Bluestem Prairie: news about Tim Walz (MN-1)

Saturday noon news digest: spring plowing edition

It's a great sunny day, so we're headed out to Swan Lake, Fort Ridgely and the Minnesota River Valley for some afternoon birding as soon as this is up. We hope the sun will dry the fields enough for the farmers to start working.

Not all farmers are doing great. The Post Bulletin reports that USDA to buy surplus pork:

Aiming to boost a sagging American pork market, Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer has committed to $50 million in emergency pork purchases.

The pork products will be used for child nutrition and other domestic foods assistance programs.

On April 10, U.S. Rep. Tim Walz sent a letter to Schafer, urging him to make the purchases to help pork producers, who are being squeezed by high expenses and low hot prices.

"These purchases will help to stabilize hog prices and mitigate the economic losses faced by our producers in southern Minnesota," Walz said Friday.

The ag secretary has the power, under a law passed during the Great Depression, to purchase surplus commodities to support farm prices.

Minnesota's First Congressional District, in the southeast corner of the state, ranks second in the United States in pork production with more than 2,500 pork producers raising 9 million hogs a year. The industry employs 22,500 Minnesotans. . . .

Whether you're buying meat direct from a farmer, from a co-op or at the grocery store, try these roasted pork enchiladas. Mmmmm. These days, it's easy to find queso fresco cheese at any grocery store, though many Minnesotans' taste buds may favor the Monterey Jack.  BTW, Farmers' Markets are opening today throughout Southern Minnesota. In Winona, Scone Lady’ adds flavor to local farmers market. We may have to wait a week or two for asparagus.

And probably that long for the details of the Farm Bill coming out of conference committee. Minnesota Public Radio reports in Farm Bill agreement in hand:

A congressional conference committee will be working through the weekend in an effort to finalize a $300 billion Farm Bill. The legislation pays for farm subsidies conservation, alternative energy, and nutrition programs for the next five years. The process has been contentious and may end with a showdown between Congress and the President. . . .

. . .Peterson expects the Farm Bill to be on the House floor next week. It's expected to have strong bi-partisan support in both the House and Senate.

U.S. Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.) is also on the conference committee crafting the final legislation. He says there's been a good faith effort to work with the president, now it's time for a showdown.

"We want the White House to sign this bill, we're trying to accommodate their concerns. But if they don't, this bill will have the full participation by both political parties as it passes the House and Senate," Pomeroy says. "We believe we're going to have a level of support where if veto override is what it takes, veto override is what we're going to give them."

Farmers, conservation groups and social service agencies will all be watching closely as that showdown happens sometime in the next two weeks.

KTTC-TV reports Disabled Veterans Meet in Rochester for the group's annual convention.

Congressman Walz will hold an economic summit in Mankato on June 2.

This event will feature thought-provoking discussions and panels on the most important economic issues facing Southern Minnesota and the country. The Summit offers an opportunity to have a regional conversation about the kind of community, State and Nation we are striving for. The event will gather academic leaders, industry experts, the business community, local residents and policy experts to discuss and debate issues of importance to us all.

When: Monday June 2, 2008

Where:    Alltel Convention Center,  Mankato, MN

The Summit Agenda:

7:15: Registration opens

8:00– 8:15 Welcome by Congressman Tim Walz

8:15 – 8:45 An Analysis of Minnesota’s Economic and Demographic Trends and Outlook?

8:45 – 9:00 Building a Competitive Advantage for Rural Regions/p>

9:00 – 10:15 Panel #1: Healthcare

10:15 – 11:45 Panel #2: Early Childhood and K-12 Education

11:45 – 12:45 Lunch and Keynote Address by U.S. Congressman Tim Walz

12:45 – 2:00 Panel #3: Higher Education

2:00 – 3:15 Panel #4: “Agriculture and Energy: Energizing Rural Economic Growth”

3:15 – 4:30 Capitalizing on our Regional Competitiveness

The event is free and open to the public, although the lunch meal is $15. A registration form is here (Word doc).

