Mar 25, 2025

CURE wants 45Q tax credit gone; Iowa state representative calls on Summit Carbon Solutions to pull ethanol carbon pipeline application

A day doesn't go by without a development in the upper Midwest ethanol carbon pipeline saga.

And it's not just the populist insurrection here in South Dakota.

Last week, the grassroots Montevideo-based organization CURE posted CO2 Pipeline Resistance to Congress: Cut the Waste, Repeal 45Q, documenting a trip to Washington SC to try to pull the carbon out of the federal tax credit profiteers:

Last week, I traveled to the Capitol with a small but determined group of Minnesotans: landowners, farmers, and community members who are experiencing the threats posed by the carbon capture industry. We didn’t just come for a photo op; we came with a message for Congress: it’s time to end the reckless and wasteful tax breaks to the carbon capture industry.

The 45Q tax credit – a multi-billion-dollar handout to fossil fuel companies —has driven a surge of proposed carbon pipelines across rural America.* On paper, these projects promise climate solutions. In reality, they’re another way for big corporations to rake in public dollars from projects that put rural peoples’ land, water, and safety at risk. . . .

Read the rest on CURE's blog.

From Washington DC to Des Moines, Iowa, where the Republican Legislative Intervenors for Justice held a press conference to defend property rights.

From Iowa Capital Dispatch.

Rep. Charley Thomson calls on Summit to withdraw pipeline application
by Cami Koons

Republican lawmaker Rep. Charley Thomson, at a press conference Monday, called on Summit Carbon Solutions to withdraw its already-approved permit application to build a carbon sequestration pipeline through Iowa. 

The Republican Legislative Intervenors for Justice, consisting of more than 40 Iowa lawmakers, gathered for a press conference about their continued fight against what the group alleges are “unconstitutional” attacks on Iowa property rights. 

The group formed in June 2023 and has sued the Iowa Utilities Commission for its decision to grant a permit to the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline, which would span more than 1,000 miles in Iowa to transport liquid carbon dioxide from ethanol plants to underground storage in North Dakota. 

The IUC approved Summit’s permit in June, on the condition that the company secure permits in North Dakota, South Dakota and Minnesota. 

Officials in North Dakota and Minnesota approved the pipeline routes through their states, but Summit requested a pause in proceedings for its application in South Dakota, following the recent passage of a law that blocks the company from condemning agricultural land for the project. 

“I’m calling today for Summit to withdraw their petition from the IUC,” Thomson, of Charles City, said at the press conference. “Now that we’ve seen what South Dakota has done with their view on eminent domain, there’s no basis under the current IUC order to proceed.” 

A spokesperson for the commission said in a statement to Iowa Capital Dispatch, that the South Dakota law did “not affect the validity of the permit already granted” for the project. 

Thomson said the IUC’s initial decision to grant the permit did not comply with Iowa law, nor the constitution. 

“Iowans have a tradition of very clean government — this is not clean government,” Thomson said. 

A spokesperson for Summit Carbon Solutions said the IUC reviewed the project “thoroughly” after “years of public input, regulatory review, and strong support from farmers, landowners, ethanol producers, and business leaders across the state.”

“We respect the role of elected officials in the policymaking process and remain focused on delivering a project that supports Iowa agriculture, ethanol, and national energy dominance,” the spokesperson said, asked about Thomson’s request.

Thomson also pointed to a proposed rule from Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, or PHMSA, on CO2 pipelines, which he said “confirmed” that “it’s not the same risk to have a carbon dioxide pipeline running through your land as it is for natural gas.” 

“It’s far riskier,” Thomson said. 

Rep. Cindy Golding said she fears the South Dakota law, and Summit’s request for a stay on the proceedings in the state, will lead Iowans to think the project “is done.” 

“This has not gone away,” Golding said. “It’s still hanging over your head.” 

This session representatives put forward a number of bills pertaining to eminent domain and CO2 pipeline regulations. Rep. Steven Holt  said the bills might be combined into one or two bills to fit the time constraints of the session.

Last week, Democratic Senator Tony Bisignano introduced an amendment to the resolution on Senate rules that would have allowed a majority to force a Senate floor vote on a bill. Bisignano noted the Senate’s history of not debating pipeline related bills in his arguments for the amendment, which was defeated 30-18.

Sen. Dennis Guth, said he voted against the amendment in favor of a commitment he made with Sen. Mike Bousselot, R-Ankeny, to advance some of the eminent domain bills through the Senate. 

“I apologize to those that are disappointed, because I think if I had to do over again, I would have changed my vote,” Guth said at the press conference.

Sen. Lynn Evans from Aurelia said he’s not sure the effort from the Democrats was a “genuine” effort to fight for property rights, and noted that no one from the other side of the aisle was in the room.

“If they want to join us in this fight, this is an official invitation, that they can join us and stand shoulder to shoulder with us,” Evans said. 

Sen. Cherielynn Westrich and the rest of the group applauded the pipeline fighters who show up at the Iowa Capitol every Tuesday to voice their opposition to the pipeline. “We see you, we hear you, and we’re fighting for you,” Westrich said. 

Kathy Carter, a landowner and regular pipeline opponent at the Capitol said landowners are “exhausted.” 

“You tell us to continue to pursue with the senators, which we have been continually doing,” Carter said. “I’m not sure what else we can do, but we’re not going to give up.” 

Photo: Republican lawmakers applaud landowners whom they have worked with in opposition to a proposed carbon sequestration pipeline. From left, Rep. Eddie Andrews, Sen. Dennis Guth, Sen. Cherielynn Westrich, Rep. Charley Thomson. (Photo by Cami Koons/Iowa Capital Dispatch).

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Posted by on Mar 25, 2025 at 10:11 AM | | Comments (0)

Jeremy Giefer's jail sentence for sexual misconduct with minor affirmed by appeals court

Nicolletcountycourthouse

Over the years, Bluestem Prairie has posted about the criminal troubles of Jeremy Alan Giefer, most recently of St. Peter.

At the Mankato Free Press, Brian Arola reports in St. Peter man's conviction for sexual misconduct affirmed by appeals court:

ST. PETER — Appeals court judges on Monday upheld a St. Peter man’s jail sentence for sexual misconduct with a minor in 2021.

Jeremy Alan Giefer, 51, received a 150-day sentence in jail, minus 39 days credited to him, in March 2024, after a judge found him guilty of second-degree criminal sexual conduct in a bench trial in Nicollet County District Court. He had a 36-month prison sentence stayed for 15 years while he serves on supervised probation.

The case stemmed from accusations by a 13-year-old girl, who told police Giefer inappropriately touched her at his residence.

Giefer was previously convicted of sexually assaulting a minor when he was 19 years old in 1994. Gov. Tim Pawlenty pardoned him in 2008.

In 2010 a girl accused Giefer of sexually abusing her starting when she was 9-10 years old, but she later recanted and Giefer was never convicted in that case.

In his appeal of the 2024 conviction, Giefer argued the state failed to prove he acted with sexual or aggressive intent beyond a reasonable doubt. . . .

Here's the ruling (contains graphic language)

STATE OF MINNESOTA IN COURT OF APPEALS A24-0521 State of Minnesota, Respondent, vs. Jeremy Alan Gi... uploaded by Sally Jo Sorensen on Scribd

Bear in mind that Giefer is out on probation.

