Sep 20, 2024

SD State Supreme Court suspends law license of former AG Ravnsborg for six months

Jason Ravnsborg, former attorney general of South Dakota, speaks during a hearing about the future of his law license on Feb. 14, 2024, at the Capitol in Pierre while his legal team looks on. (David Bordewyk/SD NewsMedia Association)

Seems like a slap on the wrist. Joe Boever is still dead.

From South Dakota Searchlight.

State Supreme Court suspends law license of former attorney general for six months
by John Hult

Jason Ravnsborg was impeached, convicted for 2020 collision that killed Joe Boever

The former South Dakota attorney general who accidentally killed a man with his vehicle in 2020 will lose his license to practice law in South Dakota for six months under the terms of a ruling released Thursday by the state Supreme Court.

The suspension is effective immediately.

Jason Ravnsborg was impeached, convicted and removed from office in 2022 by the South Dakota Legislature for his actions after the collision just outside of Highmore, which killed pedestrian Joe Boever on Sept. 12, 2020.

The state Supreme Court ruled that Ravnsborg’s conduct after the crash and during the investigation was unbecoming of an attorney, particularly one who’d been serving in a position of trust as South Dakota’s top law enforcement official. Ravnsborg, a Republican, was elected in 2018.

Ravnsborg will be required to reimburse the court and the State Bar of South Dakota for the costs of the proceedings prior to the return of his license. The opinion does not specify an amount.

False statements during investigation

The Thursday ruling on his suspension criticized his decision to stay on as attorney general as the criminal case against him proceeded.

He pleaded no contest in 2021 to two misdemeanor charges, not admitting or denying his mobile phone use while driving and his illegal lane changes. He also settled a civil case brought by Boever’s family.

“It is evident, even as of the time of oral argument to this Court, that Ravnsborg failed to consider how his actions following the accident and the subsequent investigation, would impact his office’s ability to fulfill its duties in such a way that maintained the public’s confidence,” the state Supreme Court’s opinion says.

The ruling also calls out Ravnsborg for lying to investigators about whether he’d used his cell phone during the Sept. 12 trip. An accident reconstruction showed that he wasn’t looking at his phone at the time of the crash, but a forensic investigation of the device found that he’d spent much of the trip using it. Ravnsborg initially denied using his phone at all.

“His evolving explanation regarding the extent of his cell phone use while driving involved actual dishonesty and misrepresentations,” the ruling said. “He only reluctantly admitted that he ‘looked at stuff’ on his phone after he was confronted with specific information found on his phone.”

The state’s high court also called out Ravnsborg for noting his position as attorney general when he reported the crash, as well as in previous traffic stops, as inappropriate.

Shorter suspension than first recommended

The Disciplinary Board of the State Bar of South Dakota recommended a 26-month law license suspension. Ravnsborg contested the board’s recommendation, though he’d voluntarily ceased to practice law. A referee, retired circuit court judge Bradley Zell, ruled that the board had overstepped in some of its conclusions. Ravnsborg had still behaved in a manner worthy of censure, Zell decided, but not suspension.

The Supreme Court heard oral arguments on the case in February.

Chief Justice Steven Jensen, writing for the court, disagreed with the referee and wrote that Ravnsborg had been dishonest and acted in a manner unbecoming of an attorney.

The opinion did not uphold the 26-month suspension, however. Jensen pointed to the case of the late former Governor and Congressman Bill Janklow, who ran a stop sign and killed a motorcyclist in 2003.

Janklow’s law license was suspended for 26 months, but Jensen wrote that the Janklow case involved a felony reckless manslaughter conviction. Ravnsborg’s case involved two low-level misdemeanors – crimes that, unlike Janklow’s, would not result in an automatic suspension of his law license.

The opinion also says that Ravnsborg was “a well-respected public servant for most of his career,” having served in the military prior to joining state government, marking another reason a six-month suspension is more reasonable.

Ravnsborg told the court in February that “he does not plan to practice law in South Dakota after these proceedings are concluded.”

Even so, the opinion says, the suspension should signal that his behavior was a breach of his ethical responsibilities as an attorney and are worthy of sanction.

“While Ravnsborg is unlikely to continue practicing law in South Dakota, we conclude suspension is necessary to preserve the integrity of the profession and deter like conduct by other attorneys.”

Ravnsborg is currently registered as the chair and treasurer of a statewide political action committee named $99 for Freedom, according to campaign finance documents on file with the secretary of state.