Michael Travers' letter to the editor, Walz has earned support for second term, has been published in the Mankato Free Press and the New Ulm Journal. The New Ulm resident writes:

Last weekend, the DFL endorsed Tim Walz as its candidate for Congress in the First District.

Walz deserves to be re-elected for a second term. He has been a fresh breath of air in an otherwise business as usual government. To Walz, good ideas come from both sides of the aisle; from people like you and me.

Walz is a true representative of the people of his district. You and I may not agree on every issue with Walz, but one thing is for sure, Walz will listen.

As a family man, Walz gets it. As you hear his wife, Gwen, speak she’ll tell you that each time she comes home from the grocery store or the gas station she’ll remind him of the price of a gallon of milk or a gallon of gas. The pride he has in his family is evident by the smile on his face.

As a former teacher and coach, Walz understands the importance of the issues that face young people everyday and the impact the decisions we make today will have on their future.

This time, the first congressional district has a keeper. This time, the first congressional district has the representation of a man who is genuine, committed, and will not forget that it is a privilege to serve as your representative.

Congratulations to Irma Marguez of St. James, who has been selected Minnesota's Homecoming Queen.

The Olmsted County DFL will hold its Fifth Annual Dinner tonight in Rochester.

At the Bulldog: Twin Cities Young Professionals for Walz

A campaign event tonight in Minneapolis for Congressman Walz's supporters:

Join other young professionals and Tim at the Bulldog in NE Minneapolis this Thursday, May 1st. Come enjoy a cold pint, good food and great friends!

Thursday, May 1st, 7-9 pm
The Bulldog Northeast
401 East Hennepin Ave
(Northeast MPLS across the street from Whitey's)

And yeah, the Strib reports that Representative Walz is running for Congress:

A spokesman for U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, whose name has also been raised in DFL circles as a potential Senate alternative, denied that the congressman was thinking of a switch from a House reelection bid. "He will not be a candidate for the U.S. Senate," said Richard Carlbom, the campaign's political and finance director.

Come and help the Congressman build his campaign coffers. For the House.

MinnPost: Walz may be "the state's most popular DFLer"

In a story at Minnpost about this past weekend's congressional district conventions, Doug Grow writes:

Tim Walz, perhaps the state's most popular DFLer, also was unopposed in winning endorsement in the 1st District Convention. His opponent is undetermined, because Brian Davis, the Republicans' endorsed candidate, will face state Sen. Dick Day, who skipped the endorsement process, in a September primary.

Amy Klobuchar may actually have Walz beat in the popular department, but the congressman certainly gets high marks.

We just returned from liveblogging the health summit in Owatonna (there's another in Winona, but we decided to return home and fine tune our vegetable garden plan).  Listening to a group of older women talk about the summit after the crowd cleared out, we were impressed that while most were talking about how great it was to have meetings like the one they'd just been to, what they were discussing mainly were the wide-ranging ideas presented to them.

That ability to get ordinary citizens engaged in considering what they want for their country may be the key to the Congressman's high marks. We've seen the same thing happen after other forums.

Meanwhile, Grow's statement about the primary is echoed in the Post Bulletin's convention coverage today. Matt Stolle writes:

Walz is seeking reelection after defeating GOP. Rep. Gil Gutknecht in the 2006 election that saw Democrats take over the U.S. House after 12 years of political exile.

State Republican leaders have made defeating Walz a top priority and hope to brand him as someone out of step with the district's values. But Republicans are currently caught up in their own intra-party dispute over a nominee.

Although Mayo Clinic physician Brian Davis won the GOP's endorsement last month, state Sen. Dick Day says he will challenge Davis in the Sept. 9 primary. Walz, moreover, boasts a large fund-raising lead over both candidates at the moment.

The lead:

Touting his work on veterans affairs issues, ethics reform and bringing a new accountability to Washington D.C., U.S. Rep. Tim Walz promised Saturday to run the "single largest grass-roots campaign" in the history of the 1st Congressional District as he accepted the DFL Party's endorsement for Congress.

