Dakota Beacon

BREACH OF DUTY “By refusing to put ‘North Dakota’ back on the list, Kelley is silencing a majority of these people. It is a breach of morality and the social contract that the university shares with him.” -- A letter to the GF Herald from a UND student accusing UND President Robert Kelley of ignoring the needs and desires of “students, alumni and staff.” The nickname vote is scheduled next week.

MORE KELLEY “While the war with the NCAA and UND academics over the Fighting Sioux nickname has long since been lost, it's impossible not to view the carnage as a waste of time over an honor that never was hostile, abusive or offensive in any way. The damage is not done yet, thanks to a childish move by the outgoing Kelley to eliminate the student, fan and alumni favorite choice of remaining ‘North Dakota.’” -- Letter to GF Herald from Scott Hennen, co-host of a statewide talk-radio program. Kelley has also been criticized in social media and a Herald editorial for appearing to wrongly accuse a UND fraternity of an alleged hate crime.

PLEASE, NOT SUNDOGS! Tom Dennis of the GF Herald recommends Sundogs as the new UND nickname. The idea may result from staring too long into the glare of, well, Sundogs. How many days would it take for that name to be shortened to “The Dogs?” Hardly anyone outside the region has any inkling of the meaning of Sundogs.

GRAND SKY is the name of a 217-acre business park at GFAFB that focuses on unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). Northrop Grumman is breaking ground on a 36,000-square-foot facility to conduct UAS related operations. The Grumman facility is expected to employ 100 and to attract other companies to the $300 million park.

ELUSIVE NITROGEN PLANTS A year ago there was excitement in Jamestown and Grand Forks about $2 billion nitrogen fertilizer plants proposed in each city. This year the Minnesota cooperative backing the Jamestown plant folded its cards. Northern Plains Nitrogen, the proposed Grand Forks operation, seems iffy. The plant does not have financing, preliminary design or a number of key agreements.

THE 90TH SAUERKRAUT DAY was not a way to become sleek and debonair. Volunteers start with boiling 200 pounds of bacon in two large cast-iron kettles. Then 500 pounds of hot dogs and 110 gallons of sauerkraut were added. The sauerkraut was prepared in the Wishek Police Department garage. The Wishek Public School band, choir and accordion group sang traditional folk songs in German and English during the lunch. The event is a celebration of the traditions of Germans from Russia.

“THE REACTION HAS BEEN INSANE to say the least.” -- An officer of the Flandreau Santee Sioux, who have a reservation north of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, referring to their plans for a “first-of-its-kind” marijuana resort scheduled to open near the end of the year. With prospects dimming for their casino because of a new competitor east of Sioux Falls, the 400-member tribe approved the marijuana scheme. They face major obstacles including opposition from the SD Attorney General who stated that state law prohibits non-Indians from using marijuana anywhere in the state.

SURELY, SHE WILL BE OUT AFTER 3 STRIKES Two weeks back, I confidently predicted that an armed bank robber described as a woman, 5 feet 4 inches, 200 pounds, possibly Native American, and around 40 years old, would be easily caught. I was badly wrong and the woman has since struck a second Grand Forks bank.

RACIAL CONFLICT is a subject largely avoided by the two large Minneapolis-St. Paul newspapers. In part, because the black community charges that its problems are over reported, while its challenges and achievement are under reported. The St. Cloud Times, a Gannett paper, tackled the subject in its coverage of the NAACP Community Conversation in St. Cloud. Gov. Mark Dayton was one of the guests.

ST. CLOUD is a city of 66,000 about 80 miles up I-94 from the Twin Cities. Over 10 percent of St. Cloud’s population are Somali who are the center of a series of racial incidents. Dayton said he was aware of racial issues in St. Cloud, “Anybody who cannot accept your (the immigrants) right to be here and this is Minnesota should find another state." In response to confrontational comments about immigrants, Dayton said, "Our economy cannot expand based on, white, B+, Minnesota-born citizens. We don't have enough."

MISMATCH MSP, a Minnesota nonprofit, says the state will be short 100,000 workers by 2020 and needs to attract educated, trained workers from outside the state. Instead, a good share of migrants recently entering the state are uneducated, unskilled refugees from East Africa.

FARGO’S NEW POLICE CHIEF, David Todd, was asked how he would respond to concerns that the creation of the street crimes unit has led to over-policing of minority groups? Todd said, “We focus on behavior. It doesn't matter what sex they are, what race they are, what creed or orientation they are. It's their criminal activity that attracts our attention.”

ALFONSO RODRIGUEZ JR. murdered UND student Dru Sjodin in 2003. Now, 12 years later, appeals of his death sentence drone on. A Forum article estimates that Rodriguez’s federal defense costs are well in excess of $1.5 million -- prosecution costs are probably higher. A variety of other costs, such as public defenders, are not included. Total costs, all borne by taxpayers, are in the millions and appeals continue. This case illustrates the cost and futility of death sentences.

DAKTOIDS: The Fargo-Moorhead metro area had a population of 228,000 last year . . .
ND has the nation’s 4th highest restaurant sales growth rate.