tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-179747672024-02-06T23:42:51.172-06:00PrairieblogPolitics and Prairie LiteratureJim Fugliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12461232645322745636noreply@blogger.comBlogger113125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974767.post-74294916802237756532011-12-28T17:09:00.002-06:002011-12-28T17:13:34.692-06:00MOVEDThe Prairie Blog has now moved <a href="http://theprairieblog.areavoices.com/">here</a>. Please click on the link or go to<br /><br />http://theprairieblog.areavoices.com/<br /><br />to read the latest posts on the Prairie Blog. Thank you for visiting.<br /><br />JimJim Fugliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12461232645322745636noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974767.post-74534149356561315242011-12-23T10:52:00.001-06:002011-12-23T10:53:38.429-06:00Way More Than You Ever Wanted To Know About Sugar<div class="entry-content"> <p>It started with this coupon Lillian gave me a couple of weeks ago when I was on my way to the grocery store—75 cents off if you buy two, two-pound packages of C&H dark brown sugar. As often happens on really good deals, at Central Market in Bismarck, the store I regularly go to on Geezer Day (Thursday, when senior citizens get 5 per cent off), they didn’t have any of that, so I stuffed the coupon in my jacket pocket. The next time I went to Dan’s in Bismarck, I checked the sugar section, and sure enough, they didn’t have it either. But what struck me about the sugar section at Dan’s was this huge long shelf of Dan’s store-brand white sugar, Flavorite. And the conspicuous absence of the sugar I’ve been eating all my life, when I eat sugar, which these days isn’t often: Crystal Sugar, with its trademark round red,white and blue logo.</p> <p>Well, I didn’t give that much thought until I went to a second Dan’s store a few days later, and once again went to look for dark brown sugar. Nope. But I again noticed the absence of Crystal Sugar. I was standing there puzzling over that when the store manager, who I know in passing, walked by and asked me if I needed help finding something. I asked about Crystal Sugar. He said they did not carry it, except once in a while when there’s a special promotion. Hadn’t had one of those for quite a while. I asked if the absence of Crystal from his shelves had anything to do with the labor dispute over in the Red River Valley. He said no, they just don’t carry it.</p> <p>And so, over the next few weeks, as I shopped (I do most of the grocery shopping at our house) I looked at the sugar sections of Bismarck stores. Here’s what I found.</p> <p>You can almost always buy Crystal sugar at Central Market, and sometimes at Cash Wise. Its price is generally competitive with other products on the shelves in those stores—a few cents more per pound in the four-pound package, a few cents less in the ten-pound package (more about those four-pound packages later).</p> <p>Dan’s three Bismarck stores, Wal-Mart’s two Bismarck stores, and Target don’t carry Crystal Sugar.</p> <p>You probably know about the management-labor dispute at Crystal. In August, management locked the doors on union workers after the workers and management failed to agree on a new contract. Subsequent attempts to reach agreement have failed. The dispute is now in its fifth month. Workers are sitting at home while the company has hired scabs to do the work the union members formerly did. There’s no end in sight.</p> <p>Now, I’ve always been kind of a union supporter, ever since one of my teachers in junior high explained that it was the organized labor movement that gave us a middle class in America. Those men (mostly) who built Henry Ford’s cars earned a decent wage, enough to allow them to afford to buy one of Henry Ford’s cars. Voila, houses with garages for working families, a car in every garage, and sugar in every cupboard. And America became a great country. But that’s neither here nor there.</p> <p>American Crystal Sugar is one of the largest employers in the Red River Valley—around 1.300 employees I think. It’s a cooperative, owned by the farmers who grow the sugar beets which make the sugar. It’s also one of the few large unionized companies in the Valley. And that’s been good for everyone—the farmers, the workers and the managers. Until now. I spoke this fall with one of those farmers, and asked him for his take on this dispute. He said he didn’t understand the workers not wanting to accept the company’s offer—after all, they make more than $50,000 a year and have good benefits. He’s a friend, and I didn’t want to get into an argument, so I didn’t ask him how much he made last year, or how he feels about his board paying some of the managers a million dollars a year. I just replied that I was glad the workers were getting a good wage and good benefits.</p> <p>And I guess if all this was not going on, and if I was not generally sympathetic to the workers, I wouldn’t have even noticed the Crystal Sugar missing from the shelves. Or cared about it. But now that I do, I’ve decided to forego my 5 per cent discount on Thursdays at Central Market and start shopping at Dan’s. Just because, by chance or a good business decision, they don’t sell Crystal Sugar.</p> <p>Normally, I’d probably patronize a business that chooses, when it has a choice, to sell a North Dakota-produced product rather than a company brand produced somewhere else. But right now, I guess I think the growers and the Crystal managers are wrong, and so I’m going to show my support for the workers, who are facing a bleak Christmas, having not had a paycheck for nearly 5 months, with this little gesture.</p> <p>Oh, and about that four pound bag of sugar. We don’t eat much sugar at our house, so we don’t buy it often. And when we do, we buy the smallest bag available. Generally, that’s the 5-pound bag. Or used to be. We just grab a bag when the sugar bin in the cupboard gets low and throw it in the cart. But sometime in the last five years or so, when the price of raw sugar started going up, most of the sugar companies switched from 5-pound bags to 4-pound bags. There was no big announcement. And while they shrunk the package, they did not shrink the price. In essence, they dropped a 20 per cent price increase on us, and I, for one, (okay, I guess it’s possible I’m the only one, but I hardly think so) never really noticed. Until last week. I was comparing prices when I was checking to see which stores sold Crystal, and something wasn’t making sense. The price of the 10-pound bag was more than twice that of the 5-pound bag. And I couldn’t figure out why. Until I looked at a bag very carefully and realized that the traditional 5-pound bag now weighed only 4 pounds. So I made another quick trip around to the grocery stores to see if that was the case everywhere. Here’s what I found.</p> <p>Wal-Mart sells a 5-pound bag of Great Value Sugar for $2.84, and a 4-pound bag of C&H for $2.82. So people like me who weren’t paying attention were grabbing the name brand, C&H, and saving two cents to boot. Except we were getting a pound less sugar.</p> <p>Target sells 5-pound bags too. Market Pantry is $2.79, and C&H is $2.89. (C&H is one of the few companies that still packages both 4 and 5 pound bags, to accommodate their retailers.)</p> <p>But Central Market sells only 4-pound bags: Our Family for $2.78 and Crystal for $2.99. Cash-Wise is also selling only 4-pound bags too: Valu Time for $2.68, Food Club for $2.88, C&H for $2.98 and Crystal for $3.18. Dan’s was the priciest, selling 4 pounds of Flavorite for $3.19.</p> <p>I checked a couple websites, too, and I found an interesting little note from the folks at C&H from back in 2009:</p> <p><em>As many of our fans have noticed, the price of sugar has recently increased. In an effort to alleviate some of the confusion and frustration about this change, we wanted to formally address it here. As you may be aware, the price of sugar on the world market has nearly doubled since the end of 2008. In order to offset our cost increases, we have had to increase our price per pound of sugar. </em></p> <p><em>In order to keep the cost per bag of sugar down, many retailers converted their store brand product from a 5-pound to a 4-pound bag. In an effort to maintain affordability we decided to do the same with our C&H® brand sugar. The reduction in size, however, is not enough to offset the cost increase in the remaining four pounds of the product. That’s why you’re seeing the price go up and the size go down at the same time. We understand the frustration and we assure you we are doing everything we can to maintain the value and affordability that our consumers expect from our brand</em>.</p> <p>I just LOVE their logic in the first sentence of the second paragraph: <em>We’re keeping the cost per <strong>bag</strong> down</em>. Now THERE’S a company with a great public relations arm, and I LOVE good public relations campaigns. We’re keeping that <strong>bag</strong> of sugar affordable. Never mind that the <strong>bag</strong> has 20 per cent less sugar. The cost of the <strong>bag</strong> will stay the same. You’ll figure out later—or perhaps you won’t even realize it—that you’ll have to come back for another <strong>bag</strong> sooner than you would have otherwise.</p> <p>Well, anyway, matters at hand. I prefer to shop at a locally-owned grocery store, so I generally bypass Target and Wal-Mart. And Cash-Wise is a long ways from my house, so I hardly ever go there. Besides I hate to bag my own groceries. And since now that I know Dan’s is the only one not selling Crystal, I guess I’ll just go there for a while. Even though their sugar is the most expensive.</p> <p>See, I don’t need to buy sugar for a while. I just checked the pantry downstairs. There’s a 4-pound bag of Crystal down there. Been there a good long while I’d say, but no expiration date on the bag. And at the rate we use sugar—for baking, and not much else–I’m probably good for another year or so. I think, though, that I won’t open it until Crystal unlocks its doors to its workers and brings them back to work.</p> <p>Oh, and there is one good side to that 4-pound bag versus the 5-pounder. Every time I buy one, I’m buying 20 per cent fewer calories. Gee, I’m surprised the C&H people didn’t put that in their press statement. Hmmm, maybe there’s a job waiting for me there . . .</p> <p>Merry Christmas, from our house to yours. And now, I’m going to go eat a couple Christmas sugar cookies.</p> </div>Jim Fugliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12461232645322745636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974767.post-23434785318840590952011-12-11T18:13:00.000-06:002011-12-11T18:14:46.315-06:00The Best Of Ardell Tharaldson<p>We said good-bye yesterday to a strong North Dakota voice at a remembrance service for Ardell Tharaldson. Cancer claimed my longtime friend last week, freeing him at last from a body that multiple sclerosis long ago confined to a wheelchair. But it never stilled his mind, which plotted and schemed scenarios for liberal takeovers of the universe until the day he died.</p><p>A better-than-amateur historian, and an incredible repository of information on North Dakota’s past, especially its political traditions and the Nonpartisan League, Ardell will leave the biggest void in our ability to remember our North Dakota past since the death of his friend, state historian Larry Remele, more than two decades ago.</p><p>What Ardell did leave us is a collection of anecdotes about his past, collected on a blog entitled <a href="http://politicalprairiefire.com/" href="http://politicalprairiefire.com/"><em>Political Prairie Fire</em></a>, the title a paean to his love of the Nonpartisan League. Yesterday at his memorial service, I read a few excerpts from his past blog entries. I’ll share some of them here. Because he was such a good writer and an interesting man, I encourage you to go to his blog and read more.</p><p><strong>November 2007: About Norman Mailer </strong></p><p>“I should write something about the passing of Norman Mailer. He certainly was one of the profound influences over me and my generation. Reading his 'Armies of the Night' or 'Miami and the Siege of Chicago' or watching him in the movie/documentary 'When We Were Kings' about Mohammed Ali fighting George Foreman in Zaire will lift your mind and heart.</p><p>“At the same time, like Bob Dylan, he would do some things that would make you shake your head and think “what in the hell is that guy doing?” Goodbye Norman, wherever you are."</p><p><strong>April 2007: Kurt Vonnegut and the McGovern campaign </strong></p><p>“Kurt Vonnegut died this week. I feel as though I should say something.</p><p>“Like millions of others, my college roommate and I went through a Vonnegut period when we both read everything published by him. Many of his ideas and words worked their way into our lexicon where they remain.<strong></strong></p><p>“I crossed Kurt Vonnegut’s path in Kentucky in 1972. I was working for George McGovern’s Presidential campaign national office in Washington. I was sent to Kentucky for a couple weeks. Kentucky was not a primary state so we had to attempt to organize delegate attendance to caucuses at the district level to get yourself elected as a McGovern delegate to the state convention.</p><p>“A group of college kids who were organizing for McGovern had a function at the college in a town the name of which I no longer remember. Vonnegut was the person who came to speak in support of McGovern. When he walked into the room he was one of those guys that you just felt there was something special about. I have only had this feeling of being in the presence of something special a couple of other times. Once when I met the Berrigan brothers and once when I met Cesar Chavez.</p><p>“I remember how tall he was and how he chain-smoked. As I think back, his talk is sadly and remarkably relevant. He spoke about how the leadership at the time was not interested so much in spreading democracy as they were in spreading colonial power.</p><p>“I learned about institutional power in that state. <strong>The Governor of the state was a Humphrey supporter </strong><em>(emphasis added).</em> I’m driving all over Kentucky having tea and crumpets with the League of Women Voters in one town, talking about human redemption with a group of ministers in another town, college kids all over, and a few rural black supporters organized by the local small-town powerbroker who was usually the local mortician for the black community. So I’m driving all over the state doing these little things attempting to convince people to attend the caucuses and vote for McGovern delegates.</p><p>“The caucuses were scheduled over a noon hour, <strong>which in retrospect should have been an instruction to me </strong><em>(emphasis added again</em><strong>)</strong>. In all events, I’m in whatever town I ended up in on the day of the caucus. I’m sitting at the meeting, hopeful that all my delegate attendance work pays off, when at noon state trucks, road graders, caterpillars, and an assortment of other kinds of state vehicles pull up. Hundreds of men walked into the caucus meeting. Everyone is asked to vote for their choice of delegates. All of these Kentucky state employees vote for a Humphrey slate. The McGovern people are flat wiped off the map in terms of electing any delegates. This takes about 20 minutes. As soon as it’s over the state employees climbed back into their vehicles and drove away for their lunch.</p><p>“That was that.”</p><p><strong>August 2009: About Ted Kennedy</strong></p><p>“No social thing that I felt was good happened in the past 40 years without Ted’s hand.”</p><p><strong>February 2009: About Howard Zinn</strong></p><p>“You lived a good life Howard and you taught me I was just taking up space, if I wasn’t trying to help people who needed it.”</p><p><strong>Ardell worked on a couple of American Indian Movement cases in the 1970’s. In one of them he got Russell Means and Dickie Poor Bear acquitted by Judge Van Sickle. Here’s a bit of what he wrote about that in May, 2007.</strong></p><p><strong>“</strong>At night I usually sat in the bar with the A.I.M. guys. One night Dickie came up to me and asked for a 'chillum' which was Lakota for cigarette. I was smoking Marlboro Reds at the time. I gave him one. He said it was the only good trade the Indian ever made with the White Man–a liver for a lung.</p><p>“One day I was driving Russell back to the hotel after the trial. We passed concrete after concrete after concrete and fast food place after fast food place and one synthetic human construction after another. He looked at me and said 'And you think we should leave the reservation for this?'</p><p>“The last I heard about Poor Bear he was a cop in Porcupine South Dakota. Russell Means has gone on to an acting career. By the way he could never remember my name during the trial, so he simply called me ‘Little Custer.’”</p><p><strong>April 2007: Working for Senator Burdick</strong></p><p>“Decades ago I worked for United States Senator Quentin Burdick of North Dakota one summer in his Washington, DC, office. Many years before 9/11 and the Homeland Security Act. One of the “Summers of Love.”</p><p>“Back then the Capitol Hill cops were still under the patronage of Congress. The lawns around all of the Congressional office buildings were filled with young college kids with growing hair whose fathers were connected to a Congressman or Senator so they had a summer job wearing a cheesy police shirt, badge and shorts. One of the kids with a southern accent whose every day workplace was around a fountain was a guy you could always buy pot from.</p><p>“At this time the appointment of Postmasters in every city in America was under the patronage control of the United States Senate. A bill was introduced to take this power away from the United States Senate and put selection of Postmasters under Federal Civil Service control.</p><p>“The bill was sent to a subcommittee of which Senator Burdick was chairman. I went with the Senator for the floor action. During the floor debate Senator Burdick gave about as passionate of a speech as he was capable of giving, in which he railed against the bill for taking away Postmaster appointment patronage from the United States Senate.</p><p>“I remember Senator Burdick as being about the only vote against making the Postmasters job part of the Civil Service System.</p><p>“After the vote I rode back from the Senate floor with Senator Burdick to the office. We rode on the little trolley that connected the Capitol to the Old Senate Office Building. During the ride Burdick expressed satisfaction that at least we got the Postmaster appointments out of our hair. I expressed surprise, saying that it was big patronage power giving United States Senators the right to appoint Postmasters in every town in the United States, which I thought was a big deal.</p><p>“We rode on silently for a little while, then he said ‘Yeah, for each appointment, I made 1 friend and 10 enemies.’”</p><p><strong>February 2008: Another McGovern Campaign Story </strong></p><p>“In 1971, I went to work for the George McGovern for President campaign. Charlie Tighe persuaded me to manage the McGovern campaign in North Dakota for the fall election even though it would be a hopeless effort without much money. We did it because of our feelings about the war in Vietnam. Charles was the Lieutenant Governor during one of Bill Guy’s terms as Governor. He and his wife Dorothy did not have children and he loaned (gave) me money for college. I will always appreciate them for doing that.</p><p><strong>“</strong>Phil Jackson was still playing for the New York Knicks at this time. He came to North Dakota for a few days to stump for McGovern. Dr. Levine had loaned the campaign the use of his old Volkswagen. His wife Beryl later went to law school and became a North Dakota Supreme Court judge. The Volkswagen’s battery did not work at first so we had to push and pop the clutch in order to start it. My friend Scott pushed and I drove to the Fargo airport to pick up Phil. We squished him in the back seat and drove him to the hotel. Along the way, he didn’t like what was on the radio so without moving, he reached the dashboard radio from the back seat and changed the station. I will always remember his arm slinking forward from the backseat between the front seats and grabbing the tuner knob on the radio. We got him some good smoke so he was happy even though he sometimes had to push.”</p><p><strong>Basin Electric and Jim Grahl:</strong></p><p>“I had my share of disagreements with Jim Grahl during my political activism and environmentalism in the early 70’s, to be sure. I was in his office one morning. He was complaining and expressing frustration. He told me I and other environmentalists made him feel like he was a track high hurdler. He said every time the bar is set up and he gets over it, we raise the bar. I told him he wants Basin Electric to receive special treatment from us because it’s a co-op but, sulfur dioxide coming out of a smokestack owned by a private utility or one owned by a public cooperative is just as toxic and dangerous to public health. He kicked me out of his office. As I was walking out, I went by the desk of his secretary, who was the sister of a friend of mine. She said that Jim didn’t do well with meetings held in the morning and said I should schedule any further meetings for afternoons.” <em>(Note: This is a very short excerpt from a great piece on Basin Electric and the power cooperatives in North Dakota.)</em></p><p>Well, that’s just a sample of Ardell’s excellent writing. Ardell wrote <a href="http://theprairieblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/okay-at-suggestion-of-friends-i-think.html" href="http://theprairieblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/okay-at-suggestion-of-friends-i-think.html">Some Of The Best Things Ever Written About North Dakota</a>. To read more---lots more—go to his <a href="http://politicalprairiefire.com/" href="http://politicalprairiefire.com/">blog</a>, which will remain on the Internet for a while so folks can read more by—and about—this remarkable man.</p><p>Requiescant In Pace, my friend. We will miss you.</p>Jim Fugliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12461232645322745636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974767.post-9121725521893427072011-12-06T10:32:00.000-06:002011-12-06T10:33:35.964-06:00Who Owns YOUR Post Office?<p>Where I grew up, in Hettinger in southwestern North Dakota, the big brick Post Office building sat at the most prominent corner in town, the intersection of Main Street and U.S. Highway 12. Still does. A federal building, owned now by either the United States Government or the U.S. Postal Service—I’m not sure which. When I moved away, first to Dickinson, then Mandan, then Bismarck, it was the same. The Post office was, well, the Post Office. So I never gave much thought to who actually <em>owned</em> the Post Office.</p><p>Until lately, when there has been much talk of closing small town Post Offices (and not just small towns—in Bismarck there’s talk of <a href="http://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/bismarck-could-lose-downtown-post-office/article_145f975c-4b70-11e0-b137-001cc4c002e0.html" href="http://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/bismarck-could-lose-downtown-post-office/article_145f975c-4b70-11e0-b137-001cc4c002e0.html">closing the downtown Post Office</a> in the Federal Building and moving it to the mail handling facility out on the Expressway, just down the road from the scrap iron yard) and stories are being written about towns like Grassy Butte and Mandaree losing their Post Offices.</p><p>Which got me to thinking, “What’s going to happen to all those Post Office buildings in all those small towns when they close them up?” Which led to “Hey, who owns those buildings, anyway?” So I started checking. What I found was pretty interesting.</p><p>Lawrence Magdovitz, a country lawyer in Clarksville, Mississippi, owns 850 post offices around the United States. John Hamilton, a dentist in Williston, North Dakota owns fewer than that, maybe a couple hundred, but still a lot. The two of them, plus a few other wise investors and a host of small town non-profits and local development organizations, probably own more post offices than the United States Postal Service. Huh?</p><p>That’s right. Because all over America, especially in small towns, the Postal Service has to rent property to house its United States Post Offices. In most small towns in North Dakota, as well as across the country, the Postal Service does not own a building. Instead it rents a building from a local owner.</p><p>Now the Postal Service is in big financial trouble. They’re running short of cash and may not be able to make some loan payments. The “B” word is floating in and out of news stories. Not that we will ever allow the Postal Service to go bankrupt, but some serious things are going to have to happen to keep our mail coming. You’ve read the stories. The Postal Service is looking at 3,500 small town Post Offices in the United States—<a href="http://about.usps.com/news/electronic-press-kits/expandedaccess/states/northdakota.htm" href="http://about.usps.com/news/electronic-press-kits/expandedaccess/states/northdakota.htm">76 of them in North Dakota</a>—to see if they can justify keeping them open.</p><p>There’s a very nice man in Minneapolis named Pete Nowacki who gets paid to answer questions about the process here in the Midwest. He has a thankless job, but he does it with seriousness and aplomb. You can hear the sympathy in his voice for the people of Fingal, North Dakota, who might be told in the next few months that their post office is going away.</p><p>Pete told me recently that the process is underway across the state to look at the business being done at each of those 76 post offices, which will result in a determination of their future status. Each is getting personal attention. Each town will have public meetings at which community citizens can come forward and provide their input. Each town will go through a series of 30 and 60 day waiting periods while more public comments are sought. This is not a process being taken lightly by the Postal Service.</p><p>In the end, each of the 76 Post Offices being studied (out of a total of slightly more than 300 in the state) will receive an “Open” or “Close” determination. For those who receive the “Close” notice, another building will sit empty in another small North Dakota town. And it’s those buildings that caught my attention this fall. Because in North Dakota, the Postal Service rents about 295 of them. It rents all 76 of the buildings on the “hit list.” That’s 76 small-town landlords who are threatened with losing their occupants. Well, not quite that many, because a few folks own more than one. But not many. And in most of those towns, it’s going to be pretty tough to find someone who wants to rent—or buy—a used Post Office.</p><p>So I asked Pete who owns these Post Office buildings. He was kind enough to send me to a <a href="http://about.usps.com/who-we-are/foia/leased-facilities/report.htm" href="http://about.usps.com/who-we-are/foia/leased-facilities/report.htm">website </a>that lists the owners of every Post Office in America, except those owned by the Government or the Postal Service itself.</p><p>Well, I learned, here in North Dakota, Dr. John Hamilton, the Williston dentist, owns 44 of them. Eleven of them, in Dodge, Fingal, Golden Valley, Kathryn, McGregor, Meckinock, Pettibone, Roseglen, Rutland, Sharton and Zap, are on the Postal Service’s list to be studied for closure. Magdovitz, the Mississippi Lawyer, owns 27 in North Dakota, with 10 threatened with closure.</p><p>I called Dr. Hamilton a few times, left messages and voice mails for him at his home, his office and on his cell phone, but he apparently doesn’t want to talk to me about this, because he never called back. Lawyer Magdovitz did, though, and it was a real treat. I could tell from our phone conversation he's just a good old boy, a country lawyer who one day happened to end up owning a building in which a Post Office was located, and saw the benefits of that, and, in 1980, started buying up buildings around the country which housed Post Offices. According to a<a href="http://www.magdovitz.com/Welcome.html" href="http://www.magdovitz.com/Welcome.html"> little website</a> for his real estate company, the Magdovitz Group, he owns 850 Post Office buildings in 42 states and Puerto Rico. Our phone conversation was brief, because he had someone on hold on another line, but I learned that he just started buying these buildings because they seemed like a good investment, and “because I don’t have any trouble collecting my rent.” He’s got a little staff that manages them for him, a toll-free maintenance hotline which local Postmasters can call when they have a problem with the building, a slug of local contractors who do the maintenance work, and a few Realtors who keep an eye out for properties about to come on the market for him. There are, apparently, Realtors who specialize in this kind of thing. I asked him what he thought about this plan to close a lot of the Post Offices in buildings he owns. He seemed unconcerned. “I’ve got good leases, and if they close, they have to pay the rent until the lease runs out,” he said. Most of the leases are for five years, he said.