Bluestem Prairie

Star Tribune editorial board praises Prinsburg for rejecting Miller's post-legislative career builder

Perhaps Bluestem is overly optimistic to fancy that retiring Minnesota state representative Tim Miller has met his Waterloo with the rejection of his anti-reproductive freedom ordinance by his hometown's city council.

We mostly recently posted about this in Prinsburg rejects PLAM ordinance update: tasty tidbits from the latest Star Tribune coverage and West Central Tribune: City Council in Prinsburg, MN rejects proposed abortion ordinance.

But at least he's getting the attention he deserves from the editorial board at the Star Tribune.

Some of the wisdom in A failed try to stoke abortion controversy:

. . . unlike Texas, Prinsburg is in a state where no less an authority than the Minnesota Supreme Court has held, in the 1995 case Doe v. Gomez, that the state Constitution includes the right to terminate a pregnancy.

That did not dissuade Miller, who told a Star Tribune reporter, "This is what God is calling me to do." He had arranged for the deep pockets of the Thomas More Society, a nonprofit law firm specializing in culture-war issues that does not publicly disclose its funding sources, to defend Prinsburg if it had faced court challenges.

Before the Prinsburg City Council decision, Miller said he planned to spread this campaign to deprive women of their constitutional right to other rural communities. The intention, he told the Star Tribune, is not to penalize the woman who has an abortion but to stop "the animals who tell her that's OK and profit from it."

This, of course, presumes that women are easily led astray and couldn't possibly have determined the risks for themselves and come to their own conclusion that the time is not right for them to undertake childbearing. It is an insulting premise, and most Minnesotans have made clear they reject such thinking.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison told an editorial writer last week that the Prinsburg city attorney had contacted his office, "and we have every reason to believe the city attorney will review carefully and follow the laws of the state of Minnesota."

Writing to Prinsburg Mayor Roger Ahrenholz, who has already expressed support for Miller's proposal, Ellison advised that "Any municipal ordinance which limits the fundamental rights of pregnant Minnesotans to receive an abortion is unconstitutional" and that the state has extensive laws regulating the practices of medicine, nursing and pharmacology. "No city in Minnesota has the power to restrict the right to abortion or enact conflicting regulations on health care providers," Ellison wrote.

In a statement posted to the city's website on Friday, city leaders said, "In reaching its decision, the council took into account the position of the Minnesota Attorney General and its City Attorney stating that provisions described in the ordinance are unconstitutional and not within the legal authority of the city to enact. The council plans no further discussion or comment regarding the proposed ordinance."

Ellison said such efforts, even if they are essentially publicity stunts, prove that abortion continues to be an issue deserving of complete legal protection. Reproductive rights, he said, "must be fully defended, because there are clearly activists here who are going to advance their cause any way they can."

One of the best ways to defend those specific rights would be to enshrine them in statute.

The state Legislature now has a reproductive-rights majority. It should use that majority to provide statutory protection under Minnesota law without delay.

Read the entire editorial at the Star Tribune (we have a subscription).

Bluestem will keep an eye out for Mr. Miller's future publicity stunts. Material like this is why we subscribe to so many newspapers across the state--and check in on rural radio networks' webpages. Willmar Radio first reported about Miller's ordinance.

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Image: The town sign for Prinsburg. Via Alchetron entry for Prinsburg.

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Posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Dec 05, 2022 at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

MN BAH: No additional CWD detected in remaining depopulated deer on Winona Co farm

Earlier this year, Bluestem had posted about Chronic Wasting Disease found on Todd Miller's long quaranteed farm in Winona County in MN Board of Animal Health: CWD confirmed in quarantined Winona County captive deer herd and Todd Miller's deer farm was depopulated Tuesday among other posts.

On Monday, the Minnesota Board of Animal Health updated the news on the deer farm in a press release, No additional Chronic Wasting Disease detected in remaining depopulated deer on Winona County farm:

A Winona County deer farm went through a mandatory herd depopulation in October, and no Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) was detected in any of the 120 white-tailed deer tested. The Winona County farm had been quarantined since October 2020 because of its connection to other Minnesota CWD positive farms. In August 2022, CWD was confirmed in a 4-year-old doe in the herd (https://www.bah.state.mn.us/news_release/cwd-confirmed-in-quarantined-winona-county-deer-herd/). A total of three CWD positive deer have been confirmed on this farm when two deer harvested after the August detection also tested positive for CWD.

“Unfortunately, we rarely find a definitive answer to how CWD was introduced into a herd. We will continue to work with farmers and state and federal partners to better understand how these animals were infected,” said Senior Veterinarian Dr. Courtney Wheeler. “We’re fortunate this producer is interested in solving this puzzle and is working with us, the USDA and the University of Minnesota on further research. Tissues from the depopulated deer will be submitted for a federally funded genomic testing project to understand if some deer are more susceptible to CWD than others.”

The Winona County herd actively participated in the national CWD Herd Certification Program since 2012 and tested more than 100 deer for CWD before the disease was detected in August 2022. The herd was in a CWD endemic area of Minnesota where there is a high prevalence of CWD in the wild deer population. The farm and deer enclosures had been double fenced since 2015.

