Dakota Beacon

COMPARISONS  A good way of comparing states’ coronavirus experience is a per capita comparison (number per 100,000 population).  On that basis, the national per capita infection rate is about 500 — on a comparable basis MT was 45, ND 326, MN 407 and SD at 542, a little above the national rate.  Using virus deaths, the national rate is about 30 — MT 2, SD 6, ND 8 and MN 17, all less than half the national average.  Montana is among the lowest in the nation on both measurements.

CASS COUNTY IS THE BAD BOY  Columnist Jim Shaw makes the case that Cass County should be singled out for special  COVID-19 restrictions.  He says ND counties with zero infections, such as Billings and Griggs, should be allowed to go about their business.  Cass has 79% of the state’s active cases and over 75% of its deaths.

NEVER COMPLAIN, NEVER EXPLAIN  State Health Officer Mylynn Tufte resigned in the middle of the pandemic.  She oversees the ND Department of Health.  Gov. Burgum almost immediately appointed a successor and no further explanation was offered.

MINNEAPOLIS is identified as one of four metros in the nation with rising coronavirus infection rates.  Last Saturday, the city had 2,339 positive cases of which 36% were black residents.  Within Minneapolis, a cluster of cases has developed in the Cedar Riverside community which is largely Somali.

MINNESOTA new cases continued at a high level (600-800 a day).  The state’s nursing homes are a special problem — 200 facilities have infections and account for 81% of the state’s coronavirus deaths, the highest rate in the nation.

THE ONCE MIGHTY ARE FALLING  The Fargo Forum is eliminating its carrier force and most of its circulation department because the paper will be printed only on Wednesday and Saturday and delivered by mail.  The Forum has two-thirds of its readership online and is becoming increasingly digital.

GOV. BURGUM contributed $875,000 to the Dakota Leadership PAC which is heavily involved in the ND primaries.  House Appropriations Chair Jeff Delzer, who has frustrated Burgum on several occasions, is one of the targets of the PAC.  House Majority Leader Chet Pollert sees Burgum’s role as “interference” in the primaries.  Some other Republican leaders have similar concerns.

A MUDDLE  Burgum has also endorsed state Rep. Thomas Beadle of Fargo for Treasurer and Sen. Kevin Cramer has endorsed Beadle’s opponent, Rep. Dan Johnston of Kathryn.  Pres. Trump joined the picture with a tweet for Johnston.  These actions as well as Delzer’s race (above) have been the subject of the week for columnists (Jacobs and Port), news articles (Bismarck Tribune and Forum News Service) and a GF Herald editorial.  The rifts are seen as unusual, if not unprecedented; Trump’s interest in a second level state race in ND adds a further complication.   

DOUBLE BEN  Fargo District 46 has two Ben Hansons running as Democrats for state representative.  There are two openings, so it is possible for both to win.  Both Bens have similar ages, educations  and backgrounds. Their middle initials differ providing a subtle distinction.  They believe they both benefit from their unusual name recognition.

NORMA FROM ND was a self-reference used by singer Peggy Lee, who would have been 100 years old last Tuesday.  Norma Deloris Egstrom from Courtenay, ND, was 17 when she was renamed in Fargo.  Shortly after, she left for Los Angeles and eventual fame for songs such as “Fever” and “Is That All There Is?”  Her life was often hard, she could be difficult and one songwriter characterized her as working off anger.  She chose her granddaughter, Holly Foster Wells, to manage her considerable estate.  Foster Wells said that now, 18 years after her grandmother’s death, Lee’s music is more popular than it has been for decades.

JOHN STRAND is a journalist, former Fargo School Board member and a current Fargo City Commissioner, who is now running for his second term.  He was profiled in a Forum article.  Strand grew up secretly gay in Crystal, ND (Pembina County).  He now considers that preference to have given him a gift of empathy.  Strand advocates for minorities, women and the LGBTQ community, everybody, that is, except straight white men.

WHAT TO DO FOR A DOOMED INDUSTRY?  Columnist Lloyd Omdahl said the ND “coal industry is doomed by forces beyond our control” and “the state should be prepared to make the crash less painful.”  What should be done?  Pamela Trklik, a representative of the Laborers International Union, had a partial answer.  She said the members of her union should be trained for new skills in natural gas pipelines and distribution, gas-fired plants, and wind and solar installation.  Trklik said the state should foster investment in those industries.

OIL WASTE is defined in ND law as production of oil below market cost and in excess of market demand, and requires the state to take action to prevent it.  A hearing was held before the ND Industrial Commission to determine if, in this period of  low prices, oil waste was occurring.  Continental Resources, one of the largest oil producers in ND and the nation, favored a declaration of “oil waste” and related production restrictions — Continental appeared interested in reducing oil supply to strengthen oil prices.  The ND Petroleum Council, representing the majority of producers, said its members had already curtailed production voluntarily and should remain free to base decisions on individual circumstances and contracts.

DAKTOIDS:  John Hopkins U. ranked ND No. 2 state in testing.  ND’s testing is led by Brig. Gen. Robert Schulte who said their success is due to early ramping up . . . ND state prisons released 100 inmates and slowed acceptance of new inmates, thereby doing more than any other state to reduce its prison population . . . The western half of ND is unusually dry and the portion west of the Missouri River has moderate drought.