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).

Geography lesson: MNGOP House redistricting guru totally worries about Rochester

Each day, Bluestem finds more reason to head to the Jeffers' Petroglyphs to carve Tom Wolfe's edict (about the disadvantage of the novelist in the age of absurdity) into the sacred red rocks.

Take the recent episode starring Sarah Anderson, the Republican representative from Plymouth, which the editor believes to be located in the near western suburbs of Minneapolis, rather than Massachusetts or England.  In an attempt to deride Minneapolis Mayor Rybak, Sarah Anderson provides a clear demonstration of her expertise, via our friends at The Uptake:

Fun facts: Anderson chaired the Republican redistricting effort in the House. Rochester, Minnesota, home of the world-famous Mayo Clinic, is Minnesota's third largest city. Bluestem recommends that Anderson head south on Highway 52 to the Med City, where Congressman Tim Walz, a former social studies teacher, will cheerfully give her a lesson in reading maps.

Greater Minnesotans are used to people not knowing where to find Darfur or Ceylon, but Rochester shouldn't be a problem.

From the pages of the MNGOP finance reports: meet Patrick J. Haley, Lee Byberg's political director

Glancing through the 2011 state campaign finance report for the Republican Party of Minnesota, Bluestem noticed that Patrick J. Haley was paid $24,287.13 for political consulting.That's more than Ben Golnik earned, so we grew curious.

A post on the Senate District 48 Republicans' Facebook page last August lists Haley as "Political Director-RPM for CD's 4, 6, 7 & 8."

His name had also shows up in CD7 Republican congressional candidate Lee Byberg's year-end report as "political director," earning the princely sum of $4500 in December, along with mileage.

Who is this political operative?  Before signing on as manager of Mike Jungbauer's campaign for governor, Haley kept the aptly named blog called "Rantings from the Right." Nowhere is the subtlety of his thinking expressed better than in the final untitled post from July 17, 2009, which leads with the infamous picture of President Obama as a witchdoctor with a bone through his nose.

The picture, which was circulating through conservative email chains in 2009, drew criticism when it was posted to a Tea Party forum a couple of days after it graced Haley's blog. TPM Muckraker reports in Conservative Activist Forwards Racist Pic Showing Obama As Witch Doctor:

The election of our first black president has brought with it a strange proliferation of online racism among conservatives.

And we’ve got the latest example.

On Sunday night, Dr. David McKalip forwarded to fellow members of a Google listserv affiliated with the Tea Party movement the image below. Above it, he wrote: “Funny stuff.”

A screenshot of the "funny stuff" from Haley's blog is posted here.

Haley doesn't seem shy. A frequent letter-to-the-editor writer before being hired by the MNGOP Haley drew such headlines as Haley letter offended Klinzing and Haley in his local paper:

There are at least two Patrick Haleys in Elk River, and one of them has never written a letter to the editor.

Patrick R. Haley of Elk River will often get comments about letters from Patrick J. Haley, a conservative involved in local Republican politics.

Patrick R. would just as soon not be associated with Patrick J. as he “comes across as combative,” says Patrick R.

Direct letters are not the only issue Patrick R. has had to contend with in recent years. He also gets the political activist’s mail.

“I’ve tried to take care of it, but with little success,” he says. “I have even tried contacting the party. I have given up. I just throw it away now.”
This time when a letter was published he got a call from Elk River Mayor Stephanie Klinzing, who wanted to question him about the letter. He told her you have the wrong man. {snippet instory}

Patrick J. challenged Klinzing’s motive for the recent Acts of Random Kindness campaign.

The mayor took issue with Haley, the letter writer, for implying that city funds went into the campaign.

“That is simply not true,” she said.

When asked by the Star News what he was trying to convey, he wrote that he was simply referring to resources used to put the sign together, and hours spent on this by city employees could have been better spent.

Congrats to the Republican Party for investing in one of the finest minds in central Minnesota. Were his discernment in opposition to random acts of kindness and his abilities as a photo editor when deciding to illustrate his objections to health care reform the tipping points in getting him the jobs with the state party and congressional campaign?

Screenshot: Patrick Haley's final post.

Cornish's shares gallows humor with DFL colleagues via publically-funded email system

Scrolling through my Facebook wall late yesterday afternoon, I noticed this post by a state representative:

During our extended floor session, Rep. Cornish sends photo to all DFL representatives with subject: Crime Bill on My Desk. It contains only a photo of a gallows with two empty nooses.

Yet another way to fostering the bipartisanship the public so desires, as well as promoting public confidence in the institution as well on Cornish's part.

I messaged the House member to see if I could have the email forwarded; a screen shot is at right. What a kidder, that Tony Cornish.

Cornish chairs the Minnesota House Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy and Finance committee. That's might clever of him to send that photo to his Democratic colleagues.  What a kidder.

Given the symbolic meanings that gather around nooses these days, meanings differing by race, age and other factors, perhaps one might have wished that the chair of the House Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy and Finance Committee might have been mature enough to control his wit for a moment, or at least reflected on the possibility that his colleagues on the other side of the aisle might not all share his taste in rick-rolling emails.

It's not as if he's just a poor country blogger or something. He's actually a poor country chief of police. UPDATE: Reader T.Pa Or Coffee notes: "By the way, Cornish is no longer a police chief. He resigned so that he could do a better job as a legislator."  Point taken. [end update].

But there's something else that might have given him pause if he grasped a larger sense of history: the role hanging played in Minnesota's decision to end the death penalty. In 2008, the Star Tribune's Brian Leehan reviewed that story in Botched hanging led state to halt executions:

A small item in the Wednesday Feb. 7, 1906 edition of the Minneapolis Tribune reads, "Sheriff Miesen has arranged to test the rope and gallows upon which William Williams is to be executed next Tuesday at midnight."

Ramsey County Sheriff Anton Miesen's test seems to have been successful, but it didn't keep the execution of Williams at 12:31 a.m. on Feb. 13, 1906, from being a hideously botched affair that resulted in him being the last person executed in Minnesota.

Double murderer William Williams was certainly guilty of killing his former lover (a teenager) and the lover's mother, but his death was cruel, if not usual:

Sheriff Miesen was confident of his rope's strength, and the proper functioning of the trapdoor of his gallows, but his math was faulty in calculating both the height of Williams and the gallows platform.

As the condemned man dropped, his feet hit the floor.

A lurid description in the next day's issue of the St. Paul Daily News said that William's "neck stretched four and one-half inches and the rope nearly eight inches."

So deputies quickly grabbed the rope and pulled it upward, then took turns holding Williams' feet off the ground for almost 15 minutes while the life was choked out of him.

The death certificate stated that the cause of death was strangulation.

The debacle, and the newspaper coverage of it, gave ammunition to those in the state Legislature who opposed the death penalty.

House member George MacKenzie, R-Gaylord, had tried to abolish capital punishment in Minnesota in 1905 and again in 1909. He succeeded in 1911 when Republican Gov. Adolph Eberhart signed the legislation into law.

But Bluestem suspects Cornish didn't have that in his mind--or much else--when he decided to send the "Crime Bill on My Desk" email to colleagues while they were meeting in chamber. Perhaps he should just stick to the little handcuffs pin he loves to wear.

The photo can be found on Cornish's Facebook page in an album called "Arizona Trip 2012" that documents a short stay in Tombstone. The caption below the photo there? "The Only Sure Cure for Repeat Offenders."  Stay classy, Representative Cornish.

Screenshots: The gallows humor of Tony Cornish.

Related posts: Cornish denies rumors he's running for Blue Earth County Sheriff day after spreading them

Tony Cornish likes opponent, but freaks over her totally rad liberal Facebook ties to a Democrat

 Civility and its discontents: Tony Cornish is an honorable man (just agree with him)

Former Wells Mayor Shannon Savick seeks to challenge Representative Tony Cornish

Emo Senator: Mike Parry said he had no goal for fundraising & he meant every word of it

Loyal fans of Emo Senator, southern Minnesota's most beloved telenovela, will remember that Mike Parry's congressional campaign stops are drawing voters like Limburger cheese attracts the ladies. In Emo Senator: lost episode shocks Mike Parry fans, the Austin Herald reported that two men gathered for coffee with the Belle of Waseca County.

