Dakota Beacon

GLIMMER OF GOOD NEWS  People where I live know I’m from ND — recently, they have been greeting me with “what’s happening in ND?”  They are referring to discouraging reports about coronavirus in the state.  It’s too early to validate a trend, but this week ND numbers took a turn for the better.  Active cases on Thursday were 8,345, the lowest count since early November, and active cases were dropping in each of the larger counties.  Ward County (Minot) was hot in November — as of Wednesday it had 72 deaths in the month and led all counties with 127 total deaths.  One out of ten Nodaks have tested positive for coronavirus.

VIRUS IN THE LOCKUP  Last week, Stutsman County had 259 active cases of coronavirus per 10,000 residents — that’s about 2.6% of the population.  The James River Correctional Center on the grounds of the State Hospital in Jamestown is partially responsible for the high count.  At Nov. 18, there were 211 active cases among 413 inmates and 20 cases among staff.

TALE OF TWO STATES  “South Dakota and New Mexico are living two different economies: one wide open, the other bolted shut.” — New York Times.  The NYT article highlighted different approaches taken by the two states to control the coronavirus.  The article said SD “has the fewest restrictions of any state,” while NM’s two million residents are “under some of the toughest restrictions in the country.”  SD has had some of the worst per capita experience with the virus, but has started to level off.  NM has done better, but daily case numbers have doubled over the past two weeks.  NM’s economy is shattered, while SD has unemployment of only 3.6%, well below the national average of 6.9%.  SD residents seem to accept their situation, while there is a level of desperation and fear in NM.

A LOAD ON HIS SHOULDERS  In February, Altru Health System in Grand Forks fired its CEO and CFO.  We weren’t told why, but can guess.  Altru had fallen into a troubled financial situation which required it to curtail employment and stop construction of a new hospital.  A new CEO has not been found, but industry veteran Doug Arvin has been hired as CFO.  The interim CEO said, “As we continue to focus on financial performance and the steady growth of our operations, I am confident that Doug has the experience, leadership skills and record of success that will help us achieve our ambitious goals for Altru,”  Good luck, Doug.

NOT COOL, KELBY  In Sioux Falls, SD, Sanford Health CEO Kelby Krabbenhoft recovered from the coronavirus and in his excitement notified employees that he would henceforth not be wearing a mask.  The perhaps unintended effect was to play down the importance of masks.  That was going too far.  Other senior Sanford executives felt obliged to issue a statement countering the CEO’s position saying “Whether you’ve had the virus or not, it is recommended that you wear a mask when you cannot be socially distanced. Our masking policy for Sanford Health remains unchanged.”  Krabbenhoft’s resignation from the 50,000 employee system followed shortly.

SUCCESSION  Sanford’s new CEO is Bill Gassen, formerly chief administrative officer.  He has taken a new and stricter policy regarding masks.  Sanford has plans to merge with Intermountain Healthcare to create an organization with 70 hospitals and 89,000 employees.  Intermountain issued a carefully worded statement saying Krabbenhoft's departure didn't involve Intermountain and didn't change their intent to merge with Sanford.

HOW ABOUT AN 8TH GRADER WITH A BEARD  The late Darlene Dahl (90) was born in rural McHenry, ND, and attended school in nearby Binford.  At 18, after a short summer course at Mayville State, she taught school for three years.  This is a piece of ND history that will surprise most people today.  ND once had hundreds of one-room schools and many were taught by 18-year-olds with only a summer’s training.  They often attended teacher’s college in subsequent summers working towards a degree.  Occasionally, teachers had students as old or older than themselves — usually boys whose graduation was delayed by farm work.

THE U.S. ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS gave encouragement this week to two pipelines.  In the first case, the Corps recommended to a federal court that the Dakota Access Pipeline should be permitted to operate while the Corps conducts a lengthy environmental review of the pipeline.  Tribal and environmental groups want the pipeline shutdown.  In the second case, the Corps gave a federal permit for work to proceed on the controversial Line 3 pipeline in Minnesota.  Winona LaDuke, executive director of Honor the Earth, a tribal environmental group opposing the pipeline, has promised to sue . . . and more.

PLEASE, RECONSIDER THE CONCEPT  President-elect Joe Biden is being pressured to appoint Ohio Rep. Marcia Fudge, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, as Secretary of Agriculture.  Fudge’s supporters have a novel reason — they think someone representing food stamp users should be Secretary.  Her main competitor is former ND Sen. Heidi Heitkamp who has a solid understanding of production agriculture.

‘KNIVES OUT” is Politico’s description of the attitude of Democratic activists on the left to the appointment of Heidi Heitkamp as Secretary of Agriculture.  They consider her too friendly with agribusiness and the fossil fuel industry.  A poll of Fargo Forum readers found 80% believe Heitkamp should get the appointment. 

LIFE IS NOT GOOD  The Minnesota Dept. of Health found that American Indians had the state’s highest death rate for coronavirus.  It was also reported that American Indians in Minnesota had the highest rates of homelessness and unemployment, and the lowest chance of graduating from high school.

DAKTOIDS:  In October boardings at ND’s eight commercial airports rose to 48,000 from 39,000 in September.  Year-to-date, Williston’s airport was down 63% from 2019 . . . Happy farmers — soybean prices are at their highest level in 4 years; also, a good year for durum for which ND is a major producer . . . A film “Fighting Over Sioux” has been released — it’s about the battle over the UND Fighting Sioux nickname.