As part of an agreement with state and federal animal health officials, the herd owner is required to clean and disinfect all enclosures and must maintain fencing on the property for five years from the date of the last detection. The farm is not allowed to have any deer or elk for five years, and the property owner must maintain fencing to prevent wild deer from accessing empty pens. Biohazard signs will be posted on the fencing and must be maintained for the entire five-year fallow period.

Update: While wording of the Board of Animal Health press release implies that the agreement is a negotiated settlement, these conditions are in fact law. See 35.155 FARMED CERVIDAE Subd. 11, d:

(d) The owner of a premises where chronic wasting disease is detected must:

(1) depopulate the premises of Cervidae after the federal indemnification process has been completed or, if an indemnification application is not submitted, within a reasonable time determined by the board in consultation with the commissioner of natural resources;

(2) maintain the fencing required under subdivision 4 on the premises for five years after the date of detection; and

(3) post the fencing on the premises with biohazard signs as directed by the board. [end update]

The December 5 press release continues:

CWD is a disease of the deer and elk family caused by prions, which can damage brain and nerve tissue. The disease is most likely transmitted when infected deer and elk shed prions in saliva, feces, urine, and other fluids or tissues. CWD is not known to naturally occur in other animals. The disease is fatal in deer and elk, and there are no known treatments or vaccines. According to the CDC, consuming meat from a CWD positive animal is not advised.

The press release mentions '"Tissues from the depopulated deer will be submitted for a federally funded genomic testing project to understand if some deer are more susceptible to CWD than others.”

Board of Animal Health's November 2022 "Animal Bites" noted:

Determining Genomically Estimated Breeding Value to identify animals least susceptible to CWD

The Board of Animal Health is utilizing USDA CWD Cooperative Agreement Funding to determine the Genomically Estimated Breeding Value (GEBV) in more than 3,000 Minnesota farmed white-tailed deer. The GEBV looks at genetic markers to reduce the animals' susceptibility to CWD. To determine the susceptibility of an individual animal, more than 100,000 regions of the white-tailed deer genome are analyzed using computer modeling and machine learning to identify regions unique to animals known to be CWD positive. All genetic information for animals with a GEBV calculated are saved in the North American Deer Registry database and used for comparison. A computer scans this genomic data and provides a score related to the degree in which it is similar to CWD-positive animals. This allows geneticists to classify animals into three categories: highly susceptible, moderately susceptible, and minimally susceptible. Farmers can use those ratings to make breeding or culling decisions on their farm.

We're not sure if that's the program mentioned in the latest press release, but it sounds pretty close.

Miller is the brother of Minnesota state senator Jeremy Miller, whose service as Majority Leader was brought to a close with the DFL gaining the majority in the upper chamber.

The legislature may move on CWD policy with both chambers under DFL control. Last week in the Outdoors section of the Star Tribune, Tony Kennedy reported in Majority shift in Minn. Senate leads way for new fish and game leader:

. . . [Sen. Foung Hawj (pronounced HER)], who lives near the south end of Lake Phalen and owns 30 acres of recreational land in Kanabec County, said he shares several legislative goals with his counterpart in the House of Representatives, Rick Hansen, D-South St. Paul. . . .

Hawj and Hansen said they'll also look to reform laws pertaining to the oversight of deer farms in Minnesota. State wildlife biologists have told lawmakers that deer farms have contributed to the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in wild deer. One proposal still considered viable by Hansen is to place a moratorium on the establishment of any new deer farms in the state.

"Because of CWD, we need to re-evaluate how to make deer farming safer,'' Hawj said.

Both committee chairs hunt whitetails in Minnesota. Hawj, who is self-deprecating about his bow-hunting and fishing expertise, said he's harvested only a handful of deer in 20 years. "I'm not that skilled, but it allows me to be out there in nature, meditating,'' he said. . . .

We'll be watching to see how much sway the new BAH talking point about the Genomically Estimated Breeding Value (GEBV) and breeding CWD resistant deer has in policy discussions in Hawj and Hansen's committees, as well as the legislature's ag committees.

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

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Posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Dec 05, 2022 at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Prinsburg rejects PLAM ordinance update: tasty tidbits from the latest Star Tribune coverage

Bluestem first posted about an unconstitutional municipal ordinance pushed by retiring state representative Tim Miller in our November 16 post, Tuesday, Prinsburg City Council heard Tim Miller propose PLAM Action anti-abortion ordinance.

We left off with Friday's West Central Tribune: City Council in Prinsburg, MN rejects proposed abortion ordinance.

Following in the footsteps of John Reinen's StribGuy: Small Minnesota town may become focus of abortion fight 'cause of Tim Miller, the Star Tribune picks up Prinsburg's rejection in Eder Campuzano's Minnesota town backs down from abortion ordinance.

Some tidbits from Campuzano's reporting:

The city council in the small western Minnesota town of Prinsburg has unanimously shelved a proposed ordinance that would have allowed its residents to sue abortion providers, passing on the chance to inject itself into the national legal skirmish over abortion.

It's been less than three weeks since the small town south of Willmar drew outsized attention over the proposed ordinance. But on Friday, the council opted not to go forward with the measure sought by a local Republican legislator that echoed legislation in Republican-led states that have been restricting abortion access in the months since the U.S. Supreme overturned Roe vs. Wade.

