SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - JULY 18, 2016
ROUGH RIDE AHEAD The good news is that oil industry leaders in ND believe their business has hit bottom; the not so good news is that it may stay there for awhile. For budgeting purposes, the state assumes oil prices will average $43 a barrel and oil production will average 900,000 barrels a day for the next year. The president of the ND Petroleum Council said, “It’s going to be fairly rough next year for the western communities.”
THROWING IN THE TOWEL ND governor Jack Dalrymple hoped to avoid a special session of the Legislature, but a widening budget gap changed that view. The Legislature will meet August 2 in special session to consider further budget cuts and how they will be administered. So far, budget cuts have been “across-the-board,” that is, every government function took the same percentage cut. It’s expected that further cuts will be more tailored, for example, human services will bear a lesser share of the cuts.
TEAM ND “Who would be more qualified after what the state’s been through here in western North Dakota? We need a vision for strong rural communities, and this is the east and the west converging in the Capitol.” -- A McKenzie County commissioner talking about the potential of the team of Brent Sanford and Doug Burgum to lead ND as lt. governor and governor, respectively. Sanford would be COO (chief operating officer) and Burgum would be CEO. Sanford would step down as mayor of Watford City, which he led through unprecedented growth, and will also leave a sizable car dealership he owns. He is a CPA and UND accounting grad.
SCHEELS is riding the popularity of Carson Wentz, the NDSU quarterback who now plays that position for the Philadelphia Eagles and was the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft. A Scheels-sponsored event in Fargo featuring Wentz drew hundreds of fans. A similar event was held in Bismarck. Scheels is headquartered in Fargo with 26 sporting goods stores in 11 states.
FORUM COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY is an anomaly in the publishing business. It has 60 publications and 4 TV stations, but continues to grow, unlike most of the newspaper industry. FCC dominates ND and the majority of Minnesota outside the Twin Cities. This week FCC announced the acquisition of a printing and publishing business on the Wisconsin/Minnesota border which will be combined with a FCC company already in the same market.
MINNESOTA'S BLACK EYE The state enjoys a top notch reputation: well-governed, progressive, prosperous, educated, tolerant, and with a high level of social capital -- it has it all. That reputation is being battered by a growing black minority that feels overlooked and is asserting itself in a damaging way. Last weekend, an I-94 “freeway riot” resulted in over 100 arrests and injured 21 police. St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell said the protesters "turned into criminals. I am absolutely disgusted, [and] I am not going to tolerate it. … I just can't believe this occurred. This is just something that doesn't happen in St. Paul."
SEPARATE REALITIES is the way Star Tribune columnist Jon Tevlin described events in Falcon Heights, the nondescript suburb tucked between Minneapolis and St. Paul, where Philando Castile, a 33-year-old black man, was killed by police. Tevlin said over time police had stopped Castile 52 times for “a shockingly long list of misdemeanors.” Falcon Heights, on the other hand, is a white community which is considered “a well-known speed trap.”
JUMPING THE GUN? Forum columnist Mike McFeely wrote “If Philando Castile was a white man . . . he would be alive today.” Last Friday, John Cabler of Carrington wrote: “Why don't you (McFeely) and people like you wait until the investigation is done?” Cable conceded the “cop” may be criminally responsible, but said only the statements of the dead man’s girlfriend had been heard at the time of McFeely’s comments.
ARE THEY PARTING? “It appears he's about to be dropped from the team.” -- Forum columnist Jim Shaw regarding conclusions of the Board of Higher Education about NDSU President Dean Bresciani. Shaw said “it's all an insult and a slap in the face to Bresciani.”
OLD ENOUGH TO KNOW BETTER This may not be an “only in ND” incident, but it edges close. A 97-year-old man driving his pickup near Stanley veered off the road. In a series of wild corrections, he crossed the road from one shoulder to the other three times before rolling the 2005 Ford. His 89-year-old wife, who was not wearing a seat belt, was killed.
JAMES HENRIKSON of Watford City is serving double life sentences for hiring a hit man to kill business associates. A Williston Herald article indicates Sarah Creveling, his ex-wife, was indicted for mail fraud and money laundering. Her trial has been delayed a fourth time. The Herald account does not mention that former Three Affiliated Tribes Chairman Tex Hall was a close business and personal associate of the couple. Henrikson, also a convicted heroin distributor, is alleged to be the father of Hall’s grandchild.
DAKTOIDS: Traffic deaths in ND dropped nearly 20 percent in the first six month of 2016 -- those where alcohol was involved, did not drop . . . Forum online readers were asked if they agreed with the Dallas decision to use a robot on a sniper who killed police -- 89 percent agreed based on over 2,000 votes . . . Fargo resident Audra Mari (22) is the new Miss World America . . . The federal government has formally committed to the F-M flood diversion -- a $2.1 billion project which will receive $450 million of federal support.
