According to an article in the March 19, 2016 print edition of the Morris Sun Tribune, Stevens County's Baker Township has passed an ordinance that restricts new livestock operations to 2500 animal units, as well as establishing setbacks and acreage requirements for feedlots.
The board had voted to ask Riverview Dairy to create an environmental impact statement for its proposed dairy in Stevens County's Baker Township.The vote was unique.
But the citizens of Baker Township and their hyper-local elected leaders aren't letting themselves become waifs among forces. Instead, they've passed the new ordinance described in the scanned article below. On the other side, Minnesota Milk has passed a resolution to gut the power of townships to respond to their citizens. Among the whereases:
WHEREAS, the Minnesota Milk Producers Association supports the development of a permitting, environmental review and compliance framework which would provide greater certainty with respect to permit and compliance requirements and timelines; and
WHEREAS , activist attorneys and/or special interest groups are misleading and influencing townships to adopt arbitrary and onerous zoning ordinances that conflict with federal, state and county permits, ordinances and other regulations which ultimately threatens Minnesota animal agriculture;
It's insulting to suggest that residents of local townships are mere pawns and putty in the hands People Who Aren't From Around Here. Instead, testimony from people in places like Baker Township value a rural quality of life that ginormous factory farms destroy.
Here's the article from the Morris Sun Tribune:
Photo: One of Riverview's giant dairy barns.
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Although Briana Bierschbach's recent profile in MinnPost provided a soft focus of Vernon Center Republican lawmaker Tony Cornish, those who watch him in action often see a much less pleasant side to his public persona.
Take Tuesday's meeting of the Minnesota House Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy and Finance Committee, which Cornish chairs. During the discussion of HF3260, a bill to allow local governmental units to draft some restrictions related to the residences of Level III sex offenders.
Cornish also criticized Roy over the placement of two sex offenders in his largely rural district.
“You folks aren’t doing a bang-up job right now of placing these folks,” he said. As an example, Cornish cited the case of “a black guy, a level III sex offender” who was placed in Minnesota Lake, which he described as a “totally white Anglo town.”
“How that could have happened I don’t know,” Cornish said.
The racially tinged soliloquy elicited an exasperated “Wow” from Rep. Raymond Dehn, DFL-Minneapolis.
Here's a Youtube of the moment:
We're surprised that Cornish doesn't know more about the case, since news of the hearing was in Blue Earth county's biggest paper last July.
About 150 people from the Faribault County town of 600 residents came to the school to hear Sarah Hustad of the state Department of Corrections explain that a predatory offender is set to move to the town when he's released from prison next week.
After a presentation by Hustad, an increasingly frustrated crowd asked questions and didn't get the answers they wanted to hear as they were told about 38-year-old Jela Deshaun Jones, his history of crime and his intent to live with a family member in Minnesota Lake. . . .
She said the law permits those released from prison to live in communities, work and live free of harassment. Jones will be under intense supervision when he is released, including wearing an GPS monitor and being forbidden from having any contact with minors.
But that supervision won't last long. In about six weeks Jones will have served all of his sentence and will be completely free of any requirements other than having to register with law enforcement as a sex offender if and when he changes addresses.
We understand Cornish's concern about sexual predators, but the "racially tinged soliloquy" makes us join Representative Dehn in saying "Wow" as well.
Jones was living in Le Sueur, Minnesota, when he was arrested at age 23 and convicted of sexually assaulting two sisters with whom he was acquainted. The younger girl was fifteen and Jones used alcohol to get her to "agree" to have sex with him; the older sister was seventeen when he crawled into her bed while she was sleeping and molested her.
He was convicted and served his time, but didn't do so well with earlier releases, Krohn reported:
He got out in 2010 but was sent back to prison four times since for violating terms of his release, including for drinking alcohol and for having porn. He was not re-arrested for any sex crimes.
Not a sympathetic character, but a man who lived in southern Minnesota at the time of his arrest--and one who is now living with a relative. While Cornish thought that living in Minnesota Lake would put pressure on Jones by causing his race to stand out, census figures for Le Sueur in 2000 reveal that only .03 percent (10 people) of the town was African-American. In 2010, tiny Minnesota Lake was .04 percent African-American (3 people). It's not an unusual situation for Jones.
Jones is from the area (his late mother lived in Mankato, LeSueur and St. Peter, according to court records), and another family member was living in Minnesota Lake at the time of his release. What dog was Cornish whistling when he made race the first consideration here?
Screengrab: Tony Cornish, R-Vernon Center, via The Uptake.
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Agriculture, food and energy industry Political Action Committees (PACs) are preparing in a big way for the upcoming presidential election, having already contributed a combined $24.9 million to political candidates in the first half of the 2015-2016 election cycle.
Farm groups and agribusinesses, along with food manufacturers, processors, retailers and their associations contributed just shy of $10.2 million to political campaigns in 2015. Almost three-fourths of those PAC dollars – 72 percent – went to Republican candidates, according to Federal Election Commission data assembled by the Center for Responsive Politics.
Energy PACs, including oil and gas companies, renewable energy producers, electric utilities and their respective industry groups, gave $14.6 million, with 78 percent going to GOP politicians. . . .
“PAC contributions are one tool we use” to develop relationships with candidates, Jon Doggett, executive vice president for the National Corn Growers Association, told Agri-Pulse. “But it’s not the number one tool,” or even the number two or three tool, he said. “We use it selectively… to support our friends that have supported us.” . . .
Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., the ranking member on the House Ag Committee, collected $209,525 in PAC funds from ag groups. Top contributors were Land O’Lakes ($10,500), the American Association of Crop Insurers ($10,000), the National Turkey Federation ($10,000), and the Southern Minnesota Sugar Beet Cooperative ($10,000).
That makes for a heady policy hotdish, but Bluestem thinks that Peterson's Independence Party and eventual Republican opponents are not likely to cook up much opposition based on these contributions. The dairy, turkey and sugar beet industries are key parts of the district's economy, and the Republican Party has tried to spin state-level DFL candidates as anti-agribusiness. F
Screengrab: Yep, our dear friends at the Minnesota 7th Congressional District Republican Party are feeling the Bern as you've never seen it before.
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In Carolyn Lange's article in Tuesday's West Central Tribune, Crowd shows up to discuss NLS transgender policy, we learn that he stepped out on Easter Weekend to urge people to object to New London-Spicer School Board's proposed transgender policy.
But the second school board meeting of the month — which Monday’s meeting was — is typically a “planning session” during which the NLS board does not take action or cast votes but hears updates on projects.
The agenda for the Monday meeting did not include the transgender policy. But many people in the community believed the issue would be discussed and voted upon.
An email that was circulated encouraged people to attend the Monday meeting and gave a summary of a meeting that was reportedly held at an area church on Saturday with Republican Rep. Tim Miller of Prinsburg.
The email said the goal of the church meeting with Miller was to “rally” people to attend the school board meeting to show their opposition to the transgender policy.
A copy of that email had been sent to NLS board members.
