Bluestem Prairie

While will of the people stifled in South Dakota, MN absentmindedly legalized THC edibles

Here in South Dakota, citizens have been struggling to legalize adult cannabis. Despite a successful popular vote on a constitutional amendment in 2020, our governor and her friends blocked the people's will in the state court system. 

We're trying again in the fall general election.

Meanwhile, Minnesota, where most of the Republican majority in the state senate hates cannabis nearly as much as our governor, has beat us to part of the punch.

Our motto is Under God, The People Rule. In Minnesota, maybe it's dumb luck. From the Minnesota Reformer:

The Legislature stumbles into legalizing THC, for better or worse | Column

by J. Patrick Coolican, Minnesota Reformer
July 1, 2022

In the final days of the legislative session in May, a bipartisan panel was negotiating the differences between health and human services bills passed by the DFL-led House and GOP-controlled Senate. 

They had hundreds of pages to get through, and a bevy of amendments to approve, including one “exempting cannabinoids derived from hemp from Schedule 1 of the controlled substances schedule.” 

Not in so many words: Legalizing weed. 

After the amendment passed on a unanimous voice vote, here’s state Sen. Jim Abeler, R-Anoka: “That doesn’t legalize marijuana — we didn’t just do that.” 

He chuckled. 

His DFL co-chair, Rep. Tina Liebling of Rochester replied, “Oh, are you kidding? Of course you have. No, just kidding. We’ll do that next, OK?” 

Well, actually, they did it. 

As of Friday, July 1, 2022, products with THC — the chemical that gets you high — from “legally certified hemp” can now be manufactured, distributed and sold in Minnesota, in 5-mg increment edibles and drinks. 

That’s enough to amp up an episode of “South Park” or deepen the groove at a Khruaghbin concert.

If that exchange in the waning days of the session doesn’t sound like the most thoughtful legislating, you might be onto something. 

I asked one of the bill’s chief architects, Rep. Heather Edelson, DFL-Edina, who would regulate this newly legal intoxicant. First she said it would be the state Department of Agriculture. She corrected herself in a text and said it would be the Board of Pharmacy. 

Jill Phillips, the new executive director of the Board of Pharmacy, has been gifted with this new dung sandwich of responsibility, which is nothing like their current mission.

“We’re set up to regulate licensees,” she told me. Meaning: licensed pharmacists and pharmacies. 

But the new THC law doesn’t even require a license to manufacture, distribute or sell the THC edibles and drinks. 

“It’s a new kind of work we’re not necessarily ready for,” Phillips said. 

The Board of Pharmacy employs just 23 people, and they have their hands full, what with dangerous legal opioids and everything else. Now they’ll be tasked with regulating the potency, packaging and age requirements (21+) of the new THC products, which can be sold almost anywhere. 

(Movie theaters? Please?)

Buyer beware: The Board of Pharmacy doesn’t have a lab to test the potency or safety of the products, nor does it have a contract with a lab. 

Manufacturers are required to contract with a lab and keep records, but they don’t have to send them to the Board of Pharmacy, except upon request, Phillips told me. 

If you were hoping we’d get some tax revenue to pay for the expensive regulatory regime and maybe public education about misuse and treatment for addicts: sorry. 

There’s no tax provision in the bill, and because it’s being sold as “food,” it won’t be taxed. 

I sympathize with Edelson, a veteran public health champion who was trying to work with the Board of Pharmacy and the Department of Agriculture to clean up a gray market in something called delta-8. 

The Food and Drug Administration describes delta-8 as “a psychoactive substance … typically manufactured from hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD).” 

Hemp and CBD are legal in Minnesota, which allowed people to formulate delta-8 from them, and they started selling it everywhere because there was no legal standard around it. 

I started seeing it in tobacco shops and dodgier gas stations. It gave me real bath salts vibes. 

“It was super different depending on where you got it,” a friend who tried delta-8 told me. “Some kinds were kind of like cheap weed, some kinds were super terrible and anxiety and paranoia provoking.” 

So I was never tempted to try it, especially since nearly half the country has legal and regulated THC markets with the decent assurance of quality control. 

Edelson told me the delta-8 market is out of control — they have been targeting kids, making the products look like candy, even selling high-potency breakfast cereals. Calls to poison control centers were rapidly rising. 

So, with the help of state Sen. Mark Koran, R-North Branch, she pushed to regulate delta-8, but used the broader language of cannabinoids, which includes delta-9. 

Which is the kind you’d buy in Colorado or some other legal state.  

Presto: Legal weed! 

There are some regulations, like childproof packaging and bans on marketing to kids, and you have to be 21 to purchase.

We traded unregulated delta-8 for a lightly regulated delta-8 and delta-9. 

“That’s accurate,” said Jason Tarasek, who has been lobbying on the issue for several years.

And, even more remarkable, Senate Republicans — for years the major hurdle to legalization — were apparently in the dark. 

“I thought it was more of a technical fix to the delta-8 problem, and it had a broader effect than I expected,” Abeler told me. 

Asked by the Star Tribune about this major change in law and policy, Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller, R-Winona, declined to comment. (Kudos to reporter Ryan Faircloth for his work on this story.) 

You have to admire the legalizers’ legislative cunning.

But I have mixed feelings. 

Yes, prohibition has failed. Marijuana is commonly used by Minnesotans from all walks of life, needlessly turning them into law breakers, while too often the law has been used to profile Black people and shove them into the brutal churn of the criminal justice system.  

And, THC is safer than alcohol, at least if you’re counting fatalities. It’s not even close, with 95,000 Americans killed annually from alcohol-related causes. Whereas you can definitely smoke or ingest too much THC (ask Maureen Dowd!), there’s really no such a thing as a marijuana overdose per se.

The best approach is to legalize, regulate and tax, using the revenue to mitigate the negative effects. 

The Minnesota House passed a bipartisan version of legalization last year, but it died in the Senate. That bill included a strict regulatory regime with a public health focus. It would have helped us avoid the Wild West outcomes we’ve seen in other states by engaging in typically paternalistic, rigorous Minnesota oversight we pride ourselves on. 

(I’m pretty sure you can’t even buy a drink here after midnight without written permission from your mother.)

My fear is that this light regulatory structure will lead to gross excesses. And then we’ll see a bunch of alarmist media coverage — you can just picture the TV news stories — right before the November election, about some dunderhead who left an open package of edibles on a counter, and a kid ate the whole thing and thought he was Spiderman and wound up in the emergency room. 

And then there’ll be a backlash, and we’ll go back to prohibition. 

Edelson acknowledged to me that the law needs fixes next session, including the creation of an agency specifically dedicated to oversight of cannabis.

Surely licensing ought to be strongly considered. 

In the end, though, she has no regrets.

“We passed a significant increase in consumer protection,” she said. 

I just hope if it says gluten free, it’s really gluten free. 

This article is republished online under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Donate here. 

Minnesota Reformer is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Minnesota Reformer maintains editorial independence.  Follow Minnesota Reformer on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo: One thing is banned in both states are copy-cats aimed at kids. The law legalizing THC bans copycat THC edibles, like these found in a Virginia store. Photo by Graham Moomaw/Virginia Mercury/via Minnesota Reformer

Related posts:

•  On Sensible Change MN Cannabis Policy Voter Guide, Ingebrigtsen clings to reefer madness
• Another one from our back pages: Republican operative Kip Christianson in the news
• Some legalize cannabis candidates are giving off very MAGA vibes, J. Patrick Coolican, MN Reformer, June 15, 2020
• How marijuana legalization party candidates could decide control of the Minnesota Senate, Peter Callaghan, MinnPost,  August 21, 2020
• Is Legal Marijuana Now Being used to Spoil Elections in Minnesota? Oliver Steinberg, MinnMarijuana, August 21, 2020
• Sheriff Bill and Bub Nornes go full blown grumpy cats on medical cannabis bills
• Raw marijuana menace: Senator Bill Ingebrigtsen speaks out against legalizing killer weed
• Ingebrigtsen & Rosen warn colleagues about "dangerously addictive" pot that rips apart families
• Have a hemp heart: Sheriff Bill gets a free bag
• Grumpy cat Senator Bill Ingebrigtsen still grumpy about industrial hemp's infernal roots in Hell
• Ingebrigtsen update: grumpy cat is still grumpy about medical cannabis & intractable pain
• Ingebrigtsen update, part 2: Have a Blessed and Merry Christmas, your kids think pot is a-okay
• MN Senator Gary Dahms shares scary vision of pot-loving DFL majority with Brown Co faithful
• Hagedorn: Senator Gary Dahms stands between you and socialist legal recreational marijuana:

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Highland Park anti-Semitic flier drop echoes late May leafletting in Watertown, South Dakota

An anti-Semitic lit drop in St. Paul's Highland Park neighborhood shares a tactic with a similar hate literature drop last month in Watertown, South Dakota: putting the fliers in bags of rice.

And use of the tactic in the two most recent incidents echo earlier incidents in Wisconsin, California, Denver, Miami and elsewhere.

