Westrom said the bonding bill contained “very few Republican projects.” He added that having the Senate, House and governor’s office all controlled by the DFL amounted to “mob rule.”
This is a curious statement from a person running to increase the Republican majority in the United States House of Representatives--or running for any office in Minnesota and the United States. Conservatives are fond of saying that the United States is a representative republic; perhaps Westrom believes that his colleagues came to St. Paul by some other means of selection.
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Politics can be a rough and tumble affair, but usually the worst thing exchanged at Republican Party of Minnesota conventions is the stink eye.
But last night in Rochester, U.S. Senate candidate Julianne Ortman's campaign manager and midget wrestling fan Andy Parrish took Republican intra-party aggression to a whole new level.
Meanwhile, the DFL is soldierig on without such vigorous floor action, although as write this, there's a platform discussion going on that's nearly as sleep inducing as a Minute With Mike McWhatever.
Image: Andy Parrish, cartoon by Ken Avidor.
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Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton signed the state's new medical cannabis law Wednesday without ceremony, but that's not stopping angry patients and families hoping for a more inclusive bill from staging a public event of their own.
Dayton signaled earlier this month that he would sign the bill, but waited as his staff tried to assemble bill sponsors and affected families for a formal ceremony. A ceremony could still occur at a later date.
Dayton's insistence that law enforcement groups and some medical organizations sign off on the final proposal angered many of the private citizens who lobbied for the bill. That group included adult patients as well as parents of children with severe forms of epilepsy.
Some of those angry private citizens are holding a ceremony of their own at the governor's residence today, according to a press release from Minnesotans for Compassionate Care:
A group of patients and advocates will hold a news conference outside of Gov. Dayton’s residence at 11 a.m. CT on Friday. They will deliver 33 flowers to the governor, each of which represents 1000 seriously ill Minnesotans who will still not be able to access medical marijuana under the law.
Approximately 5,000 Minnesotans will qualify for the new program, according to a legislative analysis of the House bill on which it is based. Gov. Dayton blocked a widely supported and more effective version of the law — which would have allowed 38,000 seriously ill Minnesotans to access medical marijuana, according to a legislative analysis of a widely supported Senate bill. The governor promised to veto any bill, such as the Senate bill, that did not have the support of law enforcement associations. Law enforcement was neutral on the final bill, which included several restrictions upon which Gov. Dayton insisted.
The final version of the legislation will not allow individuals suffering from intractable pain, nausea, wasting, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to access medical marijuana.
“Many seriously ill Minnesotans and their families have been waiting a long time to reach this point,” said Heather Azzi, political director for Minnesotans for Compassionate Care. “The new law holds promise for many seriously ill Minnesotans, but it also leaves many behind.
“Unfortunately, there are a lot of Minnesotans suffering from truly debilitating conditions who will not be allowed to access medical marijuana under the new law,” Azzi said. “The legislature must come back next session ready to expand upon this bill so that all Minnesotans who could benefit from medical marijuana are able to access it.”
Some in medical marijuana industry interested in MN's miniscule MMJ program
The first extensive article about the business end of establishing the medical cannabis industry in Minnesota suggests that companies will be attracted by the possibility of getting one of two spots on the ground floor--with the anticipation that the law will be changed at a later date to be more inclusive.
Since the Minnesota bill’s passage, Capitol Report has spoken with medical marijuana businesspeople around the country – dispensary operators, consultants who specialize in navigating complex and disparate state-by-state guidelines, industry trade groups, current and former regulators, and government officials.
Their verdict: Despite its limitations, Minnesota’s program will attract plenty of business interest. State officials confirm as much, saying they’ve already received inquiries from several individuals and companies asking for details about the plan.
But the seeming thumbs-up from the market is laden with caveats and criticisms. Most sources familiar with the evolving medical cannabis business say the Minnesota model is of dubious long-term viability, and that most of the interest from entrepreneurs in other states reflects a desire to break into a new market on the proverbial ground floor.
“I think the [Minnesota] program, as it’s currently constructed, is not going to allow for a particularly viable business model,” said Kris Krane, a managing partner of 4Front Advisors, a marijuana consulting firm based in Arizona. “Typically the thinking behind companies that do decide to get involved is that they see it as a foot-in-the-door opportunity to essentially get a license to produce and distribute medical cannabis legally, with the hope that at some point the program would be expanded.”
Read the rest at PIM. We'll be watching to see what sort of bouquets these out-of-state investers bring Dayton and Melin.
Photo: The Governor's Residence. Everybody needs more buds, medical cannabis advocates say.
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Minnesotans in and about Chisago County prepared a very special welcoming committee Monday for Superior Sands' proposal to buy city land for a sand transfer station in North Branch.
The North Branch City Council heard an anti-frac sand message loud and clear at Monday night’s meeting when about 30 people attended the regular meeting to make statements opposing a proposal from Superior Sands to buy city land for a sand transfer station in North Branch. . . .
Kirsten Kennedy submitted a petition she said contained 1,400 names opposed to the sand facility and use of the Highway 95 haul route from Wisconsin through Taylors Falls, to the proposed sand transloading facility on the rail line in North Branch. She said the petition is going to MnDOT and Governor Dayton and asked North Branch officials to reconsider a decision that could “devastate” the entire area. She asked council to work with Chisago County on what is a very tentative plan at this point, that would have the county providing funding for North Branch to meet financial obligations related to debt it took on in developing the city industrial park. The concept also involves assisting North Branch in finding an alternative location for a Superior Sands facility, ideally better equipped to handle massive amounts of truck transport and fewer people living nearby who could potentially be affected by environmental fallout.
