SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - OCTOBER 20, 2014
A DECADE OF RAPID GROWTH The economies of Fargo-Moorhead and Bismarck-Mandan grew about 75 percent during the last decade, greatly outflanking the national metro rate of 36 percent, as well as growth rates in cities such as Billings and Sioux Falls. F-M has become a regional center for education and professional services; B-M is a base for professional services for the Oil Patch. Both communities are regional health care centers.
ND’S ECONOMY is commodity based (ag and energy) and is therefore subject to commodity demand and price cycles. There are hopeful signs that the state may be able to smooth those cycles with value-added manufacturing using local commodities. Badlands NGL announced plans for a $4 billion petrochemical plant in ND which will convert a byproduct of natural gas processing. This will be the largest private investment in state history and will be located outside the Oil Patch. Billion dollar nitrogen fertilizer plants are in advanced planning stages in Jamestown and Grand Forks.
CROSS-BORDER DIALOGUE The Souris (Mouse) River starts in Saskatchewan, loops through Minot, and reenters Canada in Manitoba where it joins the Assinibone River. The Assinibone meets the Red River in Winnipeg. Manitoba, ND and Minnesota coordinate flood control on the Red River through a basin commission. In November, a conference in Regina will initiate a similar commission for Saskatchewan and ND to manage the Assinibone Basin.
OVERNIGHTERS “No town of similar size gets more national news coverage than Williston.” -- From a Williston Herald editorial indicating scrutiny was about to get more intense with the release of the documentary film “The Overnighters.” Nominally, the film is about the plight of homeless and desperate workers who came to Williston to find work in the Bakken oil fields. But, the Herald says the film is mostly about Pastor Jay Reinke who shattered the congregation of the Concordia Lutheran Church in Williston by converting the church to a homeless shelter.
MATTERS GOT WORSE Reinke worsened matters by allowing a California felon to stay in his home. The man was later charged with human trafficking and gross sexual imposition. A Herald article indicated Reinke was ostracized by the town and his congregation. The Herald sees the movie as a hit piece which casts those who opposed Reinke’s program as “either ignorant, uncaring or greedy.” The movie also characterized the Herald itself as “parochial, sneaky and sensationalistic.” Reinke resigned as pastor and now sells welding gear to the pipeline industry.
TUNE IN A reader informs us a CNN special about Williston (as a modern boomtown) will air at 10:00 p.m. EST this coming Sunday night. The program is called “This is Life with Lisa Ling” and introduces “subcultures and communities that are unusual, extraordinary and sometimes dangerous.” Check a local listing to see if 10 p.m. is good in yourl time zone.
CHAOS IN KENSAL A half dozen police agencies, a helicopter and airplane were dispatched based on a report that a Kensal man had shot two intruders and . . . there might be more in his home. Schools in east central ND were placed on lockdown. Police found no intruders dead or alive. Police concluded the 65-year-old Kensal resident was suffering from dementia.
IF PASSENGERS WEREN’T ALREADY CONFUSED! During the summer the westbound Amtrak Empire Builder detoured from Fargo to Minot bypassing Grand Forks, Devils Lake and Rugby. The detour has been reversed -- the three cities will still be bypassed, only this time by the train heading east. The delays and confusion are caused, in part, by BNSF projects to install an additional 50 miles of mainline track in ND.
YES, F-M MAY BE VULNERABLE Liberia is the west African country most impacted by the Ebola crisis. A StarTribune article indicated there may be as many as 30,000 people of Liberian descent living in northwestern suburbs of Minneapolis. The F-M area is estimated to have as many as 5,000 people from Liberia and another 2,000 may be living in Grand Forks, Bismarck and Williston. The director of the African Initiative for Progress in Fargo said, “It’s so sad in that our family members are calling us, they are in desperate situations.”
MORE I-94 MIGRATION Lutheran Social Services says the number of Somalis in Grand Forks is expanding. The local LSS coordinator says most of the Somalis in town are migrants who were resettled in another city like St. Paul or Minneapolis and then moved to Grand Forks to seek greener pastures. She said, “A lot of secondary migrants are migrating here to Grand Forks and to North Dakota because of our reputation for jobs.”
BE MY SISTER The Minneapolis City Council has added a Somali city to its list of sister cities. A first for an American city. A Somali leader said “a sister-city agreement would help raise Somalia’s status in the United States and the rest of the world.” He added, “I think it will galvanize the Somali community in the United States as a whole.” A delighted member of the City Council told the Somali leaders, “You have changed the state of Minnesota.”
GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS “In fact, UND has more collegiate Gothic style buildings on campus than any other institution in the country, except for Princeton University.” -- The Grand Forks Historical Preservation Commission. The style is characterized by pointed arches, buttresses, recessed entrances and decorative finials atop the structure. UND has 56 significant historical structures and they present a dilemma. The school must balance preservation and affordability. Some of the structures occupy space badly needed for expansion.
ARE PHARMACIES DIFFERENT? Measure 7 on the ND ballot would permit chain stores to own and operate pharmacies -- presently, only pharmacists can do so. Editorial opinion in the larger cities generally favors the measure. Columnist Lloyd Omdahl opposes the measure, here is the crux of his argument: “The box stores and chain drug companies may actually save folks a couple of bucks here and a few pennies there. In the past, we have chosen savings at the cost of locally owned grocery stores, service stations, variety stores and other local businesses.”
THEY’RE BACK In 2011, the Phi Delta Theta fraternity at UND had its charter revoked for open drug usage and sale. This updated the fraternity’s image -- previously they were known as the home of hard-drinking slackers. The group has been going through a “three-step process” of rehabilitation. In December 2013, they were granted status as a “colony” and now they are once again an official fraternity. The terms of their rehab were strict, for example, they attended parties in a bus so no fraternity member was driving.
BOO! Halloween is coming to UND, but it’s also the season for cultural sensitivity. Sandra Mitchell, UND’s new Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion, issued a memo warning about choices of Halloween costumes. She said, “Please be aware that making the choice to dress up as someone from another culture, even with the intention of being humorous and not disrespectful, can lead to inaccurate and hurtful portrayals of other peoples’ heritages.” Altering skin color to simulate that of a person of another race was used as an example of offensive behavior. Mitchell has educational programming and other diversity-themed events in the works.
DAKTOIDS: Justice Lange, 21, (5-foot-3, 230 pounds) was easy to find. The Carrington native escaped from the New England correctional center where she was confined after pleading guilty to robbery, forgery and counterfeiting . . . The drop in oil prices will slow production growth in ND -- drilling has become uneconomical in three counties . . . Williston State College President Raymond Nadolny was placed on indefinite paid leave Wednesday for alleged misconduct involving alcohol use.
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