Late Wednesday afternoon, Jame Walsh reported for the Star Tribune in Anti-Semitic fliers left near more than a dozen homes in St. Paul's Highland Park:

Nick Perin's Highland Park neighborhood near Talmud Torah's Newman School is close-knit — so much so that neighbors have set up a text chain to update each other on what's going on.

So, when Perin received a text early Monday from a neighbor who'd discovered an anti-Semitic flier behind his garage, he set out to find more before the schoolyard was full of children so "nobody else had to find them," he said.

"We probably got a good portion of them before anyone noticed them," Perin said of at least 15 fliers he collected. Other neighbors also found some near their homes, although officials had no hard numbers. 

On Wednesday, St. Paul police confirmed they have assigned an investigator to the case. Talmud Torah is a Jewish school founded 66 years ago in a neighborhood long considered the center of St. Paul's Jewish community.

"If anybody does have video or if anyone knows who did this terrible thing, we would appreciate it if they got in touch with us," police spokesperson Steve Linders said.

Perin said a neighbor's security camera captured what appeared to be someone in a small, white pickup truck tossing bags early Monday.

The fliers were enclosed in sealable plastic bags and weighted with rice so they could be tossed from a car. They allege "every single aspect of gun control is Jewish" and include an illustration of the Star of David opposite a satanic pentagram.

The fliers also list the names and pictures of more than 20 Jewish lobbyists, politicians and lawyers who they say favor gun control. The name of "Goyim TV" — a video platform that streams anti-Semitic content and is associated with a California-based hate group — was also printed on the fliers. . . . 

The rice-bag hate literature drops in both cities aren't isolated. We'd looked into the tactic last month in our post, News digest: SD violates voter registration laws, MN white juries, Watertown's antisemitic rice. 

Just before the Watertown incident, WTMJ-TV Milwaukee's Sarah McGrew reported in 'This is not Germany in 1940': Antisemitic fliers found in Kenosha neighborhoods:

Earlier this year, NBC News reported antisemitic fliers had been found in at least three U.S. cities: Denver, San Francisco and Miami. Now, similar fliers have been found outside of Kenosha homes on at least two occasions.

Why the rice? At the Mitchell Republic, Hunter Dunteman reported in Watertown police investigating at least 50 anti-Semitic flyers, bags of rice distributed across town:

Police in Watertown are seeking information relating to anti-Semitic flyers distributed throughout town this week, an act officials call “disgusting” and “unacceptable.”

On Monday, the Watertown Police Department shared on their Facebook page that they’ve been receiving reports that citizens have discovered anti-Semitic flyers attached to bags [of] rice across the city.

The flyers include altered images that depict various politicians, executives and political journalists with Stars of David on their foreheads, accusing them of engaging in scandalous behavior. There is no evidence to corroborate any claims made by the flyers.

The Watertown Police Department has received roughly 50 reports of residents receiving these flyers, according to Captain Steve Rehorst, though it’s nearly impossible to know how many flyers were disposed of without residents making a report.

“Our thought on it is that obviously that behavior is unacceptable, and we don’t want to give it momentum,” Rehorst said. “We believe that anything like that is disgusting material and unacceptable.”

Rehorst said the flyers appear to be a part of a national campaign of hate, after flyers with similar sentiments were found in California during Passover. According to the Smithsonian Magazine, consuming rice during Passover had been banned for Ashkenazi Jews living outside of Israel since the 13th century, until the Jewish Conservative movement relaxed the restriction in 2016.

Though Rehorst is quick to speak against the sentiments shared by the flyers, he said the right to free speech places the Watertown Police Department in a bit of an awkward spot, as it doesn’t necessarily fall under South Dakota’s hate crime statute. . . .

The Star Tribune article closes:

"These fliers were distributed randomly and without malicious intent," [the fliers] read.

Jonathan Gershberg of Jewish Community Action wasn't buying it.

"This was a coordinated attempt to intimidate Jews and their families in a historically Jewish neighborhood of St. Paul," he said. "But the most important thing to recognize is they are going to fail."

Such hatefulness historically has had terrible consequences and cannot stand. Learn more here.

Screenshot: Similar lit--a different target group but with the same accreditation, rice bags. and "These fliers were distributed randomly and without malicious intent," was dropped in suburban Chicago in February according to Antisemitic Flyers Distributed In Bags Of Rice In Niles, Park Ridge, by the Journal and Topics.

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Remains of Amos LaFromboise and Edward Upright won't come home to family this year

Since my romantic partner is a Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Dakota elder, I've been following the work by the Oyate to bring the remains onf two tribal members home from the Carlisle Indian Industrial School cemetery. 

Both boys are part of the terrible legacy of the Indian boarding school era.

Last September, Bluestem Prairie posted Video: Return of Our Sisseton-Wahpeton Children, about the efforts of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate to bring home two oyate ancestors who perished at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School in the late nineteenth century. 

In February, I posted SWO moves closer to bringing ancestors home from Carlisle Indian School with affidavit signing ceremony. Mike and I attended the event to honor the children and their families, so  Bluestem's post was based on Jeremy Turley's reporting for Forum Communications. 

At the Fargo Forum Tuesday, Turley reported in Army: Boys’ remains won’t return to Dakotas from notorious Native American boarding school this year:

More than a century ago, administrators at the infamous Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania decided to bury the bodies of two young Native American students in a cemetery more than 1,000 miles from their homelands in the Dakota Territory.

To correct this perceived misdeed, members of the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate and Spirit Lake tribes recently petitioned the federal government to help return the remains of Amos LaFromboise and Edward Upright to the Dakotas so they can lie next to their fathers.

Despite successfully turning in the necessary paperwork this spring to have the boys’ remains exhumed and brought back home, the tribes will likely have to wait another year.

Officials from the U.S. Army, which maintains the Carlisle cemetery, said Amos and Edward will not be returned this year due to insufficient planning time and funding constraints. The boys’ remains are now scheduled to be exhumed next summer.

Tribal leaders are frustrated by the delay and say the Army’s disorganization is to blame. They believe the federal government should pull out the stops to address the historical trauma it has inflicted on Native Americans through boarding schools.

Sisseton Wahpeton tribal historian Tamara St. John, a leader in the repatriation efforts, said the Army is not treating Amos and Edward like loved ones who deserve a proper reburial.

Spirit Lake Tribal Chairman Doug Yankton sent a letter to U.S. Sens. John Hoeven and Kevin Cramer, both R-N.D., asking their offices to aid the tribes in repatriating Amos and Edward by the end of this summer.

“The indigenous people of this country deserve healing, respect, honesty, and fair dealings,” Yankton wrote in the letter. “The further delay of repatriation of these remains does the opposite, instead sending the message that we are neither valued nor important.”

A Hoeven spokesman said the Republican senator’s office will be reaching out to the Department of Defense “to see if we can get the Department to work with the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate and Spirit Lake tribes to return the remains of the tribal members as soon as possible.” . . .

This is truly saddening news. 

Photo: The gravestones of Amos LaFromboise and Edward Upright in the cemetery near the site of the former Carlisle Indian Industrial School contain spelling errors. Photos provided by the Carlisle Indian School Digital Resource Center.

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.

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South Dakota News Watch: Concerns arise as dueling ballot measures both seek to expand Medicaid coverage in South Dakota

Bluestem's editor has been working on an investigative piece of uncertain significance, prompted by tips from Republican readers in a central/far exurbia Minnesota house district. While we're waiting for documents, here's another fine piece from South Dakota News Watch.

We were glad when Amendment C, which was backed by the Koch Brothers-funded Americans for Prosperity (lots of postcards from that group), crashed in South Dakota's primary.

Concerns arise as dueling ballot measures both seek to expand Medicaid coverage in South Dakota
by Stu Whitney

Some advocates for Medicaid expansion in South Dakota are concerned that two ballot measures with different language and separate backers but the same goals may confuse or diffuse voters, reducing the chances of success in the November election.

The goal of each campaign is to provide health care coverage to more than 40,000 additional low-income South Dakota residents by broadening Medicaid insurance criteria as established by the Affordable Care Act, with the federal government covering 90 percent of the cost. Unlike Medicare, which provides coverage for the elderly, Medicaid focuses on low-income individuals and covers services such as hospital visits, preventative care, X-rays and family planning.

The ACA in 2010 expanded Medicaid to include nearly all adults with incomes up to 138% of the federal poverty level, which currently translates to an annual salary of about $18,000 for an individual (or $36,500 for a family of four). But the Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that states could reject the expansion and still get federal funding for traditional Medicaid costs, which all states currently receive.

South Dakota is one of just 12 states that hasn’t expanded Medicaid, making it an outlier even among neighboring Republican-led states such as North Dakota, Iowa and Nebraska. But expansion proponents are optimistic after seeing voters reject Amendment C – which would have made ballot measures involving state spending more difficult to pass – in the primary election June 7 with 67 percent of the vote.

