SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - OCTOBER 21, 2013
. . . farmers are growing old; Farm operation and ownership are separating; drug conspiracy on the Ft. Berthold Reservation; Kalcie Eagle, 21, was solely responsible; the loss of 21,000 barrels of crude oil; Jamestown wants to stem a leak; Jamestown residents was asked what type of store they would like most; a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle; Grant County sheriff Steve Bay had all the tools; now many of those killed are from other states; the projects are feasible because of oil taxes; “you don’t know jack”; the movie “Captain Phillips”; new mosque in Fargo; the best business tax climates; DAKTOIDS. . . .
ND farm ownership is changing -- farmers are growing old. In 1996, 19 percent of ND farmers were over 50; in 2012, 46 percent were over 50. In the Red River Valley over half the farmers were past 50. We are talking big money -- in 2012, around 80 percent of RRV farms had sales over $1 million and income over $200,000. The data comes from a NDSU study annually updating the financial characteristics of ND farms.
What will happen to the farms of older farmers? Younger farmers do not have the financial ability to acquire the farms, so they increasingly rent land from retired farmers or their heirs. Farm operation and ownership are separating. It has already happened to a large degree -- in the RRV only a small fraction of operators own more than 40 percent of their land. This works well for the operators -- at least in good times. The NDSU study indicates that “farms that own some land, but not a lot, are typically the most profitable.”
Oil leaves the Bakken region and illegal drugs enter. In July, federal authorities charged 22 people with drug conspiracy on the Ft. Berthold Reservation. Last week the FBI rounded up another batch. Local authorities are overwhelmed by national drug trafficking rings and require federal assistance, which also helps overcome jurisdictional issues on the reservation.
The FBI concluded its investigation of the November 2012 shooting deaths of four members of a New Town family and reported what has been widely known for nearly a year -- that Kalcie Eagle, 21, was solely responsible. He was using meth. The FBI says the investigation was prolonged because they wanted to be certain no other parties were involved.
You’ve read how a leaky faucet can translate into the loss of thousands of gallons of water. Something similar occurred on an old Tesoro pipeline in a wheat field near Tioga -- a quarter inch hole in a six-inch pipeline led to the loss of 21,000 barrels of crude oil. The lost oil would fill 29 rail tank cars.
Jamestown wants to stem a leak. A consultant advised the city that as much as $56 million of home improvement sales “leak” out of Jamestown each year to home improvement centers in Bismarck and Fargo. Jamestown’s city counsel is exploring an agreement with a major home improvement chain.
Jamestown is an "in between" city. With a population around 16,000, the city and its market area don't attract large national stores as do Bismarck and Fargo, each 90 miles away. A sample of Jamestown residents was asked what type of store they would like most: 1 in 3 would like a home improvement store; 1 in 4 would prefer a wholesale club such as Costco.
“You hope you don’t have to use it often. But when you need it, you need it.” -- The Stutsman County sheriff was clearly thrilled to have the only MRAP in the state. For those of you not up on such things, a MRAP is a Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle. You can see right off Jamestown needs one. The 15-ton armor plated machine, which is called “big and scary” by the Jamestown police chief, was available as military surplus.
“Once you’ve done security in Sturgis, you’ve pretty much seen it all.” -- Grant County sheriff Steve Bay had all the tools to control a September confrontation in Leith (pop. 30) between white supremacists and protesters. He cut his teeth controlling crowds for 15 years at the annual Sturgis (SD) Motorcycle Rally.
I call it the ND way of death -- after midnight, a pickup, traveling fast on a rural road with a driver with no seat belt, rolls and ejects it passengers. Alcohol is usually involved. One thing has changed -- now many of those killed are from other states. Last weekend, a man from Wyoming and a woman from Arizona met their fates in separate Oil Patch crashes.
GF Herald publisher Mike Jacobs says traffic in the Oil Patch continues to be frenzied, “but things seem to be more organized and little more manageable than they were.” Traffic in GF, however, may be getting worse. He attributes that, indirectly, to the oil boom. UND is getting a new medical school and a larger law school -- the projects are feasible because of oil taxes. A proposed nitrogen fertilizer plant will be the largest industrial undertaking in the city’s history -- the raw material will be natural gas from the state’s oil fields. Also, many GF firms are picking up Oil Patch business.
The phrase “you don’t know jack” has been used for decades to address someone who knows very little -- it’s also the title of a weekly online video by the Fargo Forum. In the latter case “jack” has double meaning, since it also refers to Forum opinion page editor Jack Zaleski, who is featured in the videos. Without much difficulty, Jack plays the part of an irascible individual who rants on a different subject each week. Last week he attacked the notion that old people are gullible and easy to manipulate. He said they are, in fact, “highly aware and savvy,” and “younger people are stupid.” He concludes each rant by flinging the pages of his script. It sounds goofy, and it is, but may become a popular Forum feature.
The Minnesota Somali had a bright moment this week at a red-carpet screening of the movie “Captain Phillips” in St. Paul. A casting director for the Tom Hanks movie went to Minneapolis in 2011 because it has the nation’s largest Somali population. Over 700 aspiring actors showed up of which four men were selected to play Somali pirates in the movie. A Herald report indicates one of the men now lives in Grand Forks where he hopes to eventually qualify for the UND aviation program.
“More than 1,000 Muslims from the area attended Tuesday’s prayer.” -- A spokesman for a new mosque in Fargo. Muslims from Bosnia, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Egypt, Turkey, India and Pakistan attended the Eid-ul-Adha prayer.
Wyoming, South Dakota and Nevada have the best business tax climates according to the Tax Foundation. New York, New Jersey, California and Minnesota bring up the rear. ND? At #28, it’s in the middle.
DAKTOIDS: Oil companies ordinarily go through four steps to obtain drilling permits, but on the Ft. Berthold Reservation there are 49 steps with four federal agencies . . . August daily oil production in ND reached 900,000 barrels; the million barrel mark is expected to be reached near the end of the year . . . Did the fight go out of UND when it lost the Fighting Sioux brand -- the football team had its fourth-straight home loss? . . . The national default rate for student loans is 10 percent; in ND it’s 4 percent.
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