Bluestem Prairie

Governor Walz adds garden center, store workers to critical sector as stay-at-home order extended

The Star Tribune (and other sources) are reporting Walz extends stay-at-home order to May 4. Some of the details:

Gov. Tim Walz is extending a statewide stay-at-home order to May 4 as part of an effort to reduce or delay the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Minnesota.

“We bought the time we needed,” Walz said at an afternoon news conference. “It can all go sideways very quickly if we don’t continue.”

Walz said he extended the order based on guidance from federal health officials, the experience of other states that took early action and saw good results, as well as modeling done by state and University of Minnesota researchers.

By extending the stay-at-home order, Minnesota’s peak COVID-19 caseload should get pushed back to July, giving Minnesota time to add hospital capacity, and purchase more ventilators, testing supplies and masks and other protective equipment.

“The supply issue is not going away,” said Walz.

The state will begin a process to evaluate which businesses could reopen if they can maintain social distancing, including landscaping firms or golf courses that need to do maintenance. . . .

Already added to the list of Critical Sector Descriptions (page 4):

Workers supporting garden centers or stores, provided that such centers or stores adhere to guidance provided by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture.

We first saw this good news via a tweet by Minnesota Public Radio's Brian Bakst, but knew pressure to include these workers in the essential list was coming from several directions.

One was a Change.org petition started by Jennifer Buse, Allow Garden Centers in Minnesota under COVID-19 Protections that begins:

We are the 100’s of mom & pop garden centers located throughout Minnesota, and as Governor Walz is doing his best to mitigate the damage done by COVID-19. We would request one exception to the “Shelter in place” set in place on 3/25 for the allowance of Garden Centers in Minnesota to be open for the purpose of mental and physical well-being. We understand the big box stores need to be open to sell hardware, but with them also having the ability to sell plants and us being restricted to have online sales, delivery, and curb side pickup only of our plants, we are asking to be open. . . .

Over 8200 people had signed it as we write this post.

Governor Walz was also getting a gentle push from South St. Paul DFL state representative Rick Hansen, who sent a letter to the Governor and Lt. Governor on Sunday.

He shared the letter on his personal Facebook page on Wednesday:

I sent this letter 🌱last Saturday:
🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻🌻

April 4, 2020

Governor Tim Walz & Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan
130 State Capitol
75 Rev Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55155

Dear Governor Walz and Lt. Governor Flanagan:

Thank you for your leadership during this unprecedented COVID-19 crisis. Minnesotans have virtually come together in response to the #StayAtHome order. I have been hearing directly from constituents about a renewed interest in gardening, growing our own food and related outdoor activities. These outdoor activities are important in the next few weeks as spring is finally here for planting to begin.

I am asking you to add gardening to list of outdoor activities that Minnesotans may leave their homes or residences to engage in, provided that all persons follow Minnesota Department of Health guidelines. Generations ago, Minnesotans planted Victory Gardens during World War I and II. We can help achieve victory over this virus, by working safely with our soil to grow.

In order for Minnesotans to work at these productive outdoor growing efforts, they need seed, plants and tools. Currently, large national big-box stores are exempted from the shutdown order, and continue to sell plants, garden supplies, and other products, while local Mom and Pop retail garden centers remain closed throughout our state. Allowing Minnesota garden centers to open is vital for their continued success in a highly competitive market.

I am asking that you add Retail Garden Centers to the Food and Agriculture Exemptions - Critical Sectors. This can help facilitate Minnesotans to plant and grow.

The garden center retail component of the horticulture industry is critical to the success of the entire industry and each business within it. The survival of retail nursery operations and the continued employment of their workers depend on these businesses being allowed to continue operating during this crisis. The closure of these retail centers severely limits the movement of perishable plant material through the supply chain.

Allowing our garden centers to be open is vital for their continued success in a highly competitive market. Our retail garden centers, are regulated by the Minnesota Department of Agriculture, and can operate safely and responsibly, implementing the following best practices for safe retail operations, as well as state and federal workplace safety guidelines:

• Companies can implement COVID-19 sick leave policies, CDC guidance, and other best practices.
• Garden centers can implement sanitation practices, including items such as carts, check out areas, display stands, and limits on the physical exchange of payment.
• Garden centers can enforce social distancing, including occupancy limits and management of customer movement.
• Companies can implement no-contact outdoor check, curbside pickup, and delivery, with delivery being authorized by the order.

I ask for your support for these changes during this critical time.

Sincerely,

Rick Hansen
State Representative, 52A

cc: Thom Peterson, Commissioner, Minnesota Department of Agriculture

We're been gardening since we were a wee girl growing up in rural Le Sueur County--and continue to grow and process much of our own food.

Just as State reps Becker-Finn & Fue Lee ask governor to recognize fishing & hunting as essential, Hansen was discussing a form of recreation which is also vital to many Minnesotans' diet.

BTW, the Governor took Becker-Finn and Fue Lee's letter to heart, as we commented over a tweet by MinnPost's Greta Kaul:

I see hunting and fishing on the can-do outdoors list now, @jbeckerfinn and @RepFueLee. Good work! https://t.co/jjVyABmrhS

— Sally Jo Sorensen (@sallyjos) April 8, 2020

Here's hoping for a great growing season in Minnesota and here in South Dakota.

Photo: Posted to Facebook by Rick Hansen on April 5. Cropped.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the  paypal subscription button.

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Minnesota State Supreme Court decision keeps some voter data private, reversing lower courts

In State Supreme Court allows voter data withheld from public, Rochelle Olson reports for the Star Tribune:

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon won the right to keep some voter information private with a state Supreme Court ruling Wednesday overturning two lower court decisions in a three-year legal dispute.

In a 5-2 decision, the high court said Simon need not turn over information sought by the Minnesota Voters Alliance regarding voters' status, reasons for any challenges to their registrations and information on voters not currently registered.

The Supreme Court said the additional information sought by the conservative-leaning Voters Alliance was accessible only to public officials for specific purposes. In declining access to that information, the Secretary of State followed the law, the court said.

The lawsuit dates to January 2017 when the Voters Alliance asked Simon for access to an electronic copy of data in the statewide voter registration system, including voter identification numbers, names, addresses, phone numbers, years of birth, voting history, types of ballots (absentee or in person), voters' status (active, inactive, deleted, challenged), reasons for challenges and all other information.

The information is part of a statewide database that contains 19 fields of information on 5.4 million voters, 3.3 million of whom have active registrations.

In August 2017, Simon told the group it was entitled only to the name, address, year of birth, history, district and telephone number of each voter. Ramsey County Judge Jennifer Frisch disagreed, telling Simon to hand over the data. The court of appeals agreed the data is public.