</p><p>Hamilton’s Post Office buildings are mostly in the Midwest. If the Postal Service follows through on its plan, he’ll lose about 25 per cent of his renters in North Dakota, and it looks like a similar number in other states.</p><p>While it’s fair to say that Hamilton and Magdovitz, and others like them, are making a nice tidy profit on their investments, it doesn’t appear that they are gouging the Postal Service. In Hamilton’s buildings, rents average about $8 per square foot per year, which doesn’t seem out of line for a small town in North Dakota. In Alexander, ND, for example, the Postal Service rents a 1,269 square foot building for $11,000 a year, at $8.67 per square foot. Over in Fingal, one of the Post Offices selected for closing, Hamilton gets $5,040 a year for a 502 square foot space, about 10 bucks a square foot. In Mekinock, the Post Office only occupies 355 square feet, and the Postal Service pays Hamilton $2,220 a year, or $6.25 per square foot. Looking for one you might recognize? Well, Hamilton owns that nice little brick building next to the Rough Riders Hotel in Medora, and rents it to the Postal Service for $8.12 per square foot per year, a total of $7,500 a year. Now that’s a bargain, I’d say. In all, Hamilton collects a little over $285,000 a year in rent from his North Dakota Post Offices. The Post Offices he owns on the target list are among the smallest in the state, so if all 11 Post Offices on the target list owned by Hamilton in North Dakota are closed, he stands to lose about $54,000 a year in rent. And probably without a lot of hope of finding a new tenant in most of those towns. I don’t know how good his leases are, or if he was as savvy as the country lawyer from Mississippi who claims his are “locked in.”</p><p>So who else owns the Post Offices targeted for closure in North Dakota? Well, the city governments of Granville, Hannaford, and Clifford, all towns whose Post Offices are on the hit list, own the Post Offices in their towns. Some other towns on the list: the Antler Rural Fire Department owns the Antler Post Office; in Cogswell, it’s the Cogswell Community Association; in Forest River, the Forest River Improvement Association; in Benedict, the American Legion Post. Those local owners are renting pretty cheap, it appears, to try to maintain postal services in their towns. But there is a sprinkling of out-of-state owners on the closure list too. In Egeland, the building is owned by the Nationwide Real Estate Company of Chicago, Illinois; in Columbus, it’s the Columbus Enterprise Group, of Portsmouth, Rhode Island; and in Bisbee, the Inga Westmeier Irrevocable Trust, of Sun City, Arizona. There are also owners of Post Offices on the target list here from Clinton, NC, Vail, CO, Indianapolis, IN, Fremont, CA, Tyler, TX, Woodbury, MN, Billings, MT, Memphis, TN, Lincoln, NE and Spearfish, SD and a smattering of local owners.</p><p>I’m not sure how the rents are negotiated, but the highest amounts per square foot I found being charged by private owners in North Dakota were Theodore and Shirley Mees getting $15.33 per square foot per year in Colfax, and the $14.74 per square foot Gordon Kessel was getting for his space in Amidon. The cheapest rent I found was just $360 per year---a nickel a square foot--that Dale Knutson was charging for his building over in Buchanan.</p><p>And so the process begins. Meetings have been held so far in Grassy Butte and Mandaree, that I know of, and decisions on closing them could come early next year. If you want to look at the list of who owns all the Post Offices in North Dakota—to see if one of your neighbors is a savvy investor, or to see who owns YOUR Post Office—you can go to the Postal Service’s website, <a href="http://about.usps.com/who-we-are/foia/leased-facilities/nd.csv" href="http://about.usps.com/who-we-are/foia/leased-facilities/nd.csv">here. </a>It’s actually kind of a fun list, if you’re nosy like me. Meanwhile, here’s the list of Post Offices in North Dakota owned by Dr. Hamilton, with the annual rent being charged and the amount per square foot. The towns with an * are the ones being studied for closure.</p><p>Alexander: $11,000 ($8.67)</p><p>Ambrose: $4,500 ($6.82)</p><p>Belfield: $10,080 ($7.00)</p><p>Binford: $7,200, ($12.00)</p><p>Coleharbor: $5,616 ($6.61)</p><p>*Dodge: $3,600 ($8.22)</p><p>Dunn Center: $5,400 ($9.02)</p><p>Douglas: $4,390 (6.96)</p><p>Elgin: $9,828 ($7.00)</p><p>*Fingal: $5,040 ($10.04)</p><p>Fordville: $7,481 ($6.50)</p><p>Gladstone: $5,650 ($6.52)</p><p>Glenfield: $6,732 ($7.51)</p><p>*Golden Valley: $9,360 ($7.49)</p><p>Hurdsfield: $5,980 ($6.50)</p><p>*Kathryn: $6,000 ($7.95)</p><p>Keene: $2,800 ($6.41)</p><p>Killdeer: $8,035 ($6.22)</p><p>Lawton: $4,160 ($8.00)</p><p>Makoti: $6,216 (8.00)</p><p>Manning : $4,575 ($7.50)</p><p>McHenry: $6,000 ($6.52)</p><p>*McGregor: $4,380 ($6.52)</p><p>Medina: $5,160 ($5.64)</p><p>Medora : $7,500 ($8.12)</p><p>*Mekinock: $2,220 ($6.25)</p><p>Montpelier: $4,400 ($5.83)</p><p>New Town: $25,020 ($9.00)</p><p>*Pettibone: $4,404 ($7.00)</p><p>Pisek: $4,000 ($8.11)</p><p>Plaza: $7,164 ($8.00)</p><p>Reeder: $8,160 ($8.50)</p><p>*Roseglen: $3,600 ($7.50)</p><p>*Rutland: $4,933 ($6.50)</p><p>Sarles: $4,404 ($7.00)</p><p>*Sharon: $5,550 ($8.75)</p><p>Sheyenne: $7,894 ($7.15)</p><p>Stanton: $14,100 ($10.36)</p><p>Verona: $5,434 ($6.50)</p><p>Walhalla: $10,800 ($7.50)</p><p>Westhope: $10,500 ($7.87)</p><p>Ypsilanti: $4,500 ($7.99)</p><p>*Zap: $5,220 ($7.99)</p>Jim Fugliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12461232645322745636noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974767.post-17438962247704891402011-11-18T10:56:00.001-06:002011-11-18T10:58:47.657-06:00Just Another Day In The Oil PatchIf you go to the <a href="http://www.willistonherald.com/">Williston Herald</a> website and click on “News” today, here is a partial list of what you will find. Just another day in the oil patch. Uffda. <p><strong>Local News</strong></p> <p><a href="http://www.willistonherald.com/articles/2011/11/18/news/doc4ec2a74c9f12a699138651.txt"><strong>Trenton woman dies of carbon monoxide poisoning</strong></a><br />The name of a 49-year-old woman who died in Trenton Sunday has been released.</p> <p><a href="http://www.willistonherald.com/articles/2011/11/18/news/doc4ec2a77351798687884741.txt"><strong>Parshall man dies in rollover</strong></a><br />Police have released the name of a driver killed at 6:38 p.m. on Sunday east of Williston.</p> <p><a href="http://www.willistonherald.com/articles/2011/11/18/news/doc4ec3f05dea655210060917.txt"><strong>Williston pedestrian hit while crossing West Dakota Parkway</strong></a><br />A pedestrian was struck by a pickup Monday.</p> <p><a href="http://www.willistonherald.com/articles/2011/11/18/news/doc4ec1482522859259086257.txt"><strong>2 people die in weekend car accidents</strong></a><br />Two people were killed in car accidents this weekend, one a Williston resident.</p> <p><a href="http://www.willistonherald.com/articles/2011/11/18/news/doc4ec3edd7ae5d0522780717.txt"><strong>3 hurt in McKenzie County rollover</strong></a><br />Three people were injured in a single-vehicle rollover accident in McKenzie County early Tuesday morning.</p> <p><a href="http://www.willistonherald.com/articles/2011/11/18/news/doc4eb812b6ce206305538452.txt"><strong>Texas driver killed in weekend accident</strong></a><br />A vehicle traveling eastbound on U.S. Highway 2 about six miles southeast of Tioga rolled Sunday, killing the driver, Matthew McQueen, 24, Texas. McQueen lost control of the Freightliner truck due to icy conditions and was ejected from the vehicle during the rollover. He wasn’t wearing a seat belt. McQueen and passenger Cody Lambert, 21, were both transported to Tioga Hospital.</p> <p><a href="http://www.willistonherald.com/articles/2011/11/18/news/doc4ec147ba57f8a116557803.txt"><strong>Williston business owner arrested on drug charges</strong></a><br />Two men, one the co-owner of a downtown Williston business, were arrested by narcotics officers on drug charges.</p> <p><strong><a href="http://www.willistonherald.com/articles/2011/11/18/news/doc4eb96409ab50c170534061.txt"><strong>New man camp, Burke Lodge, opens Thursday</strong></a><br /></strong>More than 100 new temporary housing beds will become available this week.</p> <p><strong><a href="http://www.willistonherald.com/articles/2011/11/18/news/doc4eb813deab8b2470817302.txt"><strong>Bear Paw Lodge opens: Man camp features 590-beds, dining hall</strong></a><br /></strong>The Bear Paw Lodge is now open for business.</p> <p><strong>County P&Z recommends denial for man camp</strong><br />The Williams County Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend denial of a proposed man camp in Judson Township on Thursday evening.</p> <p><a href="http://www.willistonherald.com/articles/2011/11/18/news/doc4ec53b8debbcd043625883.txt"><strong>County meets on new man camp guidelines</strong></a><br />A county ad-hoc committee held its first meeting Tuesday to begin work on improved temporary housing guidelines in preparation for when, or if, a moratorium on such housing is lifted.</p> <p><a href="http://www.willistonherald.com/articles/2011/11/18/news/doc4ebf13419f42c887231941.txt"><strong>County P&Z to work on overhaul of zoning ordinance</strong></a><br />The Williams County Planning and Zoning Commission voted in favor of beginning a review and rewriting the county’s zoning ordinance on Thursday evening.</p> <p><a href="http://www.willistonherald.com/articles/2011/11/18/news/doc4ec1480053943636931455.txt"><strong>County P&Z recommends denial of father-son requests</strong></a><br />Williams County Planning and Zoning voted to recommend denial of requests from both a father and son on Thursday evening.</p> <p><a href="http://www.willistonherald.com/articles/2011/11/18/news/doc4ebf1357ea632360645081.txt"><strong>County Commission denies zone change for proposed subdivision</strong></a><br />The Williams County Commission voted to deny a zone change for a proposed subdivision in Springbrook Township on Thursday morning.</p> <p><a href="http://www.willistonherald.com/articles/2011/11/18/news/doc4ebd4f126bfa5981688280.txt"><strong>County: Water project builders broke roads, didnt file permits</strong></a><br />The Williams County Commission voted to have the company overseeing a new regional water project repair a stretch of road damaged during recent work.</p> <p><a href="http://www.willistonherald.com/articles/2011/11/18/news/doc4ebd58c7472cd957843303.txt"><strong>County P&Z OKs refinery</strong></a><br />After tabling the matter on two earlier occasions, the Williams County Planning and Zoning Commission voted to recommend approval of a proposed diesel refinery west of Trenton during its meeting Thursday evening.</p> <p><a href="http://www.willistonherald.com/articles/2011/11/18/news/doc4eb8129c78174622470045.txt"><strong>City building permits top $275 million for year</strong></a><br />The Williston Building Department reported strong permitting numbers in October, continuing to add on to an already record year.</p>Jim Fugliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12461232645322745636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974767.post-31596218004308073422011-11-15T11:47:00.000-06:002011-11-15T11:48:42.853-06:00Matters of Opinion?<div class="entry-content"> <p>Have you ever noticed that people who don’t have much to say often talk about the weather? It’s like they just need to be saying something, but there’s not much going on upstairs, so, let’s talk about cold, or hot, or snow, or wind. One of the ways this manifests itself frequently, I’ve noticed, is on the front page of the <em>Bismarck Tribune</em>. Whenever the front page photo is not a hard news photo, but rather a shot of a fall canopy of leaves, or a kid skateboarding, or a duck swimming on the river, the caption turns into a mini-weather report. “Freddy Skateboarder spent yesterday afternoon coasting downhill to his friend’s house on West Avenue C. The forecast for today is for more nice weather, but turning colder by next month . . .” It’s like, the copy editor had nothing else to say about Freddy, so he threw in the weather report. <em>(Note: I wrote this last night, and damn near fell off my chair laughing this morning when I read the caption under the front page photo in today’s Tribune.)</em></p> <p>Do you read <em>North Dakota Outdoors</em>, the magazine of our state’s Game and Fish Department? Inside the front cover, Game and Fish Director Terry Steinwand writes a column called “Matters of Opinion.” That’s what he calls it. But truth be told, there’s not much opinion there. Mostly it’s a weather report. At least it has been for the past year or so.</p> <p>Now I’ve been reading <em>North Dakota Outdoors</em> for 40 or 50 years, I suppose. Not sure how long it’s been around, but I saw some 1955 copies laying on my North Dakota bookshelf the other day. Had a 15 cent price tag on the cover. About what the most recent issue is worth today, if “Matters of Opinion” is any indicator. (Don’t get me wrong—the price is still reasonable, just ten bucks a year. But you get what you pay for.) I chuckled over the March 1955 issue, which carried a note on page 2 from the Game and Fish Commissioner that read “<em>This issue of North Dakota Outdoors does not have the make-up to which its readers are accustomed, but do not be disturbed as the change is only temporary. Carol Green, former editor, has left the Department, and until a replacement is found the magazine is being thrown together by Wilford L. Miller, Upland Game Research Leader.” </em>Bet old Wilford liked that! Wilford only had to “throw it together” for a few more issues. A new editor was on board for the July issue. And Wilbur got a reward—he was bumped upstairs to Chief of the Game Management Division.</p> <p>But I digress. What I really want to write about today is Terry Steinwand’s monthly weather report. My November issue arrived in the mail late last week. I was sitting at the table yesterday having a snack and reading the magazine. I read Steinwand’s “Matters of Opinion” for November and said a very bad word, very loudly. And then I said it again. Here’s why.</p> <p>I’ve been hunting this fall. A lot of my friends have been hunting this fall. We’ve all noticed the same thing. Wildlife populations are down. We’re not complaining. Yet. This happens. Wildlife populations are cyclical. And yes, weather does have a lot to do with it. But I am sick and damn tired of the same old crap every month in Terry Steinwand’s “Matters of Opinion.” Here’s what he wrote this month that caused me to say a bad word:</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><em>As North Dakotans we tend to be pretty resilient and have tremendous endurance given the <strong>weather patterns we experience, especially over the last three yea</strong>rs . . . Once again (in 2011) we experienced heavy snow that began at a somewhat normal time of the year, but didn’t seem to quit until much past normal . . . Wildlife and people on North Dakota’s landscape have had to endure <strong>three consecutive hard winters</strong>, and wildlife populations are down due to a number of factors. We’ll always have our challenges living on the Northern Plains, but it also makes us who we are. As the saying goes, “If it doesn’t kill you, it makes you stronger.”</em></p> <p> Innocuous enough, but what pissed me off was that I had been reading the same thing over and over in his column, month after month. For the record, let’s review Terry Steinwand’s column, “Matters of Opinion,” in <em>North Dakota Outdoors,</em> for the last year. Excerpts:</p> <ul><li><em>October 2011</em></li></ul> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><em>Around the mid-1980s, pheasant and sharp-tailed grouse started showing up on the landscape with more frequency. This was largely due to an increase in habitat, mainly Conservation Reserve Program acres, and <strong>some mild winters</strong> that provided good overwinter survival.</em></p> <ul><li><em>August-September 2011</em></li></ul> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><em>2011 will go in the record books, and in the memories of all, as nothing short of incredible, and in some instances, disastrous. We endured a <strong>third consecutive severe winter</strong> . . .</em></p> <ul><li><em>July 2011</em></li></ul> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><em>The worth of CRP as quality wildlife habitat is especially evident when, like <strong>the last three winters</strong>, cold and snow settle into the state in fall without a hint of leaving until spring. </em></p> <ul><li><em>June 2011</em></li></ul> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><em>We have to continually monitor the habitat available and how it affects the resource, and ultimately how it affects everyone. The <strong>last few years of unbelievable wet conditions</strong> have influenced everything from fish to farmers. </em></p> <ul><li><em>May 2011</em></li></ul> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><strong><em>Two heavy snow events</em></strong><em> took place right in the middle of northern pike spawning efforts on Lake Oahe. Bad roads and icy temperatures didn’t stop the pike from their spawning run . . . </em></p> <ul><li><em>March-April 2011</em></li></ul> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><em>Finally, winter is over. I’ve been around for quite a few years, living in North Dakota for most of them, and I can’t remember <strong>a winter that seemed so long</strong>. Maybe it was because of the snow that came during the November deer gun season and didn’t leave, or maybe the seemingly thousand times I had to remove snow from my driveway . . . The <strong>last few winters</strong> have been fairly difficult for people and wildlife alike. </em></p> <ul><li><em>February 2011</em></li></ul> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><em>I know I’m not alone in saying that it’s already <strong>been a long winter</strong>, made so by almost daily accumulations of snow. While the weather wears us down, challenging our hardy Northern Plains’ attitudes, imagine how the deer, pheasants and other animals in the state feel . . . These animals are being challenged by the <strong>third harsh winter in a row</strong>. </em></p> <ul><li><em>January 2011</em></li></ul> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><em>We’re again into the start of a new year and for <strong>the third consecutive winter</strong> we have more than our fair share of snow to contend with. I know we live on the Northern Plains and have learned to deal with these kinds of conditions, and in some situations have even come to relish them . . . </em></p> <p> Okay, Terry, we get it. Three bad winters in a row is bad for wildlife. In fact, you’re so good at staying on message, I’d almost think you worked for John Hoeven. Oh, wait . . .</p> <p>But here’s what got me so ticked off that I said a bad word: What else has been going on in North Dakota lately that might be affecting wildlife? What else? Only the biggest disruption of wildlife habitat since the homesteaders broke the native prairie to plant wheat. But worse. Never, ever, in our history has the North Dakota wildlife population faced the challenges it faces today from oil development.</p> <p>But not once did the man responsible for protecting and enhancing wildlife in North Dakota mention that there’s an oil boom going on in our state. And it’s not just missing from his “Matters of Opinion” column. Nowhere in the last year’s issues of North Dakota Outdoors is there a mention of an oil boom. Not once. It’s like our Game and Fish Department has buried its collective head in the sand (or somewhere else). No time to deal with that. Too busy checking the weather, I guess.</p> <p>Well, I’d like to know what Game and Fish is doing to deal with this huge threat to our wildlife. <em>Outdoors </em>seems like a logical place to keep us up to date.</p> <p>Okay, this turned into more of a rant that I anticipated. But ever since the Game and Fish Department sat on their report on the impact oil development on wildlife for more than a year (<a href="http://theprairieblog.areavoices.com/2011/04/16/what-i-have-failed-to-do/">see that story here</a>), I’ve been fed up with their seeming inattention to what’s going on in western North Dakota. Winters happen. Winters come and go. I’m old enough to remember the years in the ‘60’s when we had no pheasant season because of harsh winters. We can’t do anything about winters (except write about them).</p> <p>But we can react to man-made crises like oil booms. I’m not a biologist, so I can’t make specific recommendations. But the Game and Fish Department is awash in biologists, and here’s what they wrote in the report I just referred to:</p> <p><em>“It should be understood by all North Dakotans that the jobs and revenue associated with the O/G industry could come with a very high cost to our quality of life; namely diminished hunting and outdoor recreational opportunities through the loss of habitat due to direct and indirect effects of O/G development.”</em></p> <p>It has now been 17 months since those biologists gave their report to Director Steinwand. In their report, they made <a href="http://theprairieblog.areavoices.com/2011/04/16/what-i-have-failed-to-do/">14 recommendations</a> for things that could be done to help <span style="text-decoration: underline">alleviate </span>the impacts of oil and gas development on wildlife in North Dakota, and<a href="http://theprairieblog.areavoices.com/2011/04/16/what-i-have-failed-to-do/"> five more things</a> that could be done to <span style="text-decoration: underline">offset</span> impacts which cannot be avoided. Those are 19 things (if you click on the links and scroll down, you can read all 19) that are not going to happen unless Game and Fish takes the lead in making them happen. I’d like to know how many of those recommendations are being implemented, if any.</p> <p>Seems to me that would be a good subject for the Game and Fish Department’s editors to address in their magazine. And for the Game and Fish Director to address in his “Matters of Opinion” column. And they could just leave the weather reports to the <span style="font-style: italic;">Bismarck Tribune.</span></p> </div>Jim Fugliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12461232645322745636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974767.post-66890639194513662022011-11-05T10:07:00.000-05:002011-11-05T10:08:33.277-05:00$10,000 - No Questions Asked<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:enableopentypekerning/> <w:dontflipmirrorindents/> <w:overridetablestylehps/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathpr> <m:mathfont val="Cambria Math"> <m:brkbin val="before"> <m:brkbinsub val="--"> <m:smallfrac val="off"> <m:dispdef/> <m:lmargin val="0"> <m:rmargin val="0"> <m:defjc val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent val="1440"> <m:intlim val="subSup"> <m:narylim val="undOvr"> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" defunhidewhenused="true" defsemihidden="true" defqformat="false" defpriority="99" latentstylecount="267"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Normal"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="heading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="35" qformat="true" name="caption"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="10" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" name="Default Paragraph Font"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="11" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtitle"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="22" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Strong"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="20" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="59" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Table Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Placeholder Text"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="No Spacing"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Revision"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="34" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="List Paragraph"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="29" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="30" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="19" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="31" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">The Legislature is coming to town Monday, ostensibly to draw new Legislative district lines, but more urgently to fix some of the state’s problems that cannot wait until the regular Legislative session in 2013. One of them is flood relief. Probably the most important one.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>For the record: I was not personally affected by the flood, except that I did not get to do any fishing last summer, which was a big disappointment. But I have friends who lost their homes, who are still not living in their homes, who are pondering what to do with what is left of their homes. I hope the Legislature decides to help them.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">I’ve been to Minot and seen the devastation. Block after block of abandoned homes that had water to their rooflines last summer and will never be livable again. I’ve floated on the Missouri at Bismarck and seen homes ready to fall into the water, and homes ready for the wrecking ball. The devastation in Minot is more widespread, but the destruction in Bismarck is also very real. The major difference is, the people in Minot had no flood insurance.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">And so, there are young families with hundred thousand dollar mortgages, on which they are still making payments, whose homes will never be inhabited again. There are seniors like me, on fixed incomes, with no mortgage, but also no budget for the rent they are paying now for temporary housing or the house payments they will have to make if they rebuild somewhere else. The situation in Minot is critical. There’s no place for a thousand or more families to live. Soon, they will start moving out, never to return. Seniors will move to Fargo to live with the kids. Young families will seek jobs elsewhere—there’s plenty of work in North Dakota right now, in towns with houses and apartment to live in. Minot’s population could take a big hit. There is hurt in Minot, very real hurt. And the Legislature can help. It can’t make these people whole, but it can offer hope. Here’s what I suggest.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">I suggest the state of North Dakota start writing checks. I suggest the Legislature appropriate money to do that. Checks should be written to anyone with at least $5,000 in documented damage. I suppose the figure could be lower than that, but I’m thinking that people with less than $5,000 damage will get reimbursed by FEMA or can scrape up the cash to deal with that. And I’m trying to keep the paperwork down, so that we don’t have tens of thousands of small claims submitted.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>We want to help those with real problems. Those who lost their homes.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">So I suggest that anyone with a $5,000 claim bring that claim to a state office, and they get a check. There needs to be an upper limit too, so I’d suggest $10,000. If you lost your house, bring some evidence and get a $10,000 check. Never mind about flood insurance, or FEMA, or anything else. If you had damages over $10,000, or you lost your house, you get $10,000. To help you get back on your feet again.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Ten thousand dollars will pay rent on an apartment for eight or ten months, at today’s rates. Or help make a down payment on a new home. But more, it will give a psychological boost to those suffering devastation, show them that the state cares about its residents.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>And we can afford it. If 5,000 families submit the maximum claim of $10,000, that’s $50 million. That’s probably 5 per cent of what the state has in the bank right now. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Okay, now, I’m going to get a little bit political here. North Dakota is a Republican state right now. Republicans run state government. They are the party screaming about cutting federal government spending. And yet every response I’ve seen from every Republican is to put the flood cost burden on the federal government. At a time when the federal government is broke and North Dakota is rich. What hypocrisy!</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">It’s time for North Dakota Republicans to put their money where their mouth is. Step up and pay the bills. The Legislature is full of Republicans. Every single legislator from Bismarck and Minot is a Republican. They need to get the job done, or be thrown out of office next year. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Oh, and let’s not hear any whining from the east about this. The state has helped plenty with flooding in the east. We’re raising plenty of money out west here, and suffering the impact that goes with that. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">If my suggestion—a $10,000 check, no questions asked, for everyone who lost their home, or is facing repair bills bigger than that—is not the right one, let’s see<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>a better one. But let’s at least see something significant to help these people start putting their lives back together. This is the week the Legislature can do it. They better not go home without acting.</p>Jim Fugliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12461232645322745636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974767.post-49786161465646412072011-10-31T16:13:00.002-05:002011-10-31T16:14:47.668-05:00Don't Mess With The IRS<div class="entry-content"> <p>The purpose of this post is to remind you that this is the week during which you need to submit comments to the U.S. Forest Service on the issue of mining gravel at Theodore Roosevelt’s Elkhorn Ranch site. Comments should be submitted to Ron Jablonski at the address below (I listed the wrong address and contact person in an earlier blog,which I have since corrected). You can read the short scoping document for background on the issue <a href="http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/dakotaprairie/">here</a>. For more background, you can also read my earlier blog posts on this by clicking <a href="http://theprairieblog.areavoices.com/2011/10/06/deadly-sins-in-the-bad-lands/">here</a>, <a href="http://theprairieblog.areavoices.com/2011/10/08/stupid-and-ugly/">here</a>, <a href="http://theprairieblog.areavoices.com/2011/10/11/263/">or here.<br /></a></p> <p>I should mention there has been some progress in fighting this issue. Last week, the State Historic Preservation Board nominated the site for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places. Sometime in the next 2-3 months, that listing should become official. It doesn’t necessarily protect the area from gravel mining, but surely calls a lot more attention to it. Also last week, the Theodore Roosevelt Association,the Congressionally-chartered keeper of all things Theodore Roosevelt (and whose membership includes most current descendents of Theodore Roosevelt), agreed to submit comments to the Forest Service opposing the mining of the property, as did the Friends of the Elkhorn Ranch, the prestigious group whose members I listed for you here a couple weeks ago. I’ll try to get copies of their comments as soon as they are available and share them with you.</p> <p>Meanwhile, just in case you need a little inspiration, I’m sharing with you below my own comments which I am sending in today. Please join me. We need all the help we can get.</p> <p>Ronald W. Jablonski, Jr., District Ranger</p> <p>Medora Ranger District</p> <p>99 23rd Ave. West, Suite B</p> <p>Dickinson, North Dakota 58601.</p> <p>October 31, 2011</p> <p>Dear Mr. Jablonski,</p> <p>I am writing to submit comments on the scoping document posted on your website dated October 5, 2011, regarding the mining of surface minerals (gravel) by Ms. Peggy Braunberger on the Elkhorn Ranchlands site.</p> <p>I am also enclosing copies of three blog posts from The Prairie Blog which I would like to submit as comments for the record as well.</p> <p>First, let me say I am extremely disappointed that the Forest Service did not take steps to secure ownership of the surface minerals for the Elkhorn Ranchlands when these lands were acquired. They minerals were clearly available, and the comments by the Forest Service later that you were “willing to take the risk” that they would be developed shows an apparent casual disregard for the long term future of this place.</p> <p>Second, although it is only a sidebar to the current issue, I urge you to complete a management plan for these lands. Four years ought to be long enough to get that done.</p> <p>Now, matters at hand.</p> <ul><li>I urge you to take all possible steps to limit surface mineral development here. I don’t need to remind you how significant a site this is to all Americans and that it has been nominated for the National Register of Historic Places.</li></ul> <ul><li>Earlier, I asked one of your staff, Sherri Schwenke, a question about needing approval from other mineral owners before mining can start. I have not had a reply to that question. I’d certainly like to know, and others would as well, I think, whether one mineral owner can proceed to remove minerals without the approval from other mineral owners with whom they share the mineral ownership. I would like to be reassured that you have fully checked that legal matter before extraction begins.</li></ul> <ul><li>As you may know, the deadly mineral erionite has been found in many gravel deposits in western North Dakota. I hope before you allow mineral extraction that this gravel will be tested for erionite, and the results of those tests made public. As a public agency, I’d think you have a responsibility to warn the public if deadly minerals are being removed from your property, and where they are going.</li></ul> <ul><li>The person who initially bought these minerals from the Connells, Mr. Lothspeich, has stated publicly that he has transferred the ownership to his girlfriend “for tax purposes.” In spite of that, he continues to talk as if he owns these minerals himself. Consider the following quotes from various newspapers attributed to Mr. Lothspeich:</li></ul> <p style="padding-left: 60px"><em>“<strong>I’m </strong>not blinking. <strong>I’m</strong> going to get <strong>my </strong>gravel or write <strong>me </strong>a check.” </em></p> <p style="padding-left: 60px"><em>“<strong>I’ll </strong>negotiate with anybody, but <strong>I’ll </strong>also mine at the drop of a hat,” he said.</em></p> <p style="padding-left: 60px"><em>Lothspeich said <strong>he</strong> is open to selling the surface rights, which include “coal, scoria, uranium, sand, gravel, the whole works,” to anyone who gives <strong>him </strong>$2.5 million. “If those tree-huggers want to write <strong>me </strong>a check, that’s OK too.”</em></p> <p style="padding-left: 60px">“<em>They’re (the Forest Service) jacking <strong>me</strong> around because they know <strong>I’ve </strong>got them over a barrel.”</em></p> <p style="padding-left: 60px">(<strong>bold</strong> emphasis mine)</p> <ul><li>In spite of those quotes (and many others in various other publications—this is just a representative sample), he admits he no longer owns the minerals, and your own scoping documents list Peggy Braunberger, apparently his girlfriend, as the applicant. What’s up with that? I hope you are dealing directly with this girlfriend and not him, if it is true he has no ownership. I also hope you will warn both of them of the consequences of cheating the IRS, and I hope that you will make the IRS, one of your fellow government agencies, aware of these shenanigans so they can watch the tax returns of Mr. Lothspeich and his girlfriend carefully. She should also be warned that people go to the pokey for dodging taxes, or being an accomplice to someone dodging taxes.</li></ul> <p>Those are my formal comments, but I strongly urge you to consider my earlier writings on the Prairie Blog on this the subject, in much more depth, as official comments as well.</p> <p>Respectfully,</p> <p>Jim Fuglie</p> </div>Jim Fugliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12461232645322745636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974767.post-16712972064837857302011-10-14T14:21:00.001-05:002011-10-14T14:21:29.845-05:00Weekenders<div class="entry-content"> <p><strong>SURPRISE! LOOKS LIKE KEVIN’S IN</strong></p> <p>Kevin Cramer lives, eats, breathes and sleeps politics. So you just knew it had to happen. Kevin said in the paper today he might just run for Congress in 2012.</p> <p>All Kevin has ever wanted is to go to Washington, D.C. as a Senator or Congressman (I wrote about this back in <a href="http://theprairieblog.areavoices.com/2011/02/16/timing-vol-i/">February</a>). I’ve always thought he was the most politically ambitious of any of the state’s current office-holders. But Cramer’s fellow Public Service Commission Brian Kalk has been proving me wrong.</p> <p>Timeline for 2011:</p> <p>January 13 – Brian Kalk announces he’s forming an exploratory committee for to run against Senator Kent Conrad for the U.S. Senate in 2012.</p> <p>January 19 – Kent Conrad announces he won’t seek re-election in 2012.</p> <p>February 5 – Kalk launches Facebook page and Kalk for Senate website</p> <p>April 30 – Kalk formally announces for U. S. Senate</p> <p>May 11 – Forum reporter Teri Finneman announces on her blog that Representative Rick Berg will give up his U.S. House seat to run for the U. S. Senate.</p> <p>May 16 – Just a little over four months into his first term in the U.S. House, Berg announces he’ll run for the U.S. Senate in 2012</p> <p>May 20 – Kalk announces he’s abandoning his U.S. Senate race to run for the House instead. (I’m not sure if Kevin was on vacation on May 17, 18 and 19, or what, but he missed his chance to get into the House race, because Kalk didn’t waste any time making his move away from a contest with Berg for the Senate nomination. On his website, in a video posted May 27, Kalk says <em>“Once it became apparent that Congressman Berg was getting into the (Senate) race, I had a groundswell of grass roots supporters urging me to consider switching to the Congressional race. And so I’ve always prided myself on listening to the grass roots</em> (you can gag here if you want to) <em>and I really, I could see we both have very passionate supporters, so I could see a highly contested race</em> (yeah, right), <em>and I was not willing to risk a divided party in the fall . . .”)</em></p> <p>Now it’s October, just a few months before the Republican State Convention, and Cramer has to make his move if he’s going to. And it looks like he’s going to. In today’s Bismarck Tribune, Cramer says the odds are 50-50 that he’ll challenge Kalk and Betty Grande (my choice, incidentally—I am thinking about sending her money) for the nomination, in spite of the fact it looks pretty unseemly that two of the three Public Service Commissioners are going after the same job. One wonders who’s going to be around doing the work of the Public Service Commission while two-thirds of its members are out campaigning. And one also wonders what the atmosphere is going to be like at the PSC office. Don’t suppose the two of them will be doing much traveling together.</p> <p>Bottom line is, you’ve got two guys who ran for, and were elected to, the Public Service Commission, and now neither one of the wants to complete his term. One of these days that ambition and opportunism is going to catch up with the Republican Party.</p> <p><strong>LOOKS LIKE CORY’S OUT</strong></p> <p>Kudos to Cory Fong, by the way. His much-rumored campaign for Congress has been set on the back burner, much to the disappointment of a lot of moderate Republicans not excited about the three conservatives likely to be in the race, Kalk, Cramer and Betty Grande. Cory’s going to finish his term. But his time will come. The Tax Commissioner’s office has been a real stepping stone, unlike the PSC (the only Public Service Commissioner I can think of who ever got elected to anything else is Dale Sandstrom, who sits on the North Dakota Supreme Court). In fact, if Heidi Heitkamp finally decides to run for the U.S. Senate, that would mean that every North Dakota Tax Commissioner since 1966 except Bob Hanson has run for Federal office. Kent Conrad and Byron Dorgan, obviously, got elected. Rick Clayburgh tried and failed against Earl Pomeroy. Don’t bet against Cory Fong in the future, though.</p> <p><strong>GOING FOR ALL THE DOUGH</strong></p> <p>Speaking of Cory Fong, what’s up with he and Sen. Dwight Cook weighing in on the effort to collect sales taxes from Internet companies sending stuff to North Dakota? Like we have a money shortage here these days? Hey, guys, do you want ALL the money?</p> <p><strong>THE CASE FOR SINGLE-MEMBER HOUSE DISTRICTS</strong></p> <p>Here’s my suggestion to the Legislative Redistricting Committee, which meets in a couple weeks to draw new District lines. They’ll never listen to me, but I think it’s the solution to the ever-growing size of rural legislative districts in North Dakota. I’d cut the number of Senate Districts to 40, from the current 47. 40 is plenty of Senators. The Senate Districts would be bigger than they are now, but that problem gets solved by creating single-member House Districts. You do that by cutting each Senate District in half and electing one House member from each geographical half of the district. In reality, this creates 80 House Districts, which brings representation much closer to home in rural areas than now. House members represent about 14,000 people under the current scenario of 47 districts. With 80 House members representing single-member districts, each would represent about 8,500. Without creating more government, which the conservatives are whining about right now. In fact, according to Legislative Council estimates, it would save about $7 million of taxpayers‘ dollars. Win-win.</p> <p><strong>WHO’S REPRESENTING THE NEWCOMERS?</strong></p> <p>There’s one more issue the Legislature is going to have to deal with relative to reapportionment of Legislative Districts: the huge increase in population in western North Dakota. The federal census for North Dakota, done in 2010, was outdated the day it was completed. There are probably 10 or 20 or 30 thousand more people out west than there were a year and a half ago, and they are being under-represented to the point where somebody is probably going to bring a lawsuit if the Legislature doesn’t deal with the problem. And that’ll be a mess. I’m old enough to remember the endless lawsuits of the 1960’s and 1970’s over reapportionment. It took most of a decade to finally get it right. So they might as well address it right now.</p> </div>Jim Fugliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12461232645322745636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974767.post-60970350821385222312011-10-11T21:33:00.001-05:002011-10-11T21:33:45.926-05:00Your Comments Welcome . . . And Necessary<div class="entry-content"> <p>Late Tuesday, the U.S. Forest Service posted the scoping documents for the “Elkhorn Gravel Pit” on its website. The documents tell you what Roger Lothspeich, who owns half the surface minerals on the Elkhorn Ranchlands, plans to do to this historic site. As I’ve noted in the three previous blog posts on this issue, citizens are invited to submit comments on the project until November 4. Then over a period of several months the Forest Service will issue its findings on the project and likely approve the project. And gravel pits will start emerging across the river from the Elkhorn Ranch.</p> <p>If TR were sitting on his veranda in his rocking chair, as he did many times during his life in the Bad Lands, he’d be able to watch the whole process—the bulldozers pushing away and piling up the topsoil, the scoop shovels hoisting buckets of gravel into the big dump trucks, the trucks heading down the road in a cloud of dust, the excess gravel being piled high on the rim of the Little Missouri River valley waiting for the next truck. Surely this was not what the Friends of the Elkhorn Ranch, or the National Park Service, or the U.S. Forest Service, envisioned four years ago when the dedication ceremony was held for the acquisition of the lands across from Roosevelt’s cabin.</p> <p>You can join the effort to stop this travesty. Please go to <a href="http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/dakotaprairie/">this website.</a> The scoping documents are right there on the home page. Read the short two-page summary. Look at the maps. And then tell the Forest Service what you think of this scheme, cooked up by some jackass in Montana, who thinks he’s got one helluva game going on here.</p> <p>Here are the instructions from the Forest Service for commenting:</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><em>Your comments, including your name and address, will be considered part of the public record on this proposed action and will be available for public inspection. Comments submitted anonymously will be accepted and considered regarding this project. If you need more information on submitting comments anonymously, please contact us or refer to 36 CFR 215 and 7 CFR 1.27(d).</em></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><em>If you have any questions about this project or wish to submit oral comments, contact Mark Sexton, the project team leader, at (701) 227-7824. Your email comments can be submitted on the internet to, comments-northern-dakota-prairie-medora@fs.fed.us. Please direct your written comments to Ronald W. Jablonski, Jr., District Ranger, Medora Ranger District, 99 23rd Ave. West, Suite B, Dickinson, North Dakota 58601.</em></p> <p>If you choose, you may also go ahead and contact Roger Lothspeich directly by calling him at home, (406) 234-2465. Or send him a letter at 3711 Batchelor Street, Miles City, Montana, 59301. Or you can e-mail him at <a href="mailto:info@rmcmilescity.com">info@rmcmilescity.com</a>. Let him know what you think of his plans. I’m sure he’ll be happy to hear from you. He loves attention.</p> </div>Jim Fugliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12461232645322745636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974767.post-13938215731055312542011-10-11T11:37:00.000-05:002011-10-11T11:38:27.154-05:00Here's A 'Who's Who' List For You<div class="entry-content"> <p>Take a look at the list of names below. They are the members of the Advisory Council of the Friends of the Elkhorn Ranch, the organization formed in 2007 which helped gain public ownership of the former Eberts Ranch, now the Elkhorn Ranchlands, which is threatened by gravel mining by the surface mineral owners.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><strong>Theodore Roosevelt</strong>, IV Honorary Chair, Trustee, Theodore Roosevelt Association</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><strong>Simon Roosevelt</strong>, New York, Trustee, Theodore Roosevelt Association and Director, TR Medora Foundation</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><strong>Tweed Roosevelt</strong>, Massachusetts, Vice Chair, Theodore Roosevelt Association</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><strong>Lowell E. Baier</strong>, Maryland, Executive Vice President, Boone and Crockett Club, Trustee, Theodore Roosevelt Association</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><strong>Barbara Berryman Brandt</strong>, New York, Chair, Theodore Roosevelt Association</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><strong>Governor John Hoeven</strong>, North Dakota</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><strong>Andrew L. Hoxsey</strong>, California, Chairman, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><strong>Bill Kiefer</strong>, North Dakota, Principal, Financial Advantage Investment Services, Board Member of the Torstenson Wildlife Center</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><strong>Robert Model</strong>, Wyoming, Chairman, Boone and Crockett Club</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><strong>Edmund Morris</strong>, New York, Biographer and Historian</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><strong>Gale A. Norton</strong>, Colorado, Former Secretary of the Interior</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><strong>R. Max Peterson</strong>, Virginia, Chief Emeritus, USDA Forest Service</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><strong>Edward T. Schafer</strong>, North Dakota, Former Governor</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><strong>General H. Norman Schwarzkopf</strong>, Florida, US Army Retired</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><strong>Alan K. Simpson</strong>, Wyoming, Former Senator</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><strong>Russell Train</strong>, Washington, D.C., Chairman Emeritus, World Wildlife Fund and Former Director of the White House Council on Environmental Quality</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><strong>Keith Tre</strong>go, North Dakota, Executive Director, North Dakota Natural Resources Trust</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><strong>John Turner</strong>, Wyoming, Former Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, and Former Director, US Fish and Wildlife Service</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><strong>Rebecca W. Watson</strong>, Colorado, Former Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management U.S., Department of the Interior</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><strong>Don Young</strong>, Alaska, Congressman</p> <p> Whew! Quite a list of luminaries, not? Roosevelts, governors, liberals, conservatives, hunters, fishermen, cabinet officers and congressmen. Norman Schwartzkopf! Edmund Morris! If I had a problem, these are people I’d like on my side.</p> <p>Take a look at the list of organizations below. These are the conservation groups who formally backed the Forest Service’s plan to acquire the Eberts Ranch in 2007. According to Lowell Baier, the executive vice president of the Boone and Crocket Club, who led the private sector effort behind the acquisition, these groups represent about 40 million people.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Boone and Crockett Club.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Bear Trust International.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Bowhunting Preservation Alliance.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Campfire Club of America.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Dallas Safari Club.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Ducks Unlimited.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Foundation for North American Wild Sheep.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Houston Safari Club.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">International Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Izaak Walton League of America.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">National Rifle Association.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">National Shooting Sports Foundation.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">National Trappers Association.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">National Wild Turkey Federation.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">North American Bear Foundation.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">North American Grouse Partnership.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Orion, The Hunters Institute.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Pheasants Forever.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Pope and Young Club.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Quality Deer Management Association.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation.</p> <p>Lowell Baier put that list together as well. He did his job well. He’s got just about every hunting and fishing organization in America, along with all our state Game and Fish Departments. If I had a problem, these are organizations I’d like on my side. They (well, their members) all carry guns! Lowell and I will be visiting about this in the next few days, looking for a strategy.</p> <p>If you know any of these people, or if you are a member of any of these organizations, please contact them, send them a copy of the <a href="http://bismarcktribune.com/news/local/approval-nears-for-gravel-mine-near-historic-ranch/article_8cae0f62-ef9f-11e0-8673-001cc4c002e0.html">Bismarck Tribune story</a> and ask them to send comments on the gravel mining scheme I wrote about in earlier posts, <a href="http://theprairieblog.areavoices.com/2011/10/06/deadly-sins-in-the-bad-lands/">here</a>, and <a href="http://theprairieblog.areavoices.com/2011/10/08/stupid-and-ugly/">here</a>.</p> <p>As of Tuesday morning, the scoping documents for this project were still not on the Forest Service’s web site. If you would like copies of them, I can forward to you an e-mail I received from the Forest Service that has them attached. Just send me an e-mail at <a href="mailto:jimfuglie@hotmail.com">jimfuglie@hotmail.com</a>. If they get posted, I will update my blog to include the web address so you can read them for yourself.</p> <p>It is important that the Forest Service get a lot of comments opposing this scheme. If not, they will say “Well, apparently no one is concerned about this, so let the draglines rip and roar. Grab that gravel, Roger.”</p> <p>I’m still talking to people trying to find out what can really be done besides protesting. Is there money to buy out Lothspeich, as distasteful as that sounds to me? Would the organizations and individuals posted above pony up some more money to buy back the minerals? Is there federal money for the Forest Service to buy back the minerals? If not, as I said before, we’re probably just gonna have to sit down in front of the dozer.</p> <p>Here’s how to send comments:</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Paula Johnston<br />USDA Forest Service –Dakota Prairie Grasslands<br />240 W. Century Avenue<br />Bismarck, ND 58503</p> <p>Or e-mail them to: <a href="mailto:comments-northern-dakota-prairie@fs.fed.us">comments-northern-dakota-prairie@fs.fed.us</a>.</p> </div>Jim Fugliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12461232645322745636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974767.post-72730055770763101592011-10-08T17:43:00.002-05:002011-10-08T17:49:24.276-05:00Stupid and Ugly<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:enableopentypekerning/> <w:dontflipmirrorindents/> <w:overridetablestylehps/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathpr> <m:mathfont val="Cambria Math"> <m:brkbin val="before"> <m:brkbinsub val="--"> <m:smallfrac val="off"> <m:dispdef/> <m:lmargin val="0"> <m:rmargin val="0"> <m:defjc val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent val="1440"> <m:intlim val="subSup"> <m:narylim val="undOvr"> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" defunhidewhenused="true" defsemihidden="true" defqformat="false" defpriority="99" latentstylecount="267"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Normal"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="heading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" name="header"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" name="footer"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="35" qformat="true" name="caption"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" name="page number"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="10" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" name="Default Paragraph Font"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="11" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtitle"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="22" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Strong"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="20" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="59" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Table Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Placeholder Text"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="No Spacing"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Revision"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="34" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="List Paragraph"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="29" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="30" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="19" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="31" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">Continuing with our discussion of the Seven Deadly Sins. Our revisionist group identified two more, pretty much unanimously, that should be submitted for ratification: Stupid, and Ugly.</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">Stupid, not in the sense of being born with diminished intellectual capabilities, but doing or saying things that just don't make any sense to anyone, and should not have been done or said. Kind of like Tiger woods crashing his SUV into a tree and then telling the world he had been sleeping with women all over America. Both really stupid things to do.</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> <span style="color:black"></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">Ugly, not in the sense of being born with unattractive personal physical characteristics, but more like an outcome that is just totally unacceptable, generally as a result of a really stupid act. Like the kind of baseball played by the Boston Red Sox in September of 2011, or the football played by the Minnesota Vikings so far this year. Really ugly baseball. And really ugly football.</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">You get the drift. Pretty obvious, and dreadful, sins. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">Meanwhile, matters at hand. Gravel mining at the Elkhorn Ranch site. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">Like most controversial stories, the story of Roger Lothspeich's in-your-face scheme to mine gravel across the river from the Elkhorn Ranch site has more than one side. We agreed in a <a href="http://theprairieblog.blogspot.com/2011/10/deadly-sins-in-bad-lands.html">post earlier this week</a> that one side of the story is the sin of being an asshole. Now, I submit, one of the other sides (there are several to this story) is the failure of the U.S. Forest Service to buy the minerals that Lothspeich now owns and plans to develop. That would involve the sins of stupid and ugly.</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">Stupid: <i>"Forest Service district supervisor Ron Jablonski said the agency never made a formal offer for the mineral rights to the Ebertses or the Connells.</i></span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> <i><span style="color:black">'We thought at the time that the land was a good purchase for taxpayers,' Jablonski said. 'We had no idea that something like this would come up. We knew the potential was there, <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal">but we were willing to take the risk</b>.'"</span></i><span style="color:black"> -- Associated Press, August 2009.</span> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">Ugly: If Lothspeich has his way, there will be mining operations directly across from the Theodore Roosevelt Elkhorn Cabin site for years and years to come as a result of the Forest Service's willingness to "take the risk."</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">More stupid: Arriving in the mail at our house on Thursday was a letter from the Forest Service that starts: <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">“The Forest Service has received an Operating Plan (OP) from Ms. Peggy Braunberger, to mine gravel. Approval of the OP by the Forest Service is subject to terms and conditions that will provide for adequate protection and utilization of National Forest System (NFS) land and resources. The approved OP would permit the construction of the Elkhorn Gravel Pit (gravel pit) and use of existing roads to access the gravel pit and haul gravel.”</i></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black"><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Braunberger is Lothspeich's girlfriend. He said earlier that he had transferred ownership to her for "tax purposes"--meaning his lawyer has found a way for him to avoid paying some taxes. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">The letter is an insult to the intelligence of the taxpayers who paid to save this place, and all the organizations and businesses who contributed money to help buy it. I almost gagged when I read it. It first describes the mining operation that is going to take place, in very matter-of-fact terms, like this is nothing unusual. <i>"The intent of Ms. Braunberger's proposal is to exercise her legal private mineral rights through the development of the gravel pit."</i> (Never mind that she--or, rather, Lothspeich--bought those legal private mineral rights AFTER the Forest Service bought the land in which those minerals are located.)</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><i><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">"The Forest Service is a multiple use agency and will maintain management authority . . ." </span></i><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; color:black">(Don't worry. Everything's fine. We do stuff like this all the time. We're in charge here.)</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span><i><span style="color:black">"Cultural, botany and wildlife surveys have been completed for the project."</span></i><span style="color:black"> (I'm gonna have to get those. What will years and years of mining do to the historical value, plant life and wildlife in this most fragile area of North Dakota? This is starting to sound like Lynn Helms, our chief oil cheerleader.)</span> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><i><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">"Roads (leading to the site) will be resurfaced with gravel. There will be a temporary road constructed within the (25-acre) gravel pit for hauling purposes. The gravel pit will be mined in four phases over a two year period, pending any weather or wildlife-related delays."</span></i><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black"> (Wildlife-related delays? WTF do you suppose that means?)</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">More Ugly: At least two years (likely longer--you can bet there will be "weather and wildlife-related delays") of dozers and loaders and trucks and dust and gravel piles and noise, just at this first site--Lothspeich has said he will mine everywhere there's gravel on this land, including, possibly, in the Little Missouri River bed. <b>"The next gravel pit will likely be south of and much larger than the first and even closer to the Elkhorn Ranch, he (Lothspeich) said."</b> -- Bismarck Tribune, October 6, 2011.</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">And then, just to reassure us this is really, really, really all right, the letter ends with two long paragraphs about how the land will be reclaimed and everything will be back to normal in short order. We won't even really be able to tell that this all took place. Yeah, right. You ever seen a successful reclamation area in the Bad Lands?</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">That's the gist of the letter. I received the same letter by e-mail later Thursday, from the Forest Service spokesperson who first told me that they would put information on their website for us to comment on, and then told me in the e-mail "it appears we might be having some challenges with posting the information . . ."</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> <span style="color:black"></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">I'd think if they really wanted input on this from the citizenry, which they say they will take until November 4, they'd share the actual application from Ms. Braunberger, as well as their own summary of it. I'm guessing all that is public record, and would make us better informed as we submit our comments.</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">A couple of friends of mine suggested this is really a "black and white" issue. Lothspeich is trying to blackmail us, and the Forest Service is trying to whitewash it.</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">Stupid is the Forest Service's pandering letter seeking comments. Who do they think they're fooling? This is the land on which we spent four million taxpayer dollars and a million donated dollars to protect from development just four years ago. They didn’t bother to buy the minerals that went with it. But don’t worry, they say, gravel mining isn’t really all that bad. Do they think I’m stupid too? Do they think we’re all stupid?</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">Ugly is the feeling I get about how they have mismanaged this project. The Forest Service has owned this land for four and a half years, and there is still no management plan for the site. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">Meanwhile, the Bismarck Tribune story Thursday has sparked national interest in this current crisis. The Associated Press did a follow-up story that has hit newspapers across the country. Stories have appeared on websites for CNBC, The Street, Bloomberg Business Daily, and in numerous publications around the country.</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">So, I repeat, I will put a link here to any information that the Forest Service puts on its website next week. Giving them the benefit of the doubt, I'm guessing their webmaster was not available to get it done Friday. But if you want to submit comments now, you can send them to:</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">Paula Johnston<br />USDA Forest Service --Dakota Prairie Grasslands<br />240 W. Century Avenue<br />Bismarck, ND 58503</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">Or e-mail them to: <a href="mailto:comments-northern-dakota-prairie@fs.fed.us">comments-northern-dakota-prairie@fs.fed.us</a>.</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";color:black">You have until November 4 to comment. Please let them know how you feel.</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""></span></p>Jim Fugliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12461232645322745636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974767.post-89340554063922412472011-10-06T14:33:00.001-05:002011-10-06T14:33:52.654-05:00Deadly Sins In The Bad Lands<div class="entry-content"> <p>During a recent campfire discussion among friends, we decided, only half jokingly, that it’s just possible the Seven Deadly Sins need an update. I mean, they date back to about the 6<sup>th</sup> Century, and the world has changed a bit since then. Don’t get me too wrong here—they’re still bad things, and should be avoided, and those who commit them should probably be punished. But there are things going on that Pope Gregory just didn’t synthesize when he listed what most of us have come to agree are the original Seven Deadly Sins: Anger, Envy, Gluttony, Greed, Lust, Pride and Sloth.</p> <p>It got late into the night, and we’re pretty old to be staying up late, so we never finished coming up with a whole new list. But we did agree on some things that ought to be included if a new list were ever compiled and put forth for ratification, and at the top of my list, the deadliest of the Seven Deadly Sins, as far as I am concerned, is (drum roll) . . . Being an Asshole. And I got lots of agreement from our group.</p> <p>Now, we recognize some further definition and refining might be in order here, but generally, there’s really no excuse for being an asshole, by anyone’s definition, so maybe the easiest way to define it is to come up with a good example (to paraphrase Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart, “I know one when I see one”). Well, today’s Bismarck Tribune provided one really good example.</p> <p>Today’s Tribune carried the latest story in the ongoing saga of the gravel mineral ownership on what used to be known as the Eberts Ranch, now known as the Elkhorn Ranchlands, in western North Dakota. A bit of history:</p> <p>The ranch is located across the Little Missouri River from the National Park Service’s Elkhorn Ranch Site, part of Theodore Roosevelt National Park. The Elkhorn Ranch is where Theodore Roosevelt lived in the Bad Lands. The Elkhorn Ranchlands is where he ran his cattle.</p> <p>The Ranchlands were purchased about three years ago by the U.S. Forest Service for $5 million or so from the Eberts family, to preserve them from development into ranchettes. The money to buy them was raised by conservation groups interested in preserving the viewshed of the Elkhorn Ranch. The conservation groups labeled the site “The Cradle of Conservation,” since it was where Roosevelt did much of the thinking that led to his becoming the greatest conservation president in our history.</p> <p>The Forest Service made a major screw-up when they bought the Eberts Ranch: they did not buy the mineral rights. How that happened is open to speculation, but a Forest Service spokesperson told an Associated Press reporter back in 2009 that the Forest Service never made a formal offer for the mineral rights. (A bit of the old-school sin of Sloth, I’d say.) A little more history:</p> <p>The ranch was owned by the Connell family for many years, and sold to the Eberts family in the early 1990’s. The Eberts purchased half the “surface mineral rights,” including the gravel under the ranch land, and the Connells retained the other half. Gravel had been mined on the ranch in the past, providing a substantial amount of income to the Connells, but the Eberts family was not interested in mining the gravel. When the Eberts family sold the ranch to the Forest Service, they retained their half of the mineral interests. The Connells, meanwhile, sold their remaining half to a fellow named Roger Lothspeich, a local opportunist who grew up on a nearby ranch and knew the area well. Lothspeich is now a businessman in Miles City, Montana.</p> <p>And as soon as Lothspeich got what he believed was title to the minerals he announced in a 2008 story in the Bismarck Tribune that he was going to go in and dig up the gravel. In full view of all the visitors to the National Park’s Elkhorn Ranch. You’ve seen gravel pits. Not a pretty sight.</p> <p>Well, the Forest Service, while wiping the egg off its face, told Lothspeich he needed better documentation that he actually owned the surface minerals in question before he could begin mining on their land. Lothspeich set out to do that in 2009, and now has provided proof that he actually owns 27 per cent of the gravel under the ranch, according to today’s Tribune story. And he’s going after that gravel. Lothspeich says there’s $10 million worth of gravel under the ranch. He’ll sell his share for $2.5 million to someone who wants to stop him from mining it.</p> <p>“If they want me out of the picture, pay me $2.5 million and I’ll go back to Montana and they’ll never hear from me again,” he told an AP reporter in 2009. “Or I’m going to mine that ranch for decades and decades to come.” (Greed?)</p> <p>Today’s Tribune says Lothspeich has submitted an operating plan to the Forest Service to mine his share of the gravel from a 25-acre site about a half a mile as the crow flies from the Elkhorn Ranch, up on a plateau overlooking the ranch site. And more pits will be opened later to get at gravel reserves scattered around the ranch, possibly including the gravel in the Little Missouri River, the Tribune story says. The Forest Service is taking comments on the plan until Nov. 4 and will release a final environmental document next spring, according to the Forest Service spokesman, Roger Sexton.</p> <p>That’s the story to date. At first blush, it sounds reasonable, doesn’t it? The Forest Service screwed up, and a citizen is going to exercise his property rights.</p> <p>Except that this guy is doing more than just exercising property rights.</p> <p>He’s committing what my friends and I think is the worst of the Seven Deadly Sins (see paragraph 2).</p> <p>Look at some of the things he has said over the past three years. Submitted, as Rod Serling used to say, for your consideration:</p> <p>From the Bismarck Tribune, October 15, 2008:</p> <p><em>“If they (Forest Service) want it to remain pristine, they need to get some more cash. This thing is so far from over it’s pathetic. I’ll be just completely relentless.”</em></p> <p>From the Helena, Montana Independent Record, March 1, 2009:</p> <p>“<em>They’re (the Forest Service) jacking me around because they know I’ve got them over a barrel.”</em> (Pride?)</p> <p>Tourists coming to the area will be disappointed if he doesn’t get his ($2.5 million) asking price, Lothspeich told the Independent Record:</p> <p><em>“These people who think they’ll come out there and see the so-called ‘cradle of conservation’ won’t see anything except a bunch of gravel pits. It won’t bother me one bit to have big open pit mines at that place.”</em></p> <p><em>“I’m not blinking. I’m going to get my gravel or write me a check.” </em>(More Greed?)</p> <p>The Independent Record talked to Wayde Schafer, a North Dakota spokesman for the Sierra Club. <em>Schafer said Lothspeich approached his group about buying the subsurface rights to the ranch. “He basically said he’d dig it up unless we gave him money. He thought for sure we’d jump at the chance to pay him $2.5 million, but I told him “that’s not what we do and good luck.’”</em></p> <p><em>Lothspeich said he is open to selling the surface rights, which include “coal, scoria, uranium, sand, gravel, the whole works,” to anyone who gives him $2.5 million.</em></p> <p><em>“If those tree-huggers want to write me a check, that’s OK too.”</em></p> <p>From today’s Bismarck Tribune:</p> <p><em>(After the first 25-acre pit is mined) The next gravel pit will be south of and much larger than the first and even closer to the Elkhorn Ranch, Lothspeich said. He said he’s still open to negotiating if some conservation group wants to buy the gravel to prevent it from being mined.</em></p> <p><em>“I’ll negotiate with anybody, but I’ll also mine at the drop of a hat,” he said.</em></p> <p><em>Lothspeich said the operation will be perfectly timed with a heavy demand for gravel in western North Dakota due to oil development.</em></p> <p><em>“A buyer is the least of my concerns” he said. In fact, he said, the long delay in getting to this point “was nothing but a huge benefit to me,” since the price of gravel has dramatically increased.”</em></p> <p>Well, okay, I admit I’m one of those “tree-huggers” and I don’t have $2.5 million. So here’s what I’m suggesting to all you fellow “tree-huggers” reading this:</p> <p>First, we’ll talk to the Forest Service, and find out when Mr. Deadly Sinner plans to begin mining, and who he plans to get to do it. Then, we’ll just get in our cars and drive out to the Bad Lands and sit down in front of the equipment. And tell them they’re just going to have to run us over to get at that gravel.</p> <p>Second, we’ll find out who Mr. Deadly Sinner plans to sell this gravel to, and we’ll put public pressure on any potential customer not to buy it. Certainly, county commissioners, the biggest users of gravel in North Dakota, won’t want to be in the middle of that. And I can’t imagine any oil company wants the publicity they’re going to get if they buy this gravel that was dug up from President Theodore Roosevelt’s ranch. In fact, a number of energy companies, including Tesoro and MDU Resources right here in North Dakota, contributed to the $5 million fund to get the land purchased in the first place. I don’t think they’re going to want to see their investment ruined by a rogue gravel pit owner from Montana. We’ll be talking to them, and asking them to talk to their fellow energy companies.</p> <p>To quote Mr. Deadly Sinner, “We’ll just be relentless.”</p> <p>It’s been a long time since we’ve had a good dose of civil disobedience in North Dakota. It’s warranted here.</p> <p>Is civil disobedience a sin?</p> <p>Probably.</p> <p>But I don’t think it’s nearly as bad as being an asshole.</p> <p>NOTE: I talked to a Forest Service official today, and she said the Lothspeich application which will be open for public comment will be posted on their website Friday. I’ll put the address up here as soon as she gives it to me.</p> </div>Jim Fugliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12461232645322745636noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974767.post-70400497669377572212011-09-28T20:08:00.002-05:002011-09-28T20:40:15.933-05:00On Politics<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:enableopentypekerning/> <w:dontflipmirrorindents/> <w:overridetablestylehps/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathpr> <m:mathfont val="Cambria Math"> <m:brkbin val="before"> <m:brkbinsub val="--"> <m:smallfrac val="off"> <m:dispdef/> <m:lmargin val="0"> <m:rmargin val="0"> <m:defjc val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent val="1440"> <m:intlim val="subSup"> <m:narylim val="undOvr"> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" defunhidewhenused="true" defsemihidden="true" defqformat="false" defpriority="99" latentstylecount="267"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Normal"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="heading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="35" qformat="true" name="caption"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="10" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" name="Default Paragraph Font"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="11" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtitle"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="22" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Strong"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="20" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="59" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Table Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Placeholder Text"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="No Spacing"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Revision"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="34" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="List Paragraph"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="29" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="30" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="19" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="31" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:enableopentypekerning/> <w:dontflipmirrorindents/> <w:overridetablestylehps/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathpr> <m:mathfont val="Cambria Math"> <m:brkbin val="before"> <m:brkbinsub val="--"> <m:smallfrac val="off"> <m:dispdef/> <m:lmargin val="0"> <m:rmargin val="0"> <m:defjc val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent val="1440"> <m:intlim val="subSup"> <m:narylim val="undOvr"> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" defunhidewhenused="true" defsemihidden="true" defqformat="false" defpriority="99" latentstylecount="267"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Normal"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="heading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="35" qformat="true" name="caption"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="10" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" name="Default Paragraph Font"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="11" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtitle"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="22" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Strong"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="20" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="59" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Table Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Placeholder Text"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="No Spacing"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Revision"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="34" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="List Paragraph"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="29" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="30" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="19" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="31" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">SENATOR BERG? MAYBE NOT</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As North Dakota Democrats scramble to find an opponent for Rick Berg, our state’s self-appointed next U.S. Senator, perennial candidate Duane Sand has stepped in to fill the breech until Democrats get their act together. <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>In an announcement last week so underwhelming even I, one of the state’s most avid politics-watchers, didn’t hear about it until today, Sand said he would oppose Berg for the Republican nomination at the party’s convention next spring. And then he let Berg have it with both barrels for not being conservative enough.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>On his <a href="http://www.sand2012.com/">website</a>, Sand trumpets “The Real Story About Rick Berg.” Under a picture of Rick Berg that is bigger than the picture of Sand himself, he offers a link entitled “Read It Here” which takes you to the <a href="http://heritageactionscorecard.com/scorecard/index.html#B001272#member">Heritage Foundation’s website</a> offering on Berg. The headline there reads “Rep. Berg receives a 59% Heritage Action Score.” <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>That website offers: </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: 0.5in; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">“</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Every year, The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, releases scores on each member of Congress. The scorecard allows Americans to see whether their Members of Congress are fighting for freedom, opportunity, prosperity, and civil society. Rep. Rick Berg received a <b>59% Heritage Action Score</b> in 2011.” </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Sand provides a link to the scorecard, which features a bunch of right wing ideas the Heritage Foundation thinks are good ideas. Berg voted against the wishes of the Heritage Foundation 40 per cent of the time.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><span style="mso-tab-count:1"> </span>Right beside that link is the link to <a href="http://www.sand2012.com/latest-news/2011-09-22/sand-announces-entry-north-dakota-senate-race">Sand’s announcement</a>, which reads, in part: </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: 0.5in; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">“For several months I have weighed entering the United States Senate race.</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""> Last weeks’ (sic) debt ceiling abomination sealed it for me when Mitch McConnell and Rick Berg misled us with the debt ceiling deal. </span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">They could have helped America avoid a downgrade of our AAA rating. Instead they mortgaged our future and let Obama and Reid off the hook with Trillions more debt spending, </span></p><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: 0.5in; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">“Rick Berg was the only Republican running for Senate to vote for the debt deal. We sent Berg to Washington to cut the size of Government. Instead he’s voted with Nancy Pelosi almost 40 percent of the time since arriving in Washington. For that he expects North Dakotans to promote him? </span></p><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: 0.5in; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">“I know what it takes to earn a promotion: duty, loyalty, and an unswerving commitment to core principles. Congressmen Berg is a good man, but he simply has not earned a promotion to the Senate. That is why I am announcing my candidacy today for the Republican nomination to the United States Senate.” </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">In the<a href="http://www.sand2012.com/issues"> issues section </a>of his website, Sand goes after Berg again: </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.5in; text-indent: 0.5in; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">"Rick </span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">picked political expediency over taking a stand when he voted for the backdoor debt ceiling deal. In just nine short months, he became a creature of Washington, voting for more spending, and siding with Nancy Pelosi and the Democrats 41% of the time. He was also the lone Congressman, running for the U.S. Senate, who voted for the debt ceiling extension this past August, which will add as much as TEN TRILLION DOLLARS to the total federal debt.” </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Well. You go, Duane! </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Meanwhile, there’s talk in Democratic-NPL circles in North Dakota that recent announcements by Sen. Ryan Taylor and former Rep. Pam Gulleson about races for Governor and U.S. Congress may be leading up to an even bigger announcement by former Attorney General Heidi Heitkamp about the U.S. Senate race. The story goes that polls show Congressman Rick Berg is about as popular right now as another water tanker truck on U.S. Highway 85, and that’s driving Heitkamp to consider a run. <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/blaming-obama/2011/09/21/gIQAU6MPnK_blog.html">The Washington Post </a>reported last week a poll done for the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee shows Berg, in a trial heat against any Democrat, leading by only 4 points, 44-40. An incumbent who’s under 50 per cent against an unnamed opponent is generally in trouble. And his favorable/unfavorable numbers are worse. 33 per cent rate him excellent or good, while 55 per cent rate him either fair or poor. Anyone reading those polls would say his star is fading fast. