Bluestem Prairie

MN12: "We The People" candidate Klingbeil follows through on Westrom residency challenge

Bluestem Prairie is one of the few media outlets to report on "We The People" candidate Ashley Klingbeil bid for Senate District 12 seat. Our first post was the June 16 entry,  MN12: Ashley Klingbeil to challenge Torrey and Dorry from the right for state senate seat.

We kept track of her, noticing on August 2 that Via personal Facebook page: independent candidate vows to challenge Westrom residency:

Is it a copycat play or a legitimate challenge?

Just as soon as the residency challenge to Minnesota Senate District 23 endorsed Republican candidate Gene Dornink is under the consideration of the Minnesota State Supreme Court, another Senate conservative candidate has raised the issue of her Republican opponent's residency.

In the Minnesota Legislature since 1997, Torrey Westrom needed to move after redistricting. 

In Senate District 12, "We the People" candidate Ashley Klingbeil posted the embedded video on her personal Facebook page late Tuesday afternoon'. . .

Click through on the post link to watch her video and read about her plan kick Westrom off the general election ballot.

Early Monday evening, MinnPost's  Walker Orenstein tweeted that the filing with the Minnesota State Supreme is real:

New: A petition has been filed with the state Supreme Court challenging Sen. Torrey Westrom's residency. After redistricting, the Republican said he moved from Elbow Lake to Alexandria. https://t.co/DCMvC7vO6R

— Walker Orenstein (@walkerorenstein) August 8, 2022

A number of the items in the filing are mentioned in Via personal Facebook page: independent candidate vows to challenge Westrom residency. It's not surprising because Klingbeil is a real estate broker and would thus understand the records to search about a property, even more than a poor country blogger.

Here's the petition, uploaded on Orenstein's DocumentCloud.

Orenstein has tweeted Westrom's response:

GOP Sen. Torrey Westrom's response: "These allegations are baseless and are a desperate attempt to distract from the real issues of the campaign." Says he changed his residency to Alexandria "before the deadline in full compliance with Minnesota Law." https://t.co/GKKsn9DRCo pic.twitter.com/NsAnMZTfhw

— Walker Orenstein (@walkerorenstein) August 9, 2022

We're happy DFL candidate Kari Dorry appears to be staying out of this hot mess, tweeting about what any serious challenger would be doing on a lovely August day in west central Minnesota:

Knocking doors across the countryside today. Dang…rural MN is beautiful!! #ruralMN #knockknock pic.twitter.com/UGAkvVnCtm

— Kari for MN Senate (@karidorry) August 8, 2022

We're betting all three candidates will be on the ballot in November, but stranger things have happened in Minnesota politics.

Whatever the case, we find the question of Westrom's residence fascinating, given an earlier plan to alter the boundaries of Senate District 9, where Westrom's Elbow Lake properties lie, so that another lake home Westrom owns would be in District 12, as we reported in  Will 2020 redistricting plan boundary adjustment get snuck in to let Westrom live in lake house? 

Photo: Torrey Westrom's new real estate purchase. We The People candidate Ashley Klingbeil believes she has evidence to prove Westrom does not, indeed, live there.

If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

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I'm on Venmo for those who prefer to use this service: @Sally-Sorensen-6

Does 2022 Pre-Primary Report to campaign finance board tell voters what they need to know about Larvita Mcfarquhar state senate bid?

We've noted an uptick of traffic on an older post, In MN Senate District 15, Larvita McFarquhar vows to take back country from Gary Dahms.

Maybe it's the last item in Minnesota’s GOP Primary Races to Watch on Tuesday at the Tennessee Star:

Larvita McFarquhar, who was fined for keeping her restaurant open during the COVID-19 pandemic, is challenging GOP-endorsed Sen. Gary Dahms in Senate District 15.

While there's a question and answer to both candidates in Deb Gau's Dahms, McFarquhar in GOP primary for state Senate at the Marshall Independent, Bluestem thinks the best signal to voters about how to cast their ballots in this one is McFarquhar's 2022 Pre-Primary Report, viewable via the Reports and Data tab on the Mcfarquhar, Larvita Senate Committee - 18943 page  at the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board.

As the PDF of the file refused to embed on Scribd, Bluestem has posted a screenshot of her campaign fundraising and spending above. 

Incumbent Gary Dahms' report shows that he ended the reporting period with $82,820.92 Cash On Hand. DFL challenger Anita Gaul raised $9992.40, and spent all but $3,356.17.

We'd had our doubts about McFarquhar in past posts like McFarquhar: freedom fighter or attention addict? but this beats them all.

Related posts:

• So SD state rep Mulally, a sheriff & a county commish will host Sheriff Mack in Rapid City 
• Small town MN freedom fighting restaurateur's anti-vaxx pals make us pause about her savvy
• Minnesota Court of Appeals affirms ruling against Havens Garden's anti-sovereignty motion
• Controversial Alexandria pastor Darryl Knappen visits Larvita Mcfarquhar's Havens Garden 
• McFarquhar: freedom fighter or attention addict?

Photo: Screenshot of the summary page of McFarquhar's 2022 Pre-Primary Report, viewable via the Reports and Data tab on the Mcfarquhar, Larvita Senate Committee - 18943 page  at the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board.

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. 

Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email sally.jo.sorensen@gmail.com as recipient.

I'm on Venmo for those who prefer to use this service: @Sally-Sorensen-6

On Facebook, operator of CWD doomed Winona County deer farm wears Miller Scrap hat

UPDATE: At the Star Tribune on Monday evening, Tony Kennedy reported that Todd Miller is Majority Leader Jeremy Miller's brother. Check out CWD found on prominent deer farm in Winona County.

Todd Miller didn't returned the Star Tribune's request for comment either, so this poor country blogger isn't alone on this. [end update]

On August 5, Bluestem Prairie at the conclusion of our post MN Board of Animal Health: CWD confirmed in quarantined Winona County captive deer herd:

We can only pray that the CWD on this Winona County captive deer operation isn't close to any of the deer farms associated with Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller. Readers may recall how Ricardo Lopez reported for the Minnesota Reformer last May, Senate majority leader’s family ties to deer farming under scrutiny in CWD vote.

It's a terrible, always fatal disease.

As we were working on that post, a source in Winona County contacted by Bluestem said that the deer farm in Winona County was indeed operated by a Miller family member. We have been working to confirm that information, and emailed Todd Robbins Miller to ask if it were indeed his farm that was described in the Board of Animal Health press release.

A look at the personal Facebook page of Todd Miller reveals that the herd is indeed connection to the Miller family. On August 5, Todd Miller posted this message on his Facebook page:

On August 6, Miller posted this opinion over a shared post that isn't available for public viewing:

The full text of the post:

This is what I’ll miss the most. Watching what I created, watching them go. These were two 2yr olds, two yrs ago out of my breeder buck called Handsome. He scored 460 inches, but was a pretty 460. As you can see In the picture, he gave me both beautiful typicals and nontypicals. In all my yrs of breeding Handsome produced the biggest bucks I’ve ever raised. Gona miss these animals. Over Cwd, CWD is all over southern MN in the wild, but being I’m a deer farmer with a positive test, and farm in MN, I have to kill them all. WHY because MN legislators made it a law, but other states don’t do this. BUT NOTHING is done about the wild CWD!!! CWD is a political disease. It’s a money grab for the DNR, to get and waste millions of taxpayers dollars. WITH NO END GAME!!

