Austin Daily Herald: Nothing new in SOTU
The Austin Daily Herald's editorial board declares there's Nothing ‘new' to wait for:
Even with voters, Democrats and many in his own party against him, President Bush in the State of the Union Address Tuesday urged lawmakers and the public to wait for his “new” strategy in Iraq to turn things around.
Unfortunately, there is not much “new” to wait for, other than a large surge in the number of troops sent into harm's way.
The voters have asked for something different, as have the new representatives they have elected; yet the president continues on a failed path. And while the voters aren't all military strategists, their wishes should be an important part of the direction of the war.
New Ulm Journal: Lake Crystal man explores bid for Congress in 2008
The New Ulm Journal reports that the head of the Lake Crystal-Welcome school board has formed an exploratory committee to run as a Republican against Walz. Unlike the Austin Daily Herald and a majority of Americans, Meyers supports the president's plan for escalating the war in Iraq:
LAKE CRYSTAL — A Lake Crystal employee-benefits consultant, Mark Meyer, 53, is getting an early jump in exploring the possibility of running against the First District’s new congressman, Democrat Tim Walz.
Meyer announced Wednesday that he has formed a Meyer for Congress Exploratory Committee to “test the waters” for seeking the Republican nomination in 2008 to run against Walz. He said his early start wasn’t necessarily a record as Walz started his campaign “about the same time [in 2005].”
A native Nebraskan, Meyer has lived in Minnesota since 1978 and moved from the Twin Cities to Lake Crystal in 1994. Meyer who also is an actuary, attorney and farmer, currently is chairman of the Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial School District Board.
While it is too early to critique Walz’ performance in Congress, Meyer said, “I am exploring the possibility of running for Congress to make sure that, come 2008, people have a real chance to choose a congressman that is the best fit for southern Minnesota.”
If he were in the Congress today, Meyer would support the president in his “surge” request because “after all, he is the Commander-in-Chief.”
While he hasn’t talked with former Congressman Gil Gutknecht, whom Walz defeated in the 2006 general election, “I’ve heard that he isn’t planning to run again for office,” Meyer said. . . .
Rochester Post Bulletin: Ethanol producers applaud Bush; Swift to be sold in pieces?
Ethanol producers in southeastern Minnesota are happy about the ethanol portion of the SOTU, the PB reports in Ethanol producers applaud Bush. Another article on Bush and ethanol in the Washington Post.
In business news, the PB reports that Swift & Co. may be up for sale:
Swift & Co., one of the nation's largest meatpacking processors, may find it more lucrative to sell its assets separately instead of as a whole or testing the market with a stock offering, industry analysts said Tuesday.
The privately held Swift, which was targeted by a wide-scale immigration raid last month, is looking into strategies ranging from refinancing to a sale or initial public offering, a decision executives said was made after they received some unsolicited inquiries over the past six months.
With beef and pork processing plants in six states, including Minnesota, and an operation in Australia, Swift may find buyers more interested in pieces rather than the whole company, the analysts said. . . .
. . .Swift said it has received a series of unsolicited inquiries from a number of third parties, and it has hired JPMorgan to help review strategies. Swift spokesman Sean McHugh declined further comment Tuesday.
Federal immigration authorities rounded up 1,297 workers at Swift plants in Colorado, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, Texas and Utah on Dec. 12. The company later said the raids could cost up to $30 million due to recruitment and training costs for new employees.
Last week, Swift laid off 58 employees, or about 10 percent of its corporate office staff, and said it took other cost-cutting steps to improve its competitive edge. The company said the actions were unrelated to the raids.
D.A. Davidson and Co. analyst Tim Ramey speculated Swift may be facing some financial pressures as weld as dealing with the aftermath of the Dec. 12 raids. "I think consolidation in this category would be a good thing," Ramey said.
One potential buyer is meatpacker Smithfield Foods Inc. of Norfolk, Va., whose Chairman Joe Luter has indicated interest in Swift operations. A company spokesman did not return a telephone message left Tuesday.
Based in Greeley, Swift's majority shareholder is HM Capital Partners LLC and its investment partner is Booth Creek Management Corp. It has more than $9 billion in annual sales and a work force of 20,000 worldwide. It is privately held with publicly issued debt.
Winona Daily News: Frozen River Film Fest focuses on global warming
The second annual Frozen River Film Fest is bringing in a speaker to talk about a hot topic:
Will Steger first taught about global warming in the mid 1960s. He knew someday it would be a problem, but he never thought it would be this soon.
Steger will kick off the Frozen River Film Festival tonight [Friday?] with a talk about the impact of global warming on the Artic.
The Minnesota explorer has led dogsled explorations to the North Pole, Greenland and Antarctica. He led the International Artic Project in the first and only dogsled traverse of the Arctic Ocean from Russia to Ellesmere Island in Canada in 1995. He says his travels have shown him firsthand the affects of global warming.
“It’s catastrophic in the Artic,” Steger said. “Huge blocks of ice are melting, and the populations of polar bears and walrus are dropping.”
“The vast majority of people are disconnected from their surroundings, but the changes are happening now,” he said. . . .
. . .Steger says there are economic, moral and ethical reasons for us to make these changes, but they don’t have to be an imposition on our lifestyle.