The Voters Alliance frequently challenges election laws echoing GOP claims of widespread fraudulent voting. DFLers and voting rights activists counter that the claims of fraud are a ruse aimed at intimidating voters and suppressing turnout. Simon is a DFLer. . . .

Minnesota Public Radio's Brian Bakst has more in State high court ruling keeps some Minnesota voter data private:

. . . In the majority opinion, Justice David Lillehaug wrote that Simon properly balanced transparency with voter privacy.

“Access to ‘Big Data’ about Minnesota voters requires the balancing of policy values such as transparency, privacy, and discretion,” Lillehaug wrote for a majority that included all of the justices appointed by Democratic governors. “Such balancing is the province of the Legislature that wrote the Data 13 Practices Act and the Minnesota Election Law, the statutes whose words we have read and interpreted today.”

In a dissent, Chief Justice Lorie Gildea wrote that the outcome gives Simon too much power to classify data on his own because data is usually presumed public unless explicitly deemed private.

“Decisions about the classification of government data and public access to voter registration data are policy matters for the Legislature,” Gildea wrote in a dissent joined by Justice G. Barry Anderson, the only two justices who were first put on the court by Republican governors.  .  .  .

Here's the decision:

MN Supreme Court Decision Cilek, et al. vs. Office of the Minnesota Secretary of State, et al uploaded by Sally Jo Sorensen on Scribd

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon issued a statement about the decision:

“I thank the Court for its thoughtful consideration of the issues at the heart of today’s ruling. The foundation of Minnesota’s nation-leading voter participation is the confidence that our voters place in the system—confidence that includes the security and privacy of the information they entrust with my office. The Minnesota Voters Alliance made a request that would have violated that trust, and I’m glad that the Court judged that to be an unacceptable risk.

Every action that I’ve taken in this case was to protect the privacy of Minnesota’s voters and to repay the faith they have in our democracy. I’m grateful that the Court recognized our legal argument, but more so that this decision will strengthen Minnesotans’ enduring commitment to our right to vote.”

For a broader look from Susan Du at the City Pages at the conservative movement to restrict voting in Minnesota, A shadowy league of vigilantes is trying to choke access to Minnesota’s polls.

Related posts:

• Is MN Senate GOP caucus voter ID push more about '18 fakelore than '12 amendment failure?
• Minnesota’s Rep. Omar and Attorney General Ellison did not encourage voter fraud (Associated Press)
• Keith Downey wants MN to vote like Hoosiers

Photo: Minnesotans are a voting bunch of citizens.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the  paypal subscription button.

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POET idles four ethanol plants in SD & IA

We've been following the crisis in the energy industry, with a focus in the coal, oil and natural gas, and biofuel industry in the upper Midwest.

On Tuesday, POET, LLC, the Sioux Falls-based world’s largest biofuels producer, issued an ominous-sounding press release, Economic Crisis Hitting Area Farmers and Workers:

COVID-19 may threaten demand for eight billion gallons of ethanol, 2.7 billion bushels of corn

POET announced today it will idle production at its bioprocessing facilities in Chancellor, S.D., Ashton, Iowa, and Coon Rapids, Iowa, and delay the start-up of its new plant in Shelbyville, Ind., as producers across the United States continue to grapple with the economic fallout of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. On an annualized basis, these operational changes are expected to reduce corn demand by 110 million bushels, freezing 330 million gallons of ethanol production across the four facilities. POET has also significantly slowed production at other facilities, further decreasing corn demand.

“Across the board, biofuel producers and our partners in the farm community face an unprecedented challenge,” said POET Founder and CEO Jeff Broin. “From day one of this crisis, we have placed the highest priority on protecting the health and welfare of our workers, partners and farm suppliers. At the same time, we are working hard to ensure that every biorefinery remains well-positioned to support a strong and swift recovery once daily life returns to normal. That means responding dynamically to shifting conditions and optimizing production, market by market, as the situation evolves over the next few months.

“Unfortunately, plummeting fuel demand amid the coronavirus pandemic has overwhelmed markets already suffering from continued trade barriers, a foreign price war over oil and regulatory uncertainty here at home. In South Dakota, the crisis has been compounded by one of the worst growing seasons in memory. As a result, POET is taking the difficult step of idling production at our biorefineries in Chancellor, Ashton and Coon Rapids and delaying the start-up of Shelbyville.”

Ethanol producers across the country are slashing production amid the ongoing crisis. Nationally, experts predict a decline in fuel demand of up to 55 percent. If these conditions persist, it will result in an annualized drop in ethanol demand of up to eight billion gallons or 2.7 billion bushels of corn. . . .

Via the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, South Dakota News Watch's Bart Pfankuch reported in S.D. ethanol industry, corn growers facing economic ‘bloodbath’ due to coronavirus:

The ethanol industry in South Dakota and across the Midwest is in an economic free-fall due to decreased global demand for ethanol-infused gasoline during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Fear of spreading the deadly virus has led governments around the world to cancel gatherings and urge or require people to stay home, and many individuals are self-isolating to stay safe, significantly reducing the global demand for gasoline.

The pandemic has hit the ethanol industry at a time producers were already suffering through poor market conditions owing to the trade war with China, a glut of oil production during a price war between Russia and Saudi Arabia that sent ethanol prices tumbling and waivers from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that enabled American refineries to use less ethanol.

“The important context here is that a lot of the ethanol industry was hanging on by a string before the coronavirus hit,” said Brian Jennings, CEO of the American Coalition for Ethanol, a nonprofit national trade group based in Sioux Falls. “And we’re seeing unprecedented demand destruction right now, so undoubtedly, 2020 is going to be a bloodbath for the industry.” . . .

The ethanol market meltdown has also hurt South Dakota’s roughly 12,500 corn farmers, said Lisa Richardson, executive director of the South Dakota Corn Growers Association.

In a typical year, South Dakota farmers produce about 800 million bushels of corn, about 450 million of which are used for ethanol production, 100 million for livestock feed and the rest for global food exports, Richardson said. Many corn farmers are also investors or have some type of financial stake in ethanol plants, she said.

Corn growers were looking forward to a strong growing season in 2020 given the weather so far, but that may not help them if markets for their products don’t rebound, Richardson said. The effects of the ethanol market collapse will be felt far beyond the production plants and farmers who supply them with corn, she said.

“The problem here is unprecedented,” she said. “Corn is your largest commodity in the state, and ethanol is the corn producer’s largest market, and agriculture is the largest industry in the state, so this is very significant.”

