Bluestem Prairie

MN House Public Safety Chair absolutely could not have posted Facebook photo while driving

Bluestem loves to read State Representative Tony Cornish's Facebook page, with its lively discourse about life and politics. We wish he'd shoot more coyotes, but that's just the pet lover in us.

But the photo from his page that we've screengrabbed and posted above caused us to pause.  Not because Cornish (R-Vernon Center) declares that the woman is in need of prayer (isn't eveyone?) or the comments about the bumpersticker, but that the photo was taken while someone--presumably the state representative, a retired lawman who serves as the chairman of the Minnesota House Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy and Finance Committee--while driving.

We can't say with any certainty that the photo was posted to Facebook while the driver-photographer was still driving. Bluestem believes that he must have waited to post the image and the prayer request after he arrived at his destination.

What's the problem? Minnesota Statute 169.47 states:

For purposes of this section, "electronic message" means a self-contained piece of digital communication that is designed or intended to be transmitted between physical devices. An electronic message includes, but is not limited to, e-mail, a text message, an instant message, a command or request to access a World Wide Web page, or other data that uses a commonly recognized electronic communications protocol. An electronic message does not include voice or other data transmitted as a result of making a phone call, or data transmitted automatically by a wireless communications device without direct initiation by a person.

Subd. 2.Prohibition on use.

No person may operate a motor vehicle while using a wireless communications device to compose, read, or send an electronic message, when the vehicle is in motion or a part of traffic.

§Subd. 3 .Exceptions.

This section does not apply if a wireless communications device is used:

(1) solely in a voice-activated or other hands-free mode;

(2) for making a cellular phone call;

(3) for obtaining emergency assistance to (i) report a traffic accident, medical emergency, or serious traffic hazard, or (ii) prevent a crime about to be committed;

(4) in the reasonable belief that a person's life or safety is in immediate danger; or

(5) in an authorized emergency vehicle while in the performance of official duties.

Does snapping a photo with one's smartphone or tablet fall under that prohibition? Or perhaps exception (4) applies, though we suspect that the legislative intent was to text 911, not prayer requests on Facebook.

Regardless of the circumstance, the message about Facebooking is not one that a respected lawmaker ought share on Facebook, for as Jay Kolls and various law enforcement people taught Minnesotans during #Pointergate, unruly youth in our state comb Facebook and other social media looking for clues about appropriate behavior. 

Representative Cornish, think of the youth of Minneapolis and Apple Valley!

Photo: Screengrab from Representative Cornish's Facebook page.

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A tale of two letters in HD12A: Backer off to good start by waving white flag on roads & bridges

An editor couldn't possibly plan the symmetry of a pair of letters to the editor published Friday by the Morris Sun Tribune.

In Jeff Backer is off to a good start in the House, Allen Wold, a farmer from Wheaton, writes in part:

. . . I’m also pleased with Jeff’s focus on prioritizing our transportation dollars on roads and bridges. Instead of putting money into light rail projects that only serve the metro, Jeff understands the importance of enhancing our roads and repairing our bridges so that we can get from one destination to another in a safe and timely manner. The proposal put forward by House Republicans allows for over $750 million in additional spending for roads and bridges over the next four years. It also requires the Minnesota Department of Transportation to find and implement 15 percent in savings to fund road and bridge projects instead of asking us to pay even more in taxes.

Unfortunately for Mr. Wold's claims, state representative Paul Marquart breaks it down in Is Rep. Jeff Backer waving the white flag on transportation?:

The 2015 Legislative Session has just started and it appears Rep. Jeff Backer is giving up when it comes to fixing our state’s transportation infrastructure. As a rural legislator, I know how important our roads and bridges are to our residents and farmers.

During the campaign, Rep. Backer and his Republican allies committed to fixing our state’s crumbling roads and bridges. But Rep. Backer’s new leader, Speaker Kurt Daudt, has already admitted that Republicans “may not be able to solve this on the long-term basis.” And the so called plan that Republicans offered certainly isn’t a fix – it’s not even a band-aid!

HF 4 would spend just $200 million in new, one-time money on transportation over the next two years. That might sound like a lot, but it would only allow us to build about 130 miles of rural two-lane highways, or 40 miles of four-lane highways. To put that in context, Minnesota has 140,000 miles of roadways.

Projections have shown that our state needs $6 billion over the next 10 years just to maintain our state roads and bridges and reduce congestion. For comparison, the DFL-led legislature invested $743 million in transportation over the past two years – an amount that Republicans called inadequate.

To make matters worse, the House GOP’s top legislative priority is to cut taxes for corporations. Rather than truly fixing our crumbling roads and bridges, Republicans want to send hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars to corporations — the same tired, failed policies of the past.

Cutting businesses taxes won’t boost Greater Minnesota’s economy or provide greater economic security for Minnesota families. Will Rep. Backer stick with his party boss’s plans that favor corporate special interests over rural roads and bridges or will he make good on his promise to fix our state’s transportation system?

Only time will tell.

There's that.

Photo: A white flag is the universal sign for surrender.

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Rep. Tim Miller goes back to the future on four-day school week for MACCRAY district

At the end of the Swift County Monitor article, Miller wants local school boards to be given more power, we were surprised to read this item:

In his state of the state address last week, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton said he did not support the four-day school week, saying..."The era of shortchanging our students’ educations is over."

That information must be a surprise to Governor Dayton, who delivered the remarks in his inaugural address on January 5, 2015.

The state of the state address is a separate event. According to the Governor's communications office, it has not yet been scheduled.  Because of the complications resulting from the Governor's surgery, the 2014 State of the State was delivered on April 30, 2014.

While Miller's recent press release from which the implies that he's single-handedly working to resolve the MACCRAY school system's battle to stay open, the school board's own minutes suggest that he's merely picking up work on the timeline that the last state representative put into motion.

Indeed, the West Central Tribune reported on October 15, 2014, that legislative relief was already an option.  Check out the article, MACCRAY to repeat pitch for four-day week: May also seek legislation needed to maintain it.

Here's an agenda for a meeting the next week of the 4 Day Week Committee Meeting, excerpted from the MACCRAY school agenda for November 17, 2014.

MACCRAY 4 Day Week Committee Meeting – 10-23-14

Reached by phone, former state representative Andrew Falk confirmed that he and state Senator Lyle Koenen had attended the meeting, and that they had helped set up the earlier meeting with Commissioner Casselius in June. Koenen is continuing work on the timeline with Miller.

This isn't the only place where Miller is seeking credit for the work of others or merely leaving out work some have done.  In Friday's email legislative update (not yet posted online), Miller writes:

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of many in Chippewa County, the majority of local funding for a potential veterans home in Montevideo veterans home proposal has already been secured. . . .

In Montevideo’s case, the City and Chippewa County have pledged all but $6 million of the state contribution, and my bill would seek $6 million in bonding proceeds to finish the deal.

But if the committee that's mobilized support for the project is to be believed (and news reports available via Nexis and Google new support the assertion), Miller's forgetting support from other local counties and government units, as well as being silent about the years of work by DFL and Republican leaders in the legislature.

In Sad News To Report, an LTE in the Montevideo American News, the Veterans Committee writes:

Without the support of the City of Montevideo, the Montevideo MIDC, MCDC, EDA, Chippewa, Lac Qui Parle, Swift and Yellow Medicine County, Townships, local financial institutions, American Legion, VFW, and individuals we could have not raised five million for this project.  We on behalf of our Veterans, thank you for this support.