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Grand Forks Herald Editor Mike Jacobs picked up on all this in his column last Sunday, saying <span style="font-style: italic;">“This (Heitkamp/Gulleson/Taylor) is perhaps the strongest ticket Democrats could hope for in North Dakota . . . In the end, of course, the names of the candidates could be less important than the political climate. In 2010, the political worm turned toward Republicans. It would have to turn the other way to elect any North Dakota Democrats in 2012. Suddenly and unexpectedly, North Dakota Democrats may have a ticket to take advantage of the turn — if it happens.” </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">We’ll see. </span></p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:enableopentypekerning/> <w:dontflipmirrorindents/> <w:overridetablestylehps/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathpr> <m:mathfont val="Cambria Math"> <m:brkbin val="before"> <m:brkbinsub val="--"> <m:smallfrac val="off"> <m:dispdef/> <m:lmargin val="0"> <m:rmargin val="0"> <m:defjc val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent val="1440"> <m:intlim val="subSup"> <m:narylim val="undOvr"> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" defunhidewhenused="true" defsemihidden="true" defqformat="false" defpriority="99" latentstylecount="267"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Normal"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="heading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="35" qformat="true" name="caption"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="10" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" name="Default Paragraph Font"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="11" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtitle"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="22" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Strong"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="20" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="59" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Table Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Placeholder Text"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="No Spacing"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Revision"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="34" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="List Paragraph"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="29" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="30" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="19" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="31" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">ROUGH RIDERS</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Fargo radio talk show host Mike McFeely wrote on his blog this week about Gov. Dalrymple’s most recent appointment to the North Dakota Rough Riders Hall of Fame, the state’s highest award. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:.5in;text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style="font-style: italic;">“Apparently North Dakota’s Rough Rider Award has morphed into a Chamber of Commerce Lifetime Achievement Trophy. Given recent history, there is no other way to look at it.”</span> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">McFeely was commenting on the appointment of Ron Offut a couple weeks ago, following closely on the heels of two other Fargo businessmen, Bill Marcil and Doug Burgum. </span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"">McFeely goes on: </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.3in; text-indent: 0.5in; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">“. . . there is a disappointing trend in whose portraits are being hung in the state capitol in Bismarck. Three of the last four Rough Rider winners are big-time, fabulously wealthy, good ol’ boy, Fargo (and, it just so happens, Republican) businessmen. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Bill Marcil (Forum Communications), Doug Burgum (Great Plains Software/Microsoft) and Offutt have played important roles in their industries, communities and philanthropic endeavors. They are worthy of state-wide recognition.</span><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""></span></p><span style="font-style: italic;"> </span><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.3in; text-indent: 0.5in; font-style: italic;"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">“But can we all agree that the Rough Rider Award has taken a right turn somewhere along the way? It once was something that recognized North Dakotans who have achieved great things in the world of entertainment, sports, literature, art, military, education and, yes, business. Now it looks increasingly like a country-club pat on the back.”</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.3in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Ouch.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.3in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">But a look at the record is interesting. If you sort the award winners over the years, dating back to Gov. William L. Guy, into rough categories by occupation or areas of achievement, here’s what you get:</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.3in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Arts – 9</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.3in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Professionals – 8</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.3in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Business – 6</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.3in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Athletics – 4</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.3in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Military – 4</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.3in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Education - 3</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.3in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">And a few that don’t really fit any category: Former Secretary of State Warren Christopher, Pioneer Aviator Carl Ben Eielson, longtime Legislator Brynhild Haugland (the only awardee recognized solely for a political career), and Elizabeth<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Bodine from Hazen, appointed during the International Year of the Child because she had 18 children. You can look at the list<a href="http://www.governor.nd.gov/theodore-roosevelt-rough-rider-award"> here.</a></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.3in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">I don’t know Ron Offut, but I know and like Marcil and Burgum. Both of them share with me a love of the Bad Lands and both own land and spend time there every year. That makes them good people in my book. Like McFeely, I agree that both should be in the Hall of Fame. But I remember thinking when Marcil got his award about 5 years ago, and still think to this day, that if another businessman is honored, it should be Harold Newman. His is truly a rags to riches story, but more than that, he is so creative, and so loyal to his home state, and so extraordinarily North Dakotan. Besides, he built the world’s largest buffalo, and now, more than 50 years later, it is the true North Dakota icon, and that’s just that, whether you like it or not. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.3in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">If you read <a href="http://www.kfgo.com/on-air-details.php?ID=1146">McFeely’s whole blog, </a>you read that he says we should all be recommending people for the award. So here goes. Harold Newman is nearing 80. In spite of McFeely’s skepticism about businessmen, it’s time to get this one done. And then after that, Clay Jenkinson.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.3in"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"">RIP, ROLLIE REDLIN</span></b></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.3in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Rollie Redlin died this week. He was 91. Well, sort of. Rollie was a leap year baby in 1920, and if you’d have asked him last week how old he was, he’d probably have said 22. Rollie was a great man, and a man I liked and admired immensely. He’ll be buried on Saturday back in his hometown of Crosby. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.3in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">I worked for Rollie during the 1981 Legislative session, when he was the Senate Minority Leader. Before that, he had served a term in the U.S. Congress, elected in 1964. I loved it when he would tell me, with excitement in his eyes, what it was like to be a Congressman during that pivotal, historic 89<sup>th</sup> Congress, the session that enacted Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society programs. He told me how rewarding it was for him, a Democrat, and a liberal one at that, a dirt farmer from North Dakota, to be a member of the Congress and cast his vote on behalf of the people of the West District of North Dakota, for the Voting Rights Act, the creation of Medicare and Medicaid, the founding of the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities, the Highway Beautification Act, the Freedom of Information Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act, among many others. </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.3in"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"">Rollie spent just one term there, then came back to North Dakota, where he became a banker at First Western Bank in Minot, now the Hoeven bank. And a leader in the Legislature for 15 years or so. Rollie remained active in the community well into his 80’s before he and Chris moved to Rapid City to be closer to family. I called him a few years ago as I was driving to Minot to see if he and Chris could have supper that night, and he said he would sure like to, but Minot High had an important basketball game that night and he and Chris had to be there to cheer the team on. </span></p> <span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US; mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">Rollie served in the Legislature from 1973-1990, during the time of great decisions for our state. The four leaders in the Legislature those years were Earl Strinden and Richard Backes in the House and Rollie and David Nething in the Senate. The four were friends. All were great speakers, but Rollie was an orator. One of the best I ever heard in the Legislature. I’ll miss him.</span>Jim Fugliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12461232645322745636noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974767.post-42289674556067621612011-09-13T20:02:00.004-05:002011-09-13T20:15:43.250-05:00Cirrus From The West<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBeSkWknwj6LN2QmwHqShd9IBEaFdXEICDhMmgAfNHvF-Md2QDOKArOfaw21_XyVkiiIkjFrqdDSexh_TSbRqyYN_WZa9fC_eKI3S84vv1ahUXvbEBMjbt18M2RVgweyn3roPf8w/s1600/011.JPG"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBeSkWknwj6LN2QmwHqShd9IBEaFdXEICDhMmgAfNHvF-Md2QDOKArOfaw21_XyVkiiIkjFrqdDSexh_TSbRqyYN_WZa9fC_eKI3S84vv1ahUXvbEBMjbt18M2RVgweyn3roPf8w/s200/011.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5652014637560513138" border="0" /></a><br /><p>The sky over Bismarck this morning was as beautiful as an 8 a.m. sky in September ever gets. I took a picture and am trying to put it into this blog post. I hope it works. It is not a great picture because I am not a great photographer, but it gives you an idea of what I was looking at as I drank my coffee on the patio.</p> <p>But the sky was big and blue and bright, and this lineup of high, semi-puffy clouds was moving across from west to east as I watched in fascination. I was reminded of a book title, “Cirrus From The West,” by Paul Southworth Bliss. I’ve shared some of Bliss’ poetry with you in the past. He’s a North Dakotan who published a number of books of poetry here in the 1930′s. I couldn’t remember if there was actually a poem entitled “Cirrus From The West” or not, so I went and dragged the little book off my shelf to find out.</p> <p>The book has a hard cover and a dust jacket and was published in 1935 by Lakeside Press of Chicago. It’s only 50 pages, and it contains 38 of Bliss’ poems about North Dakota–none of which is titled “Cirrus From The West.”</p> <p>But Bliss wrote a foreword to explain his title. It reads:</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Undisturbed by surface turmoil, certain clouds of delicate and fibrous texture, softly white, may often be seen between the 9,000 and 46,000 foot levels, high above the other strata, moving almost always toward the east, since they are subject to the control of the great trans-continental air currents.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Though indicative of present weather stability, they herald changes generally from one to two days distant. Never as dramatic as cumulus, alto-cumulus, and nimbus, they are proof of the law-abiding nature of winds and weather, cool, shadowless portents of tranquility.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">They are cirrus clouds from the west.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;">That’s it. While he mentions cirrus clouds in the book, he offers no other explanation of why he chose the title. But there are some wonderful poems in the volume, starting with the one below. (You will note at the end of each of Bliss’ poems, he includes the date and the place he wrote it, as well as author’s notes, generally giving a little more information about the site.)</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">RED SYMPHONY</p> Under a Red Sky <p style="padding-left: 30px">Bones<br /></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Of the Mandans<br /></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Lie Strewn<br /></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Amidst<br /></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Thistle</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">And<br /></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Tipsin<br /></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;">And</p><p style="padding-left: 30px">Pigeon Grass.<br /></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><br /> </p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Red Ants<br /></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Pouring<br /></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Endlessly<br /></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">From<br /></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Earth-mines,<br /></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Bring up<br /></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Bone-bits<br /></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Mixed<br /></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">With<br /></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px;">Red clay. </p><p style="padding-left: 30px;"><br /></p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Wheat,</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Fevered</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">With<br /></p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Rust,<br /></p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Burns</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Redly</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">On the</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Prairie.</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;"><br /></p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">The sun,</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Tearing its way</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Through</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Thin-textured</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Cirrus,</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Reaches</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Red fingers</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">Toward</p><p style="padding-left: 30px;">The Earth's<br /></p><p style="padding-left: 30px">Parched throat,<br /></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px"> <em>July 21, 1935, Bismarck, N.D.</em></p> <p style="padding-left: 30px"><em>Tortured by mosquitoes, I walked, accompanied by former Governor and Mrs. Thomas H. Moodie, over Sleep Hill, ancient burial ground of the Mandan Indians. It is now cut asunder by the highway, has been desecrated by numerous souvenir hunters, and is honeycombed with red ants. The wheat fields under a pitiless sun were alive with rust.</em></p> <p>I wasn’t sure if the clouds I was looking at this morning were cirrus clouds or not, so I came in and Googled “clouds.” I think what I learned is that these are actually cirrocumulus clouds, but I’m not sure. If there are any cloud experts out there, please let me know.</p> <p>One last note on Paul Bliss: Some of his best poems are about North Dakota in winter, and I’ll share those with you when winter comes. They, like the one above, are some of the Best Things Ever Written About North Dakota. Right now, I’ve got to go cover my tomatoes. (If Bliss is right about cirrus clouds, we’ll have warmer weather by Thursday and my tomatoes will thrive again. Just have to get past tonight’s frost.)</p>Jim Fugliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12461232645322745636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974767.post-38433526338716468502011-09-10T13:15:00.001-05:002011-09-10T13:16:36.691-05:00The Tenth Aniversary<div class="entry-content"> <p>Yes, it has been a long ten years.</p> <p>On August 29, 2001, I sat beside my wife’s bed as she looked up at her doctor, exhausted, pale and gaunt after two years of unrelenting chemotherapy, and said “No more. No more chemo.”</p> <p>Quietly, the doctor said, “You know what that means.”</p> <p>“Yes,” Rita answered. “How long?”</p> <p>“Up to six months, probably less,” the doctor replied.</p> <p>We were both silent. The doctor left us to move to his next patient.</p> <p>Rita’s hospitalization at Medcenter One in Bismarck had been lengthy. We had settled into a routine. I had supper and spent every evening with her, and went home after watching the first ten minutes of the ten o’clock news. That night was no different. Except that when it came time to go, she asked me to lie down beside her in her hospital bed. I did, and we held each other close, and I asked her if she was afraid. “I’m not afraid to die,” she said. “But I am afraid of the pain. Please don’t let there be pain.”</p> <p>The next day, we went home together, under care of hospice, and although she insisted she was going to stretch that six months to the limit, we began making preparations for her death. Our priest came and we talked of the funeral, of the scripture verses we would use. We talked to Chuck Suchy about the songs he would sing there. We talked to the funeral home about cremation. We called the kids, and other family members, and told them what was going on.</p> <p>And then came that awful day in September.</p> <p>By September 11, my employers and our friends had rallied around us. I was working mornings only, caring for Rita the rest of the time with the help of our hospice nurse, and three of Rita’s best friends were rotating morning caregiver duty while I was at work. That Tuesday morning, September 11, I was walking from my office to the conference room for a staff meeting, and as I walked by the TV in the lobby, I heard the announcer say that a plane had hit the World Trade Center. We buzzed about it a minute as the staff meeting began, and then, as the meeting ended and I walked past the TV back to my office, I watched in horror as the second plane hit the Center. Then we knew the first plane had been no accident. All morning, we huddled around the TV to learn what was going on.</p> <p>I left at noon to go home, and arriving there, found Rita and her caregiver doing the same. The friend left. We continued to watch. And then, at some point during the afternoon, I stood up and shut off the TV. We decided that was enough. We had enough to deal with in our own house, without fretting over something going on thousands of miles away. We decided right then that we would not watch another television report, or read a newspaper or magazine story, about what had just happened.</p> <p>And from that moment on, we blacked out the events of September 11, 2001.</p> <p>“We’re going to think happy thoughts, have happy conversations, and we are not going to let what goes on outside our own world distract us from that,” Rita said firmly. “No more bad news. We’re going to do what we always do in the fall.”</p> <p>And from that day on, we knew little of what happened in the days and weeks following September 11. We turned on the TV only to watch our favorite shows like “West Wing” and “Jeopardy” and “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?”. When we opened the newspaper, we read only the good news stories, skipping anything to do with September 11 or terrorism. Rita sat in a lawn chair as I worked in the garden, as I raked the leaves, or just sat with her on the deck on those beautiful fall evenings. She supervised my canning of tomato juice. She reminded me to water her flower beds. She greeted each visitor who came, ostensibly to say goodbye, with a smile, reassuring them that she had most of six months left to live. What she didn’t do is allow any bad news to cross her threshold—or mine.</p> <p>Still today, I read the newspaper, or Newsweek magazine, faster than almost everyone, because I skip every bad news story—famine in Africa, wars in Afghanistan, tornadoes in Kansas, murders in Mexico—and I know only what I see in glances at headlines. I tune out bad news on television and radio. I can live without bad news. I cannot live without happy news. I guess my exception is politics, but for the most part, politics is not violent. So far.</p> <p>And so, on this tenth anniversary, the events of September 11, 2001, have little meaning to me, little impact on my heart or my mind. September 2001 was the saddest month of my life, but not because of some terrorist attacks on our country. I watched Rita weaken, and made sure she had the pain medicine I had promised, and on September 29, with her brothers and sisters and children and mother and I at her side, she closed her eyes and took her last breath. During that month of September 2001, all of us had focused on her, on her comfort, on making those radiant eyes of hers glow with hints of happiness even in her, and our, darkest hours, on making the best of every moment she was with us. For those of us in that close little circle, it was as if the events of September 11 never happened.</p> <p>I am letting this tenth anniversary of September 11, 2001, pass mostly unnoticed as well. I am not watching television shows about it, or reading newspaper accounts or magazine stories. I am not attending ceremonies commemorating it. I am working in my garden, canning my tomatoes, walking with the dog, playing golf, and, hopefully, going fishing, this month. Those things I do EVERY September. Instead of terrorists and plane crashes and the terrible smoke and dust, I am thinking about Rita this month, and fortunately, I have a spouse now who both understands and encourages that. But I will not allow myself to be sad. I will think happy thoughts, read happy news, remember the good days, and my personal tenth anniversary, September 29, will pass.</p> <p>Yes, my world, our world, changed forever in September of 2001. We cannot go back. But we must go forward. And we must do what we ALWAYS do in September. We’ll do it a little differently, but if we try, we can do it happily.</p> </div>Jim Fugliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12461232645322745636noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974767.post-59789151239271663702011-08-24T21:57:00.002-05:002011-08-24T22:30:44.768-05:00Milton Who? Norman Who?<div class="entry-content"> <p>The last time North Dakota had two Republican U.S. Senators was 51 years ago this month. August 1960. Milton R. Young and Norman Brunsdale. Young had been in office since 1945, when he was appointed to fill out the term of Democrat John Moses, who died in office that year after serving only two months as our Senator. Brunsdale was appointed in November of 1959, to replace longtime Senator William Langer, who also died in office. A special election was called in June of 1960 for that Senate seat, and Brunsdale was defeated by Democratic-NPL Congressman Quentin Burdick. Burdick took office August 8, 1960, and since then, there has been at least one Democrat representing North Dakota in the U.S. Senate, and for almost half of the fifty years between Burdick’s election and Dorgan’s retirement at the end of 2010, both our Senators were Democrats. (And that just drove North Dakota Republicans batty!)</p> <p>Well, that shit is about to come to an end. Likely, when the Senate convenes in January of 2013, North Dakota will finally have two Republicans in the U.S. Senate again. Because Rick Berg is probably—no, likely–going to be the next United States Senator from North Dakota.</p> <p>Burdick, elected in that special election in the summer of 1960, served until he died in office in 1992. Mark Andrews succeeded Young in 1981, served one term and was defeated by Kent Conrad in 1986. Conrad has been in the Senate since. And since then, North Dakota has had all Democrats in the Senate until John Hoeven was elected to succeed Byron Dorgan last year.</p> <p>That will all change next year, when Berg joins Hoeven after the 2012 election. Sorry, Democrats. Get over it. Now. Focus on something else, because in spite of some really bad votes in his first term in the U.S. Congress, Berg is going to have all the money he needs to move to the Senate. Enough money to get elected. That’s one of the rules that hasn’t changed in Washington.</p> <p>North Dakota is finally going to finally fully live up to its reputation as a Republican state. The rest of the country is going to say “Geez, what took you so long?”.</p> <p>Berg’s election next year will be a mixed blessing. I can’t say I am either excited or disappointed about it, but his legislating will probably improve as a Senator. He’s been caught up in the whole Tea Party thing this year and has come off as something of an ideologue, voting with his party’s majority to cut for the sake of cutting, including funds for some things that are pretty important to North Dakotans. He’ll mellow over there in the Senate, especially under the watchful eye of moderate John Hoeven. He’ll be a much better Senator for North Dakota than he has been a Representative. So we’re better off having him in the Senate.</p> <p>But, take heart, Democrats. As we all know, in politics, when one door closes, another door opens. Or sometimes even two. If North Dakota Dem-NPL’ers are smart—and they are—they’ll focus on the two races they can win in 2012: U.S. Congress and Governor. Because Berg and Hoeven, the state’s two best Republican politicians, will be in the Senate. And the Republican bench, frankly , is not that strong. I mean, when Al Carlson is among the front runners . . .</p> <p>There’ll be a bunch of second tier Republicans like Carlson scrambling for the Congressional nomination. And Governor Jack Dalrymple is the least known Governor in recent history. Not the worst governor, just the least known. The only publicity he’s gotten in his brief stay in office is as a flood fighter, and we lost that fight. Hardly anyone knows him, or anything about him, and he’s not charismatic. Nor is he as single-minded as his predecessor. Hoeven was able to stay on message unwaveringly for ten years, and I saw him on TV the other night and he’s still on it. Dalrymple hasn’t yet had the opportunity to focus on a message that works. And his time as <em>Dalrymple the Governor</em> is short before he becomes <em>Dalrymple the Candidate</em>. Not much time to build a record to run on, or to even create an impression that he fits in the office. North Dakotans know where their governor lives, and they expect to see him regularly. In just the short 22 months between taking office and facing the voters, Dalrymple is at a distinct disadvantage going into the 2012 election. Especially if the Democrats zero in on that race. Which is what they should do. Now.</p> <p>The talk around is that they are courting Heidi Heitkamp to run for Governor. That would be a good thing for them. Even 12 years after her last statewide race, she still has cache’, and the best rolodex around. But Democrats ought not limit their efforts to just Heitkamp. There are other good candidates. Senate Minority Leader Ryan Taylor is sniffing around quietly, but is widely expected by party insiders to throw his big old Stetson hat into the governor’s race. If former State Representative and Dorgan chief of staff Pam Gulleson is realistic about running a statewide race, she should do the same thing, and forget about a race against Berg. She’s a friend of mine, like Tracy Potter, who ran against Hoeven last year, and I hate to see my friends take a shellacking. Which is what is likely to happen to Gulleson if she runs against Berg.