During Thursday night's Minnesota House floor debate, Rep Debra Hilstrom, DFL-Brooklyn Center, offered an amendment to ban private prisons in Minnesota. Rep. Tim Miller, R-Prinsburg, engaged in a moment of self-pity for the City of Appleton and himself.
The response to Miller's statement that the opposition to the plan to lease the prison was about having something against Appleton or him was rebuked swiftly by two of his colleagues.
First, Dan Schoen, DFL-Cottage Grove, who grew up in Miller's district, rose to object, explaining what the objections were that he had raised in community, including trying to find alternative economic development--and the way in which CCA itself had left Appleton behind by closing the prison.
Next, Hilstrom rose to explain that she's been carrying legislation to ban private prisons for years, long before the freshman from Prinsburg came to St. Paul.
Here's Miller's moment of self pity over the Hilstrom amendment and part of the response.
Here's a lightly edited (pre-meeting mingling is removed) video meeting with "those people" in North Minneapolis again. We are impressed with Miller's willingness to meet with people in North Minneapolis, but a bit taken back by his representation of it on the House floor:
A proposal that would reopen the Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton took its biggest step forward to date.
The Minnesota House of Representatives approved an omnibus bill early Friday morning that includes an amendment by Rep. Tim Miller, R-Prinsburg, to reopen the 1,600-bed prison. The amendment requires the state to contract to operate and purchase or lease to own the privately owned Prairie Correctional Facility.
“I can’t say we’re always moving forward by leaps and bounds, but what’s been remarkable and I’m very thankful for and I’m very encouraged by, this whole thing always continues to move forward,’’ said Rep. Miller when reached by phone Friday. . . .
Sen. Ron Latz, DFL-St. Louis Park, has expressed his opposition, and it’s his committee which would need to hear the bill, Koenen explained.
Gov. Mark Dayton has also said he would veto legislation to reopen the facility.
The House action to include Miller’s amendment assures the prison measure is alive for debate when a House and Senate conference committee is formed later to rectify differences in legislation from the two chambers.
In short: behind closed doors.
Photo: The prison in Appleton.
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Bluestem wasn't the only reading the news article.
Today's Fergus Falls Journal published a guest column by Underwood resident and Women’s Foundation of Minnesota vice-chairVictoria McWane-Creek, Coverage of Bigwood speech inaccurate. McWane-Creek, who attended the lecture, writes:
I was appalled at the coverage of Lt. Col. Rice’s lecture for the Bigwood event series. The print edition’s headline seemed sensational and the content regurgitated Rice’s perspective; reporting lacked attendee feedback, offered no alternative perspective, and provided no relevant context. I attended expecting to hear this accomplished woman’s incredible story. Instead, Rice delivered a treatise on how the Republican Party is for blacks, how there is no real racism, how middle class White people are the most discriminated against group, and the “real” civil rights history. To summarize, Rice does not personally experience racism and concludes that racism and institutional discrimination no longer exist.
Rice’s conclusion rests on the belief that the Constitution guaranteed equal opportunity for all. This is a distorted belief based on an assumption that the Constitution valued inclusion. Missing from Rice’s assessment, and the Journal article, was the intent that white, landed men only benefit from its protection and rights; ignoring the documented legacy of unequal application of laws where black, native, Japanese, Muslim, and gender non-conforming people are concerned (e.g. mass incarceration, education, health, wealth and income disparities, and death at the hands of authority etc.) Some laws sought to diminish non-whites access while others sought to privilege whiteness (see Alexander’s The New Jim Crow, Harris-Perry’s Sister Citizen, or Katznelson’s When Affirmative Action was White). . . .
Listening to Rice, I thought of The Invisible Gorilla. It investigated how attention, memory, and knowledge distort beliefs, they contended that “the distorted beliefs we hold…are not just wrong, but wrong in dangerous ways” (Chabris & Simons, 2010, p. 68). Distorted beliefs are automatic and do not require or welcome close examination. Mezirow wrote that distorted premises lead to viewing “reality in a way that arbitrarily limits what is included…or does not facilitate integration of experience” (1991, p. 118).
Racism and institutional discrimination are powerful socio-political constructs that society has yet to dismantle. Rice posits a dangerous notion that encourages a false sense of accomplishment — without supportive evidence. Considering that unarmed black people are more likely to be killed by those authorized to use deadly force, our education system often fails students of color, significantly higher black unemployment, drastically less black wealth, and that my family faces racial profiling whenever we relocate, not challenging this notion is dangerous. The structures that generate “barriers and disadvantages for some and privileges and advantages for others’’ remain (Burke, 2013, p. 840).
This article forwards the unchallenged notion that white privilege and discrimination no longer exist and intimates that society eliminated institutional impediments to opportunity. I expect journalists to apply their craft, provide context, and use multiple perspectives. Furthermore, I hope that subsequent coverage enlightens readers, provides necessary context, challenges assumptions, utilizes data, allows readers to connect authentically with the issues, and builds a more informed citizenry.
Underwood resident Victoria McWane-Creek is pursuing a doctorate of educational leadership at Concordia University and is a public conversations project practitioner.
An Underwood woman has been named vice chair for the Minneapolis-based Women’s Foundation of Minnesota.
Victoria McWane-Creek has dedicated her personal and professional life to lifting the voices of people left on the margins of society, including youth, people in poverty and survivors of sexual abuse, according to a news release.
She currently works as a Title III student success coach at Minnesota State Community and Technical College in Fergus Falls.
Along with her service to the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota, McWane-Creek currently serves on the Rural Minnesota Concentrated Employment Program Youth Advisory Council and the Women of Color and Native Women’s Leadership Council.
She is currently working on her doctor of education degree with Concordia University- Portland, and holds a master’s degree in instructional design and technology from the University of North Dakota and a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Oregon University.
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Peterson is garnering national attention for his support of Bernie Sanders, but thinks Donald Trump would be a better president, at least for agricultural interests, than Ted Cruz. . . .
"I'd be more comfortable with him (Trump) than Cruz," said Peterson, the ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee. Peterson spoke Tuesday on Capitol Hill with members of North American Agricultural Journalists during the group's annual convention. . . .
Peterson, generally considered a moderate Democrat, has surprised many political observers with his support of Sanders, the Democratic presidential candidate known for his liberal positions. But Peterson said Democrats in his staunchly Republican district support Sanders, and he feels obligated to do the same.
"I'm getting letters from all over the United States, praising me," Peterson said.
He said he agrees with Sanders on some, but not all, issues. "I don't agree with anyone all the time," he said.
Hillary Clinton, who's also seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, has some understanding of agriculture, reflecting her background in Arkansas, Peterson said.
Trump is "a big-picture guy" who "would hire good people," Peterson said.
In contrast, Cruz, the Texas Republican senator who's running against Trump, is a vocal critic of federal farm programs that U.S. farmers need, Peterson said.
Minnesota Republicans selected Marco Rubio at their precinct caucuses.
Peterson said our elections are poisoned by money and special interests. Campaigns should be two months, he said, and publically funded.
He said Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders are a little like him, because they speak their minds.
"I tell the truth," he said. "whether or not people want to hear it."
That's not exactly feeling the Bern, but one can't fault Peterson for speaking his mind.
Photo: Congressman Collin Peterson, still a-picking and a-grinning. Bluestem Prairie's World Headquarters is located inside Peterson's district.
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Gruenhagen pointed the finger at the Minnesota Family Investment Program, which helps families with children meet their basic needs, while helping parents move to financial stability through work.