We're surprised that Miller left out Swift County, which is in his district, but perhaps when it comes to Swift County, he's only thinking of his campaign promise to reopen the CCA private prison in Appleton.

 

The Montevideo Veterans home proposal does have some competition for state funding as well. In the House, HF 54 seeks funding for a veterans home in Bemidji. Both House bills have senate companion bills.

 

Photo: Representative Tim Miller. Via Facebook.

 

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Help for working parents unites CDF-MN head Peggy Flanagan & Rep. Mary Franson

That headline isn't clickbait satire.

Rather, it's a reflection of the way in which the needs of working parents in Minnesota are drawing together one of the most progressive Minnesotans, a native woman who honed her organizing skills at Wellstone Action, and a conservative Minnesota House Republican who came to power in the Tea Party wave of 2010.

Bluestem will let them explain, as they do in a just-published Star Tribune op-ed commentary, How to support working parents:

The state’s Child Care Assistance Program doesn’t need more mandates; it needs more funds.

Child care benefits all Minnesotans. It’s a two-generation approach to family economic security. It allows parents to work and provide for their families, while their children succeed in a safe and nurturing environment. In turn, it supports the development of a strong current and future workforce, which is essential to a robust future economy that works for everyone.

However, child care needs to be affordable and accessible. And for many families, it isn’t.

Former state Sen. Duane Benson’s article (“On early education, here’s some sound middle ground,” Jan. 16) mischaracterizes the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) and fails to address two significant flaws surrounding the program: a 7,000-family waiting list and eroding provider reimbursement rates.

CCAP is a work-support program that helps low-income families afford the cost of child care in our state, which is among the highest in the nation. Among Minnesota’s child-care-related subsidies, CCAP offers parents the most flexibility so they can get to work on time and full time, and bring home a paycheck to help meet their families’ basic needs. A family’s economic security and ability to meet basic needs affects child outcomes, including academic achievement.

CCAP can be used to care for children ages birth through 12 (or 14 if the child has special needs). According to the Minnesota Department of Human Services, half of the children using CCAP are 5 or older. CCAP can be used to cover care during all hours of the day and week when parents may work, including early mornings, late nights and weekends. It covers the greatest amount of care to ensure that parents have the support they need to work full time.

And by allowing parents to use any provider willing to accept CCAP payments, it offers parents provider choice. In the early years of CCAP, the program was “the middle ground” and received bipartisan support.

The most urgent issue facing CCAP is funding. Our state has failed to make critical investments in the program for more than a decade. Nearly 7,000 families who need child care are on a waiting list because program funding is insufficient to cover the need for assistance. It is not unusual for a family to be on the waiting list for years; in the process, some families are pushed into deeper poverty.

Additionally, the state’s reimbursement payment to providers accepting families using CCAP is eroding, and this further threatens families’ access to care. Unlike a decade ago, the majority of provider rates today are not covered in full by the reimbursement, meaning that providers have to take CCAP families at a financial loss — if they choose to accept them at all.

We can all agree with Benson that child care should be of high quality. However, we must be aware that early-education mandates targeted at CCAP-accepting providers may actually have a harmful effect by restricting families’ access to child care. In the past decade, the number of licensed child-care providers has declined across the state. If we impose mandates on CCAP-accepting child-care providers, we run the very real risk of losing providers and preventing families from being able to access the care they need to go to work.

It is essential that we support hardworking families. Child care supports parents’ ability to go to work, and CCAP helps parents afford the care they need. It’s time to focus our attention on strengthening CCAP by making sure that families who need the vital assistance it provides can obtain it.

This isn't the first time Franson, once known for her national-newsworthy gaffes, has surprised us. She has joined with ultra-liberal Minneapolis state representative Phyllis Kahn in authoring a bill to allow farmers to grow industrial hemp; she tells Bluestem that she'll be the House author of  Duluth Senator Reinert's bill to allow home gardeners to work with staff on maintaining seed at public libraries.

Photo: Peggy Flanagan (right) and her daughter Siobhan. Via Facebook.

 

Minnesota's organic coffee growers totally elated by stunning success of AURI chaff research

According to Minnesota State Statute Chapter 116V.01, Subdivision 1:

Establishment.The Agricultural Utilization Research Institute is established as a nonprofit corporation under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended. The Agricultural Utilization Research Institute shall conduct onsite and applied research, promote the establishment of new products and product uses and the expansion of existing markets for the state's agricultural commodities and products, including direct financial and technical assistance for Minnesota entrepreneurs. The institute must establish or maintain facilities and work with private and public entities to leverage the resources available to achieve maximum results for Minnesota agriculture.

Here in our remote mountain village nestled among the verdant organic coffee plantations of Chippewa County, we swear we heard hardworking coffee farmer neighbors cheering at testimony given Thursday during the joint meeting of the Minnesota House Ag Policy and Ag Finance Committees and streamed live online.

What prompted the dancing in the snowy fields from Maynard to Montevideo?

It's the research that's helping that nice young man who left what the Star Tribune described as a "hectic globe-trotting job as an agricultural commodities trader" to toil in the coffee fields of Faribault.

The Session Daily's Jonathan Mohr reports in Agriculture organization helps ideas become realities:

If you have an idea for a new ag-related product or business you would like to bring to market, but don’t have the expertise to make it happen, Minnesota’s Agricultural Utilization Research Institute may be able to lend a hand.

James Curren found that out not long ago when he began trying to create value from the byproducts generated during the roasting process at Javacycle – the small fair trade organic coffee business he founded in Fairbault. Curren shared his story at a joint hearing the House Agriculture Finance and Policy committees Thursday, where the work of AURI was the first item on the agenda.

Although he knew the chaff produced after the beans are roasted had potential as fertilizer, Curren did not have the technical expertise to turn what had been a waste product into a new opportunity for sales and growth. Then he heard about an organization that could help.

“AURI very quickly just connected those dots and within a fairly short period of time we were in the lab testing,” Curren said. “This was just way beyond anything that was in my scope or capacity, and as a small business owner, AURI was critical at getting me to the point where now I’ve got product on the shelf.”

AURI was created by the Legislature in the 1980s during troubled economic times for farmers who faced high interest rates and low commodity prices. Its mission was to add value to the state’s agricultural products. That mission continues today. . . .

Is it any wonder that the humble coffee farmers on the fertile slopes of the Red River Valley found their coffee just a little bolder today?

Some other guy talked about soybean feed research for baby pig  and fish food, but the response of area soybean growers seems to have been far more stoic.

Photo: The coffee plantation lovingly tended by our dear friend Johann Valdesen. We do enjoy a good coffee, and hope that some day those tiny bags of organic coffee chaff fertilizer might be scaled up so that the product might be used at larger farms of a couple of acres or more.

If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or use the paypal button below:

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Mining & Outdoor Rec Committee invites frac sand mining industry to inform them about stuff

Do grassroots citizens' groups that have organized out of concerns about industrial-scale silica sand mining have any information worth sharing about the industry?

Not as far as the Minnesota House Mining and Outdoor Recreation Policy Committee is concerned.

On Thursday, the committee administrator sent out this meeting notice:

From: Stephanie Lamphere [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, January 22, 2015 10:56 AM
To: Mining and Outdoor Recreation Policy
Subject: 1-27-14 House Mining and Outdoor Recreation Policy Committee Notice

Below please find a meeting notice and agenda for the Tuesday, January 27th meeting of the House Mining and Outdoor Recreation Policy Committee.