The school board will hear a second reading of the district’s proposed transgender policy at its April 11 meeting, Lange reports, and will secure a larger meeting room in order to accommodate the public.
We asked West Central Tribune editor Kelly Boldan about the church where Representative Miller encouraged people to turn out on Monday. It's The Harbor in Spicer, a congregation that's teamed with the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, "a Pentecostal denomination that resulted from the dynamic evangelistic ministry of Aimee Semple McPherson, who opened the historic Angelus Temple on Jan. 1, 1923," according to its website. Perhaps the most famous incident in McPherson's life is told in a Smithsonian article, The Incredible Disappearing Evangelist.
Update! New London homeowner and New London-Spicer High School graduate Erik Hatlestad has started a Facebook event page to organize in support of the new policy, Flush Away Transphobia: Fight Transphobia at NL-S.
Photo: Tim Miller, R- Prinsburg. While he's completely changed his public views on public funding for rural broadband projects and the notion that government can create jobs, he's not budging an inch on his anti-LGBT positions. Indeed, he's got boundary issues in going beyond his district to abuse the dignity of transgender students in the next legislative district over. Will the state be picking up his mileage on this one?
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As a constituent of state representative Tim Miller, R-Prinsburg, we're used to watching our fearless leader undergo 180-degree shifts in where he stands on policy.
Healthy and sustainable job growth resides in the private sector. Government is not capable of anything more than short term jobs because their [sic] is no incentive for profit...and therefore growth.
While overall crime is down, Minnesota is incarcerating a record number of people. This has led to prisoners being housed in local jails – giving rise to safety concerns for both staff and prisoners – has adversely impacted the Department of Corrections ability to provide adequate rehabilitative services to inmates, and is creating a significant financial burden on the state. Sen. Latz’s proposal contains several pieces of legislation that addresses these concerns. They include:
Fund the governor’s bonding request to increase the Challenge Incarceration Program at MCF-Togo and MCF Willow River.
Funding to increase capacity at MCF Lino Lakes and require that those beds be dedicated to mental health and chemical dependency (CD) treatment.
Appropriate money to expand the EMPLOY program which helps released offenders find employment.
Appropriate money for increased mental health and CD treatment services.
Appropriate money for re-entry programs that link offenders with services in the community to help them successfully rejoin their families and communities.
Take no legislative action on the proposed Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission changes to the sentencing grid in order to allow the changes to take effect.
Senator Latz said the reform package will move Minnesota toward national sentencing norms while better using our corrections system to rehabilitate our fellow citizens and still maintaining public safety. . . .
By last week, Representative Miller had experienced a change of heart, which he expressed in the most sincerest of words and facial expressions during an interview for a feature about the prison issue that was aired on TPT Almanac in the March 25, 2016 episode. The feature begins here at the 16:37 point and ends at 22:30 (TPT no longer supplies embed code since its site was redesigned, or we'd embed the entire clip).
Some of Miller's statements:
LaHammer: Did you know what you were getting into with this bill?
Miller: I believe that I did. . . .Even when I was campaigning, I said that this was a need and an opportunity out there, and so I campaigned, I said I'm going to help get the Appleton prison open again...
Is there potential for people to be wrongly accused and therefore wrongly and therefore in prison for the wrong reason? Does that happen? I believe so, but I believe the penal system in the United States is among the best in the world.
Do we need to look at sentencing reform? I'm all for it. Having people in for a little bit too long for the lesser offenses . . .
Then, after some footage of the hearing, the clip cuts back to an interview with Miller:
It's difficult to express this when I'm saying, "Open the Prison," but I want them to know that I do understand quite a bit, I don't quite understand, I appreciate that, but I understand their pain, their angst, and this disparity of African-Americans in the prison system I think is reflective of our society that we have a problem. And I want to be able to fix those things.
How crazy is that? We will be keeping an eye out for Miller's name on the House companion bills to the senate bills related to Latz's reforms.
Miller: Dayton equity programs are ACORN's handiwork
Unfortunately, Miller isn't convinced of measures that might address the other problems of racial disparities that are "reflective of our society." We're guessing that Mary LaHammer interviewed Representative Miller about the bill before the House broke for the Easter holiday.
By Good Friday, Miller was dissing items designed to address those larger racial disparities in the Governor's supplemental budget, sharing an Alpha News article while evoking the long shadow of the six-year dead group ACORN. Miller wrote this headnote on his Facebook wall:
We have not seen a plan to this point and have no idea what he intends to spend the money on. Don't be fooled by statements like "existing community programs". No one says they are effective or true to any proven efforts. Think ACORN.
The copy in the story from the conservative news service doesn't support that summary. The unsigned article reports:
Racial equity is a hot button issue being pushed by Black Lives Matter, Minnesota Neighborhoods Organizing for Change, and Minneapolis NAACP among others, but according to these groups change has not been achieved. The Star Tribune reports that each of these groups were able to voice their concerns to Dayton in the months leading up to the release of his proposed supplemental budget.
Included in Dayton’s proposal is funding for the Department of Human Rights, a statewide agency that addresses racial discrimination, workforce training, capital infusions to help businesses, and “equity and opportunity” grants. Of the proposed $100 million to be spent on equity programs, roughly $33 million would be at the discretion of the legislature. A clear depiction of Dayton’s proposed method of allocating funds can be seen below (numbers in the millions).
Would Representative Miller have evoked the name of ACORN to the people who appeared at last Tuesday's hearing to call out of turn about the injustice they perceive not just in re-opening the prison, but in spending money to lock people up rather than address disparities?
He certainly seems awfully compassionate when interviewed for public television it's likely that Mary LaHammer brings out the best in people. But on social media? Not so much.
Perhaps the groups who visited with the governor could make an appointment for an office visit with Representative Miller to explore his new-found interests in criminal justice reform and racial disparities.
Almanac: supporters "drove hours;" Appleton Option's bus did the driving
LaHammer reported that supporters from Appleton "drove hours" last week. That's not particularly accurate, since nearly all rode into town on a free bus, and received a free lunch as well. We see nothing wrong with the practice, though it should not be spun as individuals driving.
The photo above is from the pro-prison Appleton Option page post,We are on our way, so perhaps Alamanac's pity party might be toned down just a tad.
Moreover, whenever progressives bring in bus loads of people, we hear about employees of unions, non-profits and such being bused in. Sauce for the goose, sauce for the gander.
Photos: Still of Miller on Almanac (above); screengrab of Miller's "ACORN" post (middle); The Appleton Option's motor coach to last Tuesday's hearings.
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Gov. Mark Dayton visited the site of an explosive train derailment here Saturday, praising townspeople and first responders for their fast actions while using the situation to illustrate why he's pushing to upgrade rail crossings statewide. . . .
Upon visiting the Callaway crash site, the governor was surprised at how quickly the tracks were repaired. . . .
Dayton was complimentary of local leaders, singling out the local fire departments who worked together to extinguish the fire. It took 21 fire departments—most of which are staffed by volunteers—and 1 million gallons of water to put it out.
"How do you find 21 fire departments?" Dayton said. "They must have come from a long way."