Photo: The Nicollet County Courthouse in St. Peter, MN, where Giefer was mostly recently convicted.

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Posted by on Mar 25, 2025 at 08:54 AM | | Comments (0)

Mar 24, 2025

While a flurry of contenders seek empty MN Senate seat, prosecutors say Eichorn lied about access to firearms, tried to hide laptop

There's a flurry of new filings for the Minnesota state senate seating left vacant by the resignation of former lawmaker Justin Eichorn, while Eichorn himself seems to have gotten himself in more trouble since his arrest, as the Minnesota Reformer article republished below reports.

A talented boy, that one.

I noted last week in an update to Justin Eichorn resigns from Senate following federal charge; LeClaire to seek Senate 6 seat that Keri Heintzeman, wife of Nisswa Republican House member Josh Heintzeman, was seeking the office, as well as DFLer Emily LeClaire.

Since then, there's news of additional contenders. The Brainerd Dispatch reported  Josh Gazelka joins race for Senate District 6 seat on March 21. Yup, that's former Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka's son.

Numerous sources report that the former MNGOP state chair and current mayor of Nisswa has declared her candidacy in Jennifer Carnahan announces campaign for Eichorn’s seat in Senate District 6. A paragraph in the KSTP article:

. . .Carnahan resigned as Minnesota GOP Chair in 2021 after Anton “Tony” Lazarro, whom she had close ties with, was federally charged with child sex trafficking. Lazarro was a prominent fundraiser and donor for the state’s Republican party. . . .

That makes me wonder if voters will elect to honor Eichorn's legacy?

But there's hope. Today's Brainerd Dispatch reports that there's another Republican contender with Cotariu announces candidacy for Minnesota Senate District 6. 

Update 4:36: In Former Minn. GOP chair Jennifer Carnahan, others enter race to replace former Sen. Justin Eichorn, Ryan Faircloth and Allison Kite add these GOP contenders to the: ". . .Angel Zierden, . . . John Howe and Doug Kern. .. " [end update]

Bluestem thinks the candidacy of the "West Point graduate, U.S. Army veteran and accomplished businessman" has everything to keep the Republican contender in the special election from being the political equivalent of an ingrown toenail, but I won't be holding my breath.

From the Minnesota Reformer.

Prosecutors say Eichorn lied about access to firearms, tried to hide laptop
by Madison McVan

Prosecutors are asking a federal judge to reconsider the pretrial release of former state Sen. Justin Eichorn — facing a charge of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor — after Eichorn allegedly attempted to conceal evidence.

Eichorn was arrested on March 17 after arranging to pay for sex with a person he believed to be a 17-year-old girl, but who was actually an undercover Bloomington police officer, according to federal charging documents. He resigned from his Senate seat a few days after his arrest.

At his first court appearance Thursday, a federal judge ordered Eichorn to be released from jail under a long list of conditions. Eichorn was expected to be released to a halfway house on Tuesday.

After Thursday’s hearing, prosecutors say they learned additional information that warrants Eichorn staying in jail until his trial.

According to the federal prosecutors: Eichorn made phone calls from jail to an unnamed woman — referred to as “Individual A” in the court documents — apparently arranging for the woman to pick up a laptop from Eichorn’s St. Paul apartment, where he lived during the legislative session. The woman lives in Eichorn’s hometown of Grand Rapids and is described as a “close associate” — during one phone conversation, Eichorn asked her to pick up a ring from his apartment. 

“Apartment stuff is taken care of, just so you know,” the woman told Eichorn on March 20. She told Eichorn she planned to go to the apartment to pick up a laptop the following day. 

As FBI agents prepared to search Eichorn’s St. Paul apartment on the morning of March 21, they encountered the woman. She asked to enter the apartment to retrieve a laptop she used for business. The FBI agents declined.

When law enforcement agents entered the apartment, they found a red bag containing $1,000 cash, an SD card, a handgun and ammunition, a laptop and a factory-reset iPhone. 

Eichorn told the court he didn’t have any firearms in the St. Paul apartment. Lying about the gun is enough to detain Eichorn until his trial, prosecutors argued. 

Eichorn’s alleged attempt to coordinate the removal of a laptop from his apartment, and the potential wiping of one of his iPhones, also warrants detention, according to prosecutors. 

“Eichorn’s post-arrest conduct, including his lie to pretrial services concerning his possession of a gun, make clear that he does not intend to be truthful or to respect legal process. Instead, his conduct strongly suggests a willingness — and actual steps taken — to frustrate the ongoing child-sex investigation into his conduct.”

Prosecutors requested a hearing ahead of Eichorn’s scheduled release to a halfway house on Tuesday.

The court filing was first reported by KARE11. 

A call to Eichorn’s attorney was not immediately returned. 

Photo: Sen. Justin Eichorn (R-Grand Rapids), left, consults with Sen. Scott Newman (R-Hutchinson), right, during a vote Thursday, May 12, years ago before Gruenhagen filled the Hutchinson seat. Photo by Catherine J. Davis/Senate Media Services/via Minnesota Reformer.

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

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Posted by on Mar 24, 2025 at 11:24 AM | | Comments (0)

Bird flu in South Dakota: Millions of birds dead, worry shifting to humans

My next door neighbor is grieving the thousands of snow geese that were found dead in and along Lake Byron, a lake where she fished as a child. Avian influenza is hitting South Dakota's wild and domestic flocks hard.

I favor the concept of bird flu vaccine for poultry, and hope South Dakota farmers will embrace the use of lasers as a form of biosecurity to keep wild birds away from their poultry barns, as some Minnesota turkey growers have done.

From South Dakota News Watch.

Bird flu in SD: Millions of birds dead, worry shifts to humans
Bart Pfankuch

BRIDGEWATER, S.D. – As bird flu ravages poultry farms across the country – including in South Dakota – fears are growing that the highly contagious avian influenza virus could mutate and begin to spread widely among the world's human population.

The virus already has caused devastating effects in the state, which has seen the second-highest number of outbreaks in commercial poultry flocks in the nation.

The 114 commercial outbreaks in South Dakota, along with another 26 backyard flock infections, have led to the death or intentional killing of more than 6 million turkeys, chickens and other birds, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Many of the outbreaks in the state, the latest coming in January, have been at turkey farms operated by Hutterite colonies in the eastern half of the state, including at the Oaklane Hutterite Colony near Bridgewater.

But in 2024, the virus was detected in a flock of farm-raised pheasants in South Dakota, leading to the killing of about 30,000 of the birds that draw hunters from around the world each fall. As in other states, the virus has also spread to mammals in the state, causing the death of a handful of cattle and more than a dozen domestic cats.

So far, no human cases have been reported in South Dakota. Nationally, however, about 70 people have been sickened by the virus, mostly farm workers or veterinarians who were exposed to infected birds or cattle. In January, an elderly resident of Louisiana with underlying medical conditions became the first person to die of bird flu in the U.S. after being exposed to sick birds.

166 million birds destroyed

The current outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, or H5N1 virus, began in the U.S. in February 2022. Since then, the virus has been detected in all 50 states, causing more than 1,600 individual outbreaks in commercial and backyard poultry flocks and leading to the death or euthanasia of 166 million chickens, turkeys and other birds.

