Dakota Beacon

DAPL STAYS OPEN  "It's time to let this pipeline do what it was designed to do.  I think it's time to move on.” — ND Petroleum Council President Ron Ness responding to the news that a federal judge will allow the Dakota Access Pipeline to operate during an environmental review expected to be completed in March 2022.  A year ago the same judge ordered an immediate shutdown of the DAPL, a decision reversed by a federal appeals court.  Energy Transfer, DAPL’s owner, argued that shutting down the pipeline would deal a devastating economic blow to ND’s economy.  In order to win another shutdown order, the Standing Rock Sioux had to show they "will likely suffer irreparable harm in the absence of an order closing the pipeline." The district judge wrote that the tribe's arguments did "not clear that daunting hurdle.”

IT’S BISON WORLD, no longer Buffalo City Park.  The new name for the ambitious $60 million tourist attraction planned in Jamestown is intended to demonstrate a larger national perspective.  In advance of their proposal for an investment by the ND Legacy Fund, the Jamestown/Stutsman Development Corp. is soliciting letters of intent for businesses to sponsor an exhibit in exchange for naming rights.  They are also seeking letters of intent from developers to construct and operate a hotel and restaurant in Bison World.  The development work for Bison World is funded by $600,000 from the JSDC.

LEGACY FUND  At an important time in the life of the ND State Investment Board (SIB), its Executive Director has resigned to take a position in another state.  Dave Hunter was known to oppose using Legacy Fund money for a new in-state investment program authorized by the Legislature.  The Legacy Fund is one of the more important funds overseen by the SIB. 

GREEN  The planned ADM soybean plant near Jamestown was recently mentioned here.  A Forum article by Patrick Springer explains how the economics of the plant are ultimately driven by “green” considerations.  The ADM plant will use 25% of the soybeans grown in ND, everything within 100 miles of the Jamestown area.  Using waste steam from a nearby ethanol plant, ADM will crush the beans and produce oil which will be shipped by rail to Marathon’s Dickinson refinery.  The refinery will produce renewable diesel, a product which is interchangeable with conventional diesel, using electricity generated 45% by wind power.  Because of its overall low carbon footprint, the refinery’s output will be welcome in California at premium prices and that state will grant carbon credits that further add to Marathon’s profitability.

NEW GAME  Springer writes that most of ND’s soybeans are now shipped overseas as a protein source. Having the Spiritwood crushing plant will enable ND growers to capture more of the economic value of their crop.  Gov. Doug Burgum called the recent ADM announcement a “game-changer.” He also predicted that the state’s agriculture and energy industries will increasingly overlap.

WILD RIDE ON THE EMPIRE BUILDER  Yesterday marked the 90th anniversary of a extraordinary tornado which derailed cars of the Empire Builder just east of Moorhead.  While the locomotive and coal-tender remained on the tracks, several coach cars were blown off injuring 57 and killing one.  The tornado was reported to at times be around a quarter of a mile wide.

THE MHA NATION (Ft. Berthold Reservation) plans to open ND’s largest warmed greenhouse ($26 million) late next year.  They will grow a variety of vegetables using natural gas now being flared.  Their first priority will be improving the diets of tribal members; secondly, they want to sell to grocers in the area.  They are inspired by similar projects in the Netherlands.

YELLOW BIRD is the name of a recently published book with the subtitle “Oil, Murder, and a Woman's Search for Justice in Indian Country.”  Indian Country, in this case, refers to ND’s Ft. Berthold Reservation, home to the three tribes comprising the MHA Nation.  Author Sierra Crane Murdoch embedded herself for years in the life of Yellow Bird, a tribal member, who pursued a missing man eventually found to be murdered.  Based on Amazon reviews, many readers of the 400-page book consider it overly detailed and needing editing; an equal number revel in the detail about the tribes and the ND Oil Boom.

CANADIAN HAPPENINGS:

• The Whiskey Jacks are a Brandon, Manitoba, baseball team playing in Grand Forks this summer to participate in a U.S. league and avoid border restrictions.  The GF Herald said “give them a chance.”
• The Portal Port of Entry is in northwest ND where U.S. Highway 52 reaches the Canadian border.  Six million dollars of U.S.-bound marijuana (nearly two tons) were seized last week and in a separate stop $645,000 unreported Canadian dollars were seized.  These are indications, that while ND has not legalized marijuana, it will find its way to ND.
• Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister called it their “darkest days” as COVID swept the province.  The Manitoba health care system is overwhelmed.  This is a reversal of earlier conditions when Manitoba infection rates were low, while those in ND were high.  Columnist Mike Jacobs attributes the reversal to a shortage of vaccines in Canada.

MINNEAPOLIS is said to be calming after last year’s disruptions.  But consider the following from the StarTribune this week: “Minneapolis police are bringing in outside help as they try to temper violence that killed four people this weekend alone.  Mayor Jacob Frey said the city has asked state and federal agencies for assistance, citing the city's shortage of officers.”

MORE VIOLENCE  “Sunday, too, brought another death. Police suspect a man, whose name has not been released, was shot in the city's Hawthorne neighborhood. As people tried to rush him to the hospital to get treatment for his wounds, the car flipped,” police said.  Excluding that case, the city has had 31 homicides so far this year.

DAKTOIDS:  Dick Macko and his band are in the Minnesota Music Hall of Fame — his obituary stated “Macko idolized North Dakota-born band leader Lawrence Welk and Welk's accordionist Myron Floren” . . . ND is the first state in the nation to allow electronic posting of private land.