SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - JUNE 10, 2019
BAKKEN MIDSTREAM PARTNERS (BMP) is proposing a new approach to reduce natural gas flaring in ND. The state’s infrastructure is currently designed to export natural gas out of the state — BMP seeks to develop a new type of infrastructure for using natural gas within the state. Examples would include gathering infrastructure, processing plants, storage facilities and transmission pipelines. This would open the door for value-added natural gas products such as petrochemicals. BMP says it has the financial capacity to do projects in the billions, will start construction as early as 2021 and begin operations in 2023. This infrastructure will facilitate petrochemical companies making products such as plastics.
THE ND PETROLEUM COUNCIL sees “incredible opportunity” in Bakken natural gas. Council President Ron Ness said the petrochemical industry “is potentially the next economy of North Dakota.” It should be emphasized that Bakken Midstream Partners is a relatively new company without any track record in ND. BMP says its mission is to develop and own infrastructure to support value-added products — something ND is lacking. BMP does not itself seek to be in the petrochemical business.
“FARGO I think is somewhat impacted by the oil in the western part of the state, but also has a robust and diverse economy to drive population growth” — Kevin Iverson, manager of the ND Census Office. He said Fargo has “economic magnetism” — its size propels further growth. In 2018, a year in which the Oil Patch was still recovering, population growth in Fargo and W. Fargo exceeded that in Bismarck, Mandan, Dickinson, Williston and Watford City combined.
TWO INSTITUTIONS UNDER SCRUTINY A negative state audit report plus morale and management problems are given as reasons to place the ND State College of Science under a state oversight plan. The chair of the Board of Higher Ed Audit Committee said, “There is a crisis on campus at NDSCS.” The State Hospital in Jamestown also had problems. A national survey team gave the hospital a preliminary denial of accreditation. Hospital management blamed the deficiencies on recently introduced standards and said they completed corrections this week.
JAMESTOWN’S future couldn’t have been brighter in 2014, when a Minnesota cooperative announced plans to build a $3 billion nitrogen fertilizer plant near the city. Speculators swept into action and began constructing housing, anticipating years of large construction crews, but CHS canceled and abandoned the plant in 2015. Jamestown is seeing the aftermath — an apartment vacancy rate of 20 to 30 percent. Better Homes said it manages about 550 apartment units in Jamestown and currently has 134 vacancies.
PSC MEMBER BRIAN KROSHUS spoke to the Minot Chamber of Commerce as a wistful cheerleader for ND’s embattled lignite-burning power plants. Those plants are needed as a base-power source, he said, when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine. Certain ND plants have a strategic advantage over coal plants elsewhere because the ND plants are located at the mouth of lignite mines and have few transportation costs. As to environmental problems, he hinted research solutions are coming, but couldn’t say when.
AMAZON ANDY Each day, for many years, UPS has delivered armfuls of Amazon boxes to “Andy” Anderson in New Rockford. Andy is Amazon’s No. 1 national reviewer and a member of its Vine Program which entitles him to free or discounted merchandise. The Vine Program is for Amazon’s top, most trusted reviewers. A room in his house is filled with product. A Forum article pictured him balancing his 300 pounds on a Segway obtained from Amazon. Although he is not allowed to sell free product, he had to pay income taxes on $23,000 representing the value of free merchandise. Andy has worked in many domestic and foreign businesses — he moved to New Rockford in 2009 where he became serious about the Amazon review business.
THEY JUST WON’T GIVE UP UND historian Elwyn Robinson wrote “The churches, stimulated by booming settlement and denominational rivalry, grew rapidly. The Methodists, for example, had forty-seven churches (in ND) as early as 1886.” This was an example of the “Too-Much Mistake,” a phrase coined by Robinson. The excess is still being worked out — the Methodist Church in Underwood (pop. 800) will hold its last service next Sunday. The church was down to eight active members of which only three live nearby.
MINNESOTA IS THE LAND OF . . . more agriculture co-ops (170) than any other state. CHS and Land O’Lakes are among the three biggest ag co-ops in the country and Minnesota is home to 11 of the 100 largest.
THE TRIBAL CHAIR of an Indian reservation receives many benefits and powers — often they are shared with relatives and friends. That may explain why so many members often vie for the position. The White Earth Reservation is Minnesota’s largest and is about 50 miles equidistant from Fargo and Grand Forks. In an election this week, White Earth had 15 candidates for tribal chair — to determine their ballot positions, names were drawn from a birchbark basket.
HELPFUL OR WASTED? The Star Tribune reports Minnesota spends $600 million a year for “basic skills” aid to low income students. During the last decade, despite the spending, the gap between low income students and other students significantly widened. Some school administrators say the gap would be much worse without the aid; critics say the money is wasted. Data is not available to support either case since reporting is deficient.
DAKTOIDS: Casey Ryan, a GF doctor, and Deny Elbert, former UND business school dean, will be co-chairmen of the search committee for a UND president . . . Jim Hart is the new publisher of the Minot Daily News . . . Four Critical Access Hospitals in ND were named among the 20 highest-ranked in the nation — they are located in Towner, Carrington, Linton and Wishek . . . ND college enrollment dropped 6 percent from Spring 2017 to Spring 2019 . . . Fargo native Richard Anderson (about 97) died this week — the Minnesota attorney and CPA developed ND’s first
DakotaBeacon