One gem sticks out. Tuesday at 2:33 PM, just before the verdicts came in, Shakopee New House Republican Erik Mortensen posted on Facebook:
BREAKING!! CHAUVIN VERDICT IS IN
THE VERDICT WILL BE READ BETWEEN 3:30pm and 4:00pm TODAY!!
Additionally, I'm hearing reports of dozens of busses coming to town with paid protestors that are bringing riot gear with them. Of course, we do not know if rioters will come to Shakopee but I encourage everyone to prepare for the worst and pray for the best.
That said the head of Capitol security is directing legislators to prepare for riots. Therefore, I'm passing along a similar preparatory message to you all. This is NOT an exhaustive list, but a starting point for things to think about:
1. Have a plan your entire family knows and is prepared to execute at a moments notice.
2. Know both emergency and non-emergency phone numbers. Shakopee police non-emergency is (952) 233-9400. Of course 911 is for emergencies.
3. Recognize that police may be overwhelmed and unable to respond timely.
4. If you have evening activities planned for this week, consider how important they are and perhaps reschedule.
5. Have a first aid kit.
6. Keep your doors locked and consider keeping outdoor lights on overnight.
7. If you have a security system, use it.
8. Stay informed through real-time news outlets.
We've posted a screenshot at the top of this post. The post was shared 303 times as we write this post; 311 people reacted and 165 people commented. Bluestem isn't sharing the comments, since Mortensen is the public figure here.
We're checking to see what the head of capitol security told lawmakers.
UPDATE: In our comment section, a reader left what he says is the text of the email from the head of capitol security to MDA staff. We have not verified the email.
Mort's Facebook watchdog scolded him about the fearmongering:
Representative Erik Mortensen shows that all he cares about is fear mongering to scare the people of MN and 55A. Because...
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Citizen members of the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources elected Brooklyn Park hydrologist Della Schall Young the non-legislative chair late Tuesday afternoon. Young is the first Black Minnesotan to serve as a co-chair of the LCCMR.
She joins state representative Rick Hansen, DFL-S. St. Paul, and state senator Bill Ingebrigtsen, R-Alexandria, as co-chair.
Della Schall Young, of Brooklyn Park, is the owner of Young Environmental Consulting Group, LLC., an environmental planning, permitting and compliance consulting firm. In her role, she combines her resource management passion and unwavering integrity to help clients execute projects in environmentally responsible ways. Della holds a Bachelor of Science degree in natural resources and environmental studies with an emphasis on water resources management and a Master of Science degree in water resources science from the University of Minnesota. She currently maintains roles on the Audubon Center of the North Woods, the Metropolitan Council Livable Communities Advisory Committee and Leader of Girl Scout Troop 15981.
Young Environmental Consulting Group is a dream come true for owner and principal scientist, Della Schall Young. The dream began many years ago when Della, as a child, visited her grandmother in the West African nation of Liberia. Her grandmother lived in the interior of the country, where water had to be drawn from a well and purified. Della’s passion for water was born after she watched the energy-intensive process required to have clean, drinkable water. Della’s dream further developed while living in Minnesota, within the Mississippi River watershed. The Mississippi River and other Minnesota treasures, like the Boundary Waters, have inspired Della through their natural beauty and ecosystems. Minnesota’s water-centered environments shaped Della’s life-long interest in managing natural resources effectively for everyone. Young Environmental is based on that dream.
Della’s passion led her to earn water and natural resource degrees from the University of Minnesota and pursue a career in water resources management. With 20 years of technical and business management skills, Della combined her proficiency and experience with her passion for water to create Young Environmental Consulting Group.
In addition to Della’s love of water, she is an advocate for providing access to the world of water and business management through mentoring and peer coaching. She is extremely committed to serving her communities, working with both youth and adults to develop their connections to nature and water. Della has a heartfelt need to encourage women in their personal and professional lives and she works actively to mentor women in all walks of life by sharing her expertise and insight. Della currently maintains roles on the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources, the Audubon Center of the North Woods Board, the Metropolitan Council Livable Communities Advisory Committee, Girl Scout Troop 15981, and as a mentor in the Minneapolis/St. Paul community. . . .
The LCCMR is made up of 17 members: 5 Senators, 5 Representatives, 5 citizens appointed by the governor, 1 citizen appointed by the Senate, and 1 citizen appointed by the House. The function of the LCCMR is to make funding recommendations to the legislature for special environment and natural resource projects, primarily from the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund (ENRTF). These projects help maintain and enhance Minnesota's environment and natural resources. The LCCMR developed from a program initiated in 1963. Since 1963, approximately $1.0 billion has been appropriated to more than 2,300 projects recommended to the legislature by the Commission to protect and enhance Minnesota's environment and natural resources.
State lawmakers began the 2021 session saying they would move quickly to pass a backlog of recommended wildlife habitat projects and environmental research tied to state lottery proceeds.
But a key Senate committee this week created an outcry by introducing major changes to the list of outdoors projects that was first settled upon in 2019 by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).
The action by the Republican-controlled Senate Environment and Natural Resources Finance Committee now has complicated the approval process for $131.8 million worth of LCCMR-recommended investments adopted by the commission in 2019 and 2020. Money for the projects is in the bank.
In the past, LCCMR bills have traveled separately through the Legislature, passing intact or with modest changes. But now the 2019 list of projects has been changed substantially and lumped into a bill that also cuts general fund appropriations to the Department of Natural Resources by $18 million. The big omnibus bill also demands a wolf hunt this fall, allows hunters to leave temporary tree stands inside wildlife management areas and proposes a reduction in the statewide walleye bag limit from six to four.
If the amalgamated bill passes the Senate Finance Committee next week, it would go to the Senate floor. . . .