"In reaching its decision, the council took into account the position of the Minnesota Attorney General and its City Attorney stating that provisions described in the ordinance are unconstitutional and not within the legal authority of the city to enact," city leaders said in a statement posted to the city website. "The council plans no further discussion or comment regarding the proposed ordinance." . . .

Outgoing State Rep. Tim Miller, R-Prinsburg, was pushing for the measure. In an interview Saturday, he contended that it's constitutional despite the city's position and assertions from the state attorney general's office to the contrary.

In a statement, Attorney General Keith Ellison praised the Prinsburg council's vote, saying its members "unanimously recognized the proposed ordinance was both unconstitutional and preempted by state law."

"I thank them for upholding their oaths of office by taking those concerns seriously, and I hope other communities take notice," Ellison said. "It's my job to protect the constitutional rights of Minnesotans in every community to access safe, legal abortion, and I will continue to do it." . . . .

But the money quote goes to Miller himself:

Miller remains undaunted. "I will pit the creator of the universe against Attorney General Ellison and we will win every single time. I am fully confident in that," he said.

Bluestem had no idea the Minnesota Constitution, which Attorney General Ellison works to uphold, was in such mortal combat with the Creator.

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Screengrab: A Tim Miller Facebook post in 2014. Perhaps those lawn ornament voters are what Stop the Steal folks mean when they talk about fraud in elections.

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Posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Dec 04, 2022 at 12:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

West Central Tribune: City Council in Prinsburg, MN rejects proposed abortion ordinance

Bluestem's been posting about retiring state representative Tim Miller's new job-and it looks like he's suffered something of a setback in his hometown of Prinsburg, known as Minnesota's most conservative city.

Tom Cherveny reports for the West Central Tribune in City Council in Prinsburg, Minnesota, rejects proposed abortion ordinance:

City Council members in Prinsburg made it clear Friday they are not willing to subject the small community to the legal and other challenges that might arise from adopting an ordinance to allow residents to bring civil lawsuits against abortion providers.

On a unanimous vote, council members voted to deny an ordinance proposed by State Rep. Tim Miller, R-Prinsburg, to allow civil action against abortion providers. Council members Mitch Swart and Greg Bonnema offered the motion at a special meeting convened Friday afternoon.

The vote came with no discussion or comments, but before the council heard the motion to deny the ordinance, Mayor Roger Ahrenholz outlined the challenges the city would likely face were it enacted.

The mayor said the city had received a letter from Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison advising the proposed ordinance was unconstitutional in Minnesota. . . .

Miller, a Prinsburg resident, had brought the proposed ordinance to the Prinsburg City Council on Nov. 15. The mayor said council members tabled discussion with intentions to consider it at a special meeting.

He said council members and citizens in the community were subsequently surprised to find themselves “thrust into the spotlight” due to media coverage of the proposal.

Miller watched the council vote on Friday afternoon, and afterward said that he was disappointed. He said he will continue to work with other communities in the state interested in a similar ordinance.

It was originally adopted by communities in Texas. The ordinance is not in apparent conflict with Texas law, however, as that state has effectively banned abortion with narrow exception.

Miller is working with Pro-Life Ministries of St. Paul in a position he accepted shortly before announcing this year that he was not seeking re-election to the Minnesota Legislature. . . .

Read the entire article at the West Central Tribune.

I'm pleased the small town used common sense and conservative budget wisdom on this one.

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Image: The town sign for Prinsburg. Via Alchetron entry for Prinsburg.

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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Posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Dec 02, 2022 at 08:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Public not sold on Navigator pipeline despite attempts to build landowner trust

Earlier this week, Bluestem posted MNHouse Majority Leader Long, committee chairs Frentz, Stephenson got late, large contributions from ethanol pipeline execs.

Those ethanol executives are connected with the proposed carbon sequestration pipeline by Navigator CO2,

What's the issue with the pipeline? (The campaign contributions by out-of-state business executives evoke other questions about buying access to legislators).

At the Mitchell Republic, Jason Harward reports in Public not sold on Navigator pipeline despite attempts to build landowner trust:

At each of a trio of public input meetings last week regarding the proposed carbon sequestration pipeline by Navigator CO2, one attendee asked the crowd to raise their hand if they were in favor of moving ahead with the project.

And, between the three meetings held in Canton, Flandreau and Sioux Falls on Nov. 21 and 22, only a handful were in favor out of the more than 400 total attendees.

Elizabeth Burns-Thompson, the vice president of government and public affairs with Navigator CO2, who led presentations and answered questions at all three meetings, said it was an important part of building a partnership with the owners of land in the proposed pipeline route.

“There is a lot of value in the big informational meetings that we did with the PUC,” Burns-Thompson said. “I think the greatest value comes in being able to sit down one on one with landowners and have them see that we are there to listen.”

Filing paperwork with the Public Utilities Commission on Sept. 27, Navigator is the second player in what could become a gold rush for sequestering excess carbon from ethanol plants around the Midwest in exchange for billions in federal tax credits.

Unlike the proposal by Summit Carbon Solutions, which goes through a large swath of eastern South Dakota and deposits carbon in North Dakota, the Navigator pipeline’s footprint in South Dakota currently encompasses just over 100 miles through five counties in the southeast portion of the state. Burns-Thompson said the project is planning to expand to other POET locations in Mitchell, Groton and Big Stone City.