Another concern amid the pandemic is whether global supply chains will remain viable and allow for corn and corn products to be distributed to markets around the world, she said.

Consumers can easily see evidence of the reduced demand for gasoline by the lack of motorists on the roads, and by watching the gas price at the pump. Gasoline with 10% ethanol, labeled as “Plus” or “Premium,” has fallen well below $2 per gallon across South Dakota, with prices in the $1.85 range now common in West River and in the $1.60 range in East River for Plus gas.

Gas was $1.49 at the Cenex in Agency Village, South Dakota, and we filled up, though we're not going far, given that the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate's tribal council has approved a stay-at-home order on the Lake Traverse Reservation.

The copy in the ag media was no more cheerful. At Successful Farming, Jerry Perkins reported in POET idles ethanol plants; Corn farmers lose home for 110 million bushels:

In an exclusive telephone interview with Successful Farming, POET President and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Lautt said none of POET’s other 23 ethanol-producing plants have been idled. However, he added, the company has significantly slowed production at some of its other plants and has stopped buying corn at seven plants.

POET is headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and operates 27 ethanol plants and an ethanol research center in seven states. Its plants’ total annual production capacity is 2 billion gallons of ethanol, 10 billion pounds of distillers’ dried grains, and 600 million pounds of corn oil.

On an annualized basis, these operational changes at the four plants are expected to reduce corn demand by 110 million bushels, freezing 330 million gallons of ethanol production across the four facilities, according to POET. . . .

Lautt said corn bins at POET’s plants are full and its storage tanks of ethanol also are topped off as the company tries to adjust its production to match the current market for ethanol.

With its corn storage bins full, POET will defer accepting deliveries of corn and work with its farmer-customers in the coming months, Lautt stated. “We communicated with farmers a few weeks back. We were pretty pro-active that we were going to adjust our production levels.”  . . .

AgWeb's Sonja Begemann noted in POET Idles 4 Plants, Dropping Annual Corn Demand 110 Million Bu.:

Grow Energy CEO Emily Skor explained the economic hardship facing biofuels and farmers will have a sizeable impact on stakeholders.

“Fuel demand has fallen by more than half,” Skor said, in a recent statement. “On an annual basis that equates to a 7- or 8-billion-gallon loss of ethanol demand. Today, POET biofuels, the world’s largest biofuel producer, joins dozens of other American producers that have been forced to take plants offline.”

Plants have cut or halted production in California, Iowa, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio, Oregon and South Dakota.

“At this rate, nearly half of America’s biofuel production could soon be offline,” she added.

We'll continue to monitor this story. Perhaps South Dakotans could plant pheasant habitat and sell Community Supported Hunting shares.

Related posts:

• Farm Journal/Agweb: Ethanol plants could soon start producing DDGs for livestock, not ethanol
• North Dakota energy digest: coal, oil, ethanol tanking amid Saudi-Russian feud, COVID19 woes
• DeSmogBlog on Project Tundra: expensive greenwashing for fossil fuel
• Project Tundra's clean coal; or, does Petra Nova project's tech really reduce carbon emissions?
• Will ethanol industry go the way of oil? It's going to be ugly, Al-Corn Clean Fuel CEO Doyal says
• Bismarck Tribune: North Dakota oil industry gets roughed up by brutally low petroleum prices

Screengrab: Location of POET biofuels plants. From the company's website.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the  paypal subscription button.

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Minnesota legislature passes workers’ comp changes for frontline workers with COVID-19

Heckova a session in the Minnesota House today, with many members literally phoning in their votes.

At Session Daily, Rob Hubbard reports in House passes workers’ comp changes for health care workers, first responders with COVID-19:

While praise has been widely accorded those on the front lines of the struggle with the COVID-19 pandemic — particularly health care workers and first responders — there’s been a nagging question among their ranks: What happens if one of them contracts the virus? Would they receive workers’ compensation for time missed during their illness?

The House sought to ease their minds on Tuesday by overwhelmingly passing HF4537.

Sponsored by Rep. Dan Wolgamott (DFL-St. Cloud), it specifically addresses workers’ compensation claims for employees who contract COVID-19 during their duties as health care workers — including home health care workers — paramedics, emergency medical technicians, police officers and firefighters.

The changes would also pertain to corrections facility officers and counselors, as well as child care workers providing care for the children of health care workers and first responders.

Such workers would be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits without having to provide proof that they contracted COVID-19 from a particular patient on a particular day. But, to receive compensation, the employee’s condition would have to be confirmed by a positive laboratory test or the diagnosis of a physician, physician’s assistant or nurse, based upon the employee’s symptoms.

Passed 130-4 by the House — with most members doing so remotely — and 67-0 by the Senate, it next goes to Gov. Tim Walz, who said during an afternoon briefing he could sign it as soon as Tuesday evening. Sen. Jeff Howe (R-Rockville) is the Senate sponsor.

The bill is the result of negotiations between the representatives of labor and business groups who make up the Workers’ Compensation Advisory Council.

House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (DFL-Golden Valley) said of the bill: “It’s making sure that the health care risks they’re taking on are not also financial risks.”

The Commerce and Labor and Industry departments project the bill’s cost to range from $320 million in a best-case scenario to $580 million at worst. But House Speaker Melissa Hortman (DFL-Brooklyn Park) emphasized in a press briefing earlier in the day that some of that money may come from a federal aid package that’s estimated to bring about $1.87 billion to the state.

As to whether such workers’ compensation claims are currently being filed, Winkler said, “Indications are that the numbers are quite low.”

The proposed legislation would not be retroactive, instead only covering cases diagnosed on or after the day following enactment. It would sunset on May 1, 2021.

The bill would also extend the target date for implementation of a new workers’ compensation data management system.

Rep. Peggy Scott (R-Andover), voted for the bill after raising questions about the rules of evidence should a claim be contested in court, as well as the costs to the state that may be incurred as a result of the legislation.

“It’s a concern to me what all of this is going to cost at the end of the day,” she said.

Hubbard doesn't note who the four nay-sayers were, but we will, via the Journal of the House: Cal Bahr, New House Republican-East Bethel; Steve Green, R-Fosston; Marion O'Neill, R-Maple Lake; and, Linda Runbeck, R-Circle Pines. We'll look for their explanations of the no votes.

Here's the video of the floor debate:

Following the session, the bill's author tweeted:

BREAKING: My bill to ensure frontline responders who contract COVID-19 can get workers compensation just passed the MN House 130-4!

