and printer business. They have branches in Grand Forks and Fargo. Marco just acquired Midwest Business Systems with branches in Jamestown, Bismarck, Dickinson and Minot. A Colorado Springs developer is completing a Hyatt House in Minot -- a 130-suite upscale extended stay facility -- the first in ND. Upon the Hyatt completion, Minot will have 30 hotels.

"As a result, UND students enjoy their free speech rights only at the mercy of the most sensitive members of the university community.” -- From a column by Tom Dennis of the GF Herald concluding UND has gone overboard with policies restricting speech. One policy stated that behavior can be considered harassment if it even feels “offensive or demeaning” to someone. Political correctness has made UND appear ridiculous a number of times in recent years. The loss of the “Fighting Sioux” name falls in the same category of excess.

“A distinguished professor emerita in the History of Consciousness and Feminist Studies department at the University of California, Santa Cruz.” -- A GF Herald description of Angela Davis (68), a nationally recognized activist in the 1960s as a leader of the Communist Party with close relations to the Black Panther Party. Davis will speak in February as a diversity speaker at UND’s “Great Conversations.”

“Many non-Natives don’t understand where we’re coming from and the things we do. Something like this could help.” -- A Yankton Sioux tribe member commenting on the hiring of two traditional Native American healers to train staff at Sanford Health.

Will it last? At times, I’ve commented on the over-the-top exuberance of Chris Linnares, a Forum columnist (Healthy body, hot life) and wife of the publisher. Linnares began 2013 with subdued, some might say sensible, recommendations. She said, “So one of my goals for 2013 is to drop the illusion that ‘I can have it all’ because I know that in the end, I will be in the same place I was before – feeling that I still haven’t found what I am looking for. I personally believe the message ‘you can have it all’ is one of the biggest myths of my generation.” She suggests women focus instead on the good things they have -- she believes they will be freed from the slavery of their own expectations.

In 2009, the Forum ran a local girl makes good story about CariDee English who hosted the New York reality TV show “PRETTY WICKED,” a show featuring mean and selfish girls. The Fargo girl pointed out, that unlike her guests, she was a beautiful person. Now, CariDee is in Hollywood continuing her journey to stardom and hoping to get a spot in the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. A cautionary tale emerges: CariDee was turned down by Sports Illustrated. She speculates her tattoos might be involved, “I have a lot of tattoos. Like 20, so it’s always interesting when I go out for the swimsuit shoots.” CariDee is not slowing down -- she’s developing a TV show with a Australian talk show host and says, “It’s really funny; it’s just a hot mess.”

Forget about Rhino Snot, saltwater works best. The Petroleum Research Fund and two counties funded a $440,000 study to determine which product best keeps road dust at a minimum. Saltwater from oil wells beat out a number of expensive, high-tech big names such as Rhino Snot.

The city of Devils Lake is cracking down on “habitual drunkards.” It compiled a list of 21 people who could not legally be served alcohol. A representative of the Spirit Lake Sioux said the list was racially motivated -- almost all names were American Indians.

Just a few years ago, the Three Affiliated Tribes at Ft. Berthold were drowning in over $100 million of debt -- a consequence of financial mismanagement. The TAT even sought help from a wealthy Minnesota tribe. In 2013, the TAT expect to be debt free. What happened? In a word, oil money.

DAKTOIDS: The NDSU Bison loped to a second FCS national football championship beating Sam Houston State 39-13.