“Our welfare system is undermining the family system,” he told the audience of about 20.
While Gruenhagen has been criticized for waging a war on poor people, he believes reducing waste and fraud will result in more money being available for those who are eligible.
“(We) subsidize as a government promoting women having children out of wedlock,” he said. “You cannot print up enough money to take care of all the problems and you’re talking to somebody who did 13 years of jail ministry without pay and I was glad to do it. ... People are still responsible for their actions, but when a government subsidizes the destruction of the two-parent family ... get behind me and people like me to reform the system, get rid of the waste and abuse and begin restoring the traditional family instead of penalizing it ...”
What's wrong with the Minnesota Family Investment Program?
This notion that the Minnesota Family Investment Program is intended to destroy families is nothing new as far as the things that fly out of Gruenhagen's mouth go. But before we review that malicious history, it's worth looking at the program that Gruenhagen is trashing.
The Minnesota Family Investment Program (MFIP) is designed to help low-income families and pregnant women with job skills and income assistance. However, a Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid report released in February found that the program has not been adjusted for inflation since 1986.
If families meet “an initial income test, an initial asset limit of $2,000, and provide needed verifications” the MFIP provides in return a monthly benefit that includes cash and food assistance. An unemployed single parent with two children, for example, can get $532 and food benefits of $446.
The participant receives job training, must seek employment for at least 30 hours per week for up to six weeks, and gets their GED if under age 20 and didn’t finish high school.
“What someone was getting [in assistance] in 1986 is the same amount of money they would be getting today,” explained State Senator Jeff Hayden (DFL-Minneapolis) in a recent conversation with the MSR. ...
“We know [those receiving assistance from the MFIP] want to work and do better,” continued Hayden. “This is an opportunity to give them the basic dollars for them and their family to survive. They still need help in job skills to take care of themselves.”
Also, there is a 60-month time limit in the MFIP program, Hayden pointed out. “They have five years to use the benefits, and [after that] they’re gone.”
These are the details of the program that Gruenhagen believes exists to destroy families--and this isn't the first time Gruenhagen frames MFIP in these terms.
2013: Gruenhagen claims "welfare" tells men to "impregnate as many women as they want"
On a 2013 House floor debate, Gruenhagen claimed "welfare" encouraged black men to "impregnate as many women as they want." Bluestem reported:
In today's debate in the Minnesota House of Representatives, firebrand Representative and insurance agent Glenn Gruenhagen (R-Glencoe) introduced amendments--and controversy--into the fractious debate over HF5, a bill to create a state-run health care exchange.
When a country undermines traditional marriage, it cannot print up enough money to take care of all the problems that happen in our society. And we need to look no further than our welfare program and the black families in this country. Prior to the great society programs of the 60s the out of wedlock birth among black families was approximately, or was under 20 percent. Today that in the inner city, the out of wedlock birth for black families is over 80 percent. And one of the primary reasons for that is that we have developed government programs that will pick up the tab for having children out of wedlock. The result is we exploit our women, we create a bad situation for our children, especially minorities and we tell men that they can impregnate as many women as they want and the government will pick up the tab. I think we need to stop that philosophy not expand it as the ah.. with the credit in the health insurance exchange. Thank you. Representative….
Thank you madam speaker. I think we're pretty far afield here from the bill and even from the amendment with some of the comments that have been made. But I think it's just really important to at least correct the record in one respect. First of all, in Minnesota right now when people are on our MInnesota Family Investment Program, what a lot of people like to call welfare, and they have an additional child, they don't get any more money. They don't get more money. And what they do get is very, very low. So we have a welfare program that does not incentivise anybody to be on welfare. No rational person would want to be on welfare with what they get here and they certainly not incentivised to have any additional children.
We pointed out that Gruenhagen had made similar statements before:
. . .Consider our government run welfare system. After spending approximately $6.5 trillion to eliminate poverty, the poverty rate in this country is the same or worse than when the government declared war on poverty over 40 years ago. Government run welfare programs are little more than a government subsidized prostitution program paying extra money to women who have children out of wedlock. This has contributed to over a 70% out of wedlock birth rate for Americans with an African heritage. Also, welfare provides financial support to able bodied men instead of incentives for an honest days work. . . .(page 6)
In the kindle version of the 2012 book, Gruenhagen has moderated his language:
Government run welfare programs are like a subsidized surrogacy system that provides financial rewards to women who give birth to children out of wedlock. This creates even more dependency on government. Today, more than 70 percent of births to African-American women are out of wedlock. Dr. Alan Keyes, in Masters of the Dream, showed that even during slavery, less than 17 percent of babies were born to single women whose men may not have been married to them (in the sense of civil law) but were with them at birth. In 1965, as the welfare war commenced, Keyes showed that 17 percent of African-American babies were born out of wedlock. Federal welfare programs destroyed the African-American family.
Government welfare programs provide financial support to able-bodied men instead of strong incentives for an honest day’s work. . . .(Chapter 6)
The notion that "welfare" might harm African-American families was popularized by the late U.S. Senator and Kennedy administration official Daniel Patrick Moynihan, but there's no consensus about causal relationships between out-of-wedlock births, race, and income. Indeed, some authorities suggest that lack of economic opportunity itself leads to lower marriage rates.
There's that. Another point that Minnesota's black leaders are raising is that mass incarceration--and the difficulties ex-offenders find in finding jobs while re-uniting with their families--destroys families. Perhaps Gruenhagen would benefit from attending a town hall in Senator Jeff Hayden's district.
Photo: Glenn Gruenhagen marching in a parade.
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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:
You're invited to attend- REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT AND AGENDA 21 By RON BRANSTNER, LITTLE FALLS BALLROOM, 15870 MN 27, LITTLE FALLS, MN, FRIDAY, APRIL 29, 2016, 6:30 – 9:00 PM. Mr. Branstner has been traveling the central MN region educating on the cost and effects of immigration to small communities. He believes freedom isn’t free and neither is charity if your hand is in some one else’s pocket.
Lovely.
In Judge people on character, not race or religion, Morrison County Record editor Tom West concedes that perhaps "family of Somali Muslims enrolled seven children in the Little Falls schools" ought not be held responsible for the litany of terrorist attacks he eagerly shared with his readers.
West writes:
For more than a year, a rumor has been flying around town that up to 1,000 Somalis are moving to Little Falls. This week, the number was 41.
The newspaper has checked repeatedly with city and county authorities, the people who would know, and our conclusion is that it just isn’t true. [See Bluestem's investigation here]
We don’t have 1,000 jobs available, and we don’t have 200 vacant apartments. Every apartment that is under construction has reflamed the rumors, even though the newest apartments usually bring the highest rents. It just doesn’t make sense.
I don’t know when the first Muslim came to the United States, but I feel comfortable in asserting that it was at least two centuries ago. And why did Muslims come here?
For the same reason the rest of our families did; for the chance to have a better life.
It is simply wrong to assume that because someone is of a different skin color or a different religion moves to our community that they are up to no good. Such reactions are born in ignorance and fear.
Every person who moves here, no matter what their background, needs to be treated based on the content of their character. Do they obey the government’s laws? Do they have a good work ethic? Do they contribute in positive ways to civic life?
Just because some Muslims are making war on western civilization, it doesn’t mean that all or even most Muslims are.
The concern that people feel is understandable, but we have to keep it in perspective.
We should assume that this one family has come here to make a better life for themselves. We need to give them a chance to do so, same as anybody else.