"We're going to put to rest once and for all: You do not come to the people of America and ask them to send you to Washington based on fear, divisiveness (and) half-truths," Walz told applauding delegates.

Walz, a Mankato high school teacher and former football coach, was unanimously endorsed Saturday by delegates at the DFL 1st Congressional District in Southwest Middle School in Albert Lea. He was introduced by his wife, Gwen, who brought the convention to a standing ovation with a speech that related how Walz had proposed to her.

 

 

Liveblogging the Owatonna Health Care Economic Summit

10:59  Noel Peterson notes that providers in Minnesota--though highly successful in medical outcomes--get paid less. He notes that California, Florida and other such places have more political power than Minnesota.

A small business owner talks about issues with affordability. He wants more opportunities for risk pooling. Walz discusses the practicality of risk pooling.

Walz notes that there will be some small changes this year and notes that whichever Senator is elected President, he believes that the nation will have 18 months to fix  health care issues before the electoral games begins again.  Any one of the three will work on it, and Walz believes that it must be accomplished during this window.

10:51 Walz adds that Americans should be able to purchase prescriptions locally. 

Andy Parrish of AARP thanks Walz for the forum. Walz asks why the donkey is the back half of their logo. Everyone laughs.

A young man who is self-employed about how lack of affordable health insurance deters innovative young people from striking out on their own to develop their ideas.  Walz thanks him for adding the perspective.

Dee, a woman from Mankato expresses concern about the coming cuts to Medicare for doctors. Some won't be able to take new patients.  Walz explains how Congress--including Coleman and Kobuchar are  working on   addressing incentivizing good outcomes.

10:43 Mike ??, the head of a Waseca health care institution summons a number of serious issues--costs, medical education,  delayed care in Canada, the cost of malpractice, incentivizing good health habit, and the spectre of rationing expensive care.

Walz thanks him and notes that getting the range of opinion is important. He addresses the importance of individual's take responsibility for preventative measures like diet and exercise.

A man asks Glen Peterson for a definition of single payer insurance.  He explains that there are multiple providers but one payer.  The other Dr. Peterson then asks to answer the question. Noel Peterson notes the range from market based insurance (USA) to government  run health  care, citing the example of the UK. He thinks that universal insurance that includes competitive elements are important.

Ghita Worcester clarifies some elements. She notes that health care HMOs are non profit in Minnesota.

Mike Daly from Eagle Lake, from a family of pharmicists wants to know who came up with Medicare Part D and its "doughnut hole."  He wants combined bargaining power to be included for negotiating drug costs.

Walz notes that Congress early in his term voted to allow the government to negotiate but Bush has done nothing with  it. He explains the creation of Part D by special interests.  All parties, including drug companies, should be included in the discussion.

10:29 A man who runs a homeless shelter comments about health care costs in his field. He mentions Congressional health care. He brings up the costs of drugs and alcohol. Walz notes the salary figure the man cited isn't correct since he turned down the pay raise. But he does agree he has good insurance through his job--noting that some who get this great insurance stand on the floor of the house and talk about not insuring others. He notes Jim Ramstad's leadership the passage of the Wellstone Mental Health Parity Act.  About half the audience claps.

10:23 Walz says that people want accessible health that's convenient for their schedule. They want to be able to pick their own doctors. They want it to be affordable.

The first question is about the opinion of the insurance company execs toward single payer. Glenn Peterson says he hasn't talked to any of them about it.  She also asks about single payer, universal care in  China. Walz notes his own experience-American care is  much higher quality.

10: 15 The session opens for questions and answers. Walz notes the broad spectrum of opinion on the panel.

