Dakota Beacon

BRANDON BOCHENSKI’S WIN in Grand Forks against long-time incumbent Mayor Mike Brown was one of the biggest surprises coming out of ND’s June elections.  Writer Sam Easter took a stab at analyzing the causes.  His GF Herald article speculates Brown was hurt by the collapse of retailing in GF and Brown was also perceived to have been passive about a coronavirus outbreak at LM Wind Power, the city's leading manufacturer.  As to vote getting, Bochenski won every one of GF’s seven wards.  He pulled particularly well in GF’s more affluent south end (where Brown lives).  Easter echoed a popular thought: “But Bochenski’s victory must not diminish the work done by Brown these past two decades. The gentleman doctor should be commended for a job well done as we begin a new era in city leadership.”

ACTUALLY, IT WAS THE ECONOMY  “It's like, we're going to go with this guy — who has no experience.” — Mayor Brown’s slightly bitter reference to mayor-elect Brandon Bochenski.  An irony, 20 years ago Brown was elected with no experience.  Brown believes he improved the health of Grand Forks’ civic, artistic and economic life.  Bochenski believes the city’s flat employment and lack of growth were more important.

THE LEGACY FUND receives 30% of ND’s oil tax revenue.  In April, that was $10 million, the lowest monthly deposit in the history of the fund.  The low monthly amount was caused by a combination of low oil prices and low ND production.  The fund market value declined at the start of the pandemic, but has now largely recovered its $7 billion value.

FIRST THE GOOD NEWS  ND met its flaring goals for the first time — 91% of gas was captured.  The reason is not encouraging — in May, oil production slipped below a million barrels per day leaving ample capacity to process natural gas.  Oil production had recently been over 1.4 million barrels a day.  A significant portion of Bakken wells are reported to be shut down.  That’s not quite accurate — many of the idled wells are kept alive and operated briefly each day to keep the systems working.  This means some production could return quickly.  A totally closed well is very expensive to restart.

BUSINESS INSIDER says, when the pandemic ends, residents of large cities will be ready to flock to smaller cities which offer more space and are economically attractive.  Business Insider prepared a list of 30 U.S. destination cities.  Springfield, IL, topped the list, Jefferson City, MO, was second and Fargo was third followed by No. 9 Bismarck.  Factors considered included education levels, housing affordability, commute time and cost of living. 

SHRINK THE MENTAL HOSPITAL  The State Hospital in Jamestown consists of five obsolete buildings on a property covering roughly half a square mile.  The hospital provides substance abuse treatment, mental health care and a sex offender program for 200 patients.  A study indicates that a new facility less than half the current size would better serve the needs of the state.  The hospital superintendent said current facilities are not designed for modern care.  This presentation was made to the hospital’s governing board.  The next step is formulating a building budget for submission to the Legislature.

WHAT’S THE SCORE ON COVID-19?  To meaningfully compare states, it’s necessary to use data on a per capita basis.  On that basis, last Saturday the U.S. had 634 cumulative cases and 35 deaths per 100,000 residents.  SD cases at 659 were fairly close to the U.S number.  MN was 536, ND was 402, while MT was an absurdly low 55.  All four states were well below the national rate on deaths.  MN was highest at 23, ND was 10, SD 8, and MT once again was out of range at 2.  A Minnesota senator said that state was a national outlier for having 80% of its deaths in long-term care facilities.

SPEEDING IS CHEAPER IN ND  A California driver was stopped and fined $285 for driving 132 mph on I-94 near W. Fargo.  If this had happened in California, the fine would have been double and the driver’s license suspended.  A GF Herald editorial said “super speeders” in ND should be hit with large fines, suspensions or jail time.

IT WAS ABOUT TIME  Have you become overly fond of your old books?  This appears to have been the case at the ND Supreme Court Law Library where they are discarding 67,000 books which are either obsolete or available online.  The court administrator said, "As a book lover, it's very difficult to watch this collection go out the door.”

LOGO CLOTHING  Bars, restaurants and colleges — have you ever wondered where all those logo shirts are produced.  Look no further than the CI Sport factory in Fargo where 110 employees in the most automated facility of its kind in the U.S send products to 50 states.  The business began in 1990 and this March moved into a new 75,000 square-foot factory.

MICROAGGRESSIONS  You may think of Duluth as a rugged, northern city free of many of the politically correct inflictions of coastal cities.  Well, maybe.  Duluth Mayor Emily Larson believes the city needs to be “more gender-neutral and sensitive to other cultures.”  What does she want to do?  For starters, she wants to remove the word “chief” from titles in the city charter.  When asked to explain, she said “it is language that is offensive to people who are indigenous” and the word may tilt towards masculine.  No more chief financial officer.

DAKTOIDS:  ND is one of a handful of states where neither African Americans nor Latinos make up 5% of the total population . . . Beginning Oct. 1, Amtrak plans to reduce most long-distance trains to three days a week — that includes the Empire Builder that runs daily between Seattle and Chicago stopping in seven ND cities . . . ND University System Chancellor Mark Hagerott had a novel thought — the pandemic bodes well for attendance at ND’s smallest universities, such as Mayville State.