Photo: Della Young, in a blue shirt, third from the left, with Summer 2019 Interns who "conducted fluvial geomorphic reconnaissance and assessments for trout streams in the Lower Minnesota River Watershed." Via Young Environmental Consulting Group's website.
If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.
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Like many Minnesota natives, we're exhausted by the news coming from the North Star State--but we're not going to imagine that what seems to be coming to a head is somehow new and "not Minnesota."
Nor can we imagine a kind of purity here in South Dakota.
We offer a digest of news, commentary and informatiive tweets in the post below.
As May approaches and the Legislature grinds toward its final days, we are confronted again by vast differences of opinion about what Minnesota should look like, not just this year or next, or even 10 years from now, but 25 and 50 years into the future.
It's a given that politicians don't often think on such a grand scale. But our challenges are many, and time has long since passed that serious people should consider seriously where Minnesota has been and especially where it's headed, environmentally, and what can be done about it.
Many of the state's rivers, for example, are dirty, as are some of its lakes. Minnesota forests are quickly transitioning, and its native prairies are nearly gone. Add to this urban sprawl spreading like a virulent cancer between Rochester and the Twin Cities and the Twin Cities and St. Cloud, and you have the makings of a state whose best days are behind it.
Many are to blame for this tragedy-in-the-making. Among them in this legislative session are Senate Republicans who are fiddling with environmental funding proposals paid for by lottery proceeds, and who are proposing to whack nearly $10 million in general fund appropriations from the Department of Natural Resources budget.
Examples:
• The Senate proposes to cut aquatic invasive species (AIS) funding from the state's general fund by $1 million and shift that expense to the DNR's Heritage Enhancement Account, a shortsighted plan because hordes of invasive carp, zebra mussels, spiny water fleas, Chinese mystery snails, New Zealand mud snails, starry stonewort, curly-leaf pondweed and a who's-who of other creepy critters and plants have invaded Minnesota waters and will continue to.
• Senate Republicans also propose to reduce $1 million in general fund support for the DNR's fight against chronic wasting disease (CWD). The Senate instead wants to shift that amount of CWD funding to the Game and Fish Fund, which is supported by the sale of hunting and fishing licenses.
Additionally, in what should be a personal embarrassment to Republican Sen. Bill Ingebrigtsen of Alexandria, a retired sheriff, the Senate proposes to cut $336,000 in general fund appropriations for DNR enforcement, instead asking the DNR's Heritage Enhancement Account within the Game and Fish Fund to step up to the plate for that amount.
The cuts and shifts are being proposed so Republicans can appear to be "holding the line on spending" while actually, in some instances, asking other accounts established originally for other purposes to foot the bill.
In addition to being unsustainable, this cost shifting to "dedicated" accounts betrays the public trust.
There's more at the Strib.
Brooklyn Center stage
Scenes from Brooklyn Center, Minnesota tonight. Hundreds gathered outside the suburb's police station to protest the police killing of Duante Wright. Officers in riot gear responded with tear gas, stun grenades and rubber bullets. @themacweeklypic.twitter.com/VgZSBm9oj5
Founded by a member of the Ku Klux Klan and now a city where most residents are people of color, Brooklyn Center embodies the challenges and the promise of a rapidly changing America.
There's a church in Brooklyn Center that was harboring people hurt by police violence during the #DaunteWright protests, and this was how the cops responded.
Chief among the law enforcement officers’ concerns about the escrow account, according to emails obtained through public records requests, was a rule in the Line 3 permit limiting how the funds can be used. Sheriff’s offices can use the account to pay for any public safety services “provided in and about the construction site as a direct result of the construction and removal of the pipeline,” but they cannot use it to pay for equipment, unless it’s personal protective gear.
It was widely understood — and a particular source of frustration — that so-called less-lethal munitions, such as tear gas, would not be reimbursed through the account. “We do know for absolute certain that munitions will NOT be an allowable expense,” noted Carlton County Sheriff Kelly Lake in a November 19 email to fellow members of the Northern Lights Task Force, a coalition of law enforcement and public safety officials set up primarily to respond to anti-pipeline demonstrations.
“So, we can get reimbursed for trafficking but not equipment needed to protect our community’s? [sic]” wrote Cass County Sheriff Tom Burch a few days later, in reply to an email that said Enbridge funds could be used to address an expected increase in human trafficking related to the arrival of hundreds of temporary workers.
The funding gap for less-lethal munitions was important enough that law enforcement officials raised it with Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. In early October, Walz set up a phone call with the sheriffs along the Line 3 route. Ahead of the calls, Lake, the Carlton County sheriff, distributed a handful of talking points to the group. Among them was the problem of tear gas funding.
“One identified resource we know that will aid in response should the protests become violent and out of control is the use of less lethal munitions such as gas,” the talking points said. “We have been told by the PUC that this absolutely will not be an allowable expense for reimbursement through the Public Safety Escrow Account. Enbridge has said they would not directly reimburse this expense as they have put funds aside into the Public Safety Escrow Account already to be utilized to reimburse public safety for response.”
It continues, “If counties along the pipeline route face mass crowds of violent protests that are prolonged events, the small resources of munitions that we may have will be very quickly depleted. Without these less lethal options, there is an incredibly increased risk for responders, protestors, and the community as a whole.”
The governor apparently offered words of comfort. “Dave’s assessment is that it went very well and he believes that the Governor will figure out the funding piece and the munitions,” Lake said in an email after the call, referring to Dave Olmstead, a retired Bloomington police commander who serves as Minnesota’s special events preparedness coordinator for Line 3, overseeing the public safety response to the project. “It sounds like his staff was already trying to line up a meeting internally for them to discuss it.” . . .
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) disapproved Minnesota’s long-standing practice of excluding waterways used for the production of wild rice in the state’s listing of impaired waters under the Clean Water Act.
In a March 2021 letter to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, EPA leaders partially approved Minnesota’s listing of impaired waters. But the state’s decision to exclude waterways with high levels of sulfate, deadly to wild rice, violates the Clean Water Act, according to the federal agency.