It's looks like his campaign checkbook is just as attractive.

Minnesota Public Radio's Brett Neely reports in Congressional fundraising numbers streaming in:

First District Rep. Tim Walz raised $210,000, making 2011 a million dollar fundraising year for the former teacher. His campaign has $617,000 in the bank. Two of Walz's three Republican challenger Allen Quist raised $6,200 for the entire year. A third opponent, Mike Parry, has not yet released his fundraising totals.

Within ten minutes of each other, devoted Emo Senator admirers pointed the screenwriter to Senator Parry's FEC filing:

Covering Period 09/14/2011 Through 12/31/2011:

	Column A This Period	Column B Election Cycle-To-Date
6. Net Contributions (other than loans)
(a) Total Contributions (other than loans)	32585.00	32585.00
(b) Total Contribution Refunds	0.00	0.00
(c) Net Contributions (6(a) - 6(b))	32585.00	32585.00
7. Net Operating Expenditures
(a) Total Operating Expenditures	3402.14	3402.14
(b) Total Offsets to Operating Expenditures	0.00	0.00
(c) Net Operating Expenditures	3402.14	3402.14
8. Cash on Hand at Close of Reporting Period	29182.86
9. Debts and Obligations Owed TO the Committee	0.00
Itemize all on SCHEDULE C or SCHEDULE D
10. Debts and Obligations Owed BY the Committee	0.00
Itemize all on SCHEDULE C or SCHEDULE D

When he entered the congressional race in early October, the Emo Senator told the Mankato Free Press that he didn't have a fundraising plan, but that he felt very good about himself. Veteran political reporter Mark Fischenich wrote in Parry to challenge Walz for Congress:

Parry hasn’t set a goal for campaign donations but said he has strong skills in fundraising.

“I do know that I’m a hard charger. I work from sun-up to sun-down and then some.”

Senator Parry hasn't done much had charging, spending only $3402--including one $600 in-kind contribution for munchies--so Bluestem can't speculate on just how hard it may have been. Such fundraising figures surely could barely cover the copying fees for the  crack public-relations legal team recently hired by Parry's best-known campaign volunteer, Michael Brodkorb.

Curious items in the contributor list suggest that Parry's on-and-off again amnesia has affected his accounting.  Information has been requested about the occupation of one "Gretchen Hoffman" of Vergas, Minnesota. Bluestem has it on good authority that Ms. Hoffman is a state senator. 

Additionally, Parry seems to have forgotten what Dick Day did for a living when he wrote the check.

Most of the rest of the haul is standard issue Republican checks--no surprises there, other than the fly speck quality. 

The contrast with earlier  Walz challengers? Eventual (and spectacularly dismal) 2008 nominee Brian Davis took in close to $55,500 in late 2007. Former Senator Dick Day was also seeking the seat, and raised nearly $53,000. Randy Demmer, who won the nomination in 2010, took in about $35,000 during the same time period in 2007.

Looking at 2010 cycle figures, we learn that the Demmer campaign closed 2009 with a $19200.00 haul, though the campaign remained in debt to the tune of $135,150.00 in loans from the candidate to himself. At the end of 2011, $92,000 of that debt remained on the books. Quist, who lost the endorsement after several rounds of balloting at the 2010 convention, took in $32,853 in late 2009. 

Two other candidates, Jim Engstrand (now running for Congress in Texas) and Mr. Conservative, Jim Hagedorn, who moved to sunny Blue Earth to run, and who is now supporting Newt Gingrich from an undisclosed location.

But all hope is not lost, completely, if we turn our eyes to fundraising in the legendary 2006 election that swept Walz into office. Mostly lost, but not totally.

And the 2005-2006 unknown who challenged six-term representative Gil Gutknecht?  At the beginning of 2006, Walz had $78,103.24 cash in hand, having just experienced a final quarter in which he'd deposited $48,444.39 in the bank. The campaign carried $5755.93 in loans the candidate had borrowed from Wells Fargo.

Gutknecht, whom Walz would defeat in one of the biggest surprises of 2006, entered that fateful year with $620,101.24 in the kitty, having just raised $144,406.57. 

While the Walz and Gutknecht totals are close, the candidates' approaches are far different. Gutknecht failed to preceive the Walz campaign as a threat until well into 2006, whereas Walz is listed as one of 20 most vulnerable Democrats by his own caucus's campaign wing. 

What will happen?  Tune in again--this is an episode of Emo Senator, after all. Anyone, except for Walz himself, may well be surprisedby what Mike Parry will do or say.

Image: Mike Parry, the Emo Senator. By Tild. With that sort of fundraising, of course he has to wear the parlor drapes from Tara.

Earlier episodes:Emo Senator: lost episode shocks Mike Parry fans

Emo Senator: Amnesia! Mike Parry forgets he's his own boss during MNSCU benefits hearing (a complete list of episodes is found at the end of this post).

 

Job-killing Draz seeks more regulation for industry

Last year, Representative Steve Drazkowski (R-ALEC) ran as a foe of job-killing regulations. He told the Post Bulletin:

We must address the pandemic of uncertainty facing Minnesota businesses. Forcing government to live within its means and eliminating business-killing regulations will send positive signals to Minnesota’s job creators. Once confidence is restored, our state’s entrepreneurial spirit will be unleashed to create jobs that will restore vibrancy and economic prosperity.

Jobs! Prosperity! Get out of here government!

Confronted with news that tribal gaming facilities aren't getting much oversight, Draz is singing a different tune:

Drazkowski said he met with Gov. Mark Dayton on Monday to discuss his concerns, and the governor has promised to make changes to the agency.

“It’s easy to say you’re doing a wonderful job when no one bothers to check your work,” Drazkowski said. “We’re talking about regulation of what could be a $20 billion industry in this state.”

Apparently, there are job creators who don't need regulating and those who do. Bluestem wonders how Drazkowski sorts that one out.

Photo: Chocolate ALEC Drazombie Bunny By Tild.

 

Reform 2.0: To distract from Steve Sviggum as news, senate comm department trots out Koch

It's not just smiley faces at the Senate Majority Caucus anymore.

Earlier this month, the hiring of Former Minnesota House Speaker, Pawlenty commissioner, and current Regent Steve Sviggum as communications director/ Senjem's executive assistant at $102,000 a year by the Republican Senate Majority Caucus fueled a bonfire of criticism mixed with the tinder of praise and expanding the emoticon universe on the right side of the aisle.

Witnesses for the defense didn't help much. Blois Olson won  the first nomination for With Friends Like This Award--MN Pol Division for 2012 with this sentence in The Morning Take:

There is no one more authentic and straightforward than Steve Sviggum, and it is clear that having a sage, calm and mature hand in the Senate Majority Leaders operation is what is needed.

This learned observation by the Golden Tongue of Tunheim came at a moment when Sviggum told the Associated Press and other reporters in Sviggum insists new job vetted by U of Minn. brass:

"There is no decision that I can make here that affects the University of Minnesota," he said. "I am not the decision-maker. Now I work for a decision-maker or -makers, but I am not the decision-maker."

The AP story notes that Sviggum said:

he spoke with [Board Chairwoman Linda] Cohen and [university general counsel Mark] Rotenberg separately last week before officially applying for the job. He was announced as Senate communications director Monday.

This account is disputed, according to the U's student paper, the Minnesota Daily. In Disagreement over whether Sviggum vetted Regents policy, Greta Kaul reports:

"Regent Sviggum did not discuss the job or consult about it with either the chair or vice chair of the Board of Regents prior to taking the position. Nor did Regent Sviggum discuss taking this position with the university general counsel or seek his advice about doing so, Board of Regents Chairwoman Linda Cohen and University General Counsel Mark Rotenberg wrote in a joint press release Wednesday.

And there's more, Kaul notes:

It was reported that the Board met last week in order to discuss changes to its conflict of interest policy involving University employees serving on the board. The meeting was, in fact, a conference call between regents Sviggum, Cohen and Vice Chair David Larson, Cohen said Friday. The meeting did not constitute a quorum under Minnesota's open meetings law.[emphasis added]

Sviggum said he brought up the possibility of a regent working at the Senate.

