Critics say rail facility bailout would help Hoeven's bank

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota’s Republican-led Legislature is considering giving $10 million to an intermodal rail facility, a move backers say will reduce shipping costs and increase markets for the state’s farm products and other commodities.

Opponents argue the funding proposed for the long-troubled and financially distressed facility in Minot is nothing more than a taxpayer bailout for banks, one of which is partly owned by Republican U.S. Sen. John Hoeven.

Five Minot-area lawmakers sponsored the legislation that seeks to provide $1.8 million for track improvements and $8.2 million that would be funneled to a trio of banks that acquired the property and buildings and equipment through foreclosure.

The measure sailed through the North Dakota Senate last month. Just one senator, Republican Nicole Poolman, of Bismarck, voted against it, telling The Associated Press that it smacked of a “bank bailout.”

Some senators surveyed by the AP said they were unaware of the specifics of the legislation, including its ties to Hoeven.

The bill, which is still making its way through the House, has faced increasing criticism. The legislation under consideration would allow a local economic development group to buy the facility from the banks. The nonprofit group — not the state — would own the facility.

Bismarck GOP Rep. Rick Becker, among the most conservative members of the Legislature, has been outspoken in his desire for lawmakers to kill the deal, which he called “corporate welfare and cronyism.”

Hoeven declined an interview with the AP and instead sent a statement that said the issue “is up to the Legislature to determine.”

Shane Goettle, a lobbyist hired by the local economic development group, said the operation likely can’t continue without...