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Tuesday, January 20, 2015

SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - JANUARY 19, 2015

RECORD BREAKING Amidst the frenzy surrounding the national football championship game between Oregon and Ohio State, it was easy to overlook NDSU’s astounding fourth straight Division I FCS national championship in Frisco, Texas. The win over Illinois State was not overlooked in Fargo, where the Bison’s 12th national championship was viewed as an incredible accomplishment. And indeed it was, the Bison were the first team in the FCS’ 37-year history to win four straight national titles.
 
THE FIGHTING SIOUX In October 2012 there was a heartbreaking sight at the Ralph Engelstad Arena in Grand Forks -- a crane removed large letters from the top of the arena which spelled “Home of the Fighting Sioux.” The loss of the nickname nearly sucked the life out of UND athletic programs. State Rep. Scott Louser of Minot wants to maintain faint hopes of restoring the name. He has proposed legislation that would require UND to wait until July 2017 to choose a new nickname. UND President Robert Kelley, who never supported the “Fighting Sioux” nickname, called the bill “not helpful.” The Fargo Forum, which has consistently opposed the nickname, called Lousers’ proposal a “dumb bill.”
 
NOT SO FAST UND’s new Vice President for Diversity, Sandra Mitchell, sent a campus email reminding everyone that the university no longer uses the Fighting Sioux nickname and asked people to be mindful of how they still support it. GF Herald Publisher Korrie Wenzel appeared to think Mitchell leaned a little too far into the wind. He wrote, “As for us, we feel the university was bullied by the NCAA to retire the nickname. We still proudly wear Sioux gear to games and probably will for a while. There is a difference between racial insensitivity and supporting the university’s proud past.”
 
PAULA BROADWELL was valedictorian, homecoming queen and star of a state championship basketball team at Bismarck Century High School. She was possibly the school’s greatest graduate and had a distinguished career after graduating from West Point. Her career took a hit when it was revealed she had an affair with CIA chief David Petraeus. FBI and Justice Department prosecutors are recommending criminal charges against Petraeus for providing classified information to Broadwell, who co-authored his biography. The decision whether or not to prosecute Petraeus will be influenced by political considerations.
 
ND HAS WHAT CUBA NEEDS Dry beans, peas, lentils, wheat and potatoes are staples of the Cuban diet and all are produced in ND. Since Cuba imports 80 percent of its food, ND Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring says the state would benefit greatly if trade restrictions are truly lifted. Right now, trade and government officials are taking a “wait-and-see” approach.
 
FARMLAND RENTALS As ownership passes to children and grandchildren, “It gets harder to negotiate. There gets less and less loyalty.” -- A Farm Credit Service loan officer describing the increasing difficulty of negotiating farmland rentals. Historically, many rental agreements were sealed by handshakes between neighbors. Rental rates have been pushed up by high crop prices; now, lower prices call for lower rates. New owners may live far away and have little understanding of modern farming.
 
CLASS AND RACE are usually thought of as urban issues, not part of everyday life in rural and small town ND. Devils Lake currently has kindergarten classes in three schools. One school has half Native American students and a 70 percent poverty rate. The school board has decided to consolidate the three schools in one district-wide kindergarten center because “We needed to come up with a better demographic balance.” The superintendent, referring to the heavily Native American school, said, “It’s a wonderful school, but there’s just a stigma in the community.”
 
SELF-CORRECTING A typical Bakken oil well begins by producing 1,000 barrels per day, but output halves in six to nine months. A typical well produces half of its eventual output in the first three years. Therefore, continual drilling is required to maintain production. If drilling slows because of low prices, production will automatically drop.
 
BOOM BABIES Minot, Williston and Dickinson are among the fastest growing cities of their size in the nation. Their growth, in part, is fueled by a record crop of babies. Births in the three cities rose an average 7 percent in 2014.
 
CRAZY COLD Forum meteorologist John Wheeler was asked what he meant by the term “crazy cold.” He said temperatures which go below F-M’s average low winter temperature of 27 below or highs which stay in the minus teens are examples of crazy. He said, “It becomes hard for us to deal with such weather because it is at the edge of our regular, ‘normal’ limits. It stretches our ability to handle it.”
 
WHAT DOES SHE HAVE IN MIND? The Minot Daily News pictures the executive director of Visit Minot holding hands with a large troll. Phyllis Burckhard said she is making sure people know there is plenty to do and see in Minot.
 
DAKTOIDS: Through November, ND’s airport boardings had increased almost 9 percent. Some states had no boardings growth, in other states growth was between 1 and 3 percent . . . Snowbirds leave their nests and are replaced by legislators -- during the biennial legislative session, out-of-town legislators often rent from Bismarck residents wintering in the South . . . The Jamestown Sun reports that the $150 million Dakota Spirit AgEnergy ethanol plant near Jamestown will begin production in June. At full production, the plant will use 24 million bushels of corn a year and will be capable of making 65 million gallons of corn ethanol.

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