Dakota Beacon

NOBODY STANDS OUT  ND and the three states on its border have coronavirus cases per capita which are similar.  Yesterday, ND had 58 cases while Minnesota had 346 cases.  While the number of Minnesota cases is increasing rapidly, it may interest you to know that on a per capita basis, ND has over seven cases per 100,000 residents, somewhat higher than its neighbors.  Bismarck-Mandan is the hotspot in ND with a majority of the state’s cases.  Beadle (Huron) County and the Sioux Falls area have a majority of the SD cases.

IT AIN’T WHAT IT SEEMS  Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz ordered his residents to “stay at home.”  An analysis of the order indicated about 78% of the workforce was exempted.  So far, states to the west (ND, SD, WY and MT) have not followed Minnesota’s lead.  

A BLACK SWAN EVENT is something rare and unexpected with major consequences.  The COVID-19 crisis may be such an event, but ND is also experiencing an additional Black Swan event caused by an oil price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia.  Idled wells and reduced drilling have led to a spike in ND unemployment claims.  Purchases of drilling supplies are a major source of sales tax and reduced drilling has knocked down that important state revenue.  Oil taxes are based on oil prices, so more revenue is also being lost because of unusually low prices.  Smaller production companies may face bankruptcy.  There are so many changes occurring at one time, ND’s Office of Management and Budget has suspended revenue forecasting.

THE COAL INDUSTRY IS TOAST — it’s on its way out.  Lloyd Omdahl says ND leaders should accept that reality and plan ahead for the gradual closure of coal-fired generators.  He said the plant closures are inevitable and ND should position itself to help the employees and communities involved.

DON’T SHUT THE INDUSTRY DOWN.  “Let’s rally around Team North Dakota – a consortium of state, federal, private and industry parties – working together to develop cost-effective technology solutions.” — Letter to the Forum from Jason Bohrer.  Although not identified in the letter, he is president and CEO of the Lignite Energy Council.  He said a project is progressing through engineering, which, if approved, will permit the Young Station near Center, ND, to capture and store CO2.  Bohrer indicated Omdahl’s anti-coal opinion was ill-timed.

GIVE DRONES A CHANCE  Sen. John Hoeven is urging just that.  He has asked the FAA to grant waivers to allow drones to make low risk deliveries of urgent needs such as food and medicine.  His letter to the FAA administrator asks that small unmanned aerial systems be allowed to make the deliveries and reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19. 

SEN. KEVIN CRAMER gave us a new excuse for indiscriminate writing.  In reference to Nancy Pelosi, he tweeted “she’s retarded.”   No, no, he said he meant “ridiculous,” not “retarded.”  He quickly withdrew the tweet, apologized and agreed retarded was not a nice thing to say.  Cramer blames “fat fingers” and his computer’s auto-correct function.

MAY NOT NEED THE SANDBAGS  “A very manageable spring flood is certainly good news.” — Fargo weatherman John Wheeler.  Unusually dry weather is reducing the risk of spring flooding in the Red River Valley.

BISMARCK STATE COLLEGE has a new president.  Douglas Jensen of Rock Valley College in Illinois was chosen from three finalists by the State Board of Higher Education.

ND JAILS are a little less crowded after the state parole board released 56 low-risk offenders early.  A similar action was taken by courts in Grand Forks and Fargo.  The actions were taken because of Covid-19 concerns.  The ACLU was dismayed that pretrial release for low-level offenders hadn’t been used earlier.

THE U.S. CENSUS BUREAU released population estimates for 2019 — the last estimates before the 2020 census.  A good share of ND counties had little or no growth since 2010.  The big exceptions:  Cass County (Fargo), Burleigh (Bismarck) County and the Oil Patch counties.  Williams (Williston) and McKenzie (Watford City) had particularly high growth.  Williams was the fastest growing county in the nation from 2010 to 2019.  McKenzie, which grew 136%, didn’t make the list because of its initial small size.

A SAD VIDEO is shown on the Dickinson Press website.  The video describes how their newspaper presses operated for 135 years until they went silent on February 29 of this year.  At that time, the Press became a weekly paper printed in Bismarck, but maintained a daily online presence.  Long-time Press employees are interviewed in the video.

A MINORITY VIEW  Fargo City Commissioner Tony Gehrig is a pilot and a small-government libertarian; Fargo Mayor Tim Mahoney is a surgeon.  Columnist Mike McFeely says they are on opposite ends regarding policies to slow the coronavirus.  Gehrig makes an intriguing argument that “the cure is worse than the disease.”  He says "Destroying the economy of ND (because) of this overreaction is more damaging than the actual event.”  It’s simple, Gehrig wrote "Dont want to get sick...stay home.”  In the short-run, Gehrig’s position will not prevail, but his thoughts will be on many minds.

DULUTH has an unusual distinction — during spring it is the bald eagle capital of, not just the nation, but the world.   Migrating raptors pass through Duluth to skirt Lake Superior.  Golden eagles and hawks are also part of the mix and an average of 26,000 raptors pass over the city each year during the spring migration.  Nearly 1,100 bald eagles  were spotted in one day — a world record.

DAKTOIDS:  ND produces 85% of the nation’s canola, yet its production is tiny compared to that of Canada . . . UND is in an unusually good position to manage the COVID-19 crisis — its acting president has both an MD and a Master’s degree in Public Health with an emphasis on epidemics . . . A GF Herald editorial urged residents to spend their stimulus checks and spend them locally . . . The ND Farmers Union praised support given to farmers and ranchers in the COVID-19 legislation — they especially noted the leadership of Sen. John Hoeven.