Tessa Hill promised council that this level of opposition will only grow, adding that organizers “will see to it.” Julie Solle asked council to visit sand mining facilities in Wisconsin and view the impact hundreds of trucks, noise, dust and related frac sand processing activities have had-- which she said are ruining small towns like Chetek, etc. Gil Randolph warned the council that if the Superior Silica Sands facility comes into North Branch’s industrial/business park “nobody will want to be a part of that,” locating a business next to a sand facility. “What will you do with the balance of ESSBY?” he asked. (ESSBY is what the North Branch industrial park is known by.) Tom Chaklos added that if the council should agree to allow the Superior plant in North Branch, then officials must prepare for fewer businesses in town and fewer people coming there for the small town quality of life.
North Branch is setting up a town hall about the issue, the paper reports. Located in Chisago County on I-35 noth of the Twin Cities, North Branch is home to just over 10,000 people.
Photo: Anti-frac sand mining banner, via Chisago County Press.
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U.S. Sen. Al Franken and U.S. Reps. Tim Walz and Collin Peterson are among a growing number of Democratic lawmakers calling for Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki to resign after an inspector general’s report that found “systemic” problems at VA medical facilities.
The interim investigative report released Wednesday found at least 1,700 veterans waiting for health care at the Phoenix Veterans Affairs medical facility were not included on the facility’s wait list, and patients there waited an average of 115 days for their first appointments.
The report also documents schemes used at VA facilities intended to conceal wait times and concluded that the problems are national in scope. . . .
Democratic U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan called for Shinseki’s resignation last week. Among the Republicans in the Minnesota delegation U.S. Reps. Michele Bachmann and John Kline also want him out.
Walz issued a statement:
Today, Representative Tim Walz (MN-01), Member of the U.S. House Veterans’ Affairs Committee and the highest ranking enlisted soldier to ever serve in Congress, released the following statement after the VA Inspector General released an interim report substantiating serious concerns at the Phoenix VA medical facility.
“My number one goal as both a veteran and a Member of the VA Committee is to ensure our veterans get the support and care they have earned and deserve. The findings in the VA Inspector General’s interim report are inexcusable and unacceptable. The IG’s report makes it clear that some veterans have been let down in unfathomable ways and those responsible must be held accountable.
“Secretary Shinseki is one of the most honorable and loyal men I have ever met. He's dedicated his entire life to the betterment of our nation and caring for our brave men and women in uniform. It’s a shame that he and other veterans were let down by certain people working under him at the VA, but ultimately the buck stops with the Secretary. That is why today, I believe it would be best if Secretary Shinseki stepped down. We need to fix the systemic problems outlined in the IG report and restore veterans’ faith in the system.”
Photo: Minneapolis VA Medical Center.
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The Winona Daily News should know better than to parrot falsehoods about Allen Quist. For the record, way back in 1994 my husband did not say women are inferior to men; nor does he believe that. I have not met a man with greater regard for women than Allen Quist. His respect for women is far beyond what I found among liberal men while I traveled that side of the political landscape in my youth.
What my husband actually observed is that men are generally the heads of households (fact), and there is likely an inherent genetic reason for that. In other words, marriage and family aren’t simply cultural creations. But contrary to current cultural dogma, this does not translate to inferiority of women. Good grief! Equality isn’t sameness.
Surely I’ll be fiercely pounced upon for uttering that thought. Misrepresenting basic family structure as women’s inferiority was politically useful in 1994 as it is today. . . .
Read the rest at the WDN. It's curious how anyone would think that being inheritently subservient somehow doesn't mean being inferior, but perhaps being cherished makes it all different.
Earlier this week, First Congressional District Republican candidate Mike Parry made a big issue of primary opponent Allen Quist’s political misstatements, including a 1994 quote where Quist said men had a “genetic predisposition” to lead the family. According to New Ulm Journal reporter Josh Moniz, “When Quist was questioned about it at a July 12, 2012, town hall in Rochester, he responded that people were making things up.”
If so, I can say only, “Mr. Quist, stop lying about my record.”
I was the Twin Cities Reader reporter who got the original quote, at a Country Kitchen outside Quist’s home town of St. Peter. [Read the entire interview as a PDF 2.6MB]..
Read the rest at MinnPost, where the original 1994 interview audio is also posted.
Allen Quist endorsed Aaron Miller in 2013. Miller later gained the Republican Party's endorsement at the MNCD1 GOP convention in Albert Lea earlier this year; after promising to abide by the endorsement, Hagedorn jumped back in the race this month.
Image: Allen Quist, by Ken Avidor.
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This is wholly fatuous on at least a couple of levels. First, the salient connections between MCC and MPP and their respective agendas have been a secret to exactly no one, least of all Carly Melin. Second, if MPP wrote the Senate bill, then it also wrote Melin's own original House bill.
In rebuking her one-time allies at this late date, Melin followed a long line of reformed Reds and kidnapping victims: She has fallen in love with her captors in House leadership. They, in turn, have fallen in love with their captors in the governor's office, who started it all by falling in love with their captors in the greater Minnesota cop lobby. Who knew Stockholm Syndrome could be so complicated?
