Great Breaking News Out Of North Dakota Today--For Now

Yes, great news:

Army Corps of Engineers Denies Dakota Access Pipeline Route

Mind you, it's temporary. It's great news but it's temporary:

The Army Corps of Engineers has told the Oceti tribe that it will halt work on the controversial Dakota Access Pipeline in order to conduct an environmental impact study, the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe announced.

We're just a bit over a month away from having a new president installed in the White House, of course, first.  Second, there's the fact that, actually, the president-elect has a financial interest in seeing the pipeline go forward.

Trump Owns Stake In Hotly Disputed 

$3.8 Billion Oil Pipeline

So, no surprise.

Trump stands with Big Oil, backs the Dakota Access pipeline

So sure, it's a win for today. It's good news. I just don't think it's permanent. I expect this pipeline will go forward.

Area cities "Best...for Jobs"

There's an article out on MSN's carrer page of the latest news showing "13 of the Best Cities for Jobs" and some area cities are on the list.

Most notable are Lincoln, Nebraska at number one.

1. Lincoln, Neb.
Unemployment rate: 3.8 percent
Percent change from last year: -0.8
Mean annual earnings: $39,310

And Columbia, Mo at number 11:

11. Columbia, Mo.
Unemployment rate: 4.8 percent
Percent change from last year: -2.0
Mean annual earnings: $37,780

Other things to be noted on the list overall is that there are more than a few cities from the midwest, most notably in the Dakotas and Iowa with Bismarck (ND) at no. 2,
Fargo (ND) at 4, Ames (Ia) at 5, Iowa City (Ia) at 6 and Sioux Falls (SD) at 7. It seems the growth in the nation is here in the midwest and heartland.

Link: http://msn.careerbuilder.com/Article/MSN-2980-Job-Info-and-Trends-13-of-the-best-cities-for-jobs/?SiteId=cbmsnhp42980&sc_extcmp=JS_2980_home1

Most/least religious states

The Gallup Polling organization released its finding on the Most and Least Religious states and came up with some surprising and some terribly predictable data. Missouri ranks as 16th "most religious", tying with Nebraska and North Dakota for that spot. Kansas came up a little bit higher on the list (unfortunately but not surprisingly) with a rating of 13, tying with South Dakota. What this means is that 44% of respondents said they were "very religious" in Missouri's shared 16th spot while 45% of Kansans said they were "very religious." Good for them. As for the "top" (or bottom, depending how you look at it) spots, no surprise there as most of them are all in the South, with the exception of the State theocracy also known as Utah. Mississippi came in the number one (or 50th) spot (again, depending how you view it. Link: http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/03/29/where-are-the-most-religious-states-in-america/

Missouri River: One of American's "most polluted"

Yessiree, our own Missouri River is ranked as one of "America's Top 10 Most Polluted Waterways." To anyone who knows anything about it, that should come as no surprise. I once heard a statistic--I'll have to verify it--that once the water gets here, it's already been through 5 human systems. If true, that's the least of our concers. Anyway it's in the latest edition of "Mother Jones" but the original data is from the Environment America Research and Policy Center. (Both links below). Why the Missouri, you ask? Well, it gets 4,887,971 pounds of total toxic discharges put into it every year and 19,553,305 pounds of toxic discharges put into it from its entire watershed region. Unfortunately, the "Big Muddy" isn't the only river in the region that is cited in the report. It seems the Kansas River also gets 10,485 pounds of "developmental and reproductive toxicant releases" put into it, too. These are "those shown toimpede the proper physical and mental development of fetuses and children" so if we can't do this for ourselves and/or the fish and wildlife, as we ought, maybe we can and should do it for our children and grandchildren.

