Making the News
30/08/13 05:30
I read an article in National Geographic about rising sea levels. The article had large, foldout maps that showed coastal areas that were threatened by extreme sea rise. One map showed the entire state of Florida under water. None of the maps showed our corner of the world to be particularly vulnerable. If the sea levels rise by a dozen or more feet, we’ll still be high and dry in the hills at the center of the continent.
Most of the time we enjoy being out of the news. Part of what we like about the place where we live is that we aren’t as crowded as some of the big cities. We like to have a little space and a little privacy and we don’t care if others make the headlines while we enjoy a bit of obscurity.
But there have been a couple of stories from our area that made national news lately. Our Governor Dennis Dugaard got his picture in the Washington Post. He wasn’t dressed for a state dinner with his hair perfectly combed. Actually our Governor’s hair is thinning quite a bit and he doesn’t wear it very long so it looks pretty much the same no matter what he is doing. But the photo isn’t one of him signing an important piece of legislation or meeting with industry leaders. It is of him skydiving.
Skydiving isn’t the Governor’s usual hobby. In fact he made his first skydive Wednesday evening, jumping tandem with Dan Spisak, an instructor with Skydive Adventures in Madison. The governor was fulfilling a promise he made as part of promoting the Children’s Miracle Network. He said he’d skydive if the Madison Dairy Queen restaurant sold 32,000 Blizard treats to benefit Children’s Miracle Network. Last year they sold 31,351, so the goal was definitely achievable. With the Governor’s support and promise, the restaurant broke all records and sold 38,412 Blizzards. So Governor Dugaard took the leap after the original date had to be rescheduled due to inclement weather. He landed safely and uninjured and from the news reports he enjoyed the experience.
I have no objection to the Governor taking a skydive. And I am happy that he supports Children’s Miracle Network. But the jump was pretty much assured from the time he made the promise. A little background is in order. The Diary Queen corporation backs all of its franchisees when they raise funds for Children’s Miracle Network. The corporation has chosen the charity as one of its focuses and supports it in a big way. Like many other corporate charities, they promote giving through the company and the company takes advantage of the tax deduction. And the Madison Dairy Queen has been the largest seller of Blizzards for Children’s Miracle Network for many years running. This is a successful fund-raiser and was very successful before the Governor appeared for his photo opportunity. Still, his pledge probably boosted sales a bit. I’d buy an ice cream treat if it contributed to the charity in the first place. I’d also buy one if it would get the Governor to skydive. Getting both bonuses for the same purchase put the people of Madison and the surrounding area in just the right mood and the ice cream fairly sailed out of the store.
Children’s Miracle Network funds support local hospitals, so the money raised by the Madison Dairy Queen will go to the Sanford Health USD Medical Center. I’m sure they do good work at Sanford Health, but it doesn’t strike me as being under-funded in the first place. Healthcare is a huge multi-billion dollar industry in the United States and Sanford Health is the biggest player in South Dakota. Although they are a non-profit corporation, the quarter of a million dollars that is raised in the Dairy Queen fundraiser is a tiny drop in the bucket of the money that flows through that institution.
It would have been more impressive if the Governor had found a way to support one of our struggling rural and isolated hospitals that serves people who would otherwise have to travel long distances for health care. Nobody raised a quarter of a million dollars for the Eagle Butte Clinic or the Bison hospital last week, and nobody is going to do it next week, either.
Still, if the Governor is going to make the national press, it is kind of nice to have him do so in a charitable and adventurous way. He does us good by helping the outside world to see what community-minded, generous and adventurous people we are.
The news from Leith, North Dakota wasn’t so good. That town made the New York Times. Now you have to have spent some time in Southwestern North Dakota to know where Leith is in the first place. It’s not like it is on the Interstate, or even a US highway. Leith is south of the road between Elgin and Carson. Originally laid out in a grid of four blocks by four blocks, the city now has two short streets south of Main so residents can have addresses on one of six east-west streets or four north-south avenues. It isn’t the county seat. It isn’t a big town. It made national news because a white supremacist, who has been driven out of other states and is wanted in Canada on charges of promoting hatred, has bought a home in town and has been about the business of purchasing additional properties for like-minded friends. He is using Craigslist and white power message boards to attract others in the movement to move to Leith.