While the most tangible outcome of bird flu for consumers has been the rising cost of eggs and chicken breasts, a different, more ominous concern is rising among scientists and public health officials who closely monitor bird flu and study ways to prevent its spread.

There has been no known human-to-human spread of bird flu so far in the U.S, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And yet, numerous scientists are becoming concerned that bird flu could become the next pandemic and potentially cause devastating consequences to human populations across the world.

"We're afraid this virus could cause a human pandemic because humans have very little immunity against this particular avian flu virus," Scott Hensley, a leading bird flu researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, said in a January video presentation. "The problem is that flu viruses acquire mutations all the time. And we know that the virus is only one or two mutations away from being able to cause severe disease in humans."

The current risk to humans, especially those outside the agriculture industry, remains "very low," according to the CDC. So far, the bird flu virus has not been found to bind well to human cells or take hold in the human respiratory system.

But the virus has already shown a ready ability to mutate, not unlike how the Influenza A and B and COVID-19 viruses show slight mutations each year. Bird flu can be spread through direct contact, by breathing airborne particles or through shared water sources.

The spread of infection from wild migrating birds to captive poultry flocks, and the subsequent mutations from birds to bovines and now cats is a cause for alarm, said Todd Tetrow, the director of veterinary services at Dakota Provisions, a large turkey processing company in Huron.

"It can jump species, so anytime there’s virus out there, and other species can be exposed, it can sure jump," Tetrow told News Watch. "Anytime it jumps into a new species, there’s more concern and thoughts that this thing is getting to where it’s scary for humans."

Turkey farms hit hard by bird flu

South Dakota has been a hotbed for bird flu infections for two reasons.

The state is along the flyway for many species of migratory birds, which are the known carriers of the virus.

Also, South Dakota is a major producer of turkeys that are mainly raised indoors within concentrated animal feeding operations. The state also has smaller chicken and pheasant breeding operations that can be susceptible to bird flu outbreaks.

The 41 Hutterite turkey producers who make up the farmer-owned Dakota Provisions cooperative have suffered so many bird flu outbreaks in the past three years that the group has purchased its own industrial firefighting foam system. Firefighting foam, which eliminates oxygen when dispensed, is the current preferred method of quickly and efficiently "depopulating" a flock of infected birds.

The Oaklane Hutterite Colony west of Sioux Falls has endured two bird flu outbreaks in the past two years, which in total required the killing of about 21,000 adult turkeys and poults, said colony director John Wipf.

On both occasions, Wipf said, he noticed that water consumption among his turkeys had fallen, and some birds showed signs of malaise and a few died. Both times, birds were sent to South Dakota State University for confirmation that bird flu was the cause.

When any bird is infected, all birds from that barn must be destroyed, he said. The USDA sends in experts to monitor the killing, which was done by a local firefighting agency.

Watching his flocks be depopulated is heart wrenching, he said.

“The smallest ones really wanted to live and they tried to climb on top of the foam, but it wouldn’t hold them up,” he said.

Dead birds are then composted in a landfill onsite, and the barns must then be sanitized and approved by the USDA before reopening.

The value of the lost birds was likely about $300,000, though the federal government indemnifies farms for bird flu and pays farmers an adjusted amount to cover most losses.

Wipf said he takes precautions to prevent further infection, such as requiring staff to wear boots and other protective clothing, and by keeping things clean and disinfected.

He isn’t sure how his flocks became infected, but he believes migratory birds are the likely culprits.

“It’s a bad luck situation for sure because it’s very difficult to diagnose where it came from and how it got in here," Wipf said. "We have no clue, but I think part of it was bird migration, geese and ducks that fly over and poop on the barn and our materials. Or it could have been brought in by wild birds that get into the barns.”

Pheasant farmers lose major flock

The bird flu outbreak that struck the Gisi Pheasant Farm near Ipswich, 30 miles west of Aberdeen, began with a single bird testing positive in December 2023, according to farm co-owner Loretta Omland. Ultimately, three positive tests for bird flu were confirmed, she said.

To the family members that run the farm, the flu cases appeared isolated to one of six barns at their breeding operation at nearby Craven. No other birds appeared to be sick or dying in those barns or at other locations in Wessington Springs and Miller, Omland said.

Suddenly, the family found itself embroiled in a difficult, emotionally draining effort to save their other breeders and hens. Gisi Farms in 2022 provided about 480,000 ringneck pheasants to a large number of customers that mostly include South Dakota hunting resorts and preserves.

In the days following the positive tests, they ran up against USDA officials who were unwilling to make exceptions to rules stating that entire flocks of birds must be destroyed quickly, even if only one or a few birds test positive for bird flu.

“We told them, ‘We don’t care about indemnification,’ because those were our birds,” Omland told News Watch. “I had to call all these customers and tell them that we can’t get your birds, and that affects the restaurants, the grocery stores, the preserves and all these people in the hospitality and hunting industries.”

The family sought the help of the South Dakota state veterinarian and the state congressional delegation to ask for an exception that would allow them to mitigate the loss of birds and investment.

“The USDA came back and said that if we didn’t kill those birds, we’d be in jeopardy of losing indemnification and that South Dakota could be in violation of international trade laws,” Omland said.

The family ultimately relented and agreed to the killing of about 30,000 pheasants, later receiving roughly $1 million in indemnification that did not cover their full losses and cleanup costs, Omland said.

“It was horrible, just horrible because those were all healthy birds,” she said.

Since then, Gisi Farms has enhanced its biosecurity efforts to prevent further outbreaks, Omland said.

“We test and test and test and clean and clean and clean, but you can only get so far in what you do,” she said. “You do everything you can, but at the end of the day, you just say more prayers.”

Research and prevention steps underway

News is breaking almost weekly about the impacts of bird flu and the efforts of the scientific community to slow or stop its spread and to reduce its ability to infect humans.

In January, a new strain of bird flu called H5N9 was determined to be the source of infection of a commercial duck farm in California. While that new strain was not seen as more infectious or dangerous to birds or humans, scientists said it shows how quickly the virus is mutating.

In mid-March, thousands of geese were found dead in and along Lake Byron in Beadle County and state game officials said they believe bird flu was the cause of the mass die-off.

Some experts worry that if separate viruses intermingle – such as a person who has influenza A is then exposed to H5N1 – that a cross-virus mutation could occur and open the door to greater human infections or birth of a virus that can spread among humans.

In December, the USDA launched its National Milk Testing Strategy, which among other things tests milk held in silos for H5N1 prior to distribution to humans. South Dakota is one of 45 states to sign up for silo testing.

The CDC, USDA and Food and Drug Administration are all working to monitor bird flu outbreaks and spread. The USDA has created an easy-to-navigate website where bird flu data is tracked by state and the CDC has a bird flu information page.

The farm-level response to bird flu in South Dakota has centered around close monitoring of bird health and behavior and through testing of poultry flocks prior to slaughter, Tetrow said.

Some farmers in South Dakota and other states have used cannons or fireworks to scare away migratory birds or have tried to eliminate ponds where migratory birds congregate near their barns.

Tetrow said he hopes the agricultural, governmental and scientific communities can work together to take more steps to evaluate the causes and effects of bird flu and take preventative methods to slow its spread.

