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Monday, November 10, 2014

SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - NOVEMBER 10, 2014

IT'S EASY TO SUM UP THE ND ELECTIONS -- nothing significant changed. Republicans swept all state offices and 7 of 8 state measures were defeated. I was mildly surprised by two election outcomes: State tax commissioner Ryan Rauschenberger won by a strong margin, despite recent bad publicity about alcohol abuse and questionable personal judgment -- the outcome suggests some combination of party line voting and a weak opponent. A measure to rationalize rules about pharmacy ownership went down hard -- the ND Pharmacists Association once again successfully mobilized small town and rural fears.



TIME TO REBUILD Supreme Court Chief Justice Gerald VandeWalle had a tough race -- he received only 99% of the vote. U.S. Representative Kevin Cramer handily won reelection over George Sinner, son of a former Democratic governor. Republicans hold a 32-15 edge in the state Senate and have a 71-23 advantage in the House. The Democratic-NPL Chairman vowed, "We're going to rebuild."



MINNESOTA HAD ELECTIONS TOO “In recent years, North Dakota’s surging oil production has brought that state more jobs, higher incomes and increased government revenues. Few of those benefits have reached Minnesota. Meanwhile, it has caused some very difficult and expensive problems for citizens and communities in our state.” -- Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton setting the tone for a letter of grievances about ND. At the end of the letter Dayton said “I accept my share of the responsibility” for the lapse of formerly good working relationships with ND -- the rest of the letter indicated he didn’t think that share was very great.

 

COMMON SENSE POLICIES In an interview, ND Gov. Jack Dalrymple said he was “a little surprised” by some of Dayton’s comments. Dalrymple thought the states had a good relationship. Dayton’s opponent, Republican Jeff Johnson, said Minnesota could learn from ND’s “common sense” policies and criticized his opponents for being dominated by the Twin Cities. As the campaigns progressed, Dayton increasingly used ND as a whipping boy. Dayton was reelected in a competitive race.

 

CIGGIES SLIP ACCROSS THE RED RIVER from ND to smokers in Minnesota. The Minnesota cigarette tax was hiked in mid-2013. An economic analysis indicates cigarette sales in Minnesota border counties have fallen by as much as 50%, while sales have risen significantly in ND counterparts. What makes it worse from the point of view of the Minnesota businesses is that sales of gas, milk, etc. have moved in a similar pattern.



THE I-94 MIGRATION Trends and social issues tend to move from east to west -- in the case of ND, from the Twin Cities area. The influx of refugees in the Twin Cities is pushing up the I-94 corridor to the Red River Valley, as immigrants seek better opportunities in jobs, housing and education. The StarTribune reports Minnesota has seen a marked uptick in new Somali refugees -- both those arriving directly from Africa and those who arrive in other states and rapidly resettle in Minnesota. New Somali arrivals dominate homeless shelters in Minneapolis.



THE STATE OF RURAL MINNESOTA 2014 was the name of a report released recently by the state’s Center for Rural Policy. The report has extensive demographic information mapped by county (it would be interesting to see something comparable for ND). The northern Minnesota portion of the report was analyzed by Aaron Brown, a teacher at Hibbing Community College. Here are some of his highlights:

  • A cluster of about about six counties in the north east corner of the state (Iron Range area) is aging and losing population.
  • The Red River Valley counties bordering ND have stable populations, average or better incomes and relatively low minority populations. Farm incomes are particularly high.
  • A cluster of about ten counties in north central Minnesota reaches from the Canadian boarder south to the middle of the state. The cluster is poorer, younger and its population is growing faster than the rest of the state. The cluster has a high proportion of American Indians.

Brown sees poverty issues in the north central cluster as somewhat of a time bomb, which, if not addressed, will limit growth and further strain public resources. He sees affordable housing and affordable education as the greatest needs. Brown says the Iron Range must diversify away from mining or its economy will stagnate because of an aging population. ND shares many of the problems of northern Minnesota, but they are muted by the Oil Boom.

 

IS THAT SO? A GF Herald headline read “Federal funding fuels progress at Turtle Mountain” referring to $6 million of federal grants to the reservation in the past two years. The headline is a dubious proposition. The Turtle Mt. Band of Chippewa have a 69% unemployment rate and 41% poverty rate on a reservation troubled by teen pregnancy, domestic abuse, alcoholism and drug abuse. Tribal government is the only significant employer. Fraud and incompetence have bankrupt tribal companies. Decades of federal programs make little improvement.

 

THE HEAT IS ON TEX More is leaking out about the conflict-of-interest problems of Three Affiliated Tribes Chairman Tex Hall. Reuters reports an investigation conducted by a Missouri law firm found that Hall diverted reservation service and supply contracts to a business partner, who is presently in prison. Hall and his criminal partner split the revenue 50-50. Hall denies all and the FBI will not say if it is investigating Hall for stealing from the tribe, a federal crime.

 

THE ULTIMATE TRIBUTE Devils Lake High School runner Melanie Bailey enjoyed a moment of fame. Her unselfish rescue of an injured competitor made her the subject of national news items and brought a guest appearance on national TV with Ellen DeGeneres. But the best was yet to come -- the Jamestown Sun honored Melanie with a coveted “Bravo.”

 

VISITORS TO ND AIRPORTS want something special -- a gift they won’t find in other airports. Well, here you go, try these Oil Patch themes: Bakken Sunrise coffee, Sweet Crude chokecherry syrup, T’s Pipeline Pretzels, a Million Barrel candy bar, Seismic Salsa and more. And then, of course, there are the colorful plastic UFFDA signs.

 

SAY NO MORE The UND Nickname and Logo Task Force is going about its unenviable task. The GF Herald conducted a poll -- the question was “Are you satisfied with UND nickname task force’s decisions so far?” The answer loud and clear was 60% no, 23% I don’t know and only 17% yes.

 

BOASTING? “Smithsonian on the prairie” and “possibly the finest heritage center in the nation.” Hyperbole? Possibly, but Gov. Dalrymple’s description was well-accepted by 2,500 attending the grand opening of the expanded Heritage Center in Bismarck. The governor added, “And yes, it did cost $51.7 million, and I think it was worth every penny.” The event also capped the celebration of ND’s 125th anniversary.

 

 

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