“The 11 tribes in Minnesota have consulted with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Environmental Protection Agency for years on the issue of excluding known impaired wild rice waters on Minnesota’s 303(d) list,” said April McCormick, secretary treasurer for the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa. . . .
South Dakota Gov. Kristi L. Noem (R) is ambitious. She’s leaned into her hands-off approach to the coronavirus pandemic, earning her outsize media attention given the size of her state, though at some obvious cost to South Dakotans. She embraced former president Donald Trump, endearing herself to his base. And she’s been eager to leverage right-wing cultural fights to raise her profile.
On Wednesday, that instinct led to this bit of posturing.
South Dakota won't be taking any illegal immigrants that the Biden Administration wants to relocate. My message to illegal immigrants... call me when you're an American.
Republicans have been eager to use the increase in migrants apprehended at the border with Mexico to pressure the Biden administration for several weeks. Noem’s statement goes a bit further, claiming that she will object to any attempts by the federal government to relocate undocumented migrants in her state. Even beyond the immediate irony of the White governor of a state in which 1 in 11 residents are Native American proclaiming who is American enough to reside there, there are obvious flaws in the line Noem is drawing.
For one, those who enter the country illegally are almost never able to gain citizenship, as immigration attorney David Leopold explained to The Washington Post in 2016. In other words, undocumented immigrants won’t be able to call Noem when they become American because they probably won’t be able to.
But the more important issue here is the use of “illegal immigrant” as a broad descriptor for whom the administration is dealing with.
There are two directions in which this descriptor incompletely overlaps with the current immigration situation. The first is that many new immigrants to the United States who are here without authorization are not from Mexico or Central America. Many have instead arrived on legal visas but failed to leave when those visas expired. Most new immigrants overall in recent years are from Asia.
The second is that many of those stopped at the U.S.-Mexico border and taken into custody are not in the country illegally. In fiscal 2017 through 2019, about 15 percent of those stopped at the border by the Border Patrol or the Office of Field Operations (OFO, which manages ports of entry) were people seeking asylum. Nearly 300,000 people sought asylum by making a “credible fear” claim on being stopped at the border — or often upon turning themselves in on arrival to the United States. You can see that in the numbers; in fiscal 2019, nearly two-thirds of those stopped at OFO border checkpoints were people claiming asylum. . . .
. . .But think about how the tenor of the story changes if the woman only assumed that they were in the country illegally. Think about what it means if those were just recent immigrants seeking asylum or if they were naturalized. Think about how the story is reshaped if you consider that those maybe-immigrants may have been there with their own children — children born in the United States and therefore citizens.
American politics is often focused on a heavily archaic sense that migrants to the United States from Mexico and Central America necessarily sneaked across the border to take advantage of American citizens. That’s the assumption that Noem is trying to exploit and that undergirds Vance’s story. It’s the assumption at the root of a lot of the discussion of immigration and an assumption that bears more scrutiny than it gets.
But there's more. That "immediate irony of the White governor of a state in which 1 in 11 residents are Native American proclaiming who is American enough to reside there."
A tweet by Governor Kristi Noem is getting quite the response. It has to do with president Biden’s immigration policies and children applying for asylum in the U.S.
The Governor’s tone on immigration isn’t sitting well with many people, especially Native Americans.
The tweet sent out by the Governor on Twitter at 9:06 a.m. on April 14th reads “South Dakota won’t be taking any illegal immigrants that the Biden Administration wants to relocate.” It ends with the same message Noem posted in this video on her campaign Twitter page. “My message to illegal immigrants, call me when you’re an American.”
Many of her Twitter followers are voicing support, as of this afternoon the Governor’s tweet had more than 28,000 likes.
But the majority of the almost 12,000 quote-retweets are critical of Noem.
National sports radio show host Joy Taylor who wrote: “Was this tweeted on stolen Native land or nah?”
Ruth Hopkins responded with a map showing the Great Sioux Nation and the question “now who’s the illegal immigrant?”
But it is Remi Bald Eagle’s response that has gone viral with almost 100,000 likes.
He said, “I’m going to re-tweet this only to say, you do not know how much this comment breaks my heart. You are on our land. It seems like our problem is love and your problem is hate.”
Bald Eagle is a combat veteran who ran for office as the Democratic candidate for the South Dakota PUC.
“South Dakota has an opportunity to pitch in and help this country solve a serious problem and when we refuse to do that it breaks my heart that other people are taking away the opportunity for us to be able to help others,” said Bald Eagle.
Bald Eagle also says he is humbled and grateful to the thousands who responded to his message. We reached out to the Governor’s office for a comment on the reaction to her tweet, we have not gotten a response yet.
"Update from Dr. Peter Larsen at the University of Minnesota Center for Prion Research and Outreach on chronic wasting disease research."
We might scrutinize the rote damning as "metrocentric" of Minneapolis DFLer Fue Lee's omnibus bonding bill, though that may come tomorrow.
Photo: Tear gas in Brooklyn Center, Kori Suzuki (@korisuzuk1) for Mac Weekly. Full tweet embedded above.
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University of Minnesota researchers at the Minnesota Center for Prion Research (MNPRO) have developed a novel approach to field testing chronic wasting disease (CWD). The team confirmed their findings in southeast Minnesota the week of March 8, 2021, making them the first-ever scientists to successfully deploy a CWD field test.
There are limited testing options available for CWD, leading scientists to investigate several new approaches with the hopes of obstructing the disease’s spread. Last spring, the MNPRO team worked with the Minnesota DNR to analyze tissue samples from CWD-positive white-tailed deer using a technique known as RT-QuIC. The team managed to obtain confirmation of protein-misfolding in just nine hours with that approach. Only a handful of labs currently have access to this top-of-the-line technology for CWD testing.