10:11 Sharon Kaap, Patient Care Manager at the Owatonna Hospital, explains the hospital's heart failure program, which has led to a drop in deaths from heart failure.  The hospital is finding now that psychosis--particularly geriatric--is emerging as a concern

Glenn Peterson, a professor at MSU-M, is making the case for a single-payer system (he's sitting in for Kip Sullivan, a single-payer advocate, who was unable to attend).  Is health care a commodity or is it a basic human right?  This is the core question and dilemma.  He takes the second the second perspective.  He begins by noting some of the economic implications of the commodity approach.  He mentions the high compensation of CEOs of health care insurance execs. Individuals and businesses are underwriting this cost and layer of private bureaucracy. People with insurance still go bankrupt.  The GAO study determined a single-payer system would reduce overhead costs by $300 billion.  He brings up other overhead costs. He names the many supporters for single payer systems

9:57  Aileen Kaap is a member of the Minnesota Nurses Association and a RN Case Manager at the Owatonna Hospital  She's reading a statement about the way the MNA would like to partner with the rest of the industry. Chief point: universal, single-payer health care.

9: 53 Noel Peterson, retired CEO of Olmsted Medical Center and a Navy man, teases Walz about the superiority of the Navy over the Army (Walz in an Army National Guard vet).  He says there are successes in America's health care, but costs are high compared to most other developed countries. This makes it hard for businesses immediately, and also in lost opportunity costs. Doctors are concerned with a second issues: medical outcomes. With all the money we spend, being 29th in life expectancy is disappointing. 

Those without insurance use ERs and delay treatment. Moreover, a larger percent of the health dollar ins given to managing five chronic diseases.  This is costly. Individuals need to be more responsible in maintaining their health.  Accountability is shared by everybody.

Universal coverage and health insurance reform is needed, including guaranteed issued. Transparency of quality is important.  Shift is payment is needed--from massive dollars toward chronic disease care to shifting some to preventative care.

9:42  Ghita Worcester,  Sr. Vice President, UCare Minnesota, explains UCare's programs and scope. She thanks Walz for his balanced approach to policy issues, citing the example of Medicare Advantage.  She suggests there four points she wants to stress: public-private cooperate, the "health care" home, cultural appropriate care for diversity populations, and the need for health care providers to be accountable.

9: 37 Kelly Harder, Director of Human Services of Steele County, explains how his department works with the county commissioners, state legislators and administration,  as well as the federal government. He thanks Walz for the recent work on preserving Medicare funding.  Harder explodes the stereotypes of those receiving human services.  He notes that yes--there's something to the notion that the largest percentage of money goes to single mothers who   don't work-- but they're also typically over 80 years old.

Harder mentions the increased need for food aid and other costs.Lack of health care coverage on the part of the poor drives up health care costs because people are not doing preventative care and coming in when their costs are higher.  He mentions how streamlining the process of providing health could probably fund universal care.  He explains the difference between universal care and single payer, adding that there's no easy way of solving health care coverage insurances.

9:27 Bean explains his company's specialty, which is a truck part. He's a fairly witty guy, though his topic is serious.  He's explaining hiw his company has struggled to survive and the difficulty of securing insurance and health savings account programs.

Mark Schoenbaum, Director of the Office of Rural Health and Primary Care for the state of Minnesota.  He's talking about state directives aimed toward getting health care access for all Minnesotans. He mentions technology issues and the successes of critical care hospitals in rural Minnesota.  Given demographics, Medicare is a huge player in rural Minnesota.  He notes the changes in Medicare made by Congress several years ago.  This included prescription drugs--some of the details of this program are causing difficulties for rural pharmacies. Sixteen communities in Southern Minnesota are over ten miles away from a pharmacy.

9: 15 We're in Owatonna, liveblogging the health care summit.  It's a packed house--AARP's Divided We Fail campaign  is out in force, wearing red sirts. Walz has given some introductory remarks and he's introducing Bruce Bean, co-owner of delta Waseca, which employs 30 people.

Reminder: health care economic summits on Monday

The Rochester Post Bulletin notes the events:

U.S. Rep. Tim Walz will host two Healthcare Economic Summits on Monday to discuss the challenges of and possible solutions to the complex health care problems in our country.