Melin's conversion was but one cog in the House-led push to save Gov. Mark Dayton from himself on the suddenly flash-point issue of medical cannabis. . . .
You'll have to subscribe to read the entire article--a value if you are able.
Gov. Mark Dayton will likely sign Minnesota's medical marijuana bill in the coming days. But before it even becomes law, a Colorado nonprofit is already expressing interest in selling one particular kind of pot in Minnesota.
Realm of Caring is one of the first groups to express interest in Minnesota's currently nonexistent medical marijuana market. The group said it's currently exploring the possibility of manufacturing and distributing one specific strain of marijuana in Minnesota, but that nothing is set in stone. . . .
The Colorado nonprofit is known for producing Charlotte's Web, a strain of marijuana with little THC, and lots of anecdotal evidence that it solves child epilepsy. The mother of the girl the pill is named after testified before Minnesota lawmakers earlier this month. The group currently operates only in Colorado and California. It's interested in several other states, including Minnesota. But you can't send medical marijuana across state lines, so the nonprofit would need a licensed manufacturer on the ground in Minnesota.
"The infrastructure needs to be put in place, the testing equipment, those sorts of things. So a lot of logistics and details to be able to do it right would need to be taken care of," Jackson said. . . .
Is this one of the manufacturers that helped Melin write the compromise? If so, Melin should publicly apologize to the Marijuana Policy Project and Senator Scott Dibble, when she implied was duped by MPP.
. . . At a time when a majority of Americans favor legalization and pot is shaking off its 1960s-era hippie-dippy image to emerge into the mainstream of American life, Jesse encourages evangelicals to stop demonizing a drug that he says is far safer than alcohol, a substance that increasing numbers of his Christian friends consume.
For the Stanleys, their work isn’t about Cheech & Chong. It’s about What Would Jesus Do?
“Satan didn’t create this plant,” says Jesse. “Satan doesn’t create anything. This is God’s plant. And God is moving in the hearts of men and women and children around the world about this plant in ways that I never would’ve imagined five years ago.” . . .
Jesse Stanley is a Legalizer. And while he supports both medical and recreational uses, he does not revel in stoner culture and routinely declines invitations to 4/20 events held in Colorado every April where people gather and smoke pot in public, in violation of state law.
“It’s a question of stewardship,” says Jesse. “It is a plant that needs to be respected, not abused. And if used with discernment, it can help people a lot.”
On Planet Melin, Minnesotans better not trust the Marijuana Policy Project, because it advocates legalizing various uses of cannabis. We should, however, trust Realm of Caring, the nonprofit established by a for-profit medical marijuana company started by a band of brothers, one of whom supports legalizing responsible recreational use.
And after having had a hand in writing the bill that limits the number of sick Minnesotans who can be helped by medical cannabis, they want in. According to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune:
Now, the nonprofit Realm of Caring Foundation manages the patients, prescriptions, research and advocacy for Indispensary, the brothers’ for-profit marijuana operation.
Six-year-old Jayden David violently shakes on the ground, his blue eyes vacant and then filled with searing pain. The video shows an unvarnished look at a seizure, something Jayden once experienced routinely.
Not anymore, says his father, thanks to medical marijuana.
Before he started taking a liquid, nonpsychoactive form of marijuana, Jayden couldn't walk, eat solid food or take a bath.
He has Dravet's syndrome, a rare and catastrophic form of childhood epilepsy. It has triggered seizures so frequent that 44 times he has been rushed to the hospital in an ambulance, his distraught father by his side. . . .
Harborside Health Center, a medical marijuana clinic in Oakland, California, helped create the original tincture Jayden took. The center still analyzes and tests the marijuana before David administers it to his son. Harborside says it helps a number of child patients, including Jayden, whose parents legally obtain the marijuana.
In fact, other growers have developed a number of strains of low-THC, high-CBD cannabis--and Minnesota's new law isn't restricted to just low-THC strains. And given that (if Hardball's report, The new faces of marijuana, is to be trusted), "An additional list exists of more than 4,000 Colorado residents who are waiting for the oil," we wonder if Realm of Care can keep up with anticipated demand in Minnesota (a requirement of the new law). Such questions wouldn't have arisen had Melin stuck with the original bill, which privileged policy over politics by creating more dispensaries.
But what other manufacturers have Jesus and Carly Melin on their side?
Image: Screenshot of Melin's anti-MPP screed. On Planet Melin, it's okay to have pro-recreational legalizer manufacturers who might get half of a duopoly help write bills in 2014, but not those evil pro-recreational legalizer lobbyists who help you out in 2013. Okay then.
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Nobles County farmer Doug Bauman isn't one to mince words. In Hagedorn would only create more gridlock, a letter to the Worthington Globe, the Brewster area resident writes:
. . . Both GOP candidates — Hagedorn and Aaron Miller — said that if elected they would join the Tea Party caucus. The Tea Party caucus is the small group in Congress led by Michele Bachmann that tried to derail and delay the Farm Bill, a bill our region’s economy needed to move forward. While Hagedorn’s Tea Party caucus was creating gridlock in Congress, Tim Walz was working hard with farmers and consumers here in Minnesota to make sure a balanced Farm Bill finally passed Congress. . . .
