Bluestem Prairie

Big trouble in Big Stone County: Strata mining, Ortonville Township and House File 389

Vicki Oakes, chair of the Big Stone County Planning and Zoning Commission, wasn't happy with the 100 restless citizens seated in front of her at the board meeting on Thursday night in Clinton, Minnesota, population 449. 

Upset by the possibility that beloved granite outcroppings in Ortonville Township might soon be blasted into aggregate for concrete, they'd organized, circulated a petition, written letters to the editors of local papers, and marched singing anti-mining tunes and carrying handmade pro-rock, pro-ball cactus signs to the Clinton Community Center.

Some weren't respecting her authority, throwing out loud suggestions about what she could do with the conditional use permit (CUP) sought by Strata Corporation, a Grand Forks sand and gravel corporation running gravel pits across the upper Midwest.

Not that the suggestions that "You could just vote no" were profane or vulgar. Just out of order.  But not too out of order, since sheriff's deputies were on hand to keep the peace, and the motley crowd of cattle farmers, small business people, students, Dakota activists, Republicans, DFLers, writers, artists, and local food growers had parked their signs outside.

But Oakes, Community Development Coordinator for the City of Ortonville, was letting her temper flair during the informally managed meeting. When citizens clapped, booed or recorded proceedings on cell phones, she slapped them down.

Welcome to pitchforks and torches, Minnesota Western Boundary Waters Nice style.

***

The dominant model for protest--Tea Party or leftward--is the Alinsky model: pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. In Big Stone County, home to fewer than 5300 souls, this can be a bit awkward, especially when the argument isn't about stopping development, but rather, what sort of development is best to keep Big Stone County from continuing to hemorrhage people as residents take off to Sioux Falls or the Cities.

One bet is the traditional extractive industry like gravel pits.  The West Central Tribune's Tom Cherveny reports in Quarry proposal opens mining debate on the edge of Minnesota’s western boundary waters:

The quarry would pay a projected $20,000 a year in aggregate taxes to Big Stone County and Ortonville Township annually. It is projected to create six to eight jobs.

That's not a lot by metro terms, but on the western border away from any mini-metropolis, those jobs are hard to come by. The successful but aging farmer who seeks to lease his land to Strata Corporation frames the development in those terms.

Gayle Hedge shared his thoughts with writer Anne Queenan in emerging synergy for love of place?, a profile posted on her blog. Queenan writes:

Understanding Gayle’s story seems important as it has a pivotal impact on what the landscape will look like along the headwaters of the Minnesota River 130 years from now.  It is a story filled with hard work, entrepreneurism, humor and a big love of life in a small town of western Minnesota. . . .

Hedge believes the county will benefit from the proposed quarries with six to eight new seasonal positions for Big Stone County and a combined tax revenue of approximately $26,000 a year.  “Those employees will fill some of the many vacant houses available in Ortonville, ” Hedge said.  In addition, he plans to set up a fund for the City of Ortonville through $50,000 received from Strata Corporation in exchange for the agreement to mine the land for the next 130 years.  

In Big Stone County's scale of things, that's a generous endowment. Hedge is a respected member of his community who is looking to the longterm, 130 years into the future. Queenan's article doesn't spell out what entity will administer the fund (the City of Ortonville or a community foundation) but even quarry opponents appreciate the caring qesture.

Others suggest that the rock outcroppings--and the wildlife refuge and bike trail near them--have a more enduring economic value. Cherveny writes:

Lodging and hospitality industry revenues in 2010 in Big Stone County totaled $4.1 million, with tax revenues to all sources of $282,000, according to the Minnesota Department of Revenue.

The environmental harm — the loss of yet another endangered rock outcrop — and what mining operations ultimately means to the area is what brought Duane Ninneman to Clinton on Sunday. Blasting and crushing rock and loading trains are all certain to add silica and other dust to the air and cause noise pollution to the detriment of residents in the area, he explained.

A Big Stone County resident and consultant with Clean Up the River Environment, Ninneman has been helping residents opposed to the project. “Our concern is our residents and making sure their way of life is a good way of life,’’ said Ninneman.

For Vicki Oakes, the dilemma isn't an abstraction, but a professional tension. In addition to serving as the Community Development Coordinator for the City of Ortonville, Oakes serves on the Western Prairie Waters Regional Tourism board.

***

Big Stone County resident Duane Ninneman also takes a long view, but sees things from a different perspective as a member of the Minnesota River revival movement. If it issued cards, he'd carry one, but the intentional community building that's been going on among sustainable development advocates hasn't gotten around to that part yet.

Instead, the movement members have built groups like CURE (Clean Up the River Environment), sustainability projects, the Meander art gallery crawl, eco-tourism and community building.  While there's oppositional organizing, as the case of the fight against the Big Stone II coal plant and the protest signs at the Clinton meeting, the folks along the Upper Minnesota River are more interested in teaching the art of hosting than selling the metrics of the Alinsky methods.

CURE Executive Director Patrick Moore, a mainstay on Montevideo's Main Street, hands me a flyer for the Art of Hosting Training that the group is sponsoring in early May at the Prairie's Edge Resort and Casino in Granite Falls. The Art of Hosting, the document tells me, attempts to heal the broken relationships between people.

In the conflict in Big Stone County, Moore seeks to stop the relentless march of the permit process so that citizens can hold the sort of "courageous conversations" that they need to have about what sort of communities they and their children should enjoy.  A musician and river enthusiast, he peppers his conversations with notions of respect, compassion and dialogue for everyone.

Right now, he and his friends in Big Stone County are talking about the interim ordinance that the Ortonville Township Board of Supervisors passed to give residents time to talk about what they want for their community. MPR's Mark Steil reports in Quarry plan faces more hurdles:

And there's another potential roadblock for the project. The Ortonville Township Board has passed a moratorium on new projects like the proposed quarry. The township plans to set up its own planning and zoning commission which would have to approve Strata's plans. Strata officials say they are reviewing the township action.

The Minnesota Supreme Court has consistently upheld the authority of townships to govern themselves and pass their own rules. It's part of the tradition of local control in Minnesota, one that's threatened by players far away from Big Stone County.

***

On Friday afternoon after the Clinton hearing, I receive a blast action alert from the Land Stewardship Project, which keeps a field office in Montevideo that promotes local food and sustainable, family-scale agriculture. Organizer Bobby King cuts to the chase about the threat to local control, specifically interim ordinances like that approved by the Ortonville Township board:

House File 389 will make it more difficult for citizens who want their township, county or city to take action and protect the community from unanticipated, harmful development. The bill weakens the power of local governments to enact interim ordinances (also called land use moratoriums). An interim ordinance allows local governments to quickly put a temporary freeze on major development. This power is essential when the community is caught off-guard by unanticipated and potentially harmful proposals, especially those from corporate interests and outside investors, such as big box stores like Wal-Mart or a large-scale factory farm. An interim ordinance freezes the status quo and gives the community time to review or create the appropriate zoning ordinances.

UPDATE: House File 389 was tabled at the Jan. 26 hearing in the House Government Operations and Elections Committee due to our phone calls and e-mails and strong testimony in opposition. Now new language for the bill is being proposed as a “compromise.” However, this new language still dramatically weakens local control and is NOT a compromise. Under this new proposal, after a project applies for a permit the local unit of government has a short window of time in which to enact an interim ordinance. If they miss that window, then the proposed project is exempt. The clock starts running before any public hearing — by the time there is a hearing, the clock could be run out. . .

In short, taking away one of the tools citizens in Big Stone County just implemented to stop the clock for a timeout and conversation. Gutting local control has long been a goal of developers and Big Ag, but with self-professed enemies of big government now in control of the state capitol, the odds for big government to neuter little government has never been higher.

Indeed, part of the rushed conversation about Strata in Big Stone County arises in that same paradox: thanks to a "reform" in the permitting process, Big Stone County has only 60 days to review a permit application under most circumstances, following recent reforms of the process.

Ortonville Township isn't alone in the questions it's taking time to ask about mining by enacting a moratorium.

