SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - NOVEMBER 7, 2016
VIEWS ABOUT THE PIPELINE “But on the issue of the Dakota Access Pipeline itself, the facts are much more on the pipeline's side. The protesters should recognize that reality and stop alienating would-be supporters by making false and exaggerated claims.” -- A GF Herald editorial by Tom Dennis. Forum columnist Rob Port had a similar argument -- he believes “the protesters – who have so far failed to make a compelling legal argument in the courts – have resorted to acts of political extremism as a means to getting their way.”
CLAY JENKINSON'S essay about the pipeline crisis was published in ND newspapers. He is an author, educator and former Bismarck Tribune columnist. His intense views about ND Indians are a continuing theme in his writings. Jenkinson has a somewhat grandiose hope the pipeline controversy will be the beginning of a “pan-Indian renaissance” and remembered as a “pivotal moment in American history.”
IS MESSAGE BEING LOST? Jenkinson says the pipeline gets national attention, because “the ‘enlightenment’ coalition — consisting of liberals, bleeding hearts, environmentalists, anti-capitalists and advocates of the rights of indigenous peoples worldwide — automatically sides with the Indians, assuming they must be in the right, even if their legal argument is weak.” But he is concerned a needed debate about native rights is being buried by the larger debate about fossil fuels. He wishes the fossil fuel debate would take place in a different venue.
THE ENLIGHTENMENT COALITION has its fingerprints all over the pipeline protests. Early this week over $3 million had been raised through crowdsourcing and was being used for legal costs, food and supplies for the protestors. Little of the money remains having been spent for items such as the purchase of 20 yurts for $160,000. An analysis of 395 arrests in connection with the pipeline indicated only 9 percent of those arrested were from ND.
BURGUM ENDORSEMENT “By most states' standards, North Dakota has a ‘weak’ governor (a reference to the office, not the holder). Grasping the subtleties of the legislative/executive dynamic will be essential if Burgum is to advance his visionary ideas.” -- From a Forum endorsement of Doug Burgum for governor. The Forum says, “He's the right choice to usher in an era of change and innovation that can strengthen and diversify the state's economy and modernize the way state government meets its mandates.”
NAEP The National Assessment of Educational Progress issues well-regarded reports on education. The NAEP recently reported the testing of 8th grade science students. ND did well -- its score of 161 placed it above the national average of 153 and No. 8 in the nation. Montana (161) tied with ND, South Dakota (160) was No. 9, and Minnesota (162) was No. 5. Utah and New Hampshire (both 166) were the national leaders. Mississippi (140) and Alabama (141) secured the bottom.
LOOK BENEATH THE AVERAGES Average NAEP scores in some states belie substantial racial differences. Texas is a good example, its 8th grade white science students ranked No. 2 (172) in the nation, indicating relative excellence, but the state’s overall rank was a middling No. 23 (156). The overall average reflects the 64 percent of Texas students that are black or Hispanic. Minnesota had an unusual distinction -- its white students ranked No. 4 (171), while its black students were No. 27 (128), a gap of 43 points -- the second largest gap in the nation. Wisconsin’s gap of 46 was largest.
HE’S BACK Coach Craig Bohl took the NDSU football team to three national championships before he moved to the University of Wyoming in Laramie. It was slow going -- in his second year at Wyoming his team won only two games. That’s all changed -- last Saturday his team beat nationally ranked Boise State and is first in its conference division.
DOWN IT GOES Minot demolished its 1991 airport terminal -- a new terminal is in service. The demolition cost $670,000 and, like most airport project costs, the federal government gets 90 percent of the bill.
REUBEN AND CLARICE LIECHTY of Jamestown will receive a Lifetime Achievement award for philanthropy from the Northern Plains Chapter of Fundraising Professionals. A recent example of their giving: $2.5 million to the Trinity Bible College in Ellendale for a prayer and teaching center. Clarice is a former Jamestown mayor.
WHO ARE YOU KIDDING? A college hockey theme restaurant is planned in St. Paul. It is to be called the Fighting Soo. Developer Imran Khan said with a straight face that the restaurant was a reference to the former Soo Line railroad and he hopes people will not see a connection to the UND “Fighting Sioux” nickname.
EXCEL AT YOUR OWN RISK Some Minnesota high schools students taking courses for college credit are ordered out of school while doing college classwork. Children from farm families may have no place to go during these periods -- one pleaded with a City Council for permission to study at City Hall. The reason for the harsh treatment is the high schools do not receive state student aid money when students are doing college coursework. The head of a nonprofit working on student achievement said, “I think, unfortunately, we have some educators in the state who have forgotten that the system is supposed to serve the student.”
GANDY DANCER The obituary of Bill Evans (83) of Cooperstown stated he worked as a Gandy Dancer for the Burlington Northern Railroad for 17 years before his retirement in 1987. Gandy Dancer is a term slipping into obscurity. Today, machines lay and align railroad tracks, but in earlier times tracks were aligned with steel lining bars called gandys. Crews using gandys in unison were likened to the movements of dancers, hence the name “Gandy Dancers.”