"I vetted the policy up front. I clarified the policy with the [general counsel]. I clarified with the chair," Sviggum said.

Editorial opinion at the school, where Sviggum had been a popular, though adjunct, teacher in the Humphrey Institute, is not taking kindly to the former speaker's sense of entitlement. Today's editorial, Regents get political, begins:

Last week, Regent Steve Sviggum accepted a job as communications and executive assistant of the Senate Republican Caucus. According to the chair of the Board of Regents and the University of Minnesota general counsel, Sviggum did not consult with either of them about whether this position would constitute a conflict of interest. The extent of his efforts was a conference call between himself, the chair and the vice chair of the Board of Regents. That’s hardly thorough.

The conflict of interest in Sviggum’s new position is clear — it is an obvious violation of the employment-related conflict of interest provision of the board’s code of ethics.

But the student editors don't stop there. They continue:

This is only the latest development in the politicization of the Board of Regents. In February 2011, the Legislature selected Laura Brod as its at-large regent candidate, a position she had not been nominated for. Brod was a Republican legislator whose term ended the month before her selection. Before selecting her, the Republican delegation met twice to discuss their selection, excluding Democratic-Farmer-Labor legislators. House higher education committee Chairman Bud Nornes explained the selection with an alarming quote: “It’s hard to expect friends to not vote for you.”

Indeed. 

However, it appears that the Senate Republican Caucus Communications Office, headed for the moment by Sviggum, so has a plan to make sure the authentic and straightforward Kenyon farmer and political veteran is no longer the center of the news.

They're trotting out former Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch, whose sudden resignation from the top leadership post and revelation of an innappropriate relationship with a male senate staff led to the dismissal of the guy Sviggum's replacing: Michael Brodkorb, the dark lord of GOP smear politics and former deputy chair.

Via the Grand Forks Herald, veteran Forum Communications political reporter Don Davis reports in Capitol Chatter,  Legislative notebook: Assistant calls Senjem tough:

A Senate GOP communications staffer is lining up five-minute media interviews with Koch Tuesday, the opening day of the 2012 legislative session.

While she has said little in public since the relationship was reported, she did issue an apology. She did a series of short telephone interviews when she quit a leader, but that was before the relationship was revealed.

Bluestem thanks Davis for reporting on the machinery of the Senate flacks itself. Some of the handiwork of Sviggum's staff has been seen in Sen. Amy Koch: Back up after 'punch to the face' at the Star Tribune, wherein we get the news that Koch didn't wear her wedding band to the interview.

However, the news article failed to make clear that the punch in the face was largely self-inflicted, regardless of what the gays may say to City Pages.  Nor does Koch answer the burning question raised in December by the alt-weekly. Somehow, Bluestem doubts that the Senate GOP communications staffer Davis mentions has called the City Pages staffer to line up an interview; in any event, the journalist has moved on to report on other Lotharios.

The Senate communications office has moved on in other ways as well. Back to Davis. Under the Grand Forks Herald's own headline, Legislative notebook: New Senate leader not just a happy face, readers learn:

New Senate Majority Leader Dave Senjem, R-Rochester, can be as tough as anyone when he negotiates with Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton, one of his assistants said.

Senjem is known as a nice guy, but one whose negotiations skills with Democrats have not been tested.

The article goes on to relate the man crush that Assistant Majority Leader Bill Ingebrigtsen, R-Alexandria, has on Dave Senjem.

Bluestem can only observe that that is sure some messaging from Sviggum's comm department, given that Senjem's negotiation skills have indeed been tested, since he served as minority leader at a time when the DFL had an overwhelming majority in the Senate.  Having proved hs negotiation skills under such adverse conditions must count for something.

But perhaps not so much within his own caucus. David reports--the first time that BSP has seen the vote noted in print:

Senjem won the job Koch held for a year by a single vote in an 11-hour closed-door meeting late last month.

. . .Ingebrigtsen said Senjem has "that diplomacy about him" and said "he is not going to poke anyone in the eye and go out."

 

Putting a nice guy in charge of the caucus is not a bad thing, the Alexandria senator said. "There is nothing wrong with Republicans being liked."

A large majority of Senjem's own caucus would disagree, prefering their leadership to be disagreeable sorts.

Images: Steve Sviggum, above; Dave Senjem, not just a happy face.

Earlier in Reform 2.0: Reform 2.0: Oops, he did it again, or, Chief Sviggum's cunning rules headlines & airwaves

Reform 2.0, or spare change in the MN Senate: Sviggum to take home $102,000 as comm head

ALEC consolidates MN operations after sudden downturn in loon state Republican brand

Two seemingly disparate news items suggest some shifting ground in the Minnesota political landscape, a place where ordinary geology tends toward erosion and collapse, rather the earthquakes suggested by headlines the day after elections. Witness the victory of Chip Cravaack over Jim Oberstar in a congressional district where political currents pulled away the riverbank from the under the Democrats fishing there.

Much has been made of the implosion of the Republican brand in the past few month, but the entirely self-inflicted river of shame has been gnawing on that bank for years. We only now see the bloom of slit depositing itself as the current slows.

Bluestem has looked -- in a snarky, bloggy way -- at some of the points made by Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Scheck, Catherine Richter, and Bill Wareham in Chairman's spending decisions on insiders helped lead to GOP debt.  The latter report, out this morning, should serve as a reminder of what real journalism looks like: digging into records, rather than tweets.

There's real paydirt in that current.  Go read the whole thing. Bluestem is pleased to read these passages, beginning with the lede about the failed burrito baron:

A Republican leader with 25 years of hard-earned respect from the party that prides itself on fiscal discipline, awarded contracts worth hundreds of thousands of dollars to consultants, lawmakers, candidates and party insiders over the course of nearly 30 months as state party chairman, contributing to the financial wreckage the party is trying to fix today.

And there's this:

MAJOR DONOR SECURES PARTY CONTRACT

Sutton and the Republican Party also did business with at least one major donor.

Donors typically give money to political parties they agree with to win elections. In this case, a donor gave money to the Republican Party and also created a business to sway voters.

The donor is Robert Cummins. The business is Civis Communications.

In 2009 and 2010, the party paid Civis Communications about $82,000. Roughly half the cash was for direct mail services and the other half was for voter identification efforts.

Cummins, CEO of Primera Technology, is one of the GOP's top donors. In 2010, according to records, Cummins gave $425,000 to the party's state account. In addition, the Freedom Club State PAC, which Cummins helped create, gave the party $400,000.

Mike Scholl, who is the company's executive director, said he leads the daily operations of the firm and did not want to comment on Cummins' role. He said that Cummins' influence within the party did not help Civis secure the contract.

Fascinating stuff in and of itself, but also for Cummins' role in other hanky-panky related to constitutional amendments.  Readers may recall how we asked about GOP consultant Greg Peppin's hire by House Speaker Kurt Zellers to "lobby" his own caucus on behalf of the marriage inequality amandment. In Peppin pimping hate: House member's spouse "lobbies" caucus on amendment--for whom?, Cummins put in a star turn via PIM's Brianna Bierschbach:

Donations played into the calculus of the amendment vote in another way, according to one source who monitored the amendment effort. House Republican caucus uber-funder Robert Cummins, the chief executive officer of Primera Technology, is a fervid backer of the amendment and a past donor to anti-gay-marriage initiatives. Since 2004, Cummins has contributed more than $408,000 to groups like Minnesota Citizens in Defense of Marriage — now Minnesota Majority — and the Minnesota Family Council, and has thrown hundreds of thousands of dollars at the House GOP caucus campaign chest. In a June 2010 Capitol Report story, then-caucus treasurer Matt Dean said Cummins is much more involved than the average donor. He works directly with House leaders to recruit Republican candidates to run in each district. “He understands the importance of winning elections,” Dean said at the time.

“Promises must have been made to outside sources,” the source said, adding that the caucus was reportedly promised several million dollars for the 2012 elections from various groups if the amendment passed this session.