The governor made sure to recognize all of the city and county officials and firefighters and first responders in attendance at City Hall for the meeting. He was complimentary of how the collision was handled and started several rounds of applause for individuals. He emphasized that they all deserve recognition even though they may be too "Minnesota modest" to accept it.
And if readers don't believe that, Brian Basham of the Detroit Lakes News snapped this picture of the governor pointing his finger, just like his adversaries always say.
Photo: Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton talks with citizens of Callaway, Minn., during a town gathering at the Callaway Event Center Saturday afternoon. The Governor was in town to tour the site of Thursday's train-semi accident, derailment and subsequent propane explosion. Brian Basham/DL Newspapers via the Grand Forks Herald.
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Albert Lean Gary Schindler, a DFL candidate for District 27A representative, said with this year’s shortened legislative session, the Legislature should focus on more important issues, such as passing a tax bill and expanding broadband Internet access that he said will positively benefit Greater Minnesotans.
Schindler, a dean at Riverland College, has a point.
Photo: Post-it note defense, via @e_austin on twitter.
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Rep. Collin Peterson, D-Minn., said he would vote for Bernie Sanders if he attends the Democratic National Convention as a superdelegate.
Sanders was the favorite in Peterson's 7th District during the Minnesota Democratic caucuses on Tuesday, March 1.
"I'm voting my district," Peterson said. "I'm going to vote for Bernie."
Peterson would only get to cast his vote if he attends the national convention July 25-28 in Philadelphia. Although he rarely attends his party's national convention, he said he might this year. As a House member, he automatically becomes a superdelegate.
"If my vote makes a difference, I'll probably go," he said in a recent meeting with The Forum Editorial Board.
Sanders, a senator from Vermont, has struck a chord with voters, especially younger voters, Peterson said. By coincidence, both Peterson and Sanders entered Congress in 1991.
"He's got something going," Peterson said of Sanders. "He's tapped into something.
We would have guessed that rogue banks, outsourced jobs, and other such things would be more accountable for pilfering the American dream than Sanders, who not only gathered DFL precinct caucus votes from McLeod County to Marshall County in MN7, but also attracts large crowds and friendly house finches to his rallies.
Photo: Collin Peterson plays guitar in a congressional gun-rights band, The Second Amendments
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The CCA hire illustrates not only the power of a national corporation, but the lucre offered by the revolving door for retiring law makers.
CCA, which owns the Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton, closed since 2010, is hoping to gain a revenue stream from an economic development scheme cooked up by Rep. Tim Miller and Swift County, with a paid assist from Goff Public to house male offenders. The prison would be leased, although there's some talk of purchasing the facility. We wrote about the plan extensively last year.
There's been substantial resistance to the idea from unions, faith-based groups, the criminal justice and probation reform movements, and Minnesota's newly-robust civil rights movement. At the Star Tribune, J. Patrick Coolican reported Wednesday in Dayton vows veto of Appleton prison reopening:
Gov. Mark Dayton said Wednesday he would veto any measure this year that seeks to reopen the privately owned prison in Appleton, Minn.
“It hasn’t been given any forethought,” Dayton said at a news conference.
The DFL governor said the state faces a significant problem with prison overcrowding, but that leaders must first consider less costly options before taking over and rehabbing a vacant prison.
And also:
The company has three registered lobbyists at the Minnesota Capitol.
We'll all probably see Gephardt's move into this market framed in the press as a move to given more DFL support. That would be possible only if one ignores Gephardt's clients for the past eleven years. Bluestem predicts that Minnesota press and the public relations firms that love them will do exactly that.
Nostalgia & its discontents: Gephardt no longer friend to progressives--or Armenians
Gephardt's last years of congressional service in the House (1977 to 2005) overlap with Governor Dayton's single term in the U.S.Senate (2001-2007), so perhaps that's was a selling point for purchasing former congressman Gephardt's services as a lobbyist.
Or maybe it's just an exercise in nostalgia.
A minimal amount of digging reveals that Gephardt quickly abandoned his legislative track record and caused as soon as he got on the other side of the revolving door from Congress to K Street. Do those protesting at Wednesday's hearing about the criminal justice system claim the system is rigged against them? They might be on to something.
As a member of Congress, Dick Gephardt often spoke passionately about the need for the United States to recognize as genocide the mass deaths of as many as 1.5 million Armenians under the Turkish government that began one century ago.
But as a lobbyist for Turkey since leaving Congress in 2005, Gephardt, a Democrat, has taken the opposite side. His behind-the-scenes work has been cited as a factor in the annual failure of Congress to recognize the Armenian genocide.
Justice Department records show that Gephardt’s lobbying firm has been paid more than $8 million since 2008 to fight the declaration and represent Turkey on other contentious issues, including repatriation of Christian holy sites seized over the last century in that Muslim nation.
Each year, Armenian Americans remember the massacres of hundreds of thousands of men, women and children in the aftermath of World War I. And each year, Congress becomes embroiled in a bitter debate between Armenia and Turkey over whether to label the episode as genocide.
The dispute has set off a lobbying frenzy this year in the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Chairman Howard L. Berman (D-Calif.) is scheduled to hold a vote Thursday on a nonbinding resolution that calls on President Obama to formally refer to the 1915 massacre as genocide and to use the term during an annual address on the topic next month. . . .
The resolution has prompted an aggressive push by the government of Turkey and its lobbying firm led by former House majority leaderRichard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.), who had urged recognition of the Armenian genocide when he was in Congress. Public-relations firm Fleishman-Hillard also has a contract with Turkey worth more than $100,000 a month, records show.
On May 5, 2010, former House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt (D-Mo.), wrote to Clinton’s chief of staff, Cheryl Mills, about a possible meeting for Boyner with the secretary of state. After leaving government service, Gephardt had founded his own lobbying shop and also did consulting work for bigger firms. In 2007, The New York Times reported that he was a top lobbyist for Turkey.
“I have been asked by the Turkish Embassy, who I represent, to request a meeting with Secretary Clinton for Mrs. Umit Boyner, a prominent Turkish business woman,” wrote Gephardt in his email to Mills. “Such a meeting could be whenever and wherever you determine most convenient for the Secretary — either in Washington, DC or Turkey.”
Remember Dick Gephardt, the former House House Majority Leader, mortal foe of NAFTA and overall friend of the working class? He’s a lobbyist now of course, and his firm, Gephardt Group, has boomed following the Democratic takeover of congress. Revenues for the firm — which helps clients “improve Labor Relations, develop Political and Public Policy Strategies and enhance Business Results by gaining access to new markets or partners” climbed from $500,000 in 2007 to $1.5 million last year.
Gephardt’s clients include Boeing, Goldman Sachs and Waste Management Inc. and just two days ago he signed up the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The disclosure form doesn’t say how much Gephardt will be paid and only vaguely describes what issues he’ll be working on. . . .
As a politician, he was a champion of progressive reform. Now he lobbies for its enemies. . . . .