To our public safety, healthcare, and childcare workers: THANK YOU for the risks you take & the sacrifices you make to protect our communities! pic.twitter.com/qmF2pSE9Uc

— Rep. Dan Wolgamott (@RepWolgamott) April 7, 2020

Unions representing many frontline workers tweeted their thanks to the legislature :

MNA members’ efforts, along with our community partners, to call on #mnleg and @GovTimWalz to ensure that frontline workers are able to access Workers’ Compensation resources were instrumental in keeping the pressure to address this critical issue. Your voice matters! #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/BYh5sfoyAU

— Minnesota Nurses (@mnnurses) April 8, 2020

Some lawmakers' tweets illustrated the historic social distance protocol observed during the session:

Social distancing was the normal:

Your state reps: social distancing & serving the people of Minnesota - voting by telephone today, for the first time in history. 🥰 #mnleg https://t.co/h8ZDorGqjW

— Melissa Hortman (@melissahortman) April 7, 2020

Today, we are meeting remotely to pass legislation to protect our health care workers. We need a minimum of 90 members in the ‘seat of government’. To minimize viral exposure to all, many of us are in our vehicles in the parking ramps. pic.twitter.com/1gB912v0qz

— Brad Tabke (@BradTabke) April 7, 2020

Related posts:

• He's on it: Jeremy Munson gets confused about when MN House HHS Finance Division last met
• Different timetables & revenue, same dilemma: SD and MN legislatures in the time of COVID-19
• News digest: #mnleg passes another COVID bill
• One "pod" of CoreCivic's closed Appleton prison could become Tri-County Covid Medical Center
• New House Republican Caucus legislative staffer really does worry about proper social distance
• New House Republican Caucus Facebook admin stays classy about American Sign Language

Photo: A screengrab of the mask-wearing Speaker of the House, Chief Clerk and other Minnesota House staffers while the House was in session. Via Shakopee state representative Brad Tabke's tweet.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the  paypal subscription button.

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He's on it: Jeremy Munson gets confused about when MN House HHS Finance Division last met

Reading the Facebook post by Representative Jeremy Munson, captured in the screengrab above, on Monday morning, made us concerned about the Lake Crystal, Minnesota, New House Republican Caucus member's well-being.

It's not just that we had received a copy of the draft language of the bill (here) and embed below, but we were pretty certain that the Minnesota House Health and Human Services Finance Division, of which Representative Munson is a member, had met since last spring when the last omnibus bill passed.

Sure, the last Division Report is HF 400 HHSF Division Report 2-28-2019, posted on March 1, 2019, and the last committee document posted is Long-Term Care Referral Memo 3.25.19 - Posted: 3/27/2019.

But the minutes for the division tell a different story. We find minutes for seven division meetings since the last omnibus bill was passed:

• FORTY-SEVENTH MEETING - 2/26/2020
• FORTY-SIXTH MEETING - 2/20/2020
• FORTY-FIFTH MEETING - 2/19/2020
• FORTY-FOURTH MEETING - 2/18/2020
• FORTY-THIRD MEETING - 2/13/2020
• FORTY-SECOND MEETING - 12/2/2019
• FORTY-FIRST MEETING - 9/26/2019

When we checked the minutes of each one, we read that Representative Munson was present at each of these meetings, so his statement is baffling. Could it be a stress reaction from sheltering in place? A stressed staffer who failed to scroll past the document sections?

Given the high profile of the issues discussed in several of the meetings--the cost of insulin and child care--we're surprised Munson or the caucus staff could forget them.

Update April 7: In LEGISLATIVE UPDATE FROM REP. JEREMY MUNSON - DISTRICT 23-B - (Monday, February 24, 2020) Munson wrote:

The HHS Finance Division held a committee hearing for the emergency insulin bill on Tuesday. This bill was originally set to cost $10.4 million a year and only included those without insurance. It has since grown to include 70% of all patients, even those with insurance and nearly quadrupled in cost to $38 million a year. . . .

You can find my comments during committee here: Rep. Munson on the Emergency Insulin Bill in HHS Finance.

Yes, that's a link to a YouTube of him speaking to a meeting that he now claims never happened. [end update]

Perhaps by "omnibus bill" he meant when the House lawmakers OK $330 million in measures taking aim at pandemic's impact  He and his three fellow New House Republicans were the only lawmakers in both chambers to vote against that relief.

We're not that close but we wish them all good health and spirits.

Representative Munson didn't say what legislation is being taken up, though we received an email yesterday as a member of the media about an omission in that legislation that drew quick calls for action, along with the copy of the draft bill language.

We're waiting for a call back to learn when members of the legislature received their copies of the bill.

Within minutes today, the Star Tribune's Torey Van Oot reported in Minnesota poised to expand workers' comp for coronavirus-stricken first responders:

Minnesota lawmakers are set to pass legislation Tuesday expanding workers’ compensation benefits for police, health workers and other first responders who contract COVID-19.

The proposal, which has support of leaders in both parties, would allow front-line workers who are at high risk of contracting the coronavirus to qualify for benefits that cover job-related medical expenses and illness if they receive a positive COVID-19 lab test or diagnosis.

Firefighters, paramedics, police, nurses, doctors, long-term care workers, correctional officers and people providing child care to emergency responders are all covered by the bill.

The agreement follows weeks of lobbying from first responders, who said that without the change, such workers would have to prove to employers that they contracted the disease on the job.

“We would have to prove by the preponderance of the evidence that we contracted it from a patient,” Chris Parsons, a St. Paul fire captain who serves as president of the Minnesota Professional Fire Fighters union, previously told The Star Tribune. “That’s going to be impossible for us.”

Efforts to include a similar change in a $330-million COVID-19 response package approved by the Legislature in late March fell short following opposition from some business groups and Senate Republicans. At the time, Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-East Gull Lake, said he wanted any modification to the law to have full support from the Workers’ Compensation Advisory Council, which is made up of representatives from both business and labor. Lawmakers said Monday that the agreement has backing from both sides. . . .

Read the rest at the Strib. We're curious if those leaders in the first responder community or the business community were those to whom Munson was wanting out of the process in this exchange on his Facebook post:

More of that backstory of lobbying: Chao Xiong reported in the Star Tribune article, First responders urge Minnesota lawmakers to ease path to workers' compensation for those with COVID-19:

First responders and emergency workers are urging Minnesota lawmakers to ease their ability to obtain workers’ compensation should they contract COVID-19.

A bill before lawmakers would encompass firefighters, paramedics, police, nurses, doctors and people providing child care to emergency responders, among several others whose jobs put them at particular risk of contracting the disease that had infected 689 and killed 17 Minnesotans as of Wednesday.

