SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - JULY 29, 2013
By the numbers. What is this progression: 126-144-172-256? It’s the number of drug indictments in ND from 2009 through 2012 -- there were already 205 indictments in the first six months of 2013. Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said, “Our agents and drug task forces are becoming overwhelmed.” As you might guess, most of the drug activity takes place in the Oil Patch. Stenehjem said 2012 crime statistics will come out at the end of July and “it’s not going to be good.”
Who is the most partisan of us all? An instructor at Minnesota State College in Moorhead devised a clever way of measuring partisanship in legislative districts. Applying his model, seven of ND’s ten most partisan Democratic districts are found in the Red River Valley, the other three are districts with Indian reservations. Rolette County (Turtle Mt. Reservation) is the most partisan Democratic district. The most partisan Republican districts adjoin the Montana border and the top ten are (or in part) in the western half of the state. The most partisan Republican district is No. 39, occupying the southwest part of the state. The analysis is posted on the SayAnyThingBlog.
NDSU studied grocery prices in ND and punctured some myths. Communities with populations less than 10,000 pay 6 percent more than larger communities. National chain stores such as Walmart cost 21 percent less than smaller supermarkets and local grocery stores. Stores in the oil patch charge more, but only about 3 percent more than the rest of the state -- that may be a bargain considering the high cost of labor and distribution in the Oil Patch.
“Tribe members, including many members of Yankton’s extended family, lined up to congratulate him.” -- The GF Herald indicated the congratulations didn’t last long. For the second time, Spirit Lake leader Roger Yankton was removed from office. This time, by the Intertribal Appellate Court in Aberdeen. An appeals court has also upheld the conviction of a member of the Yankton family for defrauding a federal program. Embezzlement and theft from tribal programs are among the most common crimes at the Spirit Lake Reservation.
“The Spirit Lake Tribe has a long row to hoe in regaining the public's trust.” -- Tom Dennis of the GF Herald believes independent tribal courts should be one of the first steps. Dennis wrote, “Right now, the tribal court at Spirit Lake appears neither strong nor stable nor independent.” The Forum piled on saying the political mess confirmed “the abysmal dysfunction of Spirit Lake’s tribal government.” For good measure, the Forum tossed in a sprig of Leafy Spurge.
The Forum has difficulty concealing its envy of the attention western ND receives. The angst surfaces in many ways. This week the Forum reminded readers that Fargo is “the reliable, steady economic engine of the state” and “continues to grow without the vagaries inherent in the booms and busts of one-horse economies.”
Authorities must contend with the threat of terrorist activity among a large Somali population in the Twin Cities. ND authorities are dealing with a different aspect of Somali behavior. Somalis have been involved in murders or attempted murders in Minot, Jamestown, Fargo and Grand Forks. This month there was an additional incident in Jamestown. Said Ahmed Muse (59) is accused of a knife attack on Abdirizak Nur. Formal charges of attempted murder have been delayed until a Somali interpreter can be located. Violent crime by Somalis in ND is entirely out of proportion to their share of the population.
Was columnist Lloyd Omdahl playing to the hometown crowd when he wrote that the initiative and referendum worked fairly well in ND “Because the civic competence of the North Dakota electorate is higher than that of the nation as a whole?”
"Fargo does have a certain draw and imagery. The movie helps with that. Also having been in the news for flooding multiple times and winning worst weather city.” -- John Anderson, a partner in Fargo Brewing Co., with the good news that the company actually began brewing in Fargo. Their popular and delectable Wood Chipper will be available fresh out of the vat.
“Just when you think the federal government could not be more idiotic, wasteful or paralytic, it does something absolutely inspired.” -- What inspired Tribune columnist Clay Jenkinson? The idea of a National Park on the moon.
It’s a familiar story across the prairie. A Lutheran church in Christine, ND, closed because the congregation was small and old. But times are a changing, the Forum reported the congregation filed into the basement for a last meal of “Subway sandwiches.”
Should a crime reporter be stationed at each Walmart? Criminals seem to favor the popular store. In Jamestown, Tara Bauer stole big ticket items from Walmart and her teenage children sold them on the street. In Williston, Alexandria Simon said a gang of men shot her in the Walmart parking lot -- it turned out she shot herself, meth and shoplifting seemed to be involved.
When Tony Goetz (87) died this month, he controlled banks in New Salem and Center, ND., as well as various businesses and ranch real estate. How did he do it? Not easily. Tony was born to a farm family in Anamoose and enlisted in the Army near the end of WWII. After discharge, he earned an accounting degree at the U. of St. Thomas in the Twin Cities. He used that training in occupations as varied as selling farm equipment, beer distribution, state bank examiner and, finally, bank owner. As an accountant, examiner and banker, you would think Tony might have had a pretty stiff collar. No way -- Tony sang, danced and played the accordion and piano. He was especially gifted on the accordion and during high school in Anamoose had a dance band called the Royal Guardsmen.
DAKTOIDS: The rate of growth in ND is leveling off to a more sustainable pace . . . Where are the pro-growth states? Go down the Central Plains from ND to Kansas, throw in Wyoming, and you have five of the top ten states. Utah is the #1 state . . . Nodaks have a better life expectancy than the national average, but the gap between healthy life expectancy of men and women is greatest in ND. Get off the beer, boys! . . . A site has been chosen for the $124 million UND med school -- 8 acres on Gateway Drive north of the Ralph Engelstad Arena.
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