Bluestem Prairie

Oversight? Noem turns down national media spotlight at House Ways and Means Committee

It is a fact universally acknowledged that South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem--our governor--is in high demand at venues across the nation. Witness the recent headlines at Dakota Free PressNext Stop: Pennsylvania! Noem Resumes Out-of-State Campaigning and Coast-to-Coast Kristi Spoke to ALEC in San Diego Friday and Noem Returns to Vegas!

Sadly, a prior commitment kept South Dakota's governor away from the cameras in Washington DC on Wednesday. Via the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, the Associated Press's Stephen Groves reports in House committee wants trust secrecy in South Dakota cut after Pandora Papers:

Democrats on a U.S. House committee pushed Wednesday for reducing the financial secrecy that has allowed many of the world’s richest and most powerful to hide their assets in South Dakota and other trust-friendly states.

During a hearing called by the Oversight Subcommittee for the House Ways and Means Committee, Democrats said they were appalled by revelations in an investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, dubbed the Pandora Papers, that show a booming, secretive trust industry in the United States, with South Dakota leading the way.

Advocates for greater financial transparency urged House lawmakers to make sure a recently-announced initiative from President Joe Biden’s administration sweeps trusts into reporting requirements for law enforcement and financial regulators. . . .

More:Pandora Papers put a spotlight on South Dakota trust laws, again

The federal government potentially stepping in to regulate trust industries would likely be an unwelcome development for Republican lawmakers in South Dakota, who have worked closely with the trust industry to develop a financial haven. When the Pandora Papers investigation revealed in October that South Dakota had forged the way for the United States to become a leading destination for the world’s wealthy to park their assets, the state’s GOP wore the distinction as a badge of honor.

Pascrell on Wednesday singled South Dakota out as the “the Grand Cayman of the Great Plains” but also acknowledged that Democratic-run states have indulged in the practice. Trusts in South Dakota have more than quadrupled over the past decade to $360 billion in assets, including an increase of $100 billion in the last three years, the Pandora Papers investigation showed.

South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a Republican who sat on the House Ways and Means Committee while in Congress, declined an invitation to testify at Wednesday’s hearing, saying she had prior commitments. Her office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Associated Press. Pascrell said he would send a list of questions to the governor. . . .

At MSNBC's The Reidout Blog, Ja'han Jones shared a stronger opinion in Kristi Noem, 2024 prospect, won’t attend hearing on alleged corruption in her state:

The House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight is scheduled to host a hearing Wednesday on the alleged tax cheats uncovered in the "Pandora Papers," an expansive journalism investigation into the financial dealings of the global elite.

The project, a collaboration of more than 100 media outlets across the world, detailed the seedy ways in which some of the wealthiest and most powerful people hide their funds.

The hearing is expected to focus heavily on reports that South Dakota has become an alleged financial haven for some sneaky characters. But South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, a glutton for TV time, will be conspicuously absent.

Noem, a Republican who once sat on the House Ways and Means Committee, declined an invitation last week to testify at the hearing, stating she has “prior commitments.” 

Hey, maybe that’s true. Maybe one of the nation’s biggest conservative grandstanders scheduled something that coincidently conflicts with an oversight hearing set to question her about accusations that her state is a piggy bank for nefarious rich people to stow their ill-gotten gains. Noem’s office did not immediately return a request for comment.

Usually, Noem, who’s been floated as a potential GOP candidate in the 2024 presidential election, isn’t one to shy away from TV cameras. She’s been a frequent guest on Fox News railing against everything from Covid-19 safety protocols to undocumented immigrants to school lesson plans about America’s true history of inequality.

Nonetheless, if not for her very important engagement keeping her away, I’m sure she’d love to attend Wednesday’s committee hearing and explain under oath how her state apparently became a safe space for the world’s ne’er-do-wells.

Maybe it’ll come up in her next cable news hit. 

Jeepers. 

Photo: Governor Noem spoke at the recent American Legislative Exchange Council's 2021 States & Nation Policy Summit. For more on the corporate bill mill known as ALEC, check out ALEC Exposed.

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LTEs follow-up on Green & Utke's unfortunate misinformation about DFLers & COVID

Back in early November, we'd posted Detroit Lakes Tribune rips Rep. Steve Green and Sen. Paul Utke over vaccine misinformation.

A DL reader appreciated that chiding, as we noted in LTE: Detroit Lakes Tribune thanked for spanking state representative Green for misinformation.

Utke snapped back and received a deservedly sound spanking from the Detroit Lakes Tribune, we reported in  Paul Utke didn't much like Detroit Lakes Tribune editorial, needs help understanding journalism.

Now more letters to the editor have shownup in district newspaper op-ed sections. 

At the Detroit Lakes Tribune, there's Rep. Green should apologize for calling Minnesota DFLers communists who hate America. Former DFL candidate Davod Sobieski of Perham is very direct:

On Oct. 26, in a town hall meeting in Frazee, Rep. Steve Green (with Sen. Paul Utke right next to him) said that Gov. Tim Walz and Minnesota House Democrats were communists who hated this country. This is a lie. As a Democrat and a veteran, I want an apology. There is no place for this hate in our politics. Steve Green, apologize. Say you are sorry.

The letter also appeared in the Perham Focus.

