Dakota Beacon

The Coasters had a top-ten hit in 1959 best known for the phrase, “Why’s everybody always pickin’ on me?” The Spirit Lake Tribe has taken a relentless beating in the media. News reports and editorials across the region have been critical of the reservation’s social services, law enforcement and courts. Have critics piled on? Reservation leaders think so. The chief justice of the tribal courts decries “the unbelievably negative media attention.” Tribal Chairman Roger Yankton wailed “Everybody’s been pounding on us,” they say “Do this, do that.” A conference among tribal agencies discussed working together to reduce violence and resume management of social services taken over by the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Not too hot, not too cold. Clay Jenkinson’s column in the Bismarck Tribune mentions that Bismarck will be the “sweet spot” in the Bakken Oil Boom and the city is going to grow in size, population, and sophistication “until it serves as a compelling counterweight to Fargo.” Bismarck Mayor John Warford is on the same page. He says his city has the lowest unemployment rate in the nation, year-to-date sales tax revenues are up 17% and the city will grow to 78,000 by 2025. Bismarck does not expect hyper-growth like Dickinson and Williston.

Bismarck’s future looks rosy, but there will be little bumps along the way. Currently, Bismarck hospitals have an acute shortage of nurses. ND can not produce enough nurses -- Bismarck hospitals are hiring traveling nurses and recruiting at out-of-state nursing schools. Health care provides 19 percent of the jobs in the city. Bismarck is building three new schools, but updated projections indicate that may not be enough.

Clay Jenkinson is a Bismarck columnist, but also the subject of an article in the Fargo Forum about his new book, “For the Love of North Dakota and Other Essays.” The book is a compilation of some of his columns. Among many other activities, Jenkinson portrays the voice of Thomas Jefferson on public radio. He was away from ND from the mid-1970s to 2005 and returned expecting to find “a progressive conservative state” with “really open-minded and tolerant, well-educated people.” Instead, he was dismayed to see a state “deepening its red” and becoming “more a hard C conservative.” He attributes the change to1980s hard times and the resulting effect on the spirit of the state. There could be an additional possibility Jenkinson didn’t mention -- he may have changed during the decades he was on the West Coast.

Both Bismarck and Ward County (Minot) have ballot measures proposing new sales taxes for civic improvements. The choice of sales tax rather than property tax is an effort to shift some of the burden of projects to visitors. Ward County proposes to generate $39 million for projects such as a new county office building and jail improvements. The Minot Daily News said, “It’s time to seriously address the worsening problems.” Bismarck is thinking even bigger -- it proposes a $90 million expansion of its Civic Center convention facilities to be mostly paid for by a hospitality tax. The Bismarck Tribune is torn -- it says the benefits “are not as clear as the price tag would require.” The Tribune struggled with the topic, before bravely concluding “voters . . . will have to decide for themselves.”

Earlier in this newsletter, I mentioned hyper-growth in the Dickinson area. The Stark County Development Corporation released a list of 50 major projects at various stages of planning and construction. Of the projects, 17 cost more than $2 million, 28 exceed $10 million and 5 exceed $100 million. This is happening in or near a city which prior to the oil boom had a population of about 15,000.

It doesn’t seem right. Fargo Beer is brewed in Black River Falls, Wisconsin -- even the popular Wood Chipper Indian Pale Ale is made there. The wrong may be righted -- the Fargo Beer Co. is acquiring a site in Fargo and will apply for permits to operate a brewery there. ND was the only state in the country without a commercial craft brewery, until earlier this month when Edwinton Brewing Co. opened in Bismarck.

It’s not the same. Can’t prove it, but, since losing the “Fighting Sioux” nickname, UND football and hockey teams seem less inspired. It must be difficult playing as the “Fighting Whatevers.”

UND President Robert Kelley delivered his annual State of the University address without mentioning the Fighting Sioux. He acknowledged the oil boom had touched the school. Oil billionaire Harold Hamm donated $10 million for a new geology school -- the gift will cover new equipment, faculty pay, scholarships and a virtual library. Additionally, UND is proposing to offer a petroleum engineering degree in the west in conjunction with Williston State. Kelley described UND as vibrant and diverse, “a contemporary, large research university with the heart and soul of a liberal arts college.”

Wayne Biberdorf is a retired Hess Corporation oil field manager who was appointed ND’s energy impact coordinator. He is a member of the ND Petroleum Council’s Hall of Fame. Biberdorf focuses on the Bakken boom impact on roads, water and land and tries to improve coordination between state and local government and other stakeholders. He says the oil industry in ND is beginning to move from a development phase to a maintenance phase. In his estimation, pipelines are one of the biggest issues. Having pipelines to move water, oil and gas will remove many trucks and make a huge impact on the road issue.

Kazakhstan can be brutally cold, and that’s the reason the former Soviet republic turned to ND to rebuild its cattle herds. Cattle from ND typically have thicker coats and more fatty tissue -- genetic characteristics that cause them to thrive in Kazakhstan. About 5,000 Angus and Hereford cows have already made the trip, 3,000 more plan to board jumbo jets for Central Asia.

If you lived the good life in Fargo, what would you do? According to the Forum's "Best of 2012," you would work at Microsoft (best large employer), stay at the Hotel Donaldson (best hotel), dine at Doolittles Woodfire Grill (best restaurant), and sip coffee at Caribou (best coffee shop) while surveying goings on at West Acres (best people watching).

We like to see people with surnames beginning with SCH do well -- don’t we? The Fargo Forum has endorsed Scherling and Schneider for Cass County Commissioner and Schmidt for State Treasurer.