Dakota Beacon

THE 2017-19 ND BUDGET CYCLE ended with a bang and the state was able to add over a half billion dollars to its rainy day fund.  The $660 million fund is capped at $726 million.  The 2019-21 budget cycle took off in July with tax revenues 7.6% ahead of forecasts.

A RECESSION may hit ND a little less hard than the rest of the nation.  David Flynn, a UND economics professor, says the state’s commodity economy provides some insulation.  ND’s economy grew slightly during the national economic downturn of 2008.  Later, when the national economy recovered, ND had a downturn because of commodity prices.  This is a long way of saying ND commodity prices don’t always correlate with the general economy.

THE ND PRISON SYSTEM IS BULGING with prisoners convicted of drug crimes — half of all admissions in 2018 were for drug or alcohol crimes.  The ACLU issued a report recommending a package of programs as an alternative to placing low-level and non-violent offenders in prison.  The report also noted that Indians are imprisoned at six times the rate for white adults.  Indians make up 19% of the prison count while they are only 4% of the state population.  Legalization of marijuana was another suggestion.  The ACLU estimates recommended changes could cut the prison population in half by 2025 and save $125 million.

NOT A PROBLEM?  When the NCAA and academic activists brought down the UND Fighting Sioux nickname, it may have seemed just a matter time before the issue rolled downhill and hit high schools in the region.  It didn’t happen.  Forum News Service dispatched reporters to Minnesota and the Dakotas to interview both majority white schools with Indian nicknames and reservation schools.  A typical response: “There’s never been any pressure.”  Schools which are mainly Indian said they don’t have a problem with white schools using Indian names or imagery.

CHASE IRON EYES seeks the release of depositions taken during the now-resolved DAPL protests criminal trials.  He was charged with felony riot in connection with the 2017 DAPL protests.  Iron Eyes pleaded guilty in 2018, was fined and served probation.  He has previous felonies and is a member of the Standing Rock Sioux — he was the unsuccessful ND Democratic candidate for the U.S. House in 2018.  He wants the depositions of law officers in order to highlight what he says are injustices to American Indians.  Morton County contends he wants the depositions for possible use in a civil suit, a purpose for which they say was never intended.

DO’S AND DON’TS  Columnist Mike Jacobs weighed in on the use of earnings from the $6 billion ND Legacy Fund.  He believes earnings should be used for long-term purposes, such as research projects at UND and NDSU.  Jacobs said, “What we should not do is use the money for ongoing expenses of state government.  Each generation is responsible for government services.”

WHO IS THE OLDEST PERSON IN ND?  Marilyn Hagerty's interview of 114-year-old Iris Westman of Northwood did not resolve that question.  Miss Westman is a 1928 UND graduate and also obtained a degree in library science from the U. of Minnesota.  Never married, she had a career as a school teacher and librarian.  Westman lives in a health center in Northwood.

PEGGY LEE  "I don't see unfriendly people, I don't see litter, and I don't see homeless people.” — With this introduction, David Sabbath, director for Three Dog Films, began filming a documentary about Peggy Lee in Wimbledon, ND, where Lee graduated from high school.  Lee, who died in 2002, became famous as a singer and was given ND’s Rough Rider Award in 1975.

THE MINOT DAILY NEWS was “very excited” and eager to cover “wonderful things” in its Weekend Edition which will debut in September.  Oh, one small thing, MDN readers will receive one less newspaper each week.  Read this as further evidence of cost squeezes at daily newspapers, particularly, smaller ones.

TAKE NO CHANCES  Bison football kickers and snappers practiced on a dirt softball field in Fargo.  This was preparation for tomorrow’s game against Butler University (Indianapolis) at Target Field in Minneapolis where they will be playing on the Minnesota Twins dirt baseball infield.  Twins officials expect more than 35,000 fans for the game. 

DRIP, DRIP, DRIP  An obscure Minnesota legislator received nationwide attention for exposing issues involving U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar.  State Rep. Steve Drazkowski raised questions about potential immigration, tax and campaign violations by Omar and most have borne fruit.  This week, he alleged she committed perjury in a 2017 divorce filing.  

DRIP BECOMES A TORRENT  The latest shoe to drop — the Star Tribune reports a Washington, D.C., physician alleged in a divorce filing this week that her husband (Omar’s campaign consultant) had an affair with Omar.  A complaint has been filed with the Federal Election Commission questioning over $200,000 of consulting fees effectively paid to the man with whom she had the alleged affair.  To add to the melee, Omar reported a threat to murder her at the State Fair.

A RASH OF SUICIDES among tribal youth hit SD’s Pine Ridge Indian Reservation in 2015.  Four years later, a tribal leader told SD legislators that part of the problem was inaccessibility to mental health care on the remote reservation.  The federal government is funding a telehealth system to reach young people in far parts of the reservation.  The system, still under development, required changes in SD state law about delivery of health services.

DAKTOIDS:  US News rated Altru Hospital in Grand Forks #1 among ND’s 47 hospitals.  The top hospitals were in GF, Bismarck and Fargo . . . Half of the ND Legislature is men age 60 and older — the Legislature’s design discourages s a good share of the population from serving . . . Quarterback Easton Stick scored three touchdowns for the NFL Chargers in preseason play — he led NDSU’s latest national football championship . . . South Dakota has one of the best funded public pension plans and its contributions as a percentage of budget are the lowest in the nation . . . Preliminary fall enrollment at NDSU is the lowest in 10 years.