The majority of the 1,300 miles of proposed pipeline travels through Iowa and will deposit carbon in Illinois. . . .

. . .

But the main thrust of opposition relates to safety. Donald Johnson, the fire chief in Valley Springs, said at the Sioux Falls meeting that the largely volunteer emergency services in rural areas of the pipeline route do not have the gear to effectively respond to a potential carbon leak, which could cause asphyxiation.

Burns-Thompson emphasized to Forum News Service that the Navigator pipeline would put safety first, adding that pipelines are the “safest means” of transporting liquified carbon.

The opposition points to an incident in Mississippi in 2020 in which a carbon pipeline leaked and put dozens of people in the hospital. The federal body in charge of these pipelines is still in a rulemaking process regarding how to make them safer.

Johnson warned that the colorless, odorless carbon gas could travel to population centers even if the leak occurs in a rural area.

“If this thing leaks, carbon is heavier than air, so it's going to stay on the ground,” Johnson said at the Nov. 22 meeting in Sioux Falls. “And it's called Valley Springs for a reason. There's a valley. That gas is going to lay in the valley and float down to Brandon and Sioux Falls.” ...

Read the rest at the Mitchell Republic.

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Photo: A POET ethanol plant. From the locations page on the firm's website,

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

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Posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Dec 02, 2022 at 07:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

South Dakota Attorney general makes new hires to address human trafficking and MMIP

Bluestem's been posting about Murdered and Missing Indigenous Woman + Relatives for many years. It's good to see action on this tragic issue.

South Dakota Searchlight's staff has published some good news:

Attorney general makes new hires to address human trafficking, Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons

Attorney General Mark Vargo announced two new hires Wednesday to address human trafficking and Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons.

Allison Morrisette is the state’s inaugural Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons coordinator. Morrisette is an enrolled member of the Oglala Lakota Sioux Tribe who last served as adult diversion coordinator for the Pennington County State’s Attorney’s Office, which Vargo headed before becoming attorney general.

“I am excited to begin this work,” Morrisette said in a news release. “A lot of my relatives feel they are overlooked. My job with the Attorney General’s Office is to ensure that is not true. In my culture we live by the words ‘Mitakuye Oyasin,’ which means ‘all my relations’ or ‘we are all related.’ I carry that belief with me into this new role.”

The state’s new human trafficking coordinator is Mary Beth Holzwarth. For the past 13 years, she has served as the CEO of Endeavor 52, a grassroots organization dedicated to child sexual assault prevention.

“Joining the Attorney General’s Office in this new role gives me the opportunity to carry on my work combatting childhood sexual abuse and widen my focus to address other manifestations of exploitation, including sexual and labor trafficking,” Holzwarth said.

Vargo said he looks forward to the positive impact these two coordinators can make for South Dakota.

“I am thrilled to welcome the breadth and depth of expertise Allison and Mary Beth bring to the Attorney General’s Office and am confident they will help the office live up to its motto of ‘Equal Justice Under the Law,’” Vargo said.

The Legislature approved the creation of the coordinator positions in 2021, but then-Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg did not fill the positions prior to his impeachment and removal from office this year. Vargo began seeking to fill the positions after Gov. Kristi Noem appointed him as attorney general in June. Vargo did not run for election to the job and will yield it in January to Marty Jackley, who ran uncontested in November. Vargo will return to his prior job as state’s attorney in Pennington County.

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

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Photo: Allison Morrisette, left, the state’s new Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons coordinator, and Mary Beth Holzwarth, right, the state’s new human trafficking coordinator. (Courtesy of Attorney General’s Office)

Posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Dec 01, 2022 at 05:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

MNHouse GOP minority names committee leads

Earlier this month, Bluestem posted MN Senate and House name committee chairs,

Now the names of minority leads/ranking members have been made public.

In a tweet by Minnesota Public Radio (MPR) political reporter Brian Bakst:

Now in: House GOP ranking members on #mnleg committees. https://t.co/ARa4SpLYXq pic.twitter.com/Unfe384LOR
— Brian Bakst (@Stowydad) November 30, 2022

Few are surprises. Travrse County's Jeff "Goose Poop" Backer will be Leon Lillie's burden on Legacy Finance, while casting Alexandria's Mary Franson as the ranking member to Spring Lake Park's Erin Koegel chair on the Sustainable Infrastructure Policy committee is worthy of Mel Brooks.

Photo: The Minnesota State Capitol dome.

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Posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Nov 30, 2022 at 05:52 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

SD News Watch: Dangerous, potentially deadly distracted driving remains a hard habit to break in South Dakota

This morning, a source texted a solid lead while I was driving, but I followed the law a pulled over and parked before I checked to see what my phone was pinging me about. It's the law.

Another investigative report from South Dakota News Watch. I certainly noticed and dodged a lot of distracted driving here in northeastern South Dakota.

And then there's the case of the state's top distracted driver, our impeached Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg, who killed Joseph Boever, who was walking on the shoulder of the road while the state official recovered from checking his phone.

Dangerous, potentially deadly distracted driving remains a hard habit to break in South Dakota

South Dakota lawmaker Doug Barthel, a former police chief in Sioux Falls, tried to make state roadways safer from distracted drivers by spearheading passage of a law in 2020 to restrict cell phone use behind the wheel.

