Dakota Beacon

COVID  ND had 19 cases on Thursday spread between the four counties in which Bismarck, Fargo, Mandan and Minot are located.  The Bismarck-Mandan area was ND's epicenter with 15 of the 19 cases.  SD had 14 cases and Minnesota 89 (clustered in or near the Twin Cities).  

DISTURBING AGREEMENT  Rob Port reported the following comments by Bernie Sanders and Joe Biden during debates.  Sanders: “I’m talking about stopping fracking ... No ifs, buts and maybes about it.”  Biden: “So am I.”  Those measures would begin to close one of ND’s major industries.  ND’s Bakken oil fields have already been hit by recent low oil prices which are below the breakeven of many producers.

THE BIG GET BIGGER  How is ND’s other large industry doing?  A Wells Fargo economist told an audience of farmers that the economic performance of the bottom quarter of farms had been at breakeven or below for the past three years.  At the same time, the most efficient farmers had a return on assets of as much as 12 percent.  Michael Swanson said there is “a continued and growing gap in the economic performance between the most efficient and the least” and “top producers want to get bigger.”

“THE STATE TREASURER is responsible for overseeing state funds and handling certain matters of accounting and tax distribution and collections. The treasurer also sits on six statewide boards, including the State Investment Board and the Board of University and School Lands.” — The duties of ND’s treasurer as described in the Dickinson Press.  In other words, this position is involved in managing billions of dollars.  The current treasurer, Kelly Schmidt, is retiring.  Her replacement should be someone with substantial financial management experience, perhaps, also a CPA or MBA.  So far the candidates for election have been uninspiring.  For example, Democratic candidate Mark Haugen (58) works as a paramedic and has run unsuccessfully for the state Legislature thee times.

LIVESTREAMING AT THE CAPITOL  ND's Legislature is one of eight in the nation that does not livestream at least some committee meetings.  In the fall, legislative leaders will decide whether to expand a live-streaming pilot project at the Capitol.

THE ND LIBERTARIAN PARTY held its annual convention in Bismarck last Saturday with 15-20 people in attendance.  They endorsed DuWayne Hendrickson of Minot for governor and Joshua Voytek for lieutenant governor.  Both ran previously for statewide office, but have never held an elected position.  The party lost election status in 2018, but regained it for 2020.

LEGACY FUND FOUNDERS is the way Robert Harms and Dave Weiler of Bismarck described themselves in a letter to the state’s daily papers.  Their main point was that the $7 billion Legacy Fund was designed to be a permanent way of providing consistent state revenue after the oil industry has its eventual downturn.  The state has heavy reliance on oil taxes — the General Fund receives 27% of its revenue from that single source.   The authors advised saving (reinvesting) 75% of the fund’s earnings. They urged that any spending of fund earnings be “based upon long-term strategic planning, not short-term spending demands.”

SMOOTH OUT THE BUMPS   Mark Hagerott, the Chancellor of the ND University System, says budget instability over a period of years has disrupted the state’s campuses.  As a result, faculty and staff have been vulnerable to recruiting by West Coast schools.  Hagerott refers to it as a “brain drain” — young faculty prove themselves in ND only to be lured away.  He would like to see a Higher Education Stabilization Fund to countervail budget swings.  Where would the money come from to establish the fund, surprise, earnings from the state Legacy Fund.  The NDUS is already seeking money from the Legacy Fund for research (UND and NDSU) and innovation.   

THE DAKOTA ACCESS PIPELINE demonstrations in ND received major support from organizations outside the Dakotas.  SD is expecting more pipeline construction and has a new law which attempts to restrict those who don’t participate in pipeline demonstrations themselves, but support and encourage force or violence.  The legislation is commonly called the riot boosting bill.  The ACLU is challenging SD statutes on rioting and is also trying to hire an Indigenous Justice Organizer for its Rapid City office.

THE DEM-NPL CAUCUSES in ND drew a peculiar range of reactions.  A reminder, Bernie Sanders (53%) easily beat Joe Biden (40%).  Columnist Jack Zalecki (a liberal) viewed the outcome as a disaster saying the party had been appropriated by a cabal of lefties.  He concluded the “North Dakota Democrats are doddering in a self-made political wilderness.”  Columnist Rob Port (a conservative) judged the caucuses a success because they produced “an energetic and engaged core group of activists.”  A Forum editorial took a different direction.  The Forum declared that the badly organized Democratic caucuse should be replaced by a state-run primary. 

ND DEMOS CONCENTRATED IN TWO CITIES  The Herald said the Democrats in ND are “increasingly penned in urban areas along the Minnesota border.”  The Democrats in ND have 25 legislative seats — of those, 60% are in Fargo and Grand Forks.

THE NORSK HOSTFEST used an abundance of caution.  It canceled its annual festival in September-October because of concerns about COVID.  The Hostfest claims to be the largest Scandinavian festival in North America with attendance around 60,000.  The festival requires a large amount of advance preparation conducted mostly by retired volunteers.  Hostfest President David Reiten noted many were in a “high risk” category for the virus and he “deemed it prudent to cancel.”

AN ENDLESS BELT OF GRAIN  Cargill is an agri-business giant based in Minnetonka, Minnesota.  The company has historically been a major player in ND.  Whitney MacMillan (90), who died last week, was the last member of his family to lead the company.  In his Star Tribune column, “Minnesota may never see another business leader like Whitney MacMillan,” Lee Schafer included the following: “Among the legacies MacMillan inherited was one from his uncle John MacMillan Jr., who led Cargill beginning in the 1930s. Even back then his uncle talked about Cargill creating ‘an endless belt of grain,’ imagining a big conveyor belt running from the wheat farms of North Dakota to the flour mills of Europe.”