Across the state in Southeastern Minnesota, Goodhue, Wabasha and Winona Counties have adopted interim ordinances to review the impact of silica sand (fracking sand) mining as the natural gas boom and attendent use of hydrologic fracking to abstract gas from shale fires demand for the fine sand.

Citizens on the other side of the state have packed committee and board hearings, held community meetings and physically blocked trucks hauling fracking sand. Those who argue for development talk jobs; those who oppose the strip mines talk water quality, dust, property value, natural beauty, property values--and jobs, created by tourism from people seeking the loveliness of the Upper Mississippi's driftless region.

***

Neither a need for dialogue nor the Ortonville Township Board of Supervisors was slowing down Big Stone County Planning Commission Chair Vicki Oakes in Clinton on Thursday Night.

And despite a rising series of complications and permit conditions involving dust, water quality issues, livestock health, road access, rare plants, and other issues, Oakes was pushing for "consensus," which looked more like taking a vote and getting a simple majority agreement than the generally accepted definition of  consensus.

This seemed odd, as many reasonable people in the crowd thought that perhaps the discussion might have led rational people to conclude that the site wasn't a particularly good choice for the operation, especially since there are so many other areas in the region where rock could be mined. Indeed, some observers later wondered why huge piles of tailings from old quarries couldn't be crushed for aggregate--and that doing so might cost Strata less, thereby increasing profit.  No time for dialogue on that.

Nor was Oakes buying a suggestion from a board member that perhaps Strata simply be allowed to have one quarry, for 30 years, so that the impacts of one mine could be assessed after one generation. Instead, she appeared to be on board with the notion that a permit for 130 years was the only reasonable approach for mining on the difficult site.

She also wanted the public to sit down and behave, though apparently she deemed representatives from Strata as having enough interest in the project to allow them to approach the tables where she sat to conduct side conversions that weren't clear to the rest of us.

Indeed, it was difficult to note just who was speaking in the meeting, since Oakes tended not to call on board members by name before they spoke. Since the meeting was only being audiotaped (with videotaping forbidden), I knew that it would be hard to tell who said what when I got the tape, so I tried shooting video with my cellphone. 

No dice: Oakes snapped at me to stop, and a few seconds later warned: "I better not see that posted on the Internet."

The board voted 5-3, with one abstention, to recommend passage of the CUP by the County Commissioners. Since the vote wasn't videotaped for all to see, a staff member at CURE created the graphic above.

After the meeting, I snapped some closeups of the board; Oakes ordered me to "Stop it." I indentified myself as a reporter/writer from a blog. She seemed more angry than ever (one suspects that rough treatment in a local online forum may have influenced that rage).

A few moments later, I approached her like my hand extended to shake and attempted to introduce myself and name the place where I publish, but she snapped at me to stop again. I asked once more if she wanted to comment --a request met with a resounding no.

Perhaps she might profit from taking in that training on the Art of Hosting in May--as may I.

Photos: The vote in Clinton (above; photo by BSP); the site in Ortonville Township (middle;photo by Anne Queenan); Vicki Oakes after the meeting ( below; photo by BSP).

Cattle farmers aren't stupid: Draz constituent responds to silly Republican letter to editor

Last week, Bluestem performed a little exegesis on the epistle of Peter Doyle to the Winona Daily News in Dairy farmers are stupid: Drazkowski defender scolds critic for reading MN House journal.

Bluestem fans may recall that Doyle attacked McMillin for being informed.

Bill McMillin. the target of Mr. Doyle's spleen, replies in‘Operative’ letter silly, misinformed, a letter to the editor, which the WDN took the liberty of editing.

Fortunately, the farmer and Drazkowski constituent sent Bluestem the unedited version (BSP learned that McMillin no longer milks a herd, but raises beef cattle):

Recently Peter Doyle wrote a LTE in this paper titled “DFL operative just milking cows?"

Mr. Doyle did not dispute any of the legislative information I gave in a previous LTE showing the disconnect between Rep. Drazkowski’s stated priorities and his votes; rather, he attempted to use silly barnyard humor to attack me and divert attention from the real issues.

Some of his letter referred to statements made in a previous LTE in which I was called a “DFL operative”, who was “sniping from the weeds”, presenting ideas in a “cloak of anonymity” and engaged in “class warfare”.

In any case, Mr. Doyle got three things wrong in his first sentence. He stated that I was chairman of the Wabasha County DFL. Wrong, I am associate chair, as pointed out by the writer of the previous letter attacking me. He stated that I said I was not a DFL operative. I said no such thing. I said that I found that statement amusing. (For the record, if he uses operative as an adjective, I will gladly accept the compliment. Webster’s defines operative as an efficient or capable worker. If he meant it as a noun, (spy or detective) that’s not me.) His third mistake was when he said “he only spends his time milking cows”. I did not say that! I no longer even milk cows. After the previous letter writer used all the guerilla warfare terms to describe me, I said: “I never really thought of my life like that. To be honest, I’ve farmed my whole life. I’ve spent most of it milking cows.” To clarify, I milked cows for about 40 years (farm kids start young) but I have raised beef cows and crops the last five years. (One must not make assumptions)

Mr. Doyle ends his letter with “Thanks to Rep. Steve Drazkowski for doing a great job in constituent services outreach. It is a strong statement to his integrity when he not only responds to any constituent who asks him for help- but he even offers the very same level of service to his known political opponents.”

Rep. Drazkowski is my representative. Why shouldn’t he give me the same level of service as he gives others? Anyway, I’ll share my experience with Draz’s constituent response.

Earlier this year Reps. Drazkowski and Benson had a Town Hall meeting in Plainview which I attended. I wrote each of them a letter thanking them for hosting the meeting and I had a couple follow up questions. I received a quick response from Rep. Benson. In the following weeks, I made 2 follow up phone calls to Draz’s office. I was assured by the secretary he would call me back. He never did.

Another example, after a Town Hall meeting in Wabasha, I contacted Rep Drazkowski with some questions concerning drastic cuts in the waivers program for the elderly and developmentally disabled. This issue had come up at the meeting. Simple questions such as: “How many people now receive waivers?” “How will the new legislation affect the number of people who may receive waivers?” “What are the options for those denied waivers?” Questions I thought a responsible decision maker with a stated priority of protecting our elderly and vulnerable adults would have asked in the debate leading up to the vote. Instead of answering the questions, Rep Drazkowski sent me links to 3 websites which totaled about 250 pages. I skimmed through them and did not find the answers. So I called the policy analyst listed on the Health and Human Services Bill. He confirmed that the answers to those questions would not be found in the bill. (I had suspected Rep. Drazkowski was sending me on a wild goose chase, but I needed to confirm it)

It was Mr. Doyle, not I, who drew the connection between Rep Drazkowski’s integrity and the quality of his constituent services outreach. I will give Rep. Drazkowski credit, he has held many Town Meetings, but his follow up on constituent outreach is sometimes lacking.

Photo: Bill McMillin is no longer milking cows, although Peter Doyle milked the subject.

Wrathful in Wabasha County: Drazkowski acolyte Roschen faces recall from county commission

Deb Roschen, an ally of state representative Steve Drazkowski who was once his campaign manager, is fighting for her political life (such as it is). After serving ten month on the Wabasha County board, she is the subject of a recall petition being circulated by local citizens.

While Roschen and her defenders denied any accusations and letters writers have made thinly veiled suggestions that anyone who signed the petition--especially public employees--would be subject to scrutiny themselves, the Winona Daily News was busily investigating the conflict.

After obtaining emails and other documents through a public records request, the WDN's Adam Voge reports in Commissioner accused of violating meetings law, overstepping authority:

In 10 months as a Wabasha County Commissioner Deb Roschen overstepped her authority by implying she would cut the county sheriff’s department’s budget after the sheriff did not support state legislation she favored, and sought to terminate a county social services employee after the employee blamed county budget cuts for a delay in services, according to documents and county officials.

She also formally accused the sheriff of harassment in September, then abruptly halted the ensuing investigation by declining to participate in it.

Roschen’s actions are detailed in emails and other documents obtained by the Daily News through a public-records request.