There are two more rivers, too, in Missouri that receive these developmental and reproductive toxicant releases. They are Crooked Creek and Bee Fork Creek. They're getting these "...because of heavy discharges of lead from mines and smelters operated by the Renco Group and Doe Run Resources Corp." The name of the original report gives you an idea, I think, of just what we're talking about here, too: "Wasting Our Waterways 2012; Toxic Industrial Pollution and the Unfulfilled Promise of the Clean Water Act" The report goes on to emphasize that the Federal Government needs to both follow the original Clean Water Act but also toughen it. We need it. Besides creating fish kills, the discharges we're talking about here are frequently highly carcinogenic, again, no surprise. Corporations won't want it but it's what we need to do, for all of us. In the current environment, I just don't see that happening but there's always hope. This is one more thing we will have to demand of our government representatives and government, in order to get what is needed. It has to come from us. Links: http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2012/03/top-10-polluted-rivers-waterways; http://www.environmentamerica.org/reports/ame/wasting-our-waterways-2012

Omaha, Nebraska?? No. 4 on "America's Happiest Cities" List?

I'm stunned. Men's Health Magazine rated America's 100 "Happiest" and "Saddest" cities, as I said in the last post and check this out--unbelievably, Omaha, Nebraska came out number four on the list of "Happiest". You gotta' be kidding me. In what way is that? I mean, I like Omaha--to visit--and I love their "old town" area--from Spring to Fall--but one of the nation's "happiest cities"? Yikes. You're kidding me. Did they not either go there from November to March or hear about it? Then there's the fact that there's the "old town" area and--guess what--that's it. That's all there is to see in that city. Well, besides, maybe the Doorly Zoo but even that is, again, from the best, mildest, warmest part of Spring through the best part of Fall. I'm stunned. And once again, on these lists, nearby Lincoln, NE is close by at number 11. Excuse me, but with the exceptions of college football or business, why would anyone go to Lincoln? I don't get it. Link: http://www.menshealth.com/best-life/frown-towns?cm_mmc=Huffington_Post-_-Frown%20Towns-_-Article-_-Frown%20Towns

KC: Do you have any idea how lucky we are?

Think about it--Texas is suffering from who knows how many consecutive days of more than 100 degree days and no rain--none--so they have a horrible drought. Oklahoma? Very similar. To the North of us, the Dakotas and Montana and a few states up there flooded whole towns earlier this year that they're still working out of. We all know about Joplin, Missouri's awful tornado, destruction and rebuilding. California's economy and budget are both in the toilet. Same for Florida and Las Vegas, at least, along with Phoenix. I could go on here but you get the idea. We, on the other hand, though putting up with an admittedly tough economy, haven't experienced the truly desperate and difficult extreme drops other parts of the country have and though some parts of the area may be a bit dry, we really aren't suffering from a prolonged drought. Additionally, the temperatures--especially for August--have been far milder and even, dare I say it? pleasant, as it was this morning, after that rain and wind blew through. Could it be better? Sure, it always can be. But if we aren't counting our--these--blessings, we are an ungrateful lot, for sure. Now, here's hoping it holds. Have a great weekend, y'all.

A prescient, observant brother and citizen

My brother emailed me today and informed of the following letter he wrote to the US Army Corps of Engineers last December--see the date--cautioning them on the record snows up North and what might be expected:

                                                        December 23, 2010

Dear General Van Antwerp;

Record snowfall in the Dakotas and Minnesota and this is only December.  Please, please consider increasing the release of water from upstream dams on the Missouri river now to lessen the chances for flooding in downstream states this spring.  Your early action now can make all the difference for farmers and residents in many states.

Sincerely and respectfully,

And sure, it can be argued that they have to be cautious and careful but here's the case of an aware citizen, lacking all the information they have at their disposal and already, back in December, noticing a record amount of snowfall up North, thinking it might be prudent to increase the flow of these upstream dams on the Missouri, as a precaution, far in advance of possible heavier flooding.  

They didn't start doing it until many, many months later.

It's a little bit of "armchair quarterbacking" now, in June, but it surely wasn't back then, in December.

Just saying.

Good call, bro.