The committee had about $28,000 cash on hand as of its most recent campaign finance disclosure, which was money transferred from Ravnsborg’s prior candidate committee, Jason for South Dakota, in 2023. The PAC had not contributed to any campaigns or spent any money beyond office supplies and bank fees as of May 20, the date of the organization’s last public filing.

Calls to the phone number listed on the campaign finance reports were answered with an automated message saying the line had been disconnected, or that the number had been changed.

An email sent to the committee’s listed email address was not immediately returned.

Read the court's opinion embedded at the end of the South Dakota Searchlight article.

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

Photo: Jason Ravnsborg, former attorney general of South Dakota, speaks during a hearing about the future of his law license on Feb. 14, 2024, at the Capitol in Pierre while his legal team looks on. (David Bordewyk/SD NewsMedia Association).

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Posted by on Sep 20, 2024 at 04:47 PM | | Comments (0)

In Iowa: Summit Carbon Solutions begins outreach for expansion ethanol carbon pipeline; both sides more informed this time around

Another development in the Summit Carbon Solutions ethanol carbon pipeline story, this time in Iowa.

From Iowa Capital Dispatch.

Summit begins outreach for expansion pipeline; both sides more informed this time around
by Cami Koons

Summit Carbon Solutions, the company planning to build a massive carbon sequestration pipeline through Iowa and surrounding states, spent the past several weeks in community information meetings around the state about its proposed expansion. 

Affected landowners and folks in opposition to the project have attended the meetings too, many of them with long lists of questions and concerns for the Summit Carbon representatives.

The company followed the same process to get the initial project, comprising more than 680 miles of pipeline in Iowa alone, approved by the Iowa Utilities Commission in late August. This time around, however, landowners are more informed about the project, meaning both sides can move the conversation beyond just logistics.

“The first time we did this, it was a project introduction,” said Summit Carbon Director of Community Relations Sabrina Ahmed Zenor. “Now there’s a better understanding of the project, so we get to tell ‘the why’ a little more because ‘the how’ is understood.”

The meetings began Aug. 26, and concluded Sept. 20, with Summit and representatives from the Iowa Utilities Commission having visited the 23 counties that would be affected by the 330 additional miles of pipeline from the second phase. 

Ahmed Zenor said the company is leaning into the community benefits of the project, and telling the stories of Iowa farmers and biorefineries. The company provided county specific slides at the meetings with estimated tax benefits from the project. 

“We believe that we need to tell the story of the benefit this project brings, and that’s what we’re starting with across the board,” Ahmed Zenor said. 

The expansion would connect the pipeline to an additional 17 biorefinery facilities in Iowa. The whole project, which would transport sequestered carbon from ethanol refinery plants to underground storage in North Dakota, would connect to a total of 57 refineries across five states. 

Emma Schmit, the Pipeline Fighters director for Bold Alliance, said opponents to the pipeline are better placed to fight the expansion, because of all they learned from Summit Carbon’s presence over the past two and a half years. 

“This is a fairly unfamiliar technology to the world, and so we were really just flying by the seat of our pants there for a while, but now we have been able to correct that,” Schmit said. 

Schmit said the Bold Alliance strategy advocates for landowners to become educated about the project and to evaluate what is best for their families — though she hopes that means they refuse to sign an easement agreement. 

“We’re here to help defend and protect and stand with landowners, not just stop pipelines,” Schmit said. 

Summit Carbon can use eminent domain to get its remaining easements for phase one of the project, but cannot begin construction in Iowa until the project is approved in the Dakotas.

Following the informational meetings with the utilities commission, Summit Carbon can begin to survey the land and acquire voluntary easements for phase two of the project.

“That is always when people kind of come rushing to us,” Schmit said. 

Land surveyors have permission to survey private land, provided they have given proper notice, but Schmit said landowners may deny access and require a court injunction. She urged landowners to follow the surveyor while they are on their property.

“Ask questions, take notes, all that good stuff,” Schmit said. 

Schmit and Ahmed Zenor said the meetings have been well attended in the communities. Many community members and local officials have lined up at the microphone with lists of questions and complaints toward Summit Carbon. 

“There’s definitely a lot of tension in those rooms,” Schmit said. 

Landowners asked questions about water usage, pollution and who would be responsible if a leak occurred in the pipeline. Summit Carbon Solutions had team members from various departments available to answer questions and explain the project.

“We like to lead in fact, and we truly believe that once someone understands the facts, that we can reach a point of being able to have an open dialog,” Ahmed Zenor said. 

“The point of these meetings is to introduce ourselves to the landowners who are within our corridor, and for them to understand their rights … We believe that is happening in a productive way.”

