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November 17, 2011
Page 3
eal
exc ange
The special session called by the
governor ran from Nov. 7-11.
Every 10 years a special session is
required to handle the federal
Census data and is usually limited
to legislative redistricting.
However, due to the unusual cir-
cumstances North Dakota faced this
year with the unprecedented flood-
ing and disasters the session was
expanded to handle other issues that
couldn't wait until the 2013 regular
session.
Legislative redistricting is
always a controversial issue, and
this year was no exception. We
have 47 legislative districts in North
Dakota and lines have to be redrawn
to refect an equal number of citi-
zens per district; 14,310 was the
magic number this year. It is so
unfortunate for the western counties
that the Census was conducted for
April 2010. It shows very little
growth when in reality there are
tens of thousands of people living
here who weren't counted, but the
committee had to work off of the
numbers compiled at that time.
People in western cities are reluc-
tant to call for another Census
count, because they would have the
financial obligation of paying to
have it done, but as we continue this
rapid population explosion we
should do a recount. We need more
representation not tess.
District 36 lines will change.
Dunn County has been split into
three legislative districts (36.39 and
4). The northwestern part of the
county including the city of
Killdeer has been put into District
39, everything south of Highway
200 stays with 36, and the north-
eastern comer stays with District 4.
This creates another financial bur-
den for the taxpayers of the county,
and despite a united effort from
Dunn County commissioners to
change this decision the committee
voted for the change. You do have
my promise to continue to work
very hard to represent all of the dis-
insurance
proposa
Speaker ' s Desk
By David Drovdal
State Representative
R -Arnegard
Dist. 39
Capitol Report
By Shirley Meyer
State Representative,
District 36
trict's constituents.
During the special session three
other issues were also considered.
Statewide flooding and infrastruc-
ture problems, state health care
exchanges, and the Sioux nickname
and logo repeal bill were all issues
that demanded legislative action
without waiting for two years until
the next session.
In the 2011 regular session, leg-
islation was approved to require the
University of North Dakota to con-
tinue its use of the Fighting Sioux
logo and nickname even though the
NCAA would sanction UND if the
name wasn't changed. During the
special session we repealed that law
and added an amendment that
directs UND not to adopt any nick-
name for the next three years in
order for the lawsuit filed by the
Spirit Lake Tribe to play out. So I
guess for the next three years it will
be the UND nothings'?
The Federal Health Care
Affordability Act is the current law
of the land. One of the provisions of
the Affordable Care Act requires
that states start implementing
health care exchanges. Health care
exchanges are agencies that com-
pile all the health care options avail-
able and then they create a structure
that informs consumers about these
options by using a navigator. The
exchanges are intended to otter sub-
sidized health insurance to people
who don't have coverage, and small
businesses that cannot afford to
extend health benefits to their
employees. The House defeated
HB 1474, which would have
allowed for the state to build its own
exchange, and now the federal gov-
ernment will build and operate one
for the state.
The final piece of legislation that
Time for driving in th
Well, the first flakes of winter
have been scattered across ,the
northern plains. Arid ! guess in
Colorado, the5' were really scat-
tered. Winds over the weekend of
well over one hundred miles per
hour! You don't see many pictures
of snow sitting six inches deep on a
fence post in that country. That even
makes the readers in Harding
County sit up and take notice!
And that little squall that blew
across our area already has affected
traffic. Several vehicles off the road
in oil country. That makes me a lit-
tle nervous. If our newfound friends
can't control their cars on the little
ice we had in this deal, it's going to
get pretty dana tough out there when
the snow is up to your pockets and
visibility down to the end of your
nose. Luckily, 1 have a fairly good-
sized nose !
I don't suppose there is anything
scarier than a good old Dakota
whiteout. You know the kind I
mean. One where you don't dare go
forward because you can't see the
road at all. You have Shirley hang-
ing out the window trying to see the
edge of the road. You don't dare
stop because you might get hit from
the back.
One time Kenny and I were
hauling a load of yearlings to
Hat Tips
m
Nebraska and got caught in a bliz-
zard in South Dakota. It was a rip-
per. Somewhere on 281 we came to
a junction where several trucks had
stopped. We turned our truck east
and shut down for the night. Wind
must have been seventy mph and
snowing hard. Visibility was less
than zero! By morning we had
drifted in and our fuel was gelling
up. We got the truck creeping ahead
and made it into Woonsocket.
That's right! Woonsocket! At
Woonsocket, the guy that owned
the bar also owned a feedlot. He got
his loader running and cleared
snow so we could get the cattle
unloaded. We spent the next three
days between an old hotel and a bar
and steakhouse in Woonsocket.
And that's all I'm going to say
about that. becanse Shirley reads
this column.