Peppin understands that the vote was likely difficult for freshmen to make, especially those who narrowly won in swing districts last fall or those who campaigned on fiscal issues, not social ones. That was the case for freshman Rep. Kurt Bills, a schoolteacher from Rosemount who ultimately voted for the legislation.

Bills now faces a bid from Jeff Wilfahrt, the father of the late Andrew Wilfahrt, a gay soldier whose ultimate sacrifice helped give freshman Republican and disabled veteran John Kriesel's passionate  speech against the amendment on the floor of the House such power.

There are some truths money can't buy off.

The Freedom Club, Minnesota Majority, Robert Cummins: these are names we'll hear a lot about, and the cautionary tale investigated by Scheck and his associates should be told and retold to voters in the coming days. To paraphrase a common chant: This isn't what democracy looks like.

It's what cronyism smells like.

The pattern continues. The Scheck and Richter report notes one case of a GOP employee collecting a consulting fee while on the payroll:

During Sutton's tenure, Ryan Griffin served as the party's executive director. But in addition to his annual salary of $85,000, he was also paid roughly $14,000 for consulting and legal work, according to campaign finance documents.

Sutton characterized the payments as a bonus for advising the party on legal issues during election season.

And who does Griffin have as a client now that he's laid off?  None other than the Freedom Club, a contract tweeted by none other than the late Michael Brodkorb at the time when the MNGOP laid Griffin off, and evidenced by this Freedom Club's talking points document pimping Steve Drazkowski's Right To Work For Less Money Amendment, helpfully posted by the Rochester Tea Party Patriots.  Mr. Griffin's phone number is on the document, in case anyone in the press wants to interview him about his service to the Republican Party of Minnesota and the big donors who bought it.

Mr. Cummins has indeed purchased a small circle of loyal friends and retainers.

However, for most of the amendments to the state constitution that Mr. Cummins and other wealthy business men are promoting, Bluestem offers the kindly suggestion that those seeking answers on this development should simply give the American Legislative Exchange Council a call-- it's the author of model bills for much of Draz's legislation, including this particular amendment and his supermajority amendment. Copycat bills from ALEC are responsible for much of the recent unrest in Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana.

The financial erosion of the Republican Party of Minnesota under the management of Tony Sutton (who brought Baja Sol to the brink with his lovely wife Bridget) appears to have altered the river of cash that waters the broader conservative valley in the North Star State, and this brings Bluestem to the second news item mentioned in the lede.

The conservative megablog True North reports that Two Major Minnesota Conservative Think Tanks Join Forces.

Upon reviewing the press release, our conclusion is that the wedding of the Center of the American Experiment and the Minnesota Free Market Institute isn't a merger, but rather a consolidation at a moment of coming austerity and ambition on the part of those big donors who've been funding the Republican Party (MPR reports that the party received only $255 from small donors in 2010). ALEC's think tank division, the State Policy Network, lists  both organizations in its directory entry for Minnesota.

Hard times indeed.

Photo: Failed burrito baron Tony Sutton, photo courtesy of Fibonacci Blue.

Tales of Hoffman: lobbyists "our go-to people”

Today's Star Tribune reports in Chamber, Vikings lobbyists among Capitol’s big spenders:

Nearly 2,000 lobbyist-spending disclosure reports are expected to be turned in this week to meet the board's deadline for reporting activity from June to December of last year.

The Strib reports that the Vikes spent more than $350,000 on lobbying in the second half of last year, while the Chamber parted with $420,000 of the business group's coins. Bluestem is happy to see  the job creators generating some jobs.

Those lobbying jobs are definitely needed with folks like Gretchen Hoffman serving in the legislature. At a recent invasive species summit, the Senator from Vergas and her colleague John Carlson told the crowd:

Sen. John Carlson said that lobbyists and activist groups may have a negative connotation, but in reality, they are the ones who inform legislators on what the issues are and what they should know about them.

“These folks are golden to you,” he told the public at the summit meeting. “They have access to us.”

“There is no way we can know everything,” Sen. Gretchen Hoffman agreed. “These are our go-to people.”

Bluestem agrees that there is no way that Hoffman can know everything, though she might try a little harder. Perhaps this acknowledgement on her part will accompany a new birth of good will toward those lobbying for union members in her district.

Readers may recall that Carlson is so fond of lobbyists that he let them write a bill for him, later apologizing when his constituents objected to a provision eliminating pay equity language. He later called the provision "stupid."

That stupidity didn't stop Mike Parry from assuming the position of chief sponsor  of the bill when Carlson pulled his name.

Photo: Gretchen Hoffman, Senator from Vergas.

Reform 2.0: Oops, he did it again, or, Chief Sviggum's cunning rules headlines & airwaves

Steve Sviggum is off to a great start as Senate Republican Caucus Communications Director. He's managed to make himself the story.

A spate of news stories illustrate how this is the work of a consummate professional. Unfortunately for the Senate Republican comm office, Sviggum is in the wrong profession.

The MNDaily's Greta Kaul reports in Board will examine Sviggum’s Senate role for conflict of interest (an article that carries the subtitle: "Steve Sviggum, a former state legislator, didn’t approach the board before accepting his new position"):

The board met last week to discuss upcoming changes to its policy regarding conflicts of interest and University employees serving on the Board of Regents, Cohen said. But Sviggum didn’t bring up his new position, she said.

“That had nothing to do with this,” she said.

During that meeting, Sviggum said he clarified the new policy to make sure that it only applied to University employees serving as a regent, asking specifically about the possibility of a regent working for the state Senate. But he didn’t notify board members of his intentions to take a job at the Senate.

“I vetted the policy up front. I clarified the policy with the [general counsel]. I clarified with the chair,” Sviggum said.

Really, Steve?  This is the sort of cleverness parents expect of a 13-year-old squirming to leave the house to conduct No Good, not of a man in his 60s who has just interviewed for a job that might create a conflict of interest. 

Why not simply be specific and open within the Board?

MPR's OnCampus reporter Alex Friedrich reports in Is UMN regent Sviggum in another potential conflict of interest?:

Just how well will University of Minnesota regent Steve Sviggum represent the U now that the former state legislator has accepted a job as spokesman for the Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus?

His move seems to have raised a few regents’ eyebrows – including those of Chairwoman Linda Cohen — just as a similar move ran afoul of a university conflict-of-interest committee last year.

Do his two jobs put him potentially on opposite sides of the state’s higher education debate?

Consider this:

As a regent, he must represent the interests of the university. That could mean advocating for more state spending for the U. But as a GOP spokesman, he’ll have to represent the interests of the Republican party — which has wanted to scale back spending dramatically. Just this last session, it called for deep cuts to the U’s budget, deeper than those proposed by the DFL. 

Read the whole thing at MPR.

In Regents to 'consider' whether Sviggum's Senate job creates a conflict, even Rachel Stassen-Berger notes that Sviggum's tenure on the Regents' board has been "controversy-ridden." 

Not to be upstaged by the hired help, Senate Majority Leader Dave Senjem has retained the gavel of the chamber's bonding committee, the Mankato Free Press reports in Senjem says Senate bonding proposal to emphasize higher ed and infrastructure:

After the meeting, Senjem said the state’s interest — MSU as a tenant, in other words — would be important when the committee releases its bonding list.

“They’ve got hockey needs,” he said, and fixing their arena would be cheaper than building new.

In past years (and vetoes) the city has focused on a lack of parity — other civic centers have received state money while Mankato’s has not — but this time the city is focusing on its economic impact and the MSU connection.

The proposal, kicked off by an MSU employee and held in an MSU ballroom, was attended by perhaps 150 people, including many Mankato business people. There were several other bonding proposals presented, but most of the crowd left after the civic center presentation.

Even so, civic centers are not likely to be first on Republicans’ bonding list.

Infrastructure, especially old roads, bridges and wastewater systems, are likely to come first.

In Rochester, Senjem's home base, the Rochester Civic Center is thenumber one high ticket item on Governor Mark Dayton's bonding wish list, KAAL-TV reports. The Post Bulletin, an afternoon rag, will deliver the local reaction later today.