“It’s very important, because first responders, nurses, other folks that we have included in this bill, we are going to be working directly with populations that are susceptible to COVID-19, or, already have COVID-19,” said St. Paul fire Capt. Chris Parsons, who spearheaded the effort. “We are going to be put at a greater risk than the general public [for] contracting this illness.”

The measure would smooth an employee’s path toward obtaining workers’ compensation for medical expenses and other costs related to a COVID-19 infection by shifting the burden of proof from the employee to the employer.

Without the bill, employees would have to prove to employers that they contracted the disease from a specific patient while on the job. Under the bill, an infection would be presumed to be work-related, and employers seeking to deny workers’ compensation would have to disprove that employees contracted the disease while working.

Parsons, president of the Minnesota Professional Fire Fighters union, said it would be difficult for emergency workers to pinpoint the exact moment of infection given the number of people they come in contact with.

“We would have to prove by the preponderance of the evidence that we contracted it from a patient,” he said about the usual workers’ compensation standards. “That’s going to be impossible for us.”

Parsons first wrote Gov. Tim Walz and lawmakers in mid-March pleading with them to enact workers’ compensation protections for emergency workers after hearing firsthand from a firefighter from Washington state, where one-third of a fire department was quarantined after exposure.

There are about 2,000 professional firefighters and 20,000 volunteer, on-call firefighters working in just under 800 fire departments across Minnesota.

While he has not heard of firefighters in Minnesota testing positive for COVID-19, Parsons said some firefighters in St. Paul, Minneapolis and other departments have been or are being quarantined.

“We’re still early in this thing,” Parsons said. “Imagine where this is going to be in two weeks.”

Two St. Paul police officers are now off work with confirmed cases of the virus, marking the first known law enforcement officers in the state to contract it, along with a Department of Corrections officer. So far, no Minneapolis police officers have tested positive.

Lawmakers sent Walz a letter this week urging him to issue an executive order to create a “workers’ comp presumption” for first responders. He kicked it back to legislators, who did not roll it into a $330 million emergency coronavirus aid package passed last Thursday. . . .

We're not sure why Munson wants to fall on his sword with this one. Will the splinter caucus be voting against this one?

We also hope he updates his post informing his followers what the session is about, as some of them are very afraid of the things they imagine the House may pass. We posted a link to the bill draft hoping that they would not be so fearful. Surely that fear wasn't Munson's purpose in his post--we think it was concern about process--but he should act responsibly.

Here's a screengrab of sample comments--all so far from the actual matter at hand in Tuesday's session:

Here's a copy of the draft bill language:

First Responders Workers Comp posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Scribd

Screengrab: Munson's post.

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MNGOP chair tweets mail-in ballots cause fraud; since 2008, parts of Greater MN's voted by mail

Minnesota Republican Party State Chair Jennifer Carnahan is getting push back again for another vacuous tweet. This time, her topic was mail-in ballots and th The editor of the Minnesota Reformer brought up an earlier snafu in MNGOP campaign finance reports:

The people of Minnesota disagreed when asked this question on a ballot measure in 2012, but they often change their minds like the time Rep. Jim Hagedorn decided he did not live in St. Louis Park so let’s ask them again! https://t.co/jKql78kUgr

— j. patrick coolican (@jpcoolican) April 3, 2020

Readers may remember when Bluestem broke this story in Republican Party of MN reports self-employed James, Hagedorn lives in St. Louis Park and followed up with RPM, Friends of Hagedorn confuse state & federal campaign finance reports in answering [Post Bulletin] question about Hagedorn's residence.

Fun stuff, but Bluestem thinks the greater nincompoopery on Carnahan's part is the lockstep agreement with the President that mail-in ballots automatically lead to voter fraud. In fact, many voters in Minnesota's rural and tiny town precincts already vote by mail.

We tweeted:

From #MN01 Blue Earth Co on mail-in ballots: "Many voters in Blue Earth County automatically vote by mail. About 46 days before the election, all registered voters in these mail ballot precincts will be mailed a ballot and instructions...." https://t.co/9rD4fE189M #mngop #mnleg

— Sally Jo Sorensen (@sallyjos) April 4, 2020

That's in Minnesota's First Congressional District, where Carnahan's husband, Jim Hagedorn, serves as U.S. Representative.

And Faribault County, where he's a resident of the City of Blue Earth? The Faribault County Register staff writer Kevin Mertens reported in December 2019's Some townships going to mail ballots:

Changes are occurring in the way less populated areas of the state cast their votes.

According to a law passed in 2008 in Minnesota, all non-metropolitan townships and cities with less than 400 registered voters located outside of the Minneapolis/St. Paul seven-county metropolitan area can choose to hold elections by mail.

Minnesota is one of five states which permit certain jurisdictions or portions of a jurisdiction to be designated as eligible for all-mail voting based on population. The other four states are Idaho, Nevada, New Jersey and New Mexico.

"Prescott, Lura, Pilot Grove and Rome Townships have all filed the necessary paperwork," Faribault County chief deputy auditor Jessica Blair explained. "Clark and Verona Townships have informed us they will have the necessary paperwork in by the Dec. 4 deadline."

Prescott Township has already held an election by mail, according to Blair.

"It went pretty well," Blair said . "One concern was the voter's signatures were visible on the returned envelope, but that has now been changed so it (the signature) is concealed."

Originally, it was the sparsely populated regions of northern Minnesota which took advantage of this law, but now over 25 percent of the townships in Faribault County are making the change to vote by mail. . . .

Well okay then. At the Minnesota Secretary of State's webpage, Cities and towns that vote by mail, we learn:

Some jurisdictions in Minnesota hold elections by mail instead of voting at polling places.

All non-metropolitan townships and cities with less than 400 registered voters located outside of the Minneapolis/St. Paul seven-county metropolitan area can choose to hold elections by mail.

You can see if you live in a mail ballot precinct by entering your address into the Polling Place Finder. If you live in a mail ballot precinct, you will see a message that ballots are mailed to registered voters. You will also see the location of the central polling place where you can drop off their ballot, vote in person, or register on Election Day. . . .

The page includes more details on how this is done. One detail:

Do I need a witness for my ballot?
Yes. All mail ballots require the signature of a witness on the signature envelope. Follow the instructions that are included with your ballot.

When the editor lived in rural Big Stone County, she witnessed her landlord's ballot; she herself voted early absentee, since our schedule was busy that fall. If the local DFL was trying for voter fraud, they did a terrible job in that precinct.

Maybe mail ballots would simply turn evil if they were mailed inside the seven-county metro area.

For a serious look at mail-in voting on a statewide scale, we recommend Peter Callaghan's Yes, Minnesota could move to vote-by-mail for the 2020 election. No, it won’t be easy, at MinnPost.