DO YOU PEOPLE SEE THE BIG PICTURE HERE????

PEOPLE NEED TO WAKE UP!!

With all the heartache and frustration, and that I’m not liking what is happening to me, I’m working with MN BOAH and USDA to make this as smooth as possible. ITS A MINNESOTA LAW!!! and this is all so wrong.

It's worth noting that the Board of Animal Health sent out the press release, and the BOAH shares oversight of deer 

While Miller states that "NOTHING" is being done about CWD in the wild herd, Tony Kennedy's reporting in the Star Tribune story, DNR will shift monitoring statewide after chronic wasting disease case turns up in Grand Rapids, told a different story:

. . ."This new discovery doesn't make CWD a statewide problem, but it does mean we need to take more of a statewide approach,'' said Kelly Straka, wildlife section manager for the Department of Natural Resources (DNR).

Until now, the DNR has taken management actions to fight CWD by area, wherever and whenever the disease is detected. The tactics in those zones have included mandatory testing of hunter-killed deer to track the disease. In addition, the DNR organizes extra hunting to thin local herds. As part of the same playbook, the department bans deer feeding and attractants in areas where CWD is found. Deer can transmit the disease to each other when they are in close contact.

Straka and DNR Commissioner Sarah Strommen said in a news release Tuesday that the agency will investigate options for all Minnesota deer hunters to test their doe or buck with a self-mailed kit. Until now, testing has taken place at staffed locations within special CWD zones or by visiting a self-service testing station in those areas.

The conventional testing method requires tissue from a dead deer, so hunter participation has been crucial. To enhance and expand that surveillance, the DNR said it will improve the current design for self-service stations and widen its tissue sampling partnership with taxidermists to cover the entire state.

Since 2002, the DNR has tested 106,000 deer statewide and 153 have tested positive. Most of those cases occurred in southeastern Minnesota, where fewer than 1% of deer have tested positive for CWD. With recent findings of CWD on a defunct deer farm northeast of Bemidji and now in a wild deer in Grand Rapids, there are eight general areas where CWD has been detected. . . .

As for other states' (and those of Canadian provinces) rules about dealing with CWD and captive deer farms, we recommend the Michigan DNR's page, CWD and Cervidae regulations in North America, last updated in October 2021. Here in South Dakota, the Game, Fish, and Parks Department notes in CWD Wasting Disease: What's Being Done:

The Animal Industry Board (AIB) established specific requirements after CWD was first diagnosed in private, captive elk herds to prevent further introductions or recurrences in private, captive elk and deer herds. All captive herds that were infected or exposed have been depopulated, and a voluntary cervidae (deer and elk) CWD surveillance and control program for captive cervids is now being implemented.

So CWD positive captive herds were "depopulated," as the euphemism goes. It's not politics, it's a disease.

Why is this concerning? It seems that attempts to pass one measure regulating deer farming became very political in the Minnesota Senate under Majority Leader Jeremy Miller's leadership.

On May 6, Ricardo Lopez reported for the Minnesota Reformer, Senate majority leader’s family ties to deer farming under scrutiny in CWD vote:

During a recent debate on an agricultural budget bill, Sen. Karla Bigham, DFL-Cottage Grove, won five votes from GOP colleagues to amend the bill and impose regulations on deer farms to combat chronic wasting disease, including a moratorium on new operations. 

It was an unusual show of bipartisan support for a DFL-led amendment in the GOP-controlled Senate, illustrating the deep concern of many hunters and their allies in the Legislature about the disease that threatens the deer population.  

Soon after the amendment passed, however, the Senate recessed at the urging of Majority Leader Jeremy Miller. When they returned, they watered down Bigham’s amendment.  

What Miller didn’t say on the Senate floor: His brother Todd owns a deer farm and a hunting preserve in Winona called Epic Antler Ranch, which bills itself as “Minnesota’s #1 Whitetail hunting destination.”

Bluestem had hunted on that trail a bit before the much more skilled Lopez took up the hunt.

In late April, Bluestem Prairie reported in Senate DFL Leader Franzen raises conflict-of-interest concerns in Republican leader's role overturning bipartisan vote to protect wild deer:

After a bit of sleuthing in online business and property records, we've learned that Todd Miller is the contact person for Epic Antler Ranch a private hunting operation with headquarters at the address 26005 Blackberry Rd, WInona, MN 55987.

Looking into Schneider Corporation's Beacon database for Winona County, we find that 26005 Blackberry Road was purchased by Wm. Miller Scrap Iron & Metal Co in 2006. According to Majority Leader Miller's EIS, Miller is a Director, Officer and Owner of Wm. Miller Scrap Iron & Metal Co.

According to the information for the address, the Primary Taxpayer is S & T Acres LLC at 265 6th St. W in Winona. Six parcels are listed in the parcel results for S & T Acres LLC. The name of the manager of S & T Acres LLC in the Secretary of State's Business Record Details is Susan M. Miller. This name appears in parcel results with that of Jerome Miller and Jerry Miller.

In 2014, the Winona Daily News' article in A family affair with scrap, the cutline under the photo at the top of the article reads:

Miller Scrap in Winona is led by, from left, Jeremy Miller, chief financial officer, Todd Miller, co-yard supervisor, Jerry Miller, president and CEO, and Willie Miller, chief operating officer.

Down column, the copy notes:

Jeremy’s brothers, Willie and Todd, also ended up back in the business after “a few ripples in the water,” Jeremy said.

Are these land ownership, business connections and family relations enough to constitute a conflict of interest on the Majority Leader's part? It is a close family.

We're not certain if Todd Miller and Todd Robbins Miller are the same individual, but the man in the photo at the personal Facebook page of Todd Miller is wearing a Miller Scrap hat and is associated with deer farms that share a business address with Miller Scrap.

On May 1, 2022, we posted in Update: More on Miller family deer farm interests:

Last week, we posted Senate DFL Leader Franzen raises conflict-of-interest concerns in Republican leader's role overturning bipartisan vote to protect wild deer, in which we explored Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller's family business interests in a Winona area deer farm and hunting preserve.

A reader let us know that we'd missed one important connection: Miller's brother [we're working to ascertain whether this Todd is the politician's brother or another family member] Todd's leadership roles in the Minnesota Deer Farmers Association. 

We've posted a screenshot at the top of this post of the "Minnesota Deer Farmers Association--BOD's [Board of Directors] from page 21 of Upper Midwest Whitetails, a trade publication for deer farmers in Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. On page 2 of the publication, however, a list of state deer farmer association president includes Rich Meech, who runs a deer farm at a Menahga address.