House prices in Leith aren’t too high. Mr. Cobb paid $8,600 for his house, which doesn’t have functioning septic or running water. He is the talk of the town at the Leith Bar. The 2010 Census lists Leith as having 16 residents. Most locals wouldn’t mind growing to, say 25 or so, but they aren’t happy with someone trying to make their town a place where hatred is spread. I spent enough time in North Dakota to know that things might look differently after a long hard winter. I’m hoping that Mr. Cobb is treated to at least a couple of weeks of -30 this winter so he can sit in his house without running water or working sewer and contemplate whether or not he wants to live there.
The folks who have survived winter after winter are far kinder, more tolerant and better people.
As we used to say when I lived in North Dakota, -30 keeps the riff raff out.
Most of the time we enjoy being out of the news. Part of what we like about the place where we live is that we aren’t as crowded as some of the big cities. We like to have a little space and a little privacy and we don’t care if others make the headlines while we enjoy a bit of obscurity.
But there have been a couple of stories from our area that made national news lately. Our Governor Dennis Dugaard got his picture in the Washington Post. He wasn’t dressed for a state dinner with his hair perfectly combed. Actually our Governor’s hair is thinning quite a bit and he doesn’t wear it very long so it looks pretty much the same no matter what he is doing. But the photo isn’t one of him signing an important piece of legislation or meeting with industry leaders. It is of him skydiving.
I have no objection to the Governor taking a skydive. And I am happy that he supports Children’s Miracle Network. But the jump was pretty much assured from the time he made the promise. A little background is in order. The Diary Queen corporation backs all of its franchisees when they raise funds for Children’s Miracle Network. The corporation has chosen the charity as one of its focuses and supports it in a big way. Like many other corporate charities, they promote giving through the company and the company takes advantage of the tax deduction. And the Madison Dairy Queen has been the largest seller of Blizzards for Children’s Miracle Network for many years running. This is a successful fund-raiser and was very successful before the Governor appeared for his photo opportunity. Still, his pledge probably boosted sales a bit. I’d buy an ice cream treat if it contributed to the charity in the first place. I’d also buy one if it would get the Governor to skydive. Getting both bonuses for the same purchase put the people of Madison and the surrounding area in just the right mood and the ice cream fairly sailed out of the store.
Children’s Miracle Network funds support local hospitals, so the money raised by the Madison Dairy Queen will go to the Sanford Health USD Medical Center. I’m sure they do good work at Sanford Health, but it doesn’t strike me as being under-funded in the first place. Healthcare is a huge multi-billion dollar industry in the United States and Sanford Health is the biggest player in South Dakota. Although they are a non-profit corporation, the quarter of a million dollars that is raised in the Dairy Queen fundraiser is a tiny drop in the bucket of the money that flows through that institution.
It would have been more impressive if the Governor had found a way to support one of our struggling rural and isolated hospitals that serves people who would otherwise have to travel long distances for health care. Nobody raised a quarter of a million dollars for the Eagle Butte Clinic or the Bison hospital last week, and nobody is going to do it next week, either.
Still, if the Governor is going to make the national press, it is kind of nice to have him do so in a charitable and adventurous way. He does us good by helping the outside world to see what community-minded, generous and adventurous people we are.
House prices in Leith aren’t too high. Mr. Cobb paid $8,600 for his house, which doesn’t have functioning septic or running water. He is the talk of the town at the Leith Bar. The 2010 Census lists Leith as having 16 residents. Most locals wouldn’t mind growing to, say 25 or so, but they aren’t happy with someone trying to make their town a place where hatred is spread. I spent enough time in North Dakota to know that things might look differently after a long hard winter. I’m hoping that Mr. Cobb is treated to at least a couple of weeks of -30 this winter so he can sit in his house without running water or working sewer and contemplate whether or not he wants to live there.
The folks who have survived winter after winter are far kinder, more tolerant and better people.
As we used to say when I lived in North Dakota, -30 keeps the riff raff out.