SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - JULY 28, 2014
LET THEM VOTE What would cause a roar of approval to sweep across the Northern Plains? The restoration of the Fighting Sioux nickname at UND. There is a faint hope. Rep. Scott Louser of Minot plans to introduce a bill at the next legislature to extend the waiting time for a new nickname. This would allow time for Sioux tribes in ND to take another vote. The loss of the nickname and logo, if anything, has hurt the tribes. They still have the same bleak prospects, but no longer have the positive association with UND. The isolation of the reservations has increased and tribal youth lost one of their most encouraging symbols.
IS THERE A CHANCE OF A VOTE? Eunice Davidson says the Spirit Lake Sioux “today fight on many fronts against a political correctness that threatens to erase their name and cultural identity.” Davidson is the author of a book about the loss of the Fighting Sioux nickname. Her tribe voted two to one to retain the name. The Standing Rock Tribe was not allowed to vote. Davidson claims that Chairman Ron His Horse Is Thunder of Standing Rock told the State Board he “didn’t care if 100% of the people of Standing Rock supported the name and image, they would not be allowed to speak."
SPEAKING OF NICKNAMES Shall we go down the road of nicknames and slogans for towns in ND? Hang on, it’s bumpy. Let’s start with Grand Forks, in an inflated moment, the city joined E. Grand Forks to brand themselves “The Grand Cities.” It flopped. GF has a new slogan “This city works” -- very catchy, good luck. Dickinson became the “Queen City,” but is switching to the more enticing “Western Edge.” Wonder why? Ellendale felt neglected and adopted the brand “Life on a better scale.” You know where that’s going. Then there’s Jamestown, they’ve become unhappy with “Buffalo City” and have changed to the slogan “Discover the Heart of the North Dakota Prairie.” Whew! Any winners? I like “Zip to Zap.” All of this thanks to research by Anna Burleson at the Herald.
JUMP START Grand schemes to promote cities come and go, usually dying a bureaucratic death. But a plan in Grand Forks is getting legs thanks to a ND newspaper family. A citizen’s committee proposed 50 large public art sculptures on 42nd Street S. near the Alerus Center. The sculpture park would be visible from I-29. The Fargo Marcil family, owners of the GF Herald and a TV station in GF, have donated $500,000 for the purchase and maintenance of the first sculpture.
NO MORE FREE COFFEE for Steven Goldmann at the Boomtown Babes Espresso in Williston. The Babes used to offer free coffee to law enforcement. Goldmann stopped by as many as four times a day, representing himself as an FBI agent. He had all the stuff: a Chevy Tahoe with a police light bar, a gun and holster, and mace and badge. His image was further burnished when he showed up with a handcuffed passenger. Alas, Goldmann was a fake, a convicted con man from Tennessee. The Babes soured, not only will Goldmann not get any more free coffee, neither will valid lawmen. Goldmann is an extreme example of con artists who have descended on the Bakken.
ONE OF ND’S MOST HORRENDOUS CRIMES Omar Kalmio stabbed a man in the back three times and once in the face in Minneapolis. The Somali native pleaded guilty, but was released from prison a year later. He violated his probation, but U.S. immigration authorities were unable to deport him to Somalia. He was released again and in 2011, eight months later, he murdered four people in Minot, one of the most deadly crimes in ND history. The Minneapolis Star Tribune says immigration authorities release thousands of offenders without notifying local law enforcement. One proposed remedy, deny visas to countries that refuse to repatriate their criminals.
REFUGEE FATIGUE Refugees sponsored by Lutheran Social Services in Minnesota have swamped services for immigrants. There is also a spillover of refugees into ND cities. Catholic Charities in the Twin Cities and Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid both indicate they do not have sufficient resources to meet the needs of unaccompanied minor immigrants. U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison is pushing to welcome immigrant Central American children to Minnesota. Each child can cost the state several hundred dollars a day.
THE WELL-BEING OF CHILDREN The Ann E Casey Foundation says Minnesota ranks #5 nationally, while ND is #6 and SD#17. ND ranks #1 in the economic well-being of children, while MN is #4. The 13 percent poverty rate of children in ND is lowest in the nation, but the rate has remained unchanged for 12 years. Half of ND Indian children live in poverty -- 11 percent of K-12 students in ND are Indians. In SD, 17 percent of children live in poverty and its Indian children fare worse than any other group in the country.
DORMANT ISSUE RISES TO THE FORE “North Dakota used to have that ‘lowest violent crime rate in America’ category almost all to itself; and so, it’s with at least a little sadness that the state eases out of the ranks of states with ‘the lowest’ rates and joins those where the rates are simply ‘low.’” -- From a GF Herald editorial regretting the increase in violent crime in the state. Crime was largely a dormant issue in the state -- growth was the big concern. Now that growth and prosperity seem assured, the Herald said “it’s disturbing to watch the violent-crime rate increase, too.”
READY TO BLOW Silo-like, fiberglass storage tanks at saltwater disposal sites in the Oil Patch are ready to ignite. An AP article said, "Counterintuitively, it's the water tanks that blow up, not the oil tanks." Fiberglass tanks containing gas vapors heat up when struck by lightning, while metal tanks conduct lightning to the ground. Three massive fires have been started at saltwater disposal sites this summer.
THE BODY Former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura (a stage name) sued the family of a late Navy SEAL who authored a book. Ventura claims the book shredded his reputation. The Fargo Forum gave Leafy Spurge to Jesse opining that his reputation was already self-shredded.
I WOULD SAY SO The Highway Patrol cited three motorcyclists for reckless driving after being clocked at 151 mph in a 55 mph zone near Fort Totten. The HP investigated a less exciting incident near Buxton where piglets tumbled from a fast moving truck over 20 miles on I-29. Squeamish people need not be concerned -- the HP reports the piglet corpses have been removed.
DAKTOIDS: Thunderstorms should be on the “like” list in ND -- they furnish over half the state’s annual moisture -- the state would be a desert without them . . . It’s surprising that Fargo metro, the largest population area in ND, does not had a community college. The State College of Science proposes to remedy that by making a $65 million expansion to its center in Fargo . . . The FX TV series “Fargo” will be back -- season two will be set primarily in ND in 1979.
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