THROWING IN THE TOWEL ND governor Jack Dalrymple hoped to avoid a special session of the Legislature, but a widening budget gap changed that view. The Legislature will meet August 2 in special session to consider further budget cuts and how they will be administered. So far, budget cuts have been “across-the-board,” that is, every government function took the same percentage cut. It’s expected that further cuts will be more tailored, for example, human services will bear a lesser share of the cuts.
TEAM ND “Who would be more qualified after what the state’s been through here in western North Dakota? We need a vision for strong rural communities, and this is the east and the west converging in the Capitol.” -- A McKenzie County commissioner talking about the potential of the team of Brent Sanford and Doug Burgum to lead ND as lt. governor and governor, respectively. Sanford would be COO (chief operating officer) and Burgum would be CEO. Sanford would step down as mayor of Watford City, which he led through unprecedented growth, and will also leave a sizable car dealership he owns. He is a CPA and UND accounting grad.
SCHEELS is riding the popularity of Carson Wentz, the NDSU quarterback who now plays that position for the Philadelphia Eagles and was the No. 2 overall pick in the NFL Draft. A Scheels-sponsored event in Fargo featuring Wentz drew hundreds of fans. A similar event was held in Bismarck. Scheels is headquartered in Fargo with 26 sporting goods stores in 11 states.
FORUM COMMUNICATIONS COMPANY is an anomaly in the publishing business. It has 60 publications and 4 TV stations, but continues to grow, unlike most of the newspaper industry. FCC dominates ND and the majority of Minnesota outside the Twin Cities. This week FCC announced the acquisition of a printing and publishing business on the Wisconsin/Minnesota border which will be combined with a FCC company already in the same market.
MINNESOTA'S BLACK EYE The state enjoys a top notch reputation: well-governed, progressive, prosperous, educated, tolerant, and with a high level of social capital -- it has it all. That reputation is being battered by a growing black minority that feels overlooked and is asserting itself in a damaging way. Last weekend, an I-94 “freeway riot” resulted in over 100 arrests and injured 21 police. St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell said the protesters "turned into criminals. I am absolutely disgusted, [and] I am not going to tolerate it. … I just can't believe this occurred. This is just something that doesn't happen in St. Paul."
SEPARATE REALITIES is the way Star Tribune columnist Jon Tevlin described events in Falcon Heights, the nondescript suburb tucked between Minneapolis and St. Paul, where Philando Castile, a 33-year-old black man, was killed by police. Tevlin said over time police had stopped Castile 52 times for “a shockingly long list of misdemeanors.” Falcon Heights, on the other hand, is a white community which is considered “a well-known speed trap.”
JUMPING THE GUN? Forum columnist Mike McFeely wrote “If Philando Castile was a white man . . . he would be alive today.” Last Friday, John Cabler of Carrington wrote: “Why don't you (McFeely) and people like you wait until the investigation is done?” Cable conceded the “cop” may be criminally responsible, but said only the statements of the dead man’s girlfriend had been heard at the time of McFeely’s comments.
ARE THEY PARTING? “It appears he's about to be dropped from the team.” -- Forum columnist Jim Shaw regarding conclusions of the Board of Higher Education about NDSU President Dean Bresciani. Shaw said “it's all an insult and a slap in the face to Bresciani.”
OLD ENOUGH TO KNOW BETTER This may not be an “only in ND” incident, but it edges close. A 97-year-old man driving his pickup near Stanley veered off the road. In a series of wild corrections, he crossed the road from one shoulder to the other three times before rolling the 2005 Ford. His 89-year-old wife, who was not wearing a seat belt, was killed.
JAMES HENRIKSON of Watford City is serving double life sentences for hiring a hit man to kill business associates. A Williston Herald article indicates Sarah Creveling, his ex-wife, was indicted for mail fraud and money laundering. Her trial has been delayed a fourth time. The Herald account does not mention that former Three Affiliated Tribes Chairman Tex Hall was a close business and personal associate of the couple. Henrikson, also a convicted heroin distributor, is alleged to be the father of Hall’s grandchild.
DAKTOIDS: Traffic deaths in ND dropped nearly 20 percent in the first six month of 2016 -- those where alcohol was involved, did not drop . . . Forum online readers were asked if they agreed with the Dallas decision to use a robot on a sniper who killed police -- 89 percent agreed based on over 2,000 votes . . . Fargo resident Audra Mari (22) is the new Miss World America . . . The federal government has formally committed to the F-M flood diversion -- a $2.1 billion project which will receive $450 million of federal support.
DakotaBeacon