Constitutional Amendment D, which is sponsored by South Dakotans Decide Healthcare and will appear on the November ballot, seeks to expand Medicaid by changing the state constitution, viewed traditionally as a more iron-clad method of initiating new policies. Amendment D is supported by the state’s major healthcare systems and the Fairness Project, a national advocacy group that assists in ballot measure campaigns.

The second Medicaid ballot measure, Initiated Measure 28, is spearheaded by former Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Rick Weiland, a frequent supporter of ballot measures who successfully campaigned to increase South Dakota’s minimum wage in 2014. Weiland’s group, Dakotans for Health, initially presented its measure as a way to give voters another option in case the 60-percent voting threshold was passed into law by the June primary vote.

“Historically, initiated measures have fared better than conditional amendments,” said Weiland. “There are groups of voters who just don’t like to mess with the constitution and could see Medicaid expansion as more appropriately accomplished by statutory measure.”

Since Amendment D had a later filing deadline to the Secretary of State’s office, the fiscal note from the Legislative Research Council includes additional offsets extended by the Biden Administration as part of the American Rescue Plan, showing the state’s share over the first five years of Medicaid expansion to be a total of $3.8 million. That information is not reflected in IM 28’s fiscal note, nor does that measure specify an implementation date.

These differences – plus the significant financial backing of South Dakota’s “big three” health systems: Sanford, Avera and Monument – lead state Sen. Reynold Nesiba, a Sioux Falls Democrat who supports Amendment D, to call for Weiland to pull Initiated Measure 28 off the Nov. 8 ballot to create a unified statewide effort.

“Rick Weiland and the people bringing the initiated measure need to withdraw it,” Nesiba told News Watch. “It’s got an inferior fiscal note attached to it, it doesn’t have an implementation date, and the constitutional amendment will have a more definitive impact.”

Weiland, whose efforts to coordinate a petition-led campaign to pass Medicaid expansion date back to 2019, chuckled when informed of Nesiba’s remarks.

“Give me a break,” said Weiland, who served as an advisor to former U.S. Senator Tom Daschle. “The language in both these initiatives accomplish the same thing, and the implementation date is written into state law. As for voters being confused, there are only three measures on the ballot (the two Medicaid proposals and IM 27, which would legalize recreational marijuana). I don’t think that’s going to be too overwhelming for people.”

If both ballot measures pass and have the same intent, state law dictates that “the initiated measure or amendment receiving the greatest number of affirmative votes at the election shall be given effect.”

That provision could be construed as the measures competing against each other, though their aim is the same. The deadline to voluntarily remove a ballot measure is 120 days before the election (July 12 in this case), but so far both groups are holding firm.

“We are fully focused on campaigning for and passing a constitutional amendment that will expand Medicaid in South Dakota,” said Zach Marcus, a spokesperson for South Dakotans Decide Healthcare.

General agreement on intent

One thing the factions agree on is that chronically underfunded Indian Health Service facilities and rural health clinics and nursing homes will receive a boost from federal Medicaid reimbursements if more low-income patients are covered. In addition to the 90% federal matching rate, states that implement expansion also see an increase in funding for traditional Medicaid populations under COVID-related American Rescue Plan provisions.

In South Dakota, the total cost of expansion over the first five years would amount to about $1.5 billion, of which the state’s share would be $166.2 million, according to the Legislative Research Council. Since total savings to the general fund – from federal matching and incentive funds and fewer reimbursement payments to hospitals for treating uninsured patients – is estimated at $162.4 million over that five-year period, the state’s net financial obligation would be $3.8 million.

“It will cost us less to expand Medicaid than it cost to buy the governor a new airplane,” said Nesiba, referring to the state’s $4.5 million purchase of a 2015 Beechcraft King Air 350 last year. “The failure of South Dakota to take this step is one of the most short-sighted economic decisions we have ever made.”

Under South Dakota’s current (non-expanded) Medicaid system, two-thirds of the roughly 130,000 enrollees are children who meet poverty level guidelines, while eligible adults include pregnant women, elderly or disabled individuals and parents of minor children up to 52 percent of the poverty level (for a household with three people, that means an annual salary of about $11,300).

Childless adults without a disability are ineligible for Medicaid coverage in South Dakota regardless of income level, and many don’t qualify for ACA subsidies to help obtain private coverage unless their income is at least 100 percent of the poverty level. 

The number of these residents who “fall through the cracks” of health insurance coverage is estimated at 42,500 in South Dakota, just under 5 percent of the total population. Nearly 40 percent of them are estimated to be Native American, according to Georgetown University’s Health Policy Institute, compared with about 9 percent of the general population that is Native American.

The federal government pays 58% of the cost of standard Medicaid coverage, with slight increases made during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under Medicaid expansion, the federal government share increases sharply, especially with incentives added as part of the American Rescue Plan.

A study of state budgets from 2014-2017 by the Commonwealth Fund, a nonprofit that supports research on health policy reform, found that Medicaid expansion was associated with a 4.4% to 4.7% reduction in state spending on traditional Medicaid while also reducing the cost of uncompensated care, such as when the state reimburses hospitals for services provided to uninsured individuals.

Deb Fischer-Clemens, Avera Health senior vice president for public policy and a supporter of Amendment D, said that expanding coverage to uninsured residents helps not just those individuals or families but also entities that might incur those costs down the line, including state or county government, non-profit health systems or taxpayers.

“There’s a lack of preventative care when you don’t have insurance,” said Fischer-Clemens, a former state legislator who also serves as president of the South Dakota Nurses Association. “When you don’t have a lot of money, you’re using it all to pay for rent or groceries or gas, meaning you’re not getting that preventative colonoscopy. And when you find out there’s something wrong with you, instead of a couple thousand dollars, it’s tens of thousands of dollars, and a lot of time away from work and a lot of debt. The big picture of this is taking care of individuals who don’t have the resources to access care at the appropriate time.”

Medicaid expansion opponents, including GOP Gov. Kristi Noem and Republican Senate President Pro Tempore Lee Schoenbeck, counter that able-bodied individuals, such as currently uncovered childless adults, should be able to work and are not entitled to free health care. They also point to uncertainty about the state’s share of expenses once COVID-related incentives from the Biden administration phase out and the nation’s public health emergency expires, which is expected later this year.

Schoenbeck, who declined an interview request, made his position clear when asked about Medicaid expansion during a Senate primary event in May.

“I don’t happen to support more welfare,” he said.

Expansion talks fizzle in state government

In 2016, two years after being re-elected as South Dakota governor with more than 70% of the vote, Dennis Daugaard undertook an effort to expand Medicaid despite lingering rancor toward “Obamacare” among most of his fellow Republicans.

The fiscally conservative Daugaard saw it as a good deal for South Dakota, since the state was already paying in part for Native American residents who couldn’t receive care at reservation IHS facilities because of lack of services or availability. The U.S. Health and Human Services Department agreed to an arrangement where those treated outside IHS facilities would be covered by federal Medicaid matching funds.

The problems Daugaard faced were not procedural but political, as state Republicans balked at expanding the ACA, the outgoing Obama’s signature achievement, and voiced their concerns about government handouts for adults who were able to work and fend for themselves.

The governor convened a Health Care Solutions Coalition, which produced a 2016 report that found the state spent $182 million on health care for Native Americans in fiscal year 2015, about $97 million of which was federal funds and $85 million was state funds. The report noted that “$85 million is more than enough to cover state costs for expansion.”

With legislative action stalled, Daugaard tried unsuccessfully to negotiate a work requirement provision with the federal government. Donald Trump’s victory in 2016 – along with Trump’s proclaimed goal to repeal the ACA – ended what little momentum had occurred, especially after Daugaard met with then-Vice President MIke Pence and discussed the new administration’s repeal strategy, which ultimately failed in Congress.

Fischer-Clemens, who served on Daugaard’s coalition, joined with other hospital officials and health associations to consider a new course, especially after Noem took office following the 2018 election and declared her opposition to Medicaid expansion. Advocacy groups in states such as Nebraska, Oklahoma, Missouri, Utah and Idaho had found success by taking the issue straight to voters with petition-fueled ballot measures, and that became the strategy.

“After seeing so many bills fail in committee over the years, we knew we couldn’t do it with legislative movement,” said Fischer-Clemens. “The philosophy in the Legislature is basically, ‘We’ve done enough with Medicaid, and if the federal government takes dollars away, then it’s going to lead to higher taxes.’ There was nowhere else to go.”

Taking issues straight to ballot

There were some early discussions with Weiland, who was well-versed in the ballot measure process and knew of its pitfalls. After his successful effort to raise the state’s minimum wage in 2014, state legislators voted to exempt workers under age 18 from the required wage, so Weiland and other Democrats referred the law back to voters and won with 71 percent of the vote.

Two years later, Weiland spearheaded an electoral victory for IM 22, which revised lobbying and campaign finance laws while establishing a state ethics commission. But Republican legislators sought a preliminary injunction and later repealed the measure with an emergency clause that ensured it could not be sent back to voters.