Read the whole article to get the full monty on this charming public official.

What was the legislation that prompted her budget cutting threats to the sheriff's office? From the article:

Bartsh said that in April Roschen implied she would cut his budget if he chose not to support a bill in the Minnesota Legislature that would have removed state mandates for staffing county jails and given authority to county sheriffs.

According to Roschen, Bartsh originally showed support for the bill, authored by  Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa — for whom Roschen once worked as a campaign manager — then declined to testify in support. Bartsh said Wednesday he never supported the bill.

Roschen wrote him an email in April to express her disappointment. In the email, she wrote that it “seems to me that it would be prudent for the Sheriff to support this bill in order to save tax dollars. Without these measures County Boards will certainly need to look at where we can cut expenses.”

“Without the cooperation from department heads on opportunities like this the cuts will likely need to be deep and painful,” she wrote. “Something for you to ponder while there is still time to do the right thing!”

Roschen said Wednesday her message was meant to encourage cooperation, and that all departments had equal likelihood of facing cuts.

“That’s not a threat, that’s economics,” she said. “That’s me saying we have budget concerns and we need to work together or cuts will be made.”

In a email to Bartsh the next day, Roschen apologized for being “too quick to anger” and stressed the need to work together.

Bartsh said he originally read Roschen’s message as a direct threat and felt “bad things would come my way” if he didn’t cooperate, an interpretation he continues to stand by.

Bartsh makes a reasonable point. And Roschen seems to like punishing perceived opponents to her agenda. While two of the points in the petition are based on disputed minutes kept by County Administrator David Johnson, the official email record isn't pleasant.

Readers may remember Roschen's role in Draz's drive to repeal the Pay Equity Act (PEA). She famously argued that PEA doesn't protect women, but only provides equal pay for equal work. The horror!

(As Bluestem noted earlier this year, via the St. Cloud Times, the Winona Daily News reported that the law has  actually had an impact for public employees. In the last 14 years, 96 resolved penalties brought just over $1.2 million in restitution to 1,300 employees and almost $210,000 in fines.)

Photo: Deb Roschen plays her tiny violin.

Winona Co. soil & water board wants fracking sand moratorium; opposition spreads to Olmsted

The Winona Daily News reports in County agency calls for moratorium on frac sand mining:

Winona County’s Soil and Water Conservation District voted unanimously Wednesday to support a one-year moratorium on frac sand mining in the county.

“There’s still a lot of questions and controversy over environmental concerns,” said Daryl Buck, the district’s manager. “Our job isn’t to say yes or no, but to help the county assess what needs to be done and what concerns need to be addressed.”

District supervisors are primarily concerned about the potential for mining operations to contaminate the water table, the reclamation of mining sites, and the protection of rare species.

There are three pending applications for silica sand mining sites in Winona County, which the county is reviewing amid heated public debate on mining the region’s sand.

Supervisor Eric Nelson said the potential for rapid growth in local silica sand mining could explode if permits are approved for the three sites before the county fully studies the potential impacts.

“When things expand quickly without being reviewed, on a larger scale it could create problems we might be able to avoid if we have good reviews,” Nelson said.

Earlier this years, the Goodhue and Wabasha County boards voted for one-year moratoriums in order to review their policies about silica sand mining. The Rochester Post Bulletin reported in Opposition rises up against silica sand mines that citizens in Olmsted County are also organizing:

And now, Olmsted County is facing public resistance to silica sand mining, led by Chatfield resident Paul Jewison. His property is adjacent to a newly proposed silica mine near Chatfield High School, and he's not happy about it.

"Looks like 'Gateway to Bluff Country' turns into 'Highway to Hell,'" he said via email.

Photo: A big honking silica sand mine pit.

A tough row to hoe: on the recall of Arizona Senate President Russell Pearce

The adoption of SB1070 by the state of Arizona was a wake up call for me. Though far from the prairie, the bill made me realize how corporate self-interest could marry anti-immigrant sentiment and give birth to monsters. That monster migrated north in the spring of 2010, in the form of ALEC-inspired Minnesota HF3830, wearing Steve Drazkowski's jacket.

I learned that simply waking to the monsters prowling in America's political landscape wasn't enough. Working with others, we beat back HF3830, though Draz and his kindred still occasional rumble about the need for repressive.

Given the importance of SB1070 in my life as a writer and activist, it's enormously satisfying to read this headline and lead. Fox News Latino reports in Total Recall: Author of Arizona Immigration Law is Voted Out:

In an unprecedented recall election, Arizona's State Senator and Senate President Russell Pearce, conceded defeat Tuesday. The defeat was a stunning rebuke to the author of Arizona's controversial immigration law and could serve as a warning signal to politicians who have advocated hard-line policies on immigration.

The recall vote was widely perceived as a referendum on immigration policies by both sides of the political divide. Pearce himself painted the recall advocates as liberal outsiders who were targeting him because of immigration.

Although the GOP retaines control of the Legislature, Pearce's defeat is being interpreted by Republicans as message that divisive stands on immigration and other issues are not welcome by voters. 

Rebuke. There were other rebukes last night--in Ohio and elsewhere--but none is so sweet as this, or one that will be as personal to friends, from an experienced labor leaders to a young organizer and a young writer. It's good to know that we can unite and turn this country around.

And important to realize that this is just one field rock in a long row to hoe.

Photo: Russell Pearce conceded defeat last night.

Rural newspaper calls for sunshine, no veil of anonymity for funders of public debate

Sunshine, like rain, should fall on everyone--and various passages in the Bible suggest that this indeed happens. Some conservative Christian groups are begging for indulgences nonetheless.

In Anti-gay marriage groups say they won’t follow new campaign finance guidelines, Minnesota Independent's Andy Birkey reports:

A coalition of groups working to convince voters to pass a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage said on Tuesday that it would not follow new rules being proposed by the Minnesota campaign finance board, which watchdog groups say would violate the law.

Minnesota for Marriage is a partnership between the Minnesota Family Council, the Minnesota Catholic Conference and the National Organization for Marriage.

Last week, the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board announced it was considering updating its rules to close loopholes in the ballot initiative’s reporting requirements. The board released guidance to outside groups that want to donate to ballot campaigns such as Minnesota for Marriage which supports the amendment or Minnesotans United for All Families which opposes the amendment, and spelled out how those donations would be disclosed.

In the heart of a deeply Catholic community, a local newspaper is having none of the conservative reluctance to disclose. The editorial board of the New Ulm Journal writes in Donations should be reported:

The right to express one's political opinion has been guaranteed to US citizens since the adoption of the US Constitution. But speaking up has always carried with it the implication that one should be accountable for one's opinion . . . .

. . .The state's Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board issued new guidelines on reporting private donations on public ballot measures. Critics of the decision fear it may discourage some donors from giving to groups involved in the marriage amendment battle because they are afraid of backlash.

But heat has always been part of poltics. "Politics ain't beanbag," as humorist Finley Peter Dunne pointed out way back in 1898. Those who choose to get involved in political debate, either by standing up on a soapbox and shouting, or paying others to shout for them, should have the courage of their convictions and not expect to be protected by a veil of anonymity.

Those who seek to shove their own identity as political contributors back into the closet where they also propose to shove the lives of gay men, lesbians and bisexuals are simply going to have a hard time with their attachment to secrets. 

Good. By pressuring the Republican legislature to pass the marriage inequality amendment, this is a problem they've brought on to themselves. It's hard to muster any sympathy for their sudden need for privacy.

Photo: Stereotypical couple defending marriage, please disclose the source of those bills.

Related post: Peppin pimping hate: House member's spouse "lobbies" caucus on amendment--for whom?

Deform 2.0 Traveling ALEC Medicine Show: if it's Thursday, this must be Worthington

When it comes to "Reform 2.0," the Potemkin hearings put on to give a faux populist cover for the ALEC agenda, the Worthington Globe isn't playing stenographer for the House Republican Caucus like the Rochester Post Bulletin did.

It's allowing local elected officials to sass back.