</p> <p>The North Dakota Democratic-NPL Party is not at an historic low when it comes to elected offices held and party strength at the grass roots level, but it is close. Their only elected officials are Conrad, who’s leaving, and School Superintendent Wayne Godfrey Sanstead, who’s 76 and may be ready to retire. That’s the fewest offices they’ve held in modern political history. In 1981, the only Democrats in the State Capitol were Bruce Hagen at the Public Service Commission and Tax Commissioner Kent Conrad, but Dorgan and Burdick were in Washington. Republicans had two-thirds majorities in both houses of the state Legislature that year, as they do now. But the Democrats came back as a party starting in 1982, and ran the Capitol for a dozen years into the ‘90s, thanks to a spirited intra-party race for Governor in 1984. That year, four candidates criss-crossed the state, generating enough publicity and enthusiasm among party faithful to sweep Bud Sinner into the Governor’s office and take over most of the elected offices in the Capitol. And at the next election, in 1986, Conrad knocked off Andrews, giving North Dakota its first-ever all Democratic-NPL Congressional delegation. The party was at an all-time high.</p> <p>But they began pissing it away in 1992, when Attorney General Nicholas Spaeth ran a lackluster campaign for Governor and was trounced by Republican Ed Schafer. Other than holding on to the three Washington posts, it’s been all downhill for the Democrats since then. What the Democrats have found is that it is hard to build a party when the other side controls the Governor’s office for 20 years. A lively race for the party’s gubernatorial nomination among Heitkamp, Taylor and Gulleson, and perhaps others as well, sends a signal that they believe Dalrymple is vulnerable, and that may be just what’s needed for a rebirth of their party. Especially if the incumbent is indeed vulnerable, and the successful nominee wins in November. And perhaps one of the candidates for Governor will get enough publicity and experience to at least run a creditable race against Berg.</p> <p>What then of the race for Congress? With Berg moving to the Senate, it’s an open seat. The last two times there’s been an open Congressional seat, with no incumbent in the race, were in 1980, when Dorgan was elected to Congress, and 1992, when Pomeroy won. Democrats have a real shot at it. That, too, could go to one of the losing candidates for the nomination for Governor. Or to an ambitious Legislator, like Mac Schneider, or his cousin Jasper, a former Legislator. Or they could look to a seasoned Legislator and party leader like State Representative Shirley Meyer from Dickinson, a westerner and populist in the Dorgan mold. I like that idea a lot.</p> <p>Footnote: Speaking of Spaeth, did you catch the story earlier this month that he filed an age discrimination lawsuit against Michigan State University because they did not hire him as a professor? And, Spaeth filed complaints against 100-plus other law schools with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, saying they discriminated against him by refusing to consider him for teaching jobs because of his age. So far, between 30 and 40 of the complaints have been dismissed. Spaeth’s lawyer says that her client expects to sue additional schools, either by filing separate cases or by adding them as defendants to the Michigan State suit.</p> <p>Uffda. 100 schools discriminated against him. Sense a pattern there? And did he really send a serious application to 100 schools? That must have taken some time. But you know what really bothers me about that? Spaeth is three years younger than me. But he’s old enough to have filed a serious age discrimination lawsuit. Dang.</p> </div>Jim Fugliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12461232645322745636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974767.post-19705638848659591602011-07-28T10:02:00.004-05:002011-07-28T10:18:07.812-05:00Bud and Sam<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:enableopentypekerning/> <w:dontflipmirrorindents/> <w:overridetablestylehps/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathpr> <m:mathfont val="Cambria Math"> <m:brkbin val="before"> <m:brkbinsub val="--"> <m:smallfrac val="off"> <m:dispdef/> <m:lmargin val="0"> <m:rmargin val="0"> <m:defjc val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent val="1440"> <m:intlim val="subSup"> <m:narylim val="undOvr"> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" defunhidewhenused="true" defsemihidden="true" defqformat="false" defpriority="99" latentstylecount="267"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Normal"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="heading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="35" qformat="true" name="caption"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="10" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" name="Default Paragraph Font"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="11" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtitle"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="22" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Strong"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="20" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="59" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Table Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Placeholder Text"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="No Spacing"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Revision"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="34" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="List Paragraph"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="29" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="30" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="19" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="31" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:officedocumentsettings> <o:allowpng/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:trackmoves/> <w:trackformatting/> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:donotpromoteqf/> <w:lidthemeother>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:lidthemeasian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark/> <w:enableopentypekerning/> <w:dontflipmirrorindents/> <w:overridetablestylehps/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathpr> <m:mathfont val="Cambria Math"> <m:brkbin val="before"> <m:brkbinsub val="--"> <m:smallfrac val="off"> <m:dispdef/> <m:lmargin val="0"> <m:rmargin val="0"> <m:defjc val="centerGroup"> <m:wrapindent val="1440"> <m:intlim val="subSup"> <m:narylim val="undOvr"> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" defunhidewhenused="true" defsemihidden="true" defqformat="false" defpriority="99" latentstylecount="267"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="0" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Normal"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="heading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="9" qformat="true" name="heading 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 7"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 8"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" name="toc 9"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="35" qformat="true" name="caption"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="10" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" name="Default Paragraph Font"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="11" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtitle"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="22" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Strong"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="20" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="59" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Table Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Placeholder Text"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="1" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="No Spacing"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Revision"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="34" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="List Paragraph"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="29" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="30" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Quote"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="60" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="61" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="62" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Light Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="63" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="64" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="65" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="66" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="67" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="68" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="69" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="70" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Dark List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="71" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="72" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful List Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="73" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="19" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="21" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Emphasis"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="31" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Subtle Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="32" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Intense Reference"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="33" semihidden="false" unhidewhenused="false" qformat="true" name="Book Title"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="37" name="Bibliography"> <w:lsdexception locked="false" priority="39" qformat="true" name="TOC Heading"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">I’ve read two North Dakotans’ memoir books in the past few weeks, written by two very different men. Yet there are surprising similarities between them, which made reading them back to back more interesting.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Both Bud and Sam were raised in strict North Dakota Catholic families, although there is nearly a generation difference in their ages, and both went away to St. John’s University in Minnesota to ostensibly study for the priesthood, something they had both dreamed about as young boys and high school students. Because they are both personal friends of mine, and because I know them both pretty well, I can assure you that the Catholic Church is much better off today that neither completed their priestly studies. And I can assure you they will agree.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">But both remained men of faith—faith in their home state of North Dakota, and the people who live here. They both returned home after seeing some of the world, brought new wives from the “outside world” with them, took up their fathers’ business, became successful financially, and assumed positions of leadership in their communities, although in different manners. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Now they’ve given us books—not really great books, as books go, but very interesting if you are a North Dakotan who spent the last half of the 20<sup>th</sup> century and the first decade of the 21<sup>st</sup> here, as they did, because they reflect pretty well, from their perspectives, on things that happened here, and their roles in their families, communities and state. Would North Dakota be different today if they had not been here? Perhaps a bit. Did they matter? I think so. Certainly they affected the lives of those around them, and it’s fair to say their circles of influence were larger than those of most average North Dakotans.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">But after reading their books, I was left with the feeling there was something missing: Joy. I’m puzzled about that, because from all outward appearances they have both led pretty happy and fulfilling lives. But when it came time for them to put their stories on paper, Joy did not emerge. Fun, but not Joy. The books are full of fun, and neither of them, when they felt a good story coming on, let the large or small facts get in the way. I know enough about the two of them to know that not all of the stories happened just exactly the way they told them. They’ll be criticized for that a little, but hey, these are THEIR books, their names are on them, and they can say whatever they want.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">The major differences in their books are several. Bud’s book deals almost exclusively with the biggest stories in his life, fewer stories, told in greater depth, and stories at which he is the center. And he only flirts with strong language and sexual innuendoes. Sam’s book, on the other hand, is raucous and ribald, full of words that would get bleeped out on The Daily Show, and the literally hundreds of short stories are mostly about people around him, stories in which he may play a small role or only an observer role. His book is funnier, but not recommended for tender sensitivities. Both vent their frustrations with the Catholic Church, Bud quietly and almost regretfully, and Sam in a number of hilarious multi-page rants.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">I also had different reactions at the end of each book. I thought, when I finished Bud’s book, “I’m glad those are the things you remember, and that that’s the way you remember them.” And when I closed Sam’s book, I thought “Well, Sam, do you feel better now?” And when I see them next I will say those things to them in person.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">I don’t like either one of these men less after having ready their books. In fact, I like them a little more, because they’ve shared their human sides with me, sides I haven’t seen otherwise. In a state as small as ours, it takes a pair of balls to lay your life out in front of everyone who knows you, and both of them proved over their lives, and now through their books, that they were equipped to do that.</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">Neither of these books is going to go into my archives of “The Best Things Ever Written About North Dakota.” But both of these men are among the best North Dakotans I have known, and I hope we remain friends as long as we live. I think you should read their books. You can buy them online or at local bookstores, or you can check them out at your local library. I read them both straight through without getting sidetracked by other books along the way, which, as my wife will tell you, is something unusual for me. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">They are:</p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: 0.5in;">“Turning Points: a memoir” by George A. “Bud” Sinner (with help from his press secretary, Bob Jansen). Sinner is a former Governor of North Dakota, serving two terms from 1985-1992.<br /></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent:.5in">“There is a Road in North Dakota: Memoirs of a Dakota Budman” by Sam W. McQuade. McQuade is the retired owner of McQuade's Distributing, a Bismarck beer wholesale business.<br /></p><span style="font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SAfont-family:";font-size:12.0pt;" ><br /></span>Jim Fugliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12461232645322745636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974767.post-46894500412411963562011-07-12T11:38:00.002-05:002011-07-12T21:17:04.421-05:00In Praise Of Wilderness<p>On our just-ended vacation, we visited 12 states and 17 national parks (part of our quest to visit all the national parks) and spent 13 nights in campgrounds, most of them managed by agencies of the U.S. Departments of Interior or Agriculture. It was the U.S. Forest Service campgrounds (The Forest Service is an agency of USDA) that we enjoyed the most.</p> <p>Most of us with North Dakota backgrounds know that it was one of our heroes, President Theodore Roosevelt, who created the Forest Service, but it was President Woodrow Wilson who authorized an official recreational (read: camping) use for the government's forest lands. It was during Wilson's time as president that the use of the automobile became more popular, giving people an opportunity to travel further from home for recreation, and to create new kinds of family recreation.</p> <p>At about the same time, wilderness advocates began pushing the Forest Service to begin considering other uses of the country's national forests besides logging: chief among them was "non-use," or preservation of riparian lands as wilderness areas. As the years passed, significant parts of our national forests became protected from development, culminating with the passage of the <a href="http://wilderness.org/content/wilderness-act-1964" _mce_href="http://wilderness.org/content/wilderness-act-1964">Wilderness Act</a> in 1964. When President Johnson signed the Act into law in September of that year, he designated about 9 million acres of national forests as wilderness. Today, that number has grown to 35 million acres--still a very small part of our country's public lands.</p> <p>In passing the Wilderness Act, Congress determined, <em>"A wilderness, in contrast with those areas where man and his own works dominate the landscape, is hereby recognized as an area where the earth and its community of life are untrammeled by man, where man himself is a visitor who does not remain. An area of wilderness is further defined to mean in this Act an area of undeveloped Federal land retaining its primeval character and influence, without permanent improvements or human habitation, which is protected and managed so as to preserve its natural conditions and which (1) generally appears to have been affected primarily by the forces of nature, with the imprint of man's work substantially unnoticeable; (2) has outstanding opportunities for solitude or a primitive and unconfined type of recreation; (3) has at least five thousand acres of land or is of sufficient size as to make practicable its preservation and use in an unimpaired condition; and (4) may also contain ecological, geological, or other features of scientific, educational, scenic, or historical value."</em></p> <p>Lillian and I are big fans of Forest Service campgrounds, because they often abut wilderness areas. When you awake in the morning and get out of the tent or camper, you can generally turn right toward the highway, or turn left and walk into the wilderness. Walk is the operative word. No dirt bikes, 4-wheelers or even bicycles are allowed on or off the trail in wilderness areas, although horses are allowed. Darned near all the bears left in America are found in the wilderness areas.</p> <p>The other reason we like Forest Service campgrounds is that often they are found at the end of very bad roads, discouraging those great big Greyhound bus-size motorhomes from using them. Which is generally okay with those who own those Greyhound bus-size motorhomes--they want to park somewhere where they can plug into electricity and put out their television satellite dishes. I don't mean to be a nature snob here--Lillian and I actually took a borrowed camper-van on this trip--but Forest Service campgrounds attract a different kind of camper than suburban RV parks. Quieter, mostly. And they are generally cheap. With my Golden Age Passport discount, I paid just $8 for a campsite the last night of our 2011 summer vacation.</p> <p>And so we applaud Theodore Roosevelt, and Gifford Pinchot, the first chief of the U.S. Forest Service, and Woodrow Wilson, and E. A. Sherman, Wilson's Assistant Forester, who first recognized the value of recreational use of our forests. Without their vision, we might have logged off all of our public lands, and not saved any of those public lands for their scenic beauty and wildlife habitat today.</p> <p>Which brings me to the real point of this article (Geez, it's taken me so long to get here, I was starting to feel like John Irby). The U.S. Forest Service owns and manages a million acres of national grasslands in North Dakota today. Most of it is in the Bad Lands, and in the heart of the Oil Patch. Much of it is leased for oil development. Much of what is not leased is eligible for leasing, but the oil companies just haven't gotten around to it yet. But they will. Sooner rather than later. The pressure on the Forest Service to not only provide oil to a fuel-hungry nation, but to provide revenues to run the government, weighs heavy on those who manage our grasslands.</p> <p>Out of that million acres, there are a few small areas, totaling about 60,000 acres, which have not yet been leased, or developed, or roaded out for agricultural, industrial or recreational use. These small areas are classified by the government as "suitable for wilderness," which means, generally, they are roadless areas that contain enough unique features to qualify them to become part of the nation's designated wilderness system under the Wilderness Act.</p> <p>These small areas in western North Dakota have so far escaped the bulldozer and the drilling rig. They are grazing lands, and are under lease to ranchers for that use, and that use only. No haying, only grazing. And that's been just fine with the ranchers who use them.</p> <p>An organization called the Badlands Conservation Alliance, a group of local ranchers and other concerned citizens (disclosure: I am a member and my wife, who grew up on a Bad Lands ranch, is the founder) have proposed federal wilderness designation for these small parcels. That designation would not change the existing use--grazing. In fact, it would prevent changing the existing use from grazing to oil development, and keep it as grazing land in perpetuity.</p> <p>I've written about this before. I've asked my readers to look at <a href="http://badlandsconservationalliance.org/" _mce_href="http://badlandsconservationalliance.org/">the proposal on the BCA website</a> before. I've asked our congressional delegation to <a href="http://theprairieblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/bell-lake-and-bullion-butte.html" _mce_href="http://theprairieblog.blogspot.com/2010/03/bell-lake-and-bullion-butte.html">consider introducing legislation </a>to make this part of the wilderness system before. My recent forays onto Forest Service lands in the West of our country, and the incredible pressure on western North Dakota and its land, people, and wildlife because of the Bakken oil boom, and the now-weekly stories in our papers and over our airwaves about oil spills and accidents in this very part of our state, prompts me to ask again.</p> <p>Let me try once more to put this in perspective. At a public meeting conducted by the Bureau of Land Management earlier this spring, the head of our state's oil and gas division said there will be 26,000 oil wells in our state in the coming years. North Dakota's land area is 70,000 square miles. The area known as the "oil patch" probably makes up a third of that. That means that there will be, on average, an oil well for every square mile of land in the western third of North Dakota. EVERY SQUARE MILE. Put another way, the oil patch is about 13 million acres big. This proposal asks that about 60,000 acres out of that 13 million--about one half of one percent of the "oil patch"--be protected from roads and drilling rigs. Leaving 99.5 per cent of western North Dakota open for drilling.</p> <p>And on that one half of one per cent, the golden eagles will nest and rear their young, ranchers will ride herd on their cattle, and hikers will climb the buttes and marvel at the scenic beauty of the North Dakota Bad Lands. As the BCA says, this is indeed a "modest proposal."</p> <p>It takes federal legislation to, as the Wilderness Act says, <em>"assure that an increasing population, accompanied by expanding settlement and growing mechanization, does not occupy and modify all areas within the United States and its possessions, leaving no lands designated for preservation and protection in their natural condition..."</em></p> <p>Federal Legislation takes sponsors.</p> <p>Sponsors from North Dakota.</p> <p>You know what to do.</p> <p><br /></p> <p><br /></p>Jim Fugliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12461232645322745636noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974767.post-79224891371791241342011-06-12T21:05:00.000-05:002011-06-12T21:06:08.425-05:00Twinkle and Chubbins<div class="entry-content"> <p>You know L. Frank Baum as the author of “The Wizard of Oz.” You may not know of Baum’s North Dakota connection. Here’s the story, as told to me by my friend Dorothy Howe (no relation to the Dorothy of “Oz” fame.) My Dorothy grew up in Edgeley, North Dakota, moved away to California, and through a twist of fate became personal secretary and scheduler to another North Dakotan who grew up right down the road from Edgeley in Kulm (pronounced kulum), and had moved to California, Angie Dickinson.</p> <p>After the success of “Oz,” Baum wrote a lot of children’s stories, and a series of them were compiled into a book titled “Twinkle and Chubbins,” which was set in, of all places, My Dorothy’s hometown of Edgeley, North Dakota. The book was published under a pen name, Laura Bancroft. It was both a literary and commercial success, and was reprinted many times under the Bancroft name. Finally, in 1987, nearly 70 years after Baum’s death, a new edition was printed under Baum’s name. My friend Dorothy gave me my copy, which I treasure.</p> <p>That the book was set in Edgeley was no accident. Edgeley was the home of Baum’s wife’s sister and her family, the Carpenters. In the book, Baum explains that the town was called Edgeley “because it is on the edge of civilization.” Baum described it as “almost seventeen wooden houses . . . a schoolhouse, a church, a store and a blacksmith shop.” He knew it well because he visited it from down the road in Aberdeen, South Dakota, where he lived. Most historians believe that Baum’s description of Kansas, and life in Kansas, in the opening chapters of “Oz,” actually describe the Carpenters home and life in Edgeley, in what was then Dakota territory.</p> <p>Five of the six stories in “Twinkle and Chubbins” are set in North Dakota. Mostly they focus on the two characters, a pair of young prairie children, wandering out onto the prairie, falling asleep, and living a dream. The stories are allegorical in nature, appealing to both children and their parents. They are wonderfully illustrated by a lady named Maginel Wright Enright, the baby sister of Frank Lloyd Wright.</p> <p>What I am going to do here is share one of them, “Prairie Dog town,” in its entirety. Each of the six stories is comprised of eight chapters. Here are all eight chapters of one of them. It is a bit long, as blog posts go–it’ll take ten minutes or so to read–but I am going to be gone an awfully long time on vacation, so you have plenty of time to read it. I hope you enjoy it. The book is still in print, but only in paperback. You can buy it on Amazon for ten bucks. Or download the kindle edition free. Or you can find a used hardcover edition, which I recommend—it is a delightful book to hold in your hands—online at Amazon or ABE or Alibris. Or take a sneak preview on<a href="http://www.freeclassicebooks.com/L.%20Frank%20Baum/Twinkle%20and%20Chubbins.pdf"> this free site</a>. Read it somehow. It is one of the best books ever written about North Dakota.</p> <p><strong>PRAIRIE-DOG TOWN</strong></p> <p><strong>Chapter I</strong></p> <p><strong>The Picnic</strong></p> <p>On the great western prairies of Dakota is a little town called Edgeley, because it is on the edge of civilization–a very big word which means some folks have found a better way to live than other folks. The Edgeley people have a good way to live, for there are almost seventeen wooden houses there, and among them is a school-house, a church, a store and a blacksmith-shop. If people walked out their front doors they were upon the little street; if they walked out the back doors they were on the broad prairies. That was why Twinkle, who was a farmer’s little girl, lived so near the town that she could easily walk to school.</p> <p>She was a pretty, rosy-cheeked little thing, with long, fluffy hair, and big round eyes that everybody smiled into when they saw them. It was hard to keep that fluffy hair from getting tangled; so mamma used to tie it in the back with a big, broad ribbon. And Twinkle wore calico slips for school days and gingham dresses when she wanted to “dress up” or look especially nice. And to keep the sun from spotting her face with freckles, she wore sunbonnets made of the same goods as her dresses.</p> <p>Twinkle’s best chum was a little boy called Chubbins, who was the only child of the tired-faced school-teacher. Chubbins was about as old as Twinkle; but he wasn’t so tall and slender for his age as she was, being short and rather fat. The hair on his little round head was cut close, and he usually wore a shirt-waist and “knickers,” with a wide straw hat on the back of his head. Chubbins’s face was very solemn. He never said many words when grown folks were around, but he could talk fast enough when he and Twinkle were playing together alone.