SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - JULY 21, 2014
WHAT IF JESSE WAS STEERING? The Dept. of Mineral Resources announced record ND oil production in May. A Minneapolis Star Tribune article about the new record drew mostly admiring responses. Here is one: “North Dakotans are the most prudent and practical people with whom I have dealt. There are many issues that are troubling, but they seem to be finding the appropriate balance allowing their citizens to prosper and protecting their resources. I assume the flaring rules will continue to be tightened consistent with that balance. Think what might happen if Jesse Ventura, Mark Dayton or Al Franken was in charge of this process. Frightening.”
TOP DOG Two Denver based oil companies announced they will merge to become ND’s top oil producer. Whiting Petroleum will acquire Kodiak Oil & Gas in a $6 billion all-stock deal -- the combined companies will represent about 10 percent of ND production. Whiting gets value out its natural gas by building processing plants.
CRIME IS UP Roughly 45,000 nonpermanent residents live in crew camps and other temporary housing in ND -- up from 31,000 in 2012. You don’t need to know more than that to conclude the increase affects crime statistics. Western oil-producing counties reported a 23 percent increase in aggravated assaults last year. The 12 counties lie west of U.S. Hwy 83, the main route between Bismarck and Minot. Drug offenses increased by 20 percent, all of the state was impacted, but the bulk of the increase was in the west.
FOLLOW THE MONEY High-potency marijuana and ecstasy cross from Canada into the U.S. Cocaine, weapons and drug money flow the other direction. The Border Patrol reports a big increase in arrests in ND -- in the past nine months arrests in the Grand Forks sector have increased 80 percent, much of it in the Oil Patch.
VOTER IDENTIFICATION ND primary elections have come and gone with little fallout from new voter ID requirements. A few voters were turned away, but there is no indication the rate was greater than previous elections. College students present a special challenge because they may attempt to vote where they go to school, as well as voting at home by absentee ballot.
LET HER BE THE JUDGE Things were not going so smoothly in Minneapolis, where legal disputes escalated between supporters of two Democratic candidates in a primary race for the state House. A Somali candidate, Mohamud Noor, is challenging long-time incumbent Rep. Phyllis Kahn. Kahn’s campaign filed a petition with the state Supreme Court alleging that Fadumo Yusuf, a Somali election judge, asked voters at City Hall whether they were voting for “our Somali brother” or “the old Jewish lady.” Election judges must be neutral under Minnesota law. The court sided with Kahn and Yusuf has been assigned to duties
IF AT ONCE YOU DON’T SUCCEED All 141 voters registered at a Somali mailbox center in Minneapolis have had their registrations canceled because their address was not a valid residence. An investigation followed a complaint from Kahn’s campaign. The registrations were invalid, but determined not to be fraudulent because there was no evidence of a coordinated effort by Noor supporters. All 141 registrants were summoned to a hearing -- only 19 appeared. The deregistered voters, who say they did not understand legal requirements, have an opportunity to vote in the August primary if they properly re-register. Kahn was an ironic victim -- she opposes voter IDs.
ADMINISTRATORS GET THE BIG MONEY The GF Herald reviewed school salaries in ND’s nine largest cities. Little Jamestown pays the highest median teacher salary of $57,000. Bismarck was the champion for administrators with a median salary of $106,000. Williston had the highest benefits for both teachers and administrators reflecting special Oil Patch benefits, such as housing assistance. Bismarck had the most students, Fargo next and, surprise, W. Fargo was third.
THE TONE AT THE TOP Minot Daily News online articles can be read only with a subscription or payment of stiff fees. I’ve tried to determine if there is an inexpensive way for people out of the area to access an occasional article. The staff suggested I ask the publisher. I did -- no reply.
THE NEW, MELLOW COBB Little Craig Cobb terrified semi-hysterical residents of Leith, a tiny town in southwest ND. He paid a price and is now on supervised probation for felony terrorizing and misdemeanor menacing. Cobb left Leith in his rearview mirror and moved to Sherwood, a larger town northwest of Minot on the Canadian border. So far, Sherwood citizens seem unruffled by the white supremacist. The town’s police officer said he chatted with Cobb and “I haven’t had any trouble. I haven’t really been anticipating any unless somebody wants to start trouble.”
BOXCAR BETTY Don’t let bleak newscasts and predictions get you down -- typically, our lives grow richer and better. The obituary of Betty Buckholz Franklund Schoeneman (78) of Bismarck is a testimony. In the heart of the Depression, she was born in a boxcar north of Bismarck -- her future was bleak, or was it? Betty graduated from high school in Bismarck, married and had a happy family life. After her first husband died, she busied herself with the Boy Scouts, her church and Medcenter One. Later, she married a classmate from BHS and began a life of travel and visiting family and friends.
BORN IN A SHACK Valborg Buckneberg Zander (100) of Bismarck doesn’t need an obituary because she is still going strong. She wasn’t born in a boxcar, she was born to Norwegian immigrants in a tar paper shack in the northwest corner of ND. Later, her father was ordained as a Lutheran minister and her life also took an upward swing. She loved teaching and taught for 15 years before marrying and starting a family. Her days now are spent reading historical novels.
DAKTOIDS: The new editor of the Bismarck Tribune is not a “flash in the pan.” Steve Wallek ground his way to the position after 40 years of service with the Trib . . . What is the value of a UND hockey star who does well in the NHL? Jonathon Toews has signed an eight-year contract with the Chicago Blackhawks for $10 million a year . . . Swanson Health Products, the largest privately held supplier of vitamins and supplements, has 525 employees in Fargo . . . Tim Huckle bravely said he’s “not concerned.” The new CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield ND referred to the firing of the two previous CEOs . . . Three Affiliated Tribes Councilman Barry Benson conducts tribal business from jail. He’s there for violating probation and felony drug charges.
DakotaBeacon