"I'd like to see us reevaluate what we're going to see if there are more approaches and tools we can add to our toolbox to fight this," he said.

The USDA in February gave conditional approval to a bird flu vaccine for poultry, made by the firm Zoetis. But to date, the U.S. has not followed the path of other countries such as China, Mexico and some European countries where use of poultry vaccines is widespread.

Tetrow, who spent more than a decade working in the South Dakota state veterinarian's office, said he supports the concept of vaccinating poultry in order to protect both bird and human populations.

"It won't prevent infection, but it decreases mortality and the amount of virus that is shed," he said. "If we can find a vaccine that can do those things, I think we need to figure out how to employ that."

Hensley, the University of Pennsylvania biologist, said a major goal of ongoing research is to develop a human vaccine. "We want to be able to respond if this virus acquires the mutations that are needed to effectively transmit from human to human," he said.

This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit organization. Read more stories and donate at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email to get stories when they're published. Contact Bart Pfankuch at [email protected].

Graph:  From South Dakota News Watch.

This article is republished with permission of South Dakota News Watch.

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Posted by on Mar 24, 2025 at 10:22 AM | | Comments (0)

Mar 23, 2025

South Dakota veterans’ advocates say VA staffing cuts put veterans out of work

On Friday, I'd republished South Dakota News Watch's Dusty Johnson's Sturgis military event reveals division among South Dakota veterans.

The Sunday South Dakota Searchlight article republished below takes a broader look at those divisions.

Veterans’ advocates say VA staffing cuts put vets out of work
by Joshua Haiar

Further impacts feared from Trump administration plan to cut 80,000 employees

Staffing cuts in the federal Department of Veterans Affairs are disproportionately affecting the veterans that the department preferentially hires, said members of a South Dakota veterans’ advocacy group. 

They worry the Trump administration’s goal of cutting 80,000 VA employees will put more veterans out of work without a vetting process, and erode the quality of services provided. 

Eugene Murphy, of Sioux Falls, is a past national commander of Disabled American Veterans and a Vietnam War vet who was paralyzed by gunshot wounds.

“How are you going to treat my brothers and sisters like that?” he said. “This is not right.” 

The VA provides services for veterans including health care, housing options, life insurance, pensions, education stipends and more. One-quarter of the VA’s 482,000 employees are veterans.

Disabled American Veterans of South Dakota says the Trump administration’s initial round of cuts to probationary employees disproportionately impacted disabled veterans. The national organization shared testimonials on its website of some of the disabled and decorated veterans who have already been fired. 

“I found out I lost my job off the clock, on my day off, without a warning, without a meeting, without even a termination letter,” said Navy veteran Kara Oliver, of Michigan. “Just a locked computer screen and a stunned supervisor confirming the news. And here’s the worst part: The veterans lost more than I did.”

About 2,400 of the VA’s roughly 46,000 probationary employees — generally those who’ve been in their jobs less than two years — were terminated last month. 

Judges have ruled that the mass firings of federal probationary workers that began last month were illegal, and ordered the workers reinstated pending further litigation. The Trump administration has begun the process of reinstating tens of thousands of them, though most are just being placed on administrative leave as the government cites the “burdens” of rehiring, court filings reviewed by States Newsroom show.

The cuts are part of a broader effort by the Trump administration and the world’s richest person, Elon Musk, leader of Trump’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency, to reduce government spending.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins said in a recent video that he intends to return the agency to 2019 staffing levels of around 398,000. He said the savings will be reinvested in health care and services.

“The federal government doesn’t exist to employ people. It exists to serve people,” Collins said.

He said doctors and nurses are not being fired.

“You know where we’re going to be looking? At the bureaucracy layer that goes from my doctor to the central office in Washington, D.C.,” Collins said.

‘Makes my blood boil’

That doesn’t ease the concerns of Marty Pennock, an Army veteran who directs the South Dakota department of Disabled American Veterans, headquartered in Sioux Falls. 

“It just makes my blood boil knowing the politicians doing this never have to worry about where their paychecks are going to come from,” he said. 

Pennock referenced the example of a disabled veteran and single mother who served 16 years in the military and was recently fired from the Sioux Falls VA hospital. 

“I have great concern that all these cuts are going to impact the services provided, but I’m also concerned about the impact on those let go,” Pennock said. “Many of the people working for the department are disabled veterans. And if not, they’re all people who have put in time to serve people I care about. They deserve better than being fired without any justification or a basis.”

U.S. Sen. Mike Rounds, R-South Dakota, serves on the Armed Services and Appropriations committees. He said the volume of calls his staff receives has more than doubled following the Trump-Musk cuts. He said they will continue monitoring the situation and advocate for rehirings when appropriate. He shares concerns about firing veterans. 

“I think that’s what we have got to be on guard for,” Rounds said. 

The cuts come at a time when veterans’ health care needs are increasing. The VA enrolled 400,000 veterans in its benefits system from March 2023 through March 2024, 30% more than the prior year. It also expanded eligibility for former service members to receive VA health care.

The agency has grown in recent years in response to the increase in veterans of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan needing services as they age, as well as a new benefit from a 2022 toxic exposure law known as the PACT Act. The law is intended to help veterans exposed to the military’s use of open-air burn pits in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Because of that, Pennock said, VA staff cuts will hurt benefits.

“Since the PACT Act, demands on the system increased greatly,” Pennock said. “Many of the new people were brought on to help with a backlog of disability claims.” 

Staff shortages have led to long wait times for care, with some VA clinics so understaffed that they are unable to take new patients for primary care or mental health needs.

Pennock met with the state’s congressional delegation about one month ago in Washington, D.C. While Secretary Collins said benefits could ultimately improve via a reallocation of funding, Pennock said he left D.C. not feeling optimistic.

Pennock is worried that options presented in the Congressional Budget Office’s recent report on reducing the federal deficit may soon come true. Possibilities include eliminating disability compensation for households making over $137,000 (or “means testing”), reducing disability benefits for retired veterans, and making veteran disability income taxable.

“Most families would lose their benefits if that means-testing option is implemented,” Pennock said. This is huge,” Pennock said.

Rounds said the Congressional Budget Office’s report does nothing more than offer options where cuts could be made.

“None of those have been presented as a proposal to be voted on,” Rounds said. 

U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, said in a statement that he has heard concerns about changes to the VA, “and I’m seeking more information on the administration’s plans.”

“Despite the claims of some, Congress won’t cut VA benefits as a part of this year’s appropriations process,” Johnson said. “Of course, we’ll work to find efficiencies, but saved dollars will be reinvested in the system to improve care.”

SD veteran protests

Protests last week drew more than 100 people to the VA Medical Center in Sioux Falls.

Sheila and Donald Aaker attended the protest. The two are worried veterans’ health care services will be negatively impacted. Donald served in Vietnam, “and he did his duty,” Sheila said. 

“It’s just not right,” Sheila said. “It’s not right for people to have to struggle with an illness and wonder if their health care will be available. He was promised that, and I think the country owes it to him.”

Air Force veteran Larry Williams said witnessing gruesome deaths during a deployment to Europe during the 1970s wore on his mental health.

“I got the help that I needed,” Williams said. “And today I’m doing a lot better than I was. But I am here for my fellow comrades. These services are vital. We signed a blank check saying we will surrender our lives in battle, but some of us have come home. And we’re still being treated like s—.” 

