SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - MAY 27, 2019
IT WILL NOT BE EASY to find a new president at UND. Already there is disagreement between the university system chancellor and one of his board members. Mark Hagerott suggests hiring an interim president and a search firm. Board member Dan Traynor suggests a shorter selection method — do it now and favor a candidate from ND.
A LIST OF ND CANDIDATES for interim president is growing. Presidents from two ND colleges are mentioned — Steve Shirley (Minot State) and Larry Skogen (Bismarck State). Mary Wakefield, a former UND faculty member and health executive in the Obama administration, is on the list, as is Bruce Smith, retired dean of the UND Aerospace School. Former governor Ed Schafer has taken himself out of consideration.
A SPLIT VIEW of outgoing UND President Mark Kennedy is emerging. Many did not like his style, but admired the strategic plan he was implementing. Hagerott thinks the strategic plan is positive and an interim president should “keep the ship on a steady course.”
THEY NEED TO GET GOING Columnist Mike Jacobs spoke to Democrats at a luncheon in Grand Forks. His message — time is short and they need to organize for the 2020 elections. He hinted that a split among Republicans and some disappointment with Gov. Burgum may create a window of opportunity. He said the Democrats first need to find and groom candidates and, secondly, discover an organizing tool (an issue that differentiates them with voters). Jacobs is a Heidi Heitkamp fan and it’s clear he would like to see her in the race for governor.
HE’S BACK Ryan Taylor was highly visible in ND as columnist, state senator and unsuccessful Democratic candidate for governor in 2012. As compensation, he became state director for the U.S. Agriculture Department’s Rural Development in ND, before largely disappearing from public view. He has reappeared as Ducks Unlimited public policy director for the Dakotas and Montana. Taylor has a ranch near Towner and he is rarely seen without his trademark cowboy hat — there must be a saddle horse nearby.
WORKFORCE PROBLEMS An annual survey of the State of Manufacturing in Minnesota reported 71% of respondents say the inability to hire qualified candidates has made company growth difficult. That was the largest issue followed by cost of health care insurance and increasing costs of energy and materials.
“THE MATH IS SIMPLE: There just aren’t enough white Lutheran Scandinavians to fill those jobs.” — NYT columnist Thomas Friedman discussed the south central Minnesota town of Willmar (pop. 21,000) where half the residents are Latino, Somali and a smattering of immigrants from other countries. The demographic change has happened quickly — in 2014 there were 1,600 Somalis, today, up to 3,800. Friedman returned to the town where his Jewish aunt and uncle (he calls them the “frozen chosen”) moved in 1949 and where he visited regularly for 50 years. Why is Willmar relatively strong today while other rural Minnesota towns are collapsing? That was Friedman’s topic.
NO “FARGO” ACCENT “They also don’t speak with Minnesota accents like those folks in the movie ‘Fargo.’ “ Friedman was referring to the variety of nationalities and religions that now characterize Willmar. He said towns that are rising are hungry for workers, are willing to accept new immigrants, have a critical mass of leaders and are willing to redefine their community. For example, the mayor said early childhood programs in Willmar are 45 percent East African and 35 percent Latino. Friedman said this is the result of a “complex adaptive coalition” to spearhead both economic and social change.
REPEAT OFFENDERS The authors of a new paper say the poles of thought in ND criminal justice are not working, arguing that both getting hard on crime and getting "smart" or "soft" on crime aren't working. Fargo judge Frank Racek, a co-author, said, ”In Cass County, we have 5,600 new cases a year and 1,500 that come back as re-opened cases because the individuals are having problems.” One answer, the authors say, is better coordination between law enforcement, courts, legislature and prisons. Linking networks and sharing data between those agencies would be a key part of the process. Another co-author said, "Prison is one of those options (for punishing), but not always the best option for people."
BLIZZARD CHAMP Fargo is the windiest of all places, right? Nope, weatherman John Wheeler says Boston is slightly windier and the highest average wind speeds in the U.S. are found in the Texas Panhandle. But Fargo still has reason to be smug, due to its flat terrain and long winters, it has more blizzards than anywhere else in the country.
THE UNIVERSITY OF JAMESTOWN is getting 56 units of new student housing. What’s different is it will be run as a private business with outside investors. The $12 million project will include 13,000 square feet of commercial space and the units will be open to non-students on a space-available basis. The university will own the land.
ODDS AND ENDS: A red panda escaped from the Fargo zoo and did what pandas do — groomed himself in a tree. The Fargo zoo is a major source of Chinese red pandas for other zoos . . . They hope it works — Pride Minot believes rebranding as Magic City Equality will help LGBT people . . . The GF Herald provided readers its definition of “fantastic sights.” Among them: The top of the Red River Valley (south end) and the Turtle Mts. . . . Tri-state crooks — this is the year for big ag frauds: A SD feedlot operator can’t find 30,000 cows; the manager of the Ashby Minnesota Cooperative Elevator stole the crown jewels; and a young and crooked ND grain trader bilked folks around the state for over $11 million.
DAKTOIDS: Operation Intern is a ND state summer project which offers $20,000 to match intern programs at companies in targeted industries . . . Oliver (boys) and Olivia (girls) were the most popular ND newborn names in 2018 . . . Minnesota’s population growth is largely in the Twin Cities metro area where MSP and key suburbs have experienced double digit growth since the 2010 census.
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