Thank you,

Stephanie

COMMITTEE: Mining and Outdoor Recreation Policy

DATE: Tuesday, January 27th, 2015

TIME: 2:45pm - 4:30pm

MEETING ROOM: 10 State Office Building

CHAIR: Rep. Tom Hackbarth

AGENDA: Informational Hearing for Silica Sand Mining from Silica Sand Producers and State Agency Silica Sand Rule-Making Update.

Stephanie Lamphere
Committee Administrator - Mining & Outdoor Recreation Policy
Minnesota House of Representatives

430 State Office Building
651-296-5528

Given the intense controversy surrounding frac sand mining in Minnesota, this is an extraordinary way to define and frame "information" about the issue.

How intense is the controversy? The Rochester Post Bulletin reported in late December's Year in Review: Frac sand the big story in Houston County:

While there are no silica sand mines in Houston County, the possibility that one might open led to big headlines in 2014.

Houston County Auditor Char Meiners, who also is the Houston County Board of Commissioner's secretary, said frac-sand mining has taken up a lot of the board's time.

"Frac-sand has been huge, there has been a lot of controversy about that," she said. . . .

The article cites the Houston County Protectors, one of several regional groups citizens have created in response to their concerns.

On Wednesday, the Bluff Country Newspaper Group reported in Houston County commissioner proposes ban on frac sand mines:

Houston County Commissioner Dana Kjome asked the board during a regular meeting Jan. 13 to consider adding a new section to the county ordinance that controls silica sand mining.

“I've been working on some language on banning frac sand (mining),” Kjome said. “I have with me a proposal, and I'd like the county attorney to go over it...”

That document would not throw out the updated mining ordinance (section 27) that is currently making the rounds of public hearings. However, it would add a new amendment (section 28), Kjome stated.

“I've always been a ban guy... “ he added, citing a 3-2 vote which the board took on March 25, 2014. That motion approved looking into language to ban frac sand mining within the county even as another group worked in parallel to draw up a mining ordinance aimed at regulating the activity.

“I want to get some input from you guys,” Kjome said. “When we get to the end of the process we can vote on your ordinances and possibly vote on this as well.”

The draft of section 28 essentially leaves existing silica sand mines alone, while prohibiting new silica sand mining projects. In that regard, it would resemble a continuation of the current moratorium (actually an interim ordinance) on new silica sand mining permits, which is set to expire in March of 2015.

The size and scale of industrial frac sand mines is cited in the document as being problematic, as the introduction of section 28 states: “The proposed ban is justified by the industrial scale and harmful nature of 'silica sand projects.' The ban is justified because the mining and processing silica sand is more harmful than the mining and processing of aggregate limestone and dolomite.  The proposed ban does not distinguish between different end uses of silica sand.  The proposed ban does not attempt to prohibit silica sand intended to be sold and used (for) any specific purpose, including for hydraulic fracturing.”

The document also justifies a ban based on seven specific “findings” on aspects the county's zoning ordinance is intended to address, including: “to promote and protect the health, safety and general welfare...  to preserve agricultural land,  to conserve the scenic beauty of the county, and to conserve natural resources.”

For an overview of citizen frustration about the rule-making process, we recommend an article at the Pulitzer Prize Winning's Inside Climate News, Against the Grain: Minnesota's Long Slog Toward Dealing With Frac Sand.  Also recommended: Wisconsin Watch's Frac sand news roundup: Are the go-go days over?

But however much their concerns are aired in local government hearings or the media, it appears that to Chairman Hackbarth, any information citizens groups might contribute simply doesn't matter. Perhaps someone might ask him why this is so.

Photo: What information about frac sand mining might this sign maker contribute? Photo from Houston County Protectors Sandpoint Times.

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Public Safety Chair Cornish doesn't get profiled as biker, would rather not give Draz bill hearing

In Wednesday's City Pages Blotter, Cory Zurowski reports in Rep. Steve Drazkowski Believes Motorcyclists Need Protection from Overzealous Cops:

Motorcyclists' lives matter, says Rep. Steve Drazkowski (R-Mazeppa).

To demonstrate he's in the legislative sidecar of those constituents on two wheels, the state representative from Wabasha County has introduced a new anti-motorcycle profiling bill in the Minnesota House.

According to Drazkowski, police officers have gotten out of hand when it comes to stopping motocyclists. They habitually pull them over when no law has been broken simply because law enforcement officials think anyone on a bike has a high probability of malfeasance. . .

Not so, says Public Safety committee Chair Tony Cornish (R- Vernon Center), himself an avid biker who is best known for his passionate advocacy of Second Amendment rights.

Cornish told reporter Matt Hudson of the Owatonna People's Press in Anti-profiling bill could stall in committee:

In Cornish’s experience, it’s not a widespread problem. He said that he hasn’t been profiled while riding and conversations with other bikers didn’t reveal an overwhelming problem.

“I found the bill, for what’s going on, seems to be a local problem with a few departments that are operating a little bit outside of the norm,” Cornish said. “But it doesn’t warrant spending tens of thousands of dollars of training.”

How expensive and complicated would implementation of the bill be? Hudson reports:

. . .Cornish said that he would “rather not give it a hearing.”

“I’m not saying profiles never occur,” Cornish said. “I’m just saying that it hasn’t occurred in the amount to warrant spending tens of thousands of dollars to model a policy.”

He said that the process to create the rules would take a lot of time and money. If passed, the bill would require four law enforcement groups to draft the policies. That would include consulting with as many Minnesota State Patrol, sheriff and police departments as possible.

Once drafted, law enforcement agencies would then have to train every officer and verify that with the state, Cornish said.

We'll be eager to see how The Draz and House Majority Caucus blames the sputtering death of this proposal on inner city DFLers.

Photo: A photo of motorcycles posted on Cornish's Facebook page in 2014.

If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or use the paypal button below:

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Office of the Legislative Auditor: MN doesn't follow Packinghouse Workers’ Bill of Rights law

Forum Communications political reporter Don Davis reports in State ignores meatpacker rights law:

A Minnesota state department has not followed a law to notify meatpacking plants and workers about protections the state provides.

Pointing to a bookshelf full of Minnesota laws, Legislative Auditor Jim Nobles said Wednesday, “one of them sort of got lost.”

The law that was not followed is known as the Packinghouse Workers’ Bill of Rights, passed in 2007, requiring meatpacking companies to tell workers information about their jobs, including hazards they may face, the fact that they may join unions and that they must be free from discrimination. It requires the information to be passed on to workers “in their native language.”

Once an initial letter went to packing houses in 2007, there has been no bill of rights follow-up, Nobles’ office reported. . . .

Rep. Rick Hansen, D-South St. Paul, chairman of the legislative audit committee, said that Wednesday’s report should give the Legislature direction about how to deal with meatpackers and other manufacturers.

Read the rest at Davis's Capitol Chatter blog. We've posted the executive summary and embedded the post itself below.

The executive summary:

January 2015

Key Facts and Findings:

• Minnesota is one of the country’s most active meatpacking states, with just over 12,000 workers in various meat processing jobs.
• Meatpacking plants in Minnesota are characterized by high employee turnover and large numbers of immigrant workers.
• Nationally, meatpacking workers have historically had higher injury rates than other manufacturing workers. But measured injury rates have declined in recent years.
• In Minnesota, rates of workers’ compensation claims for serious injuries in meatpacking have been similar to rates in other manufacturing industries.
• The 2007 Legislature created the Packinghouse Workers Bill of Rights to address working conditions in meatpacking plants.
• The Packinghouse Workers Bill of Rights is mostly a restatement of existing laws; its major innovation was to require employers to provide certain information to workers in their “native language.”
• The Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) has not adequately publicized the existence of the Packinghouse Workers Bill of Rights.
• However, because the law’s requirements are so limited, it is not clear that greater publicity would change working conditions in meatpacking plants.
• Due to high injury rates, the Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Division (MNOSHA) targets meatpacking employers for more frequent inspections.
• However, MNOSHA’s targeting method relies on unverified data that has not included all meatpacking employers.

