Dakota Beacon

Last year, ND had a mild winter.  This year, conditions snapped back to normal.  The Minot Daily News published an article to reinforce, what some consider obvious, “that North Dakota winters often rank as some of the most severe anywhere in the United States.” The article included horrifying tidbits: “Stranded motorists are at particular risk. Those who opt to abandon their vehicles in the hopes of reaching shelter elsewhere are often found frozen to death mere yards away.”   Tribune columnist Clay Jenkinson hailed “The Glory of Winter” and wondered “how many 50-below wind chill days in a row it would take to break the human spirit.”

“Hi, my name is Georgie Boy. I am the publisher’s dog. Many of you may wonder why I am writing a year-end letter.”  -- The quote is preceded by a picture of a small white dog with the words “Bill Marcil Jr” above its head and followed by cute observations about dog life.  It’s hard to know how the letter went over with Forum readers, but it’s probably safe to say it won’t be republished in “The New Yorker.”

This seemed to be the week for stories about cute little white dogs.  A Forum headline read “Former Senator Conrad mourns death of dog Dakota.”  Conrad and his bichon frise flew to Houston four times so the dog could have cancer treatment.  Clearly, a serious matter for the senator, but once again readers will have their own opinions.  Another matter caught the attention of the state’s papers and beyond -- three Grand Forks high school students briefly donned white hoods and robes at a hockey game.  They may or may not have understood the full symbolism, but the media was determined to make it a major incident, rather than a case of youthful indiscretion.

The ND Legislature has been very reluctant to change the state’s weak penalties for traffic violations.  Perhaps it has something to do with the driving habits of the legislators.  Since 2005, 57 percent of state representatives and 62 percent of senators have been cited for moving violations.  About 37 percent of the members of both houses had more than one citation.

The Federal Reserve of Minneapolis surveyed business leaders for their outlook for the next 12 months.  The Minneapolis district includes the Dakotas, Montana, Minnesota and parts of Michigan and Wisconsin.  The overall district was about 55 percent optimistic and slightly over 40 percent pessimistic.  The respective percentages in ND were 85 and 12; SD was optimistic, but more restrained than ND.  While the Twin Cities were mildly optimistic, greater MN was the gloomy one -- over 50 percent negative.

It has to be the tests.  Minnesota has instituted a Teacher Licensure Exam -- including reading, math and writing -- which teachers are required to pass before getting a license.  The basic skills math test is passed by 76 percent of all candidates, but only 26 percent of blacks.  In reading and writing, 77 percent of all test-takers pass, but only 37 percent and 35 percent, respectively, of blacks.  Mary Cathryn Ricker, head of the St. Paul teachers’ union, thinks she has spotted the problem -- the tests are racially biased.   Racial bias in math tests is an especially challenging concept.

ND University System Chancellor Hamid Shirvani continues to be a lightning rod.  A statewide student association gave him a vote of no confidence.  State representative Bob Skarphol of Tioga, chair of a House subcommittee on education, rose to Shirvani’s support, a few of his comments: “I submit that there has been an organized behind-the-scenes effort to discredit and destroy the very individual who can give North Dakota taxpayers exactly what they want from our university system . . .  It must stop — or our higher education institutions will stagnate and continue to function at the substandard level of the past five to 10 years.”

Titan Machinery headquartered in Fargo is becoming a true titan.  Titan reports it is the largest retail dealer of Case IH ag equipment in the world and the biggest dealer of Case Construction equipment in North America.  The $2 billion company is publicly listed (TITN) and has 105 North American dealerships in ten states.  Titan has been expanding rapidly by acquiring and consolidating smaller dealerships.  The most recent acquisition was in Tucson, Arizona. 

Oh, no, Kmart dumped us -- that’s the ultimate insult!  Kmart (owned by Sears) bid goodbye to the Buffalo Mall in Jamestown.  Business isn’t booming at the Jamestown Airport either.  In January, an average of seven passengers a day boarded flights from Jamestown.

Jillisa Lesmann (30) of New Rockford was a go-getter.  She started as a volunteer at the James River Humane Society and quickly became treasurer.  Almost as quickly, she stole $22,000.  The JRHS president said, “We were blind sided.  This is a lot of money for us.  We’re here for the animals.”  The theft is part of a phenomenon which has been particularly strong in ND -- mid-career women embezzling from small, unsuspecting employers.

South Dakota leads the nation in the percentage of Indians living below the poverty line.  Nearly half the state’s 65,000 Indians are in that category.  Surrounding states ND, Montana, Nebraska and Minnesota all have Indian poverty rates above 30 percent.  Indians comprise about 8 percent of SD’s population.  ND has a smaller proportion of Indians (5 percent) and they are moderately better off than those in SD.  ND’s Three Affiliated Tribes at the Ft. Berthold Reservation have an opportunity to reduce their poverty with oil money.

Everybody was angry at everybody -- the three-hour town hall meeting at the Spririt Lake Reservation became a circular firing squad.  Tribal Chairman Roger Yankton was angry at Sen. John Hoeven for prodding the Interior Dept. into holding the meeting.  Yankton, in turn, was accused of bullying and intimidating tribal members.  The meeting was held to air concerns about the safety of reservation children -- Chuck Haga made a lengthy report in the GF Herald.

The Bismarck Tribune is concerned that the president and a significant portion of Congress  seem mistrustful of business.  The Tribune said, “The time has come to remove obstacles to free and open markets. It requires a commitment to the capitalism, which is wed to the U.S. democracy.  Federal oversight of business and industry should be reviewed and regulations that are determined to be unfair, unnecessary or excessive should be eliminated.”

“She was a hard worker and always willing to do any job to help make ends meet, from plowing behind six horses to milking cows, driving truck and tractor, fencing, making and hauling hay or straw bales, gardening, canning, sewing, baking, secretarial work, and homemaker. You name it, she did it!” -- From the obituary of Sara Barstad (103) of Ray who played on a women’s intramural basketball team while she went to business college -- she was no shirker.

DAKTOIDS: Opposition to pipelines is a boon for railroads.  The American Association of Railroads says 234,000 carloads of crude oil (mostly from ND) were hauled by rail in 2012 compared to 66,000 carloads in 2011 . . . ND’s oil tax Legacy Fund did not start until September 2011, but already has $850 million.  The fund can’t be touched until 2017 . . . A Bloomberg News reports Williston is a city broke and destroyed by the oil boom -- on the opposite side of the state, Mayor Mike Brown described Grand Forks as a prospering city that expects major federal decisions to go its way . . . That dichotomy may explain why, despite ND's prosperity, a Gallup survey found the state to rank only #18 in happiness . . . Similar results in a Gallup survey of well-being -- ND plummeted from #2 to #19.