Now, the MNPRO researchers have developed a new assay that generates a color change of red for a positive CWD result and blue for negative. They have named the test “MN-QuIC” to honor the state of Minnesota, where the test was developed.
“MN-QuIC uses nanoparticles to identify CWD prions in tissue samples. It is the product of an intense multi-disciplinary research effort that united scientists across the University of Minnesota,” says Peter Larsen, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Minnesota College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) and co-director of MNPRO. He says the new test is also a lot cheaper than those using traditional equipment and uses field-deployable equipment to garner preliminary results in just 24 hours. “We have performed over one hundred confirmatory tests in our MNPRO lab and this was our first field-deployment. We will continue to validate MN-QuIC over the coming months and plan additional field deployments this fall.”
The team is striving for a test that could be set-up at individual stations statewide, cutting down on testing bottlenecks. “This would help prevent CWD prions from entering our food supply,” Larsen says, “and would be an important step forward in the fight against CWD.”
CWD originated roughly 50 years ago and affects white-tailed deer, mule deer, red deer, sika deer, caribou, reindeer, elk, and moose — all animals known as “cervids.” The transmissible neurological disease produces small lesions in an animal’s brain and ultimately results in abnormal behavior, weight loss, loss of bodily functions, and death. While it is yet unknown whether the disease can spread to humans, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends against eating meat from CWD-infected animals. In 2020, both the Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Department of Agriculture declared CWD-positive venison unfit for human or animal consumption, listing the meat as an adulterated product.
CWD is spread by misfolded prion proteins, which also cause scrapie in sheep, bovine spongiform encephalopathy in cattle (sometimes called “mad cow disease”), and sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans. CWD-causing prions are not alive and can only be destroyed with specialized equipment or strong chemicals, which is what makes CWD so difficult to mitigate. They can also persist in the environment for years. Advances made on CWD could inform other prion-related diseases in humans and animals alike.
The field team was composed of Larsen; Peter Christenson, a graduate student in the UMN College of Science and Engineering who envisioned this new testing method; Manci Li, a PhD student in the CVM; Marc Schwabenlander, MPH, chronic wasting disease research program and outreach manager at MNPRO; and Tiffany Wolf, DVM, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Veterinary Population Medicine at the CVM and co-director of MNPRO. The scientists also spent the trip collecting environmental samples from areas impacted by CWD and connecting with partners in nearby Amish communities to identify culturally-appropriate CWD management strategies.
“This project is a shining example of bringing bipartisan support in the legislature, scientists, state agencies, and private landowners together to find solutions that support everyone’s needs,” Larsen says. “This is exactly how a land grant institution should function.”
This research was supported by the MN Agricultural Experiment Station Rapid Ag Response Fund and Environment and Natural Resource Trust Fund, as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources. Additionally, various entities at the University of Minnesota have provided support, including the CVM’s Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, the Office for the Vice President of Research, and the College more broadly, which also houses MNPRO. The research team works closely with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources on multiple aspects of CWD research.
end update #2
Update: So far, only the audio for the hearing is available; listen here.
Some big news:
Just announced this morning: @UMN_MNPRO has new developed 24-hour field test for #CWD 🦌 Groundbreaking research and developments thanks to supporting the U of M and ENTRF funds. This is why we need to pass the LCCMR bill and put those tax dollars to work.
"Update from Dr. Peter Larsen at the University of Minnesota Center for Prion Research and Outreach on chronic wasting disease research."
Documents outlining Larsen's work at MNPRO have been posted at the committee's website and we embed one of them below.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources' 2021 CWD Proposed Surveillance six-slide presentation is also posted on the committee page. Included in the presentation? The slide at the top of this is the Addition--Beltrami County Surveillance.
The latest confirmed spread of chronic wasting disease has taken the dreaded deer threat as far north as it's ever been found in Minnesota, to an area northeast of Bemidji where tribal hunting is now at increased risk for CWD.
State officials earlier this month confirmed that the contagious and always fatal neurological disease in deer, elk and moose was discovered in a dead, commercialized white-tailed deer inside the fence of a farm recently cited for a record-keeping violation. The animal was acquired in 2019 from the same deer farm in Winona County that sourced another CWD-positive deer. That animal was living at a deer farm in Houston County when the disease was detected five months ago. . . .
While the state Board of Animal Health works with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to rid the Beltrami County farm of all deer, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is collaborating with Ojibwe fish and game leaders to mitigate the risk of CWD spreading into the area's wild deer herd. For many Red Lake, Leech Lake and White Earth band members, wild venison is an important food source. Health officials advise people not to eat meat from a CWD-infected animal.
"What has heightened this a lot is the sovereignty of three tribal nations," said Michelle Carstensen, the DNR's top wildlife scientist.
She said the DNR met this week with tribal biologists to begin crafting a plan to utilize hunters to sample wild deer during the fall harvest. Also coming will be a ban throughout Beltrami County to stop public feeding of deer — a practice that scientists believe congregates the animals in ways that increase the threat of CWD spreading.
The infected farm is within the boundaries of Ojibwe-ceded territory where tribal members still maintain hunting and fishing rights. Red Lake and Leech Lake reservation lands lie within a 15-mile radius of the infected farm, which is located between Blackduck and Tenstrike. The circle around an infected farm is traditionally the area most watched by the DNR for CWD detections. White Earth land is further away but within the possible range for surveillance and mitigation that is estimated to cost Minnesota taxpayers nearly $1 million over the next three years. . . .
State Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn, DFL- Roseville, a Leech Lake Ojibwe descendant who hunts deer with family members in areas now poised for CWD surveillance, said Minnesota's fight against the deer disease is burdened by a regulatory agency that is too "buddy buddy" with deer farmers. The industry itself, she said, is in denial about the threat it poses to the state's invaluable wild deer herd.