Earlier in December, the Tribune published Sen. Paul Utke and Rep. Steve Green are failing their fellow citizens. Howie Anderson of Ponsford has more to say:

After several exchanges by email with State Senator Paul Utke, I realized that whether he said mask mandates were “criminal,” or that half the covid vaccines were placebos or that there were eight or 10 or many at the town hall, misses the point. Paul is engaging in a well known ploy of trying to duck responsibility by trying to get the reader side tracked. The real issue is this: Paul Utke is engaging in behavior that discourages people to do the two most important things medical science tells us will conquer the pandemic, wearing masks and getting fully vaccinated. He is doing the political version of crying “fire” in a theater, and that is not about freedom of speech, but a dereliction of public trust.

When a public servant stands before us, what they say and what they don’t say matters. Paul stood quietly next to Rep. Steve Green, who traffics in conspiracy theories, some so outrageous it makes me wonder if he is fit to serve the public without being guilty of causing serious harm, much like former President Trump’s suggestion that people inject bleach into their body to kill the covid virus. Paul may not have said mask mandates were "criminal," but his stance, and that of many of Minnesota’s Republican office holders that refusing to wear a mask, a simple and very necessary way to protect the community, is a legitimate choice for a citizen.

It is not what a good citizen does. It is an act of selfishness which is filling up our ICU beds and killing people. Paul’s response to the Editorial Board opinion piece continues to confuse selfishness in refusing to wear a mask or get vaccinated, with an expression of personal freedom. He writes “people have a right to determine for themselves what is proper to put into their bodies.”

I wonder if he feels that such control of one’s body should extend to women choosing what to do with their bodies in cases of reproductive health? I wonder if Paul refuses to have his children go to public school because all children are required to get vaccinated for measles, etc. I wonder if Paul pays taxes? I wonder if Paul wears his seatbelt? I am pretty sure an insurance salesman would approve of the fact that we all need to have auto insurance. All these are things we citizens do for the common good.

Finally, standing by listening to Steve Green make statements that impact our health as a community, untrue statements that give people “permission” to ignore the best advice medical science has to defeat this pandemic, is inexcusable. It is an act of political irresponsibility.

Ope.

Photo: Minnesota state Sen. Paul Utke, left, R-Park Rapids, and Rep. Steve Green, R-Fosston, talk with constituents during a public town hall at the Frazee Event Center in downtown Frazee on Oct. 26, 2021. (Michael Achterling / Detroit Lakes Tribune)

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Is Walz the new dough boy? State of Minnesota economic forecast predicts $7.7 billion surplus

Minnesota Management and Budget's newest forecast projects the state to have a $7.7 billion surplus. Graphic courtesy Minnesota Management and Budget

A popping fresh surplus in the new Minnesota budget forecast cast Governor Walz in the role of dough boy. Of course there's going to be a fight about the abundance.

From Session Daily:

 State economic forecast predicts $7.7 billion surplus:

By Jonathan Mohr

Fueled by “extraordinary growth” in income, consumer spending and corporate profits, Minnesota is predicted to have a $7.7 billion budget surplus for the fiscal 2022-23 biennium.

That news was shared Tuesday by Minnesota Management and Budget as part of its November 2021 Budget and Economic Forecast.

The second of two annual economic estimates the state uses to inform its budgeting and policy decisions, November’s forecast continued the upbeat outlook predicted in the February 2021 Budget and Economic Forecast which called for a $1.6 billion surplus.

“It’s good news for Minnesotans today … it’s crystal clear, our economy is strong and it is growing,” Gov. Tim Walz said during a press briefing held by state officials.

He called the projected surplus a “remarkable opportunity” to improve the economic circumstances of all Minnesotans. Walz said he is focused on lowering costs for people “on the things that impact their lives,” along with making investments in the middle class and working families, and lending a hand to those who are struggling.

House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler (DFL-Golden Valley) echoed the governor’s comments and voiced support for efforts to pass paid sick leave for all, higher wages for essential workers and improved education and health care across the state. He said the House would not cut taxes for “big corporations and rich individuals” at the expense of those less fortunate.

“When we help workers, families and small businesses thrive, they grow our economy,” Winkler said in a statement.

House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt (R-Crown) also said the latest forecast provides opportunities for lawmakers to take action.

"While government is flush with cash, Minnesotans are still struggling with inflation at 30-year highs, gas prices up 50% or more, and sticker shock on their energy bills,” Daudt said in a statement. “This record-setting surplus gives us a real opportunity to help make Minnesotans' lives more affordable and prevent Gov. Walz and Democrats from raising taxes on struggling businesses later this month."

Businesses across the state are set to face a December tax increase in order to replenish the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund, which finances unemployment payments to workers. The fund is running a billion dollar deficit and the state has borrowed money from the federal government so assistance to the unemployed could continue.

The estimated $7.7 billion surplus will be a central focus when the Legislature convenes for its next regular session on Jan. 31, 2022. MMB officials said it includes a $3.1 billion rollover from fiscal year 2021; $127 million that remained unspent at the end of the 2021 legislative session; and $5.5 billion that is forecast to be gained from now until the current fiscal biennium ends in June 2023.

However, statutes require some of the surplus be allocated to replenish certain state accounts, including $870 million for the state’s budget reserve and $111 million for the U.S. Bank Stadium Reserve fund. Those funds are also factored into the $7.7 billion total.

The forecast does not include money from the American Rescue Plan Act recently signed by President Joe Biden that will provide $1.9 trillion in stimulus for states meant to help fuel the economic recovery and provide aid to public health programs.

Minnesota is due to receive billions of dollars under the act, but MMB Commissioner Jim Schowalter said the November forecast focused on the state’s own budget and spending. He said the surplus “resets” the budget as the economy learns to adapt to the pandemic.