This Iowa Capital Dispatch article is republished online under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. 

Map: A map of the Summit Carbon Solutions pipeline through Iowa. The purple line represents the company’s expansion project. (Map courtesy of Summit Carbon Solutions, via Iowa Capita; Dispatch).

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Posted by on Sep 20, 2024 at 03:58 PM | | Comments (0)

Sep 18, 2024

Breaking with IBT's neutrality, Joint Council 32 Teamsters endorse Harris-Walz ticket

WH_teamsters_jc32_4

While the national International Brotherhood of Teamsters has declined to endorse any candidate in the 2024 presidential race, Joint Council 32 has endorsed the Harris-Walz ticker. 

And they're not alone among joint councils around the country. Politico's Alex Nieves reports in West Coast Teamsters break with national chapter in endorsing Harris:

West Coast Teamsters announced their endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris on Wednesday, just minutes after national Teamsters leadership declined to issue a presidential endorsement. . . .

Teamsters Joint Councils 7 and 42 — which are made up of 39 local unions representing 300,000 members in California, Nevada, Hawaii and Guam — wrote in a statement that Harris and her running mate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz have a history of supporting expanded labor protections for workers, like the proposed Protect the Right to Organize Act and a Minnesota law that will ban employers from forcing workers to attend anti-labor meetings. . . .

Update 9/19: News of additional Joint Council endorsements of Harris-Walz in swing states in coming in. Rolling Stone reports in Teamsters Won't Endorse a Candidate, So Local Unions Back Harris:

After the International Brotherhood of Teamsters broke with tradition and announced that it would not endorse a candidate for president this election, several joint councils in the battleground states of Nevada, Michigan and Wisconsin have since publicly pledged their support for Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris. . . .

End Update

On the X platform, Minnesota Reformer deputy editor Max Nesterak posted the press release announcing the Joint Council's endorsement:

Local unions in Joint Council 32 represent a wide variety of people in upper Midwest workplaces across the upper Midwest:

Our 12 Local Unions include more than 75,000 active and retired Teamster members in Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota and South Dakota.

They work in many crafts.  Some are public employees, including law enforcement personnel, public defenders, snow plow drivers, court reporters, University cooks and nutrition experts, facilities managers, grounds keepers and maintenance workers.  Some are over-the-road, car haul or small package drivers.  Others are drivers for bakeries, laundries, dairies, liquor distributors, school bus companies and health care facilities.  Still others work in warehouses, manufacturing plants, grocery stores and paper mills, as well as for large employers such as Honeywell and United Parcel Service.  They also work for newspapers or as auto mechanics. . . .

Image: Webpage banner from the Teamsters Joint Council 32 Local Unions page.

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Posted by on Sep 18, 2024 at 05:46 PM | | Comments (0)

Trial for SD abortion ballot measure in limbo as court staff ‘not aware’ of planned start date

The Minnehaha County Courthouse in Sioux Falls, pictured on Nov. 1, 2022. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

Just this morning I posted Coalition of 35 Christian clergy leaders endorse South Dakota reproductive-rights ballot measure.

It's last afternoon, and now there's another twist in the tale of the fight for reproductive rights in South Dakota, from the South Dakota Searchlight.

Trial for abortion ballot measure in limbo as court staff ‘not aware’ of planned start date
by Seth Tupper

The trial date for a lawsuit against South Dakota’s abortion-rights ballot measure was not added to a court calendar, despite a signed order from a judge saying the trial would begin next week.

That leaves the date of the trial in limbo even as early and absentee voting will begin Friday.

Judge John Pekas signed a scheduling order on Aug. 9 saying the trial would take place during the week of Sept. 23 in Sioux Falls.

This week, Pekas emailed the parties in the case and said, without further explanation, “this matter must be scheduled through court administration” and “my schedule is filling up quickly.”

Minnehaha County Deputy Court Clerk Bryce Kummer was among the email recipients. He replied by asking how much time is needed for the trial and said if the parties could give him an idea, he could offer the next available options on the judge’s calendar.

Jim Leach, the lawyer for the abortion-rights side, responded with confusion, saying it was his understanding the trial would start Monday, Sept. 23. “Am I mistaken?” he wrote.

Kummer replied that he was “not aware of any trial being scheduled in this case.”

The lawyer for the anti-abortion side, Sara Frankenstein, filed a formal objection to moving the trial date. She also requested that if the trial date is moved, it should be scheduled in time to conclude before Election Day on Nov. 5.

Leslee Unruh is co-chair of the Life Defense Fund, which filed the lawsuit. She had no further information from the court as of Wednesday afternoon.

