SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - MAY 2, 2016
PRINCELY REASONS A Minnesota state senator drafted a bill to make purple the official state color. We don’t mind -- go for it!
SHOWING A LITTLE STYLE State representative Peggy Flanagan sang “Purple Rain” to the Minnesota House accompanied by a colleague on a keyboard -- as you might imagine, members were enthralled.
FARGO & BISMARCK CELEBRATE NDSU quarterback Carson Wentz was picked No. 2 in the first round of the NFL draft. The Bismarck Century H.S. star was chosen by the Philadelphia Eagles. Records galore: First Nodak drafted in an NFL first round, the highest pick from a Division I FCS school, and the highest pick from NDSU and its conference. Wentz is also the highest pick from a ND high school; in 1999, Carrington's Jim Kleinsasser was picked No. 44 in the second round by the Vikings.
"THERE'S JUST SO MUCH PRIDE in the state of North Dakota. I didn't think I'd ever see something like this. I'm just so happy for Carson, his family, NDSU, the state of North Dakota, Bison fans. It's just amazing. Amazing." -- A fan's reaction to Wentz's selection -- yes, a little over the top, but a sentiment shared by many in the small state. For the moment, Wentz is the most celebrated athlete in ND history.
DOUG BURGUM is running from behind as a candidate for governor -- he was a distant third at the ND Republican convention. But don’t be too quick to bet against him in the June primary. I watched a 30-minute Dickinson Press interview with Burgum and his running mate, Watford City mayor Brent Sanford. Burgum was well-prepared and articulated specific goals. He contends his business development and CEO experience is particularly suited to reorganizing and managing state government. Burgum has a record of adaptability and getting things done. The big question -- would those skills translate with legislators and state bureaucrats?
THE TEAM Burgum loves to talk about ND “Class B kids” -- and he doesn’t mean second class -- rather he is referring to rural and small town people (from Class B schools) who are hard-working problem solvers. He considers himself to be one. By empowering Class B kids, he claims Great Plains Software grew to 2,000 employees and an offer from Microsoft. His partner Brent Sanford is a different sort -- he’s a financial guy, a UND-trained CPA who is a business owner and mayor of one of the fastest growing small cities in the nation. Sanford is recognized and credible in western ND and has unique experience managing rapid growth.
FORUM COLUMNISTS GO AT EACH OTHER Rob Port, a recent addition to the Forum staff, referred to colleague Mike McFeely as a “left-wing commentator.” Their area of disagreement is the budget cuts at UND and NDSU. McFeely contends that the large cuts at UND are the result of prior fiscal mismanagement, while NDSU’s more modest cuts demonstrate good planning. Port disagrees -- he contends NDSU has yet to step up to its long-term problems, and UND, under former Gov. Ed Schafer’s guidance, is addressing such problems.
DID IT END WELL? “Fargo's new City Hall has become smaller, less iconic and more affordable” . . . and somewhat dull. The quote is from a Forum article about a revised design for Fargo’s city hall reducing the estimated cost from $30 million to $22 million. The change was described as going from “flaming and iconic” to “clean and timeless.” Maybe! It seems that even at $22 million there should be room for some design flair. In any case, city fathers seem pleased with their compromise.
FOREWARNED IS FOREARMED The Jamestown/Stutsman County Development Corp. recommends giving $75,000 to New Energy Investors to develop a proposal for a cellulosic fuel ethanol facility near Jamestown to convert corn waste to ethanol. I know nothing about Katrina Christiansen, but her letter to the Jamestown Sun was a surprisingly detailed technical and business analysis of the deal. Her bottom line: the ethanol project is “insanely stupid.” The CEO of New Energy made a blustery, but not entirely convincing response saying his projections “show a robust return to our investors.” After Devils Lake just lost $2 million on a deal to convert wheat straw into pulp, Christiansen’s warning deserves study.
DOWNGRADED In previous reports from the American Lung Association, ND counties received an “A” for air quality. A new report for the period 2012 to 2014 gives B’s to six counties. Not surprisingly, five of the six are in or near “Coal Country,” but the sixth is Cass, the state’s most populous county and well away from coal or oil activity. Press reports gave little elaboration.
UPGRADE OR START OVER? “The big thing is … we’re actually building this because we don’t meet FAA standards.” -- Williston Airport Director Steven Kjergaard speaking about the need for a new $265 million airport. The new airport is opposed by Williams County commissioners, but supported by city, state and federal regulators. Passengers at the airport increased 10-fold from 2008 to 2014. The commissioners appear to oppose a new airport principally because it involves substantial acquisition of farmland. Upgrading the old airport is estimated to cost from $240 to $350 million. A state aeronautics commissioner said, “Do you want to rebuild the airport and still have problems, or do you want to do it right?”
WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT Five years ago, Devils Lake was a monster swallowing towns and farms. $1.5 billion was spent to mitigate flood damage. Since that time the lake has stabilized and fallen gradually, in part, because of drainage efforts. During that period, the recreation industry has expanded around the lake to the point there is a conflict between owners of recreation facilities and farmers. Resort owners want the lake to stay high -- farmers would like to reclaim some of their lost land.
“IT’S NOT A REPEAT OF THE 1980s, farmers and ag officials believe. However, it's a ‘rough and tumble time’ on many of the state's 81,000 farms.” -- Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Dave Frederickson. Like ND Ag Commissioner Doug Goehring, Frederickson fears some younger farmers may be forced out of business in the coming year. One Minnesota farmer indicated his break-even point on corn was about $4 a bushel, while the market price is $3.30.
EARLY INDICATORS Issues in Minnesota are sometimes mentioned here because they can be early indicators for ND -- challenges tend to move east to west. Just ask law enforcement in Fargo and leaders in Grand Forks where the Juba Coffee Shop was firebombed -- it is owned by a Somali from Minnesota.