In February, Steger is going on a four-month, 1,200-mile dogsled trip through villages in the Canadian Arctic. He will post video on www.willsteger.com showing the effects of global warming. Near the end of 2007, he will kayak around masses of sea ice in Antarctica.
“We have a small window of time — eight or nine years really — to act,” Steger said.
If you go
What: “Eyewitness to Global Warming,” presented by Will Steger and J. Drake Hamilton
When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, January 25, 2007
Where: Somsen Auditorium, Johnson and Sanborn streets
Cost: $5, free with Frozen River Film Festival pass
Info: www.frff.org
More about the FRFF in the Winona Daily News.
Worthington Daily Globe: Swift & Co. examines options
The Globe's ace reporter Julie Buntjer looks at the possible Swift & Co. sale. Worthington's mayor is concerned
. . .Locally, Swift & Co.’s Worthington plant manager, Bob Krebs, deferred comment on the company’s future to Sean McHugh, vice president of investor relations and communications for Swift & Co. McHugh did not return a phone call placed to his office on Wednesday.
Worthington Mayor Alan Oberloh views Monday’s announcement with caution.
“It makes me think back to the Campbell’s Soup closure,” he said. “They put $18 million plus in renovations into that facility, and two years later announced they were closing … and left people holding the bag. You’re not going to make me believe that a large corporation isn’t going to abandon a plant, ’cause we’ve seen it in the past.”
Oberloh said if something as drastic as a plant closure would occur with Swift & Co.’s Worthington operation, the impact would be far-reaching.
“The impact would be felt greatest in the producer level, which will also trickle down right into our cities,” Oberloh said.
Swift & Co. was established in September 2002, when Hicks, Muse, Tate & Furst Inc. and Booth Creek Management Corp. acquired majority interest in the processing business from ConAgra Foods Inc. The group purchased the balance of ConAgra’s interest two years later.
Worthington Daily Globe: Walz on SOTU
The Worthington Daily Globe's Ryan McGaughey looks beyond the sound bites in Walz reacts to president’s State of the Union address:
Rep. Tim Walz didn’t have all bad things to say about President Bush’s State of the Union address Tuesday night.
For the most part, though, Walz was unhappy with Bush’s proposals — particularly his plan to increase U.S. troops in Iraq by more than 21,000.
“The president is going to have to face the reality on this,” Walz said by telephone Wednesday morning from Washington. “Politics-wise, you’re always better off if you can create a black-and-white choice that forces people into camps. But I think people realize the solution is probably grayer … and not clear.”
Walz, DFL-Mankato, defeated multi-term Rep. Gil Gutknecht, a Republican, last November for the right to represent Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District. He acknowledged Wednesday that senators and members of Congress from both sides of the aisle are uneasy with Bush’s latest Iraq proposal.
“My Republican colleagues on this — I think even if they believe there can be a semblance of victory in Iraq, I don’t think they believe this is the way we can achieve it. It’s almost impossible to find anybody to believe in this plan.”
Walz acknowledged the surge in troops could result in a decrease in violence over the short term but doubted the long-term prospects, using a historical comparison.
“Ask our British allies. … Belfast was a 35-year proposition,” Walz said.
Walz shared the enthusiasm for the president's increased push for renewable energy development:
Walz praised the president for some of his proposals pertaining to energy, adding that a stronger push for renewable fuels would pay dividends for southwest Minnesota and the nation. But, while praising Congress’ “huge bipartisanship support for closing some of the outrageous subsidies given to oil companies,” Walz added that he was opposed to increased drilling as proposed by Bush on Tuesday.
Walz applauded the intention but not the substance of the president's health care plan:
Walz also had kind words for Bush on his proposal to expand health insurance coverage, though he said he disagreed with the context of the plan.
“The discussion that it’s an issue is good, because the president hasn’t really addressed that,” Walz explained. “I’m not really enthusiastic with his proposal on that because it’s very difficult for me to get around the fact if you don’t have money to buy a policy … how are you going to save something from nothing?
“It’s a great starting point,” Walz continued. “I think we make a mistake right away by being so critical. In terms of why some of my colleagues are so critical, perhaps it’s because they’ve been here the last six years and seen promises made.”
About the first month of the new Congress?
“I say this for the people of Minnesota to understand: In January ’06, Congress worked for one day and passed no legislation. I said I would never stay here if that was going to be the case. We’ve been here Monday through Friday (so far) and passed great legislation. I think there’s a change in attitude — I know I was sent here to work and do as much as possible for people of the First District.”
I know nothing about the meat processing industry and the possible Swift sale, but have to wonder of the motivation – availability of workers? rising labor costs? industry consolidation? etc.
That stated I did a commentary on January 10th focusing on JOBZ and the need for a health insurance requirement. I noticed that the top new company pledging to create 200 jobs into Minnesota was Iowa Turkey Products for a facility in Marshall. Marshall and Worthington are roughly 65 miles apart.
Does that have any impact on their decision? And did the JOBZ create a competitive disadvantage for Swift? The mayor’s comments express concern of the impact to the community and somehow I wonder if JOBZ helps or hurts.
Posted by: MinnesotaCentral | January 25, 2007 at 09:10 AM