“The $7.7 billion bottom line in today’s forecast is out of the ordinary, even in these extraordinary times,” he said. “The state’s fiscal position is strong and we have opportunity to take actions unimaginable last year.”

Schowalter said a substantial portion of the surplus is not speculative and that about “$3.1 billion” is already “money in the bank.”

Economic outlook

IHS Markit, the state’s economic consultant, said several important economic variables such as employment and inflation-adjusted consumer spending have shown stronger-than-predicted growth this year. The firm believes the economy will continue to grow in 2022 as more people go back to work, supply-chain issues are resolved and progress in fighting the pandemic continues.

IHS cited the supply-chain improvements and workforce increases as factors that it expects will help slow inflation by late next year.

Minnesota’s unemployment rate is 3.5%, which is 1.1% below the national rate and 14^th lowest in the country. But the labor force has also fallen by 84,000 since the start of the pandemic due to retirements and those opting not to participate. This is predicted to help drive strong wage growth in the next few years and IHS predicts the employment rate to return to pre-pandemic levels by the middle of next year.

State Economist Laura Kalambokidis cautioned that the forecast’s predictions were made under the assumption the COVID-19 virus will continue to recede and said the November forecast was completed before the emergence of the omicron variant.

“The U.S. outlook remains uncertain, of course,” she said, “and depends on the path of the pandemic and of the responses of households, businesses and governments to the changing public health landscape.”

For key takeaways from the budget forecast, check out Ricardo Lopez's Minnesota has biggest budget surplus in its history at the Minnesota Reformer.

If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, 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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MN DNR: Positive test on 1 Brainerd Lakes area deer extends CWD management to 2024

The Forum News Service reports in the Bemidji Pioneer, Positive test on 1 Brainerd lakes area deer extends CWD management to 2024.

Here's the press release from the DNR's website, Positive test on 1 Brainerd Lakes area deer extends CWD management to 2024:

Deer feeding and attractant bans expand; fall sampling shows CWD prevalence remains low

A newly discovered instance of chronic wasting disease in the Brainerd Lakes area will result in three more years of sampling and other disease management efforts for that area. In addition, following the confirmation of a CWD-positive deer in late October in Polk County near the North Dakota border, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources will expand its deer feeding and attractant ban to include most of northwestern Minnesota.

“These are precautionary but necessary measures,” said Michelle Carstensen, wildlife health program supervisor for the Minnesota DNR. “Continued sampling allows us to monitor the extent of CWD in the Brainerd area. Expanding the feeding ban around Climax and Bemidji eliminates one layer of controllable risk associated with the concentration of wild deer at food placed by humans.”

Brainerd Lakes CWD discovery
One of the 1,234 deer that hunters harvested thus far this fall in deer permit area 604 tested positive for CWD. The area, which stretches north from Brainerd to Pine River and eastward to Aitkin, was in its final year of planned CWD surveillance and management because the disease had not been detected there since a wild doe tested positive in 2019. That initial discovery in wild deer came after testing in 2016 revealed that a deer farm within permit area 604 was infected with CWD.

“Like us, area residents and hunters were optimistic that deer management could return to normal,” Carstensen said. “It’s unfortunate but this discovery resets the clock, and CWD management measures will remain in place through at least the fall of 2024.”

With nearly 15,000 wild deer in the area tested since 2017 and only two positives found, the DNR is confident CWD is not prevalent or widespread in this area’s wild deer population. But continued testing as well as other efforts to help reduce risks of CWD spread – such as more liberal harvest regulations, carcass movement restrictions and a ban on feeding and attractants – are the best ways to minimize the risk of CWD becoming established in the area.

Deer feeding, attractant ban expands
Minnesota’s deer feeding ban will expand on Thursday, Dec. 30, to include 44 of Minnesota’s 87 counties.
The discovery of a CWD-infected wild deer near Climax along the Minnesota-North Dakota border adds Clearwater, Mahnomen, Marshall, Norman, Pennington, Polk and Red Lake counties to the list of counties where deer feeding and the use of attractants such as salt, minerals and urine is not allowed.

Counties already part of the feeding and attractant ban are Aitkin, Cass, Crow Wing, Dakota, Dodge, Fillmore, Freeborn, Goodhue, Hennepin, Houston, Hubbard, Mille Lacs, Morrison, Mower, Olmsted, Ramsey, Rice, Scott, Steele, Todd, Wabasha, Wadena, Washington and Winona.

Detection of CWD on a deer farm in Beltrami County adds Beltrami, Itasca, Koochiching, Lake of the Woods and Roseau counties to the list of counties where deer feeding is not allowed. Deer feed includes grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, hay and other food that is capable of attracting or enticing deer.

Counties already part of the deer feeding ban are Carlton, Chisago, Douglas, Isanti, Kanabec, Pine, Pope, and Stearns.

Feeding bans and attractant bans are part of the DNR’s CWD response plan and necessary because feed and attractants often cause deer to concentrate, greatly increasing the risk of deer-to-deer disease transmission.

Preliminary fall sampling results

Southeast: CWD testing of 4,705 deer revealed 17 new cases of CWD. All deer that tested positive were harvested in locations near areas where the disease was previously detected. Despite the new discoveries, CWD prevalence remains steady and continues to be low – less than 1% in both areas where the disease appears to be persisting in the wild deer population.

North central (Brainerd Lakes area): Of the 1,234 deer tested so far this fall, a single 1½-year-old male tested positive. The infected deer was harvested about 8 miles from the location where the first wild infected deer was detected. Since 2019, this is the only deer that tested positive from all 6,107 deer sampled in this zone.

