SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - JANUARY 18, 2016
DOUG BURGUM’s decision to run as a Republican candidate for governor was big news as ND moved into the weekend. In his Forum column, Mike McNeely said “He’s our version of Steve Jobs.” Burgum is a Cass County boy with Stanford MBA who was CEO of Great Plains Software before it was acquired by Microsoft for over $1 billion. Since then, Burgum has been prominent in venture capital investing and commercial real estate development in Fargo.
THE STATE’S TALLEST BUILDING A highrise on Broadway in Fargo is closer to being built. Doug Burgum’s Kilbourne Group has plans for a 16-story tower to include a hotel, offices and residences. The building will be slightly higher than the State Capitol, presently the state’s highest building, and the Raddiison Hotel in Fargo. Kilbourne is negotiating tax incentives, parking and other matters with the city of Fargo.
THE BLACK BUILDING in Fargo, once the state’s tallest and finest building, is located about a block south of the proposed highrise. The Kilbourne Group announced plans to make $8 million of improvements to the 86-year-old, Indiana limestone structure, subject to obtaining a 10-year property tax holiday.
THE HERD ROLLS TO VICTORY “Bison earn place in college football history books with fifth straight FCS title.” -- Fargo Forum headline. The NDSU Bison had a convincing 37-10 victory over Jacksonville State, previously the nation’s number one ranked FCS team. NDSU’s nickname and logo are among the best -- bison horns and yellow jerseys highlighted the ND fans in Frisco, Texas. The growing prominence and value of the Bison logo makes it even more ironic that UND caved in to political correctness and lost an even more distinctive nickname and logo.
FOLLOW THE BOUNCING FOOTBALL A computer analysis ranks the Bison football team tops in the FCS and No. 36 among all college teams. Bison quarterback Carson Wentz was predicted to be selected No. 15 in the NFL draft and go to the St. Louis Rams. If that were to happen, Wentz would become a Californian -- the St. Louis Rams are about to again become the Los Angeles Rams.
TSK, TSK! “When they should be celebrating a NDSU 5-peat victory. Instead they're taking shots at Grand Forks and UND and in the end I think they owe, not only the people of Grand Forks but the tribes of North Dakota an apology.” -- Kevin Kuntz outraged at Froggy 99.9, a Fargo-Moorhead radio station, for giving an award to Frisco tailgaters who displayed a flag belittling UND’s nickname problems.
DUELING LETTERS A letter to the GF Herald pleads with “Fighting Sioux” fans to move on and stop booing the new nickname. A letter in the Fargo Forum argues that “the fact that 12,000 people boo” at the mention of the new nickname in the Ralph (the UND hockey arena) is a natural reaction to a flawed nickname selection process.
THE FOURTH LEG UND’s Aerospace program, the Air Force Base and the new Grand Sky tech park are three legs of the Grand Forks region’s unmanned aerial systems (UAS) capability. The Northland Community and Technical College in nearby Thief River Falls, Minnesota, is a fourth leg. NCTC is considered the best two-year college in the country for teaching UAS maintenance. NCTC is completing work on a new educational aerospace building connecting with an existing hangar, lab and classroom space.
THE ND WAY OF DEATH has been described here for years -- it’s a single-vehicle rollover, usually at night and involving a pickup, a driver without a seat belt, and alcohol. This is confirmed by the ND Dept. of Transportation which says 46 people died in single-vehicle rollovers in 2015 and 65 percent were pickups or similar vehicles, 80 percent were unbelted and nearly 70 percent of the unbelted fatalities were ejected.
DICKINSON STATE UNIV. In searching for a word to describe the school’s recent history, “embarrassing” seems mild, it’s closer to something like “disgraceful.” Phony degrees, a failed DSU Foundation and leadership misdeeds were among the many problems. Thomas Mitzel took over as president in December -- his goal is to stabilize the school and increase enrollment which has drifted downward to about 1,300 students. The school has also hired a new provost and v-p of academic affairs. Faculty and staff believe the school is on a “good course” and look forward to flourishing and moving forward.
A MENTALLY ILL CRIMINAL from Dickinson was arrested in the nation’s capital in a pickup loaded with weapons and ammunition. Scott Stockert’s stated goal: kidnap Obama’s pet dog.
SOMALI IN GRAND FORKS About 100 refugees a year are resettled in GF and a relatively small portion are Somali, yet there are hundreds of Somali in GF. How does that happen? Mayor Mike Brown answered by explaining that “several hundred secondary immigrants, mainly Somali” come to GF each year. He said, “This has raised legitimate questions about our capacity to serve them.” Brown was responding to a Washington Post article questioning attitudes toward immigrants in GF. He described programs in place to smooth integration of refugees.
BRADY MARTZ is an accounting firm with a head office in little old Grand Forks. BM has 230 employees in cities such as Bismarck, Minot and Dickinson -- evidence of the demand for professional services created by ND’s economic boom.
VIKING FANS shivered during the playoff, the third coldest NFL game in history, only to see their team lose to Seattle in the closing seconds of the game because of a shanked field goal.
DAKTOIDS: Job Service ND is supposed to help the unemployed; instead, it increased unemployment by laying off 60 employees . . . Jamestown was one of the only ND cities to have growth in third quarter sales -- the main reason, a new Menard’s home improvement center . . . There is a board for you. Columnist Lloyd Omdahl indicates ND has 142 boards requiring appointments by the governor . . . The UND Center for Innovation might be called the “Drone Center” -- the center presently hosts 10 businesses related to unmanned aerial systems.