CRISIS? “But with poverty plaguing this impoverished immigrant community — the nation’s largest Somali settlement — and terrorist recruiters preying on its young people, the lagging support . . . is a national security crisis requiring swift remedy.” -- The Star Tribune editorial continued, “Somalis have been emigrating to the state since the 1980s. Fifty-seven percent are living at or near the poverty level . . . only 8 percent of Somali-Minnesotans own their own homes . . . and 27 percent do not have a vehicle.”
THE TEAM Burgum loves to talk about ND “Class B kids” -- and he doesn’t mean second class -- rather he is referring to rural and small town people (from Class B schools) who are hard-working problem solvers. He considers himself to be one. By empowering Class B kids, he claims Great Plains Software grew to 2,000 employees and an offer from Microsoft. His partner Brent Sanford is a different sort -- he’s a financial guy, a UND-trained CPA who is a business owner and mayor of one of the fastest growing small cities in the nation. Sanford is recognized and credible in western ND and has unique experience managing rapid growth.
FORUM COLUMNISTS GO AT EACH OTHER Rob Port, a recent addition to the Forum staff, referred to colleague Mike McFeely as a “left-wing commentator.” Their area of disagreement is the budget cuts at UND and NDSU. McFeely contends that the large cuts at UND are the result of prior fiscal mismanagement, while NDSU’s more modest cuts demonstrate good planning. Port disagrees -- he contends NDSU has yet to step up to its long-term problems, and UND, under former Gov. Ed Schafer’s guidance, is addressing such problems.
DID IT END WELL? “Fargo's new City Hall has become smaller, less iconic and more affordable” . . . and somewhat dull. The quote is from a Forum article about a revised design for Fargo’s city hall reducing the estimated cost from $30 million to $22 million. The change was described as going from “flaming and iconic” to “clean and timeless.” Maybe! It seems that even at $22 million there should be room for some design flair. In any case, city fathers seem pleased with their compromise.
FOREWARNED IS FOREARMED The Jamestown/Stutsman County Development Corp. recommends giving $75,000 to New Energy Investors to develop a proposal for a cellulosic fuel ethanol facility near Jamestown to convert corn waste to ethanol. I know nothing about Katrina Christiansen, but her letter to the Jamestown Sun was a surprisingly detailed technical and business analysis of the deal. Her bottom line: the ethanol project is “insanely stupid.” The CEO of New Energy made a blustery, but not entirely convincing response saying his projections “show a robust return to our investors.” After Devils Lake just lost $2 million on a deal to convert wheat straw into pulp, Christiansen’s warning deserves study.
DOWNGRADED In previous reports from the American Lung Association, ND counties received an “A” for air quality. A new report for the period 2012 to 2014 gives B’s to six counties. Not surprisingly, five of the six are in or near “Coal Country,” but the sixth is Cass, the state’s most populous county and well away from coal or oil activity. Press reports gave little elaboration.
UPGRADE OR START OVER? “The big thing is … we’re actually building this because we don’t meet FAA standards.” -- Williston Airport Director Steven Kjergaard speaking about the need for a new $265 million airport. The new airport is opposed by Williams County commissioners, but supported by city, state and federal regulators. Passengers at the airport increased 10-fold from 2008 to 2014. The commissioners appear to oppose a new airport principally because it involves substantial acquisition of farmland. Upgrading the old airport is estimated to cost from $240 to $350 million. A state aeronautics commissioner said, “Do you want to rebuild the airport and still have problems, or do you want to do it right?”
WHO WOULD HAVE THOUGHT Five years ago, Devils Lake was a monster swallowing towns and farms. $1.5 billion was spent to mitigate flood damage. Since that time the lake has stabilized and fallen gradually, in part, because of drainage efforts. During that period, the recreation industry has expanded around the lake to the point there is a conflict between owners of recreation facilities and farmers. Resort owners want the lake to stay high -- farmers would like to reclaim some of their lost land.
“IT’S NOT A REPEAT OF THE 1980s, farmers and ag officials believe. However, it's a ‘rough and tumble time’ on many of the state's 81,000 farms.” -- Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Dave Frederickson. Like ND Ag Commissioner Doug Goehring, Frederickson fears some younger farmers may be forced out of business in the coming year. One Minnesota farmer indicated his break-even point on corn was about $4 a bushel, while the market price is $3.30.
EARLY INDICATORS Issues in Minnesota are sometimes mentioned here because they can be early indicators for ND -- challenges tend to move east to west. Just ask law enforcement in Fargo and leaders in Grand Forks where the Juba Coffee Shop was firebombed -- it is owned by a Somali from Minnesota.
CRISIS? “But with poverty plaguing this impoverished immigrant community — the nation’s largest Somali settlement — and terrorist recruiters preying on its young people, the lagging support . . . is a national security crisis requiring swift remedy.” -- The Star Tribune editorial continued, “Somalis have been emigrating to the state since the 1980s. Fifty-seven percent are living at or near the poverty level . . . only 8 percent of Somali-Minnesotans own their own homes . . . and 27 percent do not have a vehicle.”
DAKTOIDS: NDSU football coach Chris Klieman could earn as much as $450,000 next season making him possibly the state’s highest paid public employee . . . ND has 40 assistant attorney generals -- average pay is $90,000 . . . What’s the most rapidly growing high school sport in ND? Trapshooting -- 565 students in 23 schools . . . A Fargo man was caught up in the moment and cited for joining a flock of exotic sport cars racing at over 100 mph on a Minneapolis freeway . . . Raddison Hotels (1,400 in 110 countries) is being sold to a Chinese company -- Raddison has hotels in ND, the most prominent is in Fargo.
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