SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - JULY 11, 2016
DOUBLE WHAMMY State revenues declined sharply and there will be a corresponding drop in state aid to ND cities. For some smaller rural cities there is a double effect. Their share of the pie will decline because recent census information shifts aid allocation to faster growing oil cities such as Williston and Watford City.
CAUSE AND EFFECT? Jamestown handily beat a statewide trend of declining taxable sales with a six percent increase in this year’s first quarter. The new Menards home improvement store led the charge. Nearby communities of Valley City and Carrington saw sales declines -- could there be a connection?
AMBUSH Sen. Mac Schneider and Rep. Kenton Onstad, minority leaders of the ND senate and house, respectively, have been hiding in the bushes as their party limps toward the fall elections. But sensing weakness, they sprang from the bushes last week and unloaded on the majority as it fought a budget crisis. They accused Republicans of reckless spending and a “let the good times roll” philosophy.
“FRACK MASTER” was a title Texas oilman Chris Faulkner modestly bestowed on himself. The SEC charges that Faulkner lured hundreds of investors by claiming to own prime drilling property in ND and other oil states. His main investment vehicle was publicly-owned Breitling Energy Corp., which briefly sold for 95 cents a share, but now sells for 2 cents a share. Faulkner raised millions, but rarely drilled wells, instead using the money for extravagances ranging from jewelry to escort services. The SEC claims he cheated investors of $80 million and personally stole $30 million. The “Frack Master” was often featured in the media, including a column in “The Drill,” a publication of ND’s Dickinson Press.
“THERE’S MORE DOPE here now than there ever has been.” -- A BCI (Bureau of Criminal Investigation) agent talking about illegal drugs and drug gangs in western ND. He said people erroneously assume that with the oil slowdown the drug world has also slowed down. Senate majority leader Rick Wardner of Dickinson said that he and other legislators hope that, despite across-the-board cuts to state agencies, the BCI can maintain its current budget.
DUELING EDITORIALS The GF Herald’s Tom Dennis says NDSU President Dean Bresciani has been put on probation by the state board of higher-ed and it’s time for him to fall into line and “comply.” Forum columnist Mike McFeely says that’s nitpicking and NDSU is strong because of Bresciani’s leadership. He suggests the board look at UND “which has been mired in a nickname controversy, budget woes and morale issues for years.”
SPRING HOUSECLEANING is complete and Acting UND President Ed Schafer is turning over the keys to incoming president Mark Kennedy. Schafer’s goal has clearly been to “take the heat” by making potentially unpopular budget, organizational and personnel changes, and giving Kennedy a clean start. Last week, Schafer fired Vice Provost Joshua Riedy and shifted activities related to Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) from the School of Aerospace to the university president. UND offers a UAS undergraduate degree program and houses the Northern Plains UAS Test Site.
SCHAFER’S PERFORMANCE was praised by Mark Hagerott, chancellor of the University System, and Kathleen Neset, president of the State Board of Higher Education. But praise was not unanimous, UND professor Jim Whitehead said that, while Schafer took some needed steps, he “did so in a way that left the issue of ‘lack of openness, transparency and trust’ simmering, trashed the notion of shared governance and enshrined the ‘sacred cow’ status of athletics.”
HE’S GOT RESUME’ Mark Kennedy comes to UND with an impressive background in politics (three terms in the Minnesota House), business (Pillsbury and Macy’s) and academia (Geoge Washington U.). His goals for UND are ambitious -- to make UND “the premiere flagship university of the Northern Plains.”
“UND's had a surplus of collaboration during its last three presidencies. For most of two decades, the university has been crippled by process.” -- Herald columnist Mike Jacobs seemed to be cautioning Mark Kennedy, whose catch phrase is “collaborative leader.” Jacobs said, “It's a nice phrase, ‘collaborative leader,’ a pleasant combination of noun and adjective. The trick will be to exercise the noun while keeping the adjective in check.” He added that collaboration is a good thing because you are consulted, but then “Leaders decide and move on.”
THE FARGO FORUM is more than interested in UND’s logo issue -- it’s delighted to intrude. A Forum cartoon compared critics of the new UND logo to Neanderthals, while the paper awarded Leafy Spurge to anti-logo petitioners. The Forum said the petitioners weren’t interested in a new logo, “but want to find a path to return the retired nickname and logo, which was relegated to history as racist.” Really! We learn something new every day.
MINNESOTA SOMALI The state is home to the largest Somali population in the nation. But only occasionally do we get a glimpse of underlying security and law enforcement issues. The FBI rarely speaks to the subject and the media either lacks information or limits reporting. Last week we got a peek when a previously secret case disclosed more than 20 federal Al-Shabab cases in Minnesota. Those cases go back several years and do not include more recent recruitment by other Islamic terrorist groups. Each case can require separate law enforcement and prosecution teams -- the costs, while necessary, are enormous.
HOMELESS JESUS is prompting emergency calls to the Fargo Fire Department from passersby at a church. The bronze, life-sized statue depicts Jesus sleeping on a park bench and is intended to draw attention to homeless issues. One party reported that a dead person had been on the bench for several days; another left a “Thank You Jesus” note.
DAKTOIDS: The percentage of transgenders in ND is estimated to be 0.30 percent, the lowest in the nation; Hawaii at 0.78 percent is the highest . . . Less than one percent of the members of the ND Bar Association are American Indians, although Indians are over five percent of the population . . . A Business Week article about pilot shortages said UND is “home to the largest public aviation program in the U.S.”