While Gephardt spent most of his twenty-eight years in national Democratic politics quietly promoting and voting with establishment interests, he is best known for his friendship with labor and advocacy for universal healthcare during two presidential runs. In 2003 he harshly condemned corporate crime, which he said “ruined people’s lives for selfishness and greed,” and launched his candidacy claiming, “Every proposal I’m making, every idea I’m advancing has a single, central purpose: to revive a failing economy and give working Americans the help and security they need.” So why, six years later, was he on Capitol Hill representing one of the biggest players in the largest economic crisis since the Great Depression? And further, why was he recently working for Visa to kill credit card reform, helping Peabody Energy stymie climate change legislation and consulting for UnitedHealth Group alongside Tom Daschle to block meaningful healthcare reform? ....
On January 1, 2005–before Gephardt’s term had even expired–the Congressman’s son-in-law signed papers to form a consultancy firm based in Delaware called Gephardt and Associates (now the Gephardt Group). But for most of 2005 it lay dormant as Gephardt joined corporate boards and advised a few big-name companies. Banned from lobbying Congress for a year, he soon discovered there were places outside Washington that needed influencing.
Like California: when Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger introduced legislation that would have opened the door to increased infrastructure privatization in January 2006, Democrats in the legislature balked. So Goldman Sachs, standing to benefit from these policies, sent Gephardt as an emissary to Sacramento, hoping to persuade the state to monetize infrastructure by levying tolls and then leasing roads to private investors for decades. “I’ve done some work with Goldman Sachs in their capacity as adviser to both the City of Chicago and now the State of Indiana,” Gephardt told California lawmakers at a February 14, 2006, hearing, before extolling the virtues of infrastructure privatization if “negotiated properly.”
Several years on, the results have been lackluster. In certain cases, poorly negotiated contracts with little oversight have allowed high tolls and, because of failure to estimate the true value of the infrastructure, have given the private sector windfall profits at the expense of local communities. Transit grids have been fragmented, causing unpredictable congestion, leading to significant litigation.
Gephardt has remained committed to the cause of infrastructure privatization, visiting Nevada’s legislature in 2007, and at last year’s Democratic National Convention joining bankers from Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase to advocate for the practice on a panel discussion. By then, however, Gephardt had a new day job. In June 2005 he joined DLA Piper, a large Washington lobbying firm, as a consultant. He would not lobby, he told the Washington Post at the time; he would just offer “strategic advice.” His new boss had other ideas, however, telling the trade publication Influence a few days later, “Once he’s able to, he’ll lobby if that’s something that might be useful.” ...
Former House Democratic Leader Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.) has been hired to lobby for a major food-services company that has faced criticism from a powerful union.
Gephardt and Tom O’Donnell, his former chief of staff, have registered to lobby on “labor/management related matters” by Sodexo, according to lobbying disclosure records.
The French-owned company has been embroiled in a battle with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) over a labor organizing campaign, and Gephardt is known for his labor ties.
SEIU is running online ads that show videos of Sodexo employees complaining about worker conditions at the company. They have organized public protests of Sodexo and argue the company is paying its employees wages below poverty levels. . . .
The contracts with Gephardt’s lobbying group and Trammell and Co. represent the first time the food-services company has turned to outside lobbyists to work in Washington, according to a review of records by The Hill. Overall, the group has spent more than $5.6 million on internally hired lobbyists since 2002. . . .
Since creating the firm in 2005, Gephardt and his team have been hired to lobby for some of the most prominent names in business and finance. Boeing, Goldman Sachs, Visa and others have all hired Gephardt at some point, according to lobbying disclosure records.
Those lobbying contracts, however, have earned him the ire of labor groups. Last month, SEIU members protested Gephardt along with other well-known Democratic lobbyists, including Steve Elmendorf and Tony Podesta, in a large K Street rally.
Last week, an inside-the-Beltway newsletter, First Street, published a unique top-ten list. It reveals which former members of Congress are among the most important Washington lobbyists. . . .
A case in point is Richard Gephardt, who represented a working-class district in south St. Louis for 28 years. Gephardt served one year as chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, six as Democratic majority leader, and eight as Democratic minority leader. Through much of his congressional career he was a staunch ally of organized labor (his father was a member of the Teamster’s Union) fighting for the interests of trade unions on issue after issue. . . .
By 2010, annual firm billings had shot up from $625,000 in 2007 to $6.59 million. Gephardt’s client list was blue chip, Goldman Sachs (paid Gephardt $200,000 in 2010); Boeing Co. ($440,000); Visa Inc. ($200,000); Ameren Corp, the energy holding company ($200,000); and Waste Management Inc., the leading provider of trash and garbage removal ($320,000). . . .
The corruption inherent in the open revolving door between Congress and K Street is well described by Lawrence Lessig, a professor of law at Harvard, in his new book “Republic, Lost.”. . .
A decade ago, Dick Gephardt was one of the least affluent members of Congress.
In 2004, his final year in the House, he filed a financial disclosure form reporting a negative net worth.
Since leaving public office, he has built a multimillion-dollar annual income as one of Washington’s premier lobbyists.
Forty-two former members of Congress sit on Fortune 500 boards. But only one - Gephardt - sits on four.
A two-time presidential candidate, he is a director of Ford Motor, US Steel, Centene and CenturyLink. . . .
His lobby firm, Gephardt Group, represents nine Fortune 500 companies. The firm booked nearly $1.7 million in lobby fees from those clients last year. Its total haul for lobbying work was almost $4.8 million.
Gephardt also serves as an adviser to Goldman Sachs, a client of Gephardt Group.
Last year he personally collected $1.2 million in compensation for his Fortune 500 board activities. His stock holdings in those companies are worth more than $5.6 million.
Muckety provided a map of this web:
We're hoping our friends at the state office buildings manage to get selfies with Gephardt and the lawmakers he's visiting.
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He urged rural Republicans to talk to friends who are Democrats to impress upon them that voting in rural Democrats to the Legislature just empowers Twin Cities Democrats, who he called “radical leftists.”
Nice place-baiting there. Gruenhagen isn't the only McLeod County Republican mortified by the wicked ways of the opposing party. State Senator Scott Newman is deeply alarmed by young folks Feeling The Bern. Davis reports:
At the national level, Newman said he doesn’t understand why so many young people are supporting Democrat Bernie Sanders, who he called a socialist.
“They are literally being robbed of the American dream,” Newman said.
Those young people supporting Sanders likely agree about the American dream part, but like Sanders, pick a different suspect out of the lineup than Newman.
Photo: Glenn Gruenhagen at a recent meeting in Hutchinson.
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In the most recent McLeod County Chronicle article, McLeod County Republicans host convention, we found this item delivered by perennial Bluestem favorite, Glenn Gruenhagen:
He addressed the topic of illegal immigration, as both Minneapolis and St. Paul are sanctuary cities, cities with policies designed not to prosecute undocumented immigrants.
Gruenhagen said immigration is important to the nation, but illegal immigration hurts both the country and the undocumented immigrant. He said illegal immigration drives down wages and is supported by big business Republicans who want cheap labor and Democrats who want dependence on the government. The undocumented immigrants have it even worse, Gruenhagen said. They are exploited and abused.