Those South Dakota efforts against initiated measures, and delays in Nebraska as Gov. Pete Ricketts sought to restrict the implementation of voter-approved Medicaid expansion for several years, convinced South Dakotans Decide Healthcare and the Fairness Project that a constitutional amendment was the most logical course.

They used paid petition circulators to speed the process and submitted 47,000 signatures last November with the Secretary of State’s office, announcing in January that the proposal had qualified for the November 2022 ballot officially as Amendment D.

“We had seen some of the things that the legislature does with initiated measures,” said Fischer-Clemens. “Then some of us watched what was happening in Nebraska and basically said, ‘We don’t want to go through that – we’re not going to live that long.’ In the end we were more confident that we could reach our goal with a constitutional amendment.”

Weiland, however, points to Amendment A, the South Dakota recreational marijuana effort that passed with 54% of the vote in 2020. Noem’s administration challenged the measure, saying it violated the state’s requirement that constitutional amendments deal with just one subject, and won a 4-1 decision at the South Dakota Supreme Court that prevented legalization from taking place.

That single-subject clause had been a response to IM 22, meant to discourage sweeping voter-based changes to state law. When it became clear that Medicaid expansion would be on the ballot in 2022, Sen. Schoenbeck tried to orchestrate a preemptive strike with Amendment C, which was backed by the Koch Brothers-funded Americans for Prosperity and would have required a 60% vote for ballot measures that raise taxes or spend $10 million in general funds in their first five years.

The resounding failure of Amendment C was viewed by some as a message from voters to lay off the petition process, which Weiland interpreted as a potential buffer for initiated measures as well. He noted that state Sen. Wayne Steinhauer, R-Hartford, who chairs the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, led an effort during the 2022 legislative session to endorse or prepare for Medicaid expansion, a proposal that fell short but indicated a desire to get out in front of voter-backed measures. Steinhauer did not respond to an interview request.

“I think state legislators realize that they’re on thin ice when it comes to messing around with the will of voters,” said Weiland, whose group’s measure was certified June 9 by the Secretary of State’s office with 17,249 valid signatures (the threshold is 16,961). “We have a chance to hold their feet to the fire, because they mis-stepped on minimum wage, they mis-stepped on corruption, they mis-stepped on cannabis and they’re getting tired of mis-stepping. This whole notion that the only way to get things done is through constitutional amendment is not really the case anymore. I hope they both pass. We’re encouraging people to vote for both.”

Finding support for Native populations

One of the most persuasive arguments for expanding Medicaid is its ability to address long-standing health care concerns that plague tribal communities in South Dakota, which has the fourth-highest percentage of Native American residents in the country.

A 2021 study by the Health Policy Institute at Georgetown found several predominantly Native counties (Buffalo, Oglala Lakota, Todd) with at least four times the national average of uninsured non-elderly adults.

Remi Bald Eagle, a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe who is part of the Dakotans for Health group, pointed to the limitations of IHS services on reservations and noted how Medicaid expansion could improve the level of care.

Some Native residents don’t live close to an IHS facility, or they require services that aren’t provided. Expanding Medicaid would allow those patients to be referred to other hospitals or clinics, which would then be reimbursed. Currently, referrals are determined by a “triage” system, meaning cases are prioritized by level of medical severity.

“IHS facilities have a capped budget they operate under,” said Bald Eagle, a former Democratic candidate for public utilities commissioner. “If a person’s condition is not seen as high priority, that person might not get referred.” He added that third-party billing through Medicaid expansion could potentially help IHS facilities expand services or upgrade medical personnel.

Among Native Americans with IHS access, Medicaid enrollment increased by 45% in expansion states and 25% in non-expansion states from 2010 to 2018, according to the IHS Tribal Self-Governance Advisory Committee.

Montana, which approved Medicaid expansion in 2016, saw more than 15,000 tribal members newly enrolled in Medicaid in the first two years, according to the state Department of Public Health and Human Services. The tribal and IHS facilities on the Blackfeet Reservation in northern Montana saw an additional $13.6 million for services reimbursed by the federal government during that time.

Bald Eagle supports the initiated measure but said both proposals are encouraging to many in South Dakota – not as government handouts, but as ways to address problems that low-income residents and health providers have faced for a long time.

“It’s unfortunate that this life-saving issue has turned into a political bogeyman that people can use as a scare tool,” he said. “The more people you have using these services, the more it helps everyone, not just Indian Country, but South Dakota as a whole.”

This article is published with the permission of South Dakota News Watch. Donate to it here.

 

Photo: Expansion of Medicaid would provide federal health insurance for about 40,000 more low-income South Dakota residents. Voters will decide on a pair of proposal to expand Medicaid during the November 2022 election. Photo: News Watch file.

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MN Reformer: Fact check: Anti-abortion pregnancy centers receive millions in state funding in MN

Bluestem loves a good fact check, and Deena Winter's latest at the Minnesota Reformer catches endorsed Minnesota Republican candidate Matt Birk in a good one. 

Short skinny: Birk said in a Facebook video that he's on the board of directors at the Wakota Life Center and:

“What these pregnancy resource centers do is they actually enable women and families to choose life, and they’re not funded by the government,” he said. “They’re all funded through private donations.” 

Apparently, Birk isn’t aware that the Wakota Life Center was awarded $350,000 per year, for five years through the state Department of Health’s “Positive Alternatives to Abortion” program. Last year, 27 Minnesota groups received grants of up to $350,000 annually for five years, including “pregnancy resource centers” like Wakota, which received the largest grant.

UPDATE #2: On Twitter, pro-Birk anti-abortion folks are chiding Winter for no documentation. The article cites an earlier article that reported on a Gender Justice story. Bluestem used the database of 990 tax filings in ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer to examine Wakota's 990s. Government grants are noted on the tax filings. [end update]

UPDATE: Here's the video, uploaded to YouTube in the public interest:

Oops. Here's the Minnesota Reformer fact check:

Fact check: Anti-abortion pregnancy centers receive millions in state funding in Minnesota
By Deena Winter

Republican Lt. Gov. candidate Matt Birk incorrectly said in a Saturday Facebook post that all Minnesota so-called crisis pregnancy centers are privately funded.

In fact, $3.4 million in state dollars annually goes to the crisis pregnancy centers, which are organizations that encourage women to carry their pregnancies to term rather than terminate.

Birk made the false statement while talking about his concern over recent vandalism of anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers. These anti-abortion centers often advertise themselves in a way that makes them appear to be abortion providers, but their goal is to dissuade women from having abortions. 

Birk said in the post he is on the board of directors at the Wakota Life Center in West St. Paul, and such centers do “life-saving work” and provide emotional support, medical care and supplies to pregnant women who are scared, nervous and “don’t have anybody else to turn to.” 

“What these pregnancy resource centers do is they actually enable women and families to choose life, and they’re not funded by the government,” he said. “They’re all funded through private donations.” 

Apparently, Birk isn’t aware that the Wakota Life Center was awarded $350,000 per year, for five years through the state Department of Health’s “Positive Alternatives to Abortion” program. Last year, 27 Minnesota groups received grants of up to $350,000 annually for five years, including “pregnancy resource centers” like Wakota, which received the largest grant.

The Minnesota program, enacted in 2005, awards grants to organizations that “support, encourage, and assist women in carrying their pregnancies to term and caring for their babies after birth.” The law requires the programs to provide assistance with medical care, nutrition, housing and parenting education. They’re not allowed to encourage, counsel or refer clients for abortions.

Birk is gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen’s running mate.

This article is republished under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. If you like the work at MN Reformer, consider making a donation.

Screengrab: Birk's Saturday night Facebook post.

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Funhouse mirrors? The peculiar GOP endorsed secretary of state candidates in MN & SD

Reading around, Bluestem is struck by the peculiarity of Republican Party endorsements of candidates for secretary of state in Minnesota and South Dakota. Kim Crockett and Monae Johnso

We've been covering the Kim Crockett beat since mid-May's MNGOP endorsed secretary of state candidate's election ignorance pairs well with past racism.

Crockett added anti-semitism to that laundry list, as we noted five days later in  GOP SOS candidate we scolded for racism, incompetence gets antisemitism added.

Most recently on the Crockett beat, Deena Winter reported in Crockett is part of a national push to recruit an ‘army’ of activists to watch elections for the Minnesota Reformer:

Kim Crockett, Minnesota Republicans’ presumptive nominee for secretary of state, is part of a national right wing network recruiting an army of activists to become poll workers, stoking fear among Democratic voting rights activists that they’ll seek to intimidate voters.  

The nationwide network is led by Cleta Mitchell, a Republican lawyer who tried to help former President Donald Trump flip the Georgia election results and has become a key figure during the recent hearings of the U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. . . .

Mitchell said in a March podcast interview that Republicans didn’t pay enough attention to the mechanics of elections — from campaign finance to election laws — until 2020, when they were “awakened,” presumably by Trump’s frequent false claims of fraud and attempt to overturn the election he lost. 