</p> <p>Well, one Saturday the school had a picnic, and Twinkle and Chubbins both went. On the Dakota prairies there are no shade-trees at all, and very little water except what they they get by boring deep holes in the ground; so you may wonder where the people could possibly have a picnic.</p> <p>But about three miles from the town a little stream of water (which they called a “river,” but we would call only a brook) ran slow and muddy across the prairie; and where the road crossed it a flat bridge had been built. If you climbed down the banks of the river you would find a nice shady place under the wooden bridge; and so here it was that the picnics were held.</p> <p>All the village went to the picnic, and they started bright and early in the morning, with horses and farm-wagons, and baskets full of good things to eat, and soon arrived at the bridge.</p> <p>There was room enough in its shade for all to be comfortable; so they unhitched the horses and carried the baskets to the river bank, and began to laugh and be as merry as they could. Twinkle and Chubbins, however, didn’t care much for the shade of the bridge. This was a strange place to them, so they decided to explore it and see if it was any different from any other part of the prairie.</p> <p>Without telling anybody where they were going, they took hold of hands and trotted across the bridge and away into the plains on the other side. The ground here wasn’t flat, but had long rolls to it, like big waves on the ocean, so that as soon as the little girl and boy had climbed over the top of the first wave, or hill, those by the river lost sight of them.</p> <p>They saw nothing but grass in the first hollow, but there was another hill just beyond, so they kept going, and climbed over that too. And now they found, lying in the second hollow, one of the most curious sights that the western prairies afford.</p> <p>“What is it?” asked Chubbins, wonderingly.</p> <p>“Why, it’s a Prairie-Dog Town,” said Twinkle.</p> <p><strong>Chapter II</strong></p> <p><strong>Prairie-Dog Town</strong></p> <p>Lying in every direction, and quite filling the little hollow, were round mounds of earth, each one having a hole in the center. The mounds were about two feet high and as big around as a wash-tub, and the edges of the holes were pounded hard and smooth by the pattering feet of the little creatures that lived within.</p> <p>“Isn’t it funny!” said Chubbins, staring at the mounds.</p> <p>“Awful,” replied Twinkle, staring too. “Do you know, Chub, there are An’mals living in every single one of those holes?”</p> <p>“What kind?” asked Chubbins.</p> <p>“Well, they’re something like squirrels, only they aren’t squirrels,” she explained. “They’re prairie-dogs.”</p> <p>“Don’t like dogs,” said the boy, looking a bit uneasy.</p> <p>“Oh, they’re not dogs at all,” said Twinkle; “they’re soft and fluffy, and gentle.”</p> <p>“Do they bark?” he asked.</p> <p>“Yes; but they don’t bite.”</p> <p>“How d’ you know, Twink?”</p> <p>“Papa has told me about them, lots of times. He says they’re so shy that they run into their holes when anybody’s around; but if you keep quiet and watch, they’ll stick their heads out in a few minutes.”</p> <p>“Let’s watch,” said Chubbins.</p> <p>“All right,” she agreed.</p> <p>Very near to some of the mounds was a raised bank, covered with soft grass; so the children stole softly up to this bank and lay down upon it in such a way that their heads just stuck over the top of it, while their bodies were hidden from the eyes of any of the folks of Prairie-Dog Town.</p> <p>“Are you comferble, Chub?” asked the little girl.</p> <p>“Yes.”</p> <p>“Then lie still and don’t talk, and keep your eyes open, and perhaps the an’mals will stick their heads up.”</p> <p>“All right,” says Chubbins.</p> <p>So they kept quiet and waited, and it seemed a long time to both the boy and the girl before a soft, furry head popped out of a near-by hole, and two big, gentle brown eyes looked at them curiously.</p> <p><strong>Chapter III</strong></p> <p><strong>Mr. Bowko, the Mayor</strong></p> <p>“Dear me!” said the prairie-dog, speaking almost in a whisper; “here are some of those queer humans from the village.”</p> <p>“Let me see! Let me see!” cried two shrill little voices, and the wee heads of two small creatures popped out of the hole and fixed their bright eyes upon the heads of Twinkle and Chubbins.</p> <p>“Go down at once!” said the mother prairie-dog. “Do you want to get hurt, you naughty little things?”</p> <p>“Oh, they won’t get hurt,” said another deeper voice, and the children turned their eyes toward a second mound, on top of which sat a plump prairie-dog whose reddish fur was tipped with white on the end of each hair. He seemed to be quite old, or at least well along in years, and he had a wise and thoughtful look on his face.</p> <p>“They’re humans,” said the mother.</p> <p>“True enough; but they’re only human children, and wouldn’t hurt your little ones for the world,” the old one said.</p> <p>“That’s so!” called Twinkle. “All we want, is to get acquainted.”</p> <p>“Why, in that case,” replied the old prairie-dog, “you are very welcome in our town, and we’re glad to see you.”</p> <p>“Thank you,” said Twinkle, gratefully. It didn’t occur to her just then that it was wonderful to be talking to the little prairie-dogs just as if they were people. It seemed very natural they should speak with each other and be friendly.</p> <p>As if attracted by the sound of voices, little heads began to pop out of the other mounds–one here and one there–until the town was alive with the pretty creatures, all squatting near the edges of their holes and eyeing Chubbins and Twinkle with grave and curious looks.</p> <p>“Let me introduce myself,” said the old one that had first proved friendly. “My name is Bowko, and I’m the Mayor and High Chief of Prairie-Dog Town.”</p> <p>“Don’t you have a king?” asked Twinkle.</p> <p>“Not in this town,” he answered. “There seems to be no place for kings in this free United States. And a Mayor and High Chief is just as good as a king, any day.”</p> <p>“I think so, too,” answered the girl.</p> <p>“Better!” declared Chubbins.</p> <p>The Mayor smiled, as if pleased. “I see you’ve been properly brought up,” he continued; “and now let me introduce to you some of my fellow-citizens. This,” pointing with one little paw to the hole where the mother and her two children were sitting, “is Mrs. Puff-Pudgy and her family—Teenty and Weenty. Mr. Puff-Pudgy, I regret to say, was recently chased out of town for saying his prayers backwards.”</p> <p>“How could he?” asked Chubbins, much surprised.</p> <p>“He was always contrary,” answered the Mayor, with a sigh, “and wouldn’t do things the same way that others did. His good wife, Mrs. Puff-Pudgy, had to scold him all day long; so we finally made him leave the town, and I don’t know where he’s gone to.”</p> <p>“Won’t he be sorry not to have his little children any more?” asked Twinkle, regretfully.</p> <p>“I suppose so; but if people are contrary, and won’t behave, they must take the consequences. This is Mr. Chuckledorf,” continued the Mayor, and a very fat prairie-dog bowed to them most politely; “and here is Mrs. Fuzcum; and Mrs. Chatterby; and Mr. Sneezeley, and Doctor Dosem.”</p> <p>All these folks bowed gravely and politely, and Chubbins and Twinkle bobbed their heads in return until their necks ached, for it seemed as if the Mayor would never get through introducing the hundreds of prairie-dogs that were squatting around.</p> <p>“I’ll never be able to tell one from the other,” whispered the girl; “’cause they all look exactly alike.”</p> <p>“Some of ‘em’s fatter,” observed Chubbins; “but I don’t know which.”</p> <p><strong>Chapter IV</strong></p> <p><strong>Presto Digi, the Magician</strong></p> <p>“And now, if you like, we will be pleased to have you visit some of our houses,” said Mr. Bowko, the Mayor, in a friendly tone.</p> <p>“But we can’t!” exclaimed Twinkle. “We’re too big,” and she got up and sat down upon the bank, to show him how big she really was when compared with the prairie-dogs.</p> <p>“Oh, that doesn’t matter in the least,” the Mayor replied. “I’ll have Presto Digi, our magician, reduce you to our size.”</p> <p>“Can he?” asked Twinkle, doubtfully.</p> <p>“Our magician can do anything,” declared the Mayor. Then he sat up and put both his front paws to his mouth and made a curious sound that was something like a bark and something like a whistle, but not exactly like either one. Then everybody waited in silence until a queer old prairie-dog slowly put his head out of a big mound near the center of the village.</p> <p>“Good morning, Mr. Presto Digi,” said the Mayor.</p> <p>“Morning!” answered the magician, blinking his eyes as if he had just awakened from sleep.</p> <p>Twinkle nearly laughed at this scrawny, skinny personage; but by good fortune, for she didn’t wish to offend him, she kept her face straight and did not even smile.</p> <p>“We have two guests here, this morning,” continued the Mayor, addressing the magician, “who are a little too large to get into our houses. So, as they are invited to stay to luncheon, it would please us all if you would kindly reduce them to fit our underground rooms.”</p> <p>“Is that all you want?” asked Mr. Presto Digi, bobbing his head at the children.</p> <p>“It seems to me a great deal,” answered Twinkle. “I’m afraid you never could do it.”</p> <p>“Wow!” said the magician, in a scornful voice that was almost a bark. “I can do that with one paw. Come here to me, and don’t step on any of our mounds while you’re so big and clumsy.”</p> <p>So Twinkle and Chubbins got up and walked slowly toward the magician, taking great care where they stepped. Teenty and Weenty were frightened, and ducked their heads with little squeals as the big children passed their mound; but they bobbed up again the next moment, being curious to see what would happen.</p> <p>When the boy and girl stopped before Mr. Presto Digi’s mound, he began waving one of his thin, scraggy paws and at the same time made a gurgling noise that was deep down in his throat. And his eyes rolled and twisted around in a very odd way.</p> <p>Neither Twinkle nor Chubbins felt any effect from the magic, nor any different from ordinary; but they knew they were growing smaller, because their eyes were getting closer to the magician.</p> <p>“Is that enough?” asked Mr. Presto, after a while.</p> <p>“Just a little more, please,” replied the Mayor; “I don’t want them to bump their heads against the doorways.”</p> <p>So the magician again waved his paw and chuckled and gurgled and blinked, until Twinkle suddenly found she had to look up at him as he squatted on his mound.</p> <p>“Stop!” she screamed; “if you keep on, we won’t be anything at all!”</p> <p>“You’re just about the right size,” said the Mayor, looking them over with much pleasure, and when the girl turned around she found Mr. Bowko and Mrs. Puff-Pudgy standing beside her, and she could easily see that Chubbins was no bigger than they, and she was no bigger than Chubbins.</p> <p>“Kindly follow me,” said Mrs. Puff-Pudgy, “for my little darlings are anxious to make your acquaintance, and as I was the first to discover you, you are to be my guests first of all, and afterward go to the Mayor’s to luncheon.”</p> <p><strong>Chapter V</strong></p> <p><strong>The Home of the Puff-Pudgys</strong></p> <p>So Twinkle and Chubbins, still holding hands, trotted along to the Puff-Pudgy mound, and it was strange how rough the ground now seemed to their tiny feet. They climbed up the slope of the mound rather clumsily, and when they came to the hole it seemed to them as big as a well. Then they saw that it wasn’t a deep hole, but a sort of tunnel leading downhill into the mound, and Twinkle knew if they were careful they were not likely to slip or tumble down.</p> <p>Mrs. Puff-Pudgy popped into the hole like a flash, for she was used to it, and waited just below the opening to guide them. So, Twinkle slipped down to the floor of the tunnel and Chubbins followed close after her, and then they began to go downward.</p> <p>“It’s a little dark right here,” said Mrs. Puff-Pudgy; “but I’ve ordered the maid to light the candles for you, so you’ll see well enough when you’re in the rooms.”</p> <p>“Thank you,” said Twinkle, walking along the hall and feeling her way by keeping her hand upon the smooth sides of the passage. “I hope you won’t go to any trouble, or put on airs, just because we’ve come to visit you.”</p> <p>“If I do,” replied Mrs. Puffy-Pudgy, “it’s because I know the right way to treat company. We’ve always belonged to the ‘four hundred,’ you know. Some folks never know what to do, or how to do it, but that isn’t the way with the Puff-Pudgys. Hi! you, Teenty and Weenty–get out of here and behave yourselves! You’ll soon have a good look at our visitors.”</p> <p>And now they came into a room so comfortable and even splendid that Twinkle’s eyes opened wide with amazement. It was big, and of a round shape, and on the walls were painted very handsome portraits of different prairie-dogs of the Puff-Pudgy family. The furniture was made of white clay, baked hard in the sun and decorated with paints made from blue clay and red clay and yellow clay. This gave it a gorgeous appearance. There was a round table in the middle of the room, and several comfortable chairs and sofas. Around the walls were little brackets with candles in them, lighting the place very pleasantly.</p> <p>“Sit down, please,” said Mrs. Puff-Pudgy. “You’ll want to rest a minute before I show you around.”</p> <p>So Twinkle and Chubbins sat upon the pretty clay chairs, and Teenty and Weenty sat opposite them and stared with their mischievous round eyes as hard as they could.</p> <p>“What nice furniture,” exclaimed the girl.</p> <p>“Yes,” replied Mrs. Puff-Pudgy, looking up at the picture of a sad-faced prairie-dog; “Mr. Puff-Pudgy made it all himself. He was very handy at such things. It’s a shame he turned out so obstinate.”</p> <p>“Did he build the house too?”</p> <p>“Why, he dug it out, if that’s what you mean. But I advised him how to do it, so I deserve some credit for it myself. Next to the Mayor’s, it’s the best house in town, which accounts for our high social standing. Weenty! take your paw out of your mouth. You’re biting your claws again.”</p> <p>“I’m not!” said Weenty.</p> <p>“And now,” continued Mrs. Puff-Pudgy, “if you are rested, I’ll show you through the rest of our house.”</p> <p>So, they got up and followed her, and she led the children through an archway into the dining-room. Here was a cupboard full of the cunningest little dishes Twinkle had ever seen. They were all made of clay, baked hard in the sun, and were of graceful shapes, and nearly as smooth and perfect as our own dishes.</p> <p><strong>Chapter VI</strong></p> <p><strong>Teenty and Weenty</strong></p> <p>All around the sides of the dining-room were pockets, or bins, in the wall; and these were full of those things the prairie-dogs are most fond of eating. Clover-seeds filled one bin, and sweet roots another; dried mulberry leaves–that must have come from a long distance–were in another bin, and even kernels of yellow field corn were heaped in one place. The Puff-Pudgys were surely in no danger of starving for some time to come.</p> <p>“Teenty! Put back that grain of wheat,” commanded the mother, in a severe voice. Instead of obeying, Teenty put the wheat in his mouth and ate it as quickly as possible.</p> <p>“The little dears are so restless,” Mrs. Puff-Pudgy said to Twinkle, “that it’s hard to manage them.”</p> <p>“They don’t behave,” remarked Chubbins, staring hard at the children.</p> <p>“No, they have a share of their father’s obstinate nature,” replied Mrs. Puff-Pudgy. “Excuse me a minute and I’ll cuff them; It’ll do them good.”</p> <p>But before their mother could reach them, the children found trouble of their own. Teenty sprang at Weenty and began to fight, because his brother had pinched him, and Weenty fought back with all his might and main. They scratched with their claws and bit with their teeth, and rolled over and over upon the floor, bumping into the wall and upsetting the chairs, and snarling and growling all the while like two puppies.</p> <p>Mrs. Puff-Pudgy sat down and watched them, but did not interfere.</p> <p>“Won’t they hurt themselves?” asked Twinkle, anxiously.</p> <p>“Perhaps so,” said the mother; “but if they do, it will punish them for being so naughty. I always let them fight it out, because they are so sore for a day or two afterward that they have to keep quiet, and then I get a little rest.”</p> <p>Weenty set up a great howling, just then, and Teenty drew away from his defeated brother and looked at him closely. The fur on both of them was badly mussed up, and Weenty had a long scratch on his nose, that must have hurt him, or he wouldn’t have howled so. Teenty’s left eye was closed tight, but if it hurt him he bore the pain in silence.</p> <p>Mrs. Puff-Pudgy now pushed them both into a little room and shut them up, saying they must stay there until bedtime; and then she led Twinkle and Chubbins into the kitchen and showed them a pool of clear water, in a big clay basin, that had been caught during the last rain and saved for drinking purposes. The children drank of it, and found it cool and refreshing.</p> <p>Then they saw the bedrooms, and learned that the beds of prairie-dogs were nothing more than round hollows made in heaps of clay. These animals always curl themselves up when they sleep, and the round hollows just fitted their bodies; so, no doubt, they found them very comfortable.</p> <p>There were several bedrooms, for the Puff-Pudgy house was really very large. It was also very cool and pleasant, being all underground and not a bit damp.</p> <p>After they had admired everything in a way that made Mrs. Puff-Pudgy very proud and happy, their hostess took one of the lighted candles from a bracket and said she would now escort them to the house of the Honorable Mr. Bowko, the Mayor.</p> <p><strong>Chapter VII</strong></p> <p><strong>The Mayor Gives a Luncheon</strong></p> <p>“Don’t we have to go upstairs and out of doors?” asked Twinkle.</p> <p>“Oh, no,” replied the prairie-dog, “we have halls connecting all the different houses of importance. Just follow me, and you can’t get lost.”</p> <p>They might easily have been lost without their guide, the little girl thought, after they had gone through several winding passages. They turned this way and that, in quite a bewildering manner, and there were so many underground tunnels going in every direction that it was a wonder Mrs. Puff-Pudgy knew which way to go.</p> <p>“You ought to have sign-posts,” said Chubbins, who had once been in a city.</p> <p>“Why, as for that, everyone in the town knows which way to go,” answered their guide; “and it isn’t often we have visitors. Last week a gray owl stopped with us for a couple of days, and we had a fine ball in her honor. But you are the first humans that have ever been entertained in our town, so it’s quite an event with us.”</p> <p>A few minutes later she said: “Here we are, at the Mayor’s house,” and as they passed under a broad archway she blew out her candle, because the Mayor’s house was so brilliantly lighted.</p> <p>“Welcome!” said Mr. Bowko, greeting the children with polite bows. “You are just in time, for luncheon is about ready and my guests are waiting for you.”</p> <p>He led them at once into a big dining-room that was so magnificently painted with colored clays that the walls were as bright as a June rainbow.</p> <p>“How pretty!” cried Twinkle, clapping her hands together in delight.</p> <p>“I’m glad you like it,” said the Mayor, much pleased. “Some people, who are lacking in good taste, think it’s a little overdone, but a Mayor’s house should be gorgeous, I think, so as to be a credit to the community. My grandfather, who designed and painted this house, was a very fine artist. But luncheon is ready, so pray be seated.”</p> <p>They sat down on little clay chairs that were placed at the round table. The Mayor sat on one side of Twinkle and Mrs. Puff-Pudgy on the other, and Chubbins was between the skinny old magician and Mr. Sneezeley. Also, in other chairs sat Dr. Dosem, and Mrs. Chatterby, and Mrs. Fuzcum, and several others. It was a large company, indeed, which showed that the Mayor considered this a very important occasion.</p> <p>They were waited upon by several sleek prairie-dog maids in white aprons and white caps, who looked neat and respectable, and were very graceful in their motions.</p> <p>Neither Twinkle nor Chubbins was very hungry, but they were curious to know what kind of food the prairie-dogs ate, so they watched carefully when the different dishes were passed around. Only grains and vegetables were used, for prairie-dogs do not eat meat. There was a milk-weed soup at first; and then yellow corn, boiled and sliced thin. Afterward they had a salad of thistle leaves, and some bread made of barley. The dessert was a dish of the sweet, dark honey made by prairie-bees, and some cakes flavored with sweet and spicy roots that only prairie-dogs know how to find.</p> <p>The children tasted of several dishes, just to show their politeness; but they couldn’t eat much. Chubbins spent most of his time watching Mr. Presto Digi, who ate up everything that was near him and seemed to be as hungry after the luncheon as he had been before.</p> <p>Mrs. Puff-Pudgy talked so much about the social standing and dignity of the Puff-Pudgys that she couldn’t find time to eat much, although she asked for the recipe of the milk-weed soup. But most of the others present paid strict attention to the meal and ate with very good appetites.</p> <p><strong>Chapter VIII</strong></p> <p><strong>On Top of the Earth Again</strong></p> <p>Afterward they all went into the big drawing-room, where Mrs. Fuzcum sang a song for them in a very shrill voice, and Mr. Sneezeley and Mrs. Chatterby danced a graceful minuet that was much admired by all present.</p> <p>“We ought to be going home,” said Twinkle, after this entertainment was over. “I’m afraid our folks will worry about us.”</p> <p>“We regret to part with you,” replied the Mayor; “but, if you really think you ought to go, we will not be so impolite as to urge you to stay.”</p> <p>“You’ll find we have excellent manners,” added Mrs. Puff-Pudgy.</p> <p>“I want to get big again,” said Chubbins.</p> <p>“Very well; please step this way,” said the Mayor.</p> <p>So they all followed him through a long passage until they began to go upward, as if climbing a hill. And then a gleam of daylight showed just ahead of them, and a few more steps brought them to the hole in the middle of the mound.</p> <p>The Mayor and Mrs. Puff-Pudgy jumped up first, and then they helped Twinkle and Chubbins to scramble out. The strong sunlight made them blink their eyes for a time, but when they were able to look around they found one or more heads of prairie-dogs sticking from every mound.</p> <p>“Now, Mr. Presto Digi,” said the Mayor, when all the party were standing on the ground, “please enlarge our friends to their natural sizes again.”</p> <p>“That is very easy,” said the magician, with a sigh. “I really wish, Mr. Mayor, that you would find something for me to do that is difficult.”</p> <p>“I will, some time,” promised the Mayor. “Just now, this is all I can require of you.”</p> <p>So the magician waved his paw and gurgled, much in the same way he had done before, and Twinkle and Chubbins began to grow, and swell out until they were as large as ever, and the prairie-dogs again seemed very small beside them.</p> <p>“Good-bye,” said the little girl, “and thank you all, very much, for your kindness to us.”</p> <p>“Good-bye!” answered a chorus of small voices, and then all the prairie-dogs popped into their holes and quickly disappeared. Twinkle and Chubbins found they were sitting on the green bank again, at the edge of Prairie-Dog Town.</p> <p>“Do you think we’ve been asleep, Chub?” asked the girl.</p> <p>“‘Course not,” replied Chubbins, with a big yawn. “It’s easy ‘nough to know that, Twink, ’cause I’m sleepy now!”</p> <p><strong>THE END</strong></p> <p>Now, aren’t those some of the best words ever written about North Dakota?</p> </div>Jim Fugliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12461232645322745636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974767.post-78614417322289078752011-06-09T09:58:00.000-05:002011-06-09T09:59:25.738-05:00Weekenders<div class="entry-content"> <p>ONE GOVERNMENT AGENCY GETS IT RIGHT</p> <p>Many of you saw the story in the Bismarck Tribune, reprinted from the Billings Gazette, about the record or near-record snowpack in the mountains in Montana this year. Statewide in Montana, snowpack stands at 257 per cent of average for this time of year. Snowpack above some of the rivers which feed the Missouri River is as much as 500 per cent above normal. Snowpack is measured by the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service. The Gazette story quoted a spokesman for the NRCS as saying “The main point of emphasis is that this is such a unique year. None of us can recall a year like this. We’ve seen high snowpack years before, but none where it’s sitting there this long.” What’s interesting about that is that everyone, including the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, knew about it, but no one did anything about it earlier in the year when steps might have been taken to deal with what are now post-dam record floods of the Missouri River. When my friend Jeff and I started fishing on the river at Bismarck this spring (something we won’t be doing any more of this year) the Corps was releasing 14,500 cubic feet per second from the Garrison Dam. They told us that as the spring progressed, they were going to have to eventually take it to 55,000 cfs, which posed no flooding threat to Bismarck, but would seriously hamper our fishing efforts, which we groused about every day. Little did we know how inconsequential that problem was going to be.</p> <p>I had an e-mail, from my brother out in eastern Washington state last week. He works for a public utility district which manages dams for hydroelectricity on the Columbia River and its tributaries. He said “Columbia River is raging, but staying within banks. Snow pack in Canada was phenomenal this year. Bureau of Rec dropped Grand Coulee dam by huge amounts earlier. We are pushing over 200 kcfs thru our 2 dams right now and will be for some time.” That’s right. The Bureau of Reclamation dropped the water level “by huge amounts” behind Grand Coulee Dam in anticipation of the runoff from that snowpack. At least one government agency got it right this spring.</p> <p>THE FLOOD OF 1952</p> <p>A friend sent me a copy of the report of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Weather Bureau on the last big flood on the Missouri River in North Dakota in 1952 (except for the one, of course, which flooded the Missouri River Valley permanently when they closed the Garrison Dam a couple years later). The peak of the flood, the report says, was on April 6, 1952, when an ice jam above Bismarck broke loose and sent a torrent of water through Bismarck-Mandan. That day, at 10 a.m., the flow was 25,000 cfs at Bismarck. By 6 p.m. it had increased to 500,000 cfs. Yes, you read that right. An increase of 425,000 cfs in 8 hours. Imagine that wall of water coming at you. The river gauge at Bismarck read 18.8 feet at 11 a.m. and the river crested at 27.9 feet at 6 p.m. Compare that to the predicted height of 20.6 feet at Bismarck for this flood, which caused massive diking and flood preparations. That flood was 7 feet higher than this one was originally predicted, and 10 feet higher than the Missouri River right now, today, at Bismarck. And it came with little warning.</p> <p>I actually remember that flood—it is one of my earliest memories. We (my dad, mom, sister and I) were traveling from Hettinger, where we lived, to Devils Lake, where our grandparents lived, for Easter. The only way to get across the Missouri River then was over Memorial Bridge. To get to it, you drove on Old Highway 10, which went through downtown Mandan, down the Strip, across the river, and through downtown Bismarck. I remember as we drove down the Strip we were following other cars, driving through water (I’m thinking this was in the first days or week following the crest), and sticking my head out the window of dad’s 1950 Oldsmobile to see the water splashing up from our tires. It might have been a few inches or even a foot deep at that time. And I remember my dad saying something like “They’re building a great big dam up north of here so nothing like this will ever happen again.”</p> <p>WEINERGATE</p> <p>I used to think Congressman Anthony Weiner was a really cool guy. Smart, handsome, articulate, with an equally smart and beautiful wife, and a long career ahead of him as a leader of our country. And really cool. Until this week. When I saw the picture. Wearing nerd underwear. That’s right, only nerds wear that kind of underwear. Cool guys would never be caught in THAT. Darn. Another myth shattered. Sigh.