KAAL-TV reports on the chance that Minnesota might lose a House seat in Minnesota Battling For Congressional Seat. While some on the right and some on the left are using the occasion to speculate on how partisan advantage might be wrung from the state losing a seat, Walz hopes that Minnesota will retain all of its congressional districts:
The state's fate is based on the next census count in 2010.
Congressman Tim Walz may be one of the people affected if the census data doesn't swing in the state's favor.
"It’s the nature of the census,” he says. “I think we'll wait and see what happens. I think Minnesota is going continue to grow so it may not happen. But I think it's in our best interest to keep as many seats as we can and the representation is better."
DM & E: Thune asks for whom the bell tolls
An in-house blogger at the Rochester Post-Bulletin discusses John Thune's recent remarks about the need for the DM & E railroad to raise private capital soon. Info was originally in the Hog House blog entry: Bell tolls for DM & E?
Benson's biomass gasifer; Grass energy shaken?
During his Farm Bill meeting in Marshall on Saturday, House Ag Committee chair Collin Peterson was asked about funding research into using prairie grasses for biomass energy. He cited plans to include funding for research for a variety of potential feedstocks for biomass and cellulostic ethanol, and the high possibility that the Benson area would be a research center because of the presence of a biomass gasifer.
Today's West Central Tribune reports Construction of gasifier under way at Chippewa Valley Ethanol’s plant. The head of the Chippewa Valley ethanol co-op doesn't think cellulostic ethanol will replace corn ethanol, but does see a place for grass energy in ethanol production, as biomass that will replace the natural gas needed to run a conventional corn ethanol plant:
The gasifier project is a two-phase effort to replace the natural gas used in creating ethanol with renewable biomass — anything from wood chips to corn stover. The first phase, the portion that is now under construction, will burn 75 tons of biomass per day to replace 25 percent of the plant’s natural gas needs. The second phase will burn 300 tons of biomass a day to replace 90 percent of the natural gas needed for the ethanol plant.
The actual construction of the gasifier is just one area where Chippewa Valley Ethanol is working on the “greener” future of ethanol, Lee says. The company is also pushing for progress on research into the densification of biomass, such as corn stover, from bulky, light materials into condensed cubes or pellets that are much more efficient to store and haul. It is Lee’s belief that cellulosic ethanol, production of ethanol from corn stover and the like, is not the next step for the ethanol industry.
“The next role will be creating the energy for ethanol plants,” he said. Energy is the second-largest input, behind corn, and costs between $15 million and $20 million per year for the plant. “I’d rather spend it in my backyard, over sending (the money) to Alberta, Canada,” he said.
Lee and the ethanol plant shareholders are watching two key pieces of legislation, the 2007 farm bill and the energy bill, as both have renewable energy policies included.
The farm bill may include incentives for growing perennial grasses for biomass. Lee sees grasses as an opportunity for farmers and ethanol producers to reach across to conservationists, wildlife advocates and environmentalists. The grasses could be on “working conservation” land that still supports wildlife and provides water quality and soil erosion benefits while growing an energy crop that has commercial value as biomass.
“We have a vision for the future. … We are going to produce more ethanol in a green way,” he said. “Grass energy is a way to accomplish that.”
The Chippewa Valley ethanol co-op also makes Shakers vodka as a sideline. Those who want to lessen their alcohol consumption's carbon footprint might consider imbibing the booze produced in-state.
While the WCT article mentions that:
The Benson plant is the third Minnesota ethanol plant to use energy sources other than natural gas. The Corn Plus plant at Winnebago generates 60 percent of its energy needs from burning biomass, the plant’s byproducts, in a fluid bed reactor and is seeking to add wind turbines to generate the plant’s electrical needs. The Central MN Ethanol Co-op plant in Little Falls burns wood fibers in a gasifier to provide for the energy and a portion of the electrical needs of the plant.
Actually, the new ethanol plant being constructed in Heron Lake will use coal as an alternative to natural gas, a strategy that has drawn criticism from some ethanol advocates. The DM & E's Kevin Schieffer had called hauling in coal and hauling out ethanol "the perfect hat trick." Not everyone agreed, and the federal government denied the railroad's request for a hugh loan because of question about the line's ability to pay taxpayers back.
Update: Armenian Genocide resolution reaches critical mass
Tim Walz's work on the resolution acknowledging the Armenian Genocide resolution is acknowledged in Majority of House members support Armenian Genocide resolution:
"USAPAC has been working closely with Rep. Tim Walz (D.-Minn.), vice-president of the Freshman Class in the House, who has been recruiting fellow freshmen as cosponsors.
“'I am thrilled that the resolution recognizing the Armenian Genocide reached a critical mass of 218 co-sponsors today,' Mr. Walz said. 'As someone who taught genocide studies, I know that we must acknowledge genocide whenever and wherever it happens, regardless of international politics. We must work to curtail future genocides by not only addressing the cultural, economic, and religious factors that often contribute to these atrocities, but also by learning from past genocides. To learn from our past requires at a bare minimum that we acknowledge the past, which is what this long overdue resolution will do in the case of the Armenian genocide.' ”
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