In Lawmakers organize public session, the Globe reports:

District 22B Rep. Rod Hamilton and District 22A Rep. Joe Schomacker will be in Worthington Thursday for “Reform 2.0,” a public session to gather insights, building upon the last state legislative session. . . .

A major concern for Mayor Alan Oberloh is what happens after sessions such as “Reform 2.0.”

“My biggest question every time we have a public session is do they truly get our input or is it just lip service?” Oberloh asked.

Bluestem recommends that Oberloh read the toolkit and model legislation written by the corporate bill factory (some call it a corporation/conservative legislator dating service) to answer that question.

The Worthington city administrator may want to take a look too, since he's hoping Republican reform might mean something other than cuts:

In recent years, cuts in Local Government Aid (LGA) have been a primary concern for the city. This year the city received about $325,000 less than the amount that it was slated to receive.

“If we lose LGA, we have to increase our tax rates for residents and businesses,” said city administrator Craig Clark about the disbursements that are used to provide core services for the city. “We’re not looking reform measures that mean further cuts.”

The meeting is scheduled from 2:30 to 4 p.m. in Farmer’s Room at Nobles County Government Center.

Photo: Bluestem thinks that despite the listening sessions, the ideas being listened to are from ALEC, which wants to take that hammer to state and local government.

NUPUC rejects coal option for Boiler #4

The New Ulm Journal has been reporting sporadically on a local controversy over converting a boiler in the local steam plant to coal.

Today, the New Ulm Public Utilities Commission (NUPUC) sided with economic common sense and the efforts of a local citizens group, New Ulm Citizens for Clean Energy, and voted no on the proposal.

In July, the newspaper reported that Boiler No. 4 project deemed no longer economically viable. According to the article:

The report showed that projected coal and natural gas prices no longer showed coal burning to be advantageous like it had been when proposed in 2006.

In addition, three factors made "status quo" burning of only natural gas more effective: fracking, the economic downturn and EPA regulations.

The economic downturn created a drop in energy demand that drove down market energy prices. It also caused large electrical output facilities to be generating a surplus because the high demand they were built to accommodate disappeared.

Increases in the practice of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, generated increased natural gas production and lowered its price to extremely low levels.

Current and anticipate costs from environmental and greenhouse gas regulations also raised the project's cost. Current regulations alone would require an additional $1.5 million of work on non-project related smoke stacks in order for the Boiler No. 4 project to be in compliance. . . .

Following the report, the newpaper's editorial board urged a Cautious approach to Boiler No. 4 to the NUPUC. Letters to the editor tended to give a thumbs down for the project and were published under titles like No more spending on coal and A Major Mistake.

Unlike the Journal's board, Bluestem isn't happy about fracking, but the local citizens and environmentalists are happy, and they're right about the problems that still surround the use of coal for power generation. Pleased with the vote,the Sierra Club sent out the following statement:

New Ulm Says No to Coal

Facing pressure from community members and updated economic analysis, New Ulm Public Utilities Commission votes to suspend coal conversion project

New Ulm, MN – On Tuesday, the New Ulm Public Utilities Commission (NUPUC) voted to suspend project activities for a proposed conversion of Boiler #4 at its steam plant to coal. Concerned citizens cheered as commissioners voted not to move forward with a plan that would have increased air pollution and cost the city over $23 million.

Sue Kimmel of New Ulm Citizens for Clean Energy was very pleased with the decision. “Coal is our dirtiest form of energy; burning coal is a leading trigger of asthma attacks and the biggest source of mercury pollution. We thank the New Ulm Public Utilities Commission for today’s decision to keep New Ulm coal free.”

The NUPUC plan to convert Boiler #4 to burn coal was part of the long term energy plan developed in 2006. New Ulm Citizens for Clean Energy has been working with the Sierra Club and the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy (MCEA) to stop the project from moving forward since NUPUC applied for an air permit for the project from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency in 2009.

Said Kimmel “Investing in coal would have reduced our capacity to invest in long-term clean energy solutions that could benefit New Ulm’s environment and economy. We look forward to working with the NUPUC to identify opportunities to move towards a clean energy future.”

At the July NUPUC meeting, the NUPUC's consultants Sargent & Lundy presented an updated economic analysis of the project that concluded coal was no longer the most economic option for New Ulm, but recommended the NUPUC move forward with the air permit application to keep its options open. After revisiting the report and acquiring additional information on natural gas and coal pricing, the NUPUC staff recommended suspending work on the project, writing in the recommendation that the “project has lost its economic benefit to the City of New Ulm.”

"Today, New Ulm was faced with a decision: choose yesterday’s dirty coal energy or move towards a cleaner energy future. They chose a clean energy future," said Jessica Tatro, Sierra Club Organizing Representative. "This is a major victory for the people of Minnesota and part of a national movement of communities moving beyond coal.”

Who is Kent Kaiser? Bluestem helps her rightside blogging brethren get to know and love him

Bluestem hasn't paid much attention to the raging arguments online about redistricting, mostly because there's only so much time in a day, regardless of how important an issue redistricting might be. Those who want to follow the game should start with Minnesota's community sites on the left and right: Minnesota Progressive Project and True North.

There's also a fine investigative piece out from ProPublica about conservative money coming into the process, mentioned by the Minnesota Independent's Andy Birkey in Undisclosed money flows into Minnesota’s redistricting process. Birkey's post also takes a look at the cash flow from the left.

The names that turn up in the ProPublica report? Annette and Jack Meeks, or at least their home address and the Freedom Foundation that they're now associated with. Readers will probably remember that Annette Meeks was once CEO of the Center of the American Experiment, before being voted out and founding that there Freedom Foundation.

That connection loops this post back the Minnesota blogosphere debate and the name in our headline. Over at True North, the blogger who wrote up DrawTheLine MN: Giving “Potemkin” A Bad Name is having a hard time matching names and places on the state's political map.

Since Bluestem believes that Mitch Berg is as fine a conservative blogger as one might find anywhere, we're here to help him as he looks --and fails--to identify Republicans on the Citizens’ Commission on Redistricting. Having failed to find more than one  Republican on the Commission, Berg quite logically concludes that Draw the Line Minnesota has constructed nothing but a progressive Potemkin Village in Citizens' Commission. Fair enough based on the research he presents.

But given Berg's completely solid credentials as a blogger and researcher, it's a bit puzzling that he missed spotting Kent Kaiser.  Having enlisted our Pretend Internet Boyfriend Mr. Google as unpaid intern on the prairie, we found a lot of connections between Professor Kaiser and Minnesota's conservative Republicans.

Berg writes:

Kent Kaiser of St. Paul is a professor of communication at Northwestern College. Previously, he served as the communications and voter outreach director in the office of the Minnesota Secretary of State. While with the Secretary of State’s office, he serviced as liaison to the U.S. Census Bureau and on the boards of Kids Voting Minnesota and Kids Voting St. Paul.

Yet again – not a single political contribution found.

Since Berg uses criteria in addition to political contributions to assess other members of the commission, it's fair to look beyond  contributions for evidence of Mr. Kaiser's political leanings.

Mr. Google reports that Kaiser is a senior fellow at the Center of the American Experiment, where he's been posting articles since 2009 or so. The bio on the latest article:

Kent Kaiser is an assistant professor of communication at Northwestern College in St. Paul, a Center of the American Experiment senior fellow, and a native of Silver Bay who formerly served as communications and voter outreach director for Minnesota Secretaries of State Mary Kiffmeyer, a Republican, and Mark Ritchie, a DFLer.

Kaiser was brought into the SOS office by Kiffmeyer and stayed trough the beginning of Ritchie's first term. His much publicized report, No Longer A National Model: Fifteen Recommendations for Fixing Minnesota Election Law and Practice, was published by the CAE in 2009.

Nancy Laroche blogged about this report on True North in Kent Kaiser: Fixing Minnesota Election Law and Practice at the time of the release in 2009, giving a hat tip to MDE's post about the report,WILL MARK RITCHIE DO THE RIGHT THING?