Related posts:

• Won't someone rescue Olivia's children from the Reds? MNGOP chair frets about Mpls only
• Republican Party of MN reports self-employed James, Hagedorn lives in St. Louis Park
• RPM, Friends of Hagedorn confuse state & federal campaign finance reports in answering PB question about Hagedorn's residence

Photo: A 2018 primary ballot, via Mail ballot process on the rise in the Fillmore County Register.

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Won't someone rescue Olivia's children from the Reds? MNGOP chair frets about Mpls only

We admired the use of a photo of a Greater Minnesota's community's park closure to illustrate this article:

Minnesota GOP chair accuses Democrats of 'extreme communist control' amid COVID-19 pandemic | Brainerd Dispatch https://t.co/ttf75sRKrD Comrades! We control the news cycle! Arise ye prisoners of starvation! #mngop #dirtyhippies

— Sally Jo Sorensen (@sallyjos) April 3, 2020

Yes, the dirty reds of the City of Olivia have closed the park. Minnesota Republican chair was shrieking about the Evil Metro reds who are following the red road dictated by those commies in Renville County.

Forum Communications staffer Sarah Mearhoff reports in the Brainerd Dispatch article, Minnesota GOP chair accuses Democrats of 'extreme communist control' amid COVID-19 pandemic:

The chair of Minnesota's Republican Party on Twitter on Friday, April 3 accused Democrats of using the COVID-19 pandemic, which has infected nearly 800 Minnesotans, as an "excuse for extreme communist control."

MNGOP Chair Jennifer Carnahan tweeted Friday in response to the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board's Thursday announcement that it won't open city beaches, wading pools and water parks this summer because of the viral outbreak.

Carnahan questioned if the board's decision was necessary yet, with summer weeks away.

“Was it necessary for Minneapolis to close the beaches for the summer in early Apr (sic)?" Carnahan tweeted. "Much can unfold, change & transpire between now/then. The Democrats have turned Coronavirus into an excuse for extreme communist control. Wake up people!"

As of Friday, 789 Minnesotans have tested positive for the coronavirus, and Hennepin County, home to Minneapolis, has the highest concentration of cases in the state with 242 confirmed cases. Twenty-two Minnesotans have died of the illness, and 156 have been hospitalized, according to the state Department of Health. ...

Read the article, and by all means, take a look at the responses to Carnahan's tweet on the twitter platform itself. She's been ratio-ed for sure.

Her focus on the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board's decision makes us wonder how she could be so cold as to leave the chlldren of Olivia in the clutches of the Rural Reds.

Olivia is represented in the Minnesota Senate by local Republican state senator Andrew Lang, while House New Republican Caucus member Tim Miller, Prinsburg, serves the gulag in the Minnesota House

Image: Boris Vladimirski's Roses for Stalin. Think of the children.

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State reps Becker-Finn & Fue Lee ask governor to recognize fishing & hunting as essential

We received a press release about a letter Roseville DFL state representative Jamie Becker Finn just tweeted:

Public discussion (and media) has often lumped fishing in with other recreational activities. Distinction is important, as outlined in the letter.

Overall the Walz-Flanagan administration has done a great job being thoughtful in their actions. I expect the same re this issue.

— Jamie Becker-Finn (@jbeckerfinn) April 3, 2020

Becker-Finn notes in the press release:

Today, Representative Jamie Becker-Finn (DFL – Roseville) sent a letter to Governor Walz asking him to protect Minnesotans’ access to hunting and fishing and the tools needed to meaningfully participate in these activities.

“Hunting and fishing are protected in our State Constitution and play an integral role in providing healthy food for many Minnesotans,” said Rep. Becker-Finn. “I hope that Governor Walz will keep these unique aspects of hunting and fishing in mind as decisions are made.”

Kudoes to Becker-Finn and Lee for raising the issue.

A South Dakota parallel?

We have been wondering about this as well--and will be asking the same question of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate's tribal government as well. Although South Dakota's Governor Kristi Noem has not issued a shelter-in-place order, the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate (Dakota), a sovereign nation, has drafted a Proposed ordinance to slow spread of coronavirus on Lake Traverse Reservation of a "public safety curfew" within the historic boundaries of the reservation defined by the Treaty of February 19, 1867, although "Outdoor Activities" are excepted with some restrictions.

Spearfishing on the creeks feeding Lake Traverse will begin soon, and our partner and others will certainly be asking if this activity conforms to the ordinance. We're both supportive of the tribe's need to protect its citizens-- but also Mike's desire to catch some fish.

Photo: A walleye fingerling from the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe's website.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the  paypal subscription button.

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North Dakota energy digest: coal, oil, ethanol tanking amid Saudi-Russian feud, COVID19 woes

Amid the cheery marketing (and expensive greenwashing) of carbon capture by the Great Plains Institute to Minnesota legislators, and its friends in other non-profits, we find reading news about the underlying energy sectors to be a bracing tonic.

As DeSmog Blog Laura Peterson recently noted in North Dakota’s Carbon Capture Project Tundra Another “Expensive Greenwashing” Attempt to Bail Out Coal Power:

Carbon capture technology has generated a lot of controversy–but little private investment–due to its lack of profitability and efficiency. So why is a proposal to retrofit an aging coal-powered plant in North Dakota with smokestack scrubbers receiving millions of federal taxpayer dollars? 

Ask Senator John Hoeven (R-ND), who has directed more than $30 million in Department of Energy funding to Project Tundra.

The project would install a carbon capture system at the Milton R. Young Station, a two-unit plant that has run on lignite coal from the nearby Center Mine since it began operating in 1970. The captured carbon would then be piped to the Bakken region for injection into oil wells in a process known as Enhanced Oil Recovery. . . .

Ethanol plants are in the mix as well, so let's take a look at the energy markets for coal, petroleum and ethanol that public funding is supposed to underwrite.

The latest lump of coal

At Quartz, Michael Coren reports in Coronavirus is accelerating the demise of coal power in the US:

First, it was oil and gas. Now coal is facing a financial cataclysm.

As the coronavirus crushes energy demand around the world, the bottom has fallen out from under an already weak coal industry. Moody’s Investors Services recently warned coal firms are facing a wave of bankruptcies—with few ways out.

Declining coal use by utilities has reduced consumption by almost 40% since 2001. Exports, a rare bright spot, have risen only slightly. Adding to the sector’s woes, financial institutions’ new environmental, social, and governance policies (ESG) are restricting capital to high-emitting industries such as coal.