A 2007 law aimed at protecting workers has been poorly publicized. But given the law’s limitations, additional publicity may not affect working conditions.

Key Recommendations:

• The Legislature should more clearly define the terms “meatpacking” and “native language” in the Packinghouse Workers Bill of Rights.
• DLI should do more to ensure that employers know about their obligations under the Packinghouse Workers Bill of Rights.
• MNOSHA should adjust its method of targeting meatpacking companies for inspection to ensure all relevant employers are included.
• The Legislature should consider alternative approaches to achieving the goals of the Packinghouse Workers Bill of Rights; we suggest several policy options for expanding the law or putting greater resources toward implementation.

Report Summary

Meatpacking is an important sector of Minnesota’s manufacturing industry; it is one of the top ten states for turkey, hog, and cattle production. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, just over 12,000 Minnesota workers hold meat processing jobs.

Meatpacking work can involve intense physical labor. Many employees do repetitive work on a production line that delivers meat to them at a constant pace. Worker advocates have charged that line speeds are often too fast, leading to increased injuries.

In 2007, the Legislature adopted the Packinghouse Workers Bill of Rights. The law requires meatpacking employers to inform employees, using the employee’s native language, of various federal and state laws that protect workers.

Meatpacking plants employ many immigrant workers and experience high injury rates and high employee turnover.

Many meatpacking jobs do not require English skills or formal education, and thus attract immigrant workers. The meatpacking plants that we visited employed Hispanic, African, and Asian immigrant workers. Daily communication often occurred in two or more languages.

Workers in meat processing industries have historically had high injury rates compared to other manufacturing workers. In recent years, injury rates have declined, although critics argue that available statistics do not capture all injuries.

At any given point in the past seven years, most meatpacking plants in Minnesota had replaced more than one-fifth of their employees in the past year. Some plants have routinely experienced turnover rates over 40 percent. Constant training of new workers creates safety challenges.

The Department of Labor and Industry has not adequately publicized the Packinghouse Workers Bill of Rights.

The Department of Labor and Industry (DLI) sent out a single mailing to employers in 2007 and has done nothing to publicize the law since. Executives at two of the eight firms we visited had never heard of the law. Most workers we interviewed were also unfamiliar with the law. But the limited scope of the law calls into question whether additional actions by DLI would actually affect workers.

The Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Division (MNOSHA) targets meatpacking firms for additional compliance inspections because of the industry’s history of injuries. However, MNOSHA’s list of meatpacking plants is not complete and should be supplemented with additional data.

The Legislature should address ambiguities in the law and consider alternative approaches to protecting immigrant workers facing dangerous working conditions.

The Legislature should adjust the law to more clearly define the terms “meatpacking” and “native language.”

The Legislature could also choose to expand the law. Depending on legislative priorities, it could extend the law’s requirements to some nonmeatpacking companies, offer incentives for best practices, or provide additional resources to DLI.

Summary of Agency Response

In a letter dated January 16, 2015, Department of Labor and Industry Commissioner Ken Peterson wrote that the Department appreciated the “candor, advice, and valuable perspective” provided in OLA’s evaluation. He stated the Department would implement the report’s recommendation to more actively disseminate information about the Packinghouse Workers Bill of Rights. He also said that MNOSHA would adjust its process for targeting meatpacking plants for inspection as recommended in the report.

Here's the report:

MN OLA Evaluation Report: State Protections for Meatpacking Workers

Photo: Workers in a beef slaughtering plant.

If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or use the paypal button below:

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Local English teacher schools Rep. Tim Miller

On Saturday, Representative Tim Miller (R-Prinsburg) had objected to Governor Dayton's proposal to enforce and extend Minnesota's buffer strip law.

Two days later, Bluestem posted In Facebook comment, Rep. Tim Miller compares enforcing buffer strip laws to a police state.

Via a mutual friend's Facebook post, G'ette Jones, a local English teacher, visited Representative Miller's page later that evening to deliver a little education about moderation in political speech.

On his own post, Miller had commented the day before:

Tim Miller Minnesota House 17A I have spoken with landowners who agree with these buffers and others who say it won't make a difference. The important thing for me here is the government a.) grabbing more land; and b.) Dayton is making enforcement sound like a police state.  . . .

On Monday afternoon, Jones objected to the inflamatory rhetoric, then she and Miller engaged each other in a discussion of civility in political speech:

G'ette Jones Police state? Seriously? It's difficult enough to come to compromise without hyperbole.

Tim Miller Minnesota House 17A How then should I respond to this: " “It will be enforced — and I mean enforced — by the DNR through aerial and other inspections,” the governor said.

G'ette Jones You could state that the governor intends to enforce it strictly by those means. Then you could explain how you disagree with the need for such measures based on some of the other statements you have made here. Resorting to inflammatory language doesn't move us any closer to actually solving problems, and it contributes to the sense of public disgust with and mistrust of government on the state and national level. Maybe if legislators start speaking rationally, the constituents will sit up and take notice because we haven't heard it in so long.

Tim Miller Minnesota House 17A Fair enough. I apologize. Please continue to be comfortable in commenting here. God bless.

G'ette Jones Thanks. I don't think you're the only person to do that, but it was an effective example of overstating a concern. If you feel it's too restrictive, that's your point to argue, but doing so in realistic terms makes it far easier to hold a productive discussion. Now, let's get everyone else on the hill to play along.

Tim Miller Minnesota House 17A agreed

Hat's off to Mrs. Jones for her instruction on the art of rhetoric--and thumbs up to Representative Miller for having the sense to consider her advice. Let's hope the freshman lawmaker can "get everyone else on the hill to play along."

Photo: Representative Tim Miller (R-Prinsburg).

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Transparency and its discontents: Backer constituent wonders where his priorities are

In our posts, Before election, Dave Baker listed curbing outside campaign spending as #1 priority and Lots of MN House members not really tired of hearing voter complaints about election junkmail, we looked at how freshmen state representatives in both halves of Minnesota Senate District 17 had voted against a move to enact campaign finance reform in time to affect the 2014 year-end reports.

We weren't only ones watching. In Backer’s priorities support businesses, corporations, a letter to the editor of the Morris Sun Tribune, Adrian Ledermann of Brandon, Minnesotam writes:

. . .the first big vote that Jeff Backer [R-Browns Valley] took on the House floor was to block a bill that would help take the big money and secret donors out of state politics. Do you remember the onslaught of negative campaign mailers and TV ads in the last election? The corporate funders of many of those ads don’t have to report how much they are spending. Jeff Backer sided with corporate donors who are allowed to keep on spending, and keep it all shielded from you and I. Why doesn’t Jeff Backer want us to know how much money corporate interests spent in the last election? Is it because he benefitted from it? Is it because he is putting corporate interests ahead of ours?

We know that Ben Golnik, the source of many of those negative campaign mailers via the MN Jobs Coalition, benefitted from the win by getting a job as the Republican House Majority Caucus executive director.

