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Wednesday, March 20, 2019

SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - MARCH 19, 2019

ROGUE CPA  Rene Johnson is a Watford City CPA who played loose with risky associates and clients.  One client was James Henrikson, a convicted felon, who had oilfield trucking businesses.  He is in federal prison for ordering the murder of two associates.  Johnson took $300,000 from other clients to make a short-term, high-risk investment with one of the associates before he was murdered.  Johnson’s crime was discovered when investigators seized Henrikson’s financial records.

LIGHT SENTENCE  At that point, it looked like Johnson faced prison time — the U.S. Attorney pushed for 1-1/2 years.  Federal Judge Daniel Hovland in Bismarck called it a “unique case” and sentenced Johnson to 100 hours of community service and two years of supervised probation.  What was unique?  Before being caught, Johnson had arranged for her clients to be paid back with interest.  A capable attorney and a sympathetic judge got Johnson a good deal.  However, she is not out of the woods and must deal with the ND Board of Accountancy regarding the felony conviction and status of her CPA license.

A LITTLE SUNSHINE  For several years, the state has been lowering budgets to reflect the downturn in oil and farming.  Lawmakers are mildly optimistic about the 2019-2021 budget cycle and raised estimates of general fund revenues based on forecasts released this week.

HAPPINESS TIME  Fargo was selected as the 6th happiest city among the nation’s 180 largest cities;  Bismarck was No. 11 and Sioux Falls No. 15 in the same WalletHub ranking.  Plato, Texas, and Irvine, California, were the happiest.  The unhappiest cities, such as Detroit and Cleveland, were largely in the Great Lakes area.

REPRISAL?  Last week, I mentioned a damning set of criticisms against ND Corrections head Leann Bertsch reported in the Dickinson Press.  Columnist Rob Port says most of the criticisms came from Dickinson area politicians angered by her recommendation to close the women’s prison in New England.

PRAIRIE FRAUD ARTISTS  The tri-state area is seeing a rash of mega ag frauds:  First, the manager of a co-op grain elevator in Ashby, Minnesota, ran off with over $5 million, pretty much destroying the cooperative.  Then a 21-year-old grain trader stiffed ND grain traders and farmers for over $7 million.  Not to be outdone, a Corsica, SD, man sold the same cattle to as many as four parties and is missing 27,800 head.  He owes a sorrowful SD bank $7 million.

“IT’S SPITTING INTO THE WIND. This debate is over . . . Legalization is the de facto law of the land.” — Minot Daily News editorial regarding legalization of marijuana.  The paper had previously resisted both medical and recreational use, but now says “Fighting the inevitable trend is an effort in futility.”

NO RIOT BOOSTING  South Dakota passed legislation with penalties for “riot boosting,” that is, contributing money to encourage violent protesters.  The law is aimed at out-of-state money of the type that funded violent protests in ND in connection with the Dakota Access Pipeline.  Two Sioux tribes said they are pulling out of a State-Tribal Relations Day ceremony in Pierre, because they were not consulted about the protest bill.  The controversy comes in connection with the Keystone XL pipeline — counsel for the SD governor said the pipeline does not intersect with tribal land.

JOIN THE PARTY  You are well aware of the controversy surrounding first-term U.S. Rep. Ilhand Omar from Minnesota.  She has supporters, particularly in Muslim and Somali communities.  Ruth Buffalo, ND’s first Native American state representative, decided to join the party and reported she was attacked for supporting Omar.  Columnist Rob Port said law enforcement was unable to find any legitimate threat against Buffalo.  Both Buffalo and Omar are NDSU grads.

NDSU NEWS  The school announced the $50 million Sheila and Robert Challey Institute for Global Innovation and Growth, which will focus on trade, global innovation and economic growth.  Donors have pledged $30 million.  Challey is a NDSU graduate who became a California real estate developer . . . NDSU says 80 percent of its grads stay in ND and Minnesota and receive median starting salaries of $49,000.

USAF MAJ. GENERAL DARROL SCHROEDER (88) was called “a legend in the world of North Dakota aviation” in a Forum editorial.  He logged 22,000 hours flying over 130 different type of aircraft.  Later, he took on broader tasks like co-founding the Fargo Air Museum.  His military career was extraordinary, but was only part of the totality of his career.  The editorial mentioned he had a successful farming partnership, ran an aviation firm, a fertilizer business and a travel agency.  His obituary listed many corporate board positions, including chairman of MeritCare Health System.  Schroeder was a NDSU graduate in Animal Husbandry, who also served as Director of Business Development for UND Aerospace.  Another little task, Commandant of the ND Veteran’s Home.

DID YOU KNOW 3,500 to 4,000 Liberians live in the F-M area?  Some could be deported as the Deferred Enforced Departure program is coming to an end.  The program provided temporary refuge for natives of the war-torn, poverty-stricken West African country.

DAKTOIDS:  About 25 percent of the electrical power in ND is generated by wind — recently, when temperatures dropped below negative 20 degrees, many of the turbines shutdown, as they are designed to do . . . What happens to a dead Sears store — in a Fargo shopping center part of a former Sears store is now home to 5 restaurants.

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