Kaiser wrote letters published in the Scandia and St. Cloud papers supporting Michele Bachmann's bid for Congress in 2006. Mitch Berg himself commented on a discussion of one of Kaiser's LTE's in the old 2006 election blog, Bachmann v. Wetterling. In 2009, Kaiser offered a Star Tribune counterpoint defending Bachmann's remarks about not participating in the 2010 Census.

Kaiser was also on the Late Debate with Jack and Ben, a conservative podcast that's included on True North, to discuss redistricting back in August.

Berg and Kaiser are both on @ulookgoodinred, a twitter list kept by Bridget Sutton, wife of Minnesota GOP chair Tony Sutton.  Kaiser is the adviser to the Northwestern College chapter of the College Republicans, according to his biography on the conservative reilgious private college's website. That biography also notes:

He has served as a political communications consultant to numerous first-time candidates for public office, including two who won seats in the U.S. Congress.

Berg might look into that, just in case Keith Ellison is on Kaiser's client list. That might help build his case that Kaiser has no GOP cred.

Photo: Via TCSocialscene, Kent Kaiser with Jeb Bush after the former Florida Governor's April 26 presentation on education. Kaiser is so not a Republican on True North today.

Another peek into Draz's cabinet of walnuttery: cutting those he promised legislative loving

In this morning's Winona Daily News, Bill McMillan shares his experience at one of Representative Steve Drazkowski's town halls when he asked a question about closing tax loopholes for corporations. And since the Rochester Post Bulletin has now shared that Draz's Deform 2.0 meeting is Thursday, Bluestem recommends that readers go get their own precious memory with the Draz.

In What are Rep. Drazkowski’s priorities?, the Kellogg MN man shares the answer with readers of the Winona Daily News:

I asked Drazkowski if it was true he voted against legislation that would have raised revenue by closing tax loopholes for corporations making money in Minnesota but sheltering it in tax havens overseas. (The Minnesota Department of Revenue estimates the amount to be $90 million per year.)  He said he opposed this legislation because it would have meant “raising taxes” on those corporations and he was opposed to raising taxes of any kind. I think most Minnesotans would not consider this “raising taxes,” but as requiring those corporations to pay their fair share.

It's been said the most radical idea in America is a long memory. McMillan demonstrates why when he reminds readers of priorities Draz claimed before the last session:

Before the session began, Drazkowski stated in a guest editorial: “Personally, my top priorities are our kids, our elderly and vulnerable adults, our roads and bridges and public safety.”

Perhaps when he proposed chopping down black walnut trees in state parks, he was only thinking of the children.

McMillin points out some selective amnesia in Draz's votes. A couple of choice examples (read the rest in the Daily News):

• In March 2011, Drazkowski was one of only 16 of the 134 State Representatives to vote for a $19 cut per pupil to our schools.
• This year, Drazkowski voted to drastically limit the number of people allowed to get Elderly and Developmental Disability Waivers for individuals needing care in a facility such as a community-based group home. (About one-third the cost of nursing home care)
• He voted to cut the renters tax credit. (According to a recent survey, 27 percent of households in Minnesota are rented) this would result in a $170 increase in these households, which tend to be low income and elderly.

And readers may remember another one of Draz's cost-saving recommendations for care of the vulnerable: replacing group home staff with baby monitors.

Perhaps Draz is the sort who only cuts those he loves, but Bluestem thinks the Mazeppa lawmaker simply forgot to share ALEC's agenda with the MNGOP caucus staff writer who drafted the column.

The Rochester Post Bulletin has finally shared the date for the local stop this week of The Draz Traveling ALEC Reform 2.0 Medicine Show. (Of course, it's been online on the Olmsted County GOP's calendar for awhile). 

Bluestem hopes readers in the Rochester area will attend and give suggestions for reforming government, though perhaps Draz and his Republican friends only want to hear suggestions that are already in the ALEC corporate bill factory's "State Budget Reform Toolkit." 

Check it out--these are the best ideas money can buy.

Image: Tild's chocolate drazombie bunny.

Related posts: Walz stops at Austin grocery on Tuesday; Draz plans secret day Deform 2.0 meeting in Rochester

The Draz Traveling ALEC Reform 2.0 Medicine Show hits Kenyon, Goodview and beyond

Faribault Daily News to Draz et al: Thou shall not covet thy neighbor's toys (nor any of their levies)

Drazkowski proposes outsourcing own job to corporate bill factory in bold redesign move

 

Goodhue County research group to dig into effects of silica sand mining

The Red Wing Republican Eagle reports in Moratorium allows for a year of silica sand research:

Now that Goodhue County commissioners have unanimously approved a moratorium preventing silica sand mine operations in the county for up to a year, plans are in the works to develop a group that can dig deep into the effects of silica.

To make good use of the next year, Goodhue County Planning Supervisor Mike Wozniak said county staff and commissioners are going to develop a steering committee to thoroughly research certain issues of concern surrounding silica sand mines.

“The challenge we will have here is a lot was asked for, and how do we organize this into a manageable project?” Wozniak said Thursday.

. . .The committee will study a long list of things that could be effected by a potential mine, including water and air quality, roads and bridges, the county’s recreation and the area’s high level of tourism.

“Whoever gets appointed, it’ll be a pretty intense work group,” Goodhue County Land-use Management Director Lisa Hanni said. . . .

Read the rest at the Eagle. The Rochester Post Bulletin reports in Oil company disappointed in frac mining moratorium by Goodhue County:

An official with an oil exploration company that wanted to mine a special kind of sand in southeastern Minnesota expressed disappointment Wednesday about a vote by a county board for a one-year moratorium while it studies the potential environmental, health and financial impacts.

People filled a public hearing room in Red Wing for a meeting Tuesday night that lasted nearly three hours and included public comments from 20 people in support of the moratorium. No one spoke in opposition to the temporary ban, which Goodhue County Commissioner Jim Bryant said will give officials time to assemble an advisory board to study the impact. . . .

"We're disappointed that the county board decided to impose a moratorium but we intend to comply with all the regulations that exist in Goodhue County for the future work that we do," Chip Krohn, a geologist with the company [Windsor Energy Resources Inc./Windsor Permian], told The Associated Press on Wednesday. He said the company believes the county's existing regulations are "more than sufficient" for the board to decide whether to approve or reject permits.

Whatever the company is feeling, the local reaction is more positive. The Post Bulletin's editors concluded in Silica moratorium gives time to address concerns:

There's a lot to like about the one-year moratorium on silica sand mining in Goodhue County that was approved on Tuesday.

For starters, the vote by the county board was unanimous. Issues like this can lead to deep divides in communities and governing bodies, but that didn't happen in this case. Some commissioners might have some concerns about this decision, but they presented a united front when it was time to stand up and be counted, which will make things easier down the road.

We also like the fact that so many county residents are, for lack of a better term, "taking ownership" of this decision. . . .

Read the whole thing at the PB.

Photo: Aerial view of Hays Creek site.

Minnesotans United hires Richard Carlbom to lead campaign to defeat marriage inequality amendment

As a rural Minnesotan who favors marriage equality, I've been hoping that the umbrella group that has formed to defeat the amendment that enshrine discrimination into the Minnesota constitution.

The group just hired Richard Carlbom, an old friend, as campaign manager. Carlbom is a great choice, since the personable young man understands the dynamics of Twin Cities politics, having just finished a stint as Mayor Coleman's communications director, while knowing Greater Minnesota as well as anyone. Shortly after graduating from St. John's, Carlbom was elected Mayor of St. Joseph. He was 23. He came out as a gay man during his first term and was reelected to a second.

He left office to serve as Tim Walz's finance director in 2008, then managed the campaign that brought Walz to a third term in my native southern Minnesota during a tough year for Democrats. Possessed of great humor and boundless energy, Carlbom helped Walz retain the Republican-leaning seat (though the credit for that win ultimately goes to Walz's own good cheer, tirelessness, and fearsome work ethic).

Here's the release:

Minnesotans United for All Families, the campaign to defeat the constitutional amendment banning marriage for same-sex couples, announced today that Richard Carlbom has been hired as Campaign Manager.  