"You've now allowed it to spread to two tribal nations," said Becker-Finn, who sits on the Environment and Natural Resources Committee. "A lot of people who live there depend on venison as a food source."
She said the disease might not spread beyond the infected deer farm, but an outbreak could raise the potential for a lawsuit.
"The right to hunt means nothing if you can't eat what you hunt," Becker-Finn said. . . .
Screengrab: DNR's map of Beltrami County CWD Surveillance area.
If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.
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Minnesotans undertook a unique experiment in 2008 when they voted to have the statewide sales tax raised by 0.375%, with the proceeds committed to clean water, the preservation of natural areas, enhancing parks and trails, and funding the arts and cultural programming. The agreement was to give it 25 years and see how it went.
Now the state is halfway through that experiment, and how those tax proceeds should be allocated is the focus of HF1079, the omnibus legacy finance bill. Sponsored by Rep. Leon Lillie (DFL-North St. Paul), it would provide $385.5 million in appropriations for fiscal year 2022 to the four funds created by the Legacy Amendment.
After 2 1/2 hours of debate, the bill, as amended, was passed 79-52 the House Thursday evening. It now moves to the Senate where Sen. Carrie Ruud (R-Breezy Point) is the sponsor.
“This goes all around Minnesota and serves it well,” Lillie said. “We’re in the 13th year of the 25-year deal, and we really challenged people to look at their programs. I think it’s a bill that we all can be proud of.” . . .
Down column there's this:
Rep. Paul Anderson (R-Starbuck) and Rep. Josh Heintzeman (R-Nisswa) were both unhappy with less money for fiscal year 2023 being given to soil and water conservation districts. Whether those bodies are appropriate targets for legacy funding is an annual controversy. Rep. Rick Hansen (DFL-South St. Paul) defended the choice.
“The legacy funds are not base funding,” he said. “They’re supposed to be something special above that. In 2019, a large amount was taken from the funds for [soil and water conservation districts], but that wasn’t what the funds were for. We believe what we have here is something that fulfills the constitutional role of the Clean Water Fund. … We have done more to protect water than any other state. But spending the money and counting the acres is not enough. We need outcomes of clean drinking water, clean ground water.”
There's more than that. Here's the video of Hansen's full remarks:
Here's the Minnesota House Information Services YouTube of the full debate:
Photo: Rep. Leon Lillie, chair of the House Legacy Finance Committee, watches the vote total for the omnibus legacy finance bill on a large TV set up in the back of the House Chamber for visual aid during largely remote floor sessions. Photo by Paul Battaglia/Session Daily.
If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.
Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email sally.jo.sorensen@gmail.com as recipient.
NEW: I'm now on Venmo for those who prefer to use this service: @Sally-Sorensen-6
Update: So far, only the audio for the hearing is available; listen here.
Some big news:
Just announced this morning: @UMN_MNPRO has new developed 24-hour field test for #CWD 🦌 Groundbreaking research and developments thanks to supporting the U of M and ENTRF funds. This is why we need to pass the LCCMR bill and put those tax dollars to work.
Since 2018, Dr. Larsen has led a public outreach campaign focused on the biology and ecology of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), an emerging prion disease of cervids (elk, deer, moose, etc.). CWD has great potential to negatively impact multiple economic sectors in Minnesota and throughout the United States. Outreach events to members of the public and state and federal legislators include public webinars, lectures, seminars, testimonies, and one-on-one discussions organized by MNPRO and the University of Minnesota Government and Community Relations Office. Funding for these outreach activities has been generously provided by: Minnesota Extension Rapid Ag Response Fund, Center for Animal Health and Food Safety, College of Veterinary Medicine, and the Minnesota LCCMR.
We'll supply links to the livestreams and possibly embed one here.
Another great step forward in fight against #CWD. More options for testing 🦌 🦌 🦌. Our @UMN_MNPRO team is ready to help #Minnesota and beyond to fight this disease using RT-QuIC and new tools in R&D. https://t.co/MJWBUXBTw4
Why is it so important for Minnesotans to learn about and recognize the symptoms of CWD in cervids? CWD is one of the most challenging diseases we’ve ever faced. In large part, it’s because the CWD prions are nearly indestructible and can exist in the environment for years. Early detection and removal of a CWD positive animal from the environment will help to reduce the spread of CWD in our state. Anyone who spends time outdoors — bird watchers, dog walkers, cross-country skiers, hikers, hunters, etc. — can help curb CWD by recognizing symptoms and reporting sick animals to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
What would you like people to know about CWD? CWD is not a “zombie disease”, it is a neurodegenerative condition that is threatening multiple deer species. Labeling CWD as a zombie disease causes unnecessary fear. We must all work together to protect deer heritage and to implement the CWD control measures as specified by the Minnesota DNR and Board of Animal Health.
What does the research say about the possibility of chronic wasting disease transmitting to humans? It is important to understand that there is currently no evidence that CWD can be transmitted to humans. Nevertheless, the CDC recommends that we do not eat CWD positive meat because we do not know whether or not the CWD prions will ultimately infect humans in the future. One of the primary reasons our team is working to develop new CWD diagnostic tools is to prevent CWD meat from entering our food supply.
What is the U of M College of Veterinary Medicine doing to study and stop CWD? The only way we can stop the spread of this disease is by understanding where and how these CWD prions are spread and which animals are carrying the disease. The first step is by creating real-time diagnostic tests like the ones we are developing at MNPRO. MNPRO faculty will ultimately work on a wide variety of CWD related projects, with research focused on the removal of CWD prions from the environment and CWD therapeutics.
What drew you to study chronic wasting disease? CWD is part of a spectrum of neurodegenerative diseases that originate from protein-misfolding events, and my postdoctoral research focused largely on the origin of protein-misfolding events observed in Alzhiemer’s disease.