The South Dakota law allows cell phone use in a vehicle, but only for phone calls or to look up a phone number, and allows drivers to hold the phone to their ear. The law made it illegal to use a phone for texting, taking photos, watching videos or accessing the internet except in an emergency, and made the infraction a primary offense for which officers can pull over and ticket a driver.

Barthel hopes the law has prevented distracted driving in some cases, but he acknowledges that drivers in South Dakota and across the country continue to engage in risky behaviors behind the wheel that lead to thousands of deaths and injuries each year.

“I just hope there’s some people who got the message and it’s having an impact on them, but to be honest, the majority of people probably ignore the law and still use their phone in the car how and when they want to,” said Barthel, R-Sioux Falls.

In South Dakota, 250 people were killed or injured in car accidents attributed to distracted driving in 2021, according to the state Department of Public Safety, though experts acknowledge the number is probably much higher due to difficulty in proving distracted driving after a crash has taken place.

Distracted driving was listed as a contributing cause of crashes in South Dakota in 2020 at a higher rate than speeding, disregarding a traffic signal, improper passing, over-correcting, and swerving to avoid an object, according to state data. Among teen drivers, 58% of those involved in a crash were distracted at the time of the crash, the state DPS said.

Distracted driving, which includes cell phone use but also eating, talking with others or adjusting vehicle controls, remains a highly risky behavior. Across the U.S., fatal crashes involving a distracted driver rose by 12% from 2019 to 2020, the last year for which data is available. Among all highway deaths that year, distracted drivers were known to be involved in 8% of fatal wrecks (3,143 people killed) and in 14% of injury accidents (324,600 people injured). About 600 pedestrians were also killed by distracted drivers that year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Talking on the phone while driving can be distracting, but texting while driving is significantly more dangerous and makes a crash 23 times more likely, experts say. With the time needed to read or send a text estimated at five seconds, a driver at 55 mph would be distracted for 405 feet of vehicle travel, more than a football field. At 80 mph, the interstate speed limit in much of South Dakota, the texting driver would be distracted for 585 feet, nearly the length of two football fields.

South Dakota Highway Patrol officers have increased enforcement of distracted diving laws in recent years, according to state data.

From 2015 through 2022, state troopers have issued a total of 1,218 citations or warnings to drivers for distracted driving infractions (527 citations and 691 warnings.) Yet the data show that citations and warnings have climbed in the past two years compared to the six years prior, with 46% of the warnings and citations coming in just the past two years.

Enforcement of distracted driving a challenge

For law enforcement officials, one of the challenges is trying to find a balance between educating the public about the dangers of distracted driving and cracking down with tickets and fines to create a deterrent.

The Watertown Police Department has used targeted social media campaigns to let people know that officers will be out looking for distracted drivers on certain dates and times, much like sobriety checkpoints. During a recent campaign, they focused on issuing warnings the first week and then started writing tickets the following week. The fine is $122.50.

“Word spreads fast, and it’s a bit of a deterrent,” said Capt. Steve Rehorst, a 20-year veteran of the Watertown department. “If we can change people’s behavior for one day or one weekend, maybe that change carries over beyond that point.”

Rehorst noted that student drivers are of particular concern, according to research by the NHTSA, which found in 2019 that 39% of high school students who drove in the previous 30 days texted or emailed while driving on at least one of those days.

“Statistically they spend more time on their phone, and it might be something they’re tempted to do while driving,” said Rehorst, adding that “Don’t Text and Drive” roadway signs are posted near Watertown’s high schools and Lake Area Community College.

Enforcement of distracted driving a challenge

For law enforcement officials, one of the challenges is trying to find a balance between educating the public about the dangers of distracted driving and cracking down with tickets and fines to create a deterrent.

The Watertown Police Department has used targeted social media campaigns to let people know that officers will be out looking for distracted drivers on certain dates and times, much like sobriety checkpoints. During a recent campaign, they focused on issuing warnings the first week and then started writing tickets the following week. The fine is $122.50.

“Word spreads fast, and it’s a bit of a deterrent,” said Capt. Steve Rehorst, a 20-year veteran of the Watertown department. “If we can change people’s behavior for one day or one weekend, maybe that change carries over beyond that point.”

Rehorst noted that student drivers are of particular concern, according to research by the NHTSA, which found in 2019 that 39% of high school students who drove in the previous 30 days texted or emailed while driving on at least one of those days.

“Statistically they spend more time on their phone, and it might be something they’re tempted to do while driving,” said Rehorst, adding that “Don’t Text and Drive” roadway signs are posted near Watertown’s high schools and Lake Area Community College

Enforcement of distracted driving a challenge

For law enforcement officials, one of the challenges is trying to find a balance between educating the public about the dangers of distracted driving and cracking down with tickets and fines to create a deterrent.

The Watertown Police Department has used targeted social media campaigns to let people know that officers will be out looking for distracted drivers on certain dates and times, much like sobriety checkpoints. During a recent campaign, they focused on issuing warnings the first week and then started writing tickets the following week. The fine is $122.50.

“Word spreads fast, and it’s a bit of a deterrent,” said Capt. Steve Rehorst, a 20-year veteran of the Watertown department. “If we can change people’s behavior for one day or one weekend, maybe that change carries over beyond that point.”