Carlbom, 30, is currently the Communications Director for St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman.    He was Campaign Manager for Congressman Tim Walz’s 2010 congressional race, and prior to that was the Finance and Political Director for Walz.    Carlbom was the Mayor of St. Joseph, Minnesota, from 2005-2007.  He is a graduate of St. John’s University in Collegeville, Minnesota.

Senator Scott Dibble (D-Minneapolis) and Representative Tim Kelly (R-Red Wing) both participated in the hiring process, and praised Carlbom.  Dibble said, “I know that Richard Carlbom is the individual who can lead us to victory.  His work ethic is excellent, and his intelligence and insight inspire confidence.”  Rep Kelly stated, “Mr. Carlbom is a fantastic choice. From my perspective, this issue is not one of partisanship but rather, one of individual freedom and choice. Richard has the ability to bring this message to all Minnesotans in a clear, concise manner, and I look forward to being a part of that effort. ”

"We are thrilled to welcome Richard Carlbom to lead the Minnesotans United campaign," said Ann Kaner-Roth, Executive Director of Project 515, one of the founding organizations of the coalition.  Monica Meyer, Executive Director of OutFront Minnesota, another founding organization, stated, "Richard comes to us with broad campaign experience and a track record of working across political spectrums.  We are fortunate to have someone of his caliber.”

“I am honored to lead this incredibly broad and diverse coalition of organizations and individuals. We will defeat this amendment by remaining united and focused on victory in 2012,” said Richard Carlbom.

Also praising the selection of Carlbom was Tom Knabel, MD, a member of the Human Rights Campaign Board of Directors, who stated, "Richard has important experience in greater Minnesota as well as the metro area, and we're anxious to draw on his relationships across the state as we move forward in our campaign.”

Cristine Almeida, an attorney from St. Paul, facilitated the hiring process for Minnesotans United, and indicated that Carlbom will officially begin work on the campaign on Saturday, September 24, 2011.

Minnesotans United is a coalition of DFL'ers, Republicans, Independents, Greens, Libertarians, business people, labor and faith organizations, elected officials, community leaders and various others who all care deeply about defeating this amendment. 

Bluestem doesn't favor full equality for all people because we feel sorry for LGBTQ people. We favor equality abstractly because we believe in the dignity and worth of all people. But that's not why this blogger is ready to fight against this amendment.

Bluestem's fighting the amendment because the marriages enjoyed by LGBT people in my life enrich my life. This isn't an abstract. It's an ordinary thing, like bread or poetry. Who would settle for life without either?

Photo: Richard Carlbom (center, blue jacket) claps at the 2010 Walz Victory celebration.

Goodhue County commissioners unanimously pass fracking sand mining moratorium

Last night, the Goodhue County board unanimously voted for a one-year moratorium on silica sand mining, the Red Wing Republican Eage reports in Silica sand mine moratorium unanimously approved:

Goodhue County Commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday night to approve a moratorium preventing the issuance of any conditional use permits for silica sand mine operations in the county for up to a year.

Citizen group Save the Bluffs has been working toward getting the moratorium in place for months, and received letters of support from the cities of Red Wing and Lake City, as well as Florence, Hay Creek and Featherstone townships. . . .

The Star Tribune has more in Goodhue County to take a second look at sand mining:

Silica sand has become a valuable commodity in recent years because it is crucial to an oil- and gas-extraction technology called hydrofracking, which is transforming the domestic U.S. energy business.

Sand mining, however, has aroused local controversy in recent months as Red Wing-area residents organized around an effort for the moratorium. "We were elated and relieved" the board approved it, said Jody McIlrath, a member of the citizens group opposed to the mining operation."

. . . The debate in Goodhue County echoes those in small communities across Wisconsin and southern Minnesota as dozens of companies acquire land at high prices to supply drill rigs from New York to Texas.

The Star Tribune reports that mining on the Windsor Permian land in Goodhue County would be too small of a project to trigger state oversight. The local concerns that led to last night's decision:

Opponents say the county shouldn't permit a mining facility near residential communities. They fear damage to local streams and groundwater, and they say the open pit mine will be a blight on Red Wing's beautiful rolling landscape. They are also concerned about potential health effects. Dust from silica sand can cause a number of lung diseases, including cancer.

Nationally, the fracking process, rather than mining the sand itself, has gotten the lion's share of attention:

The hydrofracking process blasts a mixture of sand, water and chemicals into wells, creating fissures in the rock and freeing hard-to-reach pockets of oil and natural gas. Hydrofracking has raised major environmental questions and is under review by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Wisconsin and Minnesota are among the few places in the country that can provide the perfectly round, inert silica sand used in the process; it comes from the 500-million-year-old Jordan sandstone formation that lies close to the surface in parts of both states.

Minnesota Public Radio reports in Goodhue County officials say time needed to study fracture mining:

A proposal for a one-year moratorium on fracture mining, often called fracking, was popular at a meeting Tuesday evening in Red Wing.

About 200 people filled the public hearing room for a meeting that lasted nearly three hours and included public comments from 20 people in support of the moratorium. No one spoke in opposition. . .

For Goodhue residents like Keith Fossen, the moratorium is a victory. Fossen lives near the property purchased by Windsor Permian and said he wants county commissioners to take their time to study the potential impacts of fracture mining, including water pollution and damages to bluffs and roads.

"The work has just begun," Fossen said. "Are we going to permit that kind of industrial mining in our county?

"If the answer is no, then how do we do that correctly? If the answer is yes, then how do we control it? How do we not let it impact the quality of our lives?"

Fossen, who lives 100 yards from the proposed site, took part in a Rochester Post Bulletin community dialogue on mining last week. Read about it here.

Photo: Aerial view of the potential site in Rock Creek Township, Goodhue County.

Related posts: Post Bulletin to kick up silica sand mining dialogue at Rochester library Tuesday night

Fracking update: Red Wing City Council unanimously backs silica mining moratorium

Fracking sand moratorium activists gain steam; Red Wing city commissions support yearlong ban

New Youtube: "High Price" of fracking sand extraction

Goodhue Co. fracking sand mining moratorium supporters mobilize at the township level

No fracking way: Wabasha County places temporary moratorium on silica sand mining

Updated: Windsor Permian consultant spotted at Goodhue County planning commission meeting

Video guy turned activist: Post Bulletin profiles Jim Tittle's work on fracking sand dispute

Connecting the dots on fracking sand: from Hay Creek Township's citizens to the New York Times

Note: The current iteration of this post reflects the correct spelling of Keith Fossen's name. He is incorrectly identified as "Keith Fossum" in PB's reporting.

One SW MN union activist looks ahead: when I see the new baby, I know that my work is not done

Bluestem asked UFCW member Dale Moerke for his thoughts on Labor Day. A forklift driver at JBS, Moerke is an activist grandfather.

Today I have an extra special reason to celebrate Labor Day. My youngest daughter and her husband blessed me with another grandchild, a baby girl born yesterday. She gives me reason to smile on Labor Day, when I probably could be spending the day lamenting about the attacks on the working class this last year.

Yes, there is hope. She joins five other grandchildren (four boys and one girl) who someday sooner than we would like will be in the workforce. I believe there is still an opportunity for them to make significant contributions to our economic and social prosperity.

There will be challenges of course. Women still have to fight for equal pay and opportunities and respect in leadership roles but with some guidance and encouragement I am confident my little rebel girls will be more than ready. Other challenges? The push by business groups and groups on the right to limit the ability of workers to organize and to freely associate must be countered by freedom loving folks like grandparents and grandkids. The free trade folks want us to believe we will all be better off with their wonderful trade agreements. Shipping jobs overseas, murdering trade unionists, and stifling freedom--well, even a kid knows there is something wrong with that.

It has been a rough spring and summer but because of hard working folks who show up to work every day and do their jobs to the best of their ability I can still look to the future and see hope. I know that my grandkids will have the freedom to marry whoever they choose. They will be able to work despite any disabilities they might have. They will be able to vote regardless of their economic status.