“We expected the trial to be held next week in accordance with the court’s scheduling order,” Unruh said in a statement. “We are waiting for further direction on how the court will proceed with our trial in recent light of the court’s scheduling conflicts.”

The lawsuit centers around allegations from the Life Defense Fund that petition circulators violated laws while gathering signatures to put the abortion-rights measure on the ballot. Life Defense Fund hopes to invalidate the measure, even though it’s too late to remove it from ballots.

The petition circulators worked for a group called Dakotans for Health, led by Rick Weiland.

“We are now just waiting to see what the court does next,” Weiland said.

Current state law bans abortions except when necessary to “preserve the life of the pregnant female.”

The ballot measure, Amendment G, would prohibit regulation of abortion during the first trimester. In the second trimester, regulations would be allowed if they are reasonably related to the pregnant woman’s physical health. During the third trimester, abortion could be regulated or prohibited, except when necessary to preserve the life or health of the woman, as determined by her physician’s medical judgment.

Honestly, this latest development almost makes me want to spell out the old folk expression "CF."

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

Photo: The Minnehaha County Courthouse in Sioux Falls, pictured on Nov. 1, 2022. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)

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Posted by on Sep 18, 2024 at 04:55 PM | | Comments (0)

Coalition of 35 Christian clergy leaders endorse South Dakota reproductive-rights ballot measure

A Sioux Falls resident votes in the city and school board election at Southern Hills United Methodist Church on April 9, 2024. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)

A quick read from the South Dakota Searchlight staff reports on a new development in the state's struggle over reproductive rights. See the related posts at the bottom of this article for earlier development.

35 church leaders endorse South Dakota abortion-rights ballot measure

A coalition of Christian clergy members announced support Tuesday for a ballot measure that would establish the right to an abortion in the South Dakota constitution.

The 35 faith leaders are from five Christian denominations — the United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church USA, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Episcopal Church and the United Church of Christ.

“Our pastoral care experiences have taught us that complicated health care decisions are best left to the patient in consultation with families and health care providers, and as part of faith conversations,” the group wrote. “This should happen without interference from politicians or the courts.”

On the other side of the debate, the South Dakota Catholic Conference has taken a stance against the ballot measure and is encouraging Catholics to vote no. 

Voters will decide on the constitutional amendment in the Nov. 5 general election, with early and absentee voting beginning Friday.

After the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, a trigger law that the South Dakota Legislature had adopted in 2005 immediately banned abortions in the state except when necessary to “preserve the life of the pregnant female.”

The proposed amendment would prohibit regulation of abortion during the first trimester. In the second trimester, regulations would be allowed if they are reasonably related to the pregnant woman’s physical health. During the third trimester, abortion could be regulated or prohibited, except when necessary to preserve the life or health of the woman, as determined by her physician’s medical judgment.

Meanwhile, a lawsuit from a group called Life Defense Fund that aims to invalidate the ballot measure is scheduled for trial next week. The group alleges various legal infractions by the petition circulators who gathered signatures to place the measure on the ballot.

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

Photo:  A Sioux Falls resident votes in the city and school board election at Southern Hills United Methodist Church on April 9, 2024. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)/

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Posted by on Sep 18, 2024 at 11:47 AM | | Comments (0)

DFL calls on GOP's Rep. Dotseth to suspend campaign after report of domestic assault

Another Greater Minnesota House district race under scrutiny.

From the Minnesota Reformer:

DFL calls on GOP legislator to suspend campaign after report of domestic assault 
by Michelle Griffith

Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chair Ken Martin and House Majority Leader Jamie Long, DFL-Minneapolis, on Monday urged state Rep. Jeff Dotseth, R-Kettle River, to suspend his reelection campaign after the Star Tribune reported that the first-term lawmaker was arrested in 2008 after his then-wife alleged he physically abused her and her son for over a decade.

Martin and Long also called on Minnesota House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring, to expel Dotseth from the House Republican caucus.

“No one who has engaged repeatedly in domestic violence, child abuse and threats of murder has any business writing the laws that govern our state,” Martin said at a Capitol press conference on Tuesday. 

Dotseth’s wife in her divorce petition described allegations of abuse, including incidents of Dotseth throwing her to the floor, kicking and choking her in 1993 or 1994. She also said that Dotseth slammed her against a wall, slapped her and forced her head between his legs and squeezed tightly, the Star Tribune reported.

Dotseth’s then-wife said her son, who was a child at the time of the alleged abuse, tried to intervene multiple times and was also allegedly abused by Dotseth, the Star Tribune reported.