South metro: Testing detected CWD in two of the 1,063 deer sampled. One case was in the northwestern corner of permit area 605. The other was near locations where infected deer were previously detected.

East central: No CWD detected in the 1,369 deer tested.
West central: No CWD detected in the 369 deer tested.
Northwest: No CWD detected in the 1,782 deer tested.
Climax area: No CWD detected in the 65 deer tested.

More CWD information
Complete CWD test results, feeding and attractant ban details, CWD management history and hunter information, including how and where to participate in two upcoming December disease management hunts, is available on the DNR website.

Related posts:

• CWD news: DNR to rescind rule temporarily banning farmed deer movement into/within MN
•  MN DNR: December CWD hunts offer deer hunters additional harvest opportunities
• CWD update: MN Center for Prion Research & Outreach's MN-QuIC field-deployment paper
• Minnesota CWD update: Changes for deer hunters in southern Red River Valley
• MN DNR: CWD suspected in a wild deer harvested along northwestern MN border
• Minnesota Chronic Wasting Disease news digest: upcoming firearms hunt spurs coverage
• Watch MNHouse Environment Committee hearing on CWD, EAB & local government water grants
• DNR: Chronic wasting disease testing is mandatory for MN deer opener in CWD zones 
• CWD: Outdoors writer bags skinny doe, responds to American Cervid Alliance guy's letter
• State rep Tim Miller: MN state public officials beholden to radical anti-livestock enviro groups
• MN Deer Farmers Association sends House environmental committee chair a letter
• DNR temporarily bans farmed deer movement into & within MN to protect wild white-tailed deer
• CWD update: DNR Commissioner's letter to BAH Director on regulation to protect state's wild deer
• Bemidji Pioneer: Must-read article on illegal dumped CWD deer remains in Beltrami County
• Statement: Minnesota DNR learns of 2 deer farms that received deer from CWD+ farm in Wisconsin
• Hunters, tribes, conservation groups and St. Louis County call on state to get rid of deer farms
• Tune in to House Enviro Committee hearing tomorrow morning for latest CWD information
• MN DNR press release: Return to mandatory testing in chronic wasting disease zones this season
• South Dakota Game, Fish & Parks: CWD detected in mule deer in new area, Perkins County
• UMN MNPRO’s latest research detects CWD prions in cervid muscles using RT-QuIC
• MNReformer Radio podcast interviews Jamie Becker-Finn on Chronic Wasting Disease politics
• Listen to MN House environment committee chair Rep. Rick Hansen talk CWD on Matt McNeil Show
• Special Board of Animal Health meeting to review farmed Cervidae rulemaking postponed
• Bad news from the North: CWD sweeps through Alberta & Saskatchewan deer & elk herds
• Forum News Service: MN Deerhunters Association wants to end deer farming
• Just in: House DFL Lawmakers urge resignation of Minnesota Board of Animal Health President
• Star Tribune: Deer farming and "CWD-infested dump site on public land" in Beltrami County
• Are deer farmers posing against MN DNR rule pausing movement of captive whitetails?
• MN DNR temporarily bans movement of farmed whitetails in state to protect wild deer health
• 5 more MN deer farm herds exposed to CWD; Beltrami carcass dump site inquiry continues
• News release: U of M testing finds presence of CWD prions at Beltrami Co. carcass dump site
• BAH: Southern Minnesota CWD investigation identifies new infection in Beltrami County
• Concerned about CWD in MN deer? Learn about new research from MNPRO's Peter Larsen 
• Some of the science at the center of Update on Chronic Wasting Disease Efforts hearing
• VIDEO: MNHouse passes bill for process to extend funding for ENRTF projects for one year 
• Session Daily: Experts want to study how CWD flows in state's waterways 
• Sen. Andrew Lang seems behind the curve on current funding & progress of CWD test research
• VIDEO: University of Minnesota scientists share CWD research, search for test with lawmakers
• Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund plan from U of M for CWD diagnostic test 
• Peter Larsen slideshow: Development of Advanced Diagnostic Tests for CWD by U of M 

Photo: A wild white tail buck.

If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, 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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Iowa Capital Dispatch: Turbine ‘graveyard’ removal underway near Ellsworth, Iowa

One of the anti-wind-energy images that has repeatedly crossed our social media feed has been that of a wind turbine blade graveyard near Ellsworth, IA.

Usually, the pictures are accompanied with lamentations that the blades are forever. 

There's news that the graveyard is being removed, via the Minnesota Reformer's sister site, Iowa Capital Dispatch posted on December 3.

Turbine ‘graveyard’ removal underway near Ellsworth
by Jared Strong

Workers are in the process of cutting hundreds of discarded wind turbine blades into pieces and hauling them from their highly visible piles along U.S. Interstate 35 near Ellsworth.

“They’re progressing, as they say, and that’s all that we care about,” said Rick Young, a Hamilton County supervisor who lives near the blade stacks that have sat idle most of this year. “Obviously, it was distressing to a lot of people.”

Most of the blades were formerly used by MidAmerican Energy, which commissioned a Washington state-based company to recycle or dispose of  them. That company, Global Fiberglass Solutions, accumulated about 1,300 of the blades at three sites in Iowa, including about 400 near Ellsworth.

Global Fiberglass Solutions did not respond to requests to comment for this article.

After the blades languished, the Iowa Attorney General’s Office intervened this summer. By September there was a plan to remove the Ellsworth blades and transport them to Tennessee.

“MidAmerican indicated they were working with Global Fiberglass to take care of the blades,” said Jacob Larson, an assistant attorney general.