The publication is posted on the frontpage of the Minnesota Deer Farmers Association webpage; we've downloaded a copy since we assume a new issue will fill the space at some time.

But Todd Miller's leadership in the Minnesota Deer Farmers Association isn't limited to 2021-2022. ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer page of data for the Minnesota Deer Farmers Association included IRS filings from 2009 through 2019; for 2013 forward, Propublica list the names of officers on the filings.

According to this IRS data, Todd Miller is listed as President in the 2016, 2017 and 2018 filings, while he's listed as Vice-President on the 2019 filing. We checked earlier IRS filings on the ProPublica site and he was not listed as an officer of the Minnesota Deer Farmers Association before the 2016 IRS filing.

Todd Miller's leadership in the Minnesota Deer Farmers Association led to another opportunity: a place at the table in the Board of Animal Health's Farmed Cervidae Advisory Task Force, beginning in 2018. In a January 2018 "Animal Bytes" item, Seeking members for task force, the BAH notes:

 . . .the Board would benefit from input from the following stakeholders:

• Accredited veterinarians working with farmed cervids.
• Minnesota Elk Breeders Association.
• Minnesota Deer Farmers Association.
• A farmed cervid producer at large (not a member of either organization above).
• A farmed cervid producer that provides hunting of farmed cervids on their premises.
• A farmed cervid producer that raises non-native cervid species (ex. reindeer, muntjac, red or fallow deer).
• Minnesota Department of Natural Resources staff.
• USDA Veterinary Services staff.

The Task Force is limited to 15 members for a duration of two years or less, as described in state statute.  . . .

Minutes for two meetings--June 25, 2019 and August 6th, 2019--include Todd Miller as an alternate for the Minnesota Deer Farmers Association. As we noted, the task force was limited in duration.

At the Board of Animal Health, next came the Farmed Cervidae Rulemaking Advisory Committee, which was "formed to develop recommendations and provide the Board with advisement while drafting its rule amendments" (page 4). Serving on this committee:

• Representative of the Minnesota Deer Farmers: Rich Meech; Alternate: Todd Miller

Looking through the minutes of this committee, we find that Todd Miller "Todd Miller, Registered Farmed Cervidae Producer" made comments as a member of the public at a the first meeting on August 26, 2020, though we are unable to find his comments in the detailed minutes.

The next meeting at which Todd Miller appears in the minutes is November 13, 2020. Here's the passage in the minutes:

Todd Miller, Vice President of Minnesota Deer Farmers Association addressed Dr. Larsen stating, “Every article states urine, feces, saliva and now carcasses can contain infectious prions, why not include blood when considering which fluids can spread CWD?”

Peter Larsen confirmed that CWD prions can be detected in blood.

Mr. Miller followed with a question, “Then why doesn’t the DNR ask hunters to pick up carcasses being left all over the landscape?”

Peter Larsen reiterated that a positive animal will have prions in blood.

Mr. Miller commented, “the legislature gave you guys [MNPRO] a bunch of money which will be reevaluated this spring; is a live animal test going to be ready?”

Dr. Larsen stated that thanks to the legislature Minnesota has RT-QuIC functionality, which is a live animal test, in the research lab. He added that validation with USDA will take time and that MNPRO will be submitting three different provisional patents for approval. Dr. Larsen reiterated that his lab has a research focused test that can evaluate samples from live animals.

The Farmed Cervidae Rulemaking Advisory Committee last met on January 22, 2021.  There's this passage in the minutes:

Todd Miller, a non-committee member and cervid farmer, identified his farm as currently under quarantine as a CWD-infected farm. He stated he has had almost 40 of his animals tested for CWD in the past few months, and all results have been CWD not detected. The quarantine restrictions are still in place, and his business cannot function. Dr. Wheeler said that the Board needs to differentiate between “exposed” and “suspected,” as this is a difference that people do not understand. Mr. Miller agreed.

Dr. Glaser said Mr. Miller’s herd is part of an ongoing CWD-positive investigation, and the herd is quarantined following the CWD program standards from the USDA for the investigation. This is a separate situation outside of the rules. If a herd is exposed, the Board would quarantine it and follow the program standards to follow through.

According to a source who replied on background--who was in the room--when we asked about the passage in the minutes:

At one of the meetings of the BAH's Farmed Cervid Rulemaking Advisory Committee .  . . Todd Miller interrupted (not during public comment time) to begin the rant I believe you are referring to, he had to identify himself and was cut off by Dr. Linda Glaser due to his involvement in a quarantined cervid farm she stated.

We'll see if we can obtain an audio or video archive of this meeting.

Related posts:

• MN Board of Animal Health: CWD confirmed in quarantined Winona County captive deer herd
• Update: More on Miller family deer farm interests
•  Senate DFL Leader Franzen raises conflict-of-interest concerns in Republican leader's role overturning bipartisan vote to protect wild deer 

Images: Todd Miller (top); Facebook page posts about depopulating his deer herd.

If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

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MN23 GOP MNSenate primary spat: local newspapers cover Dornink--Prairie Princess feud

A bit of news to add to our digests about the Republican primary in Minnesota Senate District 25.  At the Austin Herald, the staff reports in Supreme Court dismisses case against Dornink (also in the Albert Lea sister paper):

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a late challenge to Sen. Gene Dornink’s residency, in which the author of the complaint alleged the first-term senator didn’t live within the newly created District 23. . . . 

Freeborn County GOP Party Chairman Robert Hoffman, who was also Dornink’s Realtor, said the petition has tainted Hanson’s Senate campaign, changing it from “relevant and respected to desperate and out of control.”

“Lisa has no more control of this current campaign than she did her legal battles that landed her in jail, and she used the same team for both,” he said. “It is ridiculous what their campaign has done.”

He said what the campaign has done will forever haunt her politically.

“Sen. Gene Dornink needs to only be spoken with for five minutes to know that you get 24 hours of honesty out of him on any given day,” Hoffman said. “The reelection of Sen. Gene Dornink, especially after so many successes in a short two years serving, is exactly what our region needs here in southern Minnesota.”

Hanson in response to the decision pointed out that the court only dismissed the case based on “laches” — or timing — and not on the merits of the case, and she said the decision now opens the way for Democrats or others to challenge his residency.

“Let’s be honest, Dornink is damaged goods,” she said. “With the evidence of the petition being unchallenged how can Dornink be trusted?”

We're inclined to agree with the Freeborn County GOP Party Chair's observation.

Meanwhile, the Albert Lea Tribune reported in Walz, other state DFL candidates visit Albert Lea ahead of Tuesday’s primary:

Brandon Lawhead, a candidate for Senate District 23, encouraged the crowd to get out and vote to ensure women had the right to bodily autonomy.

“In the history of our nation, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger,” he said. “I don’t shirk from that, I embrace it.”

