SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - MARCH 16, 2014
Bell State Bank in Fargo is closing accounts of customers that transfer money to Somalia. The change is a result of stricter federal regulations. The bank was used by ND Somali and some Minnesota Somali, who used ND banks because of greater transfer restrictions at Minnesota banks. Transfers can be legal or illegal. An article in the Bismarck Tribune said there are about 1,000 people of Somali ancestry living in ND. Most are in the Fargo area. Somali leaders and a Twin Cities money service denounced the changes and claim the banks are overreacting.
The FBI in Minneapolis has an ongoing investigation into the recruiting and radicalism of Somali youth. This wariness springs from 22 young men who left Minnesota to join the al-Shabab terrorist organization in Somalia and because of al-Shabab fundraising in Minnesota.
Jamal Abdulahi, chair of the Somali Caucus and a director of the DFL Party in Minnesota, said in a StarTribune commentary that Somali leaders in Minneapolis “consider the case closed” and that “it was all much ado about nothing.” Abdulahi says the Somali are misunderstood because of “unfair and damaging coverage in the press.” He believes misunderstanding is furthered by the news media in two ways: First, “sensational headlines,” and, second, by ignoring “heroic efforts by the vast majority of Somalis.” Media bias is a widespread belief in the Somali community.
"For Minnesota to go in the opposite direction of virtually every other state sends a terrible message and would be the wrong way to go." -- The reaction of the educational policy director of the Minnesota Business Partnership to a proposal to scrap the teacher skills test in Minnesota. Opponents of the change see the proposal as an effort to “dumb down” teacher requirements. Supporters of the proposal claim the test is “culturally biased” and keeps minority teachers out of the classroom.
Ibrahim Kardor (20) was arrested in Fargo for a recent convenience store robbery. Fargo’s police chief said there is a public misconception that convenience store holdups happen weekly. However, he did say that Fargo had a second consecutive year of increased crime. Crimes that stood out were burglary (up 49%), robberies (31%) and assaults (25%).
“FX’s “Fargo” likely won’t earn many points around here for fair, accurate depictions of our lives in Fargo.” -- A quote from a Forum review of an upcoming TV series built around the 1996 film “Fargo.” The series may be a poor depiction of Fargo, but it does promise to be bleak and gruesome.
Do Nodaks gloat too much? This is an excerpt from a letter in the Forum: “I have lived in Moorhead 51 years, and I have enjoyed every minute of it. I would never move to Fargo or anywhere in North Dakota. This is my hometown, and I love it. It’s heartbreaking to see the prejudice The Forum has with negativity toward Moorhead. It’s time to be fair.”
“It’s a worry that if the hospital closes, the town will fold as well.” -- A representative of the UND Center for Rural Health which surveyed health needs in 36 ND communities. A shortage of health care workers was a concern in three-fourths of the communities. The financial viability of the local hospital was an issue in many of the rural communities surveyed.
The Williston School District has 128 homeless students. Students who live in transitional housing such as campers are considered homeless. Williston’s population is estimated to be 30,000 -- double the 2010 census.
Lloyd Swendsbye (83) grew up in Hamlet, now a ghost town in Williams County. Lloyd acquired higher education at Concordia, the Luther Seminary (ordained as a Lutheran minister), and Columbia University in New York City (Doctorate in Divinity). He held many high level academic and church positions retiring as president of Augustana College. Not bad for a Hamlet boy. Swendsbye’s obituary said he was very proud of being Norwegian and “took great pleasure in being a very simple North Dakota farm boy.”
DAKTOIDS: The ND Historical Society may be good at history, but not so good at construction management. Galleries at the Heritage Center scheduled to open last July will open, maybe, in May . . . The same old story -- the Nadeau sisters, Holly (23) and Ivy(20), were killed when thrown from an SUV in a rollover on I-29 between Fargo and Grand Forks. No seat belts . . . Tribune columnist Clay Jenkinson believes special places in western ND are undervalued because most Nodaks live well east of Bismarck . . . Bruce Gjovig, CEO of the UND Center for Innovation, received the national 2014 Ronald Reagan Award for “fighting in the trenches for conservative principles.” Gjovig is also a leader in Norwegian initiatives in ND.
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