</p> <p>ON VACATION</p> <p>Other than a little treat I’m going to share under the category “The Best Things Ever Written About North Dakota” this weekend or early next week, this is my final post for June. Lillian and I are heading west to continue our “Music and National Parks Month.” We started with a terrific performance last night by the Moody Blues at the Bluestem Performing Arts Center Amphitheatre in Moorhead. We’re continuing next week with the Telluride Bluegrass Festival in the mountains in Colorado, where we’ll see and hear, among others, Tim O’Brien, Steve Earle, Sarah McLachlan, Emmy Lou Harris, Jerry Douglas, The Decemberists, Sam Bush, Old Crow Medicine Show, Mumford and Sons, and Robert Plant and The Band of Joy. Then it’s national parks, including Great Sand Dunes, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Grand Canyon, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, Yosemite, and more, finishing the month with a stop in Boise to see Alison Krauss and Union Station in concert. See you in July.</p> </div>Jim Fugliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12461232645322745636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974767.post-41487726361384101332011-06-04T20:42:00.000-05:002011-06-04T20:43:50.912-05:00A Good Book For A Flood<p>As we were sandbagging at Fort Mandan Friday, on the bank of the Mighty Missouri River, my friend Clay looked over his shoulder at the river and said “Maybe we’ll see a house come floating by.” Which set us both to thinking immediately about Huckleberry Finn, and we were quiet for a good long while as our minds drifted off to Huck and Jim . . .</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px" _mce_style="padding-left: 30px;">The river went on raising and raising for ten or twelve days, till at last it was over the banks. The water was three or four feet deep on the island in the low places and on the Illinois bottom. On that side it was a good many miles wide, but on the Missouri side it was the same old distance across—a half a mile—because the Missouri shore was just a wall of high bluffs.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px" _mce_style="padding-left: 30px;">Daytimes we paddled all over the island in the canoe. It was mighty cool and shady in the deep woods, even if the sun was blazing outside. We went winding in and out amongst the trees, and sometimes the vines hung so thick we had to back away and go some other way. Well, on every old broken down tree you could see rabbits and snakes and such things; and when the island had been overflowed a day or two they got so tame, on account of being so hungry, that you could paddle right up and put your hand on them if you wanted to; but not the snakes and turtles—they would slide off in the water . . .</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px" _mce_style="padding-left: 30px;">Another night when we was up at the head of the island, just before daylight, here comes a frame-house down, on the west side. She was a two-story, and tilted over considerable. We paddled out and got aboard—clumb in at an upstairs window. But it was too dark to see yet, so we made the canoe fast and set in her to wait for daylight.</p> <p>(Let's skip over the dead guy, and move on to the escape from the floating house)</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px" _mce_style="padding-left: 30px;">We got an old tin lantern, and a butcher-knife without any handle, and a brand-new Barlow knife worth two bits in any store, and a lot of tallow candles, and a tin candlestick, and a gourd, and a tin cup, and a ratty old bedquilt off the bed, and a reticule with needles and pins and beeswax and buttons and thread and all such truck in it, and a hatchet and some nails, and a fish-line as thick as my little finger with some monstrous hooks on it, and a roll of buckskin, and a leather dog-collar, and a horseshoe, and some vials of medicine that didn’t have no label on them; and just as we was leaving I found a tolerable good currycomb, and Jim he found a ratty old fiddle-bow, and a wooden leg. The straps was broke off of it, but barring that, it was a good enough leg, though it was too long for me and not long enough for Jim, and we couldn’t find the other one, though we hunted all around.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px" _mce_style="padding-left: 30px;">And so, take it all around, we made a good haul . . . We rummaged the clothes we’d got, and found eight dollars in silver sewed up in the lining of an old blanket overcoat. . .</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px" _mce_style="padding-left: 30px;">Well, the days went along, and the river went down between its banks again; and about the first thing we done was to bait one of the big hooks with a skinned rabbit and set it and catch a catfish that was as big as a man, being six foot two inches long, and weighed over two hundred pounds. We couldn’t handle him, of course; he would ‘a’ flung us into Illinois. We just set there and watched him rip and tear around till he drownded. We found a brass button in his stomach, and a round ball, and lots of rubbage. We split the ball open with the hatchet and there was a spool in it. Jim said he’s had it there a long time, to coat it over so and make a ball of it. It was as big a fish as was ever catched in the Mississippi, I reckon. Jim said he hadn’t ever seen a bigger one. He would ‘a’ been worth a good deal over at the village. They peddle out such a fish as that by the pound in the market-house there; everybody buys some of him; his meat’s as white as snow and makes a good fry.</p> <p>You know the story. Twain’s classic book of books. Huck escapes his Pap, who’s out to spend Huck’s reward money. His friend, the slave, Jim, escapes his owner who is going to sell him down river to New Orleans. They set off on a Mississippi River adventure. It was fun to pull it off the shelf and escape into it this week as the Missouri River rose. It’s my all-time favorite book . The best thing ever written, by, arguably, America‘s greatest writer.</p> <p><br /></p>Jim Fugliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12461232645322745636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974767.post-60744944027839556672011-05-30T21:28:00.000-05:002011-05-30T21:32:04.308-05:00Weekenders (Pretend It's Friday)<p>THE CAT’S ON THE ROOF</p> <p>My old friend Buckshot Hoffner (I mean “old” both ways—we’ve been friends for more than 30 years, and he is old—closer to 90 than 80) came home from World War II with a big prize. Her name was Patricia, and she was an English beauty who left her home in England to marry a farmer from North Dakota. Buckshot is a great story-teller. He used to tell one that goes something like this: After he and Pat had settled in on the farm in Benson County, Pat made a long distance overseas call to her twin sister back in England—no small feat in the late 1940s. During the call, Pat asked about her cat, her favorite pet, which she had had to leave behind when she crossed the Atlantic with Buckshot. Her sister replied that the cat had died. Pat became very upset and had to hang up the phone. The next time the two spoke, Buckshot took the phone, and while Pat was out of the room, he told Pat’s sister that perhaps she could have been a little gentler with the bad news. Maybe, Buckshot suggested, she could have told Pat the cat was up on the roof, and while they were going to have to do some work to get him down, the cat would likely be okay. And then the next time they spoke, Buckshot suggested, she could have said the cat fell off the roof and got hurt, but would hopefully recover. And then finally, Buckshot said, when they spoke again, she could have told Pat that the cat did not recover from his injuries and was gone. That way, Buckshot said, Pat would get the bad news gradually instead of all at once, and she would not be so upset. The sister agreed that would have been a good strategy, and would remember that in the future. So Buckshot put Pat back on the phone, and Pat asked “How’s Mom?” “Well,” her sister replied “Mom’s up on the roof.”</p> <p>Tracy Potter reminded me of that story last week as the corps of Engineers was revising its flood forecast for the fourth time in four days. “Sounds like the Corps of Engineers has heard Buckshot’s ‘cat on the roof’ story,” Tracy said. I agreed. First 55,000 cfs. Then 65,000 cfs. Then 80,000 cfs. Then 105,000 cfs. Then 120,000 cfs. As each day passed, we got a new number from the Corps, and a new date we could expect to see that number. I’m sure they reasoned that if they went from 55,000 to 120,000 all at once, we’d all freak out, so better to break it to us gently. Are they done now? I’m not sure. I’m afraid the cat might still be up on the roof. A lot of folks in Bismarck and Mandan are ready to climb up there and get it. Before it falls off and something really bad happens.</p> <p>THE MOST UNDESIREABLE JOB IN NORTH DAKOTA</p> <p>What is it with the Public Service Commission? Is it a really bad place to work? What is it that keeps the three members continually on the hunt for a new job? Commissioner Kevin Cramer never seems to let an election go by that he doesn’t try to do something else—except in the years when he has to get himself re-elected. He’s got a Facebook page up and running: <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kevin-Cramer-for-US-Senate-R-ND-2012/178156768897428?sk=wall" _mce_href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kevin-Cramer-for-US-Senate-R-ND-2012/178156768897428?sk=wall">Kevin Cramer for U.S. Senate</a>. Problem with that is, his old nemesis Rick Berg, who beat him at the State Republican Convention just last year, wants that job now. Another problem: He and Commissioner Tony Clark <a href="http://www.bismarcktribune.com/news/state-and-regional/article_ac3e96aa-7153-11e0-808e-001cc4c002e0.html?mode=story" _mce_href="http://www.bismarcktribune.com/news/state-and-regional/article_ac3e96aa-7153-11e0-808e-001cc4c002e0.html?mode=story">signed a letter</a> encouraging Berg to run for the Senate. That should rule out a rematch at the 2012 Convention? Commissioner Brian Kalk celebrated his two-year anniversary on the Commission by announcing he’s running for the U.S. Senate. And then speaking of Congress, Kalk changed his mind, and is running for the House seat Berg has announced he’s leaving after just five months in office. Kalk has said he would seek the Republican endorsement for the Senate no matter what office Berg decided to seek, according to a May 16 report in the Grand Forks Herald. In a Saturday (May 14) email to supporters and media contacts, Kalk said he’s “in to win” at the state convention next spring, the Herald story said. “Some have asked if I would drop out should certain candidates enter,” Kalk wrote. “My response then and my response now is that we are headed to the Bismarck convention and we will win.” That was then—May 16. Just four days later, on May 20, the Herald reported Kalk has changed his mind and is now running for the U.S. House seat. Like Berg, Kalk wants so badly to get elected to something that he’ll run for whatever is available. House, Senate, doesn’t matter. Put me in, coach, I’m ready to play. And then there’s Clark, who just finished serving as the North Dakota Republican Party’s State Chairman, then announced he’s just going to quit, but wait, there’s a long shot he might run for U.S. Congress. Sort it out among yourselves, boys, and let us know when you’ve finally all made up your mind.</p> <p>GLASS HOUSES</p> <p>Some things about the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s study on the impacts of oil and gas development on wildlife just don’t add up. The report was completed in June of 2010. Game and Fish Director Terry Steinwand told the Bismarck Tribune he delivered the report to the Governor’s office sometime after that—the Tribune did not specify when that took place. The story by reporter Lauren Donavon in the Tribune on April 1, 2011 said, “Steinwand said he delivered the draft to Hoeven's legal counsel Ryan Bernstein, whose only comment was to continue working on the study.” In a <a href="http://theprairieblog.areavoices.com/2011/05/22/a-letter-from-the-game-and-fish-director/" _mce_href="http://theprairieblog.areavoices.com/2011/05/22/a-letter-from-the-game-and-fish-director/">letter to me</a> on May 18, 2011, Steinwand said “My initial plans were to have the report to me final by mid-summer (2011) but that time frame has been moved to the end of May.” If Steinwand’s plan all along was that the report was not going to be final until the summer of 2011, why was it delivered to the Governor’s legal counsel way back last year? (Why would it go to the governor’s legal counsel at all, for that matter? I still haven’t figured that out.) Doesn’t make sense. Makes more sense that the Steinwand acquiesced to the Governor or his staff, who didn’t want it floating around during a U.S. Senate campaign, and only with some heat from the public almost a year later did Steinwand come up with a new story on its release date. By the way, do you ever look at the website<a href="http://www.fishingbuddy.com/" _mce_href="http://www.fishingbuddy.com/"> </a><em><a href="http://www.fishingbuddy.com/" _mce_href="http://www.fishingbuddy.com/">fishingbuddy.com</a>? </em>I do once in a while. One of the things I found on it was an <a href="http://www.fishingbuddy.com/an_interview_with_terry_steinwand" _mce_href="http://www.fishingbuddy.com/an_interview_with_terry_steinwand">interview with the new North Dakota Game and Fish Director Terry Steinwand</a>, posted February 15, 2006, shortly after Steinwand took office. The interview was conducted by Doug Leier, one of the information specialists at Game and Fish. Here’s a little bit of it.</p> <p>Leier:<em> Pet Peeve?</em></p> <p>Steinwand: <em>One of my biggest pet peeves is dishonesty. I think I’m a pretty easy going guy, but one thing that definitely gets my dander up is someone lying to me. A close second is failure to be accountable for your own actions.</em></p> <p><em> </em></p> <p>A “FINAL” REPORT</p> <p>Speaking of that report, <a href="http://gf.nd.gov/multimedia/pubs/docs/directors-report-oil-gas-may-2011.pdf" _mce_href="http://gf.nd.gov/multimedia/pubs/docs/directors-report-oil-gas-may-2011.pdf">it is now accessible </a>to the general public on the department’s website, 11 months after it was written. A month after the Legislature has gone home. Too late for that body to write any of the new laws recommended by the department staff to address the impacts of oil and gas development on wildlife. It sat on the director’s desk for 11 months. After all that time, the director made two changes to the report.</p> <ul><li>The word “Draft” that was overlaid on each page has been removed.</li><li>The date on the cover has been changed from June 2010 to May 2011.</li></ul> <p>That’s it. I can’t find a single paragraph in the entire report that was changed from the draft I obtained from Deputy Director Paul Schadewald last month. Director Steinwand wrote in his letter to me on May 18, “My initial plans were to have the report to me final by mid-summer but that time frame has been moved to the end of May at the latest. Once the legislative session concluded I had a little more time to spend specifically on this effort. The review is essentially complete as I write this letter and anticipate that the end of May time frame will be easily reached <span style="text-decoration: underline" _mce_style="text-decoration: underline;">once the edits are made</span>, which are relatively minor.” I’ll say. Really, really minor. Like changing the date. I really dislike those darn pet peeves.</p>Jim Fugliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12461232645322745636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974767.post-69634314220392117802011-05-25T09:01:00.000-05:002011-05-25T09:02:48.450-05:00Cor Te Reducit<div class="entry-content"> <p>Two things of note happened in my life Tuesday. In the morning, I attended the funeral of a good friend and one of North Dakota’s great liberal thinkers, Karl Limvere. In the evening I helped another good friend and his wife move the belongings from their home south of Bismarck. Both things, some would say, were the result of acts of God. I’m not so sure.</p> <p>Karl Limvere was a man of God, and God works in mysterious ways, so Karl’s death from what I suspect was his second heart attack–he survived one about ten years ago–was God’s work. After a long career with the North Dakota Farmers Union, Karl went off to Washington, D.C., to be an agriculture adviser to Senator Byron Dorgan. Karl didn’t do so well in that big urban environment, and so he answered a call to be a UCC minister at a small church in Medina, North Dakota, not far from Jamestown, where he had spent most of his adult life. And so he spent the last years of his life back home on the North Dakota prairie.</p> <p>As funerals go, it was a pretty good one. The church was full (the weather was good, which is always a determining factor), standing room only, and the basement lunch (scalloped potatoes, coleslaw, buns and bars), was much like the many Karl attended as the minister in his church. He’d have loved it, and also loved the big-time liberal bent in the attendees, friends Karl had made from a lifetime of political and social involvement. We joked at lunch that Karl was the only friend we had who was actually taken up in the rapture. Certainly he would have been first among us to have earned it.</p> <p>I was seated near the front of the church, and shortly before the service began, two young women took a seat in the pew directly in front of me. One of them, tall and pretty, was well-dressed in a black dress cut low enough for me to read the tattoo across the top of her back. It read “Cor Te Reducit.” It was done tastefully, with black inch-high letters in a flowery script. I’d seen the phrase before, but couldn’t remember enough Latin to translate it, so I wrote it down on the back of my program and looked it up when I left the church.</p> <p>Cor Te Reducit: The Heart Will Lead You Back.</p> <p>Apparently it is a popular phrase for young people’s tattoos these days. I liked it, and I thought Karl would too, because his heart had indeed led him back to the prairie he loved so dearly not so many years ago. I knew a lot of the people at the church. I didn’t know that young woman. But I bet Karl did. And I bet he was glad she was there.</p> <p>And then, just a few hours later, back home in Bismarck, I called my friend Jeff to see how he was faring in his battle against a rapidly rising Missouri River. Jeff and his wife have lived in an un-ostentatious home on the Missouri River for 20 years. Jeff’s a fisherman. He ties his boat to the bank in the summer and gets up in the morning and goes fishing. He’s seen high water before. It rains and snows in western North Dakota and eastern Montana, where the Missouri gets its water. Sixty years ago, the United States government built a series of dams on the Missouri River to protect cities like Bismarck from flooding, which was a pretty frequent occurrence along the Missouri River. By regulating the flow of water through the dams, the United States Army Corps of Engineers was able to assure un-rich people like my friend Jeff, who was lucky enough 20 years ago to find this cozy little house beside the river, that he could live in a place where he could tie his boat to the bank and go fishing in the morning. Jeff’s last scare with high water was the ice jam of 2009, and we laughed together at the goofy scheme the Corps and others came up with to blast some dynamite holes in the ice to move the water. We’re not laughing at the Corps this year. The Corps is telling Jeff and others along the river, and many people who live inside the city limits on quiet residential streets in south Bismarck, to prepare for the highest water level since the Garrison Damn was closed in 1954.</p> <p>So last night, friends and relatives and neighbors went to Jeff’s house and helped him begin loading up all his belongings. He’s moving out, lock, stock and barrel. Today we will decide whether to begin sandbagging to try to save the house. But if the water comes as high as they say it will, and stays as long as they say it will, there’s likely no saving the house. This isn’t just a 2-3 day high water problem–it’s a 2-3 month high water problem, and even if the house is sandbagged, there won’t be any getting to it for a long long time, and the damage to a house surrounded by all that water for all that time is unestimable. Jeff’s wife says this is it. She’s had it. She’s never coming back. She’s an angry woman, and there’s no consoling her. For now, she is shopping for temporary housing, an apartment, a place to live while they try to save their house and sort out their lives. Jeff is more measured. He’s a calm German man with a positive outlook, and he knows that there will be another day when he can take time to decide if this is an act of God, or a giant screwup by the Corps of Engineers. And he knows when not to argue with his wife. I know that he also knows that there will come a time to assess how bad the damage is, how accurate the Corps of Engineers’ estimate was, how hard the financial hit will be, how his life has gone in the time away from the river he loves, and where he will live next.</p> <p>Meanwhile, today we finish moving all the belongings from their house. The plan is, by the end of the day, as the water rises over the bank of the Missouri River and creeps inland, the house will be empty. Perhaps for good. Perhaps not.</p> <p>Perhaps . . . Cor Te Reducit.</p> </div>Jim Fugliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12461232645322745636noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17974767.post-11867854792605990652011-05-22T20:52:00.001-05:002011-05-22T20:54:26.900-05:00A Letter From The Game And Fish Director<div class="entry-content"> <p>North Dakota Game and Fish Department Director Terry Steinwand will release a final draft of the report titled “POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMENT ON SELECT NORTH DAKOTA NATURAL RESOURCES” by the end of May, nearly a year after it was written and two months after it was first revealed by blogger Chad Nodland on <a href="http://www.northdecoder.com/Latest/did-john-hoeven-suppress-a-natural-resources-report-during-us-senate-campaign.html">NorthDecoder.com </a>that it had been suppressed by the North Dakota Governor’s office for ten months.</p> <p>Director Steinwand told me in a letter dated May 18 that he had hoped to have the report, which was submitted to him by his staff in June of 2010, finalized by mid-summer 2011, “but that time frame has been moved to the end of May at the latest.”</p> <p>“Once the legislative session concluded I had a little more time to spend specifically on this effort,” Steinwand said in his letter, written in response to a letter I sent him on April 27, and which I also posted <a href="http://theprairieblog.areavoices.com/2011/05/14/166/">here </a>after I had not received a response in two weeks. “The review is essentially complete as I write this letter and anticipate that the end of May time frame will be easily reached once the edits are made, which are relatively minor. Once those tasks are accomplished we will place the document on our website.”</p> <p>Let me again suggest that the report, which is 120 pages single spaced, be also printed and made available to the public in a published report as well as online, as I suggested in my <a href="http://theprairieblog.areavoices.com/2011/04/16/what-i-have-failed-to-do/">first report on this issue</a>. I suspect most people who will be interested in reading it (sportsmen, environmentalists, outdoor enthusiasts, other concerned North Dakotans) would, like me, have to burn up a couple of ink cartridges to print a document of that size on our little home printers, and it is not realistic that we should want to read it on our computer screen. To offer it only online continues the obfuscation of the issue.</p> <p>The big question now, of course, is what action will the Game and Fish Department take in response to the recommendations contained in the report. Releasing the report is one thing. Taking action is another. Steinwand says much the same in his letter to me: “By itself it (the report) accomplishes nothing but the actions in the months and years to come will tell us if the strategy is effective.” I am not sure what strategy he is referring to. See if you can figure it out. I promised when I posted my letter to him that I would post his response to me. Here it is.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Dear Jim:</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">First, I apologize for not getting back to you sooner. I’m still catching up from a prolonged legislative session while dealing with the seemingly endless day to day issues that are larger this spring as they relate to water issues. Thank you for your recent letter regarding energy development in western North Dakota and wildlife. You asked a number of questions in your letter and I will try my best to answer most, if not all of them. I do want to emphasize one issue, however, that I thought was unstated but implied in your letter and that was that the department was “rolling over” for the energy industry. While it is an important part of North Dakota’s economy, I recognize what my job is in the state’s structure and that is to be an advocate for the fish and wildlife resource as well as those that enjoy and use it.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">I will first explain the purpose of the energy report. I asked a group of experts within the department to gather information from other states in the upper Midwest that was scientifically defensible and compile a report to the Director, which would ultimately be used to work with energy officials to reduce or avoid any potential impacts and identify any data gaps that might exist so we can more accurately predict what might or might not occur as a result of oil and gas activity. Given the amount of information provided in the report, it takes time to adequately review and provide a well thought out and logical strategy on how to move forward and accomplish what I’ve set out to do. Even though the report has not been give the “final” stamp, it doesn’t mean nothing is being done. We’ve consistently worked with energy companies on our lands (wildlife management areas) in the northwest on roads, pads, etc. to reduce any potential impacts, as well as other state agencies to determine what can be done to address concerns.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">My initial plans were to have the report to me final by mid-summer but that time frame has been moved to the end of May at the latest. Once the legislative session had concluded I had a little more time to spend specifically on this effort.The review is essentially complete as I write this letter and anticipate that the end of May time frame will easily be reached once the edits are made, which are relatively minor. Once those tasks are accomplished we will place the document on our website. This is a dynamic document and as we move forward and as more information is learned, the document will be periodically reviewed and updated. Again, while all of this is occurring, I have been in contact with the State Health Department since mid-winter and have met with Lynn Helms to discuss issues. These discussions are continuing and will continue well into the future. And as we progress, the list of participants will increase.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">As you well know, this is a complicated issue and I’ve learned over the years it’s not always as simple as it seems. All of the tasks you’ve listed for ‘next steps,’ e.g., interagency meetings, meeting with industry officials, etc., are part of the strategy we have to adapt and the plan tends to change as we learn new items. The work on these activities began months ago and the report is only part of the process. By itself it accomplishes nothing but the actions in the months and years to come will tell us if the strategy is effective.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Jim, I take my job seriously and personally. I will work with whomever I need to so the issues can be balanced. Fish and wildlife as well as the oil and gas industry will be on the landscape of North Dakota well after I’m gone. I want to do all I can to insure that the heritage of North Dakota and the well being of fish and wildlife resource of our great state in general is there for all to enjoy.</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Sincerely,</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Terry Steinwand</p> <p style="padding-left: 30px">Director</p> <p>Well, that was polite (much more polite than my letter to him) and cautiously guarded, and answered some of my questions. But the development is happening really, really fast, and actions by the department to protect more than just Game and Fish Department-owned lands need to happen really, really fast as well.</p> <p>Please set aside just an hour of your life to get the report and read it. Share your thoughts with the Director. Read the 19 action items recommended by the biologists in Appendix A and share your thoughts on them with the director, and with your local Legislators. There are a whole lot of critters out there depending on us. Let’s not let them down.</p> </div>Jim Fugliehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12461232645322745636noreply@blogger.com0