Larson said the remediation process in Newton and Atlantic has been delayed as his office has sought to determine who is responsible for those turbine blade stockpiles. The Newton site had more than 800 blades.

A spokesperson for MidAmerican Energy confirmed the company was involved in the Ellsworth cleanup but declined to comment further.

Workers at the Ellsworth site are using a large buzzsaw to cut the blades into pieces. They began the work about two months ago, Young said. He estimated about half of the blades have been moved from the site.

Old wind turbine blades are difficult to dispose of because of their size and strength. Built of reinforced fiberglass to withstand tornadic winds, each stretches more than 100 feet.

The blades were initially discarded in landfills or burned, but there have been efforts in recent years to find ways to recycle them, including by using them as aggregates in concrete.

Senior reporter Jared Strong has written about Iowans and the important issues that affect them for more than 15 years, previously for the Carroll Times Herald and the Des Moines Register. His investigative work exposing police misconduct has notched several state and national awards. He is a longtime trustee of the Iowa Freedom of Information Council, which fights for open records and open government. He is a lifelong Iowan and has lived mostly in rural western parts of the state.

Article republished from the Iowa Capital Dispatch, part of the States Newsroom, under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. 

Photo: Global Fiberglass Solutions accumulated about 400 old wind turbine blades near Ellsworth along U.S. Interstate 35. (Photo by Jared Strong/Iowa Capital Dispatch).

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Fewer permits may reduce BWCA overcrowding and human damage to natural resources

In Forest Service reducing permits for Boundary Waters, John Myers reports for the Duluth News Tribune:

Superior National Forest officials say they will reduce the number of people allowed into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness next year after throngs of visitors caused overcrowding and damaged the natural resources in 2020 and 2021.

The move — reducing the number of permits issued to groups for some specific entry points — is hoped to help reduce the recurring problems that seemed to worsen during the pandemic.

Officials said they will focus on the 24 busiest entry points of the total 74 entry points in the wilderness.

The reductions won’t be drastic, probably one to two fewer permits daily for the busiest entry points, said Susan Catton, a spokesperson for the Superior National Forest.

Catton said the final permit numbers are still being decided and will be made public sometime before 2022 BWCAW permits go up for reservations Jan. 26 at 9 a.m.

Catton said forest officials have been working with businesses around the BWCAW, such as outfitters, for about 18 months on how to deal with the problems. . . .

The problem wasn’t just more visitors but also many new visitors who either didn’t know or didn’t care about the wilderness ethic of “leave no trace.” Some campers cut down live trees, expanded fire rings, didn’t dispose of human waste properly and left large amounts of trash behind. Forest Service officials at one point said they were seeing "unprecedented" natural resource damage. . . .

We'd been reading about the damage and seeing photos of the damage on social media. We're happy to see the National Forest officials try to get the issues under control.

Photo: A live tree cut down by campers last summer. Superior National Forest officials say they are reducing the number of Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness permits available in 2022 to reduce problems in the wilderness. Contributed to Duluth News Tribune / U.S. Forest Service.

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MN Reformer: Former principal sues Marshall school board for discrimination, retaliation and sexual harassment

On Wednesday, we posted a digest of news from Marshall in Marshall schools back in news: rainbow flag issue raised again as former principal sues.

Now in the Minnesota Reformer, Ruthe Thompson provides more details and a link to the pdf of the lawsuit is provided.

Former principal sues Marshall school board for discrimination, retaliation and sexual harassment

MARSHALL — A former middle school principal filed suit against the Marshall Public School District Board on Wednesday, accusing the board of discrimination and retaliation for her refusal to remove a LGBTQ pride flag from a display in the school cafeteria last year.

In her lawsuit, Mary Kay Thomas also accuses school board director Bill Swope of sexual harassment, claiming that he routinely called Thomas “sweetie,” remarked on her appearance, and said he wanted to kiss her neck. The complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Minneapolis alleges that at one point in their 15-year work relationship Swope kissed her against her will.

Swope is a founder of the Living Word Lutheran Church in Marshall, former principal of a Marshall elementary school, a retired teacher and former executive director of the Pride in the Tiger Foundation that raises money for local education. He did not return messages asking for comment.

District Superintendent Jeremy Williams, also named in the complaint, said in a statement, “Marshall Public Schools is committed to the education of every child and has strong policies and practices in place against discrimination, against both students and staff members. The school district is committed to creating a respectful, inclusive, and safe learning and working environment for students, staff, and our families.”

Objections to Thomas’ work as principal began when she advocated for an inclusion project that included an LGBTQ pride flag hanging alongside flags representing students’ other cultural and national identities.

A group of Marshall clergy, parents and school staff calling themselves Marshall Concerned Citizens sued the school board last year, saying the pride flag violated Title IX, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of sex.

Marshall Evangelical Free Church Pastor Don LeClere led the group. He said in a statement last year that “students are being subjected to viewing the LGBTQ flag and being excluded as straight children.”

That lawsuit was settled in August with the school board agreeing to remove the rainbow flag from the cafeteria display.

But Thomas had already been replaced by an interim principal. Given the new title of Principal of Special Projects, she has been consigned to a closet-like space in the high school administration offices.

“They said they didn’t want me in proximity to others,” Thomas said in an interview.

“This was a newly formed position created especially for this situation,” she said. “From what I can tell, it’s never existed prior to this. They wanted to remove me from the middle school principalship, so they created it.”

The position includes summarizing a book titled “The Power of Positive Leadership,” writing a weekly report of her work activities and attending training on leadership and communication.