And even more melodrama is on its way from the Republicans, according to MPR's Daily Digest:

GOP Legislative leaders will be on MPR's Midday today at 11.

Tidbit: House Republicans will release their so-called Reform 2.0 proposal on Thursday.

To get a heads-up on the contours of that proposal, Bluestem is checking out the American Legislative Exchange Council's model bills, now archived at ALECExposed.

Photo: Steve Sviggum, drama queen extraordinary. Yes, Bluestem Readers, "Reform 2.0" is our latest online telenovela.

Related posts: Reform 2.0, or spare change in the MN Senate: Sviggum to take home $102,000 as comm head

Rough stuff: Sviggum and Brod nominated to U of M Regents board, vote today

Sviggum failed to list $80,000 U half-time job on disclosure form two days after election as regent

University of MN Regents form panel to determine if Sviggum's new $80,000 year half-time Humphrey Institute job creates conflict

Pick one: Steve Sviggum can take $80,000 half-time job or Regent's post, ethics panel says

Sviggum chooses power above teaching; how will former speaker survive after giving up job?

Poppe bill addresses Sviggum-esque conflict-of-interests on Regents board

Reform 2.0, or spare change in the MN Senate: Sviggum to take home $102,000 as comm head

Senator Mike Parry will be holding another one of his Star Chamber hearings about public employee payouts and pensions on Thursday. In Senate panel to examine MnSCU payouts, Minnesota Public Radio's Tim Pugmire reported:

A Minnesota Senate panel will meet next week to look into vacation, sick time and retirement payments to government employees, including officials with the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU) system.

Perhaps State Senator Mike Parry might start asking his questions a bit closer to home--as in the office of the Senate Majority Leader's new executive assistant and communications director, Steve Sviggum.

The Star Tribune reports in Senate GOP taps Sviggum as communications chief:

Sviggum will earn $102,000 a year; [Michael] Brodkorb was making about $90,000 when he left.

Why does this matter? Last spring, during the conflict-of-interest fracas created when then U of M half-time professor Sviggum was chosen by the legislature to become a member of the University's Board of Regents, Bluestem dug up some old data the Pioneer Press had published in 2007 about Sviggum's pension:

In 2007, the editors of the Pioneer Press[noted] that serving as a commissioner would punch up Sviggum's pension:

Last week, Pawlenty, a Republican governor and ex-legislator himself, appointed former House Speaker Steve Sviggum commissioner of the state Department of Labor and Industry. That is a full-time job paying $108,393 per year. As a part-time legislator, Sviggum was making $31,140 plus daily expenses.

Sviggum, 55, has been in the House since 1979. His pension, when he decides to draw it, is based on his age at retirement, his total years of service and his highest gross salary, averaged over a five-year period. This is known as his "high five.'' All Sviggum's years of service, even those as a lower-paid legislator, will be multiplied against his "high five'' when calculating his pension benefit.

Veteran legislators (those elected before 1997, when the pension system changed) have made regular contributions to their pension plan amounting to 9 percent of salary, according to the Minnesota State Retirement System. Pension benefits for these veterans are determined by multiplying their years of service, their high five average salary and a factor of 2.5 percent.

A legislator with 30 years of experience and a high five average of $35,000 ends up with an annual pension of $26,250. But a legislator with the same 30 years of service, and the last five years as a state commissioner at $100,000 per year, ends up with an annual pension of $75,000.

Even a few years at six-figure commissioner's pay greatly increases a veteran legislator's pension. To use the example above, a legislator with 28 years in the House and two years earning $100,000 as a commissioner increases his pension from the mid-20s to the mid-40s. ("On high fives, 10 million, rats and more ..." St. Paul Pioneer Press, July 5, 2007, Nexis All-News database, accessed 3/30/2011)

Sviggum served as Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry commissioner from mid-July until December 1, 2010, when he moved to lead the Minnesota Department of Management and Budget for the final month of the Pawlenty administration. That's about 3 1/2 years.

Since the former speaker's retirement package will be determined according to his five highest paying years (if I understand the system correctly), perhaps there's something there for Parry to take a look at.

But questions shouldn't stop there. As Koch's infidelity was revealed and most observers were seeking villains from among the tribal gaming interests, Bluestem's most informed sources were telling me to look not to the bedroom, but the Senate's bank book. And indeed, Pugmire recently reported in MN GOP Senate leaders eye $2M in operating costs:

Republican leaders in the Minnesota Senate will meet this week to discuss ways to trim their own operating budget by more than $2 million, and the cuts will costs some jobs.

"Things like committee pages, things like internships," said the new Senate Majority Leader Dave Senjem. "We're going to carve away at our people expenses to the extent we can, and then find out where we are."

What better reason to replace Communications Director Brodkorb--who at least had garnered something of a reputation as a simple suburban blogger--with someone whose hand at writing press releases is unknown. Sviggum does not appear to have a Facebook page, nor does he seem to be on Twitter (or in the local directory) so Sviggum may have to blaze new trails with social media.

But surely, he's worth every dime.

Meanwhile, another question is being asked, one that echoes last spring's conflict-of-interest that led Sviggum to a quit his $80,000 part-time teaching gig (initially unreported when he gained his chair on the U's board)  in order to keep the power that a Regent's seat conferred.

In tonight's Star Tribune article, Baird Helgeson reports:

Sviggum plans to remain a member of the University of Minnesota's Board of Regents and serve out the rest of his six-year term.

Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk said he's troubled that Sviggum plans to stay on as a regent of the taxpayer-funded university.

"I'd be very surprised if it's not a conflict of interest to take a paid position with the Legislature," said Bakk, DFL-Cook. "If it's not a conflict, it certainly seems inappropriate."

Linda Cohen, chair of the Board of Regents, said she doesn't immediately see a conflict, but that the board ought to be "cautious and very careful" about Sviggum holding both positions.

Last year, Sviggum was at the center of a conflict-of-interest inquiry for his roles as a regent and a paid fellow at the university's Humphrey School of Public Affairs. In April, he resigned from the Humphrey School.

One wonders precisely what the Republican Majority caucus, eager to move forward from the humiliation of the Koch affair, is thinking with this ethically nuanced hire, and how it signals the government reform the MNGOP claims to so ardently desire.

Photo: Steve Sviggum. One hopes he doesn't have any sick leave piled up. Just saying.

Related posts: Rough stuff: Sviggum and Brod nominated to U of M Regents board, vote today

Sviggum failed to list $80,000 U half-time job on disclosure form two days after election as regent

University of MN Regents form panel to determine if Sviggum's new $80,000 year half-time Humphrey Institute job creates conflict

Pick one: Steve Sviggum can take $80,000 half-time job or Regent's post, ethics panel says

Sviggum chooses power above teaching; how will former speaker survive after giving up job?

Poppe bill addresses Sviggum-esque conflict-of-interests on Regents board

 

Sutton's secretive slush fund, Count Them All Properly, Inc., changes management

Bluestem has a long history of posting about "Count Them All Properly, Incorporated," the 2010 gubernatorial recount slush fund for which failed burrito baron and former state party chair Tony Sutton committed the Republican Party of Minnesota as the equivalent of an unknowing co-signer for a pile of debts.

Last month's revelation was news to everyone except Sutton and a small group of lawyers, seen and unseen, since he'd bragged last winter that unlike party finances, CTAPI's books wouldn't face public scrutiny. With the party under new management, the current occupants have owned up that they're disputing whether they have to pay Count Them All Properly's $719,000 unpaid legal bills.

In mid-December, Bluestem noted that Daniel Puhl,  go-to FEC compliance guy for Minnesota federal office candidates and agent for the recount fund, had moved on to a higher calling as the CFO and Director of Administration for the Republican National Committee.

That move is now reflected in Count Them All Properly, Inc's filing at the Minnesota Secretary of State's office. On December 15, papers were filed naming Mary Igo as CTAPI's registered agent. 

According to December 20, 2011 annual filing, the new CEO is Maple Grove's Jon Richard Schroeder, owner of  Maple Grove firm that represents manufacturers of heating and plumbing supplies. Schroeder has no record of large giving to the Republican Party on the state or federal level, according to databases at the Minnesotan Campaign Finance Board and the FEC. And while Maple Grove is located in SD32, there's no evidence of Republican activism by the businessman at the local GOP website (albeit the page hasn't been updated for months).