If we don’t, if we greet them with hostility and anger, they will be isolated. But then what? To quote from Proverbs: “Whoever sows injustice will reap calamity.”
The fact is, we have sat back and done little while drug dealers have brought meth, heroin and other poisons into our community.
Why get up in arms over one Muslim family? The only thing they have done so far is bring the school more than $30,000 in state aid.
At this point, we suspect that Minnesota's anti-refugee folks enjoy the emotional rush they get as they expose and fondle their fears, sharing that emotional flooding with their like-minded neighbors.
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Usually when Bluestem posts about speakers who have their own tags on Right Wing Watch, those individuals are the guests of Tea Party groups and other such grassroots groups, but not so with Frances Rice.
Jacob Tellers reports in the Fergus Falls Journal article, Bigwood Lecture reflects on who is being treated unfairly, Rice's lecture was sponsored by the Fergus Area College Foundation and Otter Tail Power Company. Tellers reported that Rice believes that racism is no longer a problem for black Americans:
Racism is no longer a problem for African Americans, according to a speaker at the 24th annual Bigwood Lecture Wednesday evening at Legacy Hall on the campus of Minnesota State Community and Technical College.
Instead, it is white, working-class men who now bear most of the racism in today’s society, said Frances Presley Rice.
Having experienced true racism herself, Rice sympathizes with those who she says are now being treated unfairly, she said.
She grew up as an African American in an impoverished, single-parent family in the segregated South, but she says she didn’t let those circumstances hold herself back from achieving success.
“The level of success we achieve is in our own hands,” Rice said. . . .
She also addressed the history of race relations in the United States, saying that it is now often misunderstood and mischaracterized. Since the conclusion of the civil rights movement, her race has not held her back from achieving success, Rice said.
Rice contends that equality has been achieved and that the African American community needs to stop viewing themselves as victims.
While Rice said that President Barack Obama’s election was further proof that there are no longer barriers between race and success, she added that Obama and the Democrat Party have done much to sow racial discord.
According to the source in Fergus Falls who brought the story to our attention, Rice was also brought into the local high school:
Ms. Rice also spoke to the juniors and seniors at our high school today. I've heard from a teacher who reported that the kids said it was "horrible" and "super-political." I don't know if the foundation that brought her in to speak has some kind of agenda or if they just didn't do their research very well, but the teachers that we've heard from today were not impressed with the decision to bring her to the school.
Our source tells us that the headline in the print edition of the newspaper is "White men target of racism, speaker says."
Earlier this month, a "National Diversity Coalition for Trump" was formed by the GOP presidential frontrunner's lawyer Michael Cohen for the purpose of, in the words of one of the group's leaders, demonstrating to voters that Donald Trump is "not racist, misogynist, sexist or Islamophobic." Trump is reportedly scheduled to meet with this group today . . .
Also among the members of diversity coalition is Frances Rice of the National Black Republican Association, who absurdly claimed a few years ago that the GOP's infamous "Southern Strategy" was an effort by the Republican Party to get "fair-minded" non-racist voters in the South to stop supporting the racist Democratic Party.
"That strategy was designed to get the fair-minded people in the South to stop discriminating against blacks and to stop supporting a party that did not share their values," she said. "So those fair-minded ones who migrated to the Republican Party did so. They joined us, we did not join the racists."
Given the division that Trump has sown within the Republican Party, it's curious to see Rice and the National Black Republican Association (which does not appear to be an affiliate of the Republican National Committee) endorsed Trump.
The National Black Republican Association, a self-proclaimed “grassroots activist” organization committed to “returning African Americans to their Republican roots” (i.e., “the party of Lincoln”), released a statement Friday saying that it was “pleased to announce [its] endorsement of Donald J. Trump for President of the United States of America.”
The Florida-based organization, founded in 2005, says it supports Trump because he shares its values: “We, like Mr. Trump, are fiscally conservative, steadfastly pro-life and believers in a small government that fosters freedom for individuals and businesses, so they can grow and become prosperous.”
NBRA Chair Frances Rice detailed the group’s reasoning further, saying that over the last 60 years, Democrats have run black communities into the ground, turning them into “economic and social wastelands.” She writes in part:
We are deeply concerned about illegal immigration, a major cause of high black unemployment, especially among black youth.
Black Americans across America are beginning to wake up and see clearly the reality of what is happening in black neighborhoods. Democrats have run black communities for the past 60 years and the socialist policies of the Democrats have turned those communities into economic and social wastelands, witness Detroit, Baltimore and South Chicago.
We believe that Mr. Trump has demonstrated that he can push back against the mainstream media, end political correctness and free black communities from the destructive grip of socialist Democrats.
Trump, a prolific tweeter, who has gone on record saying “the blacks” love him, crowed about the endorsement on social media Friday . . .
The leader of the Sarasota-based National Black Republican Association is a minority within a minority. Not only is she black, she is also a Republican, a member of a party to which fewer than 10 percent of black voters in Florida belong. Her campaigns -- including one meant to foil the nomination of the first black presidential candidate, Barack Obama -- are best known for their shock value.
Her messages have brought condemnation from Democrats. But they have also sparked a backlash among many Republicans. . . .
When hearing that the chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, Jim Greer, had expressed disappointment in her magazine, The Black Republican, which Greer had secured party money to publish, Rice dismissed it with a wave of her hand.
The magazine featured a picture of Ku Klux Klan members burning a cross, with the caption "Every person in this photograph was a Democrat."
Article titles included "Democrats embrace their child molesters," and "Top 10 Democratic sex scandals in Congress," and "Democrats wage war on God." . . .
Supporters call Rice relentless, a black Republican willing to say things white Republicans cannot. Detractors say she is setting back the GOP's black outreach effort with her inflammatory campaigns.
"Obviously we weren't consulted before she decided to do any of this," said Tony Cooper, president of the Tampa Black Republican Club. "It's a fruitless debate and it may conjure up more ill will toward the party. We should be spending money on debating the Democrats on the issues."
Said Deon Long, president of Florida's Federation of Black Republican Clubs: "We thought those billboards were asinine."
Rice thinks of herself as an "iron butterfly" positioned to expose the "Democratic Party's racist past" in time to convince blacks to vote for John McCain. . . .
Like nearly everyone else originally part of the NBRA, Cadogan has since dropped out. The original board included eight members from around the country, and Rice's husband. In a matter of months, all the board members except Rice, her husband and Cadogan resigned. E-mails provided by one former board member detail that Rice's style had led to the resignations.
After Hurricane Katrina, for example, Rice insisted on sending out a press release praising President Bush's response to the disaster. The board balked because members thought Bush's response was imperfect at best, and those who died or lost their homes were disproportionately black.
Deberly Burstion-Donbraye, formerly a board member of the National Black Republican Association and director of the Republican Party's minority outreach effort in Ohio, said Rice's efforts seemed to lack common sense and ignore the variety of opinions within the Republican Party. She resigned, fearing her reputation was at stake. . . .
Read the entire article at the Sarasota Herald Tribune.
Like our tipster, we wonder just what background research the head of the local college foundation did to invite Rice--and why the paper seemed so incurious about Rice's claims that poor white folks bear the brunt of racism in American life.
We can only wonder whether the Fergus Falls College Foundation and Otter Tail Power Company would be interested in bringing in some of the black community leaders covered in Bring Me The News article, Groups lay out ideas to help fix 'unacceptable' racial disparities in MN. Apparently, Ms. Rice and her hosts missed this:
Photo: France Rice speaking in Fergus Falls, Briana Sanchez, via the Fergus Falls Journal.
