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Cavalier County

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Single Copy Volume 134

Republican cavaliercountyextra.com

In this issue:

Copyright © Langdon, North Dakota

Turn to Page 5 to see results from the Cavalier County 4-H Achievment Day. Cards of Thanks can be found on Page 6.

Index

OPINION CHURCH COMMUNITY SPORTS PRO DIR AG PN CLASSIFIED

PAGE 4 PAGE 6 PAGE 7 PAGE 8 PAGE 9 PAGE 10 PAGE 10-12 PAGE 13

Just before the 2019 session of the North Dakota Legislature, Sen. Rich Wardner came up with the ideal name for what would become House Bill No. 1066, Operation Prairie Dog. This bill would aim to provide up to $250 million from oil and gas tax revenue for funding infrastructure needs across the state, including $115 million to the Municipal Infrastructure Fund, $115 million to the County and Township Infrastructure Fund, and $20 million to the Airport Infrastructure Fund. These three funds represent the three allocation “buckets” that are covered by the bill. “Operation Prairie Dog is one we set up to help political subdivisions (cities, counties, and townships) last session with infrastructure needs. Our roads and bridges need major repairs, and the property tax revenue source dedicated to them in the ND Constitution doesn’t keep up. We have used oil money for 'one time' projects like this to help keep property taxes from bearing the burden of these types of repairs. We have used oil revenue to provide property tax relief over the years in this manner,” District 10 Representative David Monson said. But that was before the price of oil fell dramatically and cut sharply into anticipated oil tax revenues, delaying the filling of those buckets. Monson, along with the District 10 Representative Charles

Damschen and Senator Janne Myrdal, stated that North Dakotans need to 'remember that oil is a finite commodity and will run out at some time in our future'. Monson specifically notes that during his time as a ND legislator, he has seen oil swing from $7 per barrel to over $100 per barrel and back down to below $40 per barrel. The same goes for oil production numbers increasing from thousands to hundreds of thou-

Crosby, executive director of the North Dakota League of Cities, said that city officials are being told not to expect any funds from the Prairie Dog Bill during this biennium. In Cavalier County, Operation Prairie Dog would have been a much-needed boon to the necessary projects still waiting to even be started. County road supervisor Terry Johnston knows that the Prairie Dog Fund does not look promising for a means

sands to over a million barrels of sweet Bakken crude a day. “So, this is the fate of the Prairie Dog Bill. The oil price and production slipped since Covid-19 causing the oil revenue to drop below the trigger points needed to fill the Prairie Dog buckets. Thus, the expected money to the political subdivisions is not there. This causes some hardships, obviously, as they were making plans to do a lot of infrastructure repairs and maintenance this summer with that extra money,” Monson said. City and town officials have put planning infrastructure projects on hold in the meantime. Blake

of income for projects at this time which is very unfortunate for one of the main thoroughfares the county wanted to address. “The county was depending on the Prairie Dog Funds for many projects, such as an improvement on County Road #55 through the Pembina Gorge and other gravel road projects,” Johnston said. The City of Langdon had viewed the potential funding from Prairie Dog as a nice bonus to make the proposed projects for the city easier for residents to handle when it comes time to pay for it. Moore Engineering's Andrew Aakre has worked closely with the City Commission

Spotlight on Economics: COVID-19 creating uncertainty in markets By Frayne Olson, Crops Economist/ Marketing Specialist NDSU Agribusiness and Applied Economics Department

Crop market traders and industry analysts watch the weather forecasts and crop condition ratings very closely during July and August. These months are critical time periods for determining U.S. corn and soybean yield potential, and this year is no exception. However, the COVID-19 pandemic also is creating high levels of uncertainty in the grain and livestock markets. The combination of these two factors leads to considerable price volatility, which increases risk exposure but also can create marketing opportunities. Developing a crop marketing plan in this environment just got harder. Most people I visit with about crop marketing understand how changes in supply can impact prices. The price response to changes in planted and harvested acreage, crop yields and current grain inventories are well understood. However, the price impacts from changes to demand for crops is more complicated, especially when trying to anticipate the impacts from the COVID-19 virus. Agricultural products primarily are used for food, fuel and fiber. However, the major crops,

