SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - JANUARY 25, 2021
LUTHERAN SOCIAL SERVICES OF ND is abruptly closing its doors. Bankruptcy appears likely for the 100-year-old organization and all 238 employees will lose their jobs. The announcement was made by CEO Bob Otterson who has been on the job only 45 days — about the amount of time it took him to determine the agency could not survive. The historical mission of LSS has been in areas such as service to children, families, seniors and others. LSS had a statewide presence and leaves a big hole.
LSS WENT BEYOND ITS CORE COMPETENCY The primary causes of the failure were losses at LSS Housing, a department formed in 2009 to provide low income housing, particularly in the western ND Oil Patch. While the pandemic added to the problem, it was not a primary cause. LSS owns and operates 22 apartment properties and manages an additional 14 properties. Prior management and boards failed in at least two important ways, first, by adopting a flawed real estate business plan and, secondly, failing to recognize and resolve the problem until it had destroyed the entire agency.
JESSICA THOMASSON will be among those getting special scrutiny as result of the LSS failure. She was CEO from 2014 to January 2020 when she accepted an apparently less responsible position with the state of ND. She joined LSS in 2008 as director of affordable housing. In 2015, the Forum selected Thomasson as Fargo Person of the Year because of her high profile in the refugee resettlement controversy. Some thought refugees in the Fargo area had become a burden on public services.
FROM WORST TO BEST? This week, ND continued as a national leader reporting a sustained decline in new coronavirus cases per capita. Based on a 7-day average on Wednesday, ND was the second lowest state, exceeded only by Hawaii. Minnesota and SD were also among the 10 lowest states on that scale. ND and SD did not do as well on per capita coronavirus deaths, again using a 7-day average, SD had the nation’s sixth highest rate and ND was 21st. Both states were among the ten highest states for total deaths per capita.
KEYSTONE XL Congressional delegations in Montana and the Dakotas condemned President Biden’s decision to cancel the Keystone XL pipeline. The pipeline originates in Canada passing near the southwest corner of ND and through SD on its way south. Over 300 miles of the $8 billion project have been built. Tribes in all three states cheered the decision.
CAN WENTZ CONTINUE TO FLY AS AN EAGLE? The Philadelphia Inquirer ran an exhaustive history of Carson Wentz’s regression as Eagles quarterback. The article gave possible reasons for the decline, such as his accumulation of injuries and a weak supporting team, but in the end concluded that Wentz himself was largely responsible. Early on he received too much adulation and increasingly became his own coach. Doug Pederson, who was head coach while Wentz was with the Eagles, was recently fired. The Eagles must decide whether they can rehabilitate Wentz and his expensive contract, or whether he must be traded.
PUMPING THE DIESEL OUT OF MANDAN Beginning perhaps as much as 50 years ago, BNSF fueling activities created a massive diesel plume under downtown Mandan. It was discovered in 1984 and in 2004 there was a $30 million settlement with BNSF. The money was used by the Mandan Remediation Trust to recover 770,000 gallons oil in a cleanup that was completed last year. Some property will be indefinitely contaminated. A bill is in the Legislature which will establish “environmental covenants” to regulate the use of those properties.
BIG NEW GAS PLANT A natural gas plant just completed west of Williston is fed by an 80-mile pipeline which picks up natural gas from wells along the way. The plant, which will open later this year, can separate ethane and propane from methane, the main component of natural gas. This will bring statewide processing capacity to 3.6 billion cubic feet per day — that’s well in excess of current state gas production. The slowdown in the industry has permitted gas processing capacity to catch up with production.
NEGLECTED PARK The T. Roosevelt Presidential Library, which is in a design and engineering phase, has brought attention to the related T. Roosevelt National Park and the town of Medora (pop. 125), the site of the library. A few maintenance projects are being conducted at the park, but overall the park has deferred maintenance of $47 million. Medora has only a handful of visitor facilities and very little to offer the number of visitors expected at the library. Dickinson, about 25 miles to the east on I-94, will be the main spot for visitor services. Little is known about how Medora and the park are preparing for the library opening estimated to be 2024 or 2025.
STATE OF THE TRIBES The chairman of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe delivered the tribes’ annual talk to the SD Legislature. Chairman Mike Faith’s address broke sharply from the optimism of the Legislature. SD has a high level of coronavirus deaths per capita — the death rate on the reservations is even higher. Indians are about 9% of the state’s population, but have suffered 14% of its deaths. Faith said, “It changed our life forever.” A state senator from Pine Ridge said they had been hit disproportionately hard because of underlying inequities, such as healthcare and nutrition.
DAKTOIDS: This week, some areas in western ND experienced winds pushing 100 mph — the strongest ever, but damage was manageable . . . Studies show ND’s rate of alcohol abuse is among the highest in the nation, but its perception of the problem is among the lowest . . . Gov. Burgum’s $1.1 billion bond proposal is being trimmed by the Legislature to more like $800 thousand — water and flood control stay in, a new state hospital and coal-friendly projects are out.
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