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Student speech has rarely been free in American high schools, and after "Loud & Proud" t-shirt-wearing Morris High students shouted at their silent peers who'd donned "Look Beyond" shirts for the pro-LGBT National Day of Silence, the administration banned both sets of shirts and student demonstrations in the Western Minnesota High School.
The "Look Beyond" t-shirts had gotten the twitter seal of approval from former Viking's punter Chris Kluwe:
Support your local GSA on the National Day of Silence! Got this cool shirt from the Morris GSA - happy to wear it. pic.twitter.com/neNw9UDuvp
Morris Area High School has banned t-shirts with two slogans — "Loud and Proud" and "Look Beyond" — after student demonstrations turned disruptive last Friday, April 15.
On Wednesday, Morris Area High School Principal Bill Kehoe announced the decision to ban the specific slogans on shirts or other clothing at school and school-sponsored activities.
"We will not tolerate demonstrations or any conduct by any student or groups of students that disrupts the school environment or puts the safety or well-being of students at risk," Kehoe said in a statement read over the intercom at the end of the school day.
The t-shirt demonstrations arose around the Day of Silence, a student-led national event where students remain silent for the day in an effort to draw attention to the effect of bullying and harassment of members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Members of the Morris Area Gay Straight Alliance were participating in the Day of Silence on Friday, many wearing shirts that said "Look Beyond."
But other students came to school prepared to shout at the silent students:
On the same day, approximately 50 students arrived at school wearing shirts that said "Loud and Proud." The dark blue shirts had an image of an American flag and a pickup truck on the front.
At the end of the day, a district staff member called the Morris Police Department who came to the school to "disband" students gathered in the parking lot and offer help "getting kids home safely that day," Lahn said. . . .
At the Morris Area School Board's meeting on Monday evening, parent Sylke Boyd said her daughter — a student member of the GSA participating in the Day of Silence — came home "distraught and upset" over other students who "grouped up and were shouting at the people wearing the Day of Silence shirts."
In taking action to mitigate the conflict between students, Boyd said she hoped the district would look to the incident as a "teachable moment."
"My concern is that the polarization becomes worse, that it goes from shouting and group forming to something worse — I would like not to see that," said Boyd. "I would like to see something that helps these young people ... to find a way to constructively still communicate." . . .
Read the entire article at the Sun Tribune.
Banner: National Day of Silence.
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One of the rural Republicans who is part of the town hall is former Browns Valley Mayor and current Minnesota House District 12A state representative Jeff Backer. Minnesota's western boundary waters, from whence both the Minnesota River and the Red River of the North spring, forms his district's western edge. The District Demographics contrast with those in Minneapolis.
Why do we believe it's a good thing for the country mouse to visit the big city and listen to Dehn's constituents?
The answer is rooted in statements Backer made while Mayor of Browns Valley in 2007, when the city was struck by a flood in those headwaters in the spring and heavy rain in early June. Shane Mercer of the Grand Forks Herald reported in Browns Valley recovering:
BROWNS VALLEY, Minn. - Residents of this western Minnesota town were reminded over the weekend of the brutal flooding that buried a large chunk of the community in March.
Heavy rains forced water over a road on the west side of Browns Valley on Saturday. The waters receded, but were back across the road on Monday.
Mayor Jeff Backer said Monday afternoon he was not aware of any damage to homes, and the areas hardest hit by flooding in March were not affected.
It's not as if residents needed the reminder. Some things are hard to forget. When ice jams forced the Little Minnesota River from its banks and into neighborhoods in March, more than 60 homes in the town of about 650 sustained severe or moderate damage. Backer estimated flood damage to the city at $4 million to $5 million. . . .
Mayor Backer compared his town's misery to that of New Orleans, which had been hit by Hurricane Katrina in late August 2005. Mercer reports:
"In my opinion New Orleans would not be in the position that they are in if they had the same people that we have here in Browns Valley," he said, alluding to post-Katrina issues in the Crescent City. "The mentality of the people (in Browns Valley) is, 'What can we do to help?' " ...
While more than 50 homes were damaged by the floodwater, most everyone has remained in Browns Valley, but still, four families are living in FEMA trailers, Seven homes have been destroyed and as many as eight more could be condemned. And some homes are being rebuilt on higher ground. All of the progress being made before any disaster relief money trickled into town.
Mayor Jeff Backer says, "But when you're the person who is living in a travel home or still living with friends, families and relatives, it seems slow. Cause that's seven months since the flood did happen."
Just last week, the first state aid dollars made their way to Browns Valley, $500-thousand of the $2-million state lawmakers approved in July. Now the mayor of the town is ready to move forward, but knows there are still months and years of rebuilding ahead for the community.
Backer says, "If New Orleans had the people we have here, some of the challenges they're facing they wouldn't be facing because the people here have rolled up their sleeves, took the resources they had and did what they could."
As an example of how property values can affect flood relief, Browns Valley Mayor Jeff Backer Jr. said 62 homes were touched by the flood, and 17 were severely damaged. The value of the those homes in this small town in far western Minnesota ranged from $20,000 to $35,000. The city is buying out seven of them. . . .
Backer, whose basement was flooded, said the percentage of houses in his town affected by flooding was equal to those damaged in New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina.
"Bill and Donna Spotts lost a home. Don Miller lost a home," Backer said, pointing to two of his neighbors. "What makes them different from someone losing a home in New Orleans? Nothing."
The financial thresholds for federal assistance vary by county, and in Browns Valley the damage to public infrastructure alone had to be $6 million, [ spokeswoman for the Minnesota division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Kris] Eide said. The formula changes every year based on population and the consumer price index, she said.
While Backer rightly felt great pain for Browns Valley, his math was a bit off. While 60 homes out of 650 in Browns Valley (just under 10%) were damaged, CNN notes in its 2015 Hurricane Katrina Statistics Fast Facts:
80% of the city flooded after levees failed. . . .
70% of New Orleans' occupied housing, 134,000 units, was damaged in the storm.
That's a far, far greater percentage of the housing in New Orleans than the housing in Browns Valley that was destroyed by the cities' respective natural disasters. It's likely more explanatory of why the City of New Orleans lost so much of its population shortly after what FEMA called "the single most catastrophic natural disaster in U.S. history" than not having "thesame people that we have here in Browns Valley."
We're hoping that the Justice4All and TakeAction organizers, along with the good citizens of North Minneapolis, can open Representative Backer's eyes and heart about the structural underpinnings of success and failure in America--and the special place that criminal justice and incarceration have in this story.
Images: A Minneapolis Town Hall Poster (banner); Where Browns Valley is at (map).
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During a discussion of the Appleton Prison and criminal justice reform broadcast earlier this month on Minnesota Public Radio, Justice 4 All organizer Justin Terrell and Representative Tim Miller agreed that a public meeting in North Minneapolis would be a good thing.
Representative Raymond Dehn, DFL-Minneapolis, will be hosting that meeting on April 26. Details are in the image at the top of this post.
While people in Greater Minnesota might find it difficult to travel to week night forum, the event will be live streamed by The Uptake for those who want to watch next Tuesday. We'll post the livestream here as well.
It's a great opportunity rural people to listen to and learn from urban communities; Dehn, Miller and Terrell are to be commended for putting this together.
