Bluestem Prairie

Disconnect: town hall attendees want prison repurposed as inmate mental health care facility

At the end of West central Minn. legislators continue efforts to reopen Appleton prison, the West Central Tribune's Tom Cherveny reports:

State legislators Tim Miller and Andrew Lang said they hear one question more than any other in their districts: “What’s the latest on the Appleton prison?”

“There’s not a lot of news, but there is some news,” said Rep. Miller, R-Prinsburg, to start his answer to the question. He and Sen. Andrew Lang, R-Olivia, hosted approximately 70 people at a town hall meeting Wednesday evening, Dec. 11, in Appleton. . . .

One of the other big challenges for the facility is that it is impossible to repurpose it from its role as a prison, Miller said.

Yet many in the audience encouraged the legislators to consider it for a new role. They would like to see the facility adapted to offer mental health care for persons serving prison sentences.

The legislators also heard from audience members on the need for child care services, affordable housing and improved access to mental health services in rural communities.

This idea has been shared for a number of years as we reported in Bill Ingebrigtsen wants to convert closed Appleton Prison into a mental health facility (former state representative Andrew Falk, defeated by Miller for the seat, also liked the idea).

There's another weird disconnect in the article. Miller claims:

Miller said he has now had two heart-to-heart conversations on the prison with new Department of Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell. “He recognizes Prairie Correctional Facility is a legitimate correctional facility,” said Miller of those conversations. “He knows it has to be a part of the discussion.”

He said he believes the commissioner will be willing to tour the facility, although he said such a visit will be a private one.

This is fascinating stuff, since Paul Schnell works for Governor Tim Walz. In March, Morris's radio station KMRS/KKOK reported in Walz Speaks Out Against Private Prisons:

Governor Tim Walz told hundreds of AFSCME (AFFS-mee) state employee union members at a State Capitol rally Tuesday afternoon:

“As long as I have the privilege of occupying this office, there will never be a private prison in Minnesota!”

Over the years proposals have been unsuccessfully floated to revive the state’s only private prison — Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton — which now stands dormant. Some bills proposed Minnesota lease or buy the prison and staff it with state employee union members. A Walz spokesperson says the governor opposes either leasing or buying because his goal is to reduce Minnesota’s prison population. Backers of a re-opened prison say it would be a needed boost to the Appleton area economy.

House Democratic Majority Leader Ryan Winkler introduced a bill earlier this year that would ban private prisons from doing business in Minnesota. He argues Minnesota prisons should not be run by corporations that put profits ahead of public safety.

There's that.

Related posts:

• MN Sen. Andrew Lang and Rep. Tim Miller to hold Dec. 11 town hall on Appleton's private prison
• MN Republican Senate & House federal PACs took $5000 from CoreCivic PAC in 2018
• Opposition to CoreCivic bid to re-open Appleton Prison as ICE detention center meet to Tuesday
• Bill Ingebrigtsen wants to convert closed Appleton Prison into a mental health facility
• #Mnleg ordered study: Appleton private prison bed rent more expensive than county jail cell
• Land Stewardship Project: LSP member leaders oppose ICE detention facility at Appleton prison
• West Central Tribune coverage of opposition to possible use of Appleton CoreCivic prison by ICE

Photo: The closed private prison in Appleton. via St. Paul Pioneer Press.

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Did thousands of people coming to Capitol to demand climate action change Bakk's heart?

Just a day before Swedish teen Greta Thunberg was named Time's Person of the Year for her climate activism, a group of Minnesota's DFL Senators held a press conference announcing the formation of its statewide Senate DFL Clean Energy and Climate Caucus.

We're not quite sure what to think of Senate Minority Leader Bakk's membership in this group. We're not alone.

At MinnPost, Walker Orenstein reports in DFL state senators just formed a ‘climate caucus.’ Will they be able to agree on anything?:

Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk said Tuesday that his fellow DFLers in the Legislature would try to crack the Republican blockade on much of Gov. Tim Walz’s climate change agenda next year by forming a united front in a “Clean Energy and Climate Caucus.”

At a news conference in the Capitol, Bakk called for hearings on Walz’s plan to require a carbon-free energy grid by 2050 and said Democrats would try to bridge divides on environmental issues between lawmakers from the Twin Cities metro and outside of it.