Jody Fleischhacker is an Air Force veteran. She said what is happening in D.C. is “unbelievable.” Her daughter was a federal employee fired by the Trump administration. 

“There is such a disregard for a lot of people,” she said. “And they don’t care. It’s the billionaire boys club out there. Rounds, Thune and Dusty Johnson are worthless. They sit up there and turn their backs on South Dakota.”

Bruce Watts joined the Army out of high school and served in Korea. He too wants to see South Dakota’s congressional delegation take action.

“Step up and protect veterans’ rights,” he said. “And stop this anti-democratic move happening in Washington.” 

State-provided veterans benefits and staffing will not be impacted by the federal cuts, according to the South Dakota Department of Veterans Affairs. Public affairs officers with the Sioux Falls and Rapid City VA offices did not respond to requests for comment.

Photo: Vietnam infantry veteran James Sanden carries a flag on Mar. 14, 2025, during a protest at the Sioux Falls VA Medical Center. Sanden and others were protesting Veterans Affairs staffing cuts. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight).

This South Dakota Searchlight article is republished online under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

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Posted by on Mar 23, 2025 at 03:56 PM | | Comments (0)

Mar 22, 2025

Medicaid cuts rippling through rural America could bring more hospital closures, job losses

A sign at the entrance for Mahaska Health, a hospital in Oskaloosa, Iowa, that has received funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. (Photo by Cecilia Lynch/USDA). 

On Thursday, the Minnesota Reformer's Madison McVan focused on the Hennepin County Medical Center in Health care leaders say Medicaid cuts would further strain state hospitals and clinics.

Saturday, the Reformer's sibling site Iowa Capital Dispatch published an overview of the effect of Medicaid cuts on the countryside by State Newsroom's Jennifer Shutt.

Looks as if the cuts won't be a form of place-baiting.

Medicaid cuts rippling through rural America could bring hospital closures, job losses
by Jennifer Shutt

WASHINGTON — Americans living in rural communities throughout the country could see their access to health care diminish if Congress changes eligibility for Medicaid or significantly reduces its federal funding.

While rural residents who depend on the state-federal program for lower income people would experience the most substantial impacts, those who have private health insurance or have other coverage, like Medicare, would likely encounter changes as well.

Rural hospitals and primary care physicians’ incomes would likely go down if Medicaid patients are no longer able to afford the same level of health care, potentially leading to reductions in services offered for everyone or even closures, according to experts.

Whitney Zahnd, assistant professor in the Department of Health Management and Policy at the University of Iowa, said that cuts to Medicaid “will disproportionately hit rural communities,” where 24% of people are covered by the program, including 47% of all births and a majority of nursing home patients.

“This is something that’s going to impact them more than those in urban areas and that’s on top of the already lower access to care, higher need for care, older populations,” Zahnd said. “It’s just going to make things that are already a challenge even more challenging for rural communities.”

The Federal Office of Rural Health Policy categorizes about 20.3% of Americans, or 62.8 million people, as living in rural areas, based on 2020 Census data.

Hospital closings in rural America

Rural areas have seen hospitals close their doors at higher rates than facilities in non-rural areas and that trend doesn’t appear likely to reverse any time soon.

The Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has an interactive map showing where 87 rural hospitals have closed completely since 2010, while an additional 65 “no longer provide in-patient services, but continue to provide some health care services.”

And a report from the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform released in February shows that more “than 700 rural hospitals — one-third of all rural hospitals in the country — are at risk of closing because of the serious financial problems they are experiencing.”

Losing income from Medicaid patients could lead to a “domino effect,” Zahnd said, exacerbating budget challenges for rural health care providers and potentially communities overall.

“Economically in a lot of rural communities, the hospital is the largest employer,” Zahnd said. “So if you have a hospital close, it’s not just that people are losing access to health care, they might be losing their job or their family member may be losing their job.”

Rural health care providers that are able to stay open might have to cut the services they offer to keep their accounts from going too far into the red. Such a decision wouldn’t just harm Medicaid patients, but anyone living in a rural community who goes to that doctor or hospital.  

“So those are some risks we would anticipate if there are these big cuts to Medicaid,” Zahnd said.

Winners and losers

Timothy McBride, co-director of the Center for Health Economics and Policy at the Institute for Public Health at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, said during a briefing on Medicaid in mid-March that financial margins for rural hospitals are “razor-thin.”

“Even in the urban hospitals, they’re probably just a few percentage points, but in rural hospitals, they can be just a percentage point or 2 or negative,” McBride said. “So if you take away the Medicaid dollars, they’re certainly going to go negative. And if you wonder why rural hospitals close, that’s why.”

McBride also made the point during a March 13 briefing hosted by SciLine, a service for journalists and scientists based at the American Association for the Advancement of Science, that Medicaid provides funding for a lot of rural health care providers.

“In an economic system, if we cut the spending, we can go, ‘Oh, that’s great. We cut $880 billion.’ But whose income is that? It’s income to hospitals, it’s income to doctors,” McBride said. “And that’s going to, you know, be really hard on rural systems and on rural hospitals and urban systems.

“Yeah, it’s going to help the taxpayers, but, you know, just be mindful of who is going to be hurt. There’s winners and losers here.”

Budget process

Republicans in Congress are planning to use the complicated budget reconciliation process to extend the 2017 tax cuts they enacted during President Donald Trump’s first term to the tune of about $4.5 trillion in new deficits. They also want to boost spending on defense and border security by hundreds of billions of dollars and rewrite energy policy.

In order to pay for some of the package, the House’s budget resolution instructs the committee that oversees Medicaid to cut $880 billion in spending during the next decade — the figure cited by McBride.

Republicans in the Senate haven’t yet agreed to that outline, with several expressing concerns about how steep cuts to federal funding would affect their constituents.

Census data shows that more than 85% of the United States remains rural, meaning every one of the 53 Republican senators represents a state with at least some rural areas.

The Senate in the weeks ahead is expected to debate the budget resolution the House voted along party lines to approve in February. Senators are likely to make changes and send it back across the Capitol for the House to give final approval.

Once the two chambers vote to adopt the same budget resolution with identical reconciliation instructions, Congress can formally begin advancing legislation that could restructure Medicaid. But the GOP will need to stay united throughout the process.

Republicans hold a paper-thin majority in the House of Representatives, requiring that any proposed changes to Medicaid garner the support of centrist and far-right GOP lawmakers.

Even a few defections over Medicaid changes, or other elements in the bill, would stop the package from becoming law.

Avoiding high medical costs, bankruptcy

Joan Alker, executive director of the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families, said that in addition to being “a critical backbone to our healthcare system,” Medicaid helps prevent lower-income Americans from going into medical debt and reduces the number of people landing in emergency departments for conditions that can be managed by primary care providers.

“We spend a lot of time, of course, rightly, thinking about Medicaid and the question of access. But fundamentally, Medicaid is an economic support — a critical piece of the puzzle for families who are struggling to pay bills with the high cost of housing and food,” Alker said. “And so that’s the number one most important thing: If you are uninsured in this country, unless you are a billionaire, you are going to be exposed to high medical costs, and those can lead to debt, and even bankruptcy.”