“If you care about people at all you want to stop illegal immigration,” he said.
This is a variation on the meme at the top of this post, but importantly, he's lifted Minuteman Ron Branstner's tired old talking points and like Branstner, now claims only those working against undocumented workers are working for them.
He stressed that efforts should continue at the state and national levels to address illegal immigration, which he said hurts the state and country. He favors a system stressing legal immigration. Immigrants themselves are hurt by it because “they get exploited.”
“We need immigrants because when you kill 60 million children you need someone to work,” he said referring to abortion.
Meanwhile, Session Daily reports that Foreign ag workers exemption from overtime pay [was] considered by the House Ag Policy Committee Tuesday. That would effectively lower the wages of legal but temporary workers with H-2A visas. This one has bipartisan support.
But there seems to be a lot more of this sort of thinking in the Republican Party these days than on the left. On Tuesday, Rep. Tim Miller told the House Public Safety community that doldrums suffered by a female state offender in a county jail--chronicled in the Star Tribune--was a good reason to lease and re-open a private prison for men.
Indeed, committee chair Cornish and other Republican committee members seem so concerned with the welfare of the incarcerated that they're now eager to shutdown sentencing reform. We're guessing this will make sure the leased prison is filled with offenders who can be nurtured back to full participation in society. None dare call it a nanny state.
At one point during the first part of the meeting, Miller stumbled on a black toddler who crawled under his legs. That drew boos from some in the audience, and Miller said he did not want similar problems, so he supported the recess.
We'll give extra scrutiny to Miller's views on child care providers after that one.
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In the first test of a landmark environmental law, Minnesota has compensated two beekeepers whose hives were severely damaged last spring by toxic dust that drifted off the fields of a neighbor planting corn.
Investigators from the state Department of Agriculture confirmed, in effect, what beekeepers have been saying for years: Even when used according to law, the most widely used class of insecticides in the world are acutely toxic to honeybees under routine circumstances.
Even more importantly, said state Sen. Rick Hansen, the finding marks a precedent in the ongoing national fight over the controversial group of insecticides called neonicotinoids, which have been implicated in the decline of bees and other wild pollinating insects.
“This is the first action of any state, a finding of fact, that neonicotinoids are harmful to bees,” said Hansen, who sponsored the 2014 law that created the compensation system. “Once you have a state compensating people for a loss, it’s real.”
While this is a win for the beekeepers, we suspect that bees and wild pollinators in Minnesota will continue to bear the costs of Representative Paul Torkelson's addiction to lethal farm chemicals. The Hanska Republican insists--along with much of his caucus--that managers charged with the care of wildlife habitat being purchased with taxpayer dollars (dedicated to creating, preserving and protecting wildlife) should be able to use pollinator-lethal insecticides on those lands.
There's a lot of science-denying going around in that caucus in the House Environment committee, as MPR's Elizabeth Dunbar reported in House panel rejects U of M research projects.
Photo: Bees hibernating in a hive.
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As is common during local political conventions, the resolution phase was bogged down by people trying to offer amendments to the resolutions in an attempt to address technical minutiae that would only need to be addressed if the language was actually becoming law.
Nevertheless, during hours of deliberations the convention managed to hammer out a number of resolutions, mostly on social issues.
A resolution on education was split into two parts, only one of which passed. Language stating opposition to the Common Core program was successful, but the second part of the resolution expressing a desire that "God, Prayer and Religious Holidays" be put back in schools failed after attendees brought up the question of which religions in particular would be allowed.
We only wish we had been a fly on the wall for that one.
The website of the basic party operating unit (BPOU) includes a page on Family and Religion, which includes the following objectives:
1. Cultivate an environment in which the permanent institutions of family and religion can flourish and fulfill their role in maintaining ordered liberty in America. . . .
3. Unite religious and economic conservatives more effectively around the goal of restoring the family to its central role, both legally and culturally, and reviving religious liberty.
That key phrase--"religious liberty"--is likely code for being able to discriminate against those of whom they don't approve, like cute boys marrying each other and strong women living happily ever after. We'll wait with bated breathe for them to decide which permanent religions are a-okay for maintaining ordered liberty and which will best unite religious conservatives.
But first, we want them to be able to set up a calendar of holidays before they establish a state religion.
Meanwhile, the endorsing convention for House District 10A will take place on April 1. The seat is held by freshman Joshua Heintzeman.
Photo: CD8 Republican candidate Stewart Mills, the flag and some large potted plants at Central Lakes College, via the Brainerd Dispatch.
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In 2014, First Congressional District GOP candidate Jim Hagedorn gained national attention for his loutish opinions about Republican women leaders, American Indians, gay men and others, after Mother Jones published Tim Murphy's article, House Candidate Called Female Senators "Undeserving Bimbos in Tennis Shoes."
Hagedorn is muting his rhetoric this year as he runs his third campaign, but not his sentiment. There's a special moment in Jason Sorensen's article in the Fairmont Sentinel, Hagedorn challenging Walz, when the Blue Earth Republican responds to a voter's plea for moderation in immigration policy:
Another person stated that while he has been a Republican voter for most of his life, he is considering becoming an independent, because the Republican Party might be appealing to racist ideologies.
"If we're afraid of immigrants, the party is doomed," the man said. "One of the things I think we need to look at is that the American Dream is supposed to be a part of the Republican platform. We have to stop illegal immigration, but we need to reach out and be the party that says this is the land of opportunity, and we're going to give you opportunities to start families and businesses, and produce."
"I have to say that I take a very strong stand against illegal immigration," Hagedorn responded. "And I think we have to go back to the rule of law in those areas. It's not because we hate anybody or are afraid of anybody, but not everyone coming into the United States, legally or illegally has wanted to assimilate and become a part of the American dream."
It's not just undocumented immigrants Hagedorn takes issue with, but also those folks who enter the country and don't "want" to assimilate.
Bluestem suspects that Hagedorn's version of "assimilate" is much different than what actually happened as Europeans came to Minnesota. Some families in this stretch of the prairie continued to speak Norwegian in their homes and eating lutefisk (practices that were put to use by the US Army in WWII).
Indeed, The Atlantic looked at the question in Should Immigration Require Assimilation?, discovering that more recent immigrants have taken up "Americanism" just like earlier generations:
A close evaluation of Hispanic acculturation data suggests there was scant reason to worry that their growing presence in the country would dilute America’s national identity or lead to cultural separatism. The 2000 Fairfax County survey of Salvadoran immigrants like Call found that while 83 percent had arrived in the United States with no English at all, most of their children by the time of the survey spoke English well enough to translate for them. In a 2007 article, four political scientists examined available data for Hispanic immigrants and found that they “acquire English and lose Spanish rapidly beginning with the second generation” and that their educational attainment and political attitudes suggest “a traditional pattern of political assimilation.” A scholar at the RAND Corporation, after comparing the trajectories of various ethnic groups in America, found that “education advances made by Latinos are actually greater than those achieved by either Europeans or Asian migrants,” meaning that as a group their educational attainment rose steadily from generation to generation. Hispanics were joining the American mainstream, just as previous immigrants had.