He then told the crowd Steve Simon, the secretary of state of Minnesota, and Gov. Tim Walz were facing one of the most difficult times in the history of Minnesota.

“I really truly believe that Gov. Walz and Steve Simon will go down as two of the great public servants in the history of this state, ever,” he said. “It’s critical we get out there and vote for them.”

Related posts:

• Hanson follows through on challenging Dornink; her campaign manager faces his own challenge
• COVID vaccine stealing guy gets booted from Lisa Hanson's Dodge County Courthouse hearing
• All in the badge: new MN NATF state coordinator convicted of 2017 impersonation of peace officer
• National Action Task Force: From the mixed-up files on founder Mr. Mark Emery [Boswell]
• MN23 MNGOP spat: Hanson responds to MN Supreme's Dornink residency case dismissal
• MN23: State Supreme Court dismisses Patriot Princess pal's case about Dornink residence
• MN23 GOP primary woes: Dornink strikes back
• MN23: Patriot Princess supporter files residence complaint against Gene Dornink

Map: The new senate district, from Action 4 Liberty's Heroic Lisa Hanson Runs for Minnesota Senate.

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.

Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email sally.jo.sorensen@gmail.com as recipient.

I'm on Venmo for those who prefer to use this service: @Sally-Sorensen-6

MN23 MNGOP spat: Hanson responds to MN Supreme's Dornink residency case dismissal

Yesterday, we posted a digest of news accounts of the unsuccessful case of MN23: State Supreme Court dismisses Patriot Princess pal's case about Dornink residence.

At the time, none of the sources had posted Hanson's response (above), but Minnesota Public Radio's Brian Bakst updated his coverage of the case,  Court says state senator can remain on primary ballot, with part of Hanson's statement:

Hanson, a restaurant owner who says Dornink wasn’t forceful enough in taking on COVID-19 restrictions, has said she believes Democrats will raise their own residency challenge if he wins Tuesday.

“The Democrats, or anyone for that matter, have the wide open ability to file a new petition against Dornink and effectively knock him out,” Hanson said in a statement issued Friday night. “Let’s be honest, Dornink is damaged goods. With the evidence of the petition being unchallenged how can Dornink be trusted.”

Curiously enough, this is pretty much the argument that Jay Duggan made at Rocks and Cows in the July 14 post Dornink Giving Away Mower/Freeborn Senate Seat to DFL?:

 If Gene Dornink is disqualified by the court after winning a primary the DFL candidate runs unopposed for MN Senate District 23 and wins, possibly giving the crazy shutdown, mask mandate, school CRT, no bail and no jail DFL a Senate majority. It is also possible courts could order a special election. Rocks & Cows made inquiries to friends and associates in and around Brownsdale. We did not receive any new and unique information, but the reports back mirrored Judy’s observations and inquiries. Reports and opinions that the Dorninks didn’t live in Brownsdale. The most interesting information returned as a result of our inquiry was a fact that should concern all Senate 23 Republican voters. Several folks said Judy and Rocks & Cows were not the only people that had made these series of inquiries, and that several others that had made those inquiries were known to be DFL voters.

Doesn’t look good for the home team. Judy Olson seems to have credible evidence Gene Dornink did not reside within Senate District 23 by the May 8th deadline or during the month after that, Rocks & Cows heard back similar accounts mirroring Judy’s observations, and it appears the local DFL is also inquiring about facts that could strike Gene from the ballot. We can also guess in today’s political world that somebody from the Secretary of State Office was kind enough to forward the DFL a copy of the filed complaint weeks ago. The Minnesota State Supreme Court is going to get the complaint and we shall wait to see what their ruling is. If the Brownsdale house has a municipal water bill showing the court little or no use in May and June going into July, Gene Dornink may yet have Senate 23 voters watching the DFL win unopposed or being forced into a redo special election next year. . . . 

. . .In Walz’s “One Minnesota” full of DFL appointed judges that had no problem rewriting election law and jailing folks like Lisa Hanson for selling food in a shutdown, its not very hard to imagine a bad outcome for a Republican senator during a battle for the Senate majority.

Never mind that Chief Justice Lorie Gildea was appointed to the court in 2006 by Tim Pawlenty ad promtoed to chief justice by him in 2010. Nor that her late husband, Andy Gildea, served for twelve months as the Chief of Staff for the New Republican House Caucus. Some folks can't see the swamp for the cattails, we suppose.

Or come up with original arguments. Hanson really ought to give Rocks and Cows credit for this argument.

But as Walker Orenstein pointed out at MinnPost in Supreme Court dismisses challenge to lawmaker in Austin-area GOP primary race, Chief Justice Gildea didn't simply scold complainant Olson for sleeping on her laches. The investigation itself was lackdaisical and spotty:

. . . The court agreed with that argument, saying some delay in filing a petition can be excused because a petitioner needs time to collect evidence in order to challenge a candidate’s residency. “The record here, however, indicates that Olson did not act expeditiously or diligently in conducting her investigation,” says an order signed by Chief Justice Lorie Gildea.

For instance, Olson’s associates visited Dornink’s home in Brownsdale twice within four days of the candidate filing for office. But they waited 18 days to visit again. And then after visiting on June 15 and 16, waited another month to make a final visit.

“Because there were long periods in which Olson and her associates did nothing to investigate, the delay in conducting the investigation was unreasonable,” Gildea wrote. . . .

That's a far cry from the case of Bob Barrett, not of Taylors Falls, in 2016. At the St. Paul Pioneer Press, David Montgomery reported in Lawmaker doesn’t live in district, MN Supreme Court rules; ballot won’t count:

Barrett lists his formal address as a rental home in Taylors Falls, which is in District 32B. But he also owns a home in Shafer, just outside his district. Activists visited his Taylor Falls house 30 times over 15 days this summer and set up a trail camera to try to prove Barrett doesn’t actually live in the home.

They found little evidence the home was used, and that convinced District Judge George Stevenson to find Barrett didn’t live in District 32B. Barrett appealed to the Minnesota Supreme Court, but the justices declined to overturn Stevenson’s findings.

Hanson's friends failed to match that diligence. There's also the other precedence in the Barrett case. Montgomery reported:

The Supreme Court did, however, reject an argument from the plaintiffs that the November election should go forward without Barrett’s name on the ballot. That would have left just Democratic-Farmer-Labor candidate Laurie Warner and a write-in spot for voters in the northeast suburban district. . . .

The court found no reason to overturn the state law providing for a special election when a candidate is declared ineligible within 80 days of an election. In testimony Tuesday, justices were skeptical of the plaintiffs’ argument.

While both Barrett’s and Warner’s names will appear on November ballots, the results from that race will not be certified and voters in District 32B will actually pick their state representative on Feb. 14. The seat will remain vacant until then, with potentially major implications since control over the House of Representatives is being fiercely contested in November’s elections. The next session of the Legislature will begin on Jan. 3 with at least one of its 134 seats vacant.

