SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - JANUARY 12, 2020
THE NDSU BISON play tomorrow, January 11, at 11a.m. CST for the national FCS football championship in Frisco, Texas. Both NDSU and its opponent, James Madison University, have undefeated FCS seasons. JMU is slightly favored by oddsmakers. NDSU has participated in eight of the last nine national championship games.
STORY OF THE DECADE “The gift of this natural resource in our state has not only stimulated population growth, job creation and economic development in the oil patch, it has also brought financial prosperity to the entire state.” — Ron Ness, president of the ND Petroleum Council. The statement is, of course, self-serving, but largely accurate. A minority feels the oil industry has been negative for the state’s culture and environment, but the economic benefit has been undeniable. With currently weak ag and coal industries, in the absence of oil, ND would be near the bottom of states economically. Half of the state’s tax collections now come from oil and gas. In the last decade, the industry grew over 500% going from average production of 218,000 barrels a day in 2009 to 1.4 million in 2019.
OIL AND GAS SECTORS in ND have stabilized according to Nancy Hodur of the NDSU Center for Social Research. Production will continue to increase, but at slower rates. The state’s population will continue to grow and get younger, especially in the Oil Patch. The immediate future for agriculture is unclear — Hodur predicted that some farmers will go out of business because of last fall's terrible weather and harvest.
POPULATION GROWTH Since the last census in 2010, ND has been among the nation’s fastest-growing states. Five states grew more rapidly: Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Texas and Utah. ND is the 47th state in population, ahead of Alaska, Vermont and Wyoming and just behind South Dakota.
BABY BOOM ND’s birth rate is the second highest in the nation — Utah is first. However, the high birth rate is not even around the state. While the number of children in the state is growing, 31 of 53 counties lost child population. The western Oil Patch counties are leading the charge — a representative of St. Alexius Health in Dickinson said, “People (oil workers) are staying here and having bigger families.” Dickinson schools are overcrowded and the city is struggling to finance an expansion of its high schools.
HORRIBLE WEATHER Three 2019 events made the National Weather Service office’s Top Ten weather events for the past decade: Extreme cold in January, blizzards in October and December, and a fall so wet it caused regional flooding and crop losses in billions of dollars.
DIRE VIEW “The countryside around us is saturated; much of the 2019 crop remains unharvested; snow cover is more than average; the weather gurus assure us that we’re set for a season of flooding -- barring improvements that are unexpected because they are unlikely.” — Columnist Mike Jacobs set the tone for an apprehensive 2020 outlook.
THE CATHOLIC DIOCESE OF FARGO released a list of clergy (mostly deceased) accused of sexual abuse of children and indicated it would take no more questions on the topic. A GF Herald editorial criticized the Diocese’s refusal to answer further questions and said the church should identify the communities where the abuse may have taken place.
PROMOTER “That Fisher, 49, was able to land the contract came as no surprise in North Dakota, where people who know him describe a man with a get-it-done attitude, a knack for self-promotion and a strong belief in the company he took over from his father when he was just 25.” — A description of Tommy Fisher from an AP article by James MacPherson. Fisher owns Fisher Sand and Gravel, the Dickinson company that won a $400 million contract to build a section of wall on the Mexican border. Fisher has strong support from ND congressmen Sen. Kevin Cramer and Rep. Kelly Armstrong. The article also described another side of Fisher and his company and said they leave a trail of regulatory and tax violations. Fisher is politically active and lobbies members of Congress and Homeland Security.
WOMEN IN COUNTY JAILS Since 2013, the number of women arrested in ND is only up one percent, but the number of women in the Grand Forks County Correctional Center is up 37%. Other county jails are also feeling the strain of rising female populations. The rate of female incarceration nationally rose 10% from 2005 to 2017, while it fell 12% for men. What’s behind these trends? One reason was legislation reducing the seriousness of drug crimes, meaning fewer are going to state prison for felonies and more are serving their sentences locally. Also, women are involved in opioid abuse at double the rate of men.
THE BURLEIGH COUNTY COMMISSION considered placing a question on the ballot "relating to the future resettlement of refugees.” The proposal would get the commission off the hot seat on the refugee issue. The idea failed 3-2 — a vote identical to the commission’s earlier decision to allow a limited number of refugees in 2020. Beltrami County Commissioners (Bemidji) voted against refugee resettlement. Beltrami County is about 100 miles east of Grand Forks in north central Minnesota. No refugee resettlements were made there in the last five years.
UND HOCKEY is 16-1-2 and ranked No. 1 in the country. Beating Alabama Huntsville was the team’s 13th consecutive home victory — a new record at the Ralph Engelstad Arena.
FAMILY FARMS continue as the core of U.S. agriculture accounting for 98% of farms and 88% of production. About 50% of all ag production occurs on farms with over $1 million of farm revenue. About 90% of farms have less than $250,000 annual revenue, but account for 48% of acreage.
DAKTOIDS: ND traffic fatalities in 2019 dropped below 100 for the first time since 2002 — 42% of the fatalities involved alcohol and in 47% the victim was not wearing a seatbelt . . . The Carson Wentz curse — for the third straight year injuries forced Wentz to the sidelines at a critical stage of the Philadelphia Eagles postseason run . . . Where are new F-M citizens from? In a recent naturalization ceremony in Fargo, the largest number were from Liberia (22), next the Philippines (13); in Moorhead it was Somalia (39) and Iraq (26).
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