Rep. Raymond Dehn (DFL-Minneapolis) will be hosting a town hall meeting with Reps. Tim Miller (R-Prinsburg), Kathy Lohmer (R-Stillwater), Abigail Whelan (R-Anoka), Matt Dean (R-Dellwood), and Jeff Backer (R-Browns Valley) on realigning sentencing and the Appleton Prison. They will be joined by Justin Terrell from Justice 4 All and Jamil Jackson from TakeAction Minnesota.
The community discussion will focus the impacts of mass incarceration and the proposed reopening of Correction Corporation of America’s Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton.
This event is free and open to both the press and the public
Image: a poster for the event.
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Earlier this morning, we received an emailed update from the Session Daily Digest that began:
The omnibus jobs, agriculture and natural resources bills are scheduled to make their final committee stop Wednesday when they are heard in the House Ways and Means Committee. There they are expected to be combined into one piece of legislation before heading to the House Floor.
The discussion of HF3888 will be streamed on Live Video HTV 1 at 12:45 (other legislative business will be streamed on the channel before and after the Ways and Means Committee).
Since the channels are shared, not every committee hearing is recorded on video and streamed, but all official committee meetings are at the very least audio recorded. While the public can't watch these meetings live, the audio archives are accessible to the public.
Such is the case with the House Agriculture Committee on April 14, 2016. Agriculture is important in our stretch, so we listened to the archived audio. Close to the end, some plain talk about the money for agriculture caught our attention. We've clipped it and put it on Youtube:
A bit of context:
The moment comes after the committee has considered various amendments and sections in the bill. Chairman Rod Hamilon, R-Mountain Lake (above, left) has asked committee members for their final thoughts before a vote is taken.
Much of the discussion is light-hearted or self-congratulatory for the work the committee has done this year. There's been a running joke started by the chair about how the shared name of Karen Clark, DFL-Minneapolis, and Clark Johnson, DFL-North Mankato, confuses him.
More seriously, the bill takes money the legislature approved to fight avian through 2017 and moves it into a more general disaster relief fun. We'll hold our breath and hope none of that air-borne flu virus gets caught in a funnel in Kandiyohi County. But we digress.
Rep. Rick Hansen, DFL-South St. Paul (and on the right in the image above), isn't in the mood for this Rodfooley:
Thank you Mr. Chair, and following up on Rep. Clark's comments, a lot of times we use jargon here. That exchange with staff about providing a "placeholder"; maybe to the folks watching at home, it's important to use plain language that this budget actually has a $1.9 million cut.
There's actually a cut to the budget, and so what we're talking about with urban ag, talking to people, talking to the Governor and talking to the Speaker, is trying to resolve that there's not additional money for other priorities. . . .Folks at home watching might not be clear about that.
So what we're talking about in trying to provide a hook in the bill is to try to provide the process that happened last year at the end of the session--which is that something comes back from the conference committee--so we're really counting on the DFL to save us from ourselves by providing more money for these projects rather than taking money from different projects or having a budget target that provided for these projects.
So what we're talking about (that we're going to by talking to people and having these conversations), but when it goes into conference committee and the bill comes out, there's no opportunity for amendment. And as we learned with many issues last year, we didn't even know what the consequences were of some of them.
...We could have a bill in front of us that had a higher target that funded things. And it would be clear--the people's representatives (who we are) that have the vote down there. What we're doing here is providing a procedural process where we're not going to vote on it until the deal is done.
And I can't think of how many time in the last year since the special session ended where people referenced deals, but who knew who was involved in the deals? When we vote here today, people can see that. We could have moved amendments and we chose not to have amendments [inaudible].
As a legislature, we have to do a better job not defaulting to the conference committee. We move too much to the end that the leaders make the decisions rather than have a public process where we can make the decisions. I hope, Mr. Chair, that many of these ideas actually get vetted before the final vote here--as it never does when it appears at three in the morning--so that we don't have to have a long discussion on the floor about "What does this mean?". We've been down that road already. [inaudible]
Chair Hamilton picks up the gauntlet:
Well, Representative Hansen, I'm going to open this up. The time is the middle of the day, so it's 11 o'clock, you had the opportunity to offer up amendments and you chose not to, you just said that. You know, if you want to turn this partisan, I'm not going to do it here in this committee, but I'm ready for the House floor, it would be on the House floor.
And some of the things last year was the budget year. We increased the budget from right around $80 million up to $117 million for the ag budget. We took the Department of Ad, with the wonderful people over there were struggling to make their statutory requirements as it pertained to food safety, and we passed a bill-a bipartisan bill that allowed the Department to increase the FTs [full time employees] by almost 40 people to protect the consumers of this great state. We invested in research. We also invested in farm business management, which was on life support with the individuals who controlled the House prior to us. We have done a number of things in this bill in the budget year which was last year.
And we want to do more--I agree we want to do more--and that's why we're doing some of the things that we're currently because we also understand how this place works and through negotiations etc. But I have a host of great things that we collectively have done in this committee for agriculture. Collectively.
If we're going to have this discussion, I'm going to refrain at this meeting today but I am eager to have this discussion on the House floor.
Eager to have it on the House floor.
Sounds like a threat, but Hansen doesn't back down:
Mr. Chair, you know that we can't--your target is your target--we can't spend anymore than that target. And I don't think we want to engage in taking money from other pots of money. That's what the bill does.
It takes money appropriated less than a year ago for a crisis. We don't know if there's going to be another crisis. This is a huge roll of the dice. I think we should reflect back to what Representative Poppe said. We have this conversation about not what happened last year, not what happened the last two years, but what's in front of us right now.
And what's in front of us right now is appropriating money that was appropriated for other purposes. A budget target is a cut. It doesn't allow us [to amend the target]. Now I could make a motion, but it's out of order with the budget target.
We can't spend money we don't have.
That takes you to about the 5:55 marker on the Youtube--and you can listen to the remainder as you wish.
The exchange illustrates the sort of gimmicks and shifts the Republican House caucus have to futz around with to achieve their agenda.
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We're a bit late in serving up this morsel from the Minnesota House Environmental Policy and Finance Committee, wherein Chairman Denny McNamara, R-Hastings, left off a discussion of trail grooming to bushwhack into the weeds of
. . .This is not rocket science, it's not. But don't react after the fact and you're always going from one fire to another.
Which reminds me: today we have no fires going on even down in Southwestern Minnesota surrounded by black earth, we can't burn a patch of grass because it might torch Northeastern Minnesota. So sometimes we do stuff that makes no sense to some of us.
Watch Chairman Denny McNamara's tirade against fire safety:
The quick-witted tweeps at the Downstream Team provided a bit of context for this outburst:
Strong winds and dry heat will mean a heightened chance of fire across west central Minnesota for most of the day Thursday.
The National Weather Service has issued a fire weather warning from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. for multiple counties.
Kandiyohi, Stearns, Chippewa, Lac Qui Parle, Pope, Swift and Yellow Medicine counties are included in a “red flag” warning.
“Any fires that develop will likely spread rapidly,” the warning said. “Outdoor burning is not recommended.”
In many areas, wind could gust at speeds up to 35 mph.
Renville and Meeker counties, along with much of central and southern Minnesota, have been issued a “special weather statement” noting “near critical” weather conditions.
“Dry grasses and brush still exist across the region,” the weather service stated. “Any fire could spread quickly.”
Since Bluestem is located within this zone (in west central Minnesota, not Southwestern Minnesota), we and our neighbors took extra with controlled burns in the days before April 14, since the National Weather Service was predicting worsening conditions as the wind rose and the humidity dropped. As we planted vegetables in our garden just over the Renville County line, we saw the pillars of smoke that indicated farmers and property owners were conducting controlled burns while it was still safe.