Before the flag controversy and Thomas’ removal, she had received only positive evaluations praising her work and calling her a model principal for her interactions with students and staff. She served as Marshall Middle School principal for 15 years, after 19 years as an educator in South Dakota, including seven years as a middle school principal there.

“The actions of (Marshall Concerned Citizens) are a motivating force, we think, for Marshall Public Schools to retaliate against Mary Kay,” said Matthew Frank, an attorney for Thomas.

“Framing the issue in terms of viewpoint neutrality from their side was a pretext for what was really going on here,” he said. “There was no animus directed at any other flag than the LGBTQ flag. They were pretending the issue was a commitment towards the purity of the First Amendment.”

A second attorney representing Thomas, David Schlesinger, said, “Really what this is about is whether a school administrator is allowed to recognize the history of discrimination and bias against a particular group.”

Thomas is firm in her position, despite its toll on her professional and personal life.

“This is what I’ve dedicated my life to for the last 35 years,” she said. “I have never been told that I wasn’t doing a superb job, so it’s a hardship emotionally and physically. It’s the most traumatic experience of my life … But I’m in this for the long haul.”

Residents of the southwest Minnesota town of 13,000 have spoken out in Thomas’ defense and praised the flag project.

“I worked with Mary Kay Thomas for 15 years,” said Lori Dyce, a former English language learning teacher at Marshall Public Schools and now a substitute teacher in the district.

“I highly respect her. Her decisions were based on what was good for students, family and staff,” Dyce said. “Putting flags up was a visual representation showing she supported students from other countries, students with special needs and students who might identify as LGBTQ. These flags showed students that they were accepted and welcome.”

Anne Veldhuisen, pastor of the Christ United Presbyterian Church in Marshall, said she was pleased to see the lawsuit.

“I’m very thankful that it’s happening,” she said. “The district seems to have done a pretty good job of trying to bully (Thomas) out. She’s a lot tougher than that. She’s taking a stand for people who wouldn’t be able to stand up themselves. She has the knowledge, the position, and the privilege to speak out when others can’t.”

Veldhuisen has two children attending Marshall schools and has considered running for a school board seat.

Marshall Public School District has not yet filed an official response to the suit.

“While the school cannot comment about the specific allegations made in the Complaint, the school district strongly denies any allegation of discriminatory conduct,” Williams, the superintendent, said in his statement.  “The school will vigorously defend itself against these allegations.”

School board members contacted by phone or email either said they had no comment or did not respond.

Read the complaint here.

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Photo: Mary Kay Thomas says the Marshall school board retaliated against her as a middle school principal for her refusal to remove a LGBTQ pride flag from a display in the school cafeteria in 2020. Via Minnesota Reformer.

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Energy & Policy Institute: Major investors warn utilities against carbon capture and offsets

Just as we were catching our breath after posting  Coming soon from a cornfield near you: mammoth carbon capture pipeline system, the Energy and Policy Institute article Major investors warn utilities against carbon capture and offsets comes our way.

This news is mostly about coal carbon capture, but biomass does come up. Joe Smyth, Research and Communications Manager for the Energy and Policy Institute, reports:

A group of hundreds of major investors is urging electric utilities not to use offsets as part of their decarbonization efforts, and to minimize reliance on carbon capture because of its risks and high costs. 

But despite the warnings from major investors, the Department of Energy continues to fund projects, begun during the Trump administration, that study carbon capture proposals at coal-fired power plants. Some of those coal carbon capture projects are also seeking loan guarantees from the Department of Energy – effectively turning to the federal government to finance projects that investors have avoided.

Meanwhile, a new study found that declining renewable energy costs undermine the case for carbon capture, particularly in the power sector and for hydrogen production.

Investors urge utilities to minimize reliance on carbon capture and not use offsets

The Climate Action 100+ group of investors published a report in October, “Investor interventions to accelerate net zero electric utilities,” which “will inform constructive engagement between investors and electric utility companies on their net zero transitions.” The Climate Action 100+ coalition includes more than 600 global investors that collectively manage assets worth more than $60 trillion, including giants like BlackRock and State Street Global Advisors which are among the top shareholders of most major investor-owned utilities in the U.S.

The investors’ report follows benchmarks that Climate Action 100+ published in March, which assessed the climate plans and performance of 159 large companies, including several electric utilities. Each of the utility companies assessed mostly failed to meet the criteria that the investors established.

The October report detailing steps that electric utilities should take to decarbonize is the latest in the Climate Action 100+ group’s Global Sector Strategies, which outline investors’ expectations of companies in key sectors such as steel, aviation, and now utilities. The report states that utilities in advanced economies such as the U.S. should “Set a company-wide emissions target for annual emissions from electricity generation reaching net zero by 2035,” and that more than half of those emissions reductions should occur by 2030 (from a 2019 baseline).

The report also advises utilities to minimize their reliance on carbon capture, avoid offsets, and “focus primarily on minimising the use of fossil fuels and particularly coal.”

Set a clear decarbonisation strategy identifying the main measures they intend to use to deliver their targets and specify the contributions they expect each to make towards those targets. Decarbonisation strategies will vary by company but should: 

• Focus on measures which reduce gross emissions. Consistent with the concept of prioritising emission reductions above offsetting, power companies should focus primarily on minimising the use of fossil fuels and particularly coal.

• Minimise the reliance on CCUS (Carbon Capture Utilisation and Storage). In addition to prioritising reductions in gross emissions, the stubbornly high costs of CCUS in the power sector make it a risky and potentially expensive decarbonisation strategy. Power companies should disclose the expected contribution of CCUS to any targets and conduct and publish a feasibility study setting out its CCUS strategy.