THE STATE’S TALLEST BUILDING A highrise on Broadway in Fargo is closer to being built. Doug Burgum’s Kilbourne Group has plans for a 16-story tower to include a hotel, offices and residences. The building will be slightly higher than the State Capitol, presently the state’s highest building, and the Raddiison Hotel in Fargo. Kilbourne is negotiating tax incentives, parking and other matters with the city of Fargo.
THE BLACK BUILDING in Fargo, once the state’s tallest and finest building, is located about a block south of the proposed highrise. The Kilbourne Group announced plans to make $8 million of improvements to the 86-year-old, Indiana limestone structure, subject to obtaining a 10-year property tax holiday.
THE HERD ROLLS TO VICTORY “Bison earn place in college football history books with fifth straight FCS title.” -- Fargo Forum headline. The NDSU Bison had a convincing 37-10 victory over Jacksonville State, previously the nation’s number one ranked FCS team. NDSU’s nickname and logo are among the best -- bison horns and yellow jerseys highlighted the ND fans in Frisco, Texas. The growing prominence and value of the Bison logo makes it even more ironic that UND caved in to political correctness and lost an even more distinctive nickname and logo.
FOLLOW THE BOUNCING FOOTBALL A computer analysis ranks the Bison football team tops in the FCS and No. 36 among all college teams. Bison quarterback Carson Wentz was predicted to be selected No. 15 in the NFL draft and go to the St. Louis Rams. If that were to happen, Wentz would become a Californian -- the St. Louis Rams are about to again become the Los Angeles Rams.
TSK, TSK! “When they should be celebrating a NDSU 5-peat victory. Instead they're taking shots at Grand Forks and UND and in the end I think they owe, not only the people of Grand Forks but the tribes of North Dakota an apology.” -- Kevin Kuntz outraged at Froggy 99.9, a Fargo-Moorhead radio station, for giving an award to Frisco tailgaters who displayed a flag belittling UND’s nickname problems.
DUELING LETTERS A letter to the GF Herald pleads with “Fighting Sioux” fans to move on and stop booing the new nickname. A letter in the Fargo Forum argues that “the fact that 12,000 people boo” at the mention of the new nickname in the Ralph (the UND hockey arena) is a natural reaction to a flawed nickname selection process.
THE FOURTH LEG UND’s Aerospace program, the Air Force Base and the new Grand Sky tech park are three legs of the Grand Forks region’s unmanned aerial systems (UAS) capability. The Northland Community and Technical College in nearby Thief River Falls, Minnesota, is a fourth leg. NCTC is considered the best two-year college in the country for teaching UAS maintenance. NCTC is completing work on a new educational aerospace building connecting with an existing hangar, lab and classroom space.
THE ND WAY OF DEATH has been described here for years -- it’s a single-vehicle rollover, usually at night and involving a pickup, a driver without a seat belt, and alcohol. This is confirmed by the ND Dept. of Transportation which says 46 people died in single-vehicle rollovers in 2015 and 65 percent were pickups or similar vehicles, 80 percent were unbelted and nearly 70 percent of the unbelted fatalities were ejected.
DICKINSON STATE UNIV. In searching for a word to describe the school’s recent history, “embarrassing” seems mild, it’s closer to something like “disgraceful.” Phony degrees, a failed DSU Foundation and leadership misdeeds were among the many problems. Thomas Mitzel took over as president in December -- his goal is to stabilize the school and increase enrollment which has drifted downward to about 1,300 students. The school has also hired a new provost and v-p of academic affairs. Faculty and staff believe the school is on a “good course” and look forward to flourishing and moving forward.
A MENTALLY ILL CRIMINAL from Dickinson was arrested in the nation’s capital in a pickup loaded with weapons and ammunition. Scott Stockert’s stated goal: kidnap Obama’s pet dog.
SOMALI IN GRAND FORKS About 100 refugees a year are resettled in GF and a relatively small portion are Somali, yet there are hundreds of Somali in GF. How does that happen? Mayor Mike Brown answered by explaining that “several hundred secondary immigrants, mainly Somali” come to GF each year. He said, “This has raised legitimate questions about our capacity to serve them.” Brown was responding to a Washington Post article questioning attitudes toward immigrants in GF. He described programs in place to smooth integration of refugees.
BRADY MARTZ is an accounting firm with a head office in little old Grand Forks. BM has 230 employees in cities such as Bismarck, Minot and Dickinson -- evidence of the demand for professional services created by ND’s economic boom.
HMM! WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? Ali Vincent, winner of “The Biggest Loser” (she lost 112 pounds), spoke to ND Farmers Union Women in Leadership.
VIKING FANS shivered during the playoff, the third coldest NFL game in history, only to see their team lose to Seattle in the closing seconds of the game because of a shanked field goal.
DAKTOIDS: Job Service ND is supposed to help the unemployed; instead, it increased unemployment by laying off 60 employees . . . Jamestown was one of the only ND cities to have growth in third quarter sales -- the main reason, a new Menard’s home improvement center . . . There is a board for you. Columnist Lloyd Omdahl indicates ND has 142 boards requiring appointments by the governor . . . The UND Center for Innovation might be called the “Drone Center” -- the center presently hosts 10 businesses related to unmanned aerial systems.
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