Perhaps the law has been changed, but as the Wikipedia entry for Barrett notes, "On February 14, 2017, the seat was won by fellow Republican Anne Neu."

Could Hanson run in such a special election? Would Republicans endorse her? We're reading comments earlier posts about the Dornink residency challenge similar to this one from Minnesota First Congressional District Chair,  Freeborn County Republican Vice Chair and Albert Lea resident Aaron Farris:

 

Were DFLers watching the property with the skill of those who went after Barrett in 2016? We also wonder why Hanson's friend Olson and her former campaign manager weren't able to study what a successful residency inquiry is actually conducted.

Related posts:

• MN23: State Supreme Court dismisses Patriot Princess pal's case about Dornink residence
• MN23 GOP primary woes: Dornink strikes back
• MN23: Patriot Princess supporter files residence complaint against Gene Dornink
• Hanson follows through on challenging Dornink; her campaign manager faces his own challenge
• COVID vaccine stealing guy gets booted from Lisa Hanson's Dodge County Courthouse hearing
• Freeborn County judge has a point about Interchange owner's counterclaims against state
• All in the badge: new MN NATF state coordinator convicted of 2017 impersonation of peace officer
• National Action Task Force: From the mixed-up files on founder Mr. Mark Emery [Boswell]
• Dornink to move to Glenville to run in District 23; "Patriot Princess" Lisa Hanson declares bid

Images: Hanson's response to the Supreme Court ruling; a comment on Facebook about the challenge from a prominent young Albert Lea Republican activist.

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.

Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email sally.jo.sorensen@gmail.com as recipient.

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MN23: State Supreme Court dismisses Patriot Princess pal's case about Dornink residence

Since July 14, we've been following the case a supporter of Minnesota Senate District 23 Republican challenger Lisa Hanson was attempting to make about the residency of incumbent state senator Gene Dornink, R-Brownsdale.

On Friday, the Minnesota State Supreme Court brought that challenge to an end. Moral of story: don't sleep on your laches.

At the Rochester Post Bulletin, Brian Todd reports in Minnesota Supreme Court dismisses residency claim against Sen. Gene Dornink:

 Gene Dornink remains on the ballot for the Minnesota Senate District 23 Republican primary race Tuesday. And all votes for Dornink will count.

So ruled the Minnesota Supreme Court late Friday, days before the primary race between Dornink, a resident of Brownsdale, and challenger Lisa Hanson of Hayward.

On July 28, 2022, Judy Kay Olson petitioned the Minnesota Supreme Court, asking that the court order Secretary of State Steve Simon and county auditors in the five counties that contain all or part of the new Senate District 23 to remove Dornink's name from the primary ballots. The petition claimed that Dornink did not reside within the district at least six months in advance of the Nov. 8, 2022, general election, which is required by statute.

Dornink, who currently serves in the Minnesota Senate, representing District 27, found himself moved into a newly created District 24 facing Sen. Carla Nelson, R-Rochester. In order to avoid running against another sitting GOP senator, Dornink told news media he planned to move to the new District 23. On May 24, he filed listing an address in Brownsdale.

Dornink and his wife had previously lived in Hayfield.

As part of the petition, Olson claimed that she and investigators had visited both Dornink's home in Hayfield and the new home in Brownsdale several times between May 8, 2022, and July 15, 2022. From their visits, they concluded that Dornink did not live in Brownsdale as he claimed.

However, on Friday, Aug. 5, 2022, Chief Justice Lorie S. Gildea dismissed the claim, mainly on the grounds that laches – an unreasonable delay in making an assertion or claim – applied to the case.

"Olson filed her petition 65 days after Dornink filed his affidavit of candidacy, 35 days after absentee voting began for the primary, and 12 days before the date of the primary," Gildea wrote. "We have acknowledged that 'some' delay in filing a petition challenging a candidate’s residency 'may be excused' because the challenger needs to know more than where the candidate claims to be residing and instead needs to investigate and gather evidence to prove that the candidate is not residing in the district.

"The record here, however, indicates that Olson did not act expeditiously or diligently in conducting her investigation," Gildea wrote . . .

Reporting for Minnesota Public Radio, Brian Bakst reports in Court says state senator can remain on primary ballot:

A Minnesota state senator will keep his place on next Tuesday’s primary ballot after a challenge to the Republican’s residency was dismissed.

The state Supreme Court said in an order Friday that the attempt to strike Sen. Gene Dornink from a race in southern Minnesota came too late after suspicions were first raised and it would create election complications. Dornink’s residency was questioned by people partial to his GOP challenger, Lisa Hanson.

Dornink bought a new house in a nearby town after new district boundaries paired him with a fellow incumbent. He insists he met residency requirements in state law despite allegations he has spent considerable time in his family’s prior home.

Chief Justice Lorie Gildea, who wrote the order, said some delay in investigating and then seeking to remove a candidate is reasonable. But she said the time lapse here went beyond that, noting that those questioning the senator’s living arrangement spread their visits to his property out over a month and then took additional time to file with the court.

Gildea wrote that “unreasonable delay in filing the petition and the substantial prejudice that would result from making a last-minute change to the ballots after they have been printed and early voting commenced, requires that the petition be dismissed.”

The order came about a week after the case was first filed. The ruling appears to speak only to his eligibility in the primary election. 

At MinnPost, Walker Orenstein reports in Supreme Court dismisses challenge to lawmaker in Austin-area GOP primary race:

Minnesota Republican Sen. Gene Dornink will stay on the ballot in a hotly contested primary race in the Austin area.

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition that claimed Dornink did not move to Senate District 23 in time to meet residency requirements after his district boundaries changed following the 2020 Census. 

Glenville resident Judy Kay Olson had argued Dornink still lived in his Hayfield home while claiming to live in Brownsdale, and she cited as evidence observations and other research by an investigative expert who was recently the campaign manager for Dornink’s Republican opponent Lisa Hanson. Keith Haskell said he visited Dornink’s homes many times between early May and mid July, taking videos, chalking tires on cars to check for movement and observing. 

But Dornink, first elected in 2020, argued the accusation was frivolous and without merit. In a legal filing, he said he had lived at his Brownsdale home since early May, enough time to qualify for the November general election and the primary on Tuesday. “My only overnight absences were as a result of legislative service,” said a declaration from Dornink sent to the court.

On Friday, Dornink said in a statement that he was “grateful the court dismissed this baseless case so quickly.”

“I will continue running a positive, issue-oriented campaign,” Dornink said. “I look forward to winning the Primary this Tuesday and the General Election in November.” . . .

We're not sure we agree with the characterization of Haskell as an "investigative expert" but your mileage may vary. We'll keep an eye out for the returns in next Tuesday's primary for this one.