• Not use carbon offsets to reduce generation emissions to net zero. A consistent feature of 1.5 ºC pathways as set out by the IPCC is the near full decarbonisation of electricity generation. SBTi [Science Based Targets Initiative] does not count the contribution of offsets to company emissions targets. Since cost effective sources of low carbon electricity are already available, the finite resources (land and water) required for offsets should be reserved for ‘hard to abate’ sectors.

Cheap renewable energy erodes the value of carbon capture in the power sector

Those “stubbornly high costs of CCUS in the power sector” highlighted in the Climate Action 100+ report are also echoed in a new paper by researchers at the Grantham Institute for Climate Change and the Environment, “Cost reductions in renewables can substantially erode the value of carbon capture and storage in mitigation pathways.”

The researchers used an integrated assessment model to explore how the dramatic declines in the costs of wind and solar power over the last decade impact the importance of carbon capture in various sectors, including fossil fuel power generation, hydrogen production, industrial decarbonization, and biomass applications. They found that “Cost reductions in renewables erode the value of CCS significantly in almost all energy sectors,” but particularly in the power sector and for hydrogen production, where cheap renewables compete more directly with carbon capture:

The value of CCS in industry is reduced by approximately a third if cost reductions in wind/solar continue at rapid rates, compared to the more conservative projections from Krey et al. Meanwhile the value of CCS in electricity and hydrogen production, already low, is reduced substantially by low-cost renewables, falling by 61%–96%.

The researchers note: “The heterogeneous value of CCS across different applications suggests that targeted, rather than blanket, support for CCS represents the best climate policy.”

The researchers also highlight “an urgent need to revisit this debate and explore how real-world developments affect our understanding,” pointing to the stark differences between the success of renewable energy deployment over the last decade, and the failures of carbon capture during the same period:

The debate on the relationship between CCS and renewables needs to account for real-world context, where the fortunes of these technologies are markedly different. Renewables have experienced a decade of unprecedented cost reductions and rapid deployment. The cost of electricity from solar photovoltaics (PV) fell 85% between 2010 and 2020, and the cost of onshore and offshore wind fell by 56% and 48% respectively over the last decade. Installed capacity of solar, onshore, and offshore wind has also grown rapidly, at 33%/y, 15%/y and 27%/y respectively over the decade. A range of analyses have highlighted that energy system models often overestimate the cost of renewables, with the greatest discrepancies observed in solar power. This suggests that some contributions to the debate on the relative role of renewables and CCS may be based on outdated evidence.

In contrast, CCS has in many ways suffered a ‘‘lost decade,” marked by limited deployment and falling expectations for the technology. The majority of CCS projects initiated in the past 30 years have failed. As of 2020, carbon capture capacity was 38.5MtCO2/y—approximately 0.1% of global emissions.

Department of Energy continues to fund coal carbon capture proposals

Some of the failures of carbon capture projects during that “lost decade” were discussed during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing in October. During the hearing, Senator Martin Heinrich asked Brad Crabtree, President Biden’s nominee for Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy and Carbon Management at the Department of Energy, “Why should we continue to subsidize carbon capture technology when its track record is one of so many high-profile failures?”

Senator Heinrich pointed to the recent demolition of Southern Company’s Kemper carbon capture project after more than $1 billion in taxpayer support, setbacks at Chevron’s Gorgon project in Western Australia, and engineering challenges at the Project Tundra proposal in North Dakota. 

Two of those coal carbon capture proposals are also reportedly seeking much larger support from the Department of Energy, in the form of financing from the Loan Programs Office. Minnkota Power Cooperative is reportedly seeking a $700 million loan guarantee from the Department of Energy for the Project Tundra carbon capture proposal at the Milton R. Young coal plant in North Dakota. However, the Bismarck Tribune reported this week that the utility had decided not to apply for additional funding support from the state of North Dakota because it is “working through changes to its engineering plans.” Documents obtained by the Energy and Policy Institute through FOIA show that the principal contractor for Project Tundra, Fluor Corporation, informed Minnkota Power executives in March that the company would not build the carbon capture project. . . .

There's more at Major investors warn utilities against carbon capture and offset. Go check it out.

It's enough to make the Lignite Energy Council cry.

Infographic: Cheap renewables erode the value of costly carbon capture. 

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Report: South Dakota law enforcement wasn't confused by cannabis varieties after all

Back in 2019, South Dakota governor Kristi Noem was mighty worried about industrial hemp, medical marijuana, and adult cannabis confusing law enforcement officers trying to do their jobs.

At the time, Bluestem posted about this dilemma in Editorial review: South Dakota should learn to walk & chew gum with regard to industrial hemp and  Knowns & unknowns: SD Gov. Kristi Noem goes full-bore Donald Rumsfeld on industrial hemp.

Fortunately, Noem's worries hve proven to be baseless. At the Argus Leader, Joe Sneve reported Wednesday in Report: Fears whether hemp, CBD products would complicate drug laws haven't materialized in SD:

It turns out, South Dakota cops and prosecutors can tell the difference between CBD and marijuana after all.

Fears that hemp and hemp-based CBD products encountered in the field by law enforcement wouldn’t be distinguishable from mood-altering marijuana products was the go-to argument for public officials like Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg and Gov. Kristi Noem, who led a full court press in 2019 to successfully block the legalization of industrial hemp in South Dakota.

