Dakota Beacon

“North Dakota has emerged, quite unnoticed by the national media, as an undiscovered hotspot for science- and technology-based development.” -- From a report called “Enterprising States -- 2012,” which measures the economic and policy health of individual states. ND won the sweepstakes: Tops in economic performance, a leader in Great Plains resurgence, and a future boom state. While the Bakken is the driver, the report emphasized the state otherwise did well and was strong in technical and professional job growth.

What about the neighbors? South Dakota was solid, an impressive performance by a state without an energy boost, but like ND, a little weak in “Innovation & Entrepreneurship.” Montana and Wyoming rank near the middle of all states. Most of Minnesota’s ratings are in the lower half, with its best ratings in education and infrastructure.

“This session was notable for its misplaced priorities and also some squandered opportunities.” -- The somewhat bitter voice of Sen. Minority Leader Mac Schneider, D-Grand Forks. The Republican legislators and a fair share of Democrats praised the legislative session. Gov. Jack Dalrymple said, “I truly believe it will go down in the history as one of the greatest, if not the greatest session, in our state history.”

It seems impossible -- in eight years ND’s general fund budget has more than tripled to $6.6 billion, yet the Legislature was able to grant $1.1 billion in tax relief, while building budget reserves to all-time highs.. No other state has such a fortunate combination of circumstances.

GF Herald Publisher Mike Jacobs was largely satisfied with the session outcome, but thought the process was ugly. He feels the Republican party is so dominant in ND that it has no common enemy and fights among itself. Jacobs has a very poor opinion of the leadership and discipline of the Legislature. Members of both parties felt the prolonged debate over abortion detracted from more important matters.

The Leslie family of Fargo is descended from Lebanese immigrants in Winnipeg. Coming to Fargo in the 1990s, they established businesses that develop, build and own real estate. Their combined businesses are one of the largest real estate groups in ND. Bob Leslie, the 80-year-old family patriarch, and his three sons attribute their success to a farm work ethic. In addition to real estate, Bob develops slogans:

“It felt good to be ‘suffering for science.’” -- An archaeologist from New Jersey who was one of eight scientists who hiked 100 miles in the ND Badlands. The adventurers were there to study the impact of nearby industrial development on the Badlands. A Tribune report said “They’d endured ice, snow, hellacious wind . . .” as a result of particularly bad April weather. The scientists were awed by the beauty of the Badlands -- their report on the effect of the Bakken will be forthcoming.

“North Dakota has reached a ‘takeoff’ point that changes the basic equation of who we are and what we do.” -- Tribune columnist Clay Jenkinson fears the “magic and magnitude of the oil boom have almost made us forget who we are.” Yes, the state is richer, but “expectation and ‘need’ rise, too.” He says Nodaks “are going to have to work very hard to maintain our heritage.”

Many talented people are drawn to ND by its boom, but so are people trying to escape their pasts. A little time reading the crime reports in the Fargo Forum brings this home. This week, authorities arrested a Virgina man for drunken driving and driving with a suspended license. He is also wanted in Virginia. His stolen pickup hit a party bus head-on on Hwy 1806 near Bismarck sending 12 people to the hospital. He had been in the state less than a month.

Forgive me, but the “SheSays” section of the Forum sometimes seems like the self-centered world of Beverly Hills. This week SheSays extolled one of its columnists, Dr. Susan Mathison, a plastic surgeon who is ready to both tighten your face and your life. Mathison sees herself as “a catalyst to transformation for women who can’t see the beauty they already possess.” Don’t rush forward, she is only willing to treat those who are “coming from a place of empowerment and not a place of self-loathing.” Another Forum columnist, Chris Linnares, a self-described “psychologist, author and motivational speaker,” says Mathison is “the most amazing woman that I ever met in my life.” Linnares is also the wife of the Forum publisher.

Movies cause us to think publishers are gruff, cigar-chomping realists with eyes fixed on newspaper influence and $ signs. Bill Marcil Jr., the Forum’s publisher and husband of Chris Linnares, doesn’t fit that mold. His infrequent editorials tend to be on the soft side -- half confessional and almost uncomfortably personal. His most recent column was about his high school age daughter and her influences.

A difference in style is emerging between ND’s U.S. Senators. Sen. John Hoeven works in the background on economic issues, such as farm policy, pipelines and military base retention. Sen. Heidi Heitkamp keeps herself in the public eye and tends to focus on social policies popular with women and American Indians. This week, in a letter to newspapers in the state, Heitkamp drew attention to the poverty and unemployment of 42,000 Indians living in ND.

We have a tip for Abdi Abdullahi of Fargo. Abdi, if you are planning a career of grab-and-dash thefts from convenience stores, you should not use a red Cadillac getaway car. Abdi abandoned the car after a robbery, but was caught by a police dog. In January, Abdi achieved brief fame when he played on the sympathy of an 84-year-old who thought Abdi was suffering in the cold. The man drove while Abdi performed five grab-and-dash robberies. The old man began to catch on when Abdi ran out of the last store shouting “let’s get out of here.” Abdi was released after 30 days in jail.

DAKTOIDS: The National Weather Service substantially overestimated the risk of floods this spring in the Red River Valley -- the “culprit” has been identified as the inability of computer models to account for dry soil that absorbed snowmelt.