Fires and floods, all from today's news: what's going on

Check this out.  All these headlines and news stories are out just today, fresh off the wire.  This is what's going on across the country right now.

First, fires.

The ones in Arizona:

Arizona forest fire expands to 233,000 acres

Major wildfire spreads across eastern Arizona

Then on the East Coast:

Wildfire smoke drifts 130 miles up Ga. coast

Wildfires Buring 200K Acreas In NE Fla.

‎


Then Texas, you can't forget Texas:

Wildfires continue to burn in several counties ‎ And Colorado: Colorado health department warns of dangerous haze from wildfires Next up is the flooding. First Nebraska: Farmers Can Prepare for Flooding Now Low-level emergency declared at Fort Calhoun nuke plant ‎‎ Then Iowa: Platte River flood threat in Nebraska‎ Modale Residents Prepare For Historic Flooding ‎ Governor says Missouri River flooding worst in his lifetime (audio)‎ Montana: Wyoming residents reach out to Montana flood victims ‎ Missouri on the Western side: Federal, State Officials Warn of Long-Term Missouri River Flooding ‎ And check out this little beauty from this story, here, above, in case you wonder when it will be over:   (Washington, DC) -- More water will be released into the Missouri River than ever before in the coming months as federal officials work to deal with record amounts of rain and mountain snow packs. Kevin Grody of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers warns the mountain snow pack in Montana has not started to melt much yet and cited several inches of rain in the past few weeks. Grody said the release of water from several reservoirs will more than double previous records for releases. He said the six dams on the Missouri River are in good shape and are not expected to have any problems, but said the levee system could be troublesome due to a mix of levees built for different levels of flood protection. Federal officials expect flooding to continue on the Missouri River into mid-August at the earliest. Then there's Missouri on the Eastern side: Missouri River Flooding Expected ‎ Illinois: CF Industries to close plant on flooding worries ‎ Minnesota: Amtrak service between St. Paul and Spokane to resume Tuesday ‎ Then there's the different areas experiencing drought to severe drought across the country. There's South Carolina: SC drought alert and brush, grass fires start early for Anderson area ‎ And Colorado: Drought plagues rangeland - The Pueblo Chieftain: News And Texas, again: Water restrictions increase amid Texas drought And Oklahoma:   Drought grows more dire in Texas and Oklahoma And Kansas: Winter wheat harvest begins in Kansas amid drought fears Then we can't forget the tornadoes this year in Tuscaloosa, Alabama and then our own Joplin, just down the road, along with Reading, Kansas, of course. According to the American Red Cross, this is just some of the things they've responded to this year alone: American Red Cross volunteers have staffed numerous disaster response efforts so far this spring, including those still underway in Alabama and Mississippi, the recent storms in Massachussets, Missouri, Oklahoma and Minnesota, flooding in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana and Vermont, and the anticipated flooding right here in Nebraska. My point is only that there sure seems like there's a heckuva lot going on, weather-wise, and that most of it hasn't been good by a long shot. The sky isn't falling but it's busy. ‎

Flooding coming down the Missouri

That flooding that was formerly way up North in Montana and the Dakotas is now coming down already to Southern Iowa and Northwest Missouri:

Army expects floods to fully breach the Missouri River levee

By GRANT SCHULTE, Associated Press 

HAMBURG, Iowa – Massive sandbags dropped on a faltering Missouri River levee have temporarily fortified the floodwall and given Army engineers more time to construct a secondary barrier to protect a threatened Iowa community, authorities said Monday.

The earthen levee, which guards an area of farmland and small towns between Omaha, Neb., and Kansas City, has been partially breached in at least two places south of Iowa's border with Missouri, and emergency management officials said they expect new breaches in the coming days as the river rises.

"We anticipate these compromises rearing their ugly heads all up and down the levee system throughout this event," Rhonda Wiley, the emergency management director for Atchison County, Mo., said Sunday. "It's not a pretty picture."