A bunch of wishful thinking from a grandparent? I don’t think so. When I see the new baby I know that my work is not done nor the work of my colleagues. This Labor Day I will recognize the contributions of others and continue to pave the way for future generations.

Peace & solidarity

Dale Moerke

Photo: Brother Dale Moerke and his newest granddaughter. A big congratulations to the families.

American Crystal Sugar lockout update: rally in the TC; former executive sees both sides now

As America heads into the long Labor Day weekend, union workers at American Crystal Sugar remain locked out by management. Minnesotans can show soldiarity by joining a rally and action at Strom Engineering, which supplies scabs to replace those management won't let work.

Via the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation's Facebook page, the skinny on tomorrow monring's action:

American Crystal Sugar workers in Moorhead, East Grand Forks, Crookston, and Chaska, MN, Hillsboro and Drayton, ND, and Mason City, IA showed up to work last week only to find their company has locked them out. Instead of letting 1300 people continue working while a fair contract is negotiated, American Crystal Sugar executives have instead decided to hurt our communities with an unnecessary lockout.

Meanwhile, American Crystal S...ugar has been working with Strom Engineering to hire non-union replacement workers during the shutdown. It’s time to stand up against this injustice.

Join us on Thursday, September 1st from 8:00 to 10:00 AM for a rally and action at Strom Engineering to show solidarity with BCTGM workers.

WHO: Labor partners and allies who want to stand in solidarity with locked out BCTGM workers
WHAT: A rally and action to show solidarity for locked-out sugar workers
WHERE: Strom Engineering, Minnetonka (We’ll meet at the Park & Ride at I-394 and Hopkins Crossing at 8:00 AM and get rides over to the rally site)
WHEN: 8:00 to 10:00 AM on Thursday, September 1, 2011

Please RSVP to or contact Adam Robinson with questions: 651-252-1041 or adam@minneapolisunions.org.

Need motivation to get over there? Go read a fascinating article in the Grand Forks Herald, UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE: Former corporate exec sees different side as locked-out American Crystal worker. Staff writer Ryan Schuster reports:

Gary Watts spoke in a soft Southern drawl as he sat on the couch of his family’s modest rental duplex in a quiet Grand Forks neighborhood.

Watts said he doesn’t regret leaving his once-fulfilling corporate job at Home Depot or moving to Grand Forks to be closer to his wife’s ailing father two years ago.

“It was the best decision I could have ever made,” he said. “It was a real blessing in disguise. This is a good community with great people. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

He also said he has no regrets about his decision to leave a steady job at the J.R. Simplot Co. plant in Grand Forks a year ago to become a campaign worker with American Crystal Sugar Co.

Watts, 48, became a year-round employee of American Crystal’s East Grand Forks plant in July. Less than a month later, he was one of about 1,300 workers in union-represented positions who were locked out of American Crystal facilities by the company on Aug. 1.

Read the whole thing and learn the lessons Watts has experienced as a union member.  The Herald also published commentary by one of the farmers in the co-operative, VIEWPOINT: It’s all about risk, sugar beet farmer says. The article concludes:

. . .The newspapers have been full of stories lately about the labor situation affecting American Crystal and its union workers. Like every other farmer who owns stock in the company, I want to see this resolved fairly for the employees and the company alike.

We put a lot on the line when we bought stock in American Crystal and when we planted our crops this spring. As a farmer, I understand that those investments involve risk. In 2010, things lined up favorably for me and for other sugar beet farmers; in 2011, things will be much less in our favor.

We want a resolution to the labor contract that means that we can keep raising sugar beets when our crop or the sugar market turn against us. This means that we can continue to farm and that we can continue to provide jobs in our factories for our families, friends and neighbors.

Finally in the Grand Forks sister paper, the Fargo Forum, a look at the differences that North Dakota's right-to-work laws make for those locked out by management in American Crystal workers vs. Job Service North Dakota:

The labor dispute between American Crystal Sugar Co. and its unionized workers is at the one-month mark.

Early on in the lockout of the unionized American Crystal workers, it was determined by Job Service North Dakota that workers who are North Dakota residents do not qualify for unemployment insurance benefits. The reason cited is that North Dakota law does not allow a worker to receive unemployment benefits during a lockout situation. Job Service North Dakota administers the state’s unemployment compensation system.

On the other hand, American Crystal workers who are Minnesota residents are receiving unemployment benefits because the law in Minnesota allows workers who do qualify for unemployment benefits to receive them under a lockout.

Right to work

The situation with the locked-out American Crystal workers who live in North Dakota is pretty typical under a “Right to Work” or an ”Employment at Will” law. The employer in North Dakota almost always has the upper hand over an employee when it comes to an employee-employer dispute. . . .

Imagine what this would mean to a man like Gary Watts, who moved to Minnesota to help his wife care for her father, slipping away into Alzheimers. Minnesota politicians like ALEC members Gretchen Hoffman and Steve Drazkowski, both of whom favor the corporate bill factory's anti-worker agenda, would put Watts' family into a position where they'd have to take whatever management was offering.

Photo: Locked out workers.

Stopping inequality: Minnesotans United begins pro-family trainings in Greater Gopher State

In Groups gear up to oppose anti-gay marriage amendment, the Minnesota Independent's Andy Birkey notes that Minnesotans United for All Families:

The coalition is also launching statewide trainings geared toward defeating the amendment and creating “the largest grassroots campaign this state has ever seen.”

The trainings will be in more than a dozen cities beginning Sept. 13, including Minneapolis, Moorhead, Duluth, St. Paul, Rochester, Mankato, Alexandria, Bemidji, St. Cloud and Marshall, as well as locations in the northern and southern Twin Cities suburbs.

The schedule is posted here beneath the fold.

Can't wait to talk back to marriage inequality fans? Put down the glitter and grab these handy guides: there's Think Progress's A Quick Guide To Debunking Minnesota For Marriage’s Talking Points and a point-by-point debunking of MFM's flier at Flier belier: Debunking MN For Marriage's latest handout, out from Good As You.

 

Post Bulletin to kick up silica sand mining dialogue at Rochester library Tuesday night

The Rochester Post Bulletin will hold a community discussion about silica sand mining tomorrow night, it reports in P-B Dialogues digs into sand mining:

On Tuesday, the Post-Bulletin Dialogues community meeting will explore the issue and bring together people from around the area who have questions and answers, led by Managing Editor Jay Furst. The free, informal discussion is from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Rochester Public Library, which co-sponsors the Dialogues series.

More details at the paper. One point Bluestem will take issue with: a statement that silica sand mining has been going on elsewhere in the area with little protest.

That's true in some cases. Back in July, the Post Bulletin reported in Silica sand mine in Fillmore stirs no controversy that one small, 18-acre mine in Fillmore County was considered a good actor by the county planning and zoning administrator. He told the paper that the operator wasn't selling the black dirt stripped away to mine the sand and this practice will allow the mine operator to reclaim the pit more easily when it is played out.

Cross the Mississippi River, and you'll find the Concerned Citizens of Chippewa, who have been organizing around a sand plant in their town.  Jim Tittle's site features discussions with people living near other mines in Wisconsin. 

And in LeSueur County? There was a three-year fight over the Kasota Prairie before Unminn was forced to settle for a number of conditions in order to mine. And over in Ottawa, plans by the same company caused the Preservation Alliance of Minnesota to place historic buildings on its 10 most endangered properties of 1998:

Stone buildings of Ottawa Township, Ottawa Township, Le Sueur County

Built during the 1850s to 1870s, seven native limestone buildings - houses, churches and a town hall - form a charming remnant of a Minnesota River village that was once a center of stone quarrying. Their future may not be so charming: They stand on land that is a prime target for an advancing silica sand mining operation. (Linda Mack, "10 endangered properties for '98; The Preservation Alliance of Minnesota lists structures threatened by storms, demolition or neglect," Star Tribune, May 10, 1998, via Nexis All News, accessed August 29, 2011)

Despite this caveat, Bluestem encourages readers in Southeastern Minnesota to attend. The PB's Brett Boese has done some superlative coverage of the issue in Goodhue County and Furst has a style all his own.