For Backer and Golnik, there's certainly some personal job creation, so the disclaimers on those mailers weren't entirely off the mark.

Photo: The "board" of votes on the Winkler motion, via The Update.

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Big Ag, Big Energy, Big Mining: Hamilton & Garofalo's unsurprising support for senator

To paraphrase Franklin Delano Roosevelt, we have nothing to be surprised about but surprise itself.

Bluestem refers to the conventional wisdom about about the support by House Republicans Rod Hamilton (R- Mountain Lake) and Pat Garofalo (R-Farmington) for Chisholm DFL Senator David Tomassoni, who's facing fierce criticism for wanting to represent Range communities and lobby (excuse us: be executive director of the lobby) for them too.

For instance, the ever-excellent Aaron Brown writes in a Minnesota Brown post, Ely pulls out of RAMS until Tomassoni matter resolved:

The only defense of Tomassoni that has been publicly uttered has come, quizzically, from a pair of Republican State House members — Hamilton and Garofalo — whose support appears to be more personal than related to best practices.

If that's a quiz question, it's a softball to those of us in agricultural rural Minnesota who have watched the coalition of Big Ag (Hamilton, who works in a white-collar position for #2 Pork Powerhouse Christensen Farms), Big Energy (Garofalo, one of Minnesota's state ALEC chairs) and Big Mining (Tomassoni) brand rural citizen's concern for clean water, fresh air, clean energy and habitat for pollinators and pheasants as evil, alien, and even worse "metro-centric" environmentalism.

It's a peculiar construct for citizens in places like North Branch and Winona County who have lately elected a mayor and a county commissioner who gained their political training pushing back on the notion that an unregulated frac sand industry is God's own gift to rural economic development. While some members of both parties have dithered on about these concerns as if they are a proxy war for the PolyMet, to local people, they are not.

It's an odd notion for those dirty hippies at Clean Up The River Environment (CURE), headquartered in Montevideo, as it is for the hundreds of local food growers and consumers organizing farmers markets and food hubs across Greater Minnesota--and for those life-long rural residents who treasure local control of zoning and who don't see the permitting process as their enemy when feedlot proposals with large numbers of animal units are put forth.

Friends who frequent the state capitol far more than Bluestem, esconched as we are in our little Alamut on the prairie, tell us that they have watched Tomassoni turn to industry lobbyists in the audience  for directions, which is then mouthed to him or or conveyed through hand signals.

We have not witnessed that part of the process personally and so cannot testify to the veracity of the tales. 

What we know, however, is that while relationships at the state capitol are so often spun in terms of personality, they are perhaps better judged in terms of the policy they produce.

Read the rest of Brown's Ely pulls out of RAMS until Tomassoni matter resolved at Minnesota Brown.

Photo: Senator David Tomassoni, DFL-Chisholm.

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Whose listening sessions are these, anyway? Roch rep's presser had Draz "also attending"

On the Minnesota House floor Tuesday, Representative Jim Davnie (DFL-Minneapolis) asked Minnesota House Property Tax & Local Government Finance Division Committee Chair Steve Drazkowski (R-Mazeppa) to clarify whether or not the property tax listening sessions being scheduled around the state were official.

Drazkowski told the session that these were "informal," then Minority Leader Thissen asked for additional clarification.

Later, as Bluestem first reported in After House floor transparency tussle, Draz's tax listening sessions now official meetings, two meetings were described on the committee's webpage as "an official hearing where public testimony will be provided to the committee."

However, Bluestem Prairie has learned via the Rochester Tea Party Patriot's (RTTP) Facebook page and the RTTP's latest e-newsletter, that listening session in Stewartville was originally described as an event sponsored by Representatives Nels Pierson (R-Rochester) and Duane Quam (R-Byron) to which The Draz had been invited:

In response to expressed constituent concerns regarding rising property taxes, State
Representatives Nels Pierson (R-Rochester) and Duane Quam (R-Byron) will hold a property tax listening session in Stewartville on January 22 at the Civic Center, 120 City Center, Highway 30, from 7:00 to 8:00 pm.

Also attending will be Minnesota House Property Tax and Local Government Finance
Committee Chairman Steve Drazkowski. Representatives Pierson and Quam said they invited Chair Drazkowski and other House Property Tax Committee members to the listening session so they can hear firsthand how farmers, business owners, and homeowners are being overwhelmed by rising property tax rates. . . .

So whose listening session was this anyway? While Quam is vice-chair of the committee, Pierson does not serve on it. The Pierson press release echoes language in Bennett, committee to discuss property taxes, an Albert Lea Tribune article about a listening session in the Freeborn county city on Saturday:

Bennett, R-Albert Lea, said she invited House Property Tax Committee Chairman Steve Drazkowski and other committee members so they can hear firsthand how people are overwhelmed by rising property taxes in Albert Lea and the district. [emphasis added]

Like Pierson, Bennett does not serve on the committee. Can members convene a listening session for a committee on which they do not serve? What do the House rules say about this situation?

And when between Tuesday's House session (held between noon and one this afternoon) did these informal listening sessions become ""an official hearing where public testimony will be provided to the committee."

The Tea Party Patriots have been alerted about the Pierson and Quam-sponsored event. How many days advance notice do the House rules require that the general public be given for "an official hearing where public testimony will be provided to the committee"? 

Is posting notice a little over 48 hours in advance long enough under Minnesota's open meeting laws? under House rules?

Here's the January 14, 2015 press release from Representative Pierson's office (it's worth noting that the committee itself met for the first time on January 14--but Pierson and Quam had already secured the facilties for their listening session by the same day):

NEWS RELEASE REPS. PIERSON, QUAM TO HOLD PROPERTY TAX LISTENING SESSION IN STEWARTVILLE

The Rochester Post Bulletin used the press release as the basis for a January 15 news brief, GOP lawmakers host property tax meeting in Stewartville. There's a slightly different lede and  closing paragraph:

Republican lawmakers are encouraging residents who are dismayed by property tax increases to turn out for a meeting next week in Stewartville.

Both Pierson and Quam are urging people who are upset with their property tax rates to attend the meeting and share their stories. Individuals who want to share their stories are encouraged to pre-register with property tax committee assistant Grant Erickson at 651-296-9710.

After reading this news article and press release--and discovering it via the Rochester Tea Party Patriots' Facebook page and email newsletter--we're all the more grateful to Minority Leader Thissen (DFL-Minneapolis) and Committee Minority Lead Davnie (DFL-Minneapolis) for asking exactly what the heck these listening sessions are.

Given the mixed messages sent out to the public in the Rochester area about was wagging the dog here, as well as information given to the committee members about how only eight members could attend so there wouldn't be a quorum, the DFL leaders were right to ask.

Moreover, the request that those upset about property tax increases attend the meeting suggests a bit deck stacking as well. 

Photo: Nels Pierson announcing that he's running for office, photo by Heather Carlson via twitter, July 2013.

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After House floor transparency tussle, Draz's tax listening sessions now official meetings

Although listening sessions in Stewartville and Albert Lea are now described on the Minnesota House Property Tax & Local Government Finance Division Committee's schedule as "**This will be an official hearing where public testimony will be provided to the committee,**" during Tuesday's floor session they were described as "informal" by committee chair Steve Drazkowski (R-Mazeppa).

The description came during a tense exchange about the nature of the listening session between Jim Davnie (DFL-Minneapolis), Minority Leader Paul Thissen (DFL-Minneapolis) and The Draz.

