Dakota Beacon

WHERE ARE YOU BETTER OFF? Yahoo Finance determined the most expensive city in each state as well as the median household income and relative cost of living in those cities. Comparing ND to three adjoining states and Wyoming indicates Bismarck is probably the best deal among the expensive cities. The Twin Cities have a slightly higher household income ($67,000) than Bismarck ($65,000), but the cost of living in the Twin Cities is 103% of the national average while Bismarck is only 94%. Sioux Falls, Missoula, and Casper (the most expensive cities in their states) all had significantly lower incomes than Bismarck, but similar costs of living.

NOT SO FAST ND and SD smugly point to Minnesota’s high taxes and regulations as reasons the Dakotas have a competitive business advantage. A Forum editorial said not so fast, there’s more to it. Minnesota has an attractive business climate because of its much larger population and employee skills sets. The editorial pointed to Minnesota’s No. 1 CNBC ranking and concluded: “The rankings confirm that business growth is about more than low taxes. Job training and the amenities that higher taxes fund make a difference.”

UNMANNED AIRCRAFT "There's a new Silicon Valley of drones, and it isn't in California." -- A headline in MarketWatch.com, a financial information website. An editorial in the GF Herald described how step-by-step Grand Forks is emerging as an unmanned aircraft center. MarketWatch said, "With the most open airspace in the country, vast tracts of farmland, infrastructure to test on and the nation's first unmanned aircraft degree program, it makes sense that North Dakota would be the place for drone technology to spread its wings, and it's now expanding at an unprecedented rate."

THE TEACHER SHORTAGE in ND is worsening. The state Dept. of Public Instruction has formed a task force to address issues of teacher recruitment and retention. The task force will address the immediate issue of the 2015-16 school year, as well as longer term issues. Low salaries were once the major problem, but salaries are giving way to a host of other issues, such as housing shortages. The remoteness of western ND, where much of the teacher shortage occurs, is a challenge in attracting out-of-state candidates. State school enrollment had been dropping, but in the last five years the number of students increased over 10 percent

FINGER-POINTING In 2014, ND had a 20 percent increase in violations in public water systems. Most are in oil country -- Williams County (Williston) had 52 violations. Williston is fast-tracking a $105 million water treatment plant. Finger-pointing is also on the increase, Williston Mayor Howard Klug said, “If the state had returned oil tax revenue to Oil Patch communities sooner, the city could have addressed major infrastructure projects earlier.”

IGNORE BLOGGERS who question the health of Titan Machinery. That’s the advice of the company’s management. The West Fargo-based Titan is described as the “world’s biggest string of farm machinery dealers.” Titan is a public company which had revenues of $2.2 billion in fiscal year 2014 and is now reporting losses, closing stores and reducing employment because of the downturn in the ag economy.

FEARLESS Herald restaurant critic Marilyn Hagerty leaves no stone unturned. The 88-year-old columnist recently completed a review of all Grand Forks area Dairy Queens, testing specialties such as the Flame Thrower (a spicy burger, soft drink and strawberry sundae). Her grand conclusion: “Dairy Queen became a symbol of summer after its beginnings 75 years ago. It has grown and changed into a year-round business.” The 6,500 Dairy Queens are headquartered in Minneapolis and franchised by a business owned by Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway.

FIGHTING SIOUX REDO “Back in 2013, I said it was unlikely that anyone could come up with a nickname that would even approach ‘Fighting Sioux’ on any number of levels. Likewise, creating a logo to replace the beautiful Sioux Indian head was also an impossible task.” -- Mark Schuttenheim, a Jamestown Sun hockey writer. He went on to say, “While it's been reported that the university is going to allow the folks to vote on the final name, it's important to point out that UND president Robert Kelley is going to have the final word. And that is where this gets problematic.” Kelley’s resignation is effective January 2016. Schuttenheim personally favors “North Dakota Hockey,” a name he considers succinct, dignified, and right to the point.

MINNESOTA HMONG Hmong people come from mountainous regions of Southeast Asia. Minnesota has over 77,000 Hmong, the largest concentration in the U.S. -- mostly in the Twin Cities metro area. While the Minnesota Hmong are a small fraction of worldwide Hmong, the Twin Cities are considered the “hub” of Hmong culture. A Hmong sports gathering in St. Paul last weekend is believed to be the largest of its kind in the world. Hmong are drawn to ND's hunting and fishing (Devils Lake).

40TH ANNIVERSARY Hmong refugees first began arriving in Minnesota 40 years ago. At the time they were clearly a disadvantaged group seriously lagging the general population in employment, income and education. The intervening years have seen a skyrocketing increase in the Minnesota Hmong population and year-by-year improvement in their status. They still lag the general Minnesota population, but gaps are steadily narrowing. The median age of Hmong in Minnesota is 20 compared to a median of 37 for the general population. One out every five students in the St. Paul public schools is Hmong.

A DASH OF BUREAUCRACY The MN Dept. of Education will spend $65 million a year for a program principally for reducing racial segregation. A StarTribune editorial states, “Under the new state regulations, districts will be required to submit plans to the state if their students-of-color percentage equals or exceeds 20 percent or if a school site within the district has 20 percent or more kids of color than other schools within the district that serve the same grades.”

CANVASSING THE BAKKEN OIL FIELDS is the name of a 26-painting art exhibit by Minneapolis artist Joe Burns at the Star Tribune Building in downtown Minneapolis.

DAKTOIDS: Yes, you are seeing more vehicles in ND, a lot more. Last year the state processed more than 1 million vehicle registrations -- a 15 percent increase from 2008 . . . Far northern Saskatchewan recently had 114 fires -- northwest winds brought the smoke into ND and MN -- for a time last weekend, air quality in the Red River Valley was rated among the worst in the nation . . . ND once had 55,000 miles of shelterbelts and tree rows -- many are reaching the end of their natural lives -- a state fund offers to split cost of replanting with landowners . . . The late Lorraine Fiechtner Geiszler Kirschenmann (84) of Wishek is mentioned here because she has such a beautiful German-Russian name . . . Young Nodaks are in bad shape -- 73 percent of adults ages 17 to 24 are ineligible for military service due to weight and other factors.