But the best blizzard story I can
come up with this morning relates
to a friend I had in the legislature
years ago. He had stopped at the
Pour Fama south of Minot on his
way home. Well, it was pretty nasty
and he needed a break from the
road. If I had been there, I wouldn't
have let him leave. You know,
passed during the session was a dis ....
aster relief measure. It was
designed to help cities that were
devastated by floods this summer,
but by the time it was heard in the
Appropriations Committee over 40
amendments had been offered. SB
2371 will spend nearly $158.9 mil-
lion from the general fund and
$215.5 million from out special
funds, plus authorizing the spending
of potential $235 million federal
funds from the Community
Development Block grants.
The bill set up a rebuilders loan
program for people whose homes
were damaged by flooding, provid-
ed for four Highway Patrol troopers
for western North Dakota, extended
housing incentive tax credits, and
provided funding of $23 million for
transportation in non-oil producing
counties.
We did score a win for the oil
and gas producing counties when
another $30 million was allocated
into the impact fund. These funds
are desperately needed if we are
,,oin,, to keep abreast of the ever-
demanding infrastructure needs of
our oil development. A total of $5
million were earmarked from the oil
and gas impact grant fund to allow
for distributions of $ i .25 million for
each new major oil-producing
county after November 2011 to
address the impact. A major new
oil-producing county is one that
produced less than 100,000 barrels
of oil in November 2011 and subse-
quently has more than four rigs
operating in the county. This is tai-
lor made for Hettinger County. As
the production heads south New
England will have more dollars to
plan with, and hopefully, avoid
some of pitfalls other counties have
incurred with the rapid develop-
ment.
I appreciate your comments and
suggestions on these or any other
issues. I can be reached at sjmey-
er@nd.gov or by phone at 225-
2736.
Legislatu
On Nov. 7, Gov. Dalrymple
called the 62nd legislative assembly
into a special session. He charged
us with four responsibilities and
they were redistricting, emergency
aid, health care and removing the
Sioux logo from the North Dakota
Century, Code.
Leadership had expressed a
desire to complete the work in five
days and we were able to keep that
schedule. Let me summarize the
results of the four topics.
First the redistricting - as you
may know every I0 years every
state has to reorganize the districts
so that every voter has an equal
voice in the legislative process. In
North Dakota that means that each
district has 13,410 citizens who
were counted in the Census. With
regard to District 39, which already
is the largest district by far, it grew
to include the part of Dunn County
north of Highway 200 and west of
Highway 22.
The increase is tess than 25 per-
cent of the current district, and no
new existing incumbents live in the
new district so an election is not
required until the normal terms of
the current legislators expire. The
population in the district's southern
part has remained stable over the
last t0 years and in the northern pan
has grown but the middle has gotten
smaller. (I wish I could say that
about my body). The state has
grown and my fellow legislators
would not increase the number of
districts so District 39 needed more
population to meet the criteria.
The emergency aid package
proved to be a large challenge.
The committee started taking
testimony and for 5 hours it was one
group after another explaining why
increases
they needed more money and that it
couldn't wait until the next regular
session. At that time I would have
assured you we would be there for
two weeks at least but the commit-
tee did its work and kept the bill as
defined by the governor. The final
bill has aid for the counties that suf-
fered flooded roads across the state
and the cities that were under
water. It also contained $30 million
in additional aid for oil and gas
counties because of the increase in
traffic. Williston State College got
help with security problems caused
by the oil development and $30 mil-
lion additional aid for oil impact
with priority to emergency servic-
es. The Legislature did fund four
additional highway patrol officers.
There could be as many as nine
patrol officers if everything happens
as predicted. I'll believe that when
it happens.
The health care bill received the
most discussion and debate. The
state was told that if it wanted to
maintain local control of the
providers of insurance we would
have to approve the plan that was
presented.
It was mandated and carried a
price tag of a $39 million unfunded
cost to establish the council that
would oversee the providers. North
Dakota is a proud state and always
has tried to maintain is sovereignty.
There were several reasons that I
couldn't support the legislation and
believe that most of my fellow leg-
of Dist. 39
islators felt the same. First it felt
like I was voting against the demo-
cratic way of doing business.
Second all the rules were being
made by the federal government
behind closed doors so what control
would the state really have?
Third, there is always the hope
that some of the more controversial
parts of the health plan will be
revisited and overturned. It should
also be noted that North Dakota is
one of a number of states in a law-
suit trying to overturn the health
care bill. The I~egislature even
authorized the attorney general
money to proceed with the case so
why would we support the imple-
mentation of the plan? We didn't.
The Sioux logo debate was short
and soulful. There was little sup-
port in removing the logo from
UND but we had done everything
we could do to try and save it. The
bill did not remove the logo but
removed the requirement to main-
tain it out of the North Dakota
Century Code book. It probably
should never have been there but we
had to show the NCAA that we
were indeed serious in maintaining
the log0. Now the matter is back in
the hands of the Board of Higher
Education and UND. I don't think
the last volley has been fired in this
debate. Long live the Fighting
Sioux!