CAUSE AND EFFECT? Jamestown handily beat a statewide trend of declining taxable sales with a six percent increase in this year’s first quarter. The new Menards home improvement store led the charge. Nearby communities of Valley City and Carrington saw sales declines -- could there be a connection?
AMBUSH Sen. Mac Schneider and Rep. Kenton Onstad, minority leaders of the ND senate and house, respectively, have been hiding in the bushes as their party limps toward the fall elections. But sensing weakness, they sprang from the bushes last week and unloaded on the majority as it fought a budget crisis. They accused Republicans of reckless spending and a “let the good times roll” philosophy.
“FRACK MASTER” was a title Texas oilman Chris Faulkner modestly bestowed on himself. The SEC charges that Faulkner lured hundreds of investors by claiming to own prime drilling property in ND and other oil states. His main investment vehicle was publicly-owned Breitling Energy Corp., which briefly sold for 95 cents a share, but now sells for 2 cents a share. Faulkner raised millions, but rarely drilled wells, instead using the money for extravagances ranging from jewelry to escort services. The SEC claims he cheated investors of $80 million and personally stole $30 million. The “Frack Master” was often featured in the media, including a column in “The Drill,” a publication of ND’s Dickinson Press.
“THERE’S MORE DOPE here now than there ever has been.” -- A BCI (Bureau of Criminal Investigation) agent talking about illegal drugs and drug gangs in western ND. He said people erroneously assume that with the oil slowdown the drug world has also slowed down. Senate majority leader Rick Wardner of Dickinson said that he and other legislators hope that, despite across-the-board cuts to state agencies, the BCI can maintain its current budget.
DUELING EDITORIALS The GF Herald’s Tom Dennis says NDSU President Dean Bresciani has been put on probation by the state board of higher-ed and it’s time for him to fall into line and “comply.” Forum columnist Mike McFeely says that’s nitpicking and NDSU is strong because of Bresciani’s leadership. He suggests the board look at UND “which has been mired in a nickname controversy, budget woes and morale issues for years.”
SPRING HOUSECLEANING is complete and Acting UND President Ed Schafer is turning over the keys to incoming president Mark Kennedy. Schafer’s goal has clearly been to “take the heat” by making potentially unpopular budget, organizational and personnel changes, and giving Kennedy a clean start. Last week, Schafer fired Vice Provost Joshua Riedy and shifted activities related to Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) from the School of Aerospace to the university president. UND offers a UAS undergraduate degree program and houses the Northern Plains UAS Test Site.
SCHAFER’S PERFORMANCE was praised by Mark Hagerott, chancellor of the University System, and Kathleen Neset, president of the State Board of Higher Education. But praise was not unanimous, UND professor Jim Whitehead said that, while Schafer took some needed steps, he “did so in a way that left the issue of ‘lack of openness, transparency and trust’ simmering, trashed the notion of shared governance and enshrined the ‘sacred cow’ status of athletics.”
HE’S GOT RESUME’ Mark Kennedy comes to UND with an impressive background in politics (three terms in the Minnesota House), business (Pillsbury and Macy’s) and academia (Geoge Washington U.). His goals for UND are ambitious -- to make UND “the premiere flagship university of the Northern Plains.”
“UND's had a surplus of collaboration during its last three presidencies. For most of two decades, the university has been crippled by process.” -- Herald columnist Mike Jacobs seemed to be cautioning Mark Kennedy, whose catch phrase is “collaborative leader.” Jacobs said, “It's a nice phrase, ‘collaborative leader,’ a pleasant combination of noun and adjective. The trick will be to exercise the noun while keeping the adjective in check.” He added that collaboration is a good thing because you are consulted, but then “Leaders decide and move on.”
THE FARGO FORUM is more than interested in UND’s logo issue -- it’s delighted to intrude. A Forum cartoon compared critics of the new UND logo to Neanderthals, while the paper awarded Leafy Spurge to anti-logo petitioners. The Forum said the petitioners weren’t interested in a new logo, “but want to find a path to return the retired nickname and logo, which was relegated to history as racist.” Really! We learn something new every day.
MINNESOTA SOMALI The state is home to the largest Somali population in the nation. But only occasionally do we get a glimpse of underlying security and law enforcement issues. The FBI rarely speaks to the subject and the media either lacks information or limits reporting. Last week we got a peek when a previously secret case disclosed more than 20 federal Al-Shabab cases in Minnesota. Those cases go back several years and do not include more recent recruitment by other Islamic terrorist groups. Each case can require separate law enforcement and prosecution teams -- the costs, while necessary, are enormous.
HOMELESS JESUS is prompting emergency calls to the Fargo Fire Department from passersby at a church. The bronze, life-sized statue depicts Jesus sleeping on a park bench and is intended to draw attention to homeless issues. One party reported that a dead person had been on the bench for several days; another left a “Thank You Jesus” note.
DAKTOIDS: The percentage of transgenders in ND is estimated to be 0.30 percent, the lowest in the nation; Hawaii at 0.78 percent is the highest . . . Less than one percent of the members of the ND Bar Association are American Indians, although Indians are over five percent of the population . . . A Business Week article about pilot shortages said UND is “home to the largest public aviation program in the U.S.”
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