In 2008, Dotseth was charged with misdemeanor domestic assault, and he later pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct, the Star Tribune reported. A judge issued a yearlong order for protection against Dotseth, ordering him to cease contact with his then-wife. Dotseth was also prohibited from using or possessing firearms and only allowed supervised visits with their daughter.

When reached by the Star Tribune, Dotseth in a written statement denied the allegations against him, and he said that he now has a “cordial relationship with my ex-wife, and have worked to put this difficult chapter of my life behind me.”

Demuth did not immediately publicly respond to the DFL’s calls for her to remove Dotseth from the House Republican caucus. In a statement sent to the Reformer that was also provided to the Star Tribune, Demuth said that “domestic violence is an absolute red line for me — it’s never acceptable under any circumstances.”

But Demuth also said that the case “was resolved through the legal process more than 15 years ago, concluding with no charge or conviction for domestic assault. I spoke with Rep. Dotseth and he reiterated the contents of what was in his affidavit denying the allegations that were made during the divorce proceedings.”

Long questioned why Demuth and the Minnesota Republican Party had not taken immediate action in light of the reporting published Monday.

“If domestic assault really is a red line for leader Demuth, as she said, then why is she giving Representative Dotseth a pass here?” Long said Tuesday.

Both Martin and Long said they had heard rumors of Dotseth’s past misconduct, but they didn’t know the full extent of it until they read about it in the Star Tribune.

Rep. Paul Novotny, R-Elk River, who was a sergeant with the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office at the time of the 911 call, was one of two officers who responded to the 2008 domestic assault call against Dotseth, but he doesn’t recall specifics about the interaction.

Democrats in 2021 also ran into trouble with candidate vetting after then Rep. John Thompson’s past allegations of domestic violence surfaced. Thompson was removed from the House DFL caucus but stayed in the Legislature. He was eventually defeated in a primary election. 

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

Photo:  Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party Chair Ken Martin, left, and House Majority Leader Jamie Long, DFL-Minneapolis, called on GOP Rep. Jeff Dotseth to suspend his reelection campaign at a Capitol press conference on Tuesday, Sept. 17. Photo by Michelle Griffith/Minnesota Reformer.

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Posted by on Sep 18, 2024 at 10:22 AM | | Comments (0)

Sep 17, 2024

Is Winona's MNHouse seat taking a back seat?

Ruralcaucus

It's curious to see which Greater Minnesota state House races are getting attention in the metro media. I would have thought the Winona seat would be hot item, but other places seem to be getting attention.

The Winona Daily News republished Alex Derosier's article in the St. Paul Pioneer Press, DFL control of Minnesota government hinges on state House elections. A handful of districts will be key.

It's interesting to see the mention of the local race to replace Gene Pelowski, though the seat doesn't get much attention as a potentially competitive "rural" seat. 

From the Daily News:

Rural races

Two rural Minnesota districts currently held by DFLers that could flip to the GOP are an Iron Range district held by outgoing Rep. Dave Lislegard, DFL-Aurora and a southeastern Minnesota district held by now-retired Rep. Gene Pelowski of Winona.

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee did not mention either race in a recent news release highlighting where the group planned to spend money.

There are other Republican-held districts in northern Minnesota that Democrats hope to flip. One is a rural Duluth-area district held by Republican Rep. Natalie Zeleznikar, who ousted four-decade Rep. Mary Murphy by 33 votes two years ago.

Another district covers the Arrowhead region, which former Ely Mayor Roger Skraba won in 2022. Skraba beat four-term Rep. Rob Ecklund, DFL-International Falls, by just 15 votes. Democrats hope they can take the seat back. . . .

Meanwhile, Kruger's supporters are flooding the op-ed pages of the page with letters-to-editors, and the Daily News' Gavin Michaelson covered a candidate forum that included Kruger and her Republican rival Aaron Repinski in Winona political candidates address taxation, infrastructure and government spending at Chamber forum:

Posted by on Sep 17, 2024 at 06:25 PM | | Comments (0)

Sep 16, 2024

Ethanol carbon pipeline news: Attorneys differ on meaning of common carrier law in Summit case

The Poet Biorefining ethanol plant in Chancellor, pictured on Sept. 6, 2024. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

As the South Dakota Searchlight reported--and Bluestem republished in South Dakota Supreme Court ruling complicates Summit Carbon Solution’s push for land on August 22:

Justices send matter back to lower courts, saying Summit hasn’t proven it’s a common carrier

The company trying to build a carbon-capture pipeline through South Dakota has not yet proven it should be allowed to take private land for public use, according to a state Supreme Court ruling issued Thursday.