Crockett said Mitchell isn’t new to her. “I’ve actually known her for quite some time,” she said of Mitchell in a YouTube interview with Max Rymer, president of Nativ3 Digital Marketing and a consultant to Crockett’s campaign. Crockett did not respond to a request for comment.

Crockett is part of the Election Integrity Network, or EIN, which is being run by the Conservative Partnership Institute, a think tank founded by former South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint in 2017 to support conservatives on Capitol Hill. Trump’s former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows is a senior partner, and Mitchell is a senior legal fellow at CPI.

Crockett said EIN meets twice a week, with the Heritage Foundation leading one meeting, and Mitchell the other. She told Rymer the RNC knows it “missed the mark” in 2020, and she’s been “blown away” by the humility displayed by RNC leaders who “didn’t listen” in 2020.

Crockett and Mitchell think their group helped Republican Glenn Youngkin defeat former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe in the Virginia governor’s race last year.

In the runup to the Virginia governor’s race, Mitchell said she helped organize “task forces” and trained more than 4,000 poll workers and observers. 

“I know a lot about the task force that won that state,” Crockett told Rymer. “And I said OK if they can do this, we can do that in Minnesota.”

(A more likely explanation for Youngkin’s victory: He received more votes, as often happens in off-year elections when the other party controls the White House. According to Reuters, Youngkin won due to a wave of red enthusiasm: the number of Republican votes grew by more than 40% compared to the 2017 gubernatorial contest while Democratic votes increased by about 10%.) . . . .

Bluestem now welcomes Monae Johnson to the gallery of nincompoops who might manage state election and business services in the Upper Midwest. In Watertown this past weekend, South Dakota Republicans endorsed Monae Johnson over sitting Republican South Dakota Secretary of State Steve Barnett. The Associated Press reported in South Dakota GOP picks experience for AG, bumps an incumbent:

The day featured one upset.

Delegates denied Secretary of State Steve Barnett the opportunity for a second term. Monae Johnson won easily in a campaign where she stressed her opposition to online voting, online voter registration and online registration updates.

What little we knew of her before endorsement came from reading  the very Republican blog, Dakota War College, first with Monae Johnson appears to be running for Sec of State on “Election Integrity” platform.

More worrisome: Why does Monae Johnson for SOS want my thoughts on vaccination and abortion?

Then earlier this month Bluestem learned in SOS Candidate Monae Johnson tells delegates that if elected, her intent is to disenfranchise a group of voters that Johnson hates South Dakota's special Nomadland voters.

Prior to the convention, the Associated Press's Steven Groves reported in South Dakota GOP to decide AG, other nominees amid infighting:

. . . Republican Secretary of State Steve Barnett is facing a challenge for the nomination from a candidate who has built her campaign around “election integrity." This comes amid a surge of concern among some conservatives about voter fraud following former President Donald Trump's false claims that the 2020 election was stolen.

Monae Johnson, who worked in the secretary of state's office before Barnett's tenure, says she is “answering the call of concerned citizens” to run. Her campaign centers around criticism of Bennett’s unsuccessful pushes to allow people to register online to vote and his decision to mail out applications for absentee voting during the pandemic.

Barnett has defended his work, blaming “disinformation, misinformation, mal-information” for lowering voter confidence nationwide. He has also tried to counteract Johnson's false claim that he supports online voting. . . .

Perhaps the most comprehensive summary of Johnson's qualifications for the office is in Cory Allen Heidelberger's Jackley, Rhoden Nearly Lose Nominations; SDGOP Tosses Barnett, Picks Less Qualified Monae Johnson for Secretary of State at Dakota Free Press. He muses:

. . . In the final rebuke to both mainstream authority and care for qualifications, the insurrectionist delegates scored one clear victory in throwing aside incumbent Secretary of State Steve Barnett and nominating likely Trumpist election rigger Monae Johnson. Barnett, perhaps the least robust scion of the politically powerful Barnett family, came to the Secretary of State’s job four years ago after two quiet terms as State Auditor. His management of the Secretary of State’s office has been inferior to that of his predecessor, the energetic, helpful, and alas-one-term Shantel Krebs, but his incompetence hasn’t risen to anything like the constant failure to perform that led the GOP to shove lazy one-term bumbler Jason Gant aside for Krebs in 2014 (back in the good old days when South Dakota Republicans still clung to some expectation of job performance, not just Election Day id-scratching). Barnett hasn’t done anything to scandalize Republican voters. Good grief, he even helped prevent Indians from registering to vote! Republicans ought to love that disenfranchisement!

Yet Monae Johnson, who claims to have worked for three previous Secretaries of State but who seems not to have done any serious management on the Second Floor, was able to oust Barnett yesterday with 61% of the weighted delegate vote. Barnett seems to have coasted on his incumbency and SDGOP mainstreamery and not whipped his delegates. Johnson seems to have tapped the vote with her talk of “election integrity” and nonexistent “voter fraud”, which we know is code to the insurrectionist crowd for, “The elections we lose are all rigged, so I promise to rig the next election to make sure we win!”

Steve Barnett let a Trumpist insurgent with far fewer qualifications for public office beat him out of a second nomination for Secretary of State. Kristi Noem let the Haugaardian mugwumps in her party oust a reliable party boy from the field and place a less-qualified liability on the November ballot. Rather than consolidating her power, Kristi Noem has let the South Dakota Republican Party descend further into a mad detachment from the seriousness of winning elections and running state government.

 . . .Democrats, it’s now up to you to nominate a qualified candidate for Secretary of State and pour a million dollars into that campaign to protect the honest and accurate conduct of South Dakota’s elections.

We certainly hope so. 

Image: Back of a Johnson campaign piece via the Dakota War College post, A few campaign items from the trail: Mary Mowry (sans hat), Monae Johnson, and Steve Haugaard. From the post:

If you’re going to note that you have 8 years’ experience in the Secretary of State’s office towards the top of your list, and highlight “election integrity,” you probably shouldn’t violate South Dakota campaign finance law regarding disclaimers on campaign material. Because it doesn’t have one.

It doesn't get much better than that.

Related posts:

 

• MN SOS: Secretary of State Steve Simon announces Minnesota Election Facts Webpage
• MN Reformer: Kim Crockett must be shunned
• MN Reformer: Republican Party of Minnesota endorses election denier to oversee elections
• MNGOP endorsed secretary of state candidate's election ignorance pairs well with past racism
• GOP SOS candidate we scolded for racism, incompetence gets antisemitism added
• Westrom wouldn't talk to local reporter about why he attended sketchy election fraud event 

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. 

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Rocks and Cows' Facebook post author Carol Hexum walks back anti-LGBTQ rally frame

On Friday we posted Fergus Falls Pride: GOP Senate primary challenger Miller schedules anti-LGBQT event, leading with a Facebook post by the extreme-edge group, Rocks and Cows of Minnesota. We also noted coverage in the Fergus Falls Journal, Events prompt concern: Political rally and religious gathering occur next to Pride drag show.

We post our screenshot of that post at the head of this article since Rocks and Cows has walked back its characterization of the rally. Here's that narrative.

The next day, the Journal reported a different narrative in Peaceful coexistence: Event hosts encourage amicable gatherings:

. . . A social media post in support of the political rally occurring at Dr. Allen Magnuson Park on Saturday evening at 5 p.m. is reported to have misrepresented the purpose of the gathering.

In the social media group Rocks and Cows of Minnesota, which shared the flyer for the political rally, it was stated: “We’ve heard that the LGBQT movement are stirred up because of the event. Hope to see many of you there to stand up for our children against their agenda.”

The post, written by Carol Hexum, has been edited to state: “WE will go live on “Rocks and Cows of MN”. Hope to see many of you there to stand up for our children.”

Hexum clarified that the intention of the post was not to create conflict. “It was never about the event across the street (drag show),” she explained. “We can coexist, as long they don’t force their agenda on others.”

The rally’s purpose, as shared by Miller, is to bring the community together in unity to address the loss of innocence of children due to human sex trafficking and sexuality being “pushed on kids way too young,” specially within the school system.

As for the close vicinity of their event with the two others occurring that evening, Miller shared that their event is not being held at the same time as the others and that the location and date were not chosen due to the other events.

Addressing the concern over undesirable behavior being displayed on Saturday night, Miller stated: “Violence is never the intention and not the goal at all. It never should be ... Allowing emotion to rule the day is not wise. Whatever side of the events that are going on, everyone should allow themselves to be wise and have some discernment and be willing to have a conversation.”

The flyer for the event lists Dr. Jeffrey Horak and Debbie Kaminski as speakers, though they have gone on the record to share that they will not be speaking due to personal reasons.

Well okay then.

Here's the Facebook video of the event. Both Miller and his wife feel victimized by the media, education, identity politics and the like. Oh the agendas. Miller's into the "groomer" narrative against sex education.

It's a kinder, gentler homophobia.

And don't get us started on the sheriff's candidate, who brings up the issue of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women + Relatives, without noting that under the leadership of native women legislators, Minnesota is moving to address the issue.