After watching the moment as it was livestreamed, Bluestem had asked Mike McIntee at the Uptake to pull the clip.  In the description of the YouTube, Transparency Issue Raised About GOP Led Meetings On Property Taxes, McIntee writes:

Representatives Jim Davnie (DFL- Minneapolis) and Paul Thissen (DFL- Bloomington) raise questions about what Republicans are calling meetings to "informally gain feedback" on property tax issues. Davnie said there has been no public notice on what Republicans are calling "listening sessions" and questioned why House committee members were being told not to have a quorum present at the meetings.

Representative Steve Drazkowski (R-Mazeppa) says not providing public notice about all of the meetings was "an oversight." Thissen questioned whether Republicans were going down an "Orwellian" hole to avoid providing the transparency they had promised when they took over the majority this year.

Here's the video (McIntee has edited out moment of silence while Daudt flipped through the rules in order to answer Davnie and Thissen's questions and points of order):

But by the time we visited the committee page, Chairman Drazkowski had apparently changed his mind about the nature of the hearings. Here's what's there now:

Thursday, January 22, 2015

7:00 PM

Thursday, January 22, 2015

Room: Note location in the Agenda Notes

Chair: Rep. Steve Drazkowski

Agenda:

Stewartville, MN listening session.

**This will be an official hearing where public testimony will be provided to the committee.**

Stewartville Civic Center
120 Highway 30
Stewartville, MN

 

Saturday, January 24, 2015

10:00 AM

Room: Note Meeting location in Agenda Notes

Chair: Rep. Steve Drazkowski

Agenda:

Albert Lea property tax listening session

**This will be an official hearing where public testimony will be provided to the committee.**

Prairie Wind Coffee
211 South Broadway Ave
Albert Lea, MN 56007

 

What changed?

Social media and news briefs on the meetings

The graphic on the top of this post was shared on The Draz's Facebook page on January 17 along with this comment:

Please join me and Representatives Quam and Pierson, along with Senators Senjem and Nelson and members of the House Property Tax and Local Government Finance Committee as we seek to hear from property taxpayers in southeastern Minnesota. Bring your ideas for improving our property tax system! — with Nels T. Pierson III and Duane Quam.

The Rochester Post Bulletin reported under Talking property taxes in the Political Notebook digest:

Mazeppa Republican Rep. Steve Drazkowski is setting up listening sessions across the state seeking input on property taxes.

Drazkowski, who is chairman of the Property Tax and Local Government Finance Division, said he wants a chance to hear from people across the state about the impact of property tax increases. One of those meetings will be at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Stewartville Civic Center. Joining Drazkowski will be Republican Reps. Nels Pierson, of Rochester, and Duane Quam, of Byron.

But the spin in Albert Lea is much different: the listening session there is the brainchild of freshman state representative Peggy Bennett.

In Bennett, committee to discuss property taxes, Sarah Stultz reports in the Albert Lea Tribune:

District 27A Rep. Peggy Bennett and members of the House Property Tax and Local Government Finance Committee and will host a listening session in Albert Lea on Saturday to get input from area residents about property taxes.

The session will be from 10 to 11:30 a.m. at Prairie Wind Coffee, 211 S. Broadway.

Bennett, R-Albert Lea, said she invited House Property Tax Committee Chairman Steve Drazkowski and other committee members so they can hear firsthand how people are overwhelmed by rising property taxes in Albert Lea and the district. [emphasis added]

“Rising property taxes are an issue that has a significant impact on the budgets of families and farmers in our community,” Bennett said. “This listening session will help us as legislators get a better grasp of the real impacts of rising property taxes and help members of the Property Tax Committee understand the pressing need to get property taxes under control.”

Drazkowski said Bennett has had numerous complaints from residents who are upset to receive double-digit property tax increases, despite promises from previous legislatures that taxes would decline.

“I’m finding that this is a common complaint across Minnesota, so clearly past legislative actions aren’t working, and we need to find new solutions,” he said.

Bennett encouraged area residents with concerns about the impact of rising property taxes to attend the event and share their stories along with their ideas on how to address the issue.

People interested in attending and sharing their story are encouraged to register by calling Grant Erickson, Property Tax Committee assistant, at 651-296-9710 or emailing [email protected].

It certainly seems official in the article, published on Sunday, two days before Davnie and Thissen raised their questions on the House floor.

Bennett is not a member of the committee.

Bluestem had begun looking yesterday for the complete list of listening sessions. A friend on the House staff had come up with a notice at the end of first-term legislator Abigail Whelan's Legislative Update (1-16-15):

Mark Your Calendars

Rep. Steve Drazkowski, Chair of the House Property Tax Committee, and I will be hosting a property tax listening session February 2^nd at the Rum River Branch Library, 4201 6^th Avenue, in Anoka from 6:00-7:30.  I encourage you and your neighbors to attend this session to voice your views on property tax issues in our community.  Please keep an eye on future email updates as well as local media as more information regarding this event is made available.

Whelan is a member of the committee.

The listening sessions announced so far are taking place in Republican-held districts, and only Republicans have been named in the press reports, although Draz assured his House colleagues that DFL members of his committee are taking part in the listening sessions.

Images: A graphic announcing the first meeting. Via Facebook, source unknown (above); January 20, 2015 screengrab of the upcoming schedule on the Property Tax & Local Government Finance Division webpage (below).

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Consumer service: Emmer once served as infomercial spokester for his SOTU date

In Allison Sherry's post in the Star Tribune Hot Dish blog, Minnesota delegation dates to the SOTU, we paused at this item:

Rep. Tom Emmer, R, Sixth Congressional District will bring Brenton Hayden, who was named "Young Entrepreneur of the Year" and started his own business at 20 years-old. He is from central Minnesota.

Where had we seen that name before in connection with Tom Emmer?

Brenton Hayden is part of Emmer's brief career as an infomercial rent boy. In October 2013, Bluestem posted in Celebrity endorsement rent boy Tom Emmer talks foreclosure crisis in awesome infomercial:

While Tom Emmer's celebrity endorsement infomercial for Renter's Warehouse doesn't include mention of his congressional campaign, the half-hour piece did air after he declared his candidacy for the open seat in Minnesota's Sixth Congressional District.

The infomercial was uploaded on January 30, 2013, before Congresswoman Bachmann announced her retirement, but has aired since Emmer declared for office. 

Emmer announced on June 5, 2013. According to KSTP's traffic department, the infomercial aired at least several times after Emmer jumped in the race. According to station traffic records, the segment aired twice on June 16 at 5:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m, on  June 18 and June 22 (no time requested), and last aired on June 23 5:00 a.m.

As the disclaimer aired by stations before infomercials notes, Hubbard Broadcasting was not responsible for the content of the ad.

Tom Emmer also appeared as a special guest on June 27, 2013, at Stillwater's  for Cocktails and Conversation presented by Renters Warehouse with special guest Tom Emmer...

However deep and broad the celebrity endorsers' knowledge of the real estate and rental markets may or may not be, Brenton Hayden, the owner of Renter's Warehouse,  is very pleased with Tom Emmer as a congressional candidate, having contributed $5000 to Emmer's campaign back on June 30:

Brenton Hayden 500 Kristin Ln Maple Plain, Minnesota 553599590	Renters Warehouse	06/30/2013	2400.00
	Owner		5000.00

Brenton Hayden 500 Kristin Ln Maple Plain, Minnesota 553599590	Renters Warehouse	06/30/2013	2600.00
	Owner		5000.00

Ashley Hayden, same town but different address on Kristin Lane, also contributed to the Emmer campaign, as did another Hayden from Edina. It's unclear whether these are family members or simply people who share the same last name.