The concern wasn't for Northeast Minnesota, but for ourselves. It's not just the fear of wild grass fires, but the cost of putting them out in areas distant from the local volunteer fire departments. As a point of reference, here's Four fire departments battled blaze at Easy Bean Farm near Milan, when a cigarette in a ditch was fanned by strong southerly winds in March 2012.
Few industries are as dependent on the weather as agriculture--and few places in these United State are as dependent on good neighborliness as Minnesota's western prairies. Your neighbors, however far away, are the people you turn to during emergencies and celebration, so we do try not to let the sparks fly in the wind to catch their farms on fire.
Fire weather warnings--and a great deal of common sense--help us to not start grass and farmstead fires. Indeed, we can only where in our region McNamara thought people wanted to conduct a controlled burn on such a day in these parts. He's not a stranger to these parts, as he owns nearly 625 of non-ag acres near Graceville in Big Stone County. That's just west of the zone that day.
We only hope he doesn't encourage folks near Graceville to torch his or their grass patchs on a future red flag day. Complaining about weather conditions and public safety last Thursday isn't the greatest example for a committee chair to set.
Photo: Fire damage of a greenhouse at Easy Bean Farm in 2012.
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We’re in trouble when we find truth in the absurd — and that’s what’s going on in the following exchange from a Houston County Board of Adjustment meeting in February.
“Are we trying to shut the mine down or are we trying to correct it?”
“What we’re asking is that the county enforce the ordinance.”
“By doing that, we shut it down.”
So, the only way the Erickson mine can continue operating is if Houston County refuses to enforce its own ordinance.
That’s chilling, and not only for Houston County, but for all of us in frac-sand country.
We’re repeatedly told, “Don’t ban—regulate.” We’re told that frac-sand mining can be done “right” if we enforce existing regulations. ...
Read the rest at the Winona Daily for additional examples of the absurdity of that construct when counties and state agencies refuse to enforce laws and permit conditions.
Chilling indeed.
Photo: A frac sand mine.
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DFL and Republican legislators remain divided over funding for transportation. The debate is focused on how to fund an increase in spending, and not whether an increase is needed, according to two of the leading outside interest groups following the debate.
Jim Pumarlo, with the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, said the organization is “encouraged’’ by work taking place in the Senate Transportation and Public Safety Committee.
Margaret Donahoe, with the Minnesota Transportation Alliance, also said she is “cautiously optimistic’’ about the possibility of progress.
“There may be a path to some kind of a deal,’’ she said of discussions between House and Senate members.
Pumarlo and Donahoe said they believe a transportation agreement will be part of a broader, or global, agreement in the Legislature including taxes and other major issues. They both said they do not anticipate any accord to emerge until the final days, if not hours, of the session.
While end-of-session negotiations are held behind closed doors, everyone knows political leaders deal one provision for another in unrelated areas as they try to come up with a deal. In preparing for such wide ranging negotiations, they keep all big bills open so they can wheel and deal as needed.
As an example, not a prediction, Democrats want to provide parental and family leave for all Minnesotans. Republicans strongly oppose it, but they might accept giving state employees a bit more parental leave flexibility. However, the GOP would need to give up something it wants, perhaps a tax cut aimed at businesses.
If a few dozen of such exchanges are made, negotiators can emerge sometime near May 23 and announce a global legislative deal to wrap up the session.
On the other hand, a $42 billion, two-year budget already is in place, so no government shutdown threat hangs over St. Paul. That means there is very little pressure on lawmakers to do much of anything. Thus, perhaps, nothing major will happen this legislative session.
Will this situation deliver a strong transportation bill that doesn't rely on gimmicks and double counted ghost funds? Stay tuned!
Photo: We may have to wait for the cows to come home at the end of session to know if funding is available for the roads they use.
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Everyone around the Legislature knows that no major bill will move ahead until all major issues move ahead. And for that to happen, negotiations must take place among Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk, D-Cook, Daudt and Dayton.
Everything is linked in the Capitol complex.
While end-of-session negotiations are held behind closed doors, everyone knows political leaders deal one provision for another in unrelated areas as they try to come up with a deal. In preparing for such wide ranging negotiations, they keep all big bills open so they can wheel and deal as needed.
As an example, not a prediction, Democrats want to provide parental and family leave for all Minnesotans. Republicans strongly oppose it, but they might accept giving state employees a bit more parental leave flexibility. However, the GOP would need to give up something it wants, perhaps a tax cut aimed at businesses.
If a few dozen of such exchanges are made, negotiators can emerge sometime near May 23 and announce a global legislative deal to wrap up the session.
On the other hand, a $42 billion, two-year budget already is in place, so no government shutdown threat hangs over St. Paul. That means there is very little pressure on lawmakers to do much of anything. Thus, perhaps, nothing major will happen this legislative session.
In short, business as usual. We're additionally interested in the role of the influence industry in these closed door dealings.
Photo: The state capitol as metaphor for what we don't see.
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This afternoon, Bluestem Prairie watched the Minnesota House take up legislation on fireworks and online fantasy sports games. Never mind the potholes, parents desperately seeking childcare, pokey greater Minnesota broadband, higher education poorhouse loans, racial equity or any other things with which grown-ups concern themselves.
It confirmed our impression that the Republican Party may just be turning into the Games Over Priorities party. It's the new GOP, the pop culture party whose presidential frontrunner is a reality television star. Coincidentally, we'd been working on a post about one of those fashion decisions working it's way through the Minnesota House: adding blaze pink to the wardrobe of Minnesota's firearm deer hunters.
The supporters of the measure fancy that blaze pink will attract the ladies to the sport. Indeed, in the House environmental committee last week, Dan Fabian, R-Roseau, and Denny McNamara, R-Hastings, both commented that they had asked a young girl if they wanted to wear pink over orange.
Never mind the comments that Rep. Alice Hausman, DFL-St. Paul brought to the committee from grown up women and men about the provision.
We'll have more analysis of the fashion debate (and some of the questions raised by House rules by the stylish demonstration of the hat wearers) in a later post, but for now, here's the video of the discussion.
All other concerns aside, the biggest problems with the addition relate to hunter safety.
Blaze orange, often called hunter orange, is required for most hunting endeavors in most U.S. states and Canadian provinces for one reason: Hunter safety.
The color is unnatural and obnoxiously bright to the human eye. Its proliferation, especially during the busy days of fall deer hunting, is credited, in conjunction with hunter safety courses, with reducing the number of times hunters mistakenly shoot other hunters. Orange is opposite blue on the color wheel, making it especially visible against a crisp fall sky.
And does blaze pink fit the bill? Research commissioned by the bipartisan, all-male Wisconsin Sportsmen’s Caucus says it does, but we've obtained a copy of a summary of the research--it's the only thing on files at the Minnesota DNR, which is neutral on the issue--is a unique piece of work. The document does not appear to be peer reviewed or published, but is frequently cited in the press and by legislators as a definitive study.
“Blaze pink” would join blaze orange as legal hunter-safety colors under a proposal at the Minnesota Capitol. . . .
That drew criticism from people with a certain type of color blindness. Some critics have said they can’t see bright pink, but can see blaze orange.
The purpose of the blaze orange requirement is so hunters can see each other to avoid mistakenly firing in the direction of another hunter. It’s required in many states and is credited with reducing the incidence of hunters shooting each other nationwide.