That combination, said Moody’s in a March 26 research report, “will likely push a significant amount of coal capacity into bankruptcies and lead to new closure announcements over the next year or two.” Since 2016, at least 11 coal companies have already declared bankruptcies.

As the virus dims the industry’s prospects, Moody’s gave three-quarters of US coal companies negative outlooks. Moody’s now believes its original forecast of a 15% to 20% drop in US coal production due to the virus was overly optimistic. It expects even steeper declines amid falling electricity demand.

Coal companies have not weathered the news well. Share prices of top coal firms have cratered. Their average market capitalization down 40% since January.

Michelle Bloodworth, president of coal industry group America’s Power, said to Quartz it was too soon to forecast the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on electricity demand. She noted in an email that US coal plants, which generate 24% of the US electricity mix, were listed as critical infrastructure by the US government.

But declining electricity demand has still put enormous pressure on companies without strong balance sheets. And with capital markets turning away from the industry, it’s unclear how many coal firms can survive the crisis.

Bakken oil field belly-up

A major player in the Bakken field has filed for bankruptcy. At the Bismarck Tribune, Amy R. Sisk reports in Bakken producer Whiting files for bankruptcy:

Whiting Petroleum Corp., a major Bakken oil producer, is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The company cited the “severe downturn in oil and gas prices driven by uncertainty around the duration of the Saudi/Russia oil price war and the COVID-19 pandemic” in a statement about the bankruptcy proceedings.

Oil prices have fallen dramatically over the past month to around $20 per barrel, too low for companies to produce oil profitably. The price collapse is twofold: demand for oil is down as travel has come to a halt because of the coronavirus pandemic, and Russia and Saudi Arabia have opted to boost their own oil outputs, further contributing to the global glut of crude. . . .

Whiting is the first major U.S. oil producer to file for bankruptcy amid low prices during the pandemic. It operates wells in the Bakken and in Colorado. With the purchase of Kodiak Oil and Gas in 2014, Whiting became the largest oil producer in North Dakota, though it no longer holds that title.

Bloomberg's Joe Carroll and Jeremy Hill report in Shale Titan Whiting Petroleum Files for Bankruptcy:

The unprecedented collapse in global oil markets brought another driller to its knees, forcing a champion of what was once the premier U.S. shale field to seek protection from creditors.

Whiting Petroleum Corp., facing more than a quarter-billion dollar debt maturity, filed for bankruptcy Wednesday, perhaps the most illustrious of the shale explorers thus far humbled by an unforgiving rout in every corner of the oil business.

American crude has surrendered two-thirds of its value this year and just closed out its worst-ever quarterly performance. As many as 70% of the nation’s 6,000 oil explorers eventually may go under, according to Mizuho Securites USA LLC analyst Paul Sankey, as the twin blows of Covid-19 and a Russia-Saudi price war destroy producers like Whiting.

Once the largest oil producer in North Dakota’s Bakken shale region, Whiting lost money in four of the last five years and spiraled deeper into debt just as the Covid-19 outbreak crushed energy demand. The company’s Bakken primacy won it little praise because the region was already falling out of favor as drillers shifted to lower-cost prospects in the Permian Basin.

Touted as one of the “comeback kids” of U.S. shale by Canaccord Genuity in late 2015, Whiting said Wednesday that it’s agreed to hand most of its ownership to noteholders in exchange for erasing more than $2.2 billion in debt, according to a statement.

$262 Million Maturity

As many as 40% of U.S. oil and gas companies could crater into bankruptcy or distress over the next two years as they grapple with a market crash and the coronavirus outbreak, according to asset manager Pickering Energy Partners LP. . . . .

Read the rest at Rigzone. CNBC has more with Market Insider's Patti Domm in U.S. oil industry pumps near record volumes even as demand and prices collapse:

The U.S. continues to pump near record amounts of oil, but U.S gasoline demand continues to drop as the whole world sees less need for fuel.

The latest weekly data from the Energy Information Administration showed the U.S. oil industry was still pumping 13 million barrels of crude oil per day, just under record production highs.

At the same time, demand for gasoline fell to 6.7 million barrels a day from 8.8 million the week earlier. This time last year, drivers were using about 9.2 million barrels a day of gasoline. U.S. gasoline demand translates to the equivalent of 10% of global oil demand. . . .

 In the past week, the U.S. also added another 13.8 million barrels of oil to inventories, a record amount, which only exacerbates the global struggle with a lack of storage space. U.S. gasoline inventories rose by 7.5 million barrels last week. West Texas Intermediate was down 1.3% Wednesday, at just over $20 per barrel.

This has come even as many in the U.S. industry struggle to stay solvent.  Whiting Petroleum this week became the first high-profile shale bankruptcy of the latest downturn. In response to the falloff in gasoline and jet fuel demand, the refining industry has cut output by an estimated 20% and could cut back much deeper. . . .

BNN Bloomberg echoes the story in Oil near US$20 with bloated U.S. supplies hinting at storage limit.

That leads us to news from the ethanol sector.

Corn & ethanol

At Brownfield Ag News, John Perkins reports in Ethanol production drops, supply up sharply:

Ethanol production hit a six and a half year low last week, the first week truly reflecting the impact of COVID-19 related stay at home and social distancing orders on the industry.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration says production averaged 840,000 barrels a day, a drop of 165,000 on the week, the largest weekly decline on record.

The slowing demand for blending pushed stocks to a record high of 25.707 million barrels, a week to week increase of more 1.577 million barrels.

The USDA’s next corn for ethanol use estimate is currently scheduled for April 9th.

Fastmarkets AgriCensus's Tim Worledge reports in US ethanol production falls 16%, biggest drop in history: EIA:

US daily ethanol production fell by 165,000 barrels a day in the week to March 27, to record its biggest fall since the Energy Information Administration started recording data in June 2010, and the first six-figure fall in production ever recorded.

Nearly seven years of production growth were wiped out in the space of a week, as the 840,000 b/d figure was the lowest since the week of April 12, 2013 according to EIA data.

The figure equates to around 88.2 million bushels of corn (2.24 million mt) pulled into the grind over the course of the week, some 600,000 mt below the weekly average to date this year and comes as the sector shuts down in the face of cataclysmic demand outlooks.

In a double blow, the sector also reported its biggest-ever stock levels in history, with inventories rising to 25.7 million barrels – up 1.5 million barrels on the previous week.

Analysts had looked for production to drop 75,000 b/d, which would itself have been the biggest fall ever recorded, and a 304,000 barrel increase in stocks.

Margins have turned negative in recent weeks as ethanol prices have collapsed, but the fear gripping the industry is the impact of lockdowns and working from home advice, as state’s look to curb the spread of Covid-19.