That might not fit in so well with Hagedorn's politics of insult, but there it is.
Hagedorn is seeking to unseat Mankato Democrat Tim Walz, who was first elected in 2006. Walz is rumored to be considering running for Minnesota governor in 2018; incumbent Mark Dayton will not be seeking re-election.
Photo: New Americans take the oath of citizenship, COD Newsroom / Flickr via the Atlantic.
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At the request of the state legislature, the Office of the Legislature conducted a review of the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) and the result wasn't pretty.
Far afield, the Charlotte Observer picked up Kyle Potter's report for the Associated Press with the most painful headline of all for the unemployed workers on the Range suffering through the downturn in the nation's steel industry: Report: Iron Range investments may not create many jobs.
Range blogger Aaron Brown includes some wonderful historical photos about the agency in his post about the document, Report details serious problems at IRRRB, only with this conclusion:
. . . By its very nature, the OLA report could not be overly specific about each deal, but the general tone is clear: the IRRRB must reform its process of distributing money, and improve transparency and accountability in its decisions.
From a political science standpoint, the IRRRB is one conservative wave election away from being gutted. For that matter, change could even come from within the DFL. The Iron Range is losing political clout, population and influence at a rapid pace. That’s why, in my opinion, responding in good faith to fair criticism now is vital to the future of the Iron Range. . . .
Read the news reports beyond the headlines and as always, read everything Mr. Brown writes.
Here's the Youtube of the Legislative Audit Commission - Evaluation Subcommittee hearing on the release of the Office of the Legislative Auditor Report on the Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB).
The Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board (IRRRB) provides loans and grants for economic development in its northeast Minnesota service area. It also owns the Giants Ridge Recreation Area and the Minnesota Discovery Center museum.
Overall, IRRRB oversight and evaluation of its loans and grants are inadequate.
IRRRB did not adequately specify objectives—such as job growth—in many loan contracts we reviewed, and it collected insufficient evidence on how well loans met their objectives. Whether IRRRB provided loans to certain applicants that may not have needed them was unclear.
IRRRB does not require most companies to report the number of jobs they create using IRRRB subsidies. For companies that do provide job data, IRRRB relies solely on their self-reported data.
The database IRRRB uses to maintain information on loans is inaccurate and outdated. It lacks needed information, such as number of jobs created, to allow the agency to evaluate loans or their impacts.
For IRRRB grants, many files we reviewed that referred to job creation contained only vague estimates of job growth and had little evidence of achieving objectives.
Some of IRRRB’s grant programs did not consistently follow agency policies on reviewing applications, monitoring projects, or issuing payments to grantees.
From 2006 to 2014, Giants Ridge operating losses increased by more than 500 percent. IRRRB has subsidized operating losses with an average $1.9 million yearly. IRRRB has not set sufficient targets to measure how well Giants Ridge meets its stated goals.
State statutes on IRRRB’s governance structure are vulnerable to a constitutional challenge.
IRRRB has not adequately overseen the use and impacts of its loans and grants.
Key Recommendations:
IRRRB should explicitly analyze to what extent loan applicants can complete projects without IRRRB funding.
IRRRB should take steps, such as specifying in loan contracts the numbers of jobs that companies are to create, to ensure its loans actually help create jobs. It should also improve how it measures job creation.
IRRRB should more consistently determine how well its grants meet their stated objectives, including job creation.
IRRRB should ensure that all of its grant programs comply with agency policies.
IRRRB should regularly analyze the collective impact of its loan and grant programs on the area it serves.
IRRRB should measure Giants Ridge’s performance against its stated goals and determine whether the resort remains consistent with the agency’s mission.
Photo: It was all downhill at the Giant's Ridge ski resort, which received loans repeatedly from the IRRRB but suffered massive losses.
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During Wednesday's meeting of the Minnesota House's Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee, state representative Rick Hansen, DFL-South St. Paul, offered amendment H2611A26, designed to make sure that land acquired for wildlife habitat preservation in this year's Lessard Sams Outdoor Heritage bill not be planted or otherwise treated with a product that contains a pollinator lethal insecticide, as defined by Minnesota law.
Hansen, who managed a pesticide applicator program at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture before being elected to the House in 2004, holds a B.S. in biology, Upper Iowa University and an M.S, in soil management, Iowa State University. Minority lead on the environment committee, he has emerged as a champion for pollinators. Last month, he published It's time for action on Minnesota's pollinators in the Star Tribune.
Hansen: Thank you, Mr. Chair, just like with a couple of your amendments, I've passed this out of this committee last year, it is saying that land acquired with money in this section, so it's this bill, not previous bills or any future bills, that these [lands] shall not be planted or otherwise treated with a product that contains a pollinator lethal insecticide, and that is one that is on the label that it kills bees and other pollinators, so it is an enforceable choice that te land managers could make, on choosing not to use these insecticide.
I move the ...amendment and encourage its support. I think--I got a copy of the [state] Constitution here and it says that "funds deposited in the Outdoor Heritage Fund maybe spent only to restore, protect and enhance wetlands, prairies, forests and habitat for fish, game and wildlife."
When we talk about these funds we often talk about fish and game and we don't talk about wildlife and the wildlife can be things that you don't hunt or fish for. It can be the small wildlife, the little things, and we need to pay attention to the little things, the things that are at the beginning of the food, because then the things that we hunt may not be there if they don't have anything to eat.
So I think this is a reasonable step on the use of public funds. I think it would help meet the constitutional requirements to protect wildlife, and it's a small step that can be done to protect pollinators with our public resources.
McNamara recognizes Hanska Republican representative Paul Torkelson who raises this objection:
. . .I'd just like to speak against this amendment. While we certainly do have an issue with pollinators, including bees, this is not an appropriate response. There's no scientific proof that this will benefit them in any way and these [pesticides] are very useful tools for agriculture.
We're rather surprised that Torkelson would say this, since scientists at the Minnesota Department of Agriculture Pollinators Summit brought up concerns about the relationship between pesticide use, disease, parasites and quality habitat.
Indeed, the artwork at the top of this post is drawn from the presentation at the summit by internationally respected pollinator expert Dr. Marla Spivak, who's been honored by everyone from the MacArthur Foundation to our dear friends at the AgriGrowth Council. Laura Corcoran's charming drawing illustrates the point that foraging areas for bees and other pollinators help them detox and build their immune systems from damage by stressors like parasites, disease and pesticides.
Since Representative Torkelson is listed as having attended the Summit, according to a spreadsheet obtained from the Environmental Initiative, we're not sure how he missed this information.
In a blog post, Better Together for Bees, Greg Bohrer describes the process of small group meetings in which we passed along what we thought were the best ideas around each table. Our first group included a pollinator researcher from the Minnesota Zoo, a biologist from the DNR, a couple of beekeepers, a pesticide activist, and representatives from CHS and Monsanto.