Igo is well-known in Republican circles; Schroeder, apparently not so much. Given the large role this entity now plays in determining the financial well-being of the Republican Party of Minnesota, it bears watching.

Image: The enduring legacy of Tony Sutton's fiscal genius, by Tild.

Highway to hell: why Emo Senator's adviser Golnik shouldn't recycle some old MDE posts

One of the evergreen anti-Walz complaints that Minnesota Democrats Exposed used to drag out in election years was a reckless driving rap from when Walz lived in another state, in another century.

It's never gotten much traction, but while MDE founder Michael Brodkorb was running Mike Parry's 2010 campaign, Republican friends warned us to expect yet another retread of that lore.  Now that Brodkorb is back to being the Twin Cities' media's favorite anonymous source for political dirt (this time on his fellow Republicans), facts suggest that Parry's campaign is best to avoid this talking point.

Parry's campaign now seems to be Parry and former RPM executive director and current public affairs flack Ben Golnik.  As it happens, Golnik's own brother Jon is seeking to unseat Representative Niki Tsongas in the new MA-03.

During the Republican primary in 2010, news reports emerged close to primary election day that Jon Golnik, who had then-presidential contender Tim Pawlenty's endorsed via the Minnesota Republican brother, had been picked up in 2001 as he drove home from an AC/DC concert and charged with driving while drinking and smoking pot:

[Jon] Golnik’s license was suspended. The driving under the influence of alcohol charge was continued without a finding, which allows defendants to avoid jail if they stay out of trouble. A marijuana charge was eventually dismissed.

In an interview yesterday, [Jon] Golnik acknowledged drinking and driving, but said he had not smoked marijuana and did not have rolling papers, as police said in their report. [Jon] Golnik said he was on his way home from an AC/DC concert at the FleetCenter when he was pulled over.

the news didn't seem to stick: Jon Golnik won the primary but lost the general to his Democratic opponent in the general.

Let's hope that Ben Golnik and Mike Parry won't use the sort of material in Minnesota that would be stoked to disqualify the former's own brother out East. 

Photo: Jon Golnik, who got stopped driving on the highway to hell and thereafter drove carefully, to the point that he abstained from driving to his polling place in most elections.

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.

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.

How will MF Global brokerage collapse affect Minnesota's farmers and cooperatives?

Update: After checking out this post, a reader involved in agriculture called to share this "Hog Blog" video in which AgStar’s Steve Malakowsky discusses MF Global's bankruptcy filing [Youtube here]. One can infer that swine producers used MF Global and Malakowsky, Agstar's Vice President of Agri-Business Capital,lays out the process for swine producers to move to other brokers. [end update]

A reader suggested that Bluestem look into what the impact of the meltdown of MF Global might be on Minnesota's rural economy. I haven't come up with a definitive answer to this question, but perhaps the business press will look into it.

Here's what I've found so far. Apparently the mega-brokerage not only made a losing bet on European bonds. Client funds are also still missing, the Wall Street Journal reports today. Hundreds of millions.

What does this have to do with farmers and grain elevators? Unfortunately, too much. MF Global not only traded in dubious European bond debt, but in the grain industry as well. MF Global Inc. is a now-suspended clearing member of the MGEX (the Minneapolis Grain Exchange). The MGEX  home page announces the suspension of the firm's trading and clearing privileges, and the transfer of customer accounts to other firms.

At the Progressive Farmer's Market Matters blog, DTN Markets editor Linda Smith writes in Another Financial Meltdown:

MF Global is/was one of the world's biggest brokers for commodities and listed derivatives, providing access to more than 70 exchanges globally as well as over-the-counter products . . .

Funds are transferred hither and yon among this myriad of firms as one finances another.

- These transfers appear to include use of clients' funds rather than keeping them whole and segregated, which currently is legal -- except that it appears upwards of $1 billion is unaccounted for. It is ironic that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission had proposed a rule under Dodd-Frank to not allow using customer funds for its own use, but it was shelved when several companies including Mf Global, requested additional comment time.

Lovely. Perhaps Mike Parry will dig deep within himsef and defend this lack of regulation. Moving on:

The list of the 50 largest nonsecured creditors doesn't include commodity companies, grain elevators or other ag-related companies. But "there will be HUGE ripple effect as folks realize what this really means," said one grain industry source who cleared trades through MF Global and has spent the week shifting accounts to one of the other clearing firms (ABN, Amro Chicago Clearing, ADM Investor Services, Dorman Trading, FC Stone, R.J. O'Brien, Rosenthal Collins Group) and handling the paperwork.

According to Reuters, 50,000 customers have had to move accounts -- and only 60% of the account funds will move with them, so these firms and individuals will have to come up with the balance to keep their margin funds current. Those who can't may be forced to liquidate their positions.

That's right: a 40% immediate loss. While big firms like one privately-held commodity behemoth my source mentioned is rumored to have used MF Global extensively have plenty of cash reserves, individual farmers and small town cooperative elevators working a hedge are not so lucky.

There's nothing publishedthat I can find about Minnesota firms or farmers, but we know MF Global had a seat on the grain exchange, so it's likely some folks in the state are caught up in the aftershocks of this market-rattling event. The Wall Street Journal provides a timeline of the firm's evolution here.

Some scattered sources do suggest that there might be trouble. Reuters reports from our southern neighbors in Iowa farmers feel ripples of MF Global bankruptcy:

MF Global Holdings Ltd's bankruptcy has sent shockwaves through a little Iowa town, where a local broker said he felt a moral obligation to guarantee more than $1 million in funds he placed for farmers at the futures brokerage.

Ken Ries, the 62-year-old owner of Ries Ag Marketing, has been clearing through MF Global and Refco since opening his commodity brokerage and grain dealer in 1987.

In an interview from his home in the farmland outside of Ryan, Iowa, Ries said he might wind up covering client funds -- all from farmers in eastern Iowa -- that have not yet been accounted for. MF Global and its regulators are searching for some $600 million worth of funds that went missing in the chaos of its bankruptcy this week. . .

Reis said calls to MF Global offices have mostly been met by busy signals. When he reached representatives on the phone, they were unable to provide him with any concrete information on when his clients' money would be available.

The bankrupt brokerage, however, transferred 58 percent of his clients' accounts to a new clearing firm, ADM Investor Services, on Friday. Ries is hoping accounts that have cash but no open trades will be transferred over the weekend. . . .

And there's more here at AgWeb's Latest News on the MF Global Bankruptcy Filing. Two podcasts predict a rough row to hoe. Jerry Meyer says MF Global Funds Release, Don't Expect It to be Easy. And Jerry Gulke explains What Happens Now as MF Global Funds Transfer. It's not pretty and Gulke warns that if there are any surprises in Wednesday's release of the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimate by the USDA, the grain markets and farmers could be in for a rough ride.

Perhaps more solid news on this development in Minnesota rural economy--prompted by wheeilng and dealing far from the windswept praire and sunny small towns--will emerge in the state's media. Bluestem will keep it's reading glasses on and report back as news develops.

Image: From 1882, the Octopus as a symbol of corporate greed.

Emo Senator: battling phantom EPA dust menace key to Parry's totally straightforward campaign

This morning's episode of Emo Senator, Southern Minnesota's most beloved online telenovela, is brought to you by a sharp-eyed farm activist in Steele County. This friend called Bluestem's attention to Emo's star performance in an Owatonna People's Press video at the bottom of the article, Sen. Mike Parry kicks off Congressional campaign.

A classic moment of Emo Senator starts around the eight minute mark:

Another thing about it is this combine dust. We don't need it. You know that's a rule and regulation that will be devastating to our agriculture, to our farmers.

Bluestem agrees that a rule against combine dust would be devastating to farmers. However, far more devastating to the poltical process is basing campaigns on pure cow flops, as legendary Minnesota politician Magnus Johnson liked to point out about the Republican platform of his time.