Farmers in the First--and farm groups--grew frustrated as Congress failed to pass a Farm Bill on time. Bauman's spot on about this "pair to draw to."
Photo: Bauman's combine, Fall 2013 harvest, via Facebook.
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Bluestem had to pause while reading Seifert: Indifference is hostility in the Mesabi Daily News. After accusing Governor Mark Dayton of playing "hide-and-seek on PolyMet and Twin Metals mining projects," Seifert plays a little hide-and-seek of his own with union members on the Range.
Seifert tells Executive Editor Bill Hanna:
Seifert also said his life story should connect with the people of the Iron Range more than Dayton’s.
“I’ve belonged to two unions. I love fishing, guns, mining and timber ... I have an affinity to rural issues. I’m a hard-working guy ... and I wasn’t raised by nannies.
We're not sure why Seifert is so hostile about child care providers, but we are certain that Seifert is hiding something here from those union members with whom he has so much in common.
Seifert said although he was previously a member of the teachers’ union and the Teamsters, he was for right-to-work laws. . . .
They all said they would oppose an increase to the state minimum wage.
That should appeal to those Ranger in union. Big time.
Photo: Marty Seifert's family total enthused at his announcement that he's running for governor again. Via MinnPost.
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It's Memorial Day, time to remember those who died for this country. I remember my maternal uncle, Madelia native John D. Osborne, who died from a blow to the head from from a German soldier in the Malmedy Massacre during the Battle of the Bulge.
According to military records and a 2012 book, Fatal Crossroads, John's body was tagged #1 when American forces recovered the bodies in the snow weeks later. After the war ended, the U.S. Army tried a number of the Germans involved for war crimes. Concerns about the fairness of the trial led to a Senate investigation; the report is available here.
After 70 years, the stories of Malmedy and the postwar trials are fading, blurred by fictionized Hollywood versions. Fatal Crossroads author Danny Parker interviewed American survivors, Belgium witnesses and German soldiers, and talked about his finding on Veterans Day 2012, joined by survivor Ted Paluch.
It's not embeddable, but here's a preview of the talk:
Photo: Bodies at Malmedy.
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Update June 21: Summer is here! Bluestem thanks everyone who gave so generously. Some of the smallest donations were among the most generous, given the circumstances of those giving, while the larger were impressive by any standard.
Thank you all again. [end update]
It's been over a year since Bluestem conducted a general purpose "bleg" (a blog begging for donations) and we find that it's time to shake the begging cup a little harder.
If you've come to rely on Bluestem for independent investigative blogging, projects like the Minimum Wage Whip Count, and general rural hayseed sassiness, please consider helping out. You can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen) to P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260 or use the paypal link below:
In the year or so since our last bleg, Bluestem has broken stories:
Although Bluestem has created sponsored content for an issue we cared deeply about (marriage equality in Spring 2013), such support is rare for us--and this session's coverage was not underwritten by anyone other than individual readers.
Those who want to see Bluestem to continue to cover Minnesota's politics with a rural flare, please contribute if you can.
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Donations aren't tax deductable; there's no write-off to suporting our writing. Thank you.
Photo: Think of Bluestem as an out-of-the-way farm stand of news. If you find our work useful, please consider a donation.
While mine site owner Tracie Erickson and Minnesota Sands owner Rick Frick claim that they have dissolved their business relationship and that the Erickson site should therefore be removed from the EIS requirement, the EQB determined that the mine proposers have not provided enough information to justify such as action. Commissioner John Linc Stine of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) made the motion to table the decision, which was seconded by Commissioner Mike Rothman of the Minnesota Department of Commerce and passed on a 7-5 vote. . . .
There's video from the EQB meeting posted in a number of Youtubes posted at the Sand Point Times channel beginning here.
After this post was written, the Houston County Planning Commission took up the issue of the Erickson mine permit at its May 22 meeting, in spite of the fact that the project remains under an order for environmental review. The Houston County Planning Commission voted 5-2 to recommend approval of the permit, which will now go before the Houston County Board on June 3.
Minnesota Statute 116D.04 Subd. 2b. states: “If an environmental assessment worksheet or an environmental impact statement is required…a project may not be started and a final governmental decision may not be made to grant a permit, approve a project, or begin a project” until the environmental review requirement has been fulfilled.
Houston County staff have claimed that action on the Erickson permit is required because of the “60-day rule,” but this rule does not apply while a project is subject to environmental review. . . .
Bluestem will continue to follow developments in Houston County.
Pattison Sand Bridgepost April storm breach continues to make waves
Meanwhile, across the river in Wisconsin, citizens concerned about the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway are drawing readers' attention to an appeal that will be heard in court in June. Kathy Byrne writes in Riverway needs protection:
On April 7, a containment breach occurred after rains at the Pattison Sand Bridgeport frac sand mine. It appears sediment runoff flowed onto a neighboring property and not the Wisconsin River. The DNR did an onsite inspection a week later. This breach happening, before full mining operations begin, points to the inherent risks of industrial mining so close to an environmentally sensitive and highly valued resource, the Lower Wisconsin State Riverway (LWSR). With the town of Bridgeport officials allowing mining with virtually no permit conditions and limited oversight by the DNR, many serious concerns remain.