In Minnesota, blaze orange is technically defined, based on experiments that show its ability to excite the human eye. Blaze pink isn’t technically defined in Wisconsin or Minnesota’s proposal, although one Wisconsin study examined a number of articles marketed as blaze pink and found they were generally as bright or brighter than blaze orange.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has remained neutral on pink. Rodmen Smith, who heads the agency’s enforcement division, said there’s no “hard science” showing blaze pink increases hunter safety as effectively as blaze orange.
Wisconsin safety officials have encouraged clothing makers and retailers unsure whether their product would qualify as blaze or fluorescent pink to send fabric samples to them.
As far as the color-blindness, here’s what Jon King, hunter education administrator of the Wisconsin DNR, said in an e-mail: “There has not been a nationally recognized study done on bright or fluorescent pink. Hunter orange has had many studies done to recommend a particular shade of orange. When wearing these new colors you should make sure that your choice is one that every person in your hunting group can see.”
The proposed Wisconsin legislation is also touchy because it ventures into the realm of gender stereotypes in a male-dominated endeavor of which women and girls are among the fasts growing groups.
Given the GOP's anxieties about gender identity, it's not surprising that Hackbarth and Company are bringing this one forward.
We'll have more on this episode as the week progresses.
Photo: Tom Hackbarth in an Under Armour Blaze Pink Hoodie. Perhaps he should always wear this fashionable attire, so ladies can spot him in parking lots.
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The Republican Seniors of Minnesota host representatives of the organization, ACT! For America on Tuesday, April 5 at the Richfield American Legion, 6501 Portland Avenue.
Debbie Anderson and Clare Lopez will make a presentation on Islam, Shariah and jihad. Also appearing will be candidate for state senate in District 51, Victor Lake, who will tell his story of immigrating from Soviet Uzbekistan.
Republican Seniors is a long-established group of Republicans aged 50-plus.
****DEBBIE ANDERSON and CLARE LOPEZ are representing ‘ACT! For America’, an American political organization founded in 2007 working to build a nationwide volunteer chapter network that trains citizens to recognize and help prevent criminal activity and terrorism in the United States while preserving civil liberties protected by the U.S. Constitution. They have over 300,000 members and 890 chapters. Their topic will be: “What is Islam, Shariah, Jihad and How They May Affect Minnesota”. [bold in original]
Given the effort of Republican State Chair Kenneth Downey and other Republican to make the Republican Party a more inclusive organization, we're surprised to learn of this program--and the presence of a Republican candidate on the bill. The Minnesota Republican Seniors is an official affiliate of the Republican Party of Minnesota
In the radio interview, Lopez told Ochsner that she had spoken earlier in Grand Rapids, Minnesota. But that's not all she said.
Clare Lopez, the vice president of the Center for Security Policy and a national security adviser to Sen. Ted Cruz’s presidential campaign, told a Minnesota radio program yesterday that parts of Minneapolis have become “no-go zones” where the police “don’t go” and are letting Sharia law take hold.
Lopez, speaking on the “Ox in the Afternoon” program about supposed “no-go zones” in Europe, said that “we’ve got them in America, at least in the beginning stages.”
“In Minneapolis, for example, places where the police don’t go because they know they’ll be attacked, have been attacked in the past already, and places where the police know that Sharia is being practiced,” she said.
Last year, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins similarly claimed that neighborhoods in Minneapolis had become “no-go zones” where authorities had allowed Sharia to become the law of the land. This prompted Rep. Keith Ellison, who represents parts of Minneapolis, to invite Perkins to tour the city and see for himself. Perkins is now a prominent supporter of Cruz.
“No-go zones, well we’ve got them in America, in the beginning stages,” said Lopez during her appearance on “Ox in the Afternoon,” a radio program. “In Minneapolis, for example. Places where the police don’t go because they know they’ll be attacked, have been attacked in the past already, and places where the police know that Sharia is being practiced.”
Minneapolis begs to differ.
“This is Islamophobia, pure and simple. Of course, our police serve every part of the city. There is no part of our Minneapolis that the police, residents, and visitors should avoid,” said Mayor Betsy Hodges to The National Memo in response to the claims.
Radio host Ochsner ran for Minnesota State Senate in a special election in 2005; he was defeated by DFLer Tarryl Clark. Although his guests may tend to be conservatives, the leadership of St. Cloud's #UniteCloud are often guests as well.
Bluestem Prairie was unable to determine which venue or organization hosted Lopez's appearance in Grand Rapids, MN.
Photo: Clare Lopez, via YouTube.
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Matt Grossell, endorsed Republican candidate in Minnesota House District 2A, shares some interesting material on Facebook. We suspect that the candidate might not have been vetted much in the swing district.
Q: DFLers have endorsed Jerry Loud for your seat, and Republicans made an endorsement over the weekend?
A: They did. They endorsed Matt Grossell from Clearbrook. I haven’t vetted him, so to speak. I’ve talked with him. In comparison to me he’s a relatively young man, former deputy sheriff and military man. He’s probably a fiscal conservative. I know he’s a strong supporter of the First and Second Amendments. So I think maybe he’s a younger version of me.
Q: How safe would you say your seat is?
A: It’s very contested. I don’t know the demographics or analytics, but all things being equal it’s about a 47 percent Republican district. It’s definitely a swing district.
Bluestem Prairie looked at Grossell's Facebook page and found several posts of interest. First there's a post about the role of the Pope in the church:
And Grossell doesn't seem particularly open to the notion of equality for LGBT folk, whom he feels are tools for "Obama's agenda for our country folks, the gutting of the moral fiber of this nation":
And the retired lawman isn't keen on Black Lives Matter or calls equity issues in general, either:
Grossell doesn't seem to understand that most of the text in this meme attempts to ridicule Chris Rock, so we suspect the candidate isn't big on nuance.
Like some of the Republicans in the Minnesota Legislature, Grossell frets about creeping sharia law--though Grossell pairs it with a bit of bashing "LGBT":
A retired Clearwater County sheriff's deputy is hoping to keep the House District 2A seat for the Republicans in the state Legislature.
Matt Grossell, 50, of Clearbrook, said he decided to run to get off the sidelines.
"I want to come alongside and do my part to be a voice for our area, for District 2A. I want to work alongside our other representatives," Grossell said. "I need to serve, that's what I'm wired to do."
In a unanimous vote, the delegates selected Grossell as their candidate.
Not included as a candidate for endorsement was District 2A Incumbent Dave Hancock, R-Bemidji, who announced March 18 he wouldn't seek another term.
We'll be watching this one.
Photo (top): Grossell (standing) addresses the endorsing convention.
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One student at the University of Minnesota-Morris is not impressed with House Republican budget targets and she's taking it out on the local state representative.
On Thursday morning, Minnesota House Republicans released budget targets for how they’d like to see us spend the $900 million budget surplus.
I had foolish hope that there might be some funding to help freeze tuition at the University of Minnesota, Morris. However, when I looked at the Republican budget target for the Higher Education Committee, I saw a big fat donut. A zero. No money for a tuition freeze, or anything else, for that matter.
Rep. Jeff Backer claims to care a lot about tax increases, and he is willfully raising taxes on every single student at the University of Minnesota, Morris by allowing tuition to increase as he has.
It would cost $13.5 million to freeze tuition at the U of M, according to the University. Let’s contrast that with the billions of dollars in tax cuts that Rep. Backer supports for big business in the Twin Cities – local students vs. big business.
The choice seems pretty simple to me, but I know how hard it is for Republican legislators to prioritize middle class students and families over corporations, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.