Parry is riding that manure spreader. The Washington Post reported in Bill to ban phantom EPA dust rule approved by House panel:

Earlier this year, Republicans found what they saw as an ideal talking point to illustrate a federal bureaucracy gone batty.

The Environmental Protection Agency, they warned, was trying to regulate something only God could control: the dust in the wind.

“Now, here comes my favorite of the crazy regulatory acts. The EPA is now proposing rules to regulate dust,” Rep. John Carter (R-Tex.) said on the House floor. He said Texas is full of dusty roads: “The EPA is now saying you can be fined for driving home every night on your gravel road.”

There was just one flaw in this argument: It was not true.

The EPA’s new dust rule did not exist. It never did.

Still, the specter of this rule has spurred three bills to prevent it , one of which was approved Thursday by a House subcommittee. It sparked a late-night battle on the Senate floor. GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain cited it in a debate as a reason to eliminate the EPA.

The hubbub over this phantom rule — surely one of the most controversial regulations that never was — involved a slow-moving federal agency and a Republican Party with the EPA in its crosshairs.

This isn't the first time--or the only time--The Emo Senator stood on the Republican "platform" during his two-day swing through Southern Minnesota towns with daily newspapers and a dozen GOP activists able to swell the progress.

Take his claims to a reporter at the New Ulm Journal. Josh Moniz writes in today's Parry talks politics in New Ulm:

. . .He addressed a group of 10 local residents, primarily Brown County Republicans of Minnesota (BCR) members, at the Ulmer Cafe. His visit was part of his two-day campaign kick-off tour that consists of nine stops in the district.

. . .He called his legislative record strong. He said he can both press those he disagrees with and reach across the aisle to accomplish work. He said Walz lacks bipartisanship and accused him of voting in lock step with President Obama.

This statement must leave his fans totally baffled and shuffling through past episodes to figure out just what the hell the Emo Senator is talking about with regard to his own bipartisanship.

Is it flouncing out of a budget meeting during the government shutdown?

Or calling the Governor lacking in feelings while calling for his resignation?

Or his famous failure to yield to questions from a DFL colleague on the Minnesota Senate floor? 

That particular episode prompted a defense from Congressional candidate and Senate Majority leader Michael Brodkorb that Democrats so did it too. Unfortunately for the Republican caucus, the City Pages' Erin Carlyle deftly pointed out the flaws in the Dark Lordkorb's assertion:

But the truth is that the two situations are actually pretty different. In 2009, the Senate was in the middle of a roll call vote, after all debate was supposed to be closed. When Cohen asked his question last week, the bill was up for debate on the Senate floor--the appointed time for asking questions.

"I can't think of another situation that's parallel to that, where they just literally refused to answer questions," says David Schultz of Hamline University. "It's pretty unusual--and I've been observing it for 15 years."

But the Emo Senator didn't stop there. One of his talking points is that Walz has "sold out" to a Washington crowd, but Mike Parry himself is quick to defend his introduction of model bills written by the American Legislative Exchange Council's corporate bill factory as mere "information" that's useful. From today's NUJ article:

Similarly, he said he thought his work with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) would not be a factor. ALEC is conservative non-profit policy organization that consists of legislators and members of major corporations. The organization has generated controversy over accusation of business professional providing "template bills" for legislators to pass. Parry is a member of ALEC's Minnesota branch.

"What I get from ALEC is information. The more information I have, the more I can make the right decision," said Parry.

That's the ticket, yeah. Those wishing to gather more information about ALEC might start here. Longtime fans of the Belle of Waseca County may also remember how Parry bragged about private companies were providing budget figures for the Republican Senate majority. Bluestem noted at certain issues with this approach in Looking a gift Little Pony in the mouth: Are Parry's pals poster kids for privatization's perils?

But perhaps on The Emo Planet, that's not selling out.  As a friend fondly says, grifters have to grift.

Parry also defended taking a salary during the shutdown and drawing full per diems during the session to the NUJ. This is classic straight-talking,Mike Parry-style, who so did not take all the out-of-session per diems he was entitled to:

Parry said his decision to take pay during the state government shutdown would not affect his campaign. He was one of the few to publicly defend his decision.

"I work my tail off for the citizens of this state," said Parry. "I believe that if you look at my records, you would see I only took 52 percent of the allotted per diem I could have taken."

Parry, who took the full per diem during the regular session, said his figure comes for the out-of-session per diem he could have taken but turned down.

Bluestem expects little of the Twin Cities press corps, but perhaps they might take a look at that claim, and see which Senators do take out-of-session per diem.  A truly enterprising reporter might dig into the actual extent of Parry's out-of-session self-sacrifice. Just who often has he failed to claim out-of-session per diem due to him while going about the people's business? Does he draw any out-of-session per diem? And what records does he have of official senate business conducted on his own dime? Or should voters take his word for it?

Dust. Reaching silently across the aisle by refusing to yield. Calling ALEC corporate factory bills "information." Out-sourcing budgeting to the private sector, which then might score contracts. It's a career fueled by urban legend and redirection.

All epsiodes certainly add irony to the lede in the Worthington Globe's article today:

He describes himself as a straightforward person who is disappointed with the spending in Washington, D.C.

Republican State Sen. Mike Parry stopped in Worthington Friday afternoon to speak about his upcoming bid for the congressional seat currently held by Tim Walz — the 10th such stop in two days.

Straightforward never looked so tangled, and the number of stops? Somewhere between New Ulm and Worthington, another town was added. Not even the Post Bulletin's Heather Carlson gave him that extra ghost town.

Bonus: The Star Tribune's Rachel Stassen-Berger, who so never reads this unnamed country blog, gets the political acumen award today for this tweet:

@RachelSB R. Stassen-Berger

Suspecting @mikeparry isn't tweeting his own tweets since last bunch have been @mbrodkorb RTs. Maybe it's a Brodkorb @klout score lifter.

Perhaps she and others might ask why Senate Majority Leader and Parry volunteer Lord Darkkorb is tweeting at all about a congressional campaign while he is at work for the state senate in St. Paul. Perhaps his public sector job allows unlimited coffee breaks to check on what the candidate he's advising for federal office is up to in the field.

Tune in next week as The Emo Senator does Windom and Blue Earth (or so our star promised in the OPP) where people want to know exactly who he is.

Photo: Mike Parry, the Belle of Waseca County and Emo Senator, now flouncing through southern Minnesota.

Earlier episodes below the fold.

Emo Senator: Will Quist's holy rolling upstage Brodkorb's progress across Southern MN?

Update November 4: For the latest epsiode, please visit Emo Senator: throngs of 10-20 people crowds cheer Mike Brodkorb's rural regency. [end update]

We last left the Emo Senator, hero of Southern Minnesota's most beloved online telenovela, basking in the praise from The Draz, made public in Parry's own press release.

And already, volunteer toadeater Ben Golnik is tweeting pictures of the throngs paying homage to the legislative star at the Hyvee in Winona.

Stops are also planned in Albert Lea, Austin, Rochester and Owatonna, the Winona Daily News reports in Parry to kick off campaign tour in Winona today.

Golnik is also tweeting about junk food available at the Owatonna Kwik Trip. May he find them at every Kwik Trip along the route, along crowds just as large as those at the Winona Hyvee.

But a shadow has been thrown over Brodkorb and Golnik's ambitions as volunteers.

Just as the departure of Mazeppa's mental midget cleared the path for Mike Parry's titular bid for congress and Dark Lord Brodkorb's climb on to the federal money train (and his escape from the train wreck of MNGOP party finances), the ghost of other failed races rises from the past.

Yes, Allan Quist, who conceded the 2010 Republican endorsement to Demmer after eight ballots, is seriously considering throwing his hat into the ring again. Mnindy's Andy Birkey reports in Allen Quist mulling challenge to Tim Walz:

Former legislator Allen Quist announced on his campaign website Wednesday that he is considering running against Rep. Tim Walz in Minnesota’s First Congressional District.

Quist lost the Republican endorsement to former legislator Randy Demmer in 2010. Quist, who is a longtime religious right activist, has run for office several times, including a primary challenge to Gov. Arne Carlson who Quist thought was too liberal.