How are CWD and Alzheimer's disease related? There are fascinating connections between Alzheimer’s disease and CWD that remain to be explored, and a component of my research program at UMN will focus on those connections. One of the most exciting aspects that our diagnostic development team is exploring on CWD is that diagnostic tools that are being developed for Alzheimer’s disease and Parkinson’s disease can be repurposed for CWD diagnostics.
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It's taken for granted that South Dakotans support our governor's notion that mask mandates are a bad thing--but city governments in the state did pass temporary mandates.
How did that work out for those city council members and mayors in recent municipal elections?
Voters in Brookings and Yankton, S.D., this week went to the polls in municipal elections, in large part, to support incumbents who passed citywide mandates during the pandemic's height last fall. One mayor said the vote wasn't a referendum on masks, but he gauged wide, if quiet support for a mandate.
Last fall, they packed a city council meeting in Brookings, S.D., mask-less, adorned in red T-shirts sending a threatening message to officials posed to require masks indoors across the city, and their robust opposition shot around the nation in a video emblematic of the response to COVID-19 in South Dakota.
On Tuesday, April 13, some of those mask-opponents ran for city office.
And lost.
"I felt in my gut, even those loud voices did not represent the majority of our community," said Nick Wendell, a commission member, who voted for the city's facial-covering mandate and received 54% of ballots cast, the most of any candidate.
Tuesday was supposed to be a similar reckoning for an incumbent in Yankton, South Dakota -- one of the other, albeit few towns in the Rushmore state to pass a mask mandate.
Yard signs saying "vote 3 for liberty" dotted yards days before the election, with one candidate — a former mayor Curt Bernard — calling in a candidate interview for voters to cast ballots for him and two others to turn the city commission into a "pro-America, 1776, with more liberty kind of commission."
But instead, the town's current mayor, Nathan Johnson, as well as incumbent Bridget Benson, and candidate, Mike Villanueva, who spread the word of trusting doctors — even "epidemiologists" — prevailed easily.
"I don't know that the everyday voter saw this as a referendum for how the city handled the pandemic," said Johnson, who won over 67% of ballots cast. But, he added, "Based on the feedback we got when we passed the mask mandate, a large majority of the community agreed with that decision."
"A lot of people understood why we did what we did."
Up in Brookings, home to the state's largest university but also a manufacturing sector with Daktronics and 3M plants, Wendell, commissioner Patty Bacon, and mayoral candidate Oepke "Ope" Niemeyer beat challengers unified under a "Brighter Brookings" coalition spawned from an anti-mask coalition who showed up in droves of red T-shirts to last fall's meeting.
At the September meeting, chiropractor Isaiah Crevier stood up to say, "I think freedom is more important than money" adding at his own practice, "we will not be wearing a mask."
On Tuesday, Crevier came in fourth place, garnering 31% of ballots. It was the same for mayoral candidate Jeff Miller, who told the Brookings Register he was "never a big fan of" a mask ordinance. He earned 33% of the vote.
Campaigns are never about one topic, but Wendell notes the mask mandate "was the very first question" at a Chamber of Commerce-backed forum.
When he decided to run eight weeks ago, Wendell says he vowed not "to spend the next two months debating if masks worked." But he said his campaign war chest — usually $2,500 — grew three-fold, largely from unsolicited donations.
"It seemed like people in the community were sending a message," he said.
While South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem spurned mandates, Brookings, Yankton, Sioux Falls, Mitchell, and Huron all passed versions of a mask requirement locally, at the urging of health professionals. None carried penalties for violations. Only Brookings' mandate is still in place, where countywide COVID-19 mortality rates rank 6th-lowest in the state. . . .
Read the rest at the Mitchell Republic.
Risky business in South Dakota
In spurning a state-wide mask mandate, Noem had stressed the notion that South Dakota residents could make their own decisions about the risk of catching COVID, since we face all sort of risk all the time. Things like accidents, you know.
State officials say the number of fatal traffic accidents increased in South Dakota last year after hitting an all-time low in 2019.
Department of Public Safety spokesperson Tony Mangan tells Dakota Radio Group there were 126 fatality-related on South Dakota’s roads and highways in 2020, resulting in the deaths of 135 people.
In 2019, there were 88 fatal crashes that claimed 102 lives.
The number of people killed in motorcycle crashes last year was 27, compared with just 14 in 2019.
2020 saw the highest total crash fatalities in South Dakota since 2014 when officials reported 136 deaths. According to state data dating back to 1990, traffic fatalities peaked in 2003 with 203 deaths. Deaths have been trending downward since the mid-2000s. . . .
While South Dakota's vaccination rate is very high, KeloLand reports in The other half:
South Dakota is bragging about a milestone with the COVID-19 vaccination now that over half of the population has received at least one dose. But the majority of those who have begun the vaccination process are white and live in the more populated areas of the state. . . .
. . . South Dakota has been a national leader in providing coronavirus vaccines to older residents and others at high risk of complications from COVID-19.
But as the vaccine rollout expanded to Phase 2, making anyone 16 and older eligible for vaccination, the demand for shots has waned and concerns have risen that herd immunity may be unobtainable.
“It’s definitely concerning, and it’s truly a race against time,” said Dr. Shankar Kurra, vice president of medical affairs at Monument Health in Rapid City. “If we don’t get to that threshold of herd immunity, we could end up losing the race and having a new surge or wave of cases and unfortunately more hospitalizations and deaths.”
. . .National surveys and reports from medical experts in South Dakota reveal that vaccine hesitancy is more common among young people, rural and low-income residents, those with lower education levels and among some religious and political groups. Misinformation about the safety of COVID-19 vaccines is seen as a common reason people are deciding not to get vaccinated.
. . . A report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in early April showed estimated vaccine hesitancy rates for the nation, and indicated that hesitancy was greatest in the Great Plains and Southeast regions. In South Dakota, the estimates showed greater hesitancy in the middle third of the state compared with the east and west edges.
