Dakota Beacon

TIME IS RUNNING OUT for your favorite newspaper.  As Warren Buffett (see below) says, “newspapers are toast.“  A media expert at Harvard predicts half the present newspapers will be gone by 2021.  The villains are Google and Facebook, which are taking away the advertising that is the lifeblood of newspapers.  What about ND, will it lose its newspapers?  It depends on the strength of Forum Communications which has four daily newspapers in larger ND communities and provides state news for the Bismarck Tribune.  In recent years, no state has lost fewer newspapers than ND — the three surrounding states all lost a substantial number of newspapers in the 2004-2018 period (Wall Street Journal).

WHO’S ON FIRST?  Last Saturday, Berkshire Hathaway held its acclaimed annual meeting in Omaha, so there was a lot of noise about its 88-year-old chairman Warren Buffett.  Warren is likely to be succeeded as chairman by son Howard G. Buffett.  What’s the ND angle?  Well, Howard, who runs his own foundation, has four trusted advisers and one is former ND Senator Heidi Heitkamp.  He says he “appreciates her broad policy perspective and candor.”  Take that and smoke it.

ROOSEVELT LIBRARY IS GETTING LEGS  The ND Legislature authorized a $50 million endowment for the Theodore Roosevelt Library in Medora with the condition it must be matched by outside donations of $100 million.  The library foundation has $52 million in private pledges and has a two-year goal to raise the remaining $48 million.  The ND oil industry and Gov. Doug Burgum are among those expected to contribute support.

MINOT DILEMMA  “Is this an issue that can’t simply be addressed locally?” — From a Minot Daily News editorial about Minot’s impending budget crisis.  The city has sufficient revenue for future expenses and enough for necessary capital improvements, but not both.  There is no apparent local solution — the city council will struggle with the issue during the summer.

THE KILBOURNE GROUP is the real estate development firm founded by Gov. Doug Burgum that changed the face of downtown Fargo.  The initial Kilbourne portfolio generated $350 million of funding for mixed use projects such as the Black Building.  The next phase was the $117 million, 18-story Block 9 tower now under construction on Broadway.  Each phase has involved outside investors.  Kilbourne is raising money for a third investment fund, the Great Plains Opportunity Zone Fund, which will target mid-rise construction in the Broadway area.

MISCONCEPTIONS  In meeting with prospective investors from outside the region, Kilbourne encounters some stereotypes about Fargo, one is the hick image lingering from the movie “Fargo” and another is that Fargo is in the middle of the ND Oil Patch. Kilbourne Executive Chairman Lauris Molbert says these “perceptions turn around,” once investors learn of Fargo’s high national ranking and quality of life.  Molbert said, “We think Fargo’s going to continue to evolve over the next 10 years, when Block 9 gets built it’s going to continue this momentum.”

SCULPTOR LUIS JIMENEZ is not a household name — his name may not even be recognized by most artists.  Yet, his large fiberglass sculptures can be found in many museums and civic plazas in the western U.S.  Fargo authorized his 24-foot “Sodbuster” sculpture in 1979 — it was damaged by weather, put in storage in 2002 and recently restored.  Sodbuster features a farmer and a pair of oxen pulling a plow and is valued at $500,000.  It will probably be placed in a plaza north of the city library.

TIME WAITS FOR NO ONE  Many of the world’s top female hockey players will sit out the next season hoping to establish a single, economically viable league.  The Grand Forks hockey twins, Olympic stars Jocelyne and Monique Lamoureux, are among those impacted.  The twins missed the past season when they both gave birth to sons.  Missing two seasons in a row will limit their opportunity to train and stay in shape.  This is particularly important as the twins reach age 30 in July and enter the upper end of the age range for female professional hockey players.

KRIS SHERIDAN (72) of Fargo has one of the most gracious obituaries you will see . . . and she prepared it herself.  The former Kris Petersen of Bismarck wrote: “I am sorry to leave Michael (husband) and my family behind but we all have to say goodbye eventually. Please remember I will always be near when you need me. It's ok to feel bad about my death, but don't let this event get in the way of your future.”  She said she was “a very lucky girl!” and acknowledged the many people who made her life worthwhile.  She even included her first husband: “Jim started his law career and we had our second daughter, Erika Anne. I thank Jim for these two wonderful daughters.”

MARGARET LARSON (93) of Mayville graduated from Wellesley College and was active in ND politics for many years including serving as a delegate to the 1964 Republican Convention in San Francisco.  But her obituary indicated she is best known as the eldest daughter of former ND Governor and U.S. Senator Norman Brunsdale.

SD GOV. KRISTI NOEM was told she is not welcome on the Pine Ridge Reservation following a Tribal Council resolution.  She was informed she will be banished if she ignores the directive.  Noem led a successful effort to pass a law which targets “riot boosting,” as it was employed in the Dakota Access Pipeline demonstrations in ND.  SD Indians were among the principal demonstrators.  Noem's spokeswoman said, "It's unfortunate that the governor was welcomed by Oglala Sioux's leadership when resources were needed during the storms, but communication has been cut off when she has tried to directly interact with members of the Pine Ridge community.”

DAKTOIDS:  VP Mike Pence passed through the F-M area yesterday on his way to a Minnesota farm near Fargo to promote the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement . . . Columnist Rob Port predicts Heidi Heitkamp will run for governor in 2020 . . . Sculptor Gary Greff will receive $75,000 of state money to maintain his aging sculptures along the Enchanted Highway . . . Voters at the Spirit Lake Reservation voted to reverse a longstanding ban on alcohol at their casino.