The next legislative session is
scheduled for January 2013. If
Measure 2 passes next summer we
will most likely be back in special
session next fall to do budgets for
all the subdivisions. If you would
like any information concerning
Measure Two or any other interim
studies you can reach me at ddrov-
dal@nd.gov.
Disaster assistance available for small businesses
Small, non-farm businesses in 52
North Dakota counties and neighbor-
ing counties in Minnesota, Montana
and South Dakota are now eligible to
apply for low-interest disaster loans
from the U. S. Small Business
Administration.
i "These loans offset economic
snow aga n losses because of reduced revenues
caused by the combined effects of
"friends don't let friends. "' spring snowstorms, frosts and freezes
..,A,,n)~'aY;. he stopped and vis!ted in late spring and early fall. excessive
quite awhile. And when he took off rain fltaadino ~,rnnM ~.atnrntion'
he shouldn't haveoeen on me roaa. landslides, high winds, hail, toma-
And luckily, he wasn't for very does. periods of unseasonably cool
long.
He ran in the ditch a bit down the
road. And being a good law abiding
citizen he was determined to not
speed. That snow was blowing by
his car and he kept both hands on
the wheel. He held that speedometer
at 55 mph for several minutes, not
realizing he was sitting still.
The patrolman walked up to his
window and tapped on it! Yeowwl!!
You can imagine how that old boy
jumped! To this day, he has never
taken another drink.
I miss him.
Later, Dean
spring temperatures, excessive sum-
mer heat. and weather-related insects
and diseases beginning January 1.
2011 .... " said Alfred E. Judd. direc-
tor of SBA's Disaster Field
Operations Center-West.
Primary North Dakota counties
include: Billings, Dunn, Golden
Valley, and McKenzie. Neighboring
North Dakota counties: Adams,
Burleigh, Emmons, Kidder, Logan,
Morton, Sheridan, Sioux, Slope and
Stark. Neighboring Montana coun-
ties: Fallon, Richland and Wibaux.
"SBA eligibility covers both the
economic impacts on businesses
LAND FOR SALE BY BIDS
320 ACRES +/-
GOLDEN VALLEY COUNTY
Township 141 N Range 105W
Section 1 South Va
BIDS DUE DECEMBER 1, 2011
Contact: Jim Pojorlie, Realtor
West Plains Realty, Inc. ° 701-260-0141
dependent on farmers and ranchers
that have suffered agricultural pro-
duction losses caused by the disaster
and businesses directly impacted by
the disaster," Judd said.
Small, nonfarm businesses, small
agricultural cooperatives, small busi-
nesses engaged in aquaculture and
most private, nonprofit organizations
of any size may qualify for economic
injury disaster loans of up to $2 mil-
lion to help meet financial obliga-
tions and operating expenses which
could have been methad the disaster
not occurred.
Applicants may apply online
using the electronic loan application
via SBA's secure Web site at
https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela.
Disaster loan information and
application forms are also available
from SBA's Customer service Center
by calling SBA toil-free at (800) 659-
2955. e-mailing disastercustomerser-
vice@sba gov, or visiting SBA's Web
site at p,~
www.sba.gov/services/disasterassista
nce. Individuals who are deaf or
hard-of-hearing maycall (800) 877- ;
8339. " "
The deadline to apply for these
loans is June 25, 2012.
Display your North Dakota Pride
with the
2012 North Dakota Horizons
Calendarl
we can mail direct to all on your gift list!
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e,~c, 13 stunning photos from across the state!
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Visa, MasterCard and Discover accepted!
Community Learning
& Technology Center
Upcoming Classes
Quickbooks: Level 1
Nov. 29 & 30, Dec. 6 & 7
4:30 p.m.- 8:30 p.m.
Class Fee: $125
Computer Basics
Nov. 28, Dec. 1, 5 & 8
5:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Class Fee: $65
For more information or to reg-
ister visit www.tearntechcen-
ter.org call 701-872-3121.
Michael Wolf
Benefit Supper
Silent & Pie Auctions
4-7 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 20
St. Bernard's Parish Center
Michael will be going to the
Craig Institute Hospital in Den-
ver for rehabilitation. A benefit
account has also been set up
for him at Great Plains Na-
tional Bank, c/o Kim Obrige-
witch, P.O. Box 248, Belfield,
ND 58622.
• Afternoon Entertainment
• House Tours
• Carriage Rides
• English High Tea
• Live Stage Performance
• Street Food Vendors
• Ride the Queen Elizabus
• Lighted Parade
• English Marl~et Craft Fair
Ticl~ets go on sale Nov. 7 ONLINE
dichensfestival.com
1-800-799-4242
Call Us Now!
ask for Wan.__.._ee
Suniner Specials
281 E MalN - BEACH ND 701-872-4362
0
Pull Bingo Black
Tabs Sue Tosner, $50 Jack
11/11 L,,,. Faa.y a sw,d
Hours: Mon-Fri. 3pm-lam Sat. lpm-lam
Happy Hour: Mon.-Thurs. 5:30-6:30pm