SCHMID: LOOKING BACK FROM THE LEFT COAST - SEPTEMBER 9, 2019
LOOKING GOOD This is the time in football season when university teams line up weak opponents for their opening games. It’s a team confidence builder and excites the fans. UND and NDSU did an admirable selection job — UND plastered Drake in Grand Forks 47-7, while No. 1 NDSU walloped Butler in Minneapolis 57-10. The UND and NDSU teams meet tomorrow in the Fargodome at 2:30 p.m. for the first time since 2015. The Minnesota Gophers thought they had a weak opponent in SD State, but barely escaped with a 28-21 win.
DOORS CLOSE Many daily newspapers are creating online “firewalls” which limit or block visits to their websites. The Twin City papers and the Bismarck Tribune have done this for some time — with little or no notice, the Fargo Forum joined their ranks last week — expect other Forum papers to follow. A small future break -- it appears a paid subscription to the Fargo Forum will give online access to other Forum papers.
BYE BYE COAL Montana-Dakota Utilities is closing a coal-burning plant near Mandan and another at Sydney, Montana. Each will be replaced by gas peaking units which can be fired up in 20 minutes when power demand is high. The operating costs of the gas plants will be half the coal plants — the 71 employees required for the coal plants will be replaced by 11 employees in the gas plants. These steps will also help with ND’s surplus of natural gas.
THE NATION’S ECONOMY was mixed in the second quarter — most state’s had employment growth, but a handful of Mid-America states showed softness. ND and Montana had relatively strong non-farm payrolls, while Wyoming, South Dakota and Minnesota had weaker growth. The Mid-America Business Conditions index covers a nine-state block with ND and Minnesota at the northern end. The employment index dropped below neutral (50) going from 52 in July to 45 in August.
BAD WEATHER is taken for granted in ND. High winds hit eastern ND this week — Jamestown reported wind gusts of 85 mph on Labor Day. Here is a nonchalant report of accidents on I-94 in Jamestown: "At least one semi overturned and a camper and pickup overturned near the JRMC (Jamestown Regional Medical Center) exit.” The storm moved east from Jamestown and blew the roof off a commercial building in Fargo closing Main Avenue to overnight traffic.
CROSS-MEDIAN CRASHES, those where vehicles cross Interstate medians, were the subject of an 18-month study in ND. There were 57 such crashes in the period. Cable barriers installed in the medians can reduce crashes up to 97 percent. ND is in the process of installing such barriers — they are first being installed in the urban corridors of I-29 and 94.
NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION WEEK “For about a year in my early 20s, I wanted to die. I made reckless decisions, usually with alcohol. I woke up many mornings feeling hungover and awful.” — Columnist Rob Port made this surprising disclosure. He said he had not sought help and “If you are struggling, please seek help.”
ONLY IN ND The Jamestown City Council extended the time to February for removing a deck extending over the James River, so the owner could work on ice when removing the beams.
WARD COUNTY HAS A CRUEL DILEMMA Should they open an Amazon account and make purchases at significantly lower prices, or do the commissioners have an obligation to Minot area merchants?
PODUNK PROBLEM “How dare the City Council of Podunk, North Dakota, vote to replace a national holiday with one of their own?” — The irate voice of Tom O’Neil railing against a Grand Forks decision to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day.
DEMOS DILEMMA “The ND Democratic-NPL Party has run good candidates and campaigns but has been ‘drug down’ by the national Democratic brand.” — Heidi Heitkamp. She said U.S. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez of N.Y. was an example of a national Democrat whose message was too liberal for ND. Heitkamp (63) has removed herself from further possibility as a candidate and now considers herself to be in an “emeritus role.” Former Gov. Ed Schafer said ND Democrats will have difficulty gaining traction without someone who is a statewide incumbent.
FILMING COMMITTEE MEETINGS “The real decisions and the real arguments are made in committee rooms.” — ND Newspaper Association lawyer Jack McDonald describing lawmaking in the state. A GF Herald editorial supported live streaming of committee meetings saying it’s not realistic to drive to Bismarck for a single committee meeting. A Forum editorial said the $200,000 cost of a live stream system is chicken feed.
INDIANS IN PRISON The ACLU points out that ND’s American Indian population is imprisoned at about five times their proportion of the state’s population. The Star Tribune reports the ratio for Indians in Minnesota is about 9:1 — the ratio for Minnesota blacks is 6:1. The Hispanic ratio is balanced near 1:1. Minnesota Asians do the best job of any minority at staying out of trouble — their prison percentage is less than their population percentage.
BISMARCK STATE COLLEGE entered into a contract to provide energy industry training in Saudi Arabia which was expected to be profitable and prestigious. Enrollment at their National Power Academy never met expectations — they expected 600 students, but enrolled only 65. The contract is being reconsidered.
DAKTOIDS: Most ND universities report fall enrollment drops . . . Former major league All-Star Darin Erstad of Jamestown will be inducted into the Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame in connection with the Norsk Høstfest festival in Minot . . . Continental Oil estimates there are actually 30 to 40 billion barrels of recoverable oil in the Bakken — four to five times the most recent government estimate . . . Oil recovery rates in shale used to be three percent, but are now more like 20 percent . . . The Dakotas have 1.5million residents and Minnesota has 5.6 million. But the two “rectangular blank states” have four U.S. senators while Minnesota has two.