Thousands of people enjoy the LWSR for a wide variety of recreational activities. It contains rare species, historical and archeological sites, and provides necessary wildlife habitat. In August 2013, the LWSR board denied the Pattison Sand permits for frac sand mining within its boundaries, seeking to uphold their mission of protecting this most valuable resource. Pattison Sand and the four landowners are seeking to overturn the board's decision. The court hearing on this lawsuit is scheduled for June 10, 2:30 p.m., at the courthouse in Lancaster. In the meantime, the LWSR board requested a state legislative rule change to eliminate any loopholes that seemingly open the door to industrial frac sand mining within the Riverway. I strongly encourage you to contact your state officials and ask them to support this LWSR rule change. With the LWSR celebrating its 25th anniversary we must ensure this precious gem and beautiful river continues to be protected for future generations.
A recall petition against Bridgeport Township Supervisor Rodney Fishler was filed with the township clerk, Linda Smrcina, on Monday, May 12.
Fishler, a local dairy farmer and opponent of the frac sand mine permitting process in the township, was elected to the three-member town board last year.
Earlier this spring, frac sand mine opponents filed recall petitions against Bridgeport Town Chairperson John Karnopp and Bridgeport Town Supervisor Mike Steiner. Both Karnopp and Steiner had voted in favor of permits that allow the Pattison Sand Company from Clayton, Iowa, to operate a frac sand mine on leased farmland adjacent to the Wisconsin River.
The recall petitions need 96 valid signatures by law to trigger a recall election, given voter turnout in Bridgeport during the last gubernatorial election. The petition seeking recall of Fishler had 112 signatures, while the recall petition against Karnopp had 146 signatures and the other recall petition against Steiner had 138 signatures.
The next step in the process is for Bridgeport Town Clerk Linda Smrcina to certify the petitions as legally valid or reject them as defective. If Smrcina certifies the petitions, an election will be held on the sixth Tuesday after the certification. . . .
The company was involved in serious water quality issues at another location, the project noted in 2012:
In our own region, the Iowa DNR issued a Notice of Violation to Pattison Sand of Clayton, IA following a November 2011 discovery of a malfunctioning filter causing discharge of sediment into the Mississippi River in the federally designated Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife Refuge, which caused destruction of native mussels.
Gov. Scott Walker made his first visit to a frac sand mine Thursday afternoon near Whitehall, where he urged other companies to build more sites like it across western Wisconsin.
The governor spoke during an employee appreciation day at a brand new frac sand mine and processing center owned by Texas- based company Hi-Crush Proppants. It’s a huge facility with miles of covered conveyor belts, and will be capable of producing 3 million tons of finished sand when construction is finished next year. . . .
“We’d love to help you put four, five, six and more out here, because we know thanks to god and the glaciers we got the best frac sand in the world – and it’s right here in the state of Wisconsin,” said Walker. . . .
The sand mine wedged between the cities of Independence and Whitehall has been controversial because company officials convinced the cities to annex their property. This allowed them to begin mining, despite a temporary ban in Trempealeau County. . . .
Hi-Crush also made headlines when one of its mines was cited for installing high-capacity wells without required permits. Walker says what's more important is that the company answered for its mistakes and hasn't had any subsequent violations.
Hi-Crush Proppants has a permit to operate two high-capacity wells at its site south of Augusta, but a state Department of Natural Resources inspection in October found two additional high-capacity wells had been built without a permit.
Jack Daniel, the DNR water supply specialist who inspected the site, said the company apparently wasn't getting the amount of water they felt they needed from their two permitted wells for their sand washing, so they added a couple more.
"They panicked," he said.
The DNR allowed the company to operate two high-capacity wells at the site but limited them to 4 million gallons per month. . . .
Oh.
Photo: The Erickson mine site.
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It's hard to know what to think of an editorial that contends that being the son of a congressman is a qualification for that office, but the Winona Daily News is totally impressed by Republican primary challenger Jim Hagedorn.
Hagedorn is a Washington insider with a family political pedigree (his father was a four-term congressman in the district in the 1970s and early 1980s). He has legislative experience, clearly defined policies and positions, a sharp wit and thick skin, and knows how to raise money and run a campaign. All else aside, somehow you’d think that would make him the best candidate by far to emerge from the 1st District in recent years.
The Republican activists of the district didn’t seem to think so, opting instead for a guy who pays for campaign travels with a credit card and trips on every campaign plank he attempts to lay. So it’s hard to blame Hagedorn for getting so fed up with the choice — with every recent choice — that he threw party unity to the wind and took it upon himself to offer a correction to the party’s direction in the district. We’re not convinced Hagedorn is some kind of white knight, but it’s good to see somebody making the effort.
Miller has raised $152,007.50 in the cycle, of which $120,000.00 is from loans; he has received $32,007.50 contributions. Hagedorn's non-self funding isn't much ahead of Miller as far as fundraising goes, and we suspect that with endorsement, his fundraising has improved--and the next quarterly reports, due to be released in July, should settle this question by mid-July, well in advance of the August primary.
Nor are Miller's contributions to his own campaign unusual. In 2008, Brian Davis lent money to his campaign, in 2010, Randy Demmer (who came closest to defeating Walz) lent money to his campaign, and in 2012, Quist lent his campaign money.