The Army Corps of Engineers began building a secondary flood wall to protect low-lying areas of Hamburg, Iowa, because it expects the northernmost breach of the floodwall, which is 5 miles southwest of town, to fully give way at some point.

That breach constituted a 10- to 15-foot-wide section of the levee collapsing in on itself on Sunday, Kim Thomas, the head of the corps' emergency management office in Omaha, said in a statement. The corps evacuated its personnel from the area and the Iowa National Guard used a helicopter to drop 22 half-ton sandbags on the weakened section, stabilizing it temporarily.

Although Hamburg is upriver, a full breach of that section of levee would cause floodwater to flow northward over the flat terrain and threaten the town's low-lying southern neighborhoods.

About half of Hamburg's roughly 1,100 residents were ordered Sunday to leave their homes within 24 hours, and that process should be completed by Monday evening, said John Benson, a spokesman for Iowa's department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

Several residents of Atchison County were also ordered to leave.

And the heck of it is that the dams much farther North were only recently opened so it's only going to get far worse over the next few weeks, unfortunately.  If you drive along the Missouri River as I do so frequently, you know the river is nearly over its banks already.

Also, so you know where Hamburg, Iowa is, it's only about 20 miles as the crow flies, Northwest of Rockport, Missouri, which had it's own temporary breach:

An earlier breach of the levee near Rock Port, 15 miles south of Hamburg, caused a leak that shot water like a "like a small geyser," said Gen. Derek Hill, head of the Iowa Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. Crews stabilized that partial breach, the corps said.


The Missouri River was expected to rise about 8 feet to 1,098 feet above sea level by June 14 in the city of about 2,500 people, some of whom have evacuated ahead of the planned crest. Officials said construction of the primary levee is still under way to protect the city 2 feet beyond the projected high level.

It's just going to get significantly worse before this goes away.

Neighboring states with "Healthiest Housing Markets"

There's yet another media ranking out there right now, this one by CNBC, rating "States with the Healthiest Housing Markets".  It seems we aren't on it but neighbors Iowa and Nebraska are, for anyone and everyone interested in real estate and housing:


No. 5   Iowa
Debt as percent of income: 13% 
Unemployment rate: 6.1%
Home ownership: 71.1%
Negative equity: 42.9%
Average home price: $152,000
Loan as percent of home value: 66.7%
Percent of U.S. Market: 0.42%

Iowa has some of the lowest real estate prices in the top 10. But it has one of the highest rates of negative equity in the top 10, which is probably what kept them from ranking higher on the list, Findlay said. Other than that, it has the best debt as a percent of income on the list at 13% and it has a low unemployment rate. “They just missed out on taking the gold!”, according to the article

No. 8   Nebraska
Debt as percent of income: 15% 
Unemployment rate: 4.3% 
Home ownership: 70.4% 
Negative equity: 46.5% 
Average home price: $160,000 
Loan as percent of home value: 72.3% 
Percent of U.S. Market: 0.28% 

Nebraska has two big hits against it, Findlay notes: It has the worst negative equity in the top 10 at 46.5%, compared to the national average of 35%, plus its loan as a percent of home value is higher than the national average. Offsetting those items, however, are the fact that they have a low unemployment rate at 4.3% and very low debt as a percent of income (15%, vs. the national average of 27%).

For what it's worth, North Dakota was in the number one position.


Final, side note:  I love this picture they used, too, shown above, of Iowa.  Besides farm fields, this depicts Iowa to me, perfectly.

Links:  http://www.cnbc.com/id/42557873?__source=yahoorealestate|healthiesthousing|&par=yahoorealestate
http://www.cnbc.com/id/42557873?slide=4
http://www.cnbc.com/id/42557873?slide=7

Kansas No. 5 on list of states people are fleeing

Yikes.

Not a good list to be on.

Forbes Magazine came out with yet another "Top 10" list today.  This one is the "Top 10 States People Are Fleeing".