Rocks, Cows, and Hexums

Carol Hexum and her husband Merle would never force their agenda on others, as we can learn from media accounts of earlier events in which they've been involved. 

Last year, Karen Tolkkinen reported for the Forum News Service in Protesters caravan to voice discontent with Gov. Tim Walz:

The "Spirit of 1776" caravan rolled into the quiet streets of Ottertail at 4 p.m., right on schedule.

In response to the planned appearance of Gov. Tim Walz at the Governor's Fishing Opener in Otter Tail County, a group gathered to voice their unhappiness with the Minnesota governor.

A group of about 60 protesters gathered outside the Detroit Lakes Pavilion on Saturday, May 15, with plans to caravan through Becker and Otter Tail counties to Thumper Pond on Otter Tail Lake, where most of the Governor's Fishing Opener activity was taking place.

About 65 trucks, cars, and motorcycles flying gigantic American flags passed Thumper Pond Resort where Walz had spent the night, then continued, lights on and horns blaring, into the old part of Ottertail.

Two people wearing "Rocks and Cows" sweatshirts waited on the sidewalks for them and waved and cheered as they rolled into town. The phrase is part of a quote from Walz that Republicans have seized as an indication that he doesn't care about rural Minnesota. . . .

“We love our country, and we don’t like the direction it’s heading to. We like capitalism. We like freedom. We don’t like government mandates, government telling us what to do, government taking out money," Merle Hexum, one of the organizers of the caravan said before it started rolling. "We’re just frustrated with it all.”

Hexum said they planned the event for later in the day to catch people coming off the lakes and into the towns. But it was too late to catch the attention of the governor, who had spent Friday in Otter Tail County and left for St. Paul early Saturday. In the crowd, some grumbled that Walz had left Ottertail so early. . . .

Committee chairman Erik Osberg said he was aware of the protest, and that law enforcement was prepared in case protesters circled the governor in boats.

However, he felt that the event was relatively untouched by the protests.

"I don't feel like it affect our events at all," he said.

Although protesters criticized the governor for leaving after fishing, Osberg said the governor had spent all Friday in Otter Tail County, touring Lund Boats and other local businesses.

"I went into this weekend prepared for the worst and hoping for the best, and I think we came out on the best side," he said.

See? Totally the best.  In an April letter, Democrat or Republican?, Mr. Hexum trashed Jordan Rasmusson as a RINO (Republican in Name Only (RINO), just before the Senate District 9 Republican convention overwhelmingly endorsed the Republican state representative. 

Why do we get the impression that Rasmusson will win the primary?

Screengrab: The original Rocks and Cows spin on Saturday's rally.

Related posts:

• Dueling letters in GOP Senate District 9 contest make us understand why Westrom's moving
•  MN08: Bill Ingebrigtsen to retire; Representative Mary Franson won't seek senate office
•  Minnesota House rep Jordan Rasmusson to run for senate following Ingebrigtsen retirement
•  Nornes retiring from MN House; young private equity guy may save Fergus Falls from socialism 
• No disclaimer: Wardlow, Skraba, SL Co sheriff candidate speaking at Ely 2000 Mules showing

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View from the Coteau: a tale of two states in the wake of SCOTUS's Dobbs v. Jackson decision

It seems a cruel irony to read the headline in the Mitchell Republic, Abortion illegal in South Dakota due to Supreme Court ruling; special session of Legislature planned, after watching talks collapse for a special session to resolve unfinished budget and tax relief issues in Minnesota.

Heckova view from here in the Sisseton hills. But for all its faults, reproductive rights are still legal in Minnesota. We recommend a Star Tribune feature, Current and former Minnesotans remember life before Roe v. Wade.

But back to South Dakota. Jeremy Fugleberg reports at the Republic:

Abortions are now a crime in South Dakota, after a Supreme Court ruling Friday , June 24, triggered a state ban. A special session of the state Legislature will be called later this year to enact further abortion laws.

The Supreme Court's 6-3 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson reversed the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision , opening the door for states to decide abortion access for themselves. The ruling was widely expected in the wake of a draft of the decision leaked in May.

South Dakota is one of 13 states with a "trigger" law that would ban abortion in the state if the Supreme Court ever overturned Roe. North Dakota's trigger law bans abortion in the state within 30 days of Roe being overturned.

After the ruling, Gov. Kristi Noem and South Dakota legislative leaders on Friday said they plan to now plan to call a special session of the Legislature to consider additional laws regarding abortion.

“Every abortion always had two victims: the unborn child and the mother. Today’s decision will save unborn lives in South Dakota, but there is more work to do,” said Noem in a statement. “We must do what we can to help mothers in crisis know that there are options and resources available for them. Together, we will ensure that abortion is not only illegal in South Dakota — it is unthinkable.”

Current state law now decrees that providing an abortion is a felony — punishable by up to two years in prison and a $4,000 fine — except when needed to save the life of a pregnant woman.

Jamie Smith, the House minority leader and Democratic gubernatorial candidate, responded to the news on Twitter guessing what legislation Noem might propose.

"As I’ve said from the beginning: we have to respect the will of SD voters. The Roe decision will likely prompt an attempt by Kristi Noem to completely ban abortion in SD," he said. "We’ve voted on this issue twice and decided both times that some access should remain. Reason must prevail."

Abortions haven't been available in the state since mid-June, when Planned Parenthood told the Sioux Falls Argus Leader newspaper its clinic in Sioux Falls was had paused the provision of abortions in anticipation of the Supreme Court decision. The clinic was the only place in the state to get an abortion.  . . .

Fugleberg also mentions this Noem project, which we first learned about from Arielle Zionts, rural health reporter for Kaiser Health News:

Press release: The South Dakota govt. has launched a website that “helps mothers and their babies before birth and after by providing resources for pregnancy, new parents, financial assistance, and adoption.”https://t.co/2jhvjFo9gN

This must have been in the works for a while. pic.twitter.com/irtDjaxtc4

— Arielle Zionts (@Ajzionts) June 24, 2022

There's more about that in the Argus Leader article by Symmone Gauer, Gov. Noem launches 'Life' website with pregnancy, new parent resources:

On the same day the Supreme Court of the United States ruled to turn back abortion rights to be determined by states, Gov. Kristi Noem has launched a new website to help women and families by providing resources for pregnancy, new parents, financial assistance and adoption. 

The website, Life.SD.gov., comes after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday, which triggered South Dakota's anti-abortion law into effect and making abortion essentially illegal in the state.

“In South Dakota, we value life. But being pro-life doesn’t just mean caring about the unborn. It also means getting moms the help they need to be successful,” Noem stated in a press release.

The website lists help centers, government programs and links to frequently asked questions and childcare tips.

“We’re launching Life.SD.gov to give women the resources they need to navigate pregnancy, birth, parenting and adoption, if they choose," Noem said.

One other option's been scrutinized in South Dakota. On Thursday, Zionts examined the suggestion--coming largely from non-indigenous people without connections to native communities--that sovereign indigenous reservations might offer abortion services. She tweeted:

My story on this question/request from non-Native people based on interviews with three Indigenous abortion advocates: https://t.co/K8Y6gIWvBg https://t.co/3kLX6tb2wz

— Arielle Zionts (@Ajzionts) June 24, 2022

Given that the Indian Health Service doesn't ordinarily serve tribal citizen's family members who are non-Indian (COVID vaccines were a common-sense exception), this notion seemed far-fetched from our perspective on the Lake Traverse Reservation. The Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate's Tribal Council rightly is shaping its own development and infrastructure plans based on its citizens' needs, our partner tells me after attending the council's meeting these last two days. 

Back to that special session in Pierre. At the Argus Leader, Joe Sneve and Jonathan Ellis report in Gov. Kristi Noem to call lawmakers back to Pierre as South Dakota's abortion ban triggered:

. . .But just as the abortion debate has gripped the nation for decades, the high court's Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health decision, which ruled that the Court in 1973 crafted policy in the Roe decision, not everyone is gleeful about Friday's ruling. That includes Democratic lawmakers who will attempt to minimize the erosion of abortion access for South Dakotans.

Rep. Erin Healy, a Democratic whip in the South Dakota House of Representatives, told the Argus Leader that "women and families in difficult positions are going to be stripped of the choices and the body autonomy they once had," and that more monumental changes to legal standards could be in the pipeline.

"Ultimately, this decision means women are going to die. This decision is not pro life," she said. "Make no mistake, the Supreme Court will be stripping LGBTQ rights and birth control access next."

South Dakota House Minority Leader Jamie Smith, the Sioux Falls Democrat also challenging Noem in her re-election bid, said the fall of Roe has made it "a tough day" for millions of people.

And in South Dakota, the new prohibition defies "the will of the people," he said, noting voters in the Mount Rushmore State have on multiple occasions used the ballot box to preserve abortion access.  

Unless it's the intention of Noem and GOP lawmakers to repeal the trigger law, a special session is not necessary either, Smith said.

