SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - MARCH 15, 2021
YOU BE THE JUDGE When Forum columnist Mike McFeely wrote the following was he “telling it like it is” or “being mean-spirited:” “Rural conservatives and Republican state legislators probably aren't hoping for that. Given their disdain for Minneapolis and the people who live there — especially those who don't match the skin color of their white rural neighbors — they'd probably like to see the city burn.” McFeely’s context was the trial of police officer Derek Chauvin, who is charged with the murder of George Floyd. McFeely suggests that Minnesotans outside the Minneapolis metro area might be pleased by further riots and looting as a result of the trial. Selection of jurors for the trial was underway this week.
INSULT OR BENEFIT? “Why not use something as hysterical as the movie ‘Fargo’ to get people here. Then, when they get here, they can see the richness and the diversity, as well. And that’s a really cool thing.” — Fargo Theatre Executive Director Margie Bailly on the 25th anniversary of the movie “Fargo.” She believes the movie has been good for Fargo and her remarks counter those residents who feel the movie is an insulting portrayal of the area.
HOW HAPPY CAN YOU BE? Fremont, Calif., was selected as the happiest city in the nation. But right behind were Bismarck and Fargo, No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. Bismarck scored high in Emotional and Physical Well-being; Fargo in Income and Employment.
THE EMPIRE BUILDER was cut to three days a week between Chicago and Seattle/Portland. Montana Sen. Jon Tester proposed legislation included in the new COVID-19 relief bill which gives Amtrak $166 million to restore daily service. The Empire Builder services a dozen communities in Montana, more than any other state.
THE DAKOTA ACCESS PIPELINE is currently carrying about 500,000 barrels a day of ND crude oil, roughly half the state’s production. The Fargo Forum carried an update of the somewhat perilous status of the DAPL as parent-company Energy Transfer awaits a report from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Energy Transfer estimates that shutting down the pipeline would result in a $7.5 billion loss to ND — that is considered to be on the high side, but most agree losses would be in the billions.
CORN AND SOYBEAN PRICES hit multiyear highs in February 2021 and saw multiyear lows in the spring of 2020. In between those two points most ND farmers sold out, meaning many missed the highest prices. Increased buying by China is the biggest factor in the high prices.
MANCUR OLSON is the most renowned economist you never heard of. When he died in 1998 at age 66, he was the featured obituary in the international Economist magazine. Consistent with the low profile he kept during his career, he is buried in a modest grave in a prairie cemetery near Buxton (an I-29 town between Fargo and Grand Forks). Olson was an economist’s economist — his work is well known within the economics profession worldwide. He graduated from NDSU, was a Rhodes Scholar, obtained a Harvard PhD and spent the majority of his career on the faculty of the U. of Maryland. Olson was the author of a number of books — the most well known is “The Logic of collective Action and The Theory of Groups.” He has been recommended for the ND Roughrider Award and the Scandinavian Hall of Fame. He deserves both.
DOWNGRADED Bismarck is about to lose its status as the core of a metropolitan statistical area (MSA). The federal government is making a population of 100,000 the threshold for the core of a MSA. This could have a modest impact on eligibility for federal benefits. Grand Forks; Mankato, MN; Rapid City, SD; and Missoula, MT; are in the same boat.
MAN BITES DOG The usually liberal Minneapolis StarTribune had a decidedly unfriendly editorial about President Joe Biden. An editorial more likely to be seen in, say, the Minot Daily News. The editorial noted Biden had gone farther into his term without a press conference than any recent president. Biden was criticized on many fronts, but the principal allegation was that the White House had a media strategy of celebrating victories and limiting “unforced errors from a historically gaffe-prone politician.”
MINNESOTA HAS BEST LONG-TERM CORONAVIRUS RATES An editorial in the StarTribune boasted that Minnesota was the best in the Upper Midwest for overall per capita coronavirus death and case rates. For this purpose the Upper Midwest was defined as the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Iowa. SD had the highest death rate followed by ND, which had the highest case rate trailed by SD. If you look at recent short-term rates, relationships reverse, ND has the lowest per capita death rate in the Upper Midwest, while ND and Wisconsin were tied for the lowest case rate.
CONFUSION ABOUT DEADLY FORCE With little notice, Minnesota has issued complicated guidelines to law enforcement about the use of deadly force. The initial reaction from Minnesota agencies is the law is ambiguous and makes it more difficult for a police officer to do his job. The law presents an even greater difficulty for ND officers in communities along the Minnesota border. If they enter Minnesota on mutual aid, they must be trained to distinguish Minnesota requirements in the use of deadly force from their own. For the present, ND agencies such as Fargo and Cass County have informed Minnesota counterparts they will not go east of the Red River, citing lack of training and understanding of the new law.
DAKTOIDS: The Fargo Forum had an editorial about the expulsion of Rep. Luke Simons from the ND Legislature. The gist: “He deserved it, only it took too long”
. . . Remote sellers paid ND $11 million more sales tax for online sales in 2020 than they did in 2019 — thank COVID-19 . . . Because ND is more liberal with vaccinations, hundreds of Minnesotans may have crossed the border . . . The football teams at both UND and NDSU won games last week — UND is ranked No. 3 nationally and NDSU is ranked No. 5.
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