Perhaps the best contrast for Miller and Hagedorn's paltry dollars come from Walz's first campaign reports in the 2005-2006 cycle when the Mankato school teacher was a complete unknown and the Smart People were all a-chatter with the good fortunes that the DFL had with Patty Wetterlin running in the Sixth and Coleen Rowley in the Second.
Moreover, while the paper mentions Miller's evolution flap, the Winona Daily News elides Hagedorn's own weirdness as a blogger during his "Mr. Conservative" years. Hagedorn thought it funny to write about alleged voter fraud in South Dakota by writing "the only good Indian is a dead Indian."
Rice County Sheriff Troy Dunn said that although he was pleased that a compromise was finally reached, he was concerned that there would be too many distributors and about the potential for regulation difficulty.
“I like that they’re going to regulate the distributors. I’m also happy that they’re using the liquid extracts and taking the THC out and other things that have side effects,” Dunn said. “I just don’t want us to move too fast and have multiple distributors like Colorado did. I like Minnesota’s way of going about it cautiously. Also, I think it will be difficult to regulate people with a legal prescription who drive under the influence.”
Medical cannabis" means any species of the genus cannabis plant, or any mixture or preparation of them, including whole plant extracts and resins . . .
It can be delivered in the form of pills, oils or vaporized though not in leaf or plant form.
We contacted Minnesotans for Compassionate Care lobbyist Heather Azzi to see whether we misunderstood that THC could be part of those extracts (though certainly not if the extracts were drawn from low-THC plants).
Her emailed reply:
[THC] is not [removed]. Whole plant extracts are expressly allowed.
Bluestem hoped that other members of law enforcement are not confused about the new law. It's not a CBD-only law.
Photo: Whole plant extract pills, via Field of Dreams. This particular brand won't be avaiable in Minnesota, since the two manufacturers allowed under the law will be required to grow their cannabis plants inside locked and enclosed spaces inside Minnesota.
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After a very public argument with State Senator Roger Reinert and the MN Beer Activists about the role of the Teamsters Joint Council 32 in scuttling a Sunday growler bill, the labor body sent a letter to Reinert rescinding the Duluth area DFLer's endorsement.
Contacted by Bluestem Prairie, JC32 Political Director Ed Reynoso confirmed to Bluestem Prairie that the letter was authentic. Asked to comment, Reynoso said, "The letter speaks for itself."
According to the text of the letter, the union political director had offered to share labor contracts with the state senator. who had replied (according to the letter) that nothing in the contracts would make him change his position on the Sunday growler bill.
"The only explanation the Teamsters have given about their opposition to growler sales is that a company that distributes alcohol and employs Teamsters said the law would allow them to reopen their labor contracts.
Reinert said the Teamsters would not show him the contract, and would not tell him which company made the threat. Since Sunday sales don’t involve Teamsters, it’s hard to see how it affects them."
Now that the Minnesota legislature has adjourned, lawmakers are back in their communities explaining just what it was that they did in St. Paul since February.
Mountain Lake Republican Rod Hamilton may have cried on the floor of the Minnesota House of Representatives during the debate on Minnesota's teeny-tiny medical cannabis bill as he thought about the families his yes vote might help, but Hanska's Paul Torkelson wasn't swayed.
The lawmakers did not support the passage of the medical marijuana bill.
Torkelson said many of the personal stories from families supporting the legislation were heart-wrenching, but he was not convinced it was good for society and felt it was a slippery slope.
Dahms said there was not enough backing in the medical community for him to support the legislation.
They acknowledged that the bill signed by the Gov. Mark Dayton featured the strictest medical marijuana regulations possible, but they had concerns it would set a negative precedent.
Torkelson might be on to something there with that "slippery slope."
In Minnesota to become 22nd state to legalize medical marijuana, the Northfield News reports that state representative David Bly (DFL-Northfield) that research data collected under the new might help gain understanding of cannabis's medicinal properties:
“This year, Minnesota took an important step toward improving the quality of life of people with serious and terminal medical conditions like cancer, HIV/AIDS and seizure disorders,” said Rep. David Bly (DFL-Northfield). “We forged a strong bipartisan compromise that provides relief to suffering children and adults while addressing concerns of law enforcement and the medical community.”
Bly believes the bill is a first step and can be improved upon in coming years after there is an opportunity to closely examine the research and outcomes − research, he says, that will help us better understand how and why medical cannabis can benefit patients.
Surely another sign of the waning days of Babylon: a hippie liberal legislator from the ivy-covered streets of Northfield talking about research. Heckova negative precedent.
Photo: State senator Gary Dahms and state representative Paul Torkelson at an early town hall meeting. Via New Ulm Journal. These grumpy cats are still opposed to medical cannabis, no matter how tiny MN's new law is.
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Out here in authentically sunny Maynard, we're beginning to detect a theme in the drive to defeat veteran Blue Dog DFL congressman Collin Peterson: fake social media.
Now Morning Hot Dish blogger and Star Tribune political staff writer Rachel Stassen Berger writes in Fake Twitter:
America Rising, a national Republican political group, on Wednesday touted the fake Twitter account for non-tweeting Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson. Peterson, who has long represented Minnesota’s Seventh Congressional District, is the only member of Minnesota’s D.C. delegation to resist the lure of the 140-character social media outlet. On Monday, the fake account tweeted: “CANADA. IS. AMAZING. That's why I introduced a bill to allow part of my district in Minnesota to secede into it.” The tweet linked to an America Rising site that explained that Peterson once proposed to let Minnesota’s Northwest Angle secede to Canada. (While the @Rep_Peterson account is fake, you can follow this very real Hot Dish writer @rachelsb on Twitter.)