Related posts:

• MN23 GOP primary woes: Dornink strikes back
• MN23: Patriot Princess supporter files residence complaint against Gene Dornink
• Hanson follows through on challenging Dornink; her campaign manager faces his own challenge
• COVID vaccine stealing guy gets booted from Lisa Hanson's Dodge County Courthouse hearing
• Freeborn County judge has a point about Interchange owner's counterclaims against state
• All in the badge: new MN NATF state coordinator convicted of 2017 impersonation of peace officer
• National Action Task Force: From the mixed-up files on founder Mr. Mark Emery [Boswell]
• Dornink to move to Glenville to run in District 23; "Patriot Princess" Lisa Hanson declares bid

Map: The new senate district, from Action 4 Liberty's Heroic Lisa Hanson Runs for Minnesota Senate.

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Fearmongering the news: MNGOP Attorney General candidate confused about crime

Bluestem had thought that when moving to tiny Summit, SD, population 288, we'd be shielded from crime. Not so: neighbors and friends have had vehicles stolen regularly since we've called Summit home, and lawnmowers and bikes go missing readily. Violent crime? There's some, but it's a lot more difficult to discover reliable data than it is in more densely populated counties, towns and cities.

Take the City of Minneapolis. There's the Minneapolis Crime Dashboard.

And there's the occasional tweet from the Minneapolis Police Department:

🧵 This year, more than 3,000 vehicles have been reported stolen in Minneapolis. That is about 13 vehicles per day. The nationwide trend of Kia and Hyundai vehicles being targets of auto theft has reached Minneapolis.

— Minneapolis Police (@MinneapolisPD) July 28, 2022

But crime data is only as honest as the understanding and purpose of those who use it.

The screenshot above, of a July 29 post on the Jim Schultz For Minnesota Attorney General Facebook page, seems to be drawn from information in the July 28, 2022 tweet.

As I looked at the Schultz post, I thought that auto theft and car-jacking were indeed horrible in Minneapolis. But then I paused. Are Are motor vehicle theft and car-jacking the same crime?

We reached out via email to the Minneapolis Police Department for an answer to that question. MPD Communications Director Garrett Parten called to let Bluestem that motor vehicle theft and carjacking are not lumped together on the Minneapolis Crime Dashboard nor were they the same crime in releases of information by the Minneapolis Police Department.

Thus, none of the 3000-plus vehicle thefts Schultz bemoans are car jackings.

As we look at the data in the dashboard, we find that the motor vehicle thefts are 3165, while carjackings (a subset of robbery) are 321.

We'll let a criminal defense lawyer's site explain The Difference Between Burglary, Robbery and Theft in Minnesota:

Burglary, robbery and theft are three terms that are often used interchangeably, but they are actually three different crimes. So which of the three is the most serious, and how can you be charged with each crime? We explain the differences between burglary, robbery and theft in Minnesota in today’s blog.

Burglary, Robbery and Theft

Here’s a quick look at what constitutes each of these crimes in Minnesota:

Theft – We’re going to start with the definition of theft because it is helps lay the framework for the other two crimes. Theft is defined as the act of intentionally taking someone else’s property without their permission. It can be taken momentarily or permanently, but if you take it without permission, it is considered theft. The item taken can also be services. For example, while pickpocketing and shoplifting are common theft examples, so too is failing to pay someone for work performed or writing checks that you know will bounce for items or services. Theft of items valued under $500 are usually considered a misdemeanor offense, punishable by up to 90 days in jail and fines up to $1,000. As the value of the items taken increases, so do the charges and potential penalties. Felony theft can results in tens of thousands of dollars in fines and decades in jail.

Burglary – Under Minnesota law, burglary is defined as the act of entering someone else’s home without permission with the intent of committing a crime. The intended crime does not need to be theft in order for the intruder to be charged with burglary, but it is considered the most common reason for entering a dwelling without permission. For example, if you break into someone’s home in order to damage their possessions or hurt them, you’ve committed burglary, among other crimes. Gross misdemeanor burglary is punishable with fines and up to a year in jail, while felony burglary can carry up to 20 years in prison.

Robbery – Robbery is defined as committing theft while using force or the threat of force. Breaking into someone’s house while they are gone and stealing their safe would constitute burglary and theft, but not robbery. However, going up to someone on the street and saying “Give me your purse or I’ll cut you with this knife” would lead to robbery charges. If a weapon is used or the victim is injured by the perpetrator, the charge would be upgraded from simple robbery to aggravated robbery. Felony aggravated robbery is punishable with thousands of dollars in fines and up to 20 years in prison.

Now, no level of crime is acceptable, but we wonder why Schultz invests in transforming statistics about motor vehicle theft into fearmongering about a violent crime. 

Schultz is bringing up carjacking in his campaign, as Theo Keith reported on July 12 in Ellison, Schultz clash on crime in Minnesota AG's race. Unfortunately, Schultz's July 29 post reveals that he's not clear about what carjacking is.

And there's one other consequence to Schultz's confusion. At least one of his followers on Facebook interpreted ALL motor vehicle thefts as carjackings, sharing the post on his business's page, Steve Porter Trophy Whitetail.

Now, given that deer farmer Steve Porter served as a Kittson County deputy (and was appointed sheriff in 2017, serving until just after voters elected another to the office in 2018, after which he returned to work as a deputy in 2019), Bluestem would have hoped that Porter understood the difference between motor vehicle theft and carjacking (a subset of robbery). Instead, he asserts in his post that all the 3000-plus vehicle thefts are carjackings:

Nope, there aren't an average of 14 carjackings a day in Minneapolis. None of the 3000-plus auto thefts are carjackings. These guys certainly want to frighten voters.

Screengrabs: From Schultz's campaign Facebook page and Steve Porter's Trophy Whitetail Facebook page. Note: Porter confronted Walz after the gubernatorial debate at Farmfest, claiming to be a farmer the governor had ruined and a retired sheriff. It's not clear in coverage of the episode that he is still in the captive deer business.

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MN Board of Animal Health: CWD confirmed in quarantined Winona County captive deer herd

It's bad enough to read about West Nile Disease in South Dakota and Minnesota. Or a Deadly rabbit disease confirmed in Hennepin County pet rabbit.

There's more bad news from Minnesota's Board of Animal Health, which sent out this press release on Friday afternoon, CWD confirmed in quarantined Winona County deer herd:

Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) has been confirmed in a four-year-old doe in a Winona County white-tailed deer herd. This herd has been officially quarantined since October 2020 and is part of the Board of Animal Health’s (Board’s) investigation into the CWD-positive Beltrami County herd. The Board has been working with the Winona County herd owner to collect samples and test them for CWD. The National Veterinary Services Laboratory confirmed the positive results this week.

“This herd is part of an existing CWD investigation,” said Interim Executive Director Dr. Linda Glaser. “We’re now working with the producer and the USDA to develop a plan for depopulation and testing.”

The Board officially quarantined this herd as CWD exposed in October 2020, when CWD was confirmed in a Houston County white-tailed deer that came from the Winona County herd. The investigation then expanded to include a herd in Beltrami County, which was also found infected with CWD in late winter 2021. Both CWD infected herds in Houston and Beltrami Counties were depopulated.

