SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - NOVEMBER 14, 2014
WHAT’S REALLY WRONG? The publisher of the GF Herald is a recent transplant from the Forum paper in Mitchell, SD. Korrie Wenzel noted the lopsided nature of a ND Legislature dominated by Republicans and said “it’s the same story in South Dakota.” He believes the absence of a legitimate two-party system is unhealthy and “we’re years away from that here in North Dakota.” Wenzel did not pretend to have an answer. He asked, “What’s really wrong? And how does the Democratic Party plan to recover?” He speculated it will take an attractive, ambitious political leader to revive the Democrats in ND.
KEYSTONE XL; ND Sen. John Hoeven has led unsuccessful efforts in the U.S. Senate to approve the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada. The pipeline has been stymied by the Obama administration and the Senate. The proposed pipeline does not enter ND, but adjoins the southwest corner of the state and could carry oil produced in ND. Keystone legislation co-sponsored by Hoeven has unexpectedly been added to the agenda of the lame-duck session.
HEITKAMP IS A SWING VOTE In the new Senate, Republicans will have a majority, but not one which is sufficiently large to overcome certain parliamentary hurdles. To obtain the larger majority, Republicans will require the support of a few centrist Democrats. The Wall Street Journal has identified ND Sen. Heidi Heitkamp as one of the Democrats who may represent a swing vote. An example of legislation on which Heitkamp might cross over is the Keystone XL oil pipeline. The WSJ said there is a spectrum within the Senate Democratic caucus with Sen. Elizabeth Warren at the liberal end and Heitkamp in the center.
DSU RECEIVES ANOTHER BLOW Dickinson State University received a black eye when it was caught issuing undeserved diplomas to foreign students. For that and other failings, DSU lost its accreditation, although it was restored about a year ago. DSU has another black eye. The state attorney general is placing the insolvent DSU Foundation in receivership, alleging chaotic records and misuse of restricted funds. One more threat to the reputation of a university which has already had a significant loss of enrollment.
THERE’S MORE WHERE THAT CAME FROM “Police found Pomeroy and Kelly at a McKenzie County residence where additional firearms, thousands of dollars in U.S. currency, methamphetamine, marijuana and drug paraphernalia were discovered.” -- A news account of an investigation of an attempted murder which led to the arrest of four people on drug charges. The arrests probably would not have been made in the absence of the shooting incident. The discovery furnishes a hint of the depth of criminal drug activity in the Oil Patch.
EASY TARGETS The Bismarck Tribune reports three black women carrying large purses distracted a clerk and stole jeans at a store in the Kirkwood Mall. The team is believed to have made similar thefts at Best Buy. This is part of a pattern of shoplifting teams hitting ND malls in I-94 cities -- often by women from urban Minnesota and Wisconsin.
THE TRIB BLAMES RACISM A handwringing editorial in the StarTribune was headed “As diversity grows, disparities plague Twin Cities.” From 1990 to 2012, the white population in Hennepin County (Minneapolis) decreased 44,000 while minority populations increased 170,000. White flight in Ramsey County (St. Paul) was even greater. The editorial said blacks in the Twin Cities struggle most, 31 percent of black families live in poverty compared to 6 percent of white families. The StarTrib blamed whites because they “dominate all measures of of social and economic well-being.”
TRIB NOT IN SYNC WITH READERS Numerous readers responded to the editorial and very few agreed with the conclusions. For example, some readers asked how Minnesota whites could be responsible for the poverty and inequality of recent refugees. Others argued that whites were not responsible for cultural attitudes (education, marriage, etc.) in the black community. Disagreements with a newspaper’s editorial policy are common, but the extent of disagreement with certain Tribune editorial views suggests the paper and its readers are not in step.
LAUREN DONOVAN writes many of the more interesting stories in the Bismarck Tribune and has long been one of my favorite ND news writers. Her Tribune articles are also beginning to appear in Forum papers in ND. At a time when newspapers are challenged to become leaner and more efficient, there is a trend for newspapers which are not directly competitive to share articles.
IF YOU DON’T LIKE THE NEWBIES The Thrillist Media Group compiled a state-by-state list of the oldest continuously operating bars and restaurants. ND was unique in that its oldest bar and restaurant were the same establishment -- Peacock Alley in Bismarck (1933), originally part of the Patterson Hotel. The oldest in South Dakota were both in Deadwood: Buffalo Bodega Bar (1877) and Legends Steakhouse (1903). Montana’s oldest bar was Bale of Hay Saloon (1863) in Virginia City and oldest restaurant was Pekin Noodle Parlor (1880) in Butte. Minnesota oldest bar was Neumann’s Bar (1887) in N. St. Paul and oldest restaurant was Pracna on Main (1890) in Minneapolis.
MARTHA BERGEN (99) of Detroit Lakes had 13 children. Her obituary said, “She possessed an irrepressibly positive spirit about life. Negative clouds occasionally passed her way, but none dared settle over her head.”
GO WEST YOUNG WELLESLEY GRAD The obituary of the Reverend Eustis Barber Cowardin (79) of Jamestown indicates she was definitely an easterner -- born in Pennsylvania, grew up in Massachusetts, attended Miss Porters School in Connecticut and graduated from Wellesley. Not the usual prescription for someone destined for ND. Eustis and her doctor husband moved to Jamestown in 1965 where she obtained a degree in nursing and earned NDSU graduate credits. She worked as a nurse and civic leader. In 1999 at age 64, she became a priest in the Episcopal Church and entered hospice and pastoral work. Two of her four children are doctors as is a daughter-in-law.
DAKTOIDS: How do you become a House leader in Minnesota? Answer: attend UND. Kurt Daudt the newly elected House speaker and Kurt Zellers, the last Republican speaker, are both UND grads . . . Sen. John Hoeven nominated six ND students for military academies. As normal, most came from one of ND's eight largest cities, but there was an outlier -- Malinda Tjelta of Sheyenne (pop. 300) was nominated to the U.S. Naval Academy . . . Military enlistment rates in ND are the lowest in the nation -- ND rates are less than half those in states such as Georgia and Florida.
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