“I wish to thank all the patriotic Republicans who have been encouraging me to become a candidate for First District Congress,” Quist wrote on his website. “Be assured that I hear what you are saying, and I am now leaning in the direction of aggressively going for it. I will make a final decision soon.”

Quist ran in 2010 for the Republican endorsement and made national headlines for his statements at the Wabasha County Republicans Christmas Party when he said that defeating liberals was more important than defeating terrorism. He lost the endorsement to Randy Demmer, who lost in the general election to Walz.

Perhaps that good crowd at the Hyvee is comprised of the non-patriotic Republicans in Southern Minnesota, since the patriotic one are somewhere else goading Quist into entering the race. Quist will have to step it up to match The Emo Senator's peerless mad skillz with the twitter.

Tune in tomorrow for the next exciting episode of Emo Senator, now featuring the Dark Lord and the Toadeater. Sadly, it's not the name of the House band.

Photo: Ben Golnik tweeted that this is a good crowd for the Emo Senator and who are we to argue.

Earlier episodes of The Emo Senator below the fold.

Modest proposal from Mankato: use Legacy funds to bail out Norwegian bachelor farmers

Ed Kohler at The Deets reports that Minnesota Vikings Now #1 Most Arrested Team in the NFL, a fact that suggests ideas to bail out the Wilf family from the cost of a new stadium may end up in the hands of Leno, Letterman or their local counterparts.

Cornerback Chris Cook's arrest certainly isn't going to help Representative Kurt Daudt's proposal to use Legacy funds--set aside by a constitutional ballot measure--to fund the stadium. MPR's Tom Scheck and Tim Nelson reports in Some Republicans want arts amendment money for Vikings stadium:

Daudt said the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund could generate about $50 million annually to finance the stadium. He said that would be enough to pay both the state's and Ramsey County's share but is unsure if that would be the plan.

"You certainly can't argue that the Minnesota Vikings and these sports teams in the state of Minnesota aren't a part of the state's heritage and certainly part of the state's legacy," Daudt said.

That's special.

And wrong, as editors in New Ulm and Mankato have noticed and given Daudt's great notion the thumbs down. The New Ulm Journal calls the idea "specious." The Mankato Free Press goes a bit further, suggesting in Our View: Legacy of football not an art:

Daudt uses a tortuous justification of how a pro football stadium would be a justified recipient of tax money from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund:

“You certainly can’t argue that the Minnesota Vikings ... aren’t a part of the state’s heritage and certainly part of the state’s legacy.”

If simply putting the words “legacy” and “heritage” in a sentence justifies funding, we could pay for all kinds of things. Norwegian bachelor farmers are certainly a part of our state’s heritage and legacy — let's give them some arts money, too.

Bluestem believes that the tradition of Norwegian bachelor farmers is more storied than that of the Vikings, but with ag subsidies potentially on the chopping block, the agrarian gents might be just as endangered, though perhaps more law-abiding.

To be sure, our ficticious Norwegian bachelor farmers have benefitted from the Legacy funds. A fact sheet posted by MPR notes that the funds paid for a free performance of Prairie Home Companion for high school students in FY2010.

Bluestem suspects that cost considerably less than the $50 million Daudt mentions.

Photo: Actually, these guys are from Wisconsin.

Srsly chimerical: Tim Pawlenty joins board of porcine-human organ research company

The Star Tribune and other venues are noting that Pawlenty joins board of technology firm called RedPrairie, but out here on the prairie, Pawlenty has gotten on board with a different sort of tech.

MiroMatrix, set to open a plant in Glencoe's industrial park on October 27, is a regenerative medicine firm that seeks to manufacture human organs for transplant from swine parts:

It sounds like something right out of a science fiction novel - making human organs from pigs - but Robert Cohen, chief executive officer of MiroMatrix Medical, said that is exactly what is planned when the start-up company opens its doors Oct. 27 with an official ribbon-cutting ceremony at the facility in Glencoe's industrial park.

MiroMatrix will be housed in the same building as Midwest Porcine Recovery, which opened its doors in 2010.

The two companies will be working in tandem - Midwest Porcine supplying the raw material and MiroMatrix the technology and know-how.

MiroMatrix is now in the process of finding more investors for its cutting-edge technology, and Cohen sees the potential for the new company as being great. "When all is said and done," Cohen told a chamber of commerce gathering last Friday, "we can make new organs for your body. It sounds like science fiction, but this can actually happen."

The McLeod County Chronicle reports today in Pawlenty joins MiroMatrix's board of directors:

Miromatrix Medical Inc., a regenerative medicine company engaged in the development of commercial products based upon its perfusion decellularization/recellularization technology licensed from the University of Minnesota, announced today that Timothy Pawlenty has joined its board of directors.

The Miromatrix Medical technology has the potential to enable the creation of fully biological replacement organs for the human body. In addition to the Company's internal efforts focused on the development of its first product - a biomesh for hernia repair and breast reconstruction - scientists around the globe are working with the Company's technology and are taking the first steps toward the creation of human organs including the liver, lung, kidney, pancreas and heart.

Miromatrix has enjoyed significant support and cooperation from both the State of Minnesota and the University of Minnesota. The city of Glencoe recently joined this list of supporters by attracting the company to its industrial park, where Miromatrix will move into a new laboratory constructed to its specifications within the facility of one of its primary suppliers.

Following his election to the Miromatrix Board of Directors on Oct. 17, Pawlenty said, "I am extremely excited to join the board of a company that has the potential to improve human health in an historic way within its reach. In my view, Miromatrix likely will be Minnesota's next medical and business miracle."

The company's tissue regeneration technology grabbed headlines in the New York Times in January 2008, but pioneering scientist Doris Taylor was soon shown the door as the government subsidized Miromatrix moved her discovery toward the lucrative biomedical marketplace. Med City News reported in May:

Even as Cohen prepares to raise capital and figure out a new product, he has had to deal with some dirty laundry being aired involving the ouster of Taylor from the company’s board. Cohen declined to comment on the matter, but said that her absence will not hurt the company’s prospects and fundraising efforts. The co-inventor remains on the board.

Miromatrix has already raised $1.4 million in a seed round that included two $250,000 loans from the state of Minnesota. Impressed by Taylor’s success and attracted by the hope that Miromatrix might one day spawn a regenerative medicine industry in Minnesota, state officials provided those loans in 2010. However, the loans don’t place any limits on where the company needs to be based, Cohen said. The company needs to begin repaying those loans in 2015.

The company was seeking $5 million in new funding when the article was published--but Bluestem is guessing that Pawlenty, whose abortive presidential campaign is still drowning in debt, isn't on board to raise private sector money.

Given his campaign videos resemblance to sci-fi blockbusters like Independence Day, maybe he'll be in charge of producing promotional clips. Or maybe it's to snag more government subsidies.

Or maybe it's that dirty laundry? Perhaps Pawlenty's there to make sure the academic scientists don't get too biggety around the job creators. The Star Tribune reported in April's Lavish praise, then a quick ouster for star U scientist:

"Because I'm a scientist and because I'm curious, I asked a lot of questions, and that wasn't particularly well received," she said.

Taylor put her questions, including how the company was spending its limited cash, into writing for a July board meeting.

"We all had what I thought was an open, honest conversation, and I left,'' she said. . . .

Taylor's dismissal occurred during a period of financial instability, according to Peter Bianco, DEED's paid observer of Miromatrix. He wrote last September that the business was on the verge of collapse unless new money could be raised.

In response, DEED provided a second $250,000 loan to attract a matching amount of private money. The cash bought the company time to work on two key unfinished initiatives: introducing its first product, which Cohen wouldn't identify, and raising more money.

Bob Isaacson, who manages business subsidies for DEED, said the level of Taylor's involvement doesn't matter as long as the company has her technology and is moving forward. But experts say that university spinoffs are far more likely to flourish when the founding scientist stays on during the early years. . . .

The MNDaily reported on the July 2010 ouster here. Having underfunded the U for years, T-Paw has a record of putting those research geeks in their place.

Photograph: Nope, kids, MiroMatrix's research isn't like that.