Rehorst noted that student drivers are of particular concern, according to research by the NHTSA, which found in 2019 that 39% of high school students who drove in the previous 30 days texted or emailed while driving on at least one of those days.

“Statistically they spend more time on their phone, and it might be something they’re tempted to do while driving,” said Rehorst, adding that “Don’t Text and Drive” roadway signs are posted near Watertown’s high schools and Lake Area Community College.

The challenge for patrol officers is that catching a driver in the act of texting or checking social media on a phone is difficult.

“When you’re in a black-and-white patrol car that’s clearly marked, they’ll put their phone down because they can see you coming,” said Derek Mann, a former South Dakota Highway Patrol officer who now works as a crash investigator for the Rapid City Police Department. “When I was a motorcycle trooper, though, I could pull alongside people and look right in there and they’d be looking at their phone and then put it in the center console when they saw I was looking.”

Mann mentioned cell phone use when driving on the interstate as a particular concern because of the high rate of speed. “Crash investigation data has shown that it takes 1.6 seconds for your brain to sense something and the message to go to your foot to start braking,” he said. “So let’s say you’re moving 100 feet per second on the interstate, that translates to nearly 200 feet before you even start to brake. If you’re looking down at your phone at a text message or Facebook, it becomes a major problem. Driving needs to be a full-time situation.”

Mann anticipates that South Dakota will at some point move toward banning hand-held devices for all drivers anytime they are behind the wheel, as 24 other states have done, according to the National Conference of State Legislators (Minnesota is the only neighboring state with a hands-free cell phone law).

He also pointed to cell phone blocking apps that prevent drivers from making or accepting calls, texting, or accessing the internet while behind the wheel.

“That’s probably the next step in the evolution of cell phones and enforcement,” Mann said.

Barthel said cell phones have become so ubiquitous that it may be impossible to stop people from using them while driving.

“They believe they have good reaction time, and they’ve never had an issue,” he said, “but they’re just playing with fire if they’ve got their head down looking at their phone while driving. Heaven forbid, they will drift into your lane and hit you head on.”

Barthel said he has seen no data that shows if the 2020 law has had an impact on driver behavior or safety. But he’s hopeful he made a small difference in roadway safety and in protecting lives and property.

“The goal was not to write a pile of tickets, because it’s easier said than done to show what somebody was doing on their phone when you pull them over,” Barthel said. “But if people know something is against the law, they’re more inclined to be more aware of it and to not openly break the law.”

Barthel said he was long aware of the dangers of distracted driving, but became fully engaged in pushing the phone law after hearing from the father of Jacob William Dahl, a 19-year-old man from Castlewood who died in 2014 after crashing into the back of a stopped truck. Dahl was looking at his phone and had his cruise control set while driving. He apparently never looked up or braked before striking the truck. The impact killed him instantly.

Barthel did not run for re-election and is leaving the Legislature, and he’s unsure if any other lawmaker will try to bring forward a bill that he believes could have the greatest safety impact — a stricter distracted-driving law that would allow only hands-free use of phones.

Barthel said that in a rural state with wide-open spaces, the public and other lawmakers are unlikely to support stricter cell phone rules for motorists at this time.

“Everybody has a cell phone anymore and they’ve become a big part of our lives, so to ask people to totally give that up while in a car is easier said than done,” Barthel said. “Given what it took to get this law passed, I’m not sure the state is ready for a ban on cell phones in the car or even a hands-free law.”

Public information efforts continue

In addition to enforcement by local police and the state Highway Patrol, several efforts are underway in South Dakota to alert residents to the dangers of distracted driving and hopefully to change their behaviors.

The Safety Village of South Dakota recently received a small grant from State Farm insurance to develop a program in schools to educate young drivers on overall safety but also to stop distracted driving.

The Office of Highway Safety within the state DPS recently commissioned a sculpture now on display in the Empire Mall in Sioux Falls that depicts a large globe consisting of 250 cell phones, each tucked within a coffin. The sculpture, which will later be placed in public places across the state, is meant to provide a warning about the dangers of distracted driving by highlighting the 250 people injured or killed in distracted driving crashes in 2021, according to the department.

“Distracted driving is a problem not only in South Dakota, but throughout the nation,” said Office of Highway Safety Director Amanda Kurth in a news release. “While this sculpture focuses on the danger of being distracted by cell phones, there are other distractions, such as talking to a passenger or changing the dial on the radio, that can cause you to lose focus and result in a serious crash.”

The group South Dakota EMS for Children also received federal grant money recently to embark on a campaign called “Buckle Up/Phone Down” to warn Sioux Falls drivers of the risks of distracted driving and not wearing a seat belt, said Emily Pogue, program coordinator for the group.

The group that supports safe treatment and care of children has created a web page and plans to develop an app that reminds people to be safe behind the wheel. During the six-month program, the group is asking people to take a pledge to remain safe while driving, and is also soliciting personal stories of people who have been affected by distracted driving or lack of seat belt use. It plans to feature the articles or videos on the website to personalize the potentially devastating effects of risky driving behaviors.

“We know that picking up your phone while driving has now become habitual, so when the phone dings, you answer your email or answer that text,” Pogue said. “It’s going to take a multi-faceted approach to effect change … because unless it happens to you, sometimes it takes a long time to get this through your brain, especially with young people who have that feeling of invincibility.”

