Fufeng Bonus

I took this picture this morning. It likely initially seems a very generic photo and hardly worth a blog post until you understand that nearly the identical photo appeared on the front page of today's New York Times. I normally generate one post per day, but consider this a bonus.

We happened to be in Grand Forks catching up with old friends and we got into our typical discussion of university, state, and national politics. This is what academics do. Among the topics was the controversy of the proposed Fufeng corn processing plant. I read the GF paper and had heard about the plant and our friends filled us in on the issue. After we left and returned to our motel one from our group of friends sent a text with a screen capture of the front page of the New York Times featuring the Fufeng issue. I had to take the same photo before we left town and that is what appears here. Grand Forks rarely hits the front page of The NY Times, but I think the issue of the U.S. being afraid China should they take military action against Taiwan has increased attention to issues associated with China. 

We subscribe to the digital version of the Times, so here is my short summary. Fufeng is a Chinese company that wants to build a corn processing plant in Grand Forks. The corn mill will supposedly create 1000 construction jobs and 200 permanent jobs. Local politicians thought this sounded like a great way to boost the local economy. When the City Council met to consider road design and utility contracts they encountered irate citizen opposition complaining of encouraging communism and the danger of espionage associated with a near by Air Force Base. Some citizens began posting yard signs showing a hammer and sickle. The Governor of North Dakota had endorsed the project as a great opportunity, but now the debate related to the issue has now involved national politicians.