When people lose access to health insurance or programs like Medicaid, they tend to delay or avoid going to primary care providers, who can diagnose issues early and help patients manage chronic conditions.

“That’s not the way we want our health system to work,” Alker said. “Their condition will have worsened. They won’t have had access to prescription drugs that they needed to address chronic conditions, like asthma or diabetes or hypertension. And so they get worse and show up in the emergency room.”

Medicaid also covers health care for about half of the children in the United States and more than 40% of the births, making the program a significant source of income for both pediatricians and OBGYNs. They would see their budgets decreased if patients lose access to the program.

“There are already challenges, and these kinds of cuts will really exacerbate those for families living in these communities, whether they’re enrolled in Medicaid or not,” Alker said.

Entire community affected

Megan Cole, associate professor in the Department of Health Law, Policy and Management at Boston University School of Public Health, said during the SciLine briefing that if Congress cuts Medicaid, it would have wide-ranging effects on rural health care. 

“I think these cuts will have impacts not just on Medicaid recipients but on whole economies and health systems; so particularly safety net health systems, community health centers, rural hospitals,” Cole said. “As those institutions have less patient revenue. They may face reductions in services. They may close certain sites depending on finances. They may eliminate staff. So that affects not just the Medicaid enrollees, but also affects anyone who is otherwise served by those providers.”

Iowa Capital Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Iowa Capital Dispatch maintains editorial independence.

Photo: A sign at the entrance for Mahaska Health, a hospital in Oskaloosa, Iowa, that has received funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. (Photo by Cecilia Lynch/USDA/ via Iowa Capital Dispatch). 

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Posted by on Mar 22, 2025 at 10:44 AM | | Comments (0)

Mar 21, 2025

Dusty Johnson's Sturgis military event reveals division among South Dakota veterans

U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, right, stands with veterans Robert Orr, left, and Kent Popham,

My younger veteran friends who live in other states have shared concerns about changes at the Veteran Administration under the second Trumpy administration, so this South Dakota News Watch article struck home with me.

From South Dakota News Watch.

Sturgis military event reveals division among SD veterans
by Bart Pfankuch

STURGIS, S.D. – An event hosted by Congressman Dusty Johnson to honor Vietnam veterans in Sturgis this week unwittingly revealed the growing division among some veterans in South Dakota and beyond.

As Johnson told those assembled inside he wanted to make up for poor treatment of veterans in the 1960s and 1970s, a group of people outside the Sturgis Veteran's Club protested how veterans are being treated now by the Trump administration and Congress.

On the sidewalk outside the club, a dozen people carried signs and chanted slogans. The protesters, including some former military members, said widespread employee cuts in the Department of Veterans Affairs are weakening health care for veterans.

Inside the club, a few dozen people gathered for the ceremony led by Johnson, a third-term Republican. He started the event by lamenting how poorly many Vietnam veterans were treated upon returning home after their service.

"America is the best country in the world, but that doesn't mean that it's perfect," said Johnson. "If you needed to point to a piece of evidence of that imperfection, one place to start would be how we treated people in uniform in the 1960s and 1970s."

Johnson said that has changed over time and that American military personnel and veterans are now treated with far more respect and reverence and that "they're more likely to get a round of applause than they are to get spit on."

Johnson welcomed about 20 Vietnam veterans or their family members to the front of the room a few at a time, and each was given a commemorative coin, a certificate, a lapel pin and a handshake.

Veterans were given a microphone to share their stories of service in Vietnam. And while some remembrances were humorous, others were deeply moving and revealed the pride they feel about their service. At least one veteran began to weep.

One veteran told how he was greeted in Vietnam by a commander but also by stacks of boxes containing dead soldiers waiting to be flown back to the states. The sister of one late veteran told how her brother became a journalist on the front lines in Vietnam, and read aloud an eloquent letter he wrote home. She said her brother "died twice" from afflictions due to exposure to Agent Orange.

"This is an opportunity for our country to do the right thing," Johnson said later. "I look every one of these veterans in the eyes, I shake their hand, and I tell them that a grateful nation honors and thanks them for their service."

Protesters angry over VA cuts

But outside the veteran's club, protesters decried efforts by President Donald Trump and his adviser, Elon Musk, to cut VA staffing and programs.

They carried signs saying, "VA cuts hurt veterans," "Support vets and heroes" and "Veterans deserve better!"

The group of mostly gray-haired men and women shouted "Save our veterans," "Hee hee, ho ho, Elon Musk has got to go," "Trump is not our king," and "Show me what democracy looks like." One woman then added, "This is what democracy looks like, so take a good look because it won't be here for long."

Roseanna Renaud, 71, said she found it "despicable" that Johnson was honoring veterans at a time veteran services are being cut and many veterans are losing their jobs, and the Republican-controlled Congress is doing nothing to stop it.

"Veterans are starting to wake up and notice that they can't get that appointment that they need, that they can't get that treatment," said Renaud, who said she is a member of the Oglala Lakota Sioux Tribe, a Vietnam-era Army veteran and a retired police lieutenant.

"I find it just absolutely disgusting. I mean, there's a sign over there about the Veterans Crisis Line and at the same time they have slashed mental health services for veterans. You think that's right? Hell, no."

At one point, a man entered into an argument with a protester and shoved the 74-year-old man to the ground. Later, John Henry, 76, of Sturgis, was arrested for simple assault, said Sturgis Police Chief Geody VanDerwater. The protester was not seriously injured.

VA might cut thousands of jobs

Actions by the Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency already have led to the firing of a few thousand VA employees and the suspension of hundreds of contracts for services, according to The Associated Press.

The AP reported on March 5 that an internal VA memo announced a major reorganization this summer that will cut 80,000 more jobs from the agency that provides health care and other services to millions of veterans.

More than a quarter of the VA’s workforce is comprised of veterans, and veterans made up nearly a third of the overall federal workforce, which has seen dramatic job cuts under the Trump administration. Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins has said the job cuts are not in mission-critical positions and that veteran care would not be affected.

But during the ceremony, one Vietnam veteran who was being honored by Johnson shared his concerns that staff and funding cuts to the VA could harm the ability of sick or injured service members to receive the care and services they need.

Robert Orr, who said he served in the Air Force Strategic Air Command from 1970-77, spoke up about VA cuts when Johnson handed him the microphone.

"I'm very pleased with the care I've gotten at the VA," Orr said. "Congressman Johnson, if you can, do what you can to restore the funding and personnel to the VA."

Orr added that, "I've never heard there was a surplus of staff at the VA," a comment that drew applause from ceremony attendees.

Orr later told News Watch that he has seen VA services slipping for some veterans he knows and is worried that any position, program or funding cuts could make it even harder for them to receive care.

Orr said he felt it was a "conflict" for Johnson to lead a ceremony honoring veterans while the president and Republican leadership in Congress have or will cut the VA budget and staff.

"I'd say it's a lack of critical thinking," Orr said.

In an interview after the ceremony, Johnson said he supports the ability of the protesters to exercise their First Amendment rights to criticize the government.

He said he had not spoken with the protesters but is monitoring the cuts and proposed cuts to the VA to ensure medical care and other services are not impacted.

Johnson: VA seeking efficiencies

Johnson said he is friends with VA secretary Collins, they have discussed how the VA is being managed and together have called out the Trump administration when the cuts "are not the right fit."