On its website, the group published data points that show South Dakota is behind the rest of the nation in terms of seat belt use and enforcement. In 2020, according to NHSTA, the overall U.S. seat belt use rate was 90.3%, while it was only 68.3% in South Dakota. In South Dakota, seat belt use is required, but failure to wear a seat belt remains a secondary traffic offense, meaning officers cannot pull over a driver solely for that infraction.

The EMS group also notes on its website that more than one in 10 fatal accidents in Lincoln and Minnehaha counties is related to distracted driving.

Pogue said she has lost four people in her life to accidents where seat belts weren’t in use. Her support of safe driving habits has rubbed off on her 8-year-old son, Keaton, who sometimes reminds her to wear her seat belt or to signal before turning if she gets complacent.

“In Sioux Falls, we’re all about neighbor helping neighbor, so it’s important to remember this isn’t just about safety for drivers, but also for passengers and pedestrians,” she said.

— News Watch reporter Stu Whitney contributed to this report.

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

Photo: Emergency workers examine a November 2021 multi-car accident in Lincoln County that was caused by fog but also driver distraction. Photo: Courtesy South Dakota Highway Patrol.

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Posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Nov 30, 2022 at 12:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

MNHouse Majority Leader Long, committee chairs Frentz, Stephenson got late, large contributions from ethanol pipeline execs

On Tuesday, this blog posted In Iowa, ethanol carbon pipeline opponents want pause until new safety regulations are ready.

Today, we're wondering about some last minute large contributions from ethanol carbon pipeline executives to DFL leaders in the state legislature.

As Bluestem reported in a November 18 post, MN Senate and House name committee chairs, Mankato DFL state senator Nick Frentz will serve as the chair of the Minnesota Senate Energy, Utilities, Environment and Climate Committee.

In the Minnesota House, Jamie Long, DFL Minneapolis,has been chosen as the House Majority leader, after serving as the chair of the the House's climate and energy committee. Zack Stephenson, DFL-Coon Rapids, will continue as House Commerce committee chair.

Grazing through the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Boards' Large Contribution Notices of contributions received on or after October 25, 2022, Bluestem noticed that these leaders had each received $1000 contributions from Navigator Energy Services executives.

Here are screenshots of the Navigator Energy Services executive's contributions to Long, Frentz and Stephenson in that database:

According to his profile on the Navigator Energy Services LLC website, Vining is the CEO of the company. In June, KELOLAND reported POET joins Navigator’s proposed CO2 pipeline. According to its Bioprocessing Facilities list of locations page on its website, the Sioux Falls-based company operates four plants in Minnesota.

Frentz and Stephenson each received $1000 from Jeffrey Allen, whose Bloomberg Profile lists him as Senior VP/CFO, Navigator Energy Services LLC.

Should we find more Navigator Energy Services LLC executive political contributions to Minnesota politicians, we'll add them to this post.

We certainly hope these gentlemen base any ethanol pipeline policy decisions on the best science and past performance of such pipelines, as Bluestem pauses at the notion they might come this cheaply. Update: For contrast, we recommend reading Max Nesterak's fine article, Gov. Tim Walz solicits six-figure donations for inauguration committee, at the Minnesota Reformer. [end update]

As we noted in our 2015 post, Of the loners at the Center for Responsive Politics & McNamara's campaign finance fables, Minnesota's campaign finance board doesn't aggregate contributions by employers or executive officers from businesses, but the Center for Responsive Poliics does. The Center for Responsive Politics defends its methodology:

...our research over more than 20 years shows enough of a correlation between individuals’ contributions and their employers’ political interests that we feel comfortable with our methodology. We have also observed that the donors who give more than $200, and especially those who contribute at the maximum levels, are more commonly top executives in their companies, not lower-level employees.

Who knew?

Related posts

Photo: A POET ethanol plant. From the locations page on the firm's website,

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

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Posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Nov 30, 2022 at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Kristi Noem’s TikTok ban kills tourism account, leaves other state entities mulling options

As a crabby old hag, I've avoided TikTok, and friends who know more about national security than this poor country blogger have cautioned me about it. Noem may be doing some headline grabbing grandstanding here, but the impulse isn't unfounded.

Our apologies to South Dakota’s official “Corn-bassador," TikTok star “Corn Kid."

From the South Dakota Searchlight:

Noem’s TikTok ban kills tourism account, leaves other state entities mulling options
by Makeenzie Huber and John Hult

The South Dakota Department of Tourism deleted its TikTok account Tuesday, abandoning the 61,200 followers and 1.7 million likes the state agency cultivated on the popular social media app.

And South Dakota State University is meeting with its general counsel on how to handle its 9,000-follower TikTok account — all after Gov. Kristi Noem banned the video-sharing app for state government agencies, employees and contractors using state devices in an executive order Tuesday.

The order raises questions for South Dakota’s six public universities, many of which have official TikTok accounts, athletic department accounts, other departmental accounts and student media accounts.

South Dakota universities use the platform to recruit potential students, said Mike Lockrem, director of SDSU marketing and communications.

“We do use TikTok quite a bit,” Lockrem said. “We’ll work with our general counsel in the next couple days to understand what this means before we make any decisions.”