The summits will be from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the AmericInn, 245 Florence Ave., Owatonna, and 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Riverport Inn and Suites, 900 Bruski Dr., Winona.

Others expected to attend include Noel Peterson, former president and CEO of Olmsted Medical Center; Rachelle Schultz, president and CEO of Winona Health; Ed Sheehy, director of UCare Minnesota; Ghita Worcester, senior vice president of UCare Minnesota and Mark Schoenbaum, director of the Office of Rural Health and Primary Care.

The discussion will focus on the health care system and the government's role in seeking out solutions to the problems the health care system presents.

Kids these days: the vision of students in Lewisville and Rochester

In his comments on the House floor about energy and the economy, Representative Walz mentioned the beauty of wind turbines and the economic development potential of the wind energy industry.

The St. James Plaindealer has published a story about the power of that beauty.

In Lewisville man's photograph wins award for his college, we learn that:

Lewisville resident and Minnesota West Community and Technical College student Kevin Froslan recently earned his school an award for a picture he took, but that was furthest from his mind at the time.

Froslan, a student in the wind energy technology program, merely took advantage of a unique opportunity when he and a classmate were doing a “job shadow” for a day atop a wind turbine.

Froslan knew he would have a chance to take some interesting pictures, so he took along his camera. After taking several, officials used one picture to market its wind program.

For this, the college was awarded a Bronze Paragon Award for original photography by the National Council for Marketing & Public Relations during its national conference held March 8-12 in Georgia.

The community and technical college has posted more information on its web site:

“What makes this award so meaningful to the college is the photograph was taken by a student enrolled in the Wind Energy Technology program at our Canby campus,” said Gillin.  Kevin Froslan and Jacob Knutson were perched upon a turbine overlooking the Buffalo Ridge on a cool, foggy morning as part of a lab experience.  As the morning fog lifted, Kevin began shooting photos to share with family and friends so they could visualize what a wind technician’s work environment would be like.  Utilizing a personal digital camera, Kevin took an amazing photograph.  He captured a photograph the college has used extensively for marketing the Minnesota West wind energy technology program.  The photograph currently appears on the cover of the 2008-2010 Minnesota West catalog. . . .   

.  . . The photographer, Kevin Froslan, a 2006 graduate of Truman High School in Truman, Minnesota and the subject Jacob Knutson, a 2005 graduate of Marshall High School in Marshall, Minnesota are second year students who are on track to graduate this spring from the wind energy technology program.  Both Kevin and Jacob worked for Outland Renewable Energy last summer and have accepted employment with Outland upon completion of their education this spring.  Outland Renewable Energy has an operations office in Canby, MN.  As wind technicians for Outland Renewable Energy, they will work primarily on new turbine setup and installation.  Some responsibilities include aligning blades, generator hookup, and completing the electrical requirements for getting the electricity the turbine produces on the power grid. . . .

Frosland will be based in Illinois, where he will travel for his job, he told the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.

The Rochester Post-Bulletin takes a look at another ambitious young person pursuing his vision in Mayo senior campaigns for seat at national DFL convention. Sam Hagedorn is working the phones:

As he walked his dog Wednesday night, Sam Hagedorn was working his cell phone, trying to land one of the hottest political tickets in the country.

The Mayo High School senior was campaigning to become a national delegate in August at the Democratic National Convention in Denver. . . .

Driven by a desire not only to witness history but perhaps to play a hand in making it, Hagedorn and other Minnesota Democrats are scrambling to fill these coveted national slots. With the battle for the Democratic presidential nomination between Sen. Hillary Clinton and Obama still unresolved, there is a remote possibility that the contest will be decided by delegates in a brokered convention. . . .

. . .Thus, the competition is expected to be particularly intense for the five delegate slots and one alternate slot up for grabs at the DFL 1st Congressional District Convention in Albert Lea on Saturday. They will eventually make up part of the 88-member delegation that will be sent to the Democratic convention from Aug. 25 through Aug. 28.