Johnson said the White House has been receptive to their concerns and suggestions.

"Congress hasn't and will not cut VA funding. There will certainly be some efficiencies that are found as we work together, but those efficiencies are going to be reinvested in the system," he said. "We have got to reduce these debts, and we know that no front care or provisioning staff have been cut. There have been some positions eliminated that we've got some concerns about. We're asking some tough questions to the (Trump) administration (because) we need to get this right."

Johnson told News Watch he wasn't sure how many VA positions have been cut in South Dakota so far, but his understanding is that it is not a large number.

The South Dakota VA health system includes hospitals in Sturgis, Hot Springs and Sioux Falls and outpatient clinics in nine cities across the state.

Johnson said he and other members of Congress have spoken to agency heads, Cabinet secretaries and the White House to stay abreast of DOGE actions and cuts, including any related to the VA.

"Every week that goes by, we're building, I think, more successes as we go," Johnson said. "Clearly, there's a lot of change coming at us very quickly. We know that nobody's going to bat 1,000 and it's part of our job representing South Dakota to make sure that when the administration has a misstep, that we do what we can to get them back on the right track."

The Associated Press contributed to this story that was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit organization. Read more stories and donate at sdnewswatch.org and sign up for an email to get stories when they're published. Contact Bart Pfankuch at [email protected].

Photos  Above: U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, right, stands with veterans Robert Orr, left, and Kent Popham, center, during a March 19, 2025, ceremony at the Sturgis, S.D., veteran's center to honor Vietnam veterans for their service. Below: Protesters outside the event. (Photos: Bart Pfankuch / South Dakota News Watch).

This article is republished online with SDNW's permission.

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Posted by on Mar 21, 2025 at 05:35 PM | | Comments (0)

MN07 update: Attendees at Congresswoman Fischbach's "conversation" with CAE outnumbered by protesters outside resort

May be an image of 10 people, crowd, road and text

Back on March 7, Bluestem posted Town hall with "garbage" constituents? Heavens no. But Center of American Experiment will interview Fischbach March 20 in Ottertail.

Seems her constituents in Minnesota's Seventh Congressional District want a town hall, as I'd noted in subsequent posts here: Digest: MN07 press, residents and state DFL to Fischbach, "Listen to your constituents" and  Upset MN07 Rep. Fischbach is following GOP script in avoiding town halls, constituents respond with meetings, signs, postcards.

So how did Thursday's meeting go for the powerful think tank and the Republican congresswoman? 

At the Minnesota Star Tribune, Jenny Berg reports in At ticketed event, Rep. Michelle Fischbach gets questions about federal funding cuts, tariffs:

Attendees at the Thursday event were outnumbered by the protesters outside the Ottertail resort. 

OTTERTAIL, MINN. – U.S. Rep. Michelle Fischbach made a rare public appearance in her western Minnesota district Thursday, but it wasn’t the free-for-all town hall that many constituents were hoping for.

The Republican House member spoke and answered questions before about 140 registered guests, who each paid $10 to attend what was billed as a conversation hosted by the Minnetonka-based conservative think tank Center of the American Experiment.

But they were outnumbered by the protesters who lined the road outside the grounds of Thumper Pond Resort in Ottertail. And the group inside included more than a dozen who clearly took issue with Fischbach — some of whom interrupted her with questions about federal funding cuts and were asked by organizers to be quiet or leave. . . .

Outside, the protesters hoisted signs and chanted “Throw the fish back,” a play on Fischbach’s name. Madalyn Pretzer, 24, of Morris, brought a tater tot hot dish and wild rice soup to keep them warm and fed. . . .

Read the rest at the Strib.

A CD7 county DFL party posted on its Facebook page:

The Detriot Lakes/ Perham Focus's Barbie Porter reports a somewhat smaller protest crowd--and ticketed attendees in About 160 people show to protest as U.S. Rep. Michelle Fischbach answers questions at ticketed event:

'. . . Oftentimes, Fischbach was interrupted by attendees, who felt she was not answering the question or had not provided a full truth with her answer.

Of the 70-plus people in attendance at the event, about seven people were asked to leave the conference room for being disruptive, while more than a dozen vocally disagreed with what Fischbach was saying. At times, people also laughed.

Those who wanted to hear Fischbach did not appear amused, and at times told those speaking over Fischbach to “shut up,” “sit down” or were simply shushed. 

. . .In recent weeks protests have been staged outside Fischbach's offices in Moorhead and Willmar . Fischbach called the Moorhead protests "garbage" and said she thinks the protesters likely live outside of her district and were possibly being paid to protest, according to reporting from The Forum.

A more in-depth story with Fischbach’s responses to questions, as well as interviews with protesters, will be available Friday, March 21.

I'm certainly looking forward to that article, especially given the fact that the DL Tribune and Perham Focus are both part of the Forum Communications network, which includes about a half dozen newspapers throughout the district, from Worthington to Willmar to Moorhead (Fargo Forum).

Photo: Protestors outside of Thumpers Pond. Source: Polk County Minnesota DFL Facebook page.

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Posted by on Mar 21, 2025 at 12:53 AM | | Comments (0)

Mar 20, 2025

Justin Eichorn resigns from Senate following federal charge; LeClaire to seek Senate 6 seat

Updated March 21: In Minnesota Public Radio's always excellent Capitol View morning newsletter, Brian Bakst and Dana Ferguson report:

Of note on the special election watch, House GOP leaders said they’re keeping their eyes on members in that Senate district that might try to make the jump. With a 67-67 split in the House, it could give Democrats a temporary advantage if either Reps. Josh Heintzeman or Ben Davis ran and won the seat. That grew less likely later Thursday when Keri Heintzeman, the wife of House member Josh Heintzema, became the first to open a campaign . A special election date has not yet been set. Republicans would be favored in the district. Eichorn had held the District 6 seat since 2017.

The businesswoman, party activist and mother of six has set up a candidate's Facebook page, Keri Heintzeman for Senate, where her announcement is posted:

Her campaign website and X account listed on the page are works in progress. [End update]

Already, one DFL candidate has thrown her hat into the ring for the special election to replace Eichorn, the Brainerd Dispatch' editor Matt Erickson reports in DFLer LeClaire announces intention to seek Senate District 6 seat:

Shortly after Republican State Sen. Justin Eichorn announced his resignation on Thursday, March 20, Emily LeClaire announced her intention to seek a DFL endorsement to run for the Senate seat.

LeClaire, a lifelong Brainerd resident, was the DFL-endorsed candidate for the Minnesota House District 6B in the 2024 election but lost to incumbent Rep. Josh Heintzeman, R-Nisswa. . . .

From the Minnesota Reformer.

Justin Eichorn, R-Grand Rapids, resigns from Senate following federal charge
by Madison McVan and Max Nesterak

From a Hennepin County jail cell, Minnesota Sen. Justin Eichorn, R-Grand Rapids, has resigned from the Legislature, Senate Republicans announced Thursday morning.

Eichorn is facing a federal charge of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor. 

The resignation came moments before the state Senate was expected to expel him during the chamber’s floor session at 11 a.m. That vote is no longer necessary.

Eichorn, who was arrested Monday in Bloomington, submitted a letter of resignation to Gov. Tim Walz. 