I really didn't think Kansas or Missouri, either one, would be on this list but there it is.

Top 10 States People Are Fleeing

New York, Illinois and Louisiana are expected to lose more residents than they gain this year
 
Midwestern states, in fact, are well-represented in the top-10 list. Nebraska (No. 4), Kansas (No. 5) and North Dakota (No. 9) are among the many central states projected to lose residents in 2010.

You can understand, I think, why people would be leaving Louisiana, after the big BP oil spill and the devastation it caused both environmentally and economically.  That's understandable.

Mississippi is on the list and I get that, too, between, again, the BP oil spill and the state's infamous poverty but at least they're at number 10, not number 5, as Kansas is.  Neighbors Illinois (No 2), Nebraska (no. 4) and Iowa (No.6) are all on the list, too.  It seems people are still headed to the South (Texas) and Southwest.

Kansas' statistics:

Projected Loss: 4,200 people
Population: 2.9 million
Percentage Change: -0.14%
The Census Bureau reports modest gains for Kansas since 2007. The losses expected this year are similar to those seen in the earlier part of the decade, when the state lost an average of 4,500 per year.

What this doesn't tell you, though, is if people were leaving Kansas, Nebraska, the Dakotas and Iowa for jobs...

or to fight off the boredom.

Have a great weekend, y'all.

Link:  http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/top-10-states-people-are-fleeing.html

Manhattan, KS on "Best Small Cities" list

Yes, you read it right--Manhattan, Kansas makes it--at number 3, no less, out of 10--on Forbes Magazine's "best small American cities for business and careers". Good on ya', "Little Apple": ...Manhattan, Kansas, Bismarck, N.D., and Logan, Utah round out the top five cities on our list.." while "Iowa was the clear standout in the ranking with five metros in the top 20 including Iowa City, which ranked No. 2 (Des Moines nabbed the top spot on out the list of bigger metros). Other leading Iowa metros include No. 13 Waterloo, No. 14 Sioux City, No. 15 Dubuque and No. 17 Ames. They share some similar characteristics like business costs at least 16% below the national average and crime rates that fare at least 16% lower. These metros are all home to top-ranked colleges that churn out a steady crop of highly educated labor Not to be outdone, our own Columbia, Missouri makes it at a very strong and respectable no. 8 so good for you, Mizzou. A final note, you might look at that entire list- and see that most all of that list--6 out of 10--come from right here in the heartland, too, folks--Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and North and South Dakota. There's something to be said for living right, don't you think? Link to original post: http://realestate.yahoo.com/promo/americas-best-small-cities-for-business-and-careers

Good Kansas news

Kansas ranks under the headline "10 States With Ridiculously Low Unemployment -- And Why" just now on Yahoo News and the Business Insider. Check it out: 7. Kansas: Powered by agriculture, energy, and aerospace; Unemployment Rate: 6.5%; Lower Than America's Unemployment Rate By: 3.0%; Major Industries Driving The State's Economy: Kansas isn't the land of Dorothy anymore, although it is still a major grain producer and retains its agricultural roots. These days, the state is also a major oil and natural gas producer and is also a hub of the aerospace industry; % of adult population with a Bachelor's degree or more: 28.8% (Higher than average). Also noteworthy is that Nebraska ranks 3rd and Iowa in the final, 10th spot. Then see who's numbers one and two---the "boring" Dakotas--North Dakota in the number one spot and South at 2. If you also take into consideration Minnesota is ranked at 9, if you took us all out of the picture--us midwesterners--you wouldn't have much of a list, would you? It makes that economic roller coaster ride the East and West coasts take look less appealing all the time, doesn't it? Riddle to close: What state, with the name that sounds like "misery", is NOT on the list? Link to original post: http://finance.yahoo.com/tech-ticker/10-states-with-ridiculously-low-unemployment----and-why-535377.html?tickers=^dji,^gspc,spy,dia,udn,edv,uup