SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - JUNE 16, 2014
THE FORUM WANTED TO DUMP THE FLOOD MAYOR “In moving from earned confidence to a detectable measure of subtle arrogance, he has risked confirming the ‘Imperial Cass’ moniker that has dogged Fargo for years – and has been damaging to the city’s interests, in particular at the Legislature.” -- That sums up the Forum’s opposition to the candidacy of incumbent mayor Dennis Walaker and their endorsement of City Commissioner Brad Wimmer. Voters didn’t agree -- Walaker won with 56 percent of the vote.
A BELT AND SUSPENDERS Candidates for mayor in Fargo shared the same seemingly contradictory priorities. Ironically, they were flooding and drought. “Flooding” refers to a massive flood control project to divert the Red River around Fargo. “Drought” refers to a project to pipe water from the Missouri River to the Red River Valley as protection against drought. Both are billion dollar projects.
YOU HAVEN’T HEARD THE LAST OF THIS. “I believe, based upon what I know of Jim Richter’s character, that this was an honest oversight. I admit a big one.” -- A comment from a former E. Grand Forks council member, an example of dithering and denial about a $500,000 loan (from a city agency) overlooked since 2003. Both the city’s mayor and his brother, who is involved with the loan, aren’t talking. The money to make the loan came from a Minnesota Investment Fund flood recovery program. The GF Herald is doing an outstanding job of keeping the issue in public view.
WHAT A DEAL! Airline service has returned to Jamestown and Devils Lake. The federal Essential Air Service pays SkyWest over $3 million annually for maintaining service to each of the two small cities. That comes to around $9,000 a day to serve a handful of passengers in each city -- your federal dollars at work.
KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN Gerald Groenewold has been the director of UND’s Energy and Environmental Research Center since 1987. During that time the center achieved national prominence and currently employs 300 people including many scientists and engineers. At $300,000 a year, Groenewold is one of the state’s highest paid public employees. His career has been marked by conflicts, including brushes with the law. UND announced his firing and said he provided misleading financial information and bullied employees. Groenewold said the main causes for his firing were his “intense personality” and disagreements with the UND administration about EERC funding.
“YOU’RE FINE. YOU’RE FINE. YOU’RE FIRED.” This was the heading for a GF Herald editorial about Groenewold’s firing. The editorial pointed out that until the firing UND President Robert Kelley was generally happy with Groenewold’s performance and gave him good evaluations. Did Groenewold’s performance fall apart during the past year, or is there a problem with UND’s evaluation system? The Herald suggests it’s the latter.
A SET UP? The Spirit Lake Sioux tribe voted by an overwhelming 67 percent to support the UND Fighting Sioux nickname. Tribal member Eunice Davidson has authored a book “Aren’t We Sioux Enough?,” which claims nickname supporters never had a chance. She calls the deal with NCAA by the UND administration and state officials a “set up.” Davidson believes UND’s desire to placate the NCAA outweighed all other considerations. Where is UND now in the sports world? It easily finished last in the 11-team Big Sky Conference all-sport ranking.
LET’S GET THIS STRAIGHT Tyler Gallant (25) was charged in Bismarck for felony delivery of an imitation controlled substance. In other words, he didn’t deliver a controlled substance. “Confidential informants” believed they were getting methamphetamine from Gallant when they actually got a dietary supplement, MSM. What a cheat! He deserves what he gets.
IT’S NOT EASY “Very few developers want to tackle these situations due to all the programs and regulation.” -- Dave Klein, executive director of the Stutsman County Housing Authority, lamenting a shortage of affordable housing in Jamestown. He said 1,000 units of housing were under development in Jamestown, but only about 70 were planned as affordable. Another challenge according to Klein, “Can they actually build it for a price that results in an affordable rent? The cost of land, construction and infrastructure is so high that rents that are affordable aren’t always possible.”
MONEY DOESN’T ALWAYS BUY SUCCESS The Census Bureau has released public school spending for 2012. Spending per pupil in ND ($11,700) is above the national average of $10,600 and rising. SD is low ($8,400), well below the national average and dropping. Montana and Minnesota are near the national average. Most of the top ten states in per pupil spending were in the Northeast -- Alaska and Wyoming were exceptions. New York ($19,500) spent the most; Utah ($6,200) spent the least. Spending doesn’t always correlate with success: Alaska and Delaware were in the top ten in per pupil spending, but had below average student achievement.
I’M NOT PULLING YOUR LEG What do you know about purple martins? Not much is my guess, so you may be surprised to learn of the Purple Martin Association of the Dakotas, a non-profit that promotes purple martin education, research and conservation. The martin fans don’t just read birding journals -- they hold an annual Purple Martin Festival which was held in Grand Forks this year. The purple martin is a large swallow that breeds in the Mid-West, but winters in the Amazon basin.
LIFE DURING THE DEPRESSION The obituary of Bernice Carlson (94) pictured a beautiful young woman beside a picture of her more mature and still graceful self. She had a rugged background, a type now fading in ND history. She grew up on a farm in the Turtle Mountains during the Great Depression, attended a rural school and later obtained an associate degree at Minot Teachers College. Carlson returned to a one room school, taught eight grades and also acted as custodian and maintenance person -- all for $50 a month. The Depression ended and her life took a steady upturn -- she became the mother and teacher of four children, living her last 60 years in Grand Forks.
DAKTOIDS: Depending on your point of view, downtown Grand Forks may be looking up. A furniture store has replaced a hookah lounge . . . The June 10th election in ND brought out only 12 percent of eligible voters.
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