Our top recommendation was "The Hansen Plan" outlined in his commentary, It's time for action on Minnesota's pollinators in the Star Tribune. The report back from the Summit isn't out yet, but it would certainly be helpful for the ongoing committee hearings.
Many species of wild bees, butterflies and other critters that pollinate plants are shrinking toward extinction, and the world needs to do something about it before our food supply suffers, a new United Nations scientific mega-report warns. . . .
One of the biggest problems, especially in the United States, is that giant swaths of farmland are devoted to just one crop, and wildflowers are disappearing, Potts and others said. Wild pollinators especially do well on grasslands, which are usually more than just grass, and 97 percent of Europe's grasslands have disappeared since World War II, Potts said.
England now pays farmers to plant wildflowers for bees in hedge rows, Watson said.
There are both general and specific problems with some pesticide use, according to the report.
"Pesticides, particularly insecticides, have been demonstrated to have a broad range of lethal and sub-lethal effects on pollinators in controlled experimental conditions," the report said. But it noted more study is needed on the effects on pollinators in the wild. Herbicides kill off weeds, which are useful for wild pollinators, the report added.
Hansen's proposal is indeed reasonable, removing pollinator-lethal pesticides from one year's worth of Outdoor Heritage Fund wildlife habitat project public lands. It does not ban all pesticides on the public lands, nor does it affect private landowners engaged in agriculture on their property.
Torkelson? We have to wonder if he slept through the morning lectures at the Summit. It's unfortunate that his cry from the heart persuaded his colleagues to reject Hansen's amendment.
Artwork: Drawing by Laura Corcoran, via Dr. Spivak's presentation at the MDA Pollinators Summit in mid-February.
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Despite citizens opposition to the funding, Minnesotans will be using money earmarked for conservation for a study that will grease the way for expanding potato industry giant R.D. Offutt's pesticide-intensive agriculture on to pinelands.
The statement from the Toxic Taters Coalition and the Pesticide Action Network:
This morning, members of the House Environment and Natural Resources Policy and Finance Committee voted in favor of $1.5 million in funding for an unprecedented study on the impacts of RD Offutt Company’s expansion into the Pineland Sands aquifer. The funding was added as a last-minute amendment to a bill for projects recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR), although LCCMR members neither reviewed nor recommended the Pineland Sands study for funding.
“Our legislators and our regulatory agencies are concerned about the potential impacts of RD Offutt’s potato production in the Pineland Sands aquifer — and rightly so,” said Lex Horan of Pesticide Action Network. “But there is a sound public process already in place to gather this information: environmental review. We’re disappointed that DNR rejected a petition from local residents calling for basic environmental review. Now, DNR and legislators have proposed using money earmarked for conservation for a study that will pave the way for ongoing expansion of RDO’s pesticide-intensive agriculture.”
During the hearing, committee chair Representative Denny McNamara (R - 54B) suggested that the study was the result of an agreement among the Department of Natural Resources, RD Offutt Company, and community stakeholders. In fact, the study was designed by DNR and RDO without community input. In January, Toxic Taters, along with allies from Pesticide Action Network, Land Stewardship Project, and the White Earth Land Recovery Project, met with potato giant RDO and DNR to advocate for a stronger and more transparent study. However, negotiations ended in February when RDO left the table. No agreement was reached.
“We met with RDO and the DNR. We’ve shared with them our concerns. We did not come to any agreement. RDO walked away from the table before any serious negotiations even began. What Representative McNamara said about an agreement was simply wrong,” said Toxic Taters Coordinator Amy Mondloch.
“The residents near the potato fields do not want the Pineland Sands to be sacrificed for potatoes. By all means study the impacts of the intensive pesticide use of companies like RDO on the environment and human health. Research how corporate farming methods can be improved, but do it in areas where there is damage to be repaired, not on pristine land. Don’t destroy forests and water for corporate greed. It’s that simple,” added Mondloch.
Here's the discussion in the committee, where both state representative Dan Fabian, R-Roseau, and state representative Denny McNamara, R-Hastings both fram the study as an agreement reached by the DNR, RDO (R.D. Offutt) and stakeholders in the area, including those who oppose conversion of the pinelands to potato fields.
We think it's clear that all stakeholders are equal around this table, but some are more equal than others.
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A ban on frac sand mining in Winona County would be possible, but fraught with legal concerns.
And a voter referendum on a ban? No chance, at least in Minnesota.
That was the opinion the Winona County Attorney’s Office provided this week to county commissioners and residents, amid a renewed swell of calls for the county to consider an outright ban on the practice. . . .
Minnesota law does not prevent imposing a total ban on frac sand mining, processing and transportation operations in Winona County, according to a new legal analysis released today by the Land Stewardship Project (LSP). The analysis, “Legal and Practical Considerations in Support of a Zoning Ban on Frac Sand Operations in Winona County: A Review of Minnesota Statutes, Case Law, and County Policy,” was written by attorney Leili Fatehi and documents why a ban on any new frac sand mining, processing and transportation operations is by far the most appropriate policy for Winona County to adopt.
"No Minnesota statutory or case law supports a conclusion that counties can't entirely ban frac sand operations by zoning ordinance, nor, for that matter, that a ban is legal only when the county can prove regulations would be insufficient,” said Fatehi, who is an expert on legal and policy issues related to the environment, health, science and technology, and who teaches at the University of Minnesota Law School. “The reality is that, not only will courts presume such a ban by zoning ordinance is legal, but it's also easier for a county to defend than a denial of a permit through regulatory measures."
Since June 2015, LSP has led a grassroots campaign calling for a frac sand ban in Winona County. This southeastern Minnesota county has been heavily targeted in recent years with proposals to mine and process vast quantities of sand for the use of the oil and gas industry in hydraulic fracturing in other states. . . .
Read the rest at LSP's website site. Here's the report:
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Minnesota House Outdoor Recreation and Mining Committee Tom Hackbarth, R-Cedar, didn't see the last person stroll from the committee hearing room gallery to the table where agency personnel, lobbyists and ordinary citizens had been presenting their views on HF3209, which would prohibit the DNR from adopting rules to further restrict the use of lead shot.
No additional witnesses had come forth when Hackbarth had asked a few minutes earlier, and his attention was focused on remarks opposing the bill by his colleague Jack Considine, DFL-Mankato. Considine's opposition was spirited yet civil, keeping with the tone of entire hearing over the controversial issue.
Hackbarth almost missed Mitch Abramson sitting at the table, but the committee aides at his side drew his attention to the last to testify and Hackbarth asked him to say his piece about the lead shot rulemaking prohibition.
Sporting a t-shirt featuring a green-gilled fright night portrait of Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, the St. Paul man didn't get to the business at hand:
Mitch Abramson, St. Paul. Thank you for allowing me to speak.
And just a quick thing. Slippery slope. We've seen it for the last fifty years.
We were told you could keep your doctor and now pretty soon, communist, left-wing fascists (points at the side of the committee where Considine was seated) like we have here, will be saying based on your political position, are you even going to get a cancer treatment?
As we go further down this ---
At this point, Considine interrupted:
Mr. Chair, I resent the name-calling and I would like to have this stop.
