Dakota Beacon

A FALL BLIZZARD crippled much of ND last Friday and Saturday.  An example of the perils, a Jefferson Lines bus slid into a ditch on I-94 west of Jamestown.  The Stutsman County Sheriff used a snow plow and bus to rescue the 42 passengers and picked up another 15 stranded drivers in the process.  The state knew what do and has largely recovered, but for some farmers there may be a lasting crisis.  Before the blizzard, the harvesting of most crops was behind because of a wet, late spring and an extremely wet September.  After years of weak farm incomes, the blizzard may take some farmers over the edge — one observer said northeast ND “is shot.”

MAKING TRACKS  Although their crops are covered with snow, ND farmers are determined to get the crops off — whatever that takes.  When the ground freezes, wheeled harvesters can get into the fields.  Some farmers are not waiting for a freeze and are equipping their combines with tracks.  Used tracks have been snapped up — new tracks cost $75,000 a pair.  A Harvey elevator manager said, “They are gearing up to get it done. That’s just the way it works. With tracks on a combine they can drive through the water.”

HISTORICALLY WET  National Weather Service hydrologist Alan Schlag in Bismarck said, “North Dakota had the wettest September ever, with 125 years of data. So far October is above for moisture too. It’s been remarkably wet. Pretty much the whole state is wet.”  The James, Sheyenne and Red Rivers are flooding and there is an increasing threat of spring flooding.

DROUGHT FIGHTER  The $2.75 billion F-M Diversion Project draws most of the news, but another large ND water project is gathering steam.  Next spring, the $1.2 billion Red River Valley Water Supply Project starts construction.  The 165-mile pipeline will bring water from the Missouri River to the Red River Valley where it will serve as an emergency backup water supply for half of ND’s population.  The project will employ elements of the former Garrison Diversion Project.  Climate experts say it is merely a matter of when — not if — a prolonged, multi-year drought similar to the one that parched the Great Plains during the 1930s grips the Red River Valley.

WENTZ  In the world of mouthy pro-athletes, Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz is usually a model of restraint and civility.  Forum columnist Mike McFeely reports that, perhaps out of frustration about the Eagles 38-20 loss Sunday to the Minnesota Vikings, Wentz boiled over and went after a Vikings defender who sacked him.  Asked about it later, he said, “Yeah, I don't want to talk about that.”  The Star Tribune said “Minneapolis is the closest NFL franchise to Wentz's hometown of Bismarck, N.D., and his college town of Fargo.”  Despite the loss, Wentz had a strong day finishing 26 of 40 for 306 passing yards and two touchdowns.

GET OFF THE COUCH  “This is important. North Dakota has joined an undesirable club. It’s one of nine states with an adult obesity rate exceeding 35%; 71% of North Dakota adults are overweight. Minnesota’s numbers, although better, aren’t far behind.” — From the Forum’s endorsement of a proposed large, public indoor recreational complex in Fargo.

FORMERLY A HEALTHY CULTURE  “The purposeful slaughter of the buffalo was really devastating to the Northern Plains tribes. The Lakota and Dakota (Sioux) used to be known as the giants of the plains,” a people who grew tall and healthy on a diet of buffalo, berries, corn, beans and squash. — Dr. Donald Warne, Director of the Indians Into Medicine program at UND.  A Forum article by Patrick Springer indicated a recent study showed buffalo-reliant tribes were once the tallest, wealthiest and healthiest Indians.  Today, their per capita income is half the U.S. average, 40% of Standing Rock residents are in poverty, they are two to three inches shorter and have bad diets.  Tribal leaders are attempting to revive a buffalo culture.

LATE MORE THAN NOT  The Amtrak Empire Builder has only a 46% on-time performance in St. Paul, prompting the Minnesota Dept. of Transportation to recommend an additional daily train in both directions between St. Paul and Chicago.  Good idea, although another proposal to add service between the Twin Cities and Duluth (Northern Lights Express) doesn’t pencil out.  Instead of Duluth, how about adding an additional daily service between Fargo and the Twin Cities?  Many travelers would like to avoid their airport experiences.

MOVING THE GOAL POSTS  Two prominent Minnesotans co-authored an article about the state’s educational disparities for the Star Tribune.  Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari and retired state Supreme Court Justice Alan Page began by noting Minnesota had some of the nation’s worst educational disparities between white and black students.  After high school, only 25% of black students are college ready compared to 69% of white students.  They said the gap has not changed after 20 years of “good faith efforts.”  As a result, educators are compromising and shifting their measure of success from student achievement to improving graduation rates.

THE OUTCOME  The authors of the Tribune article said, as a consequence of the shift, Minnesota is graduating unprepared students.  They see this as detrimental to “justice and the economic vibrancy of Minnesota.”  Without being prescriptive, the authors said Minnesota should look at “High performing schools across the nation that primarily serve low-income students” and return the focus to actual student achievement.  Test scores will be a necessary tool for measuring achievement.

THE  NICEST PLACE IN AMERICA selected by the Reader’s Digest is a place you’ve never heard of — Columbiana, Ohio.  Almost equally obscure places were selected for each state — ND (Watford City), Montana (Ovando), SD (Rapid City) and Minnesota (Fertile).  Watford City scored high on kindness and civility.

DAKTOIDS:  Over 11,000 donors have pledged over $300 million to NDSU, including a $75 million pledge from Robert and Sheila Challey . . . NDSU football overcame N. Iowa 46-14 for the Bison’s 27th consecutive win . . . The EPA has approved $510 million of low-cost financing to advance the F-M Diversion project.