Range Trust: High profile suburban Democrat Julianne Ortman hates IRRRB nonprofit plan

Back in December, Bluestem examined a claim Minnesota Senate Majority Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook) made about attempted raids on the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) Douglas Johnson fund.

In our post Range Trust? Baffling Senate Majority Leader Bakk blames IRRRB fund threats on Democrats, we noted Bakk told an Duluth-area television station:

But in the last decade, Sertich and Senator Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook) said lawmakers from outside the Iron Range have tried to tap into the 150 million dollar trust fund for other state projects.

"This threat is way more real than you know. I have had Democratic - very, very senior Democratic members of the legislature - come to me when the state was having serious financial problems during the Pawlenty years and say, Geez Tom, don't you think we could borrow ten million from the trust fund to balance the budget?" said Sen. Bakk.

We then documented several attempted raids on the fund by Republicans, including Governor Pawlenty in 2010 and the Republican-controlled legislature in 2011.

However, in a recent Star Tribune article by Jennifer Bjorhus, New Iron Range Board commissioner faces $100 million question, we read:

The agency voted in December to put most of its $139 million trust fund in a nonprofit corporation called the Range Trust to protect it from being raided by the Legislature for other uses, a move that provoked concerns among lawmakers and some members of the public. . . .

Sen. Julianne Ortman, R-Chanhassen, said she is investigating the legality of this kind of shift.

“They are public funds and I don’t believe the board has the authority to make the changes that it’s made,” Ortman said. . . .

Given the public objection to the Range Trust voiced by such a high-profile DFL state senator, Bluestem humbly and totally repents our questioning of Senator Bakk's earlier assessment last month. 

Photo: Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk.

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:

Email subscribers can contribute via this link to paypal; use email sally.jo.sorensen at gmail.com as recipient.

Comments

[Marrsha Micek]

Puzzled by the headline: Isn't Ortman a Republican?

Editor's note: satire is hard.