Some have said road fuel demand could fall by up to 50%, with ethanol suffering along with conventional oil, as it contributes up to 10% of the total road fuel mix.

The Midwest shouldered the burden of the cuts, with production falling to 778,000 b/d, with the heavy cuts contributing to a 328,000 barrel draw on stock levels.

However, all other regions saw stocks surge led by the US Gulf where stocks increased by over 1.17 million barrels.

Late last week, one of the country’s main biofuel lobby groups, the Renewable Fuels Association, estimated that up to 2 billion gallons of US ethanol production – around 20% of the country’s entire capacity – would be idled by the end of March on poor margins.

That spells a potentially huge return of corn to the US stockpiles and further pressure on US corn futures ahead.

Worledge also reports in Brazil may face additional corn supply as ethanol sector mulls force majeure:

Brazil, one of the world's largest corn exporters, could face a greater-than-expected surplus of the grain over the coming weeks as reports emerge that ethanol producers are turning away feedstock supplies due to negative margins.

The global outlook for biofuels has rapidly deteriorated over the past month, with dozens of countries declaring transport restrictions in a bid to stop the spread of the coronavirus Covid-19.

And with many new facilities in Brazil contracting domestic corn as a feedstock, reports are surfacing that some are shedding inventories and may declare force majeure on future supplies.

“Some of the ethanol plants are calling force majeure on purchased corn due to the reduction on demand because of the corona lockdown,” one Brazil-based market source said, with a second confirming that rumours are sweeping the domestic market.

The rumours, if true, would follow similar steps already taken by some players in the country’s largely sugarcane-based ethanol sector, as well as US-based ethanol producers, all of whom are wrestling with an unprecedented collapse in fuel demand. . . .

We are reminded of the populist axiom that farmers should "raise less corn and more hell," inaccurately reported as the words of Kansas firebrand Mary Elizabeth Lease.

Granted, the fossil fuel industry will not always be in the dumps--but the complications highlight why an expensive rescue of the coal industy (with a bonus to fracking) may not be the bouquet of roses its boosters promise.

If Minnesota wants to support clean energy first, perhaps those sources should be clean, affordable and sustainable.

Related posts:

• Farm Journal/Agweb: Ethanol plants could soon start producing DDGs for livestock, not ethanol
• DeSmogBlog on Project Tundra: expensive greenwashing for fossil fuel
• Project Tundra's clean coal; or, does Petra Nova project's tech really reduce carbon emissions?
• Will ethanol industry go the way of oil? It's going to be ugly, Al-Corn Clean Fuel CEO Doyal says
• Bismarck Tribune: North Dakota oil industry gets roughed up by brutally low petroleum prices

Photo: MinnKota's Milton Young power plant.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the  paypal subscription button.

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Does Anderson's job with turkey growers' groups perpetuate OLA report's cited conflict of interest?

After pursuing Raw milk champ former state rep Sarah Anderson steps up to lead turkey growers, a reader in Southern Minnesota who works in the ag sector contacted us to ask if the dual appointment  of the Plymouth Republican as Executive Director of the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association and the Minnesota Turkey Research and Promotion Council constituted a conflict of interest.

He was recalling findings in a report by the Office of the Legislative Auditor in 2014. The OLA's report was published while Anderson served in the Minnesota House.

Bluestem Prairie posted about the March 2014 Evaluation Report "Agricultural Commodity Councils" in Minnesota Legislative Auditor finds minimal oversight of agricultural commodity councils

Our article included OLA's executive summary, which cited issues at the two turkey groups:

The Area I Potato and Turkey council boards have potential conflicts of interest. The 15 board members of the Turkey Council are also members of the 18-person board for the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association, a related organization. Although both groups represent turkey growers, they are separate organizations with distinct purposes. As a result, the board members have a conflict of interest: they are expected to serve the interests of the Turkey Council and the interests of the Turkey Growers Association. These dual roles are especially noteworthy since, in 2012, the Turkey Council contracted for services from the Turkey Growers Association worth almost $330,000, or 36 percent, of the council’s total expenditures. We recommend the Legislature amend statutes to address council board conflicts of interest.

That issue seems to be resolved with composition of the new boards. There's no overlap in board memberships. The Turkey Growers Association board membership is available here, while the Minnesota Turkey Research and Promotion Council board membership is posted here on the group's website.

In the groups' 2018 990 reports to the IRS, embedded in Raw milk champ former state rep Sarah Anderson steps up to lead turkey growers, only one person served on both boards of directors: Chris Huisinga. (Ag Week profile here).

The turkey groups do seem to have addressed this issue.

The longer document pointed out another issue (page 44)

As discussed in Chapter 1, growers associations are voluntary, member-based organizations that represent the interests of agricultural producers. They do not receive revenue from checkoff fees; instead, their revenue is based on member dues. We found that:

• Many of the councils have a close relationship with their related growers association.

Several councils have significant financial, managerial, and operational relationships with their corresponding growers associations.[emphasis added] For example, the Corn Council paid $4.9 million to the Minnesota Corn Growers Association in 2012 for handling council funds, accounting, general and project management, and communications. Five councils—Barley, Corn, Soybean, Turkey, and Wheat—share staff with their corresponding growers association.

As the OLA report noted earlier:

...in 2012, the Turkey Council contracted for services from the Turkey Growers Association worth almost $330,000, or 36 percent, of the council’s total expenditures.

How much does the Council pay/grant to the Turkey Growers Association lately? The most recent annual report posted by the Turkey Growers is for 2017-2018; the document doesn't include revenue and spending. The most recent annual report, also for 2017-2018, posted by the Minnesota Turkey Research and Promotion Council, also does not include a budget.

According to the Council's 2018 990 filing, roughly the same time period, the Council paid the Turkey Growers Association $298,420 under Section B, Independent Contractors. Under the same section, the National Turkey Federation received $252,493. The Council brought in $765,732 in Turkey Assessments (presumably those turkey commodity check-offs).

In the Minnesota Turkey Growers Association 2018 990, it's not clear where that contract comes in as revenue.

The two organizations also share an address. Can a single executive director run two organizations with "significant financial, managerial, and operational relationships"?

While the boards have become independent, those relationships appear to remain, as close as we can determine. It's not much of a firewall.

Will Anderson follow the path of the last executive director and register to lobby her former colleagues at the state legislature? Anderson starts her new job on April 6, according to Brownfield Ag News, so we'll have to wait until then.

Related post: Raw milk champ former state rep Sarah Anderson steps up to lead turkey growers

Screengrab: Sarah Anderson. From video archive produced by the Minnesota House Information Services.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the  paypal subscription button.

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