Abramson turned to Considine, saying:
Left-wing fascist? Have you seen the Trump rallies?
Abramson rose, Hackbarth thanked him for his testimony, while Considine shot back:
Enjoy yourself
Abramson: I do!
Trump hasn't held a rally in Minnesota. Here's the clip, which will start at the point just before Abramson's peculiar testimony:
A number of testifiers spoke both for and against the bill, which was approved on an 11-3 roll-call vote and referred to the House Government Operations and Elections Policy Committee. There is no Senate companion.
Most agreed lead is harmful, but several supporters of the bill said scientific evidence does not show lead shot harms entire wildlife populations. They also argued the ban would make hunting more expensive, and some thought it could open the door to further regulation of hunting in the future.
Opponents of the bill, several of whom were hunters themselves, said the ban was needed to help limit the impact of a dangerous element from the ecosystem – in the same way lead paint and lead batteries are being removed.
We were unable to find anything online about a Mitch Abramson who lives in St. Paul, but certainly understand why Hackbarth had been asking those testifying to be brief.
Screengrab: Mitch Abramson testifying about something or the other on Wednesday afternoon.
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Goodhue County Public Works Director Greg Isakson reported at the March 1 County Board meeting that a resolution had been drafted stating that the County is opposed to the proposed Zip Rail project that was suspended last month by MnDOT. The resolution will be sent to Mn/DOT, Commissioner Zelle and to Olmsted County, and will be added to the comments about the content in the Alternatives Analysis document.
The resolution is strongly worded and states: "This project is not consistent with local plans, and it is presumptuous and downright wrong to imply passive support for a project simply because the County's Comprehensive Plan is mute to the issue. It would create substantial and unacceptable adverse environmental, economic and social impacts on the lands and citizens of Goodhue County. The Goodhue County Board of Commissioners hereby declares there is no support for, and there is opposition to the Zip Rail project as presented in past meetings, past reports, and envisioned in the last study before the project was suspended, specifically the Alternatives Analysis project for the Investment Plan and the Tier 1 EIS study."
The resolution is important because comments in the Alternatives Analysis infer that local governments and communities were in favor of the Zip Rail project. Rechtzigel noted that over 25 cities, townships and agricultural co-ops in Goodhue County have also sent in resolutions stating that they are opposed to the project.
Commissioner Brad Anderson suggested that when the new County Comprehensive Plan is updated, it should state that whatever project comes forward in the future, it must benefit Goodhue County or approval will not be granted.
Why was this resolution necessary? Isn't the ZipRail Project dead? Sadly, private rail promoters have been bitten by the walking corpse of ZipRail and simply seem to keep coming.
We're not sure from the Cannon Falls Beacon exactly where the MNDOT report implied local support, but we did find this sort of thing in the text
Clearly, the Goodhue County Board doesn't think the project was consistent with its land use plans, and will be strengthening language when updating its new County Comprehensive Plan.
Secondly,the original business plan for the North American High Speed Rail Group's private "Velos" high speed passenger rail line between the Twin Cities and Rochester implied that local governments had reviewed and approved the concept. We wrote back in November:
The first was this statement on page 3 for Stage I: Proof of Concept Assessment: Rail and Real Estate:
Obtained acceptance and approval by Federal, State, County and Municipal governments.
The suspicions of citizens living in "fly over" area where no stops have been planned seem confirmed by this sort of assertion. We have not found "approval" of the project--or the Ziprail before it--by Goodhue County. Quite the contrary.
Moreover, while the spokester for the private bullet train and other supporters frequently note publicly that their project is much different from the Ziprail, the business plan asserts that earlier studies for the Ziprail are being used to support their project. We're not sure they can have it both ways.
We'll watch to see if the private group cribs the "pro" concept language from the MNDOT report. Perhaps more importantly, we'll look to see whether the Twin Cities press manages to report on local government opposition as well, rather than lazily spinning this as a tale of angry residents against the shiny thing.
The line, which would reach speeds between 180 and 200 mph, is expected to sustain itself financially, even without any business development attached to the project, she said.
Still, new development is an integral part of the project, she said. The group currently doesn’t own any property, but that would change if plans move forward.
“So we see the rail as the centerpiece of an overall project,” Meadley said during the meeting. “We will buy land and create end-point stations.”
No public funds are requested for the project, with all project planning and capital funding requirements provided through private sources, and all operating costs supported by farebox revenues as well as related commercial, institutional, mixed use and industrial development revenues.
If project "needs" development property for operating costs, must neighbors sell?
What if those along the line don't want to sell their property so that Wendy Meadley and her investors can prosper, but simply want to tend their land peaceably as their families have for generations, just like Naboth sought to do in his vineyard in the Old Testament?
Fortunately, present landowners won't be facing Jezebel's covetous stinkeye, but it's possibly for private railroads--even those that aren't using public money to build and operate their projects--to use eminent domain (condemnation).
As a private entity, what is their process for land acquisition?
We do not know that yet. They can have eminent domain authority if they become a private railroad but they would have to get that authority from the Surface Transportation Board (STB).
Railroad corporations have the power to acquire land by purchase or eminent domain. This applies to any land that is needed for roadways, spur and side tracks, rights-of-way, depot grounds, yards, grounds for gravel pits, machine shops, warehouses, elevators, depots, station houses, and all other structures necessary for the use and operation of the road.
Every foreign and domestic railroad corporation shall have power to acquire, by purchase or condemnation, all necessary roadways, spur and side tracks, rights-of-way, depot grounds, yards, grounds for gravel pits, machine shops, warehouses, elevators, depots, station houses, and all other structures necessary or convenient for the use, operation, or enjoyment of the road, and may make with any other railroad company, such arrangements for the use of any portion of its tracks and roadbeds as it may deem necessary.
According to the North American High Speed Rail Group's business plan for the "Velos" private train, side real estate developments along the line will pay for the train, rather than ticket sales. In short, residents along the line face the distinct possibility that a private corporation with absolutely no track record can force them to sell their land along MnDOT right-of-ways, so that the corporation can use it to underwrite speculative real estate developments.
Remember: the rail group's strategic communications director told the City Pages:
It is the North American High Speed Rail Group's interest to plan, design, build and operate this passenger rail corridor through a private funding approach. In this way a full range of economic development opportunities that complement the passenger rail service can be included in a new financial model. When combined, the economics of a project like this are integrated and amplified in a new business model focused on a larger development landscape.
We'd wondered how Social Wendy would acquire property for that vision if the family farmers now occupying the land weren't willing to quit that imaginary landscape.
We'll go out on a limb here and suggest that this project is the sort of pro-professional policy that Thomas Frank decries (in a different context in a recent column for the New York Times). People in the way of a shiny new thing to convey the New Economy’s winners 77 miles between The Cities and Rochester? What losers.
Surely, if everyone connected with this project is so gung-ho on making this a truly private project, they'll get on board and support the bill. Right?
Photo: The Rolling Dead, because regardless of the impossibilities of a short line in relatively a small transportation market, this thing just won't die.
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