Emmer's appearance as celebrity spokester for Integrity Exteriors and Remodelers, first reported by Bluestem, earned him a cameo appearance on the Colbert Report.

Photo: Still from one of the Renters Warehouse spots. What a place to find a date to the State of the Union address.

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Coleman totally jumps on Sen. Tomassoni's case -- and we're not happy about dual offices either

We can't say that this wasn't predictable. Indeed, Bluestem had predicted it with our headline, Range trust: state senator scores job creating content for 2016 outside group IE attack mail.

In his capacity as head of the Minnesota Action Network (an political nonprofit which exists solely to promote Republicans over DFLers), former U.S. Senator Norm Coleman writes in The indefensible, a letter to the editor published in Saturday's Mesabi Daily News:

News that DFL State Sen. David Tomassoni — a DFLer from Chisholm — has taken a job that will pay him to be essentially a lobbyist while he remains an elected official — isn’t only shocking to the occupants of a chicken coop being guarded by a fox.

Taxpayers of Minnesota might well feel an affinity to those chickens based upon published news reports that Tomassoni will be the executive director of the Range Association of Municipalities and Schools — a group that lobbies the Legislature on behalf of Iron Range communities.

To be clear, I have no objections to the right of Iron Range communities to actively lobby on behalf of the people of their region.

The fact is many of those communities would do well to have a more effective voice in Saint Paul — both in terms of their elected representatives — but also in terms of the lobbyists who support their goals and aspirations.

But, having the best of both worlds — a state senator responsible for voting on laws that can directly benefit them, who is also paid by a lobbying organization who will be rewarded for delivering the votes on laws that can directly benefit them — is a line that simply cannot be allowed to be crossed.

This isn’t a DFL or Republican issue as evidenced by the fact that a couple of Minnesota Republicans are defending Tomassoni for his odd rationale that guarding the purse and putting his hand in the purse is a right he should be able to exercise. .  .

Defenders of Sen. Tomassoni have no leg to stand on.

Regardless of their party affiliation.

If Sen. Tomassoni is so effective at his job as being a state senator he should simply deliver to his district the promises he made for the money the taxpayers of his district — and the state — are already paying him.

If he is not, then he should quit and become the full-time executive director of the Range Association of Municipalities and Schools and accomplish what he has been incapable of doing as an elected official.

But to suggest he is entitled to be both a public servant — and exploit the fact that he is a public servant — to enrich himself is beneath his office.

And, it’s beneath defending. . . .

Now, one could attack Coleman's own ethics. Or we might cite--as some DFLers have on social media-- Senators' entanglements do not pass the smell test, Jon Tevlin's column linking Tomassoni's dual-career track with the recent disclosure of Cambridge Republican state Senator Nienow's October 2014 bankruptcy settlement which forgave a loan from the Small Business Association.

Moreover it's clear from the article that the Cambridge Republican's sin is hypocrisy, rather than corruption, and those who read the column carefully will realize Tevlin's not scolding Nienow in order to excuse the Range DFLer.

Most importantly, pivoting to a "both sides do it" frame isn't a winning argument. 

Instead, it's the sort of talking point that breeds contempt for government--and dampens voter turnout. In a representative democracy (or representative republic), distaste for government breeds more corruption, not less.

Bluestem hopes that DFLers in the Senate set their own house in order. Tomassoni needs to decide which job he wants, and give the other up.

Then there's the other dual office problem now damaging the Senate DFL Caucus.

Senator Bakk needs to lead, not deal, on the stalemate on offices in the Senate Legislative Office Building and in the Capitol. Committee chairs don't need two offices. Let them enjoy meeting with senators of both parties in the new building.

Want to avoid perceptions of self dealing? Then don't do it.

Photo: State Senator David Tomassoni (DFL-Chisholm).

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Minnesota House chamber seatmate probably not likely to give Representative Miller free food

After Bluestem posted MNGOP freshman tells colleagues "free food is a good thing"; shares Huckabee's view of Beyoncé, a reader modestly suggested that Representative Tim Miller (R-Prinsburg) probably won't be getting fed by one of his House chamber seatmates.

Our post noted:

Introducing himself to colleagues on the Minnesota House Ag Finance Committee, Miller shared his insight that "I'm learning real quick as a legislator that free food is a good thing."

As the photo above documents, Mary Franson (R-Alexandria) sits to Miller's own right in the Minnesota House.

During her own freshman year,  Franson gained a place in infamy by citing an internet "joke" that equating feeding wild animals in national parks with feeding poor people with food stamps in a Republican House Caucus-produced Youtube intended for her constituents.  Bluestem was first to break that news in 2012. She later apologized for the remark.

While Bluestem believes that feeding poor people with supplemental nutrition assistance (SNAP) doesn't create dependency, but rather prevents hunger,  we do have to hope that free food won't make Representative Miller dependent on special interest groups' receptions to avoid starvation. 

Perhaps Miller could simply use the $66/day "per diem" House members collect to buy himself lunch.

Photo: Mary Franson (front left) and Tim Miller (front right) sit next to each in the Minnesota House, which might be awkward given that Miller was supportive of her Republican endorsement challenger on social media. Given some of Miller's statements, we're wondering if she's "Moderate Mary" now. Swearing in photo via Representative Franson's Facebook page.

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In Facebook comment, Rep. Tim Miller compares enforcing buffer strip laws to a police state

Someone's not clear on the concept of downstream.

In a comment on his own campaign Facebook page, freshman state representative Tim Miller (R-Prinsburg) writes:

Tim Miller Minnesota House 17A I have spoken with landowners who agree with these buffers and others who say it won't make a difference. The important thing for me here is the government a.) grabbing more land; and b.) Dayton is making enforcement sound like a police state. This should greatly trouble anyone who believes in the American value of land ownership. We are slowly becoming a nation where the king is telling us what we can and cannot do on his land.

If Dayton is king, then the logic of Miller's metaphor suggests that House Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Chair Representative Denny McNamara (R-Hastings) is the new Sheriff of Nottingham.

 On Sunday, Pioneer Press outdoor writer Dave Orrick reported in Dayton proposes 50-foot waterway buffers to help pheasant population:

"I'm psyched," McNamara said. "Uniformity is a great idea. Buffer strips are great for the environment, and 50 feet is better than 16 feet. Yes, there's going to be pushback, and we're going to have to work together."

On a more serious note, Miller's remarks are concerning for several reasons. First, the notion that a landowner may harm public waters and people downstream because he or she owns private property is rather peculiar. 

On Saturday, Star Tribune staff writer Josephine Marcotty reported in Dayton wants tougher water and wildlife protection law:

Minnesota has required buffer strips on farmland for years, the only state in the country to do so, but the law is often not enforced. Demand for enforcement has risen in recent months, from hunters, anglers, beekeepers and environmentalists worried about precipitous declines in wildlife and rising agricultural pollution in the southern half of the state.

Dayton’s proposal, however, would go well beyond the current law, and if it passes it would represent a major shift in environmental policy that environmentalists have wanted for years. Farmers and other land owners are largely immune from water pollution laws related to runoff — the buffer law is one of the very few on the books.

In a letter to a district voters about same-sex marriage, Miller has already expressed the sentiment that farmers deserve special rights, as he does not believe in equal rights. Perhaps those special rights Miller favors include polluting water and contributing to the creation of a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico.