Landowners who oppose the project hailed the decision as a victory, but the company expressed confidence it could go back to lower courts and prove its case. , , ,

On Monday's North Dakota Monitor, Jeff Beach considers two lawyers' stances on the common carriers law in North Dakota.

Attorneys differ on interpretation of common carrier law in Summit case
by Jeff Beach

Two attorneys involved in the Summit Carbon Solutions case have differing opinions on the state law that could allow the pipeline developer to use eminent domain.

North Dakota Public Service Commission attorney Zack Pelham said Monday that a recent state Supreme Court decision has established that Summit Carbon Solutions has the right to use eminent domain and force landowners to provide right-of-way for its carbon capture pipeline. 

Brian Jorde, an attorney for landowners fighting the pipeline, said a ruling on eminent domain, which would give Summit a powerful tool in negotiations, would only come from Summit taking a landowner to court. 

Eminent domain allows projects that provide a public benefit to force landowners to sell land or provide an easement that provides right-of-way, also known as condemnation. Landowners are compensated under eminent domain. 

Jorde, an attorney based in Nebraska, said in an email to the North Dakota Monitor the North Dakota Supreme Court did not rule on common carrier status. 

“Common carrier would most appropriately be challenged when and if Summit were to file a condemnation lawsuit against any North Dakota landowner,” Jorde said. “The trial court made it clear landowners have the ability to challenge the factual basis of the common carrier allegation in any eminent domain proceeding.” 

Some landowners in North Dakota have testified in PSC hearings that they have been threatened with eminent domain by Summit representatives. 

Pelham said common carrier status is covered under North Dakota Century Code 49-19.

Pelham said Summit Carbon Solutions has filed its acceptance of the provisions of North Dakota law that covers eminent domain and has agreed to follow those rules.  

The case considered by the state Supreme Court combined the case of Morton County landowner Howard Malloy with that of several other landowners who argued that Summit should not have access to survey their land without written permission. 

Pelham said an order at the district court level determined that Summit was a common pipeline carrier. 

In the Malloy decision from the North Dakota Supreme Court, Pelham said there’s a footnote that states landowners have not challenged on appeal that Summit is able to use eminent domain and condemnation. 

In his email, Jorde cited Century Code 49-19-11 that says for common carrier status, a pipeline “will accept, carry, or purchase, the oil, coal, gas, or carbon dioxide of the state or of any person not the owner of any pipeline, operating a lease or purchasing oil, coal, gas, or carbon dioxide at prices and under regulations to be prescribed by the commission.”

Jorde said the PSC has not set prices or price regulations for carrying carbon dioxide in North Dakota. 

Pipeline siting and property rights rules vary in the five states that are part of the Summit project – Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. 

Summit is seeking to build a carbon capture pipeline through the five states, ending at a permanent underground storage site northwest of Bismarck. The network of pipelines would collect carbon emissions from 57 ethanol plants, including one in North Dakota, taking advantage of federal tax credits for carbon capture and sequestration. 

The Iowa Utilities Commission has granted Summit a permit, giving the company the power of eminent domain, though the pipeline still faces legal challenges.  

The South Dakota Supreme Court ruled in August that Summit has not yet proven it is a common carrier that can use eminent domain. Landowners who oppose the project hailed the decision as a victory, but the company said it will go back to lower courts to prove its case.

Summit says it has obtained more than 80% of the land it needs in North Dakota for its proposed pipeline route through voluntary easements. Some landowners have testified that  they only negotiated a voluntary easement because they did not want to fight eminent domain in court. 

As the Summit siting case in North Dakota has dragged on, PSC Chair Randy Christmann has noted that the PSC has no authority over the use of eminent domain. 

The three-member PSC is conducting work sessions so that it can review rules and testimony regarding Summit’s pipeline route permit application. 

The PSC last year denied Summit’s route permit application but allowed the company to make changes to its route. A decision on the altered application is pending. 

The PSC tentatively set the next Summit work session for 9 a.m. Oct. 7.

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

Photo: An ethanol plant/

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Posted by on Sep 16, 2024 at 06:09 PM | | Comments (0)

MNHouse 7B: Warwas’s social media; climate denial, homophobia, & ‘white pride’ musings

The hits keep coming on Minnesota Republican state house candidates' trails of extreme views.

Last week at Axios Twin Cities, Torey Van Oot reported in House candidate worked with group counseling against same-sex relationships:

A Republican candidate for a Minnesota House swing district is defending his past work with a Christian nonprofit that counsels members to "renounce all homosexual thoughts." . . .

