Dakota Beacon

BRANDON BOCHENSKI used his State of the City address to assess his first year as mayor of Grand Forks.  He was most proud of the way the city held steady during the pandemic — the city completed the year with bigger cash reserves than it began.  He was able to grant city employees a small raise while cutting the budget and creating a property tax cut.  In an editorial, the GF Herald prepared a report card on his first year — they agreed, the city stayed in good shape during the pandemic and the credit must go to Bochenski.  The Herald indicated now the tough going begins — the city needs economic stabilization, growth and development.

A LOST DECADE  Grand Forks may no longer be the core city for a metropolitan area — the federal government plans to limit that distinction to cities over 100,000 — GF is about 56,000.  Ordinarily that would be a manageable disappointment, but GF has had a decade of disappointments.  GF has had very little growth since 2010, while Bismarck has grown 16% and Fargo nearly 18%.  The poor growth is explained by multiple factors, such as the hangover from the flood, downsizing at the Air Force Base, loss of key retailers and a shift of business interest to the Oil Patch.  This means, as the Herald editorial suggested, GF needs a solid plan for economic growth.

NOT ENTHUSIASTIC“  The best next step for this proposal is to file it and then stash it deep in a cabinet or, preferably, in a wastebasket. At the least, the decision should be delayed until more can be known about its long-term impact.” — The GF Herald was not enthusiastic about a federal proposal to reclassify the GF area from “metro” to “micropolitan.” Bismarck would get the same treatment.

IS THIS GOING TO BE A PROBLEM?  ND went from being a leader in bad coronavirus outcomes to a leader in good outcomes.  The governor then lifted the state’s mask mandate.  Since then, new and active cases have been rising.  After Feb. 28 the number of active cases rose from 553 to Thursday’s count of 888, a 60% increase.  Fargo is at the heart of the problem with 45% of the cases; the four largest cities have 70%.  Because seniors have been vaccinated, new cases are younger people who are less likely to have severe cases and require hospitalization.

TAPPING THE LEGACY FUND  ND is launching a program to invest more of the $8 billion Legacy Fund assets in the state.  In this respect, the State Investment Board heard presentations by three firms who are candidates to manage an in-state investment program targeting a 3% allocation from the Legacy Fund.  That may sound like small change, but 3% of the Legacy Fund is over $240 million.  It is expected to take months or even years to fully implement the program.  Another 5% of the Legacy Fund is invested with the Bank of North Dakota for a business loan program.

PERFECT ACT SCORES  Four high school seniors in ND had perfect scores on the ACT college entrance exam.  As you might expect, three were from large high schools in Grand Forks and Fargo.  The fourth was from Wilton (pop. 800) High School.  Owen Conoly (17) has been accepted by and will probably attend MIT, possibly the nation’s best science and engineering school.

A HIPPO AND 99 MORE  Are you in the mood for a big hippo head for the wall in your home’s man cave?  If so, you are in luck, the taxidermy collection of Jerry Hennessey, who embezzled $5 million from the Ashby, Minnesota, Cooperative Elevator, is for sale. The hippo is a steal at $1,500.  If you are a little more flush, a big horn sheep is $4,500.  There about 100 items for sale for which the co-op’s attorney hopes to raise $100,000 — not much of a dent in $5 million.  Hennessey is carefully watching the sale from federal prison. 

FISH STORY  Abu Garcia is a renowned manufacturer of fishing equipment.  For their 100th anniversary, they prepared a list of 100 lakes and rivers considered the best fishing destinations in the country.  No. 4 on the list was the Red River, no, not the famous Red River in Texas, but the muddy Red River of the north.  The attraction seems to be catfish.  Devils Lake is 18th on the list and Lake Sakakawea is 28th.

DID SD WIN ITS BET?  The international Economist magazine discussed South Dakota’s experience with the pandemic.  It first noted that the state had “particularly loose covid-19 restrictions.”  But the state presently has the lowest unemployment rate in the nation and its economy dropped only slightly during the pandemic, a much better result than the rest of the nation.  On the negative side, SD has the 8th highest pandemic death rate.  All in all, SD has been able to maintain its economy without disastrous health outcomes.  Moving to a delicate subject, high covid-19 death rates correlate strongly with overweight conditions.  Could this have contributed to higher death rates in ND and SD?

WHY MINNESOTA?  There are 52,000 Somali in Minnesota, the largest number of any state.  Smaller numbers of Somali can be found the ND cities of Fargo and Grand Forks, both on the Minnesota border.  Why Minnesota?  Research by the Minneapolis StarTribune indicates initially there was a singular attraction — jobs at packing plants in Minnesota.  Lutheran Social Services sponsored additional Somali refugees who were attracted by jobs and a welcoming attitude.  The news spread by word of mouth and many secondary refugees (those who had gone to other states) joined the Somalis in Minnesota.  A highpoint for primary refugees was 2006 when 3,600 came to the state — policies of the Trump administration reduced that number to 50 in 2018.

DAKTOIDS:  NDSU football returned to form beating UND 34-13 in the Fargodome . . . UND hockey plays Saturday against American International (a spoiler) at 8:30 p.m. (CST) in Fargo’s Scheels Arena . . . Minnesota’s first-generation immigrants have started their own businesses at a much lower rate than the rest of the country.