But more than a full year after the crop was legalized in the Mount Rushmore State – the Legislature passed the hemp bill in 2020 – the Attorney General’s Office says those concerns “have been resolved.”

“There was little effect on law enforcement’s ability to continue to prosecute illegal cases of marijuana and/or controlled substances,” Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg wrote in his 2021 Hemp Report, sent this week to the South Dakota Legislature and the governor’s office. . . .

Well, I'll be a blue-nosed gopher. Next thing folks will be telling me is that voters understood what we were voting for in Amendment A and it was all about the single-subject of the cannabis plant.

Related posts:

• After court defeat, South Dakotans for Better Marijuana Laws keeps working for adult cannabis
• South Dakota governor signs industrial hemp bill
• Noem softens opposition to industrial hemp
• Will recreational pot be legal in South Dakota before farmers get to grow industrial hemp?
• Editorial review: South Dakota should learn to walk & chew gum with regard to industrial hemp
• Knowns & unknowns: SD Gov. Kristi Noem goes full-bore Donald Rumsfeld on industrial hemp
• Hemp: the weed with roots in Minnesota
• In 1937, industrial hemp was a thing in Winona, but reefer madness legislation killed the crop

Photo: Kristi Noem, the governor with Michele Bachmann eyes. Source Noem has hundreds of questions about industrial hemp. Photo credit:SD Gov/MGN via KOTA TV.

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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Star Tribune: New ethics report on mail controversy focuses on Hagedorn staffer

We've been following the investigations into Minnesota First District Congressman Jim Hagedorn since the Minnesota Reformer's reports began in August 15, 2020.

Daniel Newhauser reported that Congressman spent tax dollars on vendor owned by a member of his staff:

U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn likes to boast on mail he sends to his constituents that his postcards are, “Proudly printed in Minnesota!”

What the Minnesota Republican fails to mention, though, is he paid a Texas-based company owned by one of his staff members more than $100,000 of taxpayer money to do some of that printing — a business relationship Congressional ethics experts say is a clear violation of government ethics rules.

Hagedorn also paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for printing to a separate, mysterious company that has existed for less than a year and seems to have gone to great lengths to conceal its ownership, according to publicly available Congressional spending records and business registration filings. 

Both Hagedorn’s office and that company, Abernathy West LLC, did not respond to multiple requests asking who owns the business.

On Friday —  just more than a week after the Minnesota Reformer asked the office about the transactions — Hagedorn fired his chief of staff, Peter Su, over concerns about “irregular spending,” according to the Daily Caller. Hagedorn’s spokesman and interim chief of staff did not respond to requests asking to confirm the report. Su did not respond to a LinkedIn message seeking comment. . . .

Texas business registration documents show that Invocq Technologies was formed in 2011 and is owned by John Brevard Sample, of Houston. Sample is listed as the chief financial officer, chief technology officer and director of the company as well as its registered agent.

Sample used to work with Su in the Virginia state government, and since January 2019, Sample has drawn a $45,000 annual salary from Hagedorn’s office as a part-time employee handling digital media, according to public listings of congressional staff. . . .

In Thursday's Star Tribune, Hunter Woodall reports in New ethics report on mail controversy focuses on Hagedorn staffer:

A newly-released ethics report raises concerns about the role of John Sample, a part-time staffer for Minnesota GOP U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn, in questionable spending on taxpayer-funded constituent mail.

Hagedorn's hefty spending on constituent mailings during his first term became an issue ahead of his 2020 re-election victory. Hagedorn's congressional office spent large amounts of money on two companies linked to Sample and the brother of Hagedorn's chief of staff at the time. Hagedorn fired then-chief of staff Peter Su.

The Office of Congressional Ethics found "there is substantial reason to believe that John Sample was involved in and benefited from the use of official funds to procure services from companies owned or controlled by congressional staff members, including himself." Reached by phone this week, Sample declined to comment.

The ethics office concentrated on Hagedorn in a report made public in October. Leaders on the U.S. House Committee on Ethics, which is separate from the ethics office, said in a statement releasing the Hagedorn report that they had agreed a month earlier "to extend the Committee's review of the matter."

The recently-released report from the ethics office focused on Sample, a digital media staffer who continues to work part-time in Hagedorn's office, according to both the ethics report and Hagedorn's attorney.

Hagedorn and Sample did not cooperate with the ethics office about the mail situation, which recommended that both be subpoenaed by the House ethics committee.

The report describes Sample as an owner or part owner of Invocq Technologies LLC. Hagedorn's office paid Invocq around $114,000 over a span of time in 2019 and 2020 during Hagedorn's first term, according to the report.

"If John Sample participated in procuring services from staff-owned companies, then John Sample may have violated House rules, standards of conduct, and federal law," the report said.

Elliot Berke, Hagedorn's attorney, said in an e-mail that the Sample report "is a regurgitation by the OCE of a 15-month inquiry that Congressman Hagedorn requested with his self-report to the Ethics Committee."

"When notified of actions undertaken without his knowledge by his staff, Congressman Hagedorn took immediate action, such as terminating the employment of his chief of staff, and augmenting office guidelines to ensure any future contracts are issued through a thorough process upon which he is briefed," Berke said. "As can be reviewed in Congressman Hagedorn's self report, John Sample cooperated fully."

Sample was suspended for a time but later returned to work, according to the ethics report. . . .

Read the rest at the Star Tribune.

Related post:

•  MN01: U.S. House Ethics Committee taking a look at Congressman Jim Hagedorn's spending

Photo: Congressman Hagedorn, front left, red shirt) at a campaign event in  Rochester.

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