Driving the news: Caleb Steffenhagen, a middle school teacher and intelligence officer in the Minnesota Army National Guard from Chaska, is running in the House District 48B race against DFL Rep. Lucy Rehm. ...

Context: Steffenhagen's campaign as a "fiscal conservative," who would "bring back a little balance" and moderation, has largely omitted his involvement with Dangerous Men United, a Minnesota-based men's group focused on living free of "lust" and porn that has also counseled members against same-sex attraction.  . . .

Read the rest of the article at Axios Twin Cities.

Monday morning, Minnesota Reformer's Christopher Ingram follows a fainter trail of extremism on social memdia in the past of the Republican candidate for the open seat in Minnesota House 7B. While Cal Warwas doesn't seem to have been a card-carrying member of any weird group, his posts should give voters pause.

From the Minnesota Reformer.

GOP candidate’s social media posts: climate denial, homophobia, and musings on ‘white pride’
by Christopher Ingraham

Cal Warwas is the Republican candidate in Minnesota House district 7B, an Iron Range swing seat that opened up when DFL Rep. Dave Lislegard announced his retirement earlier this year. He’s running against Lorrie Janatopoulos, a former director at the Department of Employment and Economic Development.

Warwas is a third-generation miner and union member, something of a rarity in a Republican Party that’s traditionally been hostile to union interests. His primary pitch to voters is that he’s running to “restore balance to state government,” so that lawmakers from both parties “can discuss and negotiate issues important to all people groups in our state.”

But that message of moderation is undercut by years of social media posts espousing far-right views, a Reformer review found. Among other things, Warwas repeatedly suggested climate change is a “hoax,” used derogatory language against LGBTQ people, and approvingly shared posts asking why the term “white pride” — a slogan espoused by various white supremacist groups — is considered racist.

Climate denial

Warwas has repeatedly suggested climate change is a hoax or a scam. In 2019 he shared a Twitter post by a climate denier, adding “I’ve said this for years: lying to kids, making climate ‘science’ a de facto public religion, then using that collective voice to sway public opinion and votes so elite socialists can take away our freedoms.” He included the hashtag #climatehoax.

Warwas also criticized Gov. Tim Walz’s creation of a climate subcabinet, saying “This is #virtuesignaling on a state level, can you say hoax?” On Facebook, he has approvingly shared posts claiming climate concerns are “simply another way to control people,” that “climate ‘experts have been wrong for 50 years,” that climate change is a “lefty scam,” and that “Global warming is a hoax. The real goal is communism.”

The average global temperature has increased by about 2 degrees Fahrenheit since 1900. Minnesota’s St. Louis county, where district 7B is located, has warmed even faster and is one of the fastest-warming regions of the country.

About 7 in 10 residents of the county accept that global warming is happening, and more than half agree with the scientific consensus that the warming is mainly caused by human activities, according to survey estimates by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.

“When passively mentioning the ‘hoax’ of Climate Change on ‘X’ [formerly known as Twitter], I’m not saying the weather hasn’t changed, but that certain efforts to end or slow the demise of our planet are, in fact, just another type of industry and a way to collect ratepayer and taxpayer money,” Warwas said in response to a Reformer inquiry.

Anti-LGBTQ views

In 2021, Warwas criticized Walz for “actively promoting the alphabet lifestyle as normal and healthy” and referred to lesbian soccer star Megan Rapinoe as a “little boy.”

On several occasions he targeted transgender people in his posts. He has said “a man is still a man, even if he calls himself a woman”; called a transgender woman “a dude, masquerading as a girl”; and mocked United States assistant secretary for health Rachel Levine as a “man in a dress” and called her “mentally deranged.”

He has said encouraging children “to become something they are not” is “evil.”

“A man who asks us to participate in his delusion should not be celebrated as some brave pioneer to be honored and revered,” Warwas told the Reformer. “Treating all people kindly and respectfully is something I strive for, but demand for lifestyle acceptance by the ‘trans’ community has escalated into something that is truly harmful to society.”

Warwas also called the PBS children’s show Arthur “harmful to children” after an episode featured a male rat named Mr. Ratburn marrying an aardvark chocolatier named Patrick.

“No new episodes of Arthur will be shared on our television,” Warwas said.

“White pride”

“White pride” is a slogan often used by modern white supremacist groups to make their message more palatable to wider audiences. It appears in the motto of the neo-Nazi internet website Stormfront, and often crops up at white supremacist rallies.