"It would be irresponsible for us to have a special session. It’s a waste of money," said the 51-year-old former educator. "To me, it’s to score political points at this point, and that’s not what we should be about." . . .

It's been another hot humid day, and we're headed out for supper. Take care of yourselves and each other.

Photo: The Planned Parenthood health clinic in Sioux Falls, which quit taking appointment for abortion earlier this month in anticipation of the Supreme Court decision. It no longer offers this service. Credit: Jeremy Fugleberg, Forum News Services.

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. 

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Fergus Falls Pride: GOP Senate primary challenger Miller schedules anti-LGBQT event

With the Republican Party scorn of anti-unity primary bids by Jeremy Munson in the first congressional district and Doug Wardlow in the state Attorney General race, you'd think endorsed candidates wouldn't be encouraging renegade candidates in other districts.

Not so for endorsed Republican Minnesota Senate District 17 candidate Glenn Gruenhagen, Glencoe. During the 2013 marriage equality debate in the Minnesota House, the notoriously anti-gay Gruenhagen said Homosexuality is a 'sexual addiction, Baird Helgeson reported in the Star Tribune.

When the Rocks and Cows of Minnesota shared the Saturday, June 25 event poster at the top of this post, it noted:

WE will go live on “Rocks and Cows of MN”. We’ve heard that the LGBQT movement are stirred up because of the event. Hope to see many of you there to stand up for our children against their agenda.

Gruenhagen replied:

This looks like a great event! I’m sorry I can’t be there due to activities in our district that day. Hope you have a great turnout!

The disclaimer on the poster notes that the event is "Prepared and Paid for by the Miller for SD9 Committee." A resident of rural Battle Lake, Nathan Miller is challenging Republican endorsed candidate Jordan Rasmusson, Fergus Falls. Rasmusson has served in the Minnesota House with Gruenhagen, though neither that nor party endorsement can keep Gruenhagen away from a hating-on-the-gay gathering.

 

Only his own campaign to the south can do that.

 

More on the folks in the pictures (they've cancelled) below in an article in the Fergus Falls Journal. Of the other two, Shegitu Kebede is founder of Women at the Well International, a humanitarian organization aiming to improve the livelihood of refugees; the Marshall Independent reported earlier this year that she had shared her story as an Ethiopian refugee to a couple of Republican gatherings in the Seventh District.

 

Officer Joey Geiszler is running for Otter Tail County Sheriff. According to his Facebook page, he's got a Human/sex trafficking awareness talk scheduled at 6:15 in the park.

 

Nathan Miller on Drag Shows

 

Readers needn't take Rocks and Cows' branding of this event as gospel. Below the poster (and a pro-coal video) on his own page, Miller shares these thoughts:

If you have "Republican" Representation that is unwilling, scared of or not concerned about the identity crisis in the country, then it is time for a change. Those RINO's are a detriment to the next generation and the soul of our nation. I post this news article with a heavy heart and anger for what we have allowed to happen to the youth of this State. Take a look at a Duluth night club celebrating the transgender and drag lifestyle with children, disgusting! The article is disturbing but the video I would strongly recommend no one under 18 watch it.

He provides a link to an Alpha News article to stoke the horror.

Fergus Falls complications

Bluestem readers can learn about more about the rumpus Rocks and Cows implies in James Allen and Heather Kantrud's article in the Fergus Falls Daily Journal, Events prompt concern: Political rally and religious gathering occur next to Pride drag show:

Local law enforcement is monitoring what could potentially be a contentious situation with different groups converging near downtown Fergus Falls on June 25, in the direct vicinity of a Fergus Pride event.

A political rally, with supporters calling the event “Save Our Children, Save Our Future,” will feature Senate District 9 Republican candidate Nathan Miller. 

The rally is scheduled to start at 5 p.m. in the newly christened Dr. Allen Magnusson Memorial Park, formerly NP Park on Cascade Street, which will be directly across the street from the Steel Wheels Drag Show being held in conjunction with Fergus Pride at 8 p.m. that evening.

In a flyer being distributed on social media, the rally mission statement is “If we won’t stand in the gap for our children, their identity, dignity and innocence will be stolen."

The flyer also listed former Lake Region Healthcare surgeon Dr. Jeffrey Horak and Debbie Kaminski, MA, as speakers, but Kaminski confirmed that both she and Horak will no longer be presenting at the event. 

At the time of publication, Daily Journal staff had been unable to make contact with Miller regarding the rally.

When Kaminski was asked if this rally was part of Miller's political campaign, prior to the announcement that she and Horak would not be speaking, she responded with, "I'm assuming so." 

We think the disclaimer at the bottom of the flyer is a dead giveaway. There's also a prayer meeting at a nearby coffee shop, the Journal reports:

An additional event, being billed as “An Evening of Praise and Worship” will take place at the Higher Grounds Coffee Shop and, according to social media posts, will begin at 6:30 p.m. and “will go as long as it takes.”

Kimberly Bolinske, owner of Higher Grounds, which is not generally open in the evenings, shared that she hosted similar events since opening the doors, but they were halted due to COVID-19 and were now starting up again. Previously, the events were hosted on Thursday evenings.  

Bolinske, despite being listed on social media as a host of the event, declined knowledge of the promotion of the evening via a Facebook event. 

The cohost of the Facebook event, Stacy Kerwin, declined to share details about the event, stating "we are not looking for attention."

Jordan Gulbranson of Alexandria, has been vocal on social media regarding the event, sharing the event, flyers and posting a video regarding the event at Higher Grounds, who he does advertising for.

Gulbranson stated, "There is a gay pride event going on," and "we want to have a prophetic prayer and worship Holy Spirit night." He later stated, "We're going to see some things change."  

Gulbranson shared with Daily Journal that he has been working with Bolinske on putting the event together and shared that there would be a lady coming for worship and two pastors coming to speak. He was unable to provide names or topics of conversation for the event.

Within a few hours before our writing, Bolinske posted this screengrab:

 As for the concerns of the Fergus Pride committee, the reporters continue:

With the Fergus Pride Steel Wheels Drag Show the first event on the schedule and political and religious happenings occurring next door and across the street, numerous members of the Fergus Pride committee understandably shared safety concerns due to an established pattern of violence regarding Pride events worldwide, which is when law enforcement became involved.

Fergus Falls Police Department Captain Terry Eldien said that they are prepared in the case that law enforcement is necessary.

“We are aware of the events that are occurring and we do not anticipate any major problems. If there are any criminal acts that occur between individuals they will be dealt with immediately and properly,” said Eldien.

In the case a safety concern or emergency arises in any scenario, calls to 911 are the swiftest course of action. 

 As for the Drag Show, here's a poster at the Eventbrite page for the happening:

Dining Car #423 / Steel Wheels' Facebook page, touts the establishment as a place to "to sample artisan foods, craft beers, ciders, wines, martinis and prohibition cocktails" in a building is on the National Register of Historic Places.

We're hoping folks who attend any one of the three events in Fergus Falls enjoy their nights out--and that Nelson's attention-seeking rally is also attended by deer flies. 

Images: From Fergus Falls area events.

Related posts:

• Dueling letters in GOP Senate District 9 contest make us understand why Westrom's moving
•  MN08: Bill Ingebrigtsen to retire; Representative Mary Franson won't seek senate office
•  Minnesota House rep Jordan Rasmusson to run for senate following Ingebrigtsen retirement
•  Nornes retiring from MN House; young private equity guy may save Fergus Falls from socialism 
• No disclaimer: Wardlow, Skraba, SL Co sheriff candidate speaking at Ely 2000 Mules showing

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Aaron Brown essay: From Mesaba Energy to Foxconn, boondoggles light money on fire

This essay by Aaron Brown, first published by the Minnesota Reformer, is a great read for students of Minnesota political history and everyone else.

Bluestem's not quite sure why it brings to mind non-Range "investments" like carbon capture and sequestration projects and such, but what do we know.

From Mesaba Energy to Foxconn, boondoggles light money on fire
by Aaron Brown

An old friend in Iron Range politics once said it was easier to get people riled up about $25,000 in wasted taxpayer money than $10 million. “Twenty-five grand is a pickup truck,” he told me. “Ten million is incomprehensible.”

Pickups cost $50,000 now — more if you want your butt warmed while you idle in the drive-thru — but the point remains. Some consider a mother buying juice boxes with food stamps wasteful spending, but shrug at multi-millions to sustain ambiguous development schemes.

This phenomenon creates perfect conditions to grow a boondoggle. 

Boondoggles are as old as time — think of the Devil himself — but the origin story of the word “boondoggle” is 90 years old, arising during President Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. A government program built a factory that made neckerchief slides, sometimes called boondoggles, to create jobs.

Boondoggles are magical projects that turn sketchy, unnecessary, or self-serving concepts into perfectly legitimate activities. In the world of boondoggles, nothing is too outlandish. Think of how the Pendergast political machine of Kansas City paved a river to appease loyal workers and business interests in 1935. It was supposed to help prevent flooding, but actually made flooding worse.