DOORS CLOSE Many daily newspapers are creating online “firewalls” which limit or block visits to their websites. The Twin City papers and the Bismarck Tribune have done this for some time — with little or no notice, the Fargo Forum joined their ranks last week — expect other Forum papers to follow. A small future break -- it appears a paid subscription to the Fargo Forum will give online access to other Forum papers.
BYE BYE COAL Montana-Dakota Utilities is closing a coal-burning plant near Mandan and another at Sydney, Montana. Each will be replaced by gas peaking units which can be fired up in 20 minutes when power demand is high. The operating costs of the gas plants will be half the coal plants — the 71 employees required for the coal plants will be replaced by 11 employees in the gas plants. These steps will also help with ND’s surplus of natural gas.
THE NATION’S ECONOMY was mixed in the second quarter — most state’s had employment growth, but a handful of Mid-America states showed softness. ND and Montana had relatively strong non-farm payrolls, while Wyoming, South Dakota and Minnesota had weaker growth. The Mid-America Business Conditions index covers a nine-state block with ND and Minnesota at the northern end. The employment index dropped below neutral (50) going from 52 in July to 45 in August.
BAD WEATHER is taken for granted in ND. High winds hit eastern ND this week — Jamestown reported wind gusts of 85 mph on Labor Day. Here is a nonchalant report of accidents on I-94 in Jamestown: "At least one semi overturned and a camper and pickup overturned near the JRMC (Jamestown Regional Medical Center) exit.” The storm moved east from Jamestown and blew the roof off a commercial building in Fargo closing Main Avenue to overnight traffic.
CROSS-MEDIAN CRASHES, those where vehicles cross Interstate medians, were the subject of an 18-month study in ND. There were 57 such crashes in the period. Cable barriers installed in the medians can reduce crashes up to 97 percent. ND is in the process of installing such barriers — they are first being installed in the urban corridors of I-29 and 94.
NATIONAL SUICIDE PREVENTION WEEK “For about a year in my early 20s, I wanted to die. I made reckless decisions, usually with alcohol. I woke up many mornings feeling hungover and awful.” — Columnist Rob Port made this surprising disclosure. He said he had not sought help and “If you are struggling, please seek help.”
ONLY IN ND The Jamestown City Council extended the time to February for removing a deck extending over the James River, so the owner could work on ice when removing the beams.
WARD COUNTY HAS A CRUEL DILEMMA Should they open an Amazon account and make purchases at significantly lower prices, or do the commissioners have an obligation to Minot area merchants?
PODUNK PROBLEM “How dare the City Council of Podunk, North Dakota, vote to replace a national holiday with one of their own?” — The irate voice of Tom O’Neil railing against a Grand Forks decision to replace Columbus Day with Indigenous Peoples Day.
DEMOS DILEMMA “The ND Democratic-NPL Party has run good candidates and campaigns but has been ‘drug down’ by the national Democratic brand.” — Heidi Heitkamp. She said U.S. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez of N.Y. was an example of a national Democrat whose message was too liberal for ND. Heitkamp (63) has removed herself from further possibility as a candidate and now considers herself to be in an “emeritus role.” Former Gov. Ed Schafer said ND Democrats will have difficulty gaining traction without someone who is a statewide incumbent.
FILMING COMMITTEE MEETINGS “The real decisions and the real arguments are made in committee rooms.” — ND Newspaper Association lawyer Jack McDonald describing lawmaking in the state. A GF Herald editorial supported live streaming of committee meetings saying it’s not realistic to drive to Bismarck for a single committee meeting. A Forum editorial said the $200,000 cost of a live stream system is chicken feed.
INDIANS IN PRISON The ACLU points out that ND’s American Indian population is imprisoned at about five times their proportion of the state’s population. The Star Tribune reports the ratio for Indians in Minnesota is about 9:1 — the ratio for Minnesota blacks is 6:1. The Hispanic ratio is balanced near 1:1. Minnesota Asians do the best job of any minority at staying out of trouble — their prison percentage is less than their population percentage.
BISMARCK STATE COLLEGE entered into a contract to provide energy industry training in Saudi Arabia which was expected to be profitable and prestigious. Enrollment at their National Power Academy never met expectations — they expected 600 students, but enrolled only 65. The contract is being reconsidered.
DAKTOIDS: Most ND universities report fall enrollment drops . . . Former major league All-Star Darin Erstad of Jamestown will be inducted into the Scandinavian-American Hall of Fame in connection with the Norsk Høstfest festival in Minot . . . Continental Oil estimates there are actually 30 to 40 billion barrels of recoverable oil in the Bakken — four to five times the most recent government estimate . . . Oil recovery rates in shale used to be three percent, but are now more like 20 percent . . . The Dakotas have 1.5million residents and Minnesota has 5.6 million. But the two “rectangular blank states” have four U.S. senators while Minnesota has two.
DakotaBeacon