The district convention will also feature the endorsement of U.S. Rep. Tim Walz of Mankato for Congress.

Hagedorn was drawn to the political flame early. He can recall pedaling home from sports practice as a 10-year-old and skipping dinner in order to catch the Bush-Gore debates.

. . .At age 18, Hagedorn recognizes that his youth is a double-edged sword. But Hagedorn thinks he can make the case that a youthful perspective should be heard at the national convention. Which generation, after all, is going to have to deal with the fallout from the U.S. government's massive debt and its challenges across the world but his?

But even if he doesn't become a national delegate, Hagedorn said he's prepared to see the campaign as a positive experience.

"If I get one vote besides myself, I'm going to call that a win," he said.

We think the country is already the winner with Froslan and Hagedorn.

Photos:  Atop the wind turbine, from the MN West site; Hagedorn from the Post Bulletin.

Reflections on policy and governing: the case of Monday's health care summits

Over at Minnesota Campaign Report, our friend Joe Bodell looks at the connections between Politics and Policy and Blogs, oh my! .  Bodell begins:

There are definitely sites and writers out there who focus heavily (insome cases, to a fault) on partisan politics with absolutely no regard for the meaning of what those political games lead to: public policy. Legislation. Laws. The things that govern the way members of our society deal with and treat each other.

Those writers' (after all in some cases, it's not really fair to call them "bloggers") motivations are theirs, but even on a site with "Campaign" in its name, it's important to talk issues.

Especially when a local newspaper's editorial board pens a piece entitled "Socialized health will be good for small biz".

Not "Single-Payer."  Not "Universal." And not just an urban paper that's been taking ridiculous flak for accusations of liberal bias for years.  No, the Albert Lea Tribune is calling for Socialized Health Care and speaking pretty plainly about it...

Bodell goes on to point out that a frequent complaint of the Republican Party of Minnesota and its minions is that Congressman Walz is out of touch with his district, having somehow absorbed the Beltway into his bloodstream, rather than the opinions of the thousands of constituents who've shown up at his summits, town hall meetings, listening sessions, store stops, and hundreds of other gatherings throughout the district on issues ranging from farm policy, veterans benefits, the war in Iraq, energy policy, small business development, education--well, readers can get the picture.

It's hard to figure how a guy who spends so much time meeting with his constituents in out of touch, but then, it's the Republicans' job to make the case. Good luck on that.

Bodell perceptively points to yesterday's New York Times article about how Walz's social studies teaching methods allowed his high school students in Alliance, Nebraska, to consider a problem (genocide) in order to predict.  Back then, Walz and his students had to stand by helplessly and watch as the horror they predicted as an academic exercise came to pass in Rwanda.  Now, as a congressman, Walz brings the method to governing--and to working with people on crafting solutions.

Walz often says that he asks his constituents to stand beside him, and the many meetings reflect that style of governing.  While the Albert Lea Tribune calls for socialized medicine, other opinion leaders in the district don't share that conclusion; Mayo's health care policy center has recommended universal requirements for health insurance, for instance.  There's a broad spectrum of opinion throughout the district. 

Walz continues to help faciliate the discussion, seeking expert and lay opinion alike.  He'll be holding two Health Care Economic Summits on Monday, in Owatonna and Winona. Like all of his economic summits, the events are free and open to the public. From the congressional office:

(Owatonna & Winona, MN)- On Monday, April 28th Congressman Tim Walz will host two Healthcare Economic Summits to discuss the challenges of and possible solutions to the complex health care problems in our country. 

Who:  Congressman Tim Walz (MN-01)
  Noel Peterson, Former President and CEO, Olmsted Medical Center
  Rachelle Schultz, President and CEO, Winona Health
  Ed Sheehy, Director, UCare Minnesota
  Ghita Worcester, Sr. Vice President, UCare Minnesota
  Mark Schoenbaum, Director, Office of Rural Health and Primary Care (Mn Dept. of Health)

What: Discussion about the health care system and the government's role in seeking out solutions to the difficult problems the health care system presents.