In response to the detection of CWD in another Winona County deer farm, a special hunt resulted in the first detection of CWD in a wild white-tailed deer in Winona County in January 2019. The Winona County herd where CWD was confirmed this week has been double fenced since 2015. 

CWD is a neurological disease of the deer and elk family caused by prions and is always fatal. The disease can be spread by both direct (animal-to-animal) and indirect (environmental) contact with infected Cervidae. Prions are shed through saliva, urine, blood, feces, and antler velvet and are known to persist in the environment for years. Additionally, carcass remains from a dead infected deer can serve as a source of further infection to other Cervidae. Consuming meat from CWD infected animals is not advised.

This isn't the first time this herd has shown up on Bluestem Prairie's pages. In our May 25, 2021 post, 5 more MN deer farm herds exposed to CWD; Beltrami carcass dump site inquiry continues, we noted:

Back in April, we posted  BAH: Southern Minnesota CWD investigation identifies new infection in Beltrami County .

That location turned up again in May 18's  News release: U of M testing finds presence of CWD prions at Beltrami Co. carcass dump site, from the University of Minnesota.

Just in from the Minnesota Animal Board of Health, which has oversight of farmed cervidae in the North Star state, "Additional CWD positives and illegal carcass disposal spur expanded investigation and response in Beltrami County." And the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has issued its own news release, "DNR stresses urgency in addressing chronic wasting disease in Minnesota."

The duo of press releases underscores the debate in the Minnesota legislature over which agency should monitor CWD in farmed cervidae in the state.

Here's the OAH release:

Twelve additional white-tailed deer tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in the infected Beltrami County farmed deer herd, five adult does and seven fawns. The Board of Animal Health (Board) first reported this CWD positive herd in April when a 3-year-old doe tested positive for the disease. Earlier this month, the remaining 54 animals in the herd were depopulated by the USDA and samples from each animal were collected and then tested at the National Veterinary Services Laboratories.

The Beltrami County farmed deer herd was initially quarantined in October 2020 due to receiving animals from a Winona County source herd. Among the deer received by the Beltrami County herd was the doe which tested positive for CWD in early April, about 1 – 1.5 years after moving out of the source herd.

During an inspection of the Beltrami County premises following the quarantine of the herd, a Board agent discovered several adult deer and fawn carcasses had been moved by the owner to nearby county-managed tax-forfeit land. This spurred an investigation by the Board, which has been working with the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Pollution Control Agency, and tribal and local officials to mitigate any potential spread of CWD from these carcasses. Due to test results that indicate CWD-causing prions are on this site, agencies are currently working with the county to build a fence that would prevent wild deer access to the site and reduce the risk of prion exposure. The DNR is following its CWD response plan and is planning to test hunter harvested deer this fall to understand whether CWD is in wild deer in this area. The Board’s ongoing investigation will address possible violations of Minnesota animal health laws.

Of the 12 additional CWD positive animals most recently identified, nine were born on the Beltrami County farm and three were moved to the farm from other Minnesota herds. These herds are considered to be CWD exposed since there is a possibility the animals could have been infected with the disease prior to being moved to Beltrami County. One of the CWD exposed herds (Winona County) was officially quarantined during the Houston County positive herd investigation. The other two CWD exposed herds in Hennepin and Kanabec Counties were quarantined Thursday, May 20. Three additional CWD exposed herds located in Mille Lacs, Morrison and Mower Counties received animals from the Kanabec County herd and were quarantined on Friday, May 21. The Board is working to identify and test animals in all of these CWD exposed herds that resided in a herd at the same time as a CWD positive animal.

Please review the attached diagram for a visual representation of the exposed herds and their connection to one another.

Bluestem has posted a screengrab at the top of this post. Click here to view an accessible version of this diagram, which links to PDFs about each location's details. 

We can only pray that the CWD on this Winona County captive deer operation isn't close to any of the deer farms associated with Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Miller. Readers may recall how Ricardo Lopez reported for the Minnesota Reformer last May, Senate majority leader’s family ties to deer farming under scrutiny in CWD vote.

It's a terrible, always fatal disease.

Screengrab: The OAH's flow chart of CWD spread to MN deer farms.

If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

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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.

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

Accused Cottonwood County organic grain fraudster isn't the only one, SD News Watch reports

Back in July, the Star Tribune reported in Cottonwood County farmer charged in $46 million organic grain fraud scheme:

Federal prosecutors say a southwestern Minnesota farmer reaped up to $46 million in payments selling conventionally-grown corn and soybeans that he told buyers were organic.

The federal prosecutor's office in Minneapolis on Monday announced James Clayton Wolf, of Jeffers, has been indicted by a grand jury with felony wire fraud, saying the rural Minnesota farmer was "engaged in a scheme" that defrauded grain buyers and undermined the nation's organic labeling system. . . .

Now a pair of stories published by South Dakota explores the world of the fraudsters. In Organics Part 2: Fraudulent farmers live lavishly until caught, Bart Pfankuch reports:

Farmers who commit organic grain fraud have shown a propensity to spend big money on lavish lifestyles until the authorities catch up with them.

When Belle Fourche, S.D., organic grain broker Kent Duane Anderson turned to fraud, he made millions of dollars and used the ill-gotten gains to establish a new life in Florida, replete with an $8 million yacht, a $2.4 million new home, $400,000 in jewelry, two new Range Rovers and a Maserati.

Over the roughly six years Anderson bought conventionally grown grain and fraudulently sold it as organic at a huge profit, he amassed about $71 million in proceeds from the ripoff that took place from 2012-2018, according to federal court documents.

Such high-profile fraud cases are significant not only for the enormous amount of money stolen, but also because they have damaged the credibility and integrity of the organic food industry, which relies largely on trust and accurate labeling to ensure consumers get what they pay for.

Organic grains can cost double or even triple the price of grains grown conventionally with fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides at wholesale and retail levels. The high price of organics, which look the same as non-organic products at the point of sale or on retail shelves, make fraud hard to detect and difficult to prosecute.

Missouri organic grain broker Randy Constant engaged in an even larger fraud scam, masterminding a $142 million scheme that enabled him to live a second life in Las Vegas, where he made more than 20 visits and spent money on hotels, gambling and escorts.

According to federal authorities, Constant, 61, sold millions of bushels of conventionally grown grain and falsely labeled it as organic. Constant, who had served on his local school board and was active in his church, took his own life after being sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2019.

In the most recent organic grain fraud case to make headlines, 65-year-old James Clayton Wolf of Jeffers, Minn., is accused of buying non-organic grains and falsely selling them as organic, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office indictment filed in federal court in Minnesota on July 7, 2022. Wolf also grew crops using pesticides and fertilizers and passed those conventional crops off as organic at the time of sale, the indictment states.

Wolf did not hold a legal grain-buyer’s license but still purchased non-organic corn and soybeans and resold them as organic at a large profit, the indictment states. Wolf provided grain buyers a copy of his organic growers certification to convince them his products were organic when in fact he knew they were not, according to the indictment.