I’d also point out that the Republican target for border-to-border broadband is only $28 million. The Governor’s task force said the need was $200 million, and the Governor himself proposed $100 million for broadband.
I’m tired of Republicans like Jeff Backer using greater Minnesota as a pawn in a game, and then going back on their word. Where are the results?
On Thursday morning, Minnesota House Republicans released budget targets for how they’d like to see us spend the $900 million budget surplus.
I had foolish hope that there might be some funding to help freeze tuition at the University of Minnesota, Morris. However, when I looked at the Republican budget target for the Higher Education Committee, I saw a big fat donut. A zero. No money for a tuition freeze, or anything else, for that matter.
Rep. Jeff Backer claims to care a lot about tax increases, and he is willfully raising taxes on every single student at the University of Minnesota, Morris by allowing tuition to increase as he has.
It would cost $13.5 million to freeze tuition at the U of M, according to the University. Let’s contrast that with the billions of dollars in tax cuts that Rep. Backer supports for big business in the Twin Cities – local students vs. big business.
The choice seems pretty simple to me, but I know how hard it is for Republican legislators to prioritize middle class students and families over corporations, so I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.
I’d also point out that the Republican target for border-to-border broadband is only $28 million. The Governor’s task force said the need was $200 million, and the Governor himself proposed $100 million for broadband.
I’m tired of Republicans like Jeff Backer using greater Minnesota as a pawn in a game, and then going back on their word. Where are the results?
That's pretty harsh, but not out line. We hear daily about rural friends' slow and unstable internet connections, and watch our young friends struggle with their student loans.
Photo: Perhaps Representative Backer shares Homer's view of donuts.
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We've written occasionally about the notion of regulatory capture. Investopedia defines the concept this way:
Regulatory capture is a theory associated with George Stigler, a Nobel laureate economist. It is the process by which regulatory agencies eventually come to be dominated by the very industries they were charged with regulating. Regulatory capture happens when a regulatory agency, formed to act in the public's interest, eventually acts in ways that benefit the industry it is supposed to be regulating, rather than the public.
Public interest agencies that come to be controlled by the industry they were charged with regulating are known as captured agencies. Regulatory capture is an example of gamekeeper turns poacher; in other words, the interests the agency set out to protect are ignored in favor of the regulated industry's interests.
The Wall Street Journal cited Stigler in a commentary about Regulatory Capture 101:
Enter George Stigler, who published his famous essay “The Theory of Economic Regulation” in the spring 1971 issue of the Bell Journal of Economics and Management Science. The University of Chicago economist reported empirical data from various markets and concluded that “as a rule, regulation is acquired by the industry and is designed and operated primarily for its benefit.”
Recently, the Minnesota-based North American High Speed Rail has taken regulatory capture to its logical extreme. The scheme to build and operate a private high-speed passenger short line between the Twin Cities and Rochester has opened a "public comment" period that the corporation runs by itself.
Oh.
So the corporation hasn't just tried to control the regulatory process, this ghost train has simply set up its own regulatory process. Isn't that special?
In fact, it is special, if we are to trust the definition of "public comment" from Wikipedia:
Public comment is a specific term of art used by various government agencies in the United States, a constitutional democratic republic, in several circumstances. It is sometimes called "vox populi". Generally these circumstances are open public meetings of government bodies which set aside time for oral public comments, or comments, usually upon documents. Such documents may either be reports such as Draft Environmental Impact Reports (DEIR's) or new regulations. There is typically a notice which is posted on the web and mailed to more or less ad hoc lists of interested parties known to the government agencies. If there is to be a change of regulations, there will be a formal notice of proposed rulemaking.
The basis for public comment is found in general political theory of constitutional democracy as originated during and after the French Enlightenment, particularly by Rousseau.[1] This basis was elaborated in the American Revolution, and various thinkers such as Franklin, Jefferson [2] and Thomas Paine [3] are associated with the rejection of tyrannical, closed government decision making in favor of open government. The tradition of the New England Town Hall is believed to be rooted in this early American movement, and the distillation of formal public comment in official proceedings is a direct application of this format in the workings of public administration itself.
What does it mean when a corporation is running a "public comment" period? We think it made be the ultimate trolling of citizens by a private interest.
Regulatory control lite
Meanwhile, legislators are working on creating some sort of public oversight for this rogue zombie train; unfortunately, the private corporation would fund the working group. Heather Carlson reports in Bill creating high-speed rail working group advances:
A bill establishing a high-speed rail working group cleared it’s [sic] first legislative hurdle on Wednesday despite concerns from some lawmakers that the legislation is not needed.
Members of the Senate Transportation and Public Safety Committee peppered Red Wing DFL Sen. Matt Schmit with questions about his bill. The legislation would establish a 15-member advisory group focused on a potential high-speed rail line from Rochester to the Twin Cities. The goal behind the bill would be to have the private company that is considering building the rail line — the North American High Speed Rail Group — fund the working group. Schmit told committee members the cost could amount to a couple hundred thousand dollars. . ...
Others said they wanted to see changes to the bill to address concerns raised by residents who live along the proposed corridor. That would include making sure the names of donors who pay for the working group are disclosed and requiring the working group to be established as soon as the private company applies for any sort of permit from the Minnesota Department of Transportation — not just when they begin negotiations for right-of-way to build the line.
“The biggest thing is this is a hugely, hugely expensive proposal and generally before investing this much effort, there’s a lot more discussions that comes along,” said Sen. Mary Kiffemeyer, R-Big Lake.
Schmit told senators he is open to changing his bill to address concerns being raised by the committee. But he rejected the idea that his bill is not necessary. He said there was a lack of communication and transparency about Zip Rail, a proposed public high-speed rail line from Rochester to the Twin Cities. Work on that project has been suspended by the state and Olmsted County due to a lack of funding. Still, Schmit said that experience highlights the need for a working group that takes into account the concerns of stakeholders who live along the route.
Wait for it:
The bill would establish a 15-member advisory working group that would be overseen by the University of Minnesota Center for Transportation Studies. The group would include a county board-appointed resident from each of the following counties: Dakota, Dodge, Goodhue, Hennepin, Olmsted and Ramsey. The group would also include lawmakers, state agency representatives and someone from the Center for Transportation Studies.
A rail line will be valuable when the city of Rochester – boosted by the multibillion-dollar Destination Medical Center initiative – sees the business and population growth it’s projecting in coming years, said Bill Goins, chair of the Minnesota Freight Advisory Committee, who attended the meeting.
“We recognize that [growth is] going to put a tremendous amount of pressure on Highway 52,” he told attendees. “There’re all kinds of options … but even from the movement of goods and commerce, we want to avoid gridlock on [Highway] 52.”
We're curious if he did disclose his service as NAHSRG's advisory group chair.
Whatever the case, the bill seems to build-in some conflicts of interest, and the CCARLS activists do well to demand transparency on who is paying the freight for working groups.
But at least the working group would be subject to ordinary regulatory capture, rather the high-speed, 21th Century version operating in the "public comment" period the corporation is operating now.
Background: Southeast Minnesota residences are concerned about a private passenger rail line that would not stop in their communities. They're also concerned that the private rail line could use eminent domain to condemn and acquire property that would then be developed to generate operating funds for the trains (check the business plan)--and that the train would disrupt existing businesses like farms.
CCARLS is meeting tonight, so we'll be looking out for reports in local papers about the gathering.
Photo: CCARLS has started a yard sign campaign against Zombie Ziprail, the project that won't die.
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