When: Monday, April 28, 2008
9:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m.- Owatonna
2:00 p.m. -3:30 p.m. -Winona

Where: AmericInn
245 Florence Avenue
Owatonna, Minnesota

Riverport Inn and Suites
900 Bruski Drive
Winona, Minnesota

In a side note, congratulations to Joe and Liz Bodell, who are anticipating the birth of their first child, a son, at the end of August. May the child enjoy good health and long life.

Walz to host Health Care Summit Monday, April 28

Congressman Walz's next Economic Summit focuses on health care. As always with the economic summits, the event is free and open to the public.  The invite:

Health Care Economic Summit Hosted by U.S. Congressman Tim Walz
Monday, April 28, 2008
9 a.m. - 10:30 a.m.

America's health care system urgently needs reform. From 2004-2005, the number of uninsured increased by 1.3 million.  The percentage of employer based coverage dropped and the number of uninsured children increased to 8.3 million across the country.  The cost of our broken health care system continues to skyrocket and working families are struggling to make ends meet.  Our business community is finding it increasingly difficult to compete in a global economy when faced with rising health care costs.  The lack of insurance coverage creates significant economic problems and hinders our prospects for economic growth in southern Minnesota. 

The Congressman's Healthcare Summit will address these challenges and seek solutions to these complex problems. Come and lend your voice to this important discussion!

Panelists Include:

Dr. Noel Peterson, Former President and CEO, Olmsted Medical Center
Ghita Worcester, Sr. Vice President, UCare Minnesota
Mark Schoenbaum, Director, Office of Rural Health and Primary Care
Sharon Kaap, Patient Care Manager, Owatonna Hospital
Aileen Motz, RN Case Manager, Owatonna Hospital
Kelly Harder, Director, Steele County Human Services

AmericInn
245 Florence Avenue
Owatonna, Minnesota 55060

The events is free and open to the public.

For more information please contact:
Matthew J. Wohlman
507-993-1284

Tim Walz on Almanac tonight

We've just learned that Congressman Walz will be on Almanac tonight. He'll be discussing the campaign and whatever else the hosts ask him.

On March 21, Dick Day and Randy Demmer were on the show to discuss the Republican contest; Brian Davis declined the invitation.

Perhaps that's why we find him trying to make up for earned media at the Rochester Area Chamber of the Commerce Luncheon today where Congressman Walz was the featured speaker.

The most entertaining picture in the slideshow on the Chamber's blog is the first, featuring Davis smirking while everyone else is listening to Walz's remarks. Stay classy, dude.

Bus-eum brings “Vanished: German-American Civilian Interment: 1941-48" to AL

The Albert Lea Tribune carries news of a TRACES traveling exhibit that has arrived in Freeborn County. While the interment of Japanese-American citizens is well-known, the detention of German-American civilians is far less so. The last paragraph points out an additional irony for some of the people rounded up:

During those years over 11,000 German-Americans were interned in various camps as alleged enemy aliens and supposedly dangerous to the nation’s security. However, some of those family members were actually children born in this nation. . .

. . .In what has to be one of the strangest aspects of this entire episode is the fact that a number of the internees were Jewish who had left Nazi Germany a few years earlier to escape the very real fate of death in the infamous concentration camps.

Some of the German-American citizens were housed at the Ramsey County jail and Fort McCoy in Wisconsin. For those Jews who had fled Germany, imprisonment must have been a bitter pill indeed.

We did know that German prisoners of war were brought to Southern Minnesota, where they were put to work by farmers and others with war-related labor shortages. Both my parents recalled their presence and how they felt as children having the enemy (though disarmed) among them.  As adults they had a more compassionate opinion, but given their age, their brothers fighting in Europe and the movie Nazis they saw in local theaters, they were terrified at the time.