Photo: Aerial view of Hay Creek Township site in Goodhue County.

Related posts: Fracking update: Red Wing City Council unanimously backs silica mining moratorium

Fracking sand moratorium activists gain steam; Red Wing city commissions support yearlong ban

New Youtube: "High Price" of fracking sand extraction

Goodhue Co. fracking sand mining moratorium supporters mobilize at the township level

No fracking way: Wabasha County places temporary moratorium on silica sand mining

Updated: Windsor Permian consultant spotted at Goodhue County planning commission meeting

Video guy turned activist: Post Bulletin profiles Jim Tittle's work on fracking sand dispute

Connecting the dots on fracking sand: from Hay Creek Township's citizens to the New York Times

Fracking update: Red Wing City Council unanimously backs silica mining moratorium

Rather old news, but the Red Wing Republican Eagle reported earlier this week that City backs sand moratorium:

Loud applause was heard from a handful of Save the Bluffs members Monday night after the Red Wing City Council unanimously voted to support the citizen group in its request for a moratorium on silica sand mining in the county.

Although the city of Red Wing does not have jurisdiction on the county matter, Save the Bluffs brought its moratorium idea to a past City Council meeting in hopes of gathering support to show county commissioners there are a lot of concerns circling the issue.

The vote by the city council joins the growing list of local government bodies that have expressed such concerns. The Red Wing Advisory Planning Commission and the Sustainability Commission, the Hay Creek Town Board and Florence Town Board have also vote to support a moratorium.

As one Goodhue County commissioner said,

“I think there’s a lot more to this than meets the eye,” Commissioner Ron Allen said last week. “That’s why I’m not ready to vote on it and let the county get ripped apart with their sand operations.”

Read the article at the Eagle.

Photo: Aerial view of the potential mine site.

Related posts: Fracking sand moratorium activists gain steam; Red Wing city commissions support yearlong ban

New Youtube: "High Price" of fracking sand extraction

Goodhue Co. fracking sand mining moratorium supporters mobilize at the township level

No fracking way: Wabasha County places temporary moratorium on silica sand mining

Updated: Windsor Permian consultant spotted at Goodhue County planning commission meeting

Video guy turned activist: Post Bulletin profiles Jim Tittle's work on fracking sand dispute

Connecting the dots on fracking sand: from Hay Creek Township's citizens to the New York Times

Updated with video from the Grandma's protests! Cravaack gives in, will conduct Duluth town hall

Chad McKenna, the Field Coordinator for the North East Area Labor Council, has posted on his Facebook page:

Cravaack caves to public pressure. Townhall in Duluth tomorrow at 4pm [it will be at 3 p.m.] . Details to follow...

Bluestem has contacted McKenna for more information. A Facebook post by the Alliance for a Better Minnesota says that it has heard that the town hall will be at the airport.

The concession comes after complaints that Cravaack as not held free public town halls in Duluth, the largest city in the Eighth, while attending privately sponsored events in the Duluth area that require an admission charge to be paid.

Update: A few minutes after Bluestem posted, MPR reported Cravaack reverses course, will now hold Duluth town hall, confirming that the event will take place at the airport at 4:00 p.m. As noted, now at 3 p.m. [end update]

Update #2: Here's video of the moment when Congressman Cravaack tells the protesters he'll meet tomorrow (Wednesday, August 2) in a town hall. The time has been changed to 3 p.m. 

The Duluth New Tribune reported this morning in Opponents plan to picket Cravaack meeting at Grandma’s in Duluth:

Opponents of U.S. Rep. Chip Cravaack say they will protest today near Grandma’s Saloon and Grill in Duluth, where the freshman congressman will speak to Minnesota members of the National Federation of Independent Businesses.

Labor leaders and other DFL-leaning groups say the Grandma’s meeting is another example of Cravaack, R-North Branch, ignoring common Northlanders in favor of raising campaign money or meeting with his Republican-leaning allies. The National Federation of Independent Businesses supported Cravaack in his bid last November to unseat incumbent Democrat Jim Oberstar.

A similar protest was held Wednesday at Wayzata Country Club in suburban Minneapolis where Cravaack, House Speaker John Boehner and

Twin Cities Rep. Erik Paulsen attended a $10,000-per-person fundraiser for the chance to play golf with the Republicans, or $1,000 to dine with them. Cravaack did not golf but attended the dinner event, said Michael Bars, Cravaack’s spokesman.

Cravaack is scheduled to have breakfast todayat Northland Country Club in Duluth to address the Minnesota Society of Certified Public Accountants. . . .

The paper adds:

The local protesters say Cravaack should hold a town hall meeting in the Duluth area before Congress’ monthlong August recess comes to an end. They say Cravaack is dodging the area because of his votes in Congress to change Medicare and temporarily shut down projects under the Federal Aviation Administration, threatening construction projects.

“It’s easy to only meet with people who have the same extreme ideology that led (Cravaack) to support turning Medicare into a voucher system and stubborn anti-union views that led to the costly shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration,” said Dan O’Neill, president of the Duluth Central Labor Body, in a statement. “But the reality is if that’s all you do, the only thing you’re going to create is gridlock. In the 8th (Congressional District), what we need is job creation, not more gridlock.”

Bluestem will update this post as more information becomes available.

Fracking sand moratorium activists gain steam; Red Wing city commissions support yearlong ban

The Red Wing Eagle and the Rochester Post Bulletin report that the effort to pass a moratorium against mining silica sand in Goodhue County is gaining steam.

The company that has purchased land in Goodhue County uses silica sand for "fracking," a controversial process used to extract natural gas from shale.

In More support for sand moratorium from Red Wing groups, the Eagle's Regan Carstensen reports:

The Red Wing Advisory Planning and Sustainability commissions each voted unanimously Tuesday night to recommend that the Red Wing City Council support a moratorium preventing any silica sand mines from being established in Goodhue County for an entire year.

The two commissions, which normally meet separately, held a joint meeting solely to discuss the silica sand mine issue.

Citizen group Save the Bluffs previously brought the moratorium idea to the City Council, which decided to get input from the two commissions. . . .

Christensen digs into the scale of the potential mining:

While environmental and health problems are some of the public’s main concerns, so is the possibility of silica sand mines spreading throughout the county.

“It’s not just one mine that’s being looked at,” Egbert said, referring to the expected silica sand mine in Hay Creek Township. “There are also some test wells on some other properties. From the history in Wisconsin, if you have a transfer station — which is what’s proposed in Frontenac — you have multiple mines that feed into it.”

The Hay Creek Township mine would be 155 acres, but Egbert said citizens are worried mining would quickly become much more widespread.

“In Wisconsin there have been conditional-use permits that were applied for, and they’re expanding and their mines are getting quite large,” she said, adding that some have reached 500 acres.

At the Post Bullletin, Brett Boese reports in Will Red Wing support moratorium on silica sand mining? that while the Oklahoma-based energy company Windsor Permian hasn't formally requested a permit yet, it has written to county officials that it is drafting the paperwork for a permit. Boese also writes:

The 155-acre plot Windsor Permian purchased for $2.6 million is less than two miles south of Red Wing and, if a mine is created, a potential truck route would go through the edge of town and very near a nursing home, a technical school and the high school. The other 40 acres are north of Lake City and are believed to be tabbed for a transfer station for mining trucks.

Dust from silica sand is considered a carcinogen and has been linked to cancer and silicosis, a deadly disease.

The Eagle has published Letter: Yes, learn the facts about mining in response to another writer who criticized the calls for a moratorium, but hasn't been at any of the meetings.

Photo: An aerial view of the Hays Creek Township site.

Related posts: New Youtube: "High Price" of fracking sand extraction

Goodhue Co. fracking sand mining moratorium supporters mobilize at the township level

No fracking way: Wabasha County places temporary moratorium on silica sand mining

Updated: Windsor Permian consultant spotted at Goodhue County planning commission meeting

Video guy turned activist: Post Bulletin profiles Jim Tittle's work on fracking sand dispute

Connecting the dots on fracking sand: from Hay Creek Township's citizens to the New York Times