DAKTOIDS Doesn’t that beet all! Grower Ron Reitmeier won dinner for four in Crookston when he turned in a sugar beet weighing 27.1 pounds. The contest has gone on for 20 years . . . In ND 20 percent of electricity is generated by wind, compared to 17 percent in Minnesota and 27 percent in South Dakota . . . More than 98 percent of Fargo-Moorhead teachers are white, while about a quarter of students are minorities. Educational institutions expect such mismatches to grow.
CLAY JENKINSON'S essay about the pipeline crisis was published in ND newspapers. He is an author, educator and former Bismarck Tribune columnist. His intense views about ND Indians are a continuing theme in his writings. Jenkinson has a somewhat grandiose hope the pipeline controversy will be the beginning of a “pan-Indian renaissance” and remembered as a “pivotal moment in American history.”
IS MESSAGE BEING LOST? Jenkinson says the pipeline gets national attention, because “the ‘enlightenment’ coalition — consisting of liberals, bleeding hearts, environmentalists, anti-capitalists and advocates of the rights of indigenous peoples worldwide — automatically sides with the Indians, assuming they must be in the right, even if their legal argument is weak.” But he is concerned a needed debate about native rights is being buried by the larger debate about fossil fuels. He wishes the fossil fuel debate would take place in a different venue.
THE ENLIGHTENMENT COALITION has its fingerprints all over the pipeline protests. Early this week over $3 million had been raised through crowdsourcing and was being used for legal costs, food and supplies for the protestors. Little of the money remains having been spent for items such as the purchase of 20 yurts for $160,000. An analysis of 395 arrests in connection with the pipeline indicated only 9 percent of those arrested were from ND.
BURGUM ENDORSEMENT “By most states' standards, North Dakota has a ‘weak’ governor (a reference to the office, not the holder). Grasping the subtleties of the legislative/executive dynamic will be essential if Burgum is to advance his visionary ideas.” -- From a Forum endorsement of Doug Burgum for governor. The Forum says, “He's the right choice to usher in an era of change and innovation that can strengthen and diversify the state's economy and modernize the way state government meets its mandates.”
NAEP The National Assessment of Educational Progress issues well-regarded reports on education. The NAEP recently reported the testing of 8th grade science students. ND did well -- its score of 161 placed it above the national average of 153 and No. 8 in the nation. Montana (161) tied with ND, South Dakota (160) was No. 9, and Minnesota (162) was No. 5. Utah and New Hampshire (both 166) were the national leaders. Mississippi (140) and Alabama (141) secured the bottom.
LOOK BENEATH THE AVERAGES Average NAEP scores in some states belie substantial racial differences. Texas is a good example, its 8th grade white science students ranked No. 2 (172) in the nation, indicating relative excellence, but the state’s overall rank was a middling No. 23 (156). The overall average reflects the 64 percent of Texas students that are black or Hispanic. Minnesota had an unusual distinction -- its white students ranked No. 4 (171), while its black students were No. 27 (128), a gap of 43 points -- the second largest gap in the nation. Wisconsin’s gap of 46 was largest.
HE’S BACK Coach Craig Bohl took the NDSU football team to three national championships before he moved to the University of Wyoming in Laramie. It was slow going -- in his second year at Wyoming his team won only two games. That’s all changed -- last Saturday his team beat nationally ranked Boise State and is first in its conference division.
DOWN IT GOES Minot demolished its 1991 airport terminal -- a new terminal is in service. The demolition cost $670,000 and, like most airport project costs, the federal government gets 90 percent of the bill.
REUBEN AND CLARICE LIECHTY of Jamestown will receive a Lifetime Achievement award for philanthropy from the Northern Plains Chapter of Fundraising Professionals. A recent example of their giving: $2.5 million to the Trinity Bible College in Ellendale for a prayer and teaching center. Clarice is a former Jamestown mayor.
WHO ARE YOU KIDDING? A college hockey theme restaurant is planned in St. Paul. It is to be called the Fighting Soo. Developer Imran Khan said with a straight face that the restaurant was a reference to the former Soo Line railroad and he hopes people will not see a connection to the UND “Fighting Sioux” nickname.
EXCEL AT YOUR OWN RISK Some Minnesota high schools students taking courses for college credit are ordered out of school while doing college classwork. Children from farm families may have no place to go during these periods -- one pleaded with a City Council for permission to study at City Hall. The reason for the harsh treatment is the high schools do not receive state student aid money when students are doing college coursework. The head of a nonprofit working on student achievement said, “I think, unfortunately, we have some educators in the state who have forgotten that the system is supposed to serve the student.”
GANDY DANCER The obituary of Bill Evans (83) of Cooperstown stated he worked as a Gandy Dancer for the Burlington Northern Railroad for 17 years before his retirement in 1987. Gandy Dancer is a term slipping into obscurity. Today, machines lay and align railroad tracks, but in earlier times tracks were aligned with steel lining bars called gandys. Crews using gandys in unison were likened to the movements of dancers, hence the name “Gandy Dancers.”
DAKTOIDS Doesn’t that beet all! Grower Ron Reitmeier won dinner for four in Crookston when he turned in a sugar beet weighing 27.1 pounds. The contest has gone on for 20 years . . . In ND 20 percent of electricity is generated by wind, compared to 17 percent in Minnesota and 27 percent in South Dakota . . . More than 98 percent of Fargo-Moorhead teachers are white, while about a quarter of students are minorities. Educational institutions expect such mismatches to grow.
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