Second, the notion that enforcing laws on private property is indicative of a police state might come as a surprise to local law enforcement personnel, who are frequently called to do so when they field reports about underage drinking, domestic abuse, animal neglect and the like.

On the other hand, Miller's alarm that DNR enforcement of buffer laws through the leveling of fines will create a police state may also come as quite a surprise to those marching in today's Martin Luther King Jr rallies who are concerned about the choking death of Eric Garner at the hands of police in New York City.  Bluestem recommends that they open a dialogue with Miller about defining the phrase.

Finally, one earnest friend who lives in the highest spot in Big Stone County has made the modest proposal on Facebook that perhaps Tim Miller can introduce a law that puts us all upstream.  This might make Big Stone and Traverse Counties a bit more crowded than they are now, but will definitely address the issues generated by an aging population in the western boundary waters.

In the meantime, it's worth noting that much of Minnesota's population lives downstream of Representative Miller.

Here's a screenshot of the Facebook remark in context:

 

For our earlier post on Representative Miller's opinion of the Governor's proposal, check out MN Soybean Growers & Rep. Miller totally agree governor's buffer strip proposal "Not good."

Photos:  Tim Miller, via his personal Facebook page (above); the comment on his campaign Facebook page (below).

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Before election, Dave Baker listed curbing outside campaign spending as #1 priority

As Bluestem Prairie reported in Lots of MN House members not really tired of hearing voter complaints about election junkmail, Dave Baker joined House Republicans in voting against Ryan Winkler's motion to bring a bill to the House floor that would require full disclosure of campaign spending by outside groups.

A kind reader has sent Bluestem Prairie a PDF of page 4B of the November 1, 2014 Lakes Area Review, a paper published in New London, Minnesota.

When asked "List and briefly explain up to three goals you would like to accomplish if elected to office," Baker listed even more restrictive limits on "outside advertising" as his first goal:

1. Change the laws to limit the horrible negative ads that are ruining our political process. No outside advertising should be allowed during the last 10 days of the campaign. Only the candidates should have “clean” access to voters in the final days of a campaign.

Recorded on audio by a local radio station broadcasting the event, Baker also objected to the presence of a MN Jobs Coalition tracker at a local debate in Willmar, as we noted in our post, Dancing with the ones who brought you; or, the irony of Ethan Hellier's Ethics LA assignment:

Clearly, Baker was passionate about this issue before the election.

We'll look forward to seeing legislation that Baker offers to achieve that goal (probably not constitutional)--or if he signs on to Winkler's bill and as assistant majority leader, helps shepherd the reforms through the committee process to the floor.

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Is former House Minority Leader Seifert lobbying for gas tax hike? Highway 14 Partnership a client

A source at the capitol tells Bluestem that a retired Republican lawmaker, former House Minority Leader and 2014 Republican gubernatorial primary challenger Marty Seifert, is "lobbying for the gas tax increase."

That information makes sense, despite Seifert's notorious role in stripping "The Override Six"of their  leadership positions after they voted to override Governor Pawlenty's gas tax veto in 2007. Moreover, as Minnesota Public Radio reported in August 2014 in Seifert would tap reserve for roads as governor, "He opposes an increase in the gas-tax."

Why the change? One of Seifert's clients in his new gig as a lobbyist for Flaherty & Hood is the Highway 14 Partnership, which seeks to upgrade the notoriously dangerous highway corridor to a four-lane highway between Rochester and New Ulm.The Owatonna People's Press recently covered some of the issues in Highway 14 Partnership, state legislators to continue advocacy for Corridors of Commerce funding.

While the group's focus in 2015 on funding $200 million for the Highway 14 Corridors of Commerce project doesn't specifically call for a gas tax increase, the group did support it in 2014 (see page 2 of the embedded pdf below).

This is the season of epiphanies, and it doesn't surprise Bluestem that Seifert could see and finally follow the star to hiking the gas tax to improve and repair rural roads and bridges, especially if he's being paid to promote the option.

As the Star Tribune reported in Former gubernatorial candidate Seifert to lobby for outstate interests, Seifert felt his "Greater Minnesota Guy" persona is a good fit:

Marty Seifert, a former Republican House leader who ran for governor twice, will join Flaherty & Hood as a lobbyist, the firm said on Friday. The St. Paul law and legislative advocacy firm represents Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities, Greater Minnesota Partnership and U.S. Highway 14 Partnership, among others, which makes it a natural fit, Seifert said.

"I want to believe in what I'm doing," Seifert said.

Given his close relationship with Speaker Daudt, Bluestem can only hope that Seifert will use his new status as a wise men to shepherd the Crown lawmaker to a new understanding of the need for a more stable revenue long-term revenue fix for transportation funding.

Here's the Highway 14 Partnership's 2014 Legislative Policy Positions statement, which includes a gas tax increase.

Hwy 14 Partnership 2014 Legislative Policy Positions

Photo: Former House Minority Leader Marty Seifert.

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MN Soybean Growers & Rep. Miller totally agree governor's buffer strip proposal "Not good"

Agreed. We're on top of the situation: http://t.co/jclZuO0hbf @timmiller_mn: Not good: http://t.co/rDGqQcLDah #mnleg #mngop #mnhrcc

— Minnesota Soybean (@MNSoyGrowers) January 17, 2015

Freshman Minnesota State Representative Tim Miller may think that free food for legislators is a good thing, but he tweeted today that Governor Dayton's proposal for beefing up buffer strips is "not good."

And the Minnesota Soybean Growers agree with the Prinsburg lawmaker, sharing his tweet along with their agreement (embedded above).  The link leads to outdoor writer Sam Cook's article for the Duluth News Tribune and other Forum Communications papers.

However, Miller's dour opinion isn't shared by everyone in the House majority caucus.  Pioneer Press outdoor reporter Dave Orrick writes in Dayton proposes 50-foot waterway buffers to help pheasant population:

[House Environment and Natural Resources Committee] Committee chairman Denny McNamara, R-Hastings, was more optimistic [than Dan Fabian (R-Roseau)].

"I'm psyched," McNamara said. "Uniformity is a great idea. Buffer strips are great for the environment, and 50 feet is better than 16 feet. Yes, there's going to be pushback, and we're going to have to work together."

Since McNamara owns over 600 acres near Graceville in Big Stone County, Upper Minnesota River Valley nationalists, conservationists and hunters  enthusiastically greeted his statement on Facebook.

Orrick also follows up on his earlier reporting about Minnesota Department of Agriculture Commissioner David Frederickson's remark at the Pheasant Summit in late 2014 that, if existing buffer strib laws aren't being enforced, perhaps they should be repealed. Conservationists, pollinator protectors, clean water advocates and pheasant hunters were dismayed by the approach.

The Pioneer Press reporter writes:

Later Friday, Fredrickson issued a statement saying he supports the governor's plan.

Fredrickson also sought to clarify his previous statements.

"I have never stated, nor do I believe, that abandoning buffer laws and rules would be good public policy for Minnesota," he said. "However, it is well known that our buffer laws are not being enforced. In the end, we all want compliance. I continue to believe that the best strategy is an incentive-based approach." . . .

Perhaps the genial ag commissioner can salt a few buffer strips in Renville County with free appetizers and a dessert bar for legislators, and Miller will see the conservation practice as a good thing.

Check out our earlier coverage in our post,The birds, bees & buffer coalition: will pheasants find friendly habitat in the 2015 session?

Photo: Rep. Tim Miller (R-Prinsburg), via Facebook.

If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or use the paypal button below:

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