Our second shot of the Moderna vaccination kicks in tomorrow, and we're happy to help protect our family and community from the coronavirus.
And we're going to drive even more cautiously, given the risk assessments other drivers are taking.
Photo: "Political signs dot a lawn on April 2, 2021 in Yankton, South Dakota advertising three candidates who expressed frustration with the citywide mask ordinance passed in December." (Submitted photo from the Mitchell Republic).
If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.
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Wednesday afternoon, we watched the Minnesota House Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee consider "four police reform and accountability bills approving three and hearing the fourth for informational purposes only."
The long shadow of two fatal police shootings in the Twin Cities fell over the House Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee as it met Wednesday to consider four bills on police reform and accountability.
There is the ongoing trial of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin charged in the wrongful death of George Floyd in May 2020.
There is Sunday’s fatal shooting of Daunte Wright by a now-former Brooklyn Center police officer, who has been charged with second-degree manslaughter. . . .
Judiciary panel hears four police reform bills
Against that backdrop, the judiciary panel considered four police reform and accountability proposals, approving three and hearing the fourth for informational purposes only.
“These bills are small parts of a larger effort that we’re all engaged in together to try to align our laws to help build true community safety for all the people of our state,” said Rep. Aisha Gomez (DFL-Mpls). “An effort to show that we are listening, that we are trying, that we know the status quo right now is not working for large parts of our communities.”
Here are accounts of the four bills, all of which drew opposition from Republicans who said they would unduly impede police officers from safely performing their duties and protecting the public.
Creating civilian oversight of law enforcement
Sponsored by Gomez, HF640 would modify the Peace Officer Discipline Procedures Act to permit local units of government with more than 50 officers — about 40 agencies in Minnesota — to establish law enforcement citizen oversight councils.
The bill would change the powers and duties of existing “civilian review boards,” by renaming them “civilian oversight councils” and give them authority to “conduct an investigation into allegations of peace officer misconduct and retain an investigator to facilitate an investigation.”
An amendment successfully offered by Gomez changed the original language requiring the establishment of civilian oversight councils to making them optional.
Members adopted a delete-all amendment, then approved the bill on an 11-6 party-line vote and sent it to the House floor. There is no Senate companion.
Expedited release of deadly force video footage
HF1103, sponsored by Rep. John Thompson (DFL-St. Paul), was approved in March by the House Public Safety and Criminal Justice Reform Finance and Policy Committee, and provisions in the bill are included in that committee’s omnibus bill.
Law enforcement agencies would be required to release body camera recordings of deadly force incidents to the deceased’s family and representatives within 48 hours of the incident.
Withholding such body camera recordings from the person’s family and representatives because the data is an investigatory record or compiled for law enforcement purposes would also be prohibited.
The committee approved the bill, as amended, on a 10-6 vote and sent it to the House floor. Rep. Erik Mortensen (R-Shakopee) was the sole Republican voting in favor of the bill. The companion, SF807, sponsored by Sen. Omar Fateh (DFL-Mpls), awaits action by the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee.
As the video of the discussion of HF640 becomes available, we will post it here.
Eliminating police officer civil and criminal liability immunity
Under state and federal law, a police officer’s actions are typically protected by qualified immunity, which limits the officer’s criminal liability when exercising his or her judgment while performing official duties in good faith.
HF1104, also sponsored by Thompson, would eliminate that qualified immunity.
The bill would:
create a civil cause of action under state law to permit a person to sue a police officer by alleging that the officer deprived the person of constitutional rights;
permit the court to award attorney fees and costs to the person bringing the suit if that person prevails;
permit the court to award attorney fees and costs to the defendant officer if the court determines the suit was frivolous; and
establish a two-year statute of limitations to bring claims.
The committee approved the bill on a party-line vote of 9-7 and sent it to the House floor. The companion, SF580, also sponsored by Fateh, awaits action by the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee.
Limiting the authority for police officers to stop or detain drivers
Another proposal, which has not yet been officially introduced, would limit peace officers’ authority to stop or detain drivers for certain motor vehicle equipment violations.
Frazier hopes the proposed changes can prevent future tragedies such as the death of Daunte Wright after a traffic stop for a vehicle equipment violation.
“We don’t need to have law enforcement making these types of stops. We don’t need to create these types of interactions that we are seeing go in a totally wrong direction that escalate to the point of death of unarmed Black men,” he said.
A police officer would not be able to stop or detain the operator of a motor vehicle solely for these offenses:
operating an unregistered vehicle;
license plate illumination;
muffler required/exceed motor vehicle noise limits;
These prohibitions would not apply to commercial vehicles, nor would they prevent a police officer from stopping a vehicle operating under clearly dangerous conditions, such as without any functioning headlights or tail lamps.
Studies in all areas of the country show that traffic stops are disproportionately experienced by non-white drivers, Moller said, and this legislation is a step toward bringing about fairer treatment for these drivers.
“This is a carefully crafted bill to decrease racial disparities in police stops while still ensuring public safety,” she said.
Photo: Daunte Wright's grieving mother (left).
If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.
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In an email from the Environmental Quality Board, we learned:
The EQB collaborated with the Minnesota Lottery to create the Bee Lucky scratch ticket that features the endangered rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis), Minnesota’s state bee.
The Interagency Pollinator Protection Team and Dr. Elaine Evans from the UMN Bee Lab worked together to provide the technical and scientific information that populates the Bee Lucky ticket landing page, and the Bee Informed box included in each ticket. This ticket will raise awareness about Minnesota’s imperiled pollinators and ways to help them. Additionally, Bee Lucky ticket sales will generate lottery proceeds that support environmental projects, including improving pollinator habitat.
Pollinators like the rusty patched bumble bee help support Minnesota’s environment and economy. That’s why the Minnesota Lottery has created a very special scratch ticket with help from our friends at the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board.
