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Monday, June 20, 2016

SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - JUNE 20, 2016

“DOUG BURGUM is running from behind for ND governor . . . but don’t be quick to bet against him.” -- A quote from this newsletter on April 4, 2016. Burgum won the June Republican primary with a 3 to 2 edge over opponent Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem. Forum columnist Mike McFeely wrote: “It was a blowout of ridiculous proportions.” Almost no one saw it coming. Burgum is a heavy favorite to be elected governor against a Democratic opponent this fall.

CROSSOVERS Burgum won nearly 3 to 1 in his home county of Cass. Republicans voting for governor in Cass outnumbered Democrats 6 to 1 lending credence to observations that Burgum’s big edge came from crossover Democrats. Those same observers said Burgum’s support among Republicans was sufficiently strong he could have won without crossover. It is estimated that Burgum’s spending was 5 to 6 times that of Stenehjem making the election the most expensive in ND history.

WIDESPREAD VICTORY Columnist Mike Jacobs reported that Burgum carried 49 of 53 counties. Two of the holdout counties (Burke and Divide) were in the extreme northwest corner of the state. The other two were Mercer (Coal Country) and Standing Rock (a reservation county which tends to block-vote for Democrats).
RESET BUTTON Forum columnist Rob Port was a persistent critic of Burgum during the primary campaign. At times it seemed like a personal dislike -- Port says, "That's not true" and he is "going to start giving Burgum the benefit of the doubt." That sounds a little begrudging, but we shall see. Port's last word is "Anyway, I feel it's time I pressed the reset button."

MEASURE 1 would have loosened restrictions on corporate farming in ND by allowing corporate swine and dairy farms. It went down to a one-sided defeat. The Star Tribune referred to the measure as the “ham-and-cheese law.”

GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (a measure of the size of the economy) in ND dropped six percent in 2015. The mining category, which includes oil, was down 34% for the year. Agriculture was down 12% -- the third straight year of decline -- in 2014 ag was down 17% and in 2013 it was down 24%.

OVERREACHING REGULATIONS A federal appeals court concluded Minnesota does not have the authority to restrict purchases of electricity from ND’s coal-fired plants. The court ruled a Minnesota law with such restrictions is unconstitutional.

WELL-DESERVED The only two Nodaks to win two Olympic medals have been inducted into the ND Sports Hall of Fame. Twins Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux hold nearly every record in the UND women’s hockey program. Sykeston native Travis Hafner, a major league baseball star, was also inducted.

BEAUTIES IN WILLISTON A Delta flight from Minneapolis landed in Williston with especially attractive passengers. Six former Miss North Dakotas, now living in the Twin Cities area, emerged from the plane to be greeted by most of the last 30 Miss North Dakotas. The occasion was the 30th Miss North Dakota pageant held in Williston.

MISS GRAND FORKS became Miss North Dakota -- you could tell it was ND -- the other finalists were Misses Oil Country, Badlands, Northern Lights and Geographical Center.

TOM CLIFFORD’s career at UND seems more remarkable with passage of time. It’s not only what he did, but the way he did it, as he moved from student to instructor to Dean to President at UND, and ultimately chancellor of the ND university system. He always focused on student welfare, but did big things as well. Two examples: expanding the UND med school to four years and launching the highly successful aviation school. His accomplishments dwarf those of presidents to follow. Clifford died in 2009. (From a Forum article by Curtis Eriksmoen.)

A PEREGRINE FALCON CHICK has been named Marilyn. The chick and its three fellow chicks are perched atop the UND water tower. The chick was named after Marilyn Hagerty, the GF Herald’s famous 90-year-old food columnist. On the occasion of that birthday, she reviewed the Blue Moose restaurant in East Grand Forks giving special attention to the P.B.E.P. Burger -- “a unique burger smothered with peanut butter and topped with bacon and a fried egg.” Hagerty added “And that is not for me.”

WIN A FEW, LOSE A FEW Restaurants backed by the ND Farmers Union in Washington, D.C., have had ups and downs. One NDFU restaurant called The Founding Farmers is having a down. The Washington Post restaurant reviewer gave it a zero-star review and called it a “joke” and “sad state of affairs.” Another NDFU restaurant closed after name changes and several rescue attempts.

HERE HE COMES AGAIN In a period of one month, a man pumped gas 13 times at Little Duke’s station in West Fargo, each time driving off without paying. Finally (where were you, Little Duke?), Daniel Guthrie (33) was arrested and charged.

BLACKS AND PRISON Three Midwestern states stand out for incarcerating blacks at a high rate. Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin imprison blacks at ten times the rate for whites. The national average is five -- ND is slightly less at four.

DAKTOIDS: ND was punched particularly hard by the new federal overtime rules -- it’s the ninth most affected state -- Minn. with higher salaries is the second least affected state . . . ND has 1,300 registered drones -- Fargo, Bismarck and Grand Forks each have over 10 percent of the total . . . Baker, which is 15 miles west of ND, had the strongest tornado in Montana history last Saturday. 

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