SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - JULY 24, 2013
“I would like to thank our good friends in South Dakota for this very generous gift to North Dakota!” -- Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem’s response to a AAA mailer for “Great American Vacations” which placed Mt. Rushmore in ND. Others suggested now may be the time for ND to annex SD, with Bismarck as the capital, of course. Myers Newsletter, a Canadian investment letter, went down the same path as the AAA, the newsletter’s cover headlined ND as “The luckiest place on earth” and pictured Mt. Rushmore along with ND icons.
“Strasburg and North Dakota were always mentioned. Everybody knew he was from North Dakota, and proud of being from North Dakota.” -- Lawrence Welk’s niece Myra Collette (79) of Grand Forks telling how Welk was always an ambassador for the state. The State Historical Society is considering buying Welk’s boyhood home in Strasburg. A Bismarck Tribune editorial said don’t do it; a Forum editorial said do it, because the home has historical significance and highlights the state’s German-Russian and agriculture heritage.
Mike Marcil has developed businesses in California and ND. He is related to the Marcils who own the Forum Companies, but not involved in their business. Marcil authored a guest post about Minnesota taxes on the SayAnythingBlog. He noted that during the last decade ND had significantly lowered personal income taxes, while Minnesota income tax rates have become among the highest in the nation. Marcil claims to have interviewed retailers and consumers on both sides of the Red River. He said, “I was astonished with the level of animosity and visceral commentary I witnessed on the Minnesota side of the border.” Marcil expects business, residents and tax revenues to shift toward ND from Minnesota border communities.
A Minnesota state senator seemed to agree, in a letter to the Forum, Bill Ingrebrigtsen of Alexandria said, “Minnesotans will see increased taxes across the board for businesses, individuals and personal services.”
The Farm Bill was always a strange duck -- benefits for farmers were combined with the food stamp program. As a result, an odd coalition of rural Republicans and urban Democrats supported both bloated programs. The House has sensibly separated the two programs allowing each to be judged on its merits. Some farmers are nervous about losing the urban support and some Democrats are irate, if not hysterical: Nancy Pelosi accused Republicans of taking “food out of the mouths of babies.” GF Herald columnist Tom Dennis worried about the consequences of breaking up the food stamp-agribusiness political alliance. He should be more concerned that participation in the food stamp program has more than doubled in the last decade, reaching 46,600,000 participants in 2012. Benefits to farmers have slightly decreased.
The controversy about NDSU President Bresciani’s lost emails continues. A Forum article stated, “If an investigation by Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem determines the emails were deleted to avoid public disclosure, he could refer the matter to a state’s attorney for consideration of criminal charges.”
The Williams County Commission (Williston) has backtracked and granted extensions on mancamps. They are concerned limits on mancamps will encourage the construction of unneeded apartments. A commissioner said, "So we're trying to strike a balance. What's worse than having a mancamp 10 to 15 years from now is ... empty apartment buildings."
It’s been eight months since a grandmother and three of her grandchildren were murdered in New Town. The FBI announced then that a “person of interest” (Kalcie Eagle, 21) had committed suicide. The FBI, which is investigating the murders, has not been heard from since. An FBI spokesperson told the Minot Daily News they were still waiting for final ballistic results. The FBI acknowledged that nine news media in the state have made persistent inquiries into the investigation.
ND oil production moves steadily upward -- May daily production of 810,000 barrels was up 2.1 percent from April. Natural gas production is also rising, but 29 percent is flared. McKenzie County (Watford City) has surpassed Mountrail County (Stanley) as the state’s top oil producing county.
“Determine what is the best fit for value-added natural gas liquid projects.” -- ND Petroleum Council President Ron Ness describing the purpose of EmPower North Dakota, a commission approved by the 2013 Legislature. Several projects have been announced that use natural gas to make fertilizer -- other new applications are expected. Ness sees this as part of a “new energy economy in our state.” A Bismarck Tribune editorial added, “Low-cost energy gives North Dakota manufacturers a competitive advantage, one to help balance the disadvantage of being far from many key markets.”
Ho-hum! The President approved a major disaster declaration for 19 counties and two Indian reservations in ND. Since 1993, a presidential disaster declaration has been issued for ND every year, except 2008. How did they miss a year?
In a series called “Faces of our community,” the Forum profiles local people. This week the Forum profiled Wil Dort, a Haitian convicted and jailed for drug dealing, who repented and now runs a barber shop in Fargo.
DAKTOIDS: A decade ago, there may have been no homes in ND assessed over $1 million -- today, many. An ungainly, 7,200 square foot house owned by Fargo surgeons is for sale for $3.2 million . . . St. Alexius in Bismarck and Sanford in Bismarck and Fargo were respectively ranked ND’s #1,2 and 3 hospitals by U.S. News. No hospitals in the state obtained national rankings . . . Look very hard at the ND map and you will spot Tagus on Hwy 2 about 30 miles west of Minot. The entire Tagus H.S. class of 1943 showed up for their 70-year reunion -- the two members of the class are now 88-year-old ladies.
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