Readers can follow Bluestem Prairie at @bspinmn and the persona of our proprietor at @sallyjos. As she received a terminal degree in poesy and other such stuff at the Ozark Famous Writers School, we cannot vouch for the veracity of anything posted by the latter account.
Formerly sheriff of Douglas County, Ingebrigtsen voiced many of the objections cop lobbyists shared against a well-regulated system of dispensaries, voting against both the original Dibble bill (HF1641) and the watered-down "compromise" that is now waiting Governor Dayton's signature.
But now, with the ink not yet on the bill, the Alexandria Republican complains that medical cannabis will remain a distant dream for suffering Minnesotans in rural areas. Forum Communications veteran political observer Don Davis reports in Mixed grades on Greater Minnesota’s legislative issues:
. . . If water may be easier to obtain in at least one rural area, medical marijuana may be tough to buy, said Sen. Bill Ingebrigtsen, R-Alexandria.
“That’s going to be an issue: access for all Minnesotans,” Ingebrigtsen said. “You are going to have potentially eight different distribution centers, depending on the population. If you’re in a denser populated area, you’re probably going to have more. That’s going to be an issue. You may end up running toward the metro to get your medical marijuana, should you need that.
Perhaps Ingebrigtsen can work with Senator Dibble on solving that problem next session.
Photo: Senator Bill Ingebrittsen, R-Alexandria.
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The primary contest in MNCD1 looks as if it's going to be a nasty one. Let's walk through some of the developments.
Hagedorn faults Miller for following VA policy on campaigning
A call to the Minneapolis VA Health Care System Public Affairs office by Bluestem has confirmed that one claim that primary challenger Jim Hagedorn has leveled at endorsed Republican Aaron Miller--that he should have campaigned at a Veterans Administration Clinic open house in April--would have violated regulations about campaigning on federal property.
Subsequently, Mankato Free Press reporter Josh Moniz posted Hagedorn's unsigned letter (allegedly written by dissatisfied CD1 delegates) on Scrib'd. In the letter (excerpt above), Miller is criticized for not campaigning at an April 25 VA clinic opening in Albert Lea. Walz attended, but in the course of his official duties.
The Minneapolis VA public affairs official Bluestem spoke with could not recall an instance of any candidate from any party campaigning at the VA in Minnesota.
The Republican primary race for Minnesota's 1st Congressional District took a nasty turn Monday night with the emergence of a fake Twitter account apparently aimed at smearing Jim Hagedorn of Blue Earth, who just jumped back into the race Sunday. . . .
On Monday, the fake Twitter account created by an unknown source emerged around 10 p.m. with Hagedorn's photograph, his campaign logo and his campaign phone number. The account used the handle @hagedorn4mn, which is deceptively similar to the Hagedorn campaign's official handle of @JimHagedornMN. . . .
The account was suspended by Twitter at midnight. The last tweet sent by the account prior to suspension was "Bye Jim Hagedorn, I don't wish you well." . . .
The Miller campaign denied having any involvement with the fake Twitter account.
Rep. Tim Walz must have a guardian angel. And a lucky rabbit's foot. Perhaps his yard brims with four-leafed clover. Or maybe he's made some sort of Faustian bargain. Whatever the reason, things just keep breaking his way.
Suffice to say the Democrat from Mankato should be giddy about the latest twist in the GOP's effort to unseat him in Minnesota's First District. Jim Hagedorn, who one month ago vowed to abide by the party's endorsement of Aaron Miller, has changed his mind. That means Miller, a political newcomer from Byron, will have to spend at least some of his resources and time this summer campaigning against Hagedorn, rather than Walz, in preparation for a primary on Aug. 12. . . .
Read the rest at the PB.
In the meantime, we're popping some corn.
Screenshot: An anonymous letter raps Miller for not campaigning on federal property. We think Miller did the right thing.
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On Wednesday, the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board will meet in St. Paul; one item on its agenda for May 21, 2014 is the "Minnesota Sands multi-site EIS."
It's another frac sand fight, and the residents of Houston County, Minnesota, aren't happy about it.
As the May 13, 2014 Spring Grove Herald reported in Planning Commission tables mine renewal, much hangs on the EQB's decision on the request by the silica sand mine owner to remove one site from a connected multi-site project. SGH's Craig Moorhead reports:
The Houston County Planning Commission got an earful from residents on Wednesday, April 30.
More than 30 persons packed into the former courtroom - now the commissioner's room, and arguments were as intense as in any court case over the renewal of a controversial conditional use permit (CUP) for Tracie Erickson of Yucatan Township.
Erickson was embroiled in a drawn-out battle with the county after he signed an agreement with prospector Minnesota Sands to extract frac sand from the property in 2012. His relationship with Minnesota Sands has since dissolved, Erickson said. But resuming sand mining for commercial (not industrial) use at a much lower level of production did not set well with some neighbors last Wednesday. . . . .