As a result of the scheme, Wolf received more than $46 million in payments from grain buyers from 2014 to 2020, prosecutors said.

In its charging documents, the government seeks forfeiture of almost $6.4 million in Wolf’s bank holdings, tracts of land in Minnesota and Arizona, more than a dozen large pieces of farm machinery and numerous vehicles including two pickup trucks, two semis and two Chevy Corvette convertibles.

Wolf has pleaded not guilty to the charges, his lawyer, Paul Engh, told News Watch.

Documents in the criminal case involving Kent Duane Anderson, reviewed by News Watch, provide an inside view of how a grain fraud scheme was orchestrated. In the file, Anderson signed a letter of factual basis, or a form in which he admits to wrongdoing and spells out the nature of his criminal acts.

According to the court file:

Anderson and his wife, Aimee (who was not charged with a crime) formed Bar Two Bar Ranch in Belle Fourche in 2005 as a cattle-and-hay production business. Later they launched a new set of companies known as Green Leaf Resources that focused more on grain buying and selling.

When Green Leaf was formed, Anderson enlisted his sister-in-law and a college friend as “figurehead executives” to obtain USDA certification as handlers of organic grains. The organic certifications served as “cover” for Anderson’s true actions of buying non-organic grain and selling it as organic. Those two people were not named in the indictment and were not charged as part of the scheme.

Some of the grains Anderson bought were taken to a farm in Tappen, N.D., where an employee of Anderson’s would hold them in storage and await instructions. At some point, Anderson would relabel the gains as “organic” on bills of lading before sending them to other grain buyers.

From October 2012 to December 2017, Anderson’s shell companies bought roughly $46 million in conventional grain and resold it as organic grain for about $71 million. Less than 3% of the overall grain purchases made by Anderson were for true organic grains, the government said.

“As a result of this fraud, the defendant’s business enterprise generated large profits and he accumulated substantial wealth. This enabled him to live an extravagant lifestyle which included the purchase of an $8 million yacht, a $250,000 sports boat, a $2.4 million residence, over $400,000 in jewelry and multiple expensive motor vehicles,” prosecutors said in the indictment.

The court papers do not say specifically how Anderson was caught, but prosecutors included documentation of numerous wire transfers and bank transactions that were later deemed to be connected to fraud.

Anderson faced a 42-count indictment, but he eventually pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of money laundering.

Anderson was sentenced in February 2021 to four years in federal prison and two years of probation following his release. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website, Anderson began his sentence on March 15, 2021, at the minimum-security Federal Prison Camp in Pensacola, Fla., and is scheduled for release on Oct. 26, 2024.

The court ordered Anderson to pay $150,000 to the government before sentencing and make $15.3 million in restitution to victims of his crimes, which is equivalent to the net profit he made off his organic-grain fraud scheme, court documents indicate. He was also ordered to forfeit many items purchased with money realized from the fraud.

“He’s pleaded not guilty and he’s contesting the entire case,” Engh said.

There's more in Part 1:  Fraud and weak USDA oversight chip away at integrity of organic food industry also by Pfankuch.

This material was republished with the permission of South Dakota News Watch.

Photo: Stock image of a cornfield.

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Retired Roberts County state's attorney Nikolas to fill Democratic spot on District 1 House race

Retired Roberts County state's attorney Kay Nikolas will fill the vacant spot on the ballot in the South Dakota District 1 House race, according to a telephone interview with former state representative Steve McCleerey, who is already on the ballot.

District 1 county chairs picked Nikolas in a meeting last night, McCleerey said.

Nikolas will fill the vacancy left by the withdrawal of Jennifer Keintz from the ballot after the June primary. 

UPDATE 8/4: At the Aberdeen News, Elisa Sand reports in Democrats pick former Roberts Co. state's attorney Nikolas as District 1 House candidate:

Aberdeen native and former Roberts County State's Attorney Kay Nikolas has been selected as the second Democratic candidate who will be running in District 1 for one of two available seats in the state House of Representatives.

Nikolas, 69, of Sisseton fills the vacancy left by Jennifer Healy Keintz, D-Eden, who filed a petition as a candidate, but withdrew her candidacy. She was later announced as the lieutenant governor selection for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jamie Smith of Sioux Falls.

Nikolas was elected by members of the Democratic Party Central Committee in District 1 on Wednesday in Webster, according to a report from District 1 Senate candidate Steven McCleerey, D-Sisseton. The 11 voting members from Day, Marshall and Roberts counties unanimously selected Nikolas for the November ballot.

Nikolas graduated from Roncalli High School. She spent her legal career as a private attorney, deputy state's attorney and state's attorney for Roberts County. She was hired as deputy state's attorney in 1989 and was elected state's attorney in 2000. She served eight years, lost her bid for re-election in 2008, then sought the position once again in 2016 and served four years before she retired in 2020. . . . [end update]

The process for filling the spot was outlined in Elisa Sands July 21 article at the Aberdeen News, Donnell tapped to fill Republican vacancy in District 1 House race:

Democrats also need to fill a vacancy

Manhart was one of two District 1 candidates who withdrew from the House race. Jennifer Healy Keintz, D-Eden, also withdrew and was later announced as the lieutenant governor selection for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jamie Smith of Sioux Falls.

Political parties have until Aug. 8 to fill any vacancies for the November election.

While no meeting has yet been held to determine the Democrat to fill the seat, Jennifer Slaight Hansen, vice president for the South Dakota Democrats, said that will be done. At the meeting, members of each county's central committee for the Democratic Party in District 1 will vote on the new candidate.

That's what happened yesterday.

Nikolas retired as Roberts County state's attorney in early January 2021. She has served on boards of area civic and cultural groups, like the Heritage Museum of Roberts County, as well as chairing the South Dakota Board of Pardons and Paroles.

We've left a phone message for Nikolas and will update this post when we have more  information.

It's good to see a full slate of Republican and Democratic contenders in this seat. That's a sign of a healthy civic community, however many twists it took both parties to get here.

Related posts:

• SD District 1 Republicans select Joe Donnell to fill ballot slot created by Manhart withdrawal 
• SD Dem gubernatorial candidate Smith picks Eden lawmaker Jennifer Keintz as running mate
• Placeholder: Incumbent Democrat Keintz quietly withdrew from SD District 1 House race 
• News digest: Manhart pulls out of SD1 race
• Eligibility questioned, Logan Manhart withdraws from South Dakota District 1 House race
• Dakota Free Press post: Manhart voted in Wisconsin in 2021, thus ineligible to run for South Dakota House in 2022
• Manhart candidate integrity questioned: docs from 32CIV22-92; McCleerey vs Barnett
• In SD District One, GOP candidate & operative doesn't want to talk to press about January 6
• Media scrutiny of SD District 1 House Logan Manhart candidate integrity questions continue

Photo: The South Dakota House chambers. Credit: Jake DeGroot, via Wikpedia. Creative Commons: CC BY-SA 3.0.

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