32 United States The EconomistJune 9th 2018
2 the caricature of capitalists,” says Daniel
Schulman, author of “Sons of Wichita”, a
book on the Koch clan.
In the past couple of years the Kochs
have toned down their activism, in part be-
cause they could not bring themselves to
back Donald Trump’s run for the presiden-
cy. (Charles once likened the choice be-
tween Mr Trump and Hillary Clinton to
choosing between cancer and a heart at-
tack.) They differ from Mr Trump on trade
and immigration, explains Grover Nor-
quist of Americans for Tax Reform, a lobby
group. Three organisations financed by the
Kochs, includingAFPand Freedom Part-
ners, announced on June 4th the launch of
a multimillion-dollar campaign against Mr
Trump’s tariffs on imports.
The Kochs’ political organisations, aswell as the professorships they finance,
will endure even without David’s active in-
volvement, as long as the funds are flow-
ing. They are run by seasoned political op-
eratives who have become more eclectic in
their choices.AFPrecently paid for an ad-
vertisement thanking Heidi Heitkamp, a
senator from North Dakota who is one of
the most vulnerable Democrats up for re-
election, for helping to pass legislation
loosening some of the key provisions of
Dodd-Frank, a stringent set of banking
rules. And the Charles Koch Institute,
which does public-policy research, is now
focused on criminal-justice reform to fight
what Charles calls the “overcriminalisa-
tion of America”. It is a cause espoused by
liberal heroes such as Cory Booker, a sena-
tor from New Jersey—and by Mr Soros. 7F
EW places have seen as much change in
as short a period of time as Minot, a
town of about 50,000 in North Dakota
(slogan: “We’re ready for you”). Much of
the city is descended from Norwegian
stock. The biggest event on its cultural cal-
endar is a celebration of Nordic culture
(slogan: “Pure Scandimonium!”). Until
about a decade ago, it was the sort of place
where people left their homes unlocked
and their car keys in the ignition.
Then came the oil boom, spurred by the
discovery of new oilfields in the Bakken
rock under the ground to the west of thetown. That brought with it money and mi-
grants, but also crime and inflation. In the
four years to April 2012 the median house
value in America fell by a fifth. In Minot it
jumped by nearly a third. In the same per-
iod Minot’s population grew 14%, com-
pared with 3% for America as a whole. The
Hispanic population grew even faster.
“The shock for this community came from
the diversity of colour and language,” says
Tom Barry, the city manager.
After oil, the deluge. In 2011 the Souris
river burst its banks and flooded the valley
in which the town sits. Overnight 12,000 ofthe city’s then 40,000-odd residents found
themselves homeless. “There wasn’t a
spare couch in town,” says Thomas
Schmidt, a retired high-school teacher
whose house was flooded. It took weeks
for the waters to recede, and several
months more before people could move
back into their homes. The after-effects can
be felt to this day. Empty, water-damaged
homes still dot the landscape. In March the
city broke ground on a new flood wall.
The people of Minot had barely recov-
ered from these twin shocks when they
faced another test: the car park debacle. In
2011 the city council approved a $10.5m
project for a developer to build parking
downtown. It was meant to take three
years, but work stalled and in 2015 the city
paid the developer another $2.5m. The
parking lots were eventually completed, at
twice the original budget.
Like much of the Western world, Minot
was reeling from rapid change, immigra-
tion and inefficient government. For a
deeply conservative town in the middle of
North Dakota, it was all too much. In 2016,
a few months before a political tidal wave
hit America, Minot took a radical step of its
own. Spurred by a citizens’ initiative, the
city voted to overhaul its government,
halving the size of the council to seven. Pre-
viously only four the 14 aldermen had to
contest their seats and Chuck Barney, the
mayor, ran unopposed. That has changed.
It seems to have worked. The new coun-
cil is younger and more dynamic, empha-
sising the importance of being able to walk
around, of making Minot more pleasant
and reviving its centre. Despite grumbling
by a few older residents about changes—a
plan for new rubbish bins echoed previous
grievances—the city seems upbeat.
“People are more optimistic today be-
cause of the change in the nature of city
government,” says Michael Sasser, the edi-
tor of the MinotDaily News, a conservative
local paper. The long-awaited car parks are
functional and local elections on June 12th
are attracting competition: three candi-
dates are running for mayor and three
open council seats are being fought over by
six contenders.
Oil prices are rising again, which could
lead to a boomlet, but the town is keen not
to repeat the mistakes of the past. It is in-
vesting in its downtown and hopes, if not
to attract office workers from elsewhere, at
least to offer a life vibrant enough to per-
suade its own educated young people to
stay put. Bars and cafes have started pop-
ping up. And it is more diverse. Grocery
stores selling foreign foods have prolifer-
ated, says one councillor proudly, and for-
eign languages no longer elicit surprise.
Minotians once travelled to the China-
town in Winnipeg, Manitoba—not exactly
a metropolis—to shop, says Josh Wolsky, an
alderman. But “now everything you can
get in Winnipeg you can get here.” 7Local governmentScandimonium
MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA
How a small town in North Dakota got its groove backNoah place like home