Monday, July 27, 2020

such as corn, soybeans and wheat, are processed and used as ingredients for multiple final products bought by consumers. This means that changes in consumer purchasing patterns do not directly impact crop prices; the impacts are indirect. The supply chain that connects farmers to consumers can have many links, depending upon the product. The COVID-19 pandemic is forcing political and economic systems to balance public health concerns with economic activity. Instituting stay-athome/work-from-home orders, closing schools and selected business, and limiting travel have helped slow the spread of the virus but have created significant economic challenges, which is changing consumer demand. In economics, the term “effective demand” has a specific meaning. Effective demand is defined as a consumer want or need that is supported by an ability to pay. This means that individuals must prioritize what and when they buy products and services against a limited budget. Everyone has a different set of priorities about wants and needs, as well as different budget limits. Overgeneralizing about how consumers may respond to changes is a common mistake. What have we learned so

far about changing demand for crops, domestic and international, due to COVID-19? The agricultural supply chains with the fewest links between farmer and end consumer have been impacted the most. The demand for gasoline and ethanol dropped rapidly when the stay-at-home/work-from-home orders were implemented. Lower demand for ethanol caused corn prices to fall. States are beginning to relax the stay-at-home orders and motor fuel demand is recovering. However, many forecasters don’t expect motor fuel demand to fully recover for another 12 to 18 months. Corn demand from the ethanol industry is expected to increase slightly from today’s levels. Overall consumer demand for meat has remained strong, but the most popular type of meat products and packaging sizes have changed. Restaurants purchase meat in bulk while individuals purchase small packages in the grocery store to be prepared at home. High-value meat cuts such as steak and ribs are most often sold to restaurants, while hamburger, chicken and pork chops are more often sold in grocery stores. Restaurant closures have reduced the demand for highvalue meats in bulk packaging while demand for small concont. on page 3

on finding funding for their street and infrastructure projects. Thus far, the city and Moore have been diligent in finding the best sources of funding in the form of grants and low interest loans. Fortunately, for the city, the way they only viewed the Prairie Dog money was “as nice to have” rather than "counted on" funding option. “The first thing I thought when I learned about Operation Prairie Dog was that it seemed like it would be a perfect avenue for the city to find money for street improvements. At the time, the price of oil and the tax revenue that is the Prairie Dog Fund was high enough to where Langdon was going to be able to completely re-do all the streets in the proper fashion within three to four years,” Langdon City Commissioner Jerry Nowatzki said. “However, when COVID hit and pretty much took the bottom out of the oil market, Prairie Dog money is not going to happen for us, and I'm a pessimist, so I'm going to say at least three years now before the bucket is full, and they disperse the money.” Sponsors of the bill expect the promise of Operation Prairie Dog will be fulfilled eventually. That eventually is dependent on when the price of oil and production comes back. Wardner said the decrease in oil tax revenue to North Dakota was due to falling oil prices, the pandemic’s effect on travel and other use of petroleum products, and a recent federal court’s order to shut down the Dakota Access Pipeline. “When you put the three of cont. on page 2

Deuce of August celebration set By Melissa Anderson Republican Editor

The Icelandic community of Mountain invites one and all to the Deuce of August celebration happening the first weekend in August. The event has trimmed some of the usual weekend festivities due to

dent of Icelandic Communities Association, said. One of the first events that was decided to be canceled was the tractor pull because it was such an expensive event. The financial risk of staging the event when attendance was expected to be down was too much. In June, the review

At many of the past Deuce of August parades, Icelandic dignitaries ride on floats. File photo. COVID-19, but the majority of the festivities, including the parade and Heritage Program, will continue. “We wanted to give a little time and see how this pandemic would develop before we made decisions. We thought it was premature to be making decisions back when this first started or even March or April. We started making decisions in May,”Curtis Olafson, Presi-

of other events lead to a few others being canceled such as the street dance. “We always knew right from the beginning that we would go ahead with the parade. We think that can be very safely done without any worries about large numbers of people mingling in the area,” Olafson said. “We came up with what I cont. on page 2

Farmers & Merchants State Bank

STAY INFORMED, SAFE AND HEALTHY

(701)256-5431 • www.fmbanklangdon.com

For resources and guidance regarding COVID-19, log onto the following:

816 3rd Street, Langdon, ND 58249

cdc.gov/coronavirus ndhealth.gov/diseases-conditions/coronavirus Member FDIC

Number 30

Operation Prairie Dog funds delayed for state infrastructure projects BY LUCIE KRISMAN N.D. Newspaper Association By Melissa Anderson Republican Editor

Catch up with the latest from the Cavalier County Commissioners and Langdon Area School Board on Page 3.

Official Newspaper of Cavalier County Published since 1889


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