Read the rest at the Herald. Safe to say that many Houston County residents have their doubts about the notion that the mine is now independent of the larger project. Nor are people in Houston County the only ones asking questions. Land Stewardship Project's policy director Bobby King raised a number of questions in a letter Monday.
With a field office in Lewiston, MN, LSP has taken an interest the regulation of industrial sand mining because of members' questions about land use, health, safety and water quality. Land Stewardship Project's letter isn't isolated; other comments are public here at the EQB site.
Here's King's letter:
From: Bobby King Sent: Monday, May 19, 2014 4:15 PM To: '[email protected]' Subject: Erickson Mine/ Minnesota Sands EIS Decision
To: Environmental Quality Board Members
Land Stewardship Project members are greatly concerned about the Minnesota Sands Environmental Impact Statement issue to be taken up at your meeting on Wednesday, May 21. The decision the Environmental Quality Board (EQB) makes regarding the Erickson Mine and Minnesota Sands Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) has far-reaching repercussions for the health of the land and people in southeast Minnesota, as well as the integrity of the environmental review process.
The operator of the Erickson Mine now claims he is producing “construction sand,” not frac sand. The proposed plans for the “new” operation are essentially identical to the frac sand operation proposal. The owner of Minnesota Sands claims he has severed ties with the Erickson Mine owner and wants that mine removed from the EIS. Because of this, the EQB is considering removing the Erickson Mine from the EIS.
The EQB ordering the multi-site Environmental Impact Statement and becoming the Responsible Government Unit (RGU) has been by far the most significant state action to date to protect southeast Minnesota from frac sand mining. The EQB has the authority and obligation to deny this attempted end- run around the environmental review process.
Here are the factors we believe the EQB Board should keep in mind in making the decision to keep the Erickson Mine as part of the EIS:
The EQB has received incomplete information about the severing of the relationship between the mine owners and Minnesota Sands/ Minnesota Proppant/ Richard Frick. According to the documents in the EQB Board packet, the owners of the mine, Tracie and Michelle Erickson, have provided no information to the EQB. All information has come from Houston County staff or Richard Frick. More troubling is the proposed new project for “construction sand” is identical to the original one to produce frac sand. It is very possible this “construction sand” could be sold to some new enterprise operated or controlled by Mr. Frick and then sold as frac sand.
The EQB has asked for full and complete information on the relationship between the mine owner and Mr. Frick, Minnesota Sands and Minnesota Proppant, but has not received it.In a March 25, 2014, EQB letter to Mr. Frick, EQB staff writes: “Please describe in detail any association between the Tracie and Michelle Erickson site or Tracie and Michelle Erickson and Minnesota Sands, LLC and/ or Minnesota Proppant LLC. This would include any past, current, or anticipated future associations and include, but not be limited to, a partnership, ownership, shareholder, buyer, seller, processor, transporter, or relationship of any kind.”
In a letter received by the EQB from Mr. Frick on April 5, 2014, there was a “Dissolution of Contract” with no explanation or the other accompanying documents necessary to fully understand it, such as the original lease and/or agreement.
There is a process for a variance from the environmental review process spelled out in rules. This process allows for public input and requires more detailed information from the proposer. This is the process which should be followed for any proposed mining of silica sand at the site before the EIS is completed. The provisions for the variance are found in MN Rule 4010.3100. Subp. 4:
Subp. 4. Variance. Construction may begin on a project if the proposer applies for and is granted a variance from subparts 1 and 2. A variance for certain governmental approvals to be granted prior to completion of the environmental review process may also be requested. A variance may be requested at any time after the commencement of the 30-day review period following the filing of an EAW. The proposer shall submit an application for a variance to the EQB together with:
A. a detailed explanation of the construction proposed to be undertaken or the governmental approvals to be granted;
B. the anticipated environmental effects of undertaking the proposed construction or granting the governmental approvals;
C. the reversibility of the anticipated environmental effects;
D. the reasons necessitating the variance; and
E. a statement describing how approval would affect subsequent approvals needed for the project and how approval would affect the purpose of environmental review.
If an EQB order to remove the Erickson Mine from the EIS should move forward despite the above facts, the order should state that 1) a Silica Sand Trout Stream Setback Permit is required, 2) a previously started EAW on the mine must be completed, and 3) the RGU for the EAW will be the DNR. If the decision is made that the Erickson Mine is no longer part of the EIS, the issue should not simply be handed back to Houston County. This proposed mine is within a mile of trout stream and will require a DNR issued Silica Sand Trout Stream Setback permit to operate. The sand available at this site is silica sand and calling it “construction sand” does not change this. There was an EAW in process when the Erickson Mine was included in the EIS. That EAW must still be completed if the mine is removed from the EIS. While Houston County was named the RGU for the EAW at that time, the new requirement for a DNR Silica Sand Trout Stream Setback permit should require the DNR to be the RGU for the EAW.
The importance of this decision cannot be over-emphasized. If the EQB simply allows the Erickson Mine out of the EIS then it is creating a blueprint for the other mines in the EIS to do the same. We urge you to reject this obvious attempt to circumvent this much-needed environmental review.
Sincerely,
Bobby King
Land Stewardship Project
State Policy Organizer
The anti-mining site Sandpoint Times has published videos and articles about the process in Houston County in Erickson Mine in Houston, MN.
Photo: Aerial view of the site of the Erickson Mine. via the Tri-County Record.
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