SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - NOVEMBER 24, 2014
THE LEGACY FUND is the result of a 2010 amendment to the ND constitution which sets aside 30 percent of revenue from oil and gas production. The fund’s current balance is $2.4 billion. The Legacy Fund Initiative is a study of alternatives for spending fund earnings -- the Initiative is led and supported by Minneapolis based nonprofits. Thank you, Minnesota. By 2017, the first opportunity to spend earnings, the fund is expected to have a $6 billion balance and earn $300 million annually. The most important recommendation of the Initiative was to leave 75 percent of the earnings in the fund through 2039 -- a point when oil and gas revenue are expected to decline.
LITTLE NORWAY If the Legislature accepts the recommendation, GF Herald opinion page editor Tom Dennis says the fund will have an estimated balance of $280 billion in 2060. The Initiative had the participation of 24 leaders from private, public and nonprofit sectors in ND. The idea for the Initiative arose after a delegation visited Norway in 2012 and studied their energy wealth fund.
MONTANA COUNTIES IN THE BAKKEN oil fields are seeing sharp crime increases. Roosevelt County (U.S. Hwy 2) adjoins Williams County in ND; Richland County adjoins McKenzie -- the two Montana counties have seen 200 percent increases in crimes and arrests during the past five years. One Montana law official said, “We’re not seeing the normal weekend drunks and stuff like that. We’re seeing hardcore criminals in our jail, and it’s really scary.” Voters in Roosevelt County approved bonds to increase their jail space.
OIL AND AG The October Fedgazette (Federal Reserve Ninth District in Minneapolis) reports that intergenerational income mobility in the country remains relatively constant, but differs from region to region. The Ninth District, which includes ND and its neighbors, does better than the nation and ND is a standout in the district. ND has seven of the top eight communities in the nation for absolute upward mobility -- the Fedgazette profiles the Carrington area, which is one of those communities.
INDIAN RESERVATIONS are a notable exception. The Rosebud Reservation in SD has the dubious distinction of having the worst upward mobility rank in the country. Standing Rock which straddles the ND-SD border is not much better. There is a big exception to the exception -- the oil rich Three Affiliated Tribes at Ft. Berthold in ND have “leaped ahead of other Indian reservations on several socioeconomic yardsticks” according to a Fedgazette analysis.”
WHERE ARE AMERICAN INDIANS? ND and nearby states have the highest percentage of Indians. SD leads with 10%, followed by MT (8.1%), ND (6.4%) and WY (3.9%). At 1.9% MN is close to the national average of 1.8%. NM (10.4%) noses out SD for No. 1. If you also consider Alaskan natives, that state is No. 1 at 19.6%.
UNDERWATER “The $37 payment with a 23.3-ton-per-acre average yield is ‘seriously underwater,’ for most growers.” -- An Agweek reference about estimated payments to Red River Valley sugar beet growers for the 2014 crop. “Underwater” means the growers lose money. Investors in American Crystal Sugar shares who are not also growers will often receive nothing.
HE NEEDED TO RELAX You are not supposed to smoke in a hospital, right. Even more so, you are not supposed to smoke around oxygen. A patient at the Sanford hospital in Fargo did both. He took a puff and became a puff. The resulting fire injured two and several patients were evacuated.
IS EVILDOER RIGHT? The Minneapolis StarTribune said Forbes magazine named Minnesota No. 9 on a list of business-friendly states, but ND was well ahead at No. 2. SD landed at No. 14 because the magazine was unimpressed by its growth prospects and quality of life. A rash of responses to the StarTrib article indicated condescending attitudes about ND are alive and well. A slight shift of subject -- a reader who called himself “evildoer” said Minnesota should be considered No. 1 for Welfare Packages.
NOT A LOW TAX STATE ND's business tax climate doesn't rank well according to the National Tax Foundation. Wyoming is No. 1 (no corporate or individual income tax and a low sales tax rate), SD is No. 2, MT is No. 6, and ND trails at No. 25.
FROM MINNESOTA TO SYRIA The StarTribune reports that “Since last summer, about a dozen Somalis from the Twin Cities have managed to board local flights to Europe and then on to the Middle East, eventually smuggling themselves into Syria to fight under the black flag of the Islamic State in Iraq and ISIL.” As a consequence, the FBI is investigating Somali recruiting networks in the Twin Cities and Somalis flying from the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport are subject to heavy scrutiny.
SOMALI LEADERS IN THE TWIN CITIES are complaining about young Somali men being targeted and harassed at the airport. The Obama administration sent its black Secretary of Homeland Security to the Twin Cities. Jeh Johnson held a meeting in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood (a Somali center) to hear the complaints at a meeting closed to the public and the press.
DAKTOIDS: Hunters, put your little airplanes away. ND is one of the states that outlaws the use of drones by hunters . . . The FBI has offices in ND’s four largest cities. In 2015, there will also be a permanent FBI office in Williston . . . Turn up the thermostat -- winter is coming. Last winter the average temperature in F-M over the primary winter months of December through February was 1.1 degrees . . . Bismarck’s mayor expects its population to grow into the range of 110,000 to 120,000 in 25 years. He said the city should become denser and more vertical.
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