Bee Lucky scratch tickets—starring Minnesota’s state bee, the rusty patched bumble bee—land in retailers across Minnesota on April 6. Each ticket is $2. Players have a chance to win up to $10,000 instantly.
In addition to featuring one of Minnesota’s most buzz-worthy pollinators, Bee Lucky scratch tickets include a special “Bee Informed” box. Players scratch the Bee Informed box to reveal facts about Minnesota’s pollinators.
“The Environmental Quality Board is excited to collaborate with the Minnesota Lottery to produce the Bee Lucky scratch ticket,” said Katie Pratt, EQB Executive Director. "This ticket will raise awareness about Minnesota’s state bee—the endangered rusty patched bumble bee—and generate lottery proceeds that support environmental projects including improving pollinator habitat. While Minnesota is making progress on pollinator protection, it will take all of us to protect our state bee and other imperiled pollinators.”
The rusty patched bumble bee became Minnesota’s state bee in 2019. The rusty patched bumble bee has been listed as federally endangered since 2017.
“The Minnesota Lottery is happy that we can help play our part to raise awareness about Minnesota’s native pollinators,” said Minnesota Lottery Executive Director Adam Prock. “We are grateful for the work that The Environmental Quality Board and so many others have done for Minnesota’s environment.”
The Lottery has generated more than $3.3 billion for programs that positively impact the lives of Minnesotans. More than $1.4 billion has helped preserve, restore and protect Minnesota’s environment through the Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, Game and Fish Fund and the Natural Resources Fund. Approximately $1.9 billion has helped fund state programs through the General Fund, including education, public safety and health and human services.
We don't usually gamble, but we may have to buzz over to Ortonville and buy a couple of scratch cards to help out our little bumble bee friends.
In other news, we received an email from the Environmental Initiative announcing its 2021 Awards. Minnesota's Lawns to Legumes Pilot Program won the 2021 Large Scale Sustainability Impact Project:
Pollinators like butterflies, moths, beetles, and native flies all play a key role in pollinating many food crops and native plants, but populations have significantly declined worldwide in recent years.
Lawns to Legumes seeks to combat population decline by creating new pollinator habitat and habitat corridors that provide food sources and nesting space for pollinators. The program includes landowner technical and financial support, neighborhood demonstration projects, and an outreach campaign.
To engage residents across the state and shift landscape practices, collaboration was needed with many partners. Metro Blooms and BlueThumb – Planting for Clean Water coordinated workshops, provided coaching to residents and helped distribute cost share funding for residential installations. Cities, counties, conservation districts, tribes and nonprofits are collaborating in demonstration neighborhoods. The Minneapolis College of Art and Design played a key role in developing outreach materials and social media assets to support the awareness campaign.
More than 100 partners are actively engaged, 100 volunteer coaches have assisted individual residents, and the program was featured widely in the media. Equity benefits of this pilot program are being assessed to more effectively benefit underserved populations.
Are a nonprofit organization working with business, nonprofit, government and community leaders to address complex and systemic issues.
Facilitate conversations addressing environmental, economic, and public health issues between diverse stakeholders as we work toward social equity and environmental health.
Take action and implement on-the-ground projects to improve our air, land, and water for all beings.
Plan and host events for environmental leaders from businesses, nonprofits, government and most-impacted communities to share information, network and learn from one another.
If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.
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The Minnesota Legislative Audit Commission, a powerful bipartisan body that decides what state programs and agencies the Legislature will investigate, has not met since December over concerns that the next chair is currently running to head the Minnesota Republican Party.
Next in line for chair is state Sen. Mark Koran, R-North Branch, who late last year announced a run against current GOP Chair Jennifer Carnahan.
The Office of Legislative Auditor, which the commission oversees, often conducts high profile investigations of the executive branch that expose waste and malfeasance and can drive news coverage for days. Gov. Tim Walz, the first-term Democrat, is expected to run for reelection; if he’s elected chair of the GOP, Koran’s top goal would be unseating Walz.
State Rep. Rick Hansen, DFL-South St. Paul, the current chair of the commission, said in an interview that Democratic-Farmer-Labor members of the commission are not comfortable with Koran leading the commission. . . .
The election of Koran as chair was unanimous, as was the selection of Hansen as vice-chair.
The Youtube replaces an earlier livestreamed version that got off to a slow start.
According to its website:
The Legislative Audit Commission (LAC) is a bi-partisan commission with 6 members from the House of Representatives and 6 from the Senate, equally divided between the majority and minority parties. Membership is governed by Minnesota Statutes 2020, 3.97, subd. 2. The commission appoints the Legislative Auditor and selects topics for the Program Evaluation Division to review. It also periodically holds hearings to review audit and evaluation reports. The commission chair rotates every two years between the House and the Senate.
Photo: Senator Mark Koran, via Minnesota Senate Republicans Caucus Koran page.
If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the paypal subscription button.
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All of the statements, opinions, and views expressed on this site by Sally Jo Sorensen are solely her own, save when she attributes them to other sources.
The opinions, statements, and views of contributing writers are their own.
Sorensen, editor and proprietor of Bluestem Prairie, serves clients in the business and nonprofit sectors. While progressive in outlook, she does not caucus with any political party.
BREAKING!! CHAUVIN VERDICT IS IN
THE VERDICT WILL BE READ BETWEEN 3:30pm and 4:00pm TODAY!!Additionally, I'm hearing reports of dozens of busses coming to town with paid protestors that are bringing riot gear with them. Of course, we do not know if rioters will come to Shakopee but I encourage everyone to prepare for the worst and pray for the best.That said the head of Capitol security is directing legislators to prepare for riots. Therefore, I'm passing along a similar preparatory message to you all. This is NOT an exhaustive list, but a starting point for things to think about:
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