Today, these kinds of projects garner support from Democrats and Republicans, which sometimes makes boondoggles the only things that can pass gridlocked state legislatures or Congress. 

Boondoggles promise jobs, which builds excitement with unions and local governments. Other developers see opportunities to gain secondary returns. And, just like how carbon monoxide mimics oxygen as it suffocates, boondoggles often seem like genuine progress, re-electing officials even as the local economy dies. 

Existentially, boondoggles convey the notion that the world’s problems are easy to solve; it just takes money and blind faith in the people asking for the money.

Admittedly, one of the problems with boondoggles is that they are subject to interpretation. One person’s boondoggle might be the cornerstone of another person’s entire belief system. For instance, detractors might describe ethanol, public transit, infrastructure, clean energy or even the United States military as boondoggles. But real boondoggles are much more specific. 

Let me share an example of a boondoggle I’ve covered. It’s an idea that has cost $41 million in taxpayer dollars over two decades, but still hasn’t produced a product. 

With a name like ‘Excelsior’ …

In 2001, LTV Steel announced the closure of its taconite mine in Hoyt Lakes. Looking back, we can mark this moment as a historical turning point, the high-water mark for mining employment in the Taconite Age. It was — or should have been — the moment we realized that mining alone would never restore the economic and political strength of the Mesabi Iron Range.

But among the many diversification ideas that state and local governments could have pursued, one emerged as the definitive favorite among the local political establishment, then dominated by the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. A newly formed company called Excelsior Energy proposed something called the Mesaba Energy Project.

Originally, the Mesaba Energy Project was to be a coal gasification power plant near the LTV site. Its principals were Tom Micheletti and his wife Julie Jorgensen, both energy industry lawyers and lobbyists seeking to build their own company. 

Micheletti was a high school hockey star from Hibbing. He was friendly with the Range DFL political establishment and had a history with Minnesota Power. The narrative was compelling: hometown boy wants to create jobs on the Range.

In 2001, the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board, a public agency known as the IRRRB, first loaned $1.5 million to the project for planning. Two years later, they loaned another $8 million to advance the project. The loans were highly flexible, preserving several options to delay payback. Indeed, they’re still unpaid.

Excelsior moved the project from Hoyt Lakes to a site near Taconite in Itasca County, citing land issues and proximity to coal. In fact, the entire Mesabi Range is geologically unsuitable for carbon capture and sequestration technology, so they actually suggested building a pipeline for coal slurry to be shipped back to North Dakota.

Even so, had Excelsior Energy promised a significant investment to build their power plant, none of this would be all that noteworthy. It might even have been great news, at least if you accept the efficacy of this specific kind of “clean coal” technology. (Scientists are increasingly skeptical.) 

But Micheletti and Jorgensen founded their company on a $60,000 personal investment, less than most people pay for a starter house. Instead of a big private investment by the owners, the Mesaba Energy Project hinged on a two-step political parlay with the state Legislature and Public Utilities Commission. 

The company hoped to pass a law mandating that existing utilities buy electricity from a Minnesota-based “innovative energy project.” The same law would designate their proposal as such a project. All that would remain was a rubber stamp from the PUC.

This meant that a company founded on money borrowed from Minnesota’s mining tax dollars would be capitalized on the back of a state law requiring customers to do business with them. Quite a lift. That’s why the company employed several dozen lobbyists through the mid-2000s — and zero millwrights.

Years later, the Office of the Legislative Auditor investigated how Excelsior Energy spent the original IRRRB loans. It was against the rules for them to spend the money on lobbying, but the auditor found that it was impossible to say exactly how the money was spent. Most of it went to high-profile Twin Cities law firms for unspecified work. Many of these firms employ lobbyists, but good luck proving that’s where the money went. 

Thanks to the efforts of these lobbyists, DFL legislators and conference committee heroics by Iron Range State Sens. Tom Bakk and David Tomassoni, Excelsior got its bill. Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed it. They then got another $10 million in state grants, which led to another hefty boost from GOP U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, who paved the way for a large federal grant to explore their new technology. 

Excelsior Energy eventually turned their $60,000 investment into $41 million in public funding for legal fees, office expenses, personal reimbursements, and salaries. Unfortunately for them, the state PUC shot down the requirement that mandated the purchase of power from Excelsior. 

Live and die by the Gucci loafer: Lobbyists and lawyers from bigger companies like Xcel and Minnesota Power proved to be the scheme’s undoing. They argued that Excelsior’s power would be so expensive they’d have to raise rates. (And then, many years later, they would raise rates anyway.)

When Excelsior’s original loans came due in 2011, the company changed its tune. They would no longer build a coal plant, but rather a natural gas power plant. This admission was enough to get their loans re-extended until 2019. But, in a stealth action that received no reporting at the time, a provision extending them another six years was added to a bill in 2017.

The company address now points to a ritzy storage facility in New Hope. Micheletti is retired and Jorgensen is selling solar farm technology to municipal customers.

Their loan with the IRRRB will come due again in 2025. The original papers are old enough to drink, and certainly would if they could. None of the elected officials who advanced the project will be in office when that day comes. Everybody involved enjoyed long, fruitful careers.

Foxconned

Boondoggles are by no means confined to northern Minnesota’s Iron Range region, a place that has been accused of relying on them for more than a century.

Wisconsin’s efforts to attract the Taiwanese manufacturer Foxconn to a site near Racine drew enormous attention. Under the original 2017 proposal, Foxconn would put $10 billion into a factory complex in the Badger State in exchange for a gobsmacking $3 billion state incentive package. More than 13,000 jobs were promised. 

The Foxconn deal was the darling of former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and then-President Donald Trump. Whatever the project’s actual merits, it became a widely touted Republican talking point attesting to American manufacturing’s return to glory days under Trump.

But reality proved underwhelming. Foxconn hedged on its investment even as the massive public costs drew increasing scrutiny. Walker’s 2018 defeat in his bid for re-election could be at least partially attributed to the Foxconn flop. 

Today, Foxconn does operate a factory in Wisconsin, but much smaller in scope. The company investment and employment each total about 10% of the original proposal. 

Invincible mystery

Foxconn might be an example of a boondoggle designed for short-term political gain that simply asked too much of human credulity. We’ll never know how serious the original $10 billion proposal was. In fact, the mystery surrounding boondoggles is one of their most effective defense mechanisms.

People on the Great Plains are watching that happen right now. Earlier this year, an undisclosed company sought more than $1 billion in public subsidies to build a factory in Kansas. The catch? No one could know the name of the company or any specific details without signing a non-disclosure agreement. Legislators voting on the subsidies could learn more, but only if they signed an NDA. 

Some lawmakers did this; others refused. But the NDAs prevented those who knew the details from discussing the project with those who had not. This included fellow lawmakers and even the constituents who had elected these officials. This turned public debate on the project into a farce. 

Meantime, the same thing was happening in Oklahoma, where the legislature and governor authorized up to $700 million for an unnamed factory. Ultimately, the big secret turned out to be a Panasonic plant to build batteries for Tesla. The company was playing the two states off of one another, and in fact continues to do so, having yet to decide where to locate.

All of these projects share a common strategy that is becoming ubiquitous in American economic life. While socialism remains a dirty word when it comes to benefits for the broader population, developers and corporations expect those benefits as established policy. The public takes the risk, while the private sector later reaps the profits. 

Stolen hope

Almost 40 years ago, Rudy Perpich, Minnesota’s only governor to hail from the Mesabi Iron Range, was lambasted for a $3 million incentive deal that created an ill-fated chopsticks factory in Perpich’s hometown of Hibbing. To this day, you will hear seasoned political hands on both sides of the aisle laughing about the folly of the Iron Range chopsticks factory.

This only demonstrates how boondoggles have evolved. In terms of dollars, that project was a comparatively small public investment.  And at least the chopsticks factory was actually built and, for a time, produced by-God chopsticks. (Albeit inferior ones, rejected by East Asian consumers.) Such earnestness in the business of boondoggling harkens a bygone era.

But do not lose sight of the true cost of boondoggles like the Mesaba Energy Project, Foxconn or their ilk. Yes, they waste vast amounts of taxpayer money. But worse, they steal time, energy and hope from a society that desperately needs real solutions to our most challenging problems.

This perhaps best illustrates the point that lasting economic development begins in the community and is better compared to gardening than to dropping a prosperity bomb. It also suggests that if helping people is the end goal, we might try investing in them directly, rather than letting the funding first pass through the kidneys — often diseased — of the well-connected.

Aaron J. Brown is an author, community college instructor and radio producer from Northern Minnesota’s Iron Range. Read his blog Minnesota Brown.

Photo: Who could have foreseen? Foxconn groundbreaking in June 2018, when the company was going to build high-tech flat screens. White House photo. via Minnesota Reformer.

This article is republished from the Minnesota Reformer, under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.  If you appreciate the Reformer stories we repost, consider donating to the publication.

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