The Reformer found no evidence Warwas is affiliated with any such groups. However, on three separate occasions he approvingly shared Facebook memes asking why “white pride” is considered racist when other phrases, like “Black pride” and “Mexican pride,” are not.

“That’s what I say,” he posted about the meme in 2018. The following year he posted it on the same date, remarking “Still a great question!” He also posted about it in 2017.

“I’ve never heard of Stormfront until you mentioned that site,” Warwas said when asked whether he was aware of the embrace of the phrase by white supremacists. “I abhor all forms of racism and feel that the recent trend in our culture to make everything about race has been extremely unhelpful in easing racial tensions where they do exist.”

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

Photo: A Cal Warwas banner from Cal Warwas for House Facebook page.

Related posts

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 [email protected] as recipient.

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

Posted by on Sep 16, 2024 at 10:43 AM | | Comments (0)

Sep 14, 2024

UPDATED! [VIDEO] Watch Hicks and Navitsky clash in MNHouse 25A forum; watch DFL Rep. Smith solo in 25B after Lund is a no-show

09112024_LWV FORUM-2.jpg

Earlier this week, I noted I'd be looking for embeddable videos of Minnesota House legislative forums. Bluestem started with [VIDEO] Watch MNHouse 24B seat candidates Rep. Tina Liebling and Dan Sepeda debate.

That's a safe DFL seat in Rochester. The Bluestem post drew from Post Bulletin coverage and the Rochester Public Library's YouTube of the forum.  

Matt Stolle covered the second Rochester area district forum in the Post Bulletin article, Rep. Kim Hicks, Ken Navitsky clash over solutions to strengthen the state in legislative forum. The extended lede:

ROCHESTER — DFL Rep. Kim Hicks and GOP challenger Ken Navitsky offered different solutions to statewide challenges and differed on issues ranging from how to create a business-friendly climate to tackling a state deficit to adopting an Equal Rights Amendment.

The two are competing to represent House District 25A. The forum was sponsored by the League of Women Voters Rochester in conjunction with the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce and the Post Bulletin, and held at the Rochester Public Library. . . .

was followed in Stolle's copy by consideration of responses of the candidates to specific questions. One gets a good sense of the candidates' differing views. 

Here's the Rochester Public Library's YouTube of the House 25A forum:

And Thursday night's forum with incumbent DFLer Andy Smith and endorsed Republican candidate Wes Lund? Stolle reports in House candidate Wes Lund a no-show at League of Women Voters forum:

Rep. Andy Smith had the stage to himself as Lund had signaled his intention not to participate.

ROCHESTER — Wes Lund was a no-show.

Lund, the GOP challenger to state DFL Rep. Andy Smith for the House District 25B seat, failed to attend a forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters Rochester in conjunction with the Rochester Chamber of Commerce and the Post Bulletin, and held at the Rochester Public Library.

His absence did not come as a complete surprise. He telegraphed his intention not to attend. He had made a counteroffer to attend a forum held at the park behind Mayo Civic Center.

A spokesperson for the League said Lund had hung up twice on a League representative trying to arrange the forum. In a later phone conversation, Lund said he wouldn’t be in attendance because he had to work until 10 p.m.

Lund made his name mocking local government with antics like wearing masks or reading a Dr. Seuss book at public meetings. Lund has attended numerous Rochester School Board and City Council meetings in the past, setting up his tripod to videotape local elected officials or himself and later posting the videos on his social media accounts, often to lampoon and criticize them.

In a phone conversation after the forum, Lund said he could not attend because of a conflict with work. Lund, who works in retail, said he was at work at the moment and didn't have much time to talk, sometimes lowering his voice. Lund also said he disagreed with the League format and the location. . . .

Read the rest at the Post Bulletin. If you want to know what Smith said as he "answered questions from moderators and the audience for half an hour," you're out of luck. It's not in Stolle's copy, nor has a YouTube been posted on the library's website.

UPDATE September 15: In an unlisted YouTube uploaded by the Rochester Public Library on Saturday--and link shared on the  League of Women Voters-Rochester, Minnesota Facebook page, Andy Smith answers questions:

END UPDATE

Lund has his own conspiratorial post about that on his campaign Facebook page. Heckova take:

Not the face of leadership, but what would Bluestem know? Perhaps he's the Royce White of Med City.

Photo: Kim Hicks and Ken Navitsky at the candidate forum hosted by The League of Women Voters on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2024 at the Rochester Public Library in Rochester. Lily Dozier / Post Bulletin.

Related posts

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 [email protected] as recipient.

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

Posted by on Sep 14, 2024 at 06:38 PM | | Comments (0)

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