Tourism, other offices affected

The state Department of Tourism has partnered with influencers on TikTok to visit the state and recently celebrated TikTok star “Corn Kid” in September, inviting him to the World’s Only Corn Palace in Mitchell where Gov. Noem declared him South Dakota’s official “Corn-bassador.”

“We have removed our TikTok account pursuant to the governor’s executive order today,” said Katlyn Svendsen, Department of Tourism public relations director, in an emailed statement. “We have an endless supply of other safe tools and productive resources to reach audiences to tell South Dakota’s story.”

Executive Order 2022-10 prohibits downloading or using the TikTok app or visiting the TikTok website on state-owned or state-leased electronic devices, such as cell phones, computers or any device capable of connecting to the internet.

Another affected state agency is South Dakota Public Broadcasting, which uses TikTok to reach new audiences with its content.

“We’re just going to take direction and figure something else out,” said Cara Hetland, SDPB director of radio and journalism content. “If my staff wants to use their personal devices to continue the TikTok account, maybe they can, but they can’t use the state network. … All of state government is on the state network. I’m going to respect that decision.”

The ban takes effect immediately.

Most SDSU employees managing the university’s TikTok account log in through their personal phones, rather than a state-owned or leased device, Lockrem said. The state reimburses employees a portion of their monthly personal phone bill if they use it for work. Lockrem does not know if the ban extends to personal phones that get such a reimbursement.

“At this point, we’re just instructing people to use their common sense,” said Shuree Mortenson, Board of Regents public relations representative. She expects to have further guidance this week.

Security concerns

TikTok has been a source of national security concerns for years, with the head of the FBI recently warning that the Chinese government could potentially use the video-sharing app to influence American users or control their devices.

Tiktok is owned by Chinese firm ByteDance, which denies that it can use location information to track U.S. users.

“South Dakota will have no part in the intelligence gathering operations of nations who hate us,” Noem said in a news release. “The Chinese Communist Party uses information that it gathers on TikTok to manipulate the American people, and they gather data off the devices that access the platform.”

TikTok hit 1 billion monthly active users in September 2021. After launching in 2017, the app is one of the fastest-growing in the world and surpassed Google as the most visited website on the internet in 2021. The app is widely popular among younger generations, such as Gen Z and younger Millennials.

Noem is not the first governor to ban the app on state devices, nor is she the first politician to label it a security threat. Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts issued a similar executive order in 2020. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and Wisconsin Rep. Mike Gallagher proposed a national ban in early November, and Missouri Rep. Josh Hawley has pushed to ban TikTok on government devices.

U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, introduced legislation in September that would prohibit TikTok from accessing user data on U.S. citizens from China. Like Hawley’s bill, it would also ban the use of TikTok on federal government devices.

Former President Donald Trump, meanwhile, famously threatened to ban the app as a national security threat in 2020.

State Sen. Reynold Nesiba, D-Sioux Falls, said he’s never used TikTok because of his concerns about security, and he’s generally supportive of moves to protect state information.

The state spends “a considerable amount of money” to protect its IT infrastructure, he said, so a TikTok ban is “a good idea.”

“It would be better if it were a part of a comprehensive IT policy for all state employees,” Nesiba said. “This, to me, feels like we’re picking off one thing, when we should be having a broader conversation with legislators, members of the executive branch and judicial branch to figure out how do we use IT? How do we protect all of our systems?”

Political implications

Northern State University Professor of Political Science Jon Schaff agrees that TikTok stands apart from other social media apps for its connections to the Chinese Communist Party. The enforcement of such a ban, however, is an open question.

Could Schaff show a TikTok video to his students, for example? What might happen to him if he did?

Most of the activism to ban or restrict TikTok has come from Republicans, and Schaff said it’s clear that Noem has an interest in being a conservative voice on the national stage, so “it’s hard to divorce anything Kristi Noem does at this point from national politics.”

“I don’t know what the practical impact might be,” Schaff said. “To the extent that it can’t be enforced, it becomes a kind of window dressing and it becomes Noem positioning herself.”

Noem spokesman Ian Fury did not immediately respond to requests for comment on how the ban will be enforced, whether state agencies or universities can operate TikTok accounts using personal devices, or whether the Governor’s Office tallied the number of state-run TikTok accounts prior to issuing the order.

Image: Some of the TikTok accounts that appear to be affiliated with state entities in South Dakota. (TikTok screenshots).

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

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

Posted by Sally Jo Sorensen on Nov 30, 2022 at 07:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bluestem Prairie

News from Greater Minnesota and South Dakota

Dec 05, 2022

Star Tribune editorial board praises Prinsburg for rejecting Miller's post-legislative career builder

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Dec 04, 2022

Prinsburg rejects PLAM ordinance update: tasty tidbits from the latest Star Tribune coverage

Dec 02, 2022

West Central Tribune: City Council in Prinsburg, MN rejects proposed abortion ordinance

Public not sold on Navigator pipeline despite attempts to build landowner trust

Dec 01, 2022

South Dakota Attorney general makes new hires to address human trafficking and MMIP

Nov 30, 2022

MNHouse GOP minority names committee leads

SD News Watch: Dangerous, potentially deadly distracted driving remains a hard habit to break in South Dakota

MNHouse Majority Leader Long, committee chairs Frentz, Stephenson got late, large contributions from ethanol pipeline execs

Kristi Noem’s TikTok ban kills tourism account, leaves other state entities mulling options

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