The resignation saved the Senate from taking the unprecedented step of expelling a member, which has never been done on the chamber’s floor. 

Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, said the allegations laid out in the federal charging documents were so “severe” and “damning” that the body had to expel him.  

“This would have been a cloud hanging over the Senate,” Johnson said. “We don’t need another one of those.”

At a simultaneous news conference, Senate Democrats welcomed Eichorn’s resignation while continuing to defend their own caucus member, Sen. Nicole Mitchell, DFL-Woodbury, who faces felony burglary charges for allegedly breaking into her stepmother’s house.  

“It is a night and day situation,” said Senate Majority Leader Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul. “The predatory behavior demonstrated in the criminal complaint… puts people at risk in this chamber.” 

Mitchell was notably absent from the Capitol on Thursday, allowing her to avoid an awkward vote given the push by Republicans to expel her from the body. Sen. Erin Maye Quade, DFL-Apple Valley, said Mitchell had to take her child to a medical appointment.

Eichorn allegedly responded to an online advertisement for sex and agreed to meet a 17-year-old girl in person, but the girl was actually an undercover officer, according to charging documents. He was charged in a federal criminal complaint with one count of attempted coercion and enticement of a minor, and in Hennepin County district court with one count of allegedly attempting to hire a prostitute under 18 but at least 16. The state charge was later dropped following the federal charge, which carries a higher sentence.

A federal judge Thursday afternoon ordered Eichorn to stay in a halfway house until his trial. Eichorn will have his location monitored with GPS tracking; he will only be allowed to leave the halfway house for work, court dates, doctors’ appointments or other court-approved activities; he is barred from having unsupervised contact with minors; and he cannot use the internet without permission from his supervisory officer, and any internet use will be subject to monitoring. 

Eichorn accepted the conditions. He wore a black polo and jeans in his first court appearance since his arrest on Monday. He was represented by a federal public defender, who said Eichorn was in the process of obtaining a private attorney, but the agreement was not yet finalized. 

Eichorn’s next court date is March 26; he has not yet decided whether to plead guilty or contest the charge.

Photo: State Sen. Justin Eichorn, right, was arrested Monday in Bloomington. He’s a Grand Rapids Republican. Photo via Senate Media Services.

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

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Posted by on Mar 20, 2025 at 06:16 PM | | Comments (0)

Ethanol leaders see irony in Governor Larry Rhoden's ‘Open for Opportunity’ visit after eminent domain ban for carbon pipelines

South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden speaks with attendees at an event in Sioux Falls on Mar. 17, 2025. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Another wrinkle in South Dakota's ethanol carbon pipeline epic.

From the South Dakota Searchlight.

Ethanol leaders see irony in governor’s ‘Open for Opportunity’ visit after eminent domain ban
by Joshua Haiar

Some ethanol leaders think it’s ironic that Republican Gov. Larry Rhoden brought his “Open for Opportunity” tour to an ethanol plant this week, after he signed a bill that negatively impacted a proposed multi-billion-dollar project for the industry.

“The whole industry is very disappointed with how things went in South Dakota,” Walt Wendland, president of the Ringneck Energy ethanol plant in Onida, told South Dakota Searchlight.

Rhoden visited the plant Tuesday, after launching his tour highlighting economic development on Monday in Sioux Falls.

Wendland wants to connect the Onida plant to Summit Carbon Solutions’ proposed $9 billion, five-state pipeline that would capture carbon dioxide from more than 50 ethanol plants and transport it to an underground storage site in North Dakota. The project would be eligible for federal tax credits incentivizing the prevention of heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.

Rhoden signed legislation March 6 barring carbon pipeline companies from using eminent domain. That’s the right to access private property for projects that benefit the public, with just compensation for landowners determined by a court. 

Summit has voluntary access agreements, called easements, with some landowners on the route. Other landowners have refused to sign the agreements, citing concerns about private property rights and potential leaks of toxic carbon dioxide plumes. They’ve also alleged unethical behavior by some land agents for Summit.

Without eminent domain, gaining access to the remaining land needed for the project in South Dakota could be difficult or impossible. Wendland said Summit spent millions on easements, “and suddenly, the state pulls the rug out from you, and tells you to go home.”

“That’s not the way we should be doing business,” he said.

Last week, Summit asked South Dakota regulators to pause proceedings in the company’s permit application. The company has permits in North Dakota, Minnesota and Iowa, although some permits are under litigation, while Nebraska lacks a permitting process. 

South Dakota ethanol advocates say the project would be a $1.86 billion investment in the state. They also say it would increase demand from markets seeking fuel with lower greenhouse gas emissions.

Rhoden, a longtime advocate for property rights, said the bill does not end the proposed project.

“I encourage Summit and others to view it as an opportunity for a needed reset,” Rhoden said in a statement on March 6. “Voluntary easements for this proposed project will still be able to move forward. In fact, without the threat of eminent domain, the opportunity might finally be available for trust to be rebuilt and for more productive conversations to occur between Summit and South Dakota landowners.”

Wendland said his Tuesday conversation with Rhoden was productive, and he believes the governor tried to find a compromise before signing the eminent domain ban. That proved impossible after several years of political strife caused by the project, including a voter-rejected compromise bill last year and the primary election losses of more than a dozen incumbent Republican legislators after the passage of that bill.

“He said the issue was taking up too much time for everybody, and by signing the bill, that all went away,” Wendland said. “But at our expense, at agriculture’s expense.”

Rhoden and Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen discussed their support of the eminent domain ban when they kicked off their “Open for Opportunity” tour Monday in Sioux Falls. Venhuizen referenced the divisiveness of the issue. 

“I hope that these legislators in our state politics can kind of move beyond it,” he said. “Because it was having a very corrosive effect on our state politics.”

Rhoden said the debate “made me just sick to my stomach because there wasn’t a good answer.” He said the narrative about supporters of the project became too negative. 

“If you believed in the carbon pipeline, then you were just a tree-hugging, green energy, Green New Deal, Biden Democrat,” Rhoden said.

Eric Baukol is the CEO of Redfield Energy, another ethanol plant hoping to connect to the Summit pipeline. He said he understands the politics of it all, but that doesn’t make it any less disappointing.

“If I were them and I wanted to be elected, it makes total sense,” he said. “But it’s short-sighted. The shift toward carbon sequestration in agriculture is coming, and this will likely be a burden.”  

Redfield Energy Board Chairman Jim Klebsch said that while some politicians at the Capitol in Pierre told him they got elected to oppose eminent domain for the project, “they knew in their heart and in their mind that the project was good for South Dakota.”

“It was easier just to shut it down and walk away than it was to fight the real fight,” Klebsch said. “We can’t sustain current corn prices. Land prices will suffer, and local tax revenues along with them. Something will have to happen, and the pipeline project was one solution.”

Lawmakers who supported the eminent domain ban hailed it as a victory for property rights.

Sen. Tom Pischke, R-Dell Rapids, voted for the bill when it passed the Senate on March 4. 

“Private companies should not be able to take South Dakotans’ land against their will,” he said at the time.

Photo: South Dakota Gov. Larry Rhoden speaks with attendees at an event in Sioux Falls on Mar. 17, 2025. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight).

This South Dakota Searchlight article is republished online under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

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