But that could be a tall task for Bakk, who the Star Tribune reported is facing a challenge for his leadership post by Woodbury Sen. Susan Kent. Liberals from the metro area have long chafed at some of Bakk’s positions on energy and mining policy while more conservative DFLers and trade unions have typically aligned with the Cook Democrat. . . .

While promoting Walz’s 2050 legislation was billed as the climate group’s top priority, Senate DFLers don’t appear to unanimously support it, only a plan to work on it. 

Bakk said he hadn’t read the measure, which was introduced in March. But he said the bill, like most, would change as it moves through the Legislature based on input from lawmakers and others. “I do think that the governor’s bold vision here, when it results in a piece of legislation that gets to his desk, there will be bipartisan support for it,” Bakk said.

Jessica Looman, executive director of the building trades council, said Walz’s legislation was a “really great foundation” but needed changes, such as “strengthen the understanding that nuclear is part of a carbon free energy future.” Walz’s original bill would not lift a moratorium on new nuclear projects and does not classify existing nuclear power plants as a “carbon-free resource.”

But while lawmakers pledged to sort out those differences, they remain split on other climate change issues. Bakk supports the $2.6 billion Line 3 project, which would build a 337-mile oil pipeline to replace an aging and corroding one that is currently running at half capacity.

The PUC has repeatedly said the line is necessary, but environmental groups and some DFLers argue that new long-term infrastructure for fossil fuels will exacerbate climate change in a time of crisis and risk spills.

Read the entire article at MinnPost. Good stuff.

Bluestem is also curious how Bakk's appreciation of pro-coal marketing efforts funded by the North Dakota Industrial Commission (a state agency) will shape his involvement on the “Clean Energy and Climate Caucus.”

But first, a visit back to 2007--when Minnesota adopted renewable energy standards and the Next Generation Energy Act.

Bakk and the Next Generation Energy Act

In May 2007, Republican Governor Tim Pawlenty signed the Next Generation Energy Act. A press release from the Governor's Office, now archived at the Legislative Reference Library, outlines the act, along with several related bills:

. . . Following the framework developed early in the legislative session with the passage of the nation’s most aggressive Renewable Energy Standard, the Next Generation Energy Act establishes nation-leading requirements on Minnesota’s electric utilities while ensuring reliability and protecting the cost-competitiveness of Minnesota’s electric system.

The legislation received overwhelming bipartisan support and was co-authored by Rep. Bill Hilty and Senator Yvonne Prettner Solon.

The Next Generation Energy Act includes:

• Energy Savings Goals The Demand Efficiency Initiative builds on Minnesota’s existing conservation program, consistently ranked in the top five programs in the country. It will effectively double the amount of energy saved by Minnesota’s utilities by transitioning Minnesota from energy efficiency spending goals to energy efficiency savings goals. The bill also sets a goal of 1,000 Energy Star Buildings in Minnesota by 2010 and provides adequate funding to achieve the goal.
• Community Based Energy Development The Next Generation Energy Act expands and strengthens Minnesota’s commitment to the development of locally-owned renewable energy projects. Previous legislation also increases funding for community energy outreach through Clean Energy Resource Teams (CERTS) throughout the state.
• Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Reduction According to the National Conference of State Legislators, the Next Generation Energy Act propels Minnesota into the top two states (with California) leading the way towards reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The bill establishes statewide GHG reduction goals of 15 percent by 2015, 30 percent by 2025, and 80 percent by 2050. The bill also endorses the Governor’s Minnesota Climate Change Advisory Group as the entity to develop a comprehensive greenhouse gas emission reduction plan to meet those goals (www.mnclimatechange.us).

Earlier this year, the Governor signed legislation containing the first components of his Next Generation Energy Initiative:

• 25x’25 Renewable Electricity Requirements The nation’s most aggressive Renewable Energy Standard requires Minnesota’s electric utilities to provide 25% renewable electricity by 2025.
• Next Generation BioEnergy and BioFuels Governor Pawlenty signed legislation to appropriate over $35 million for energy projects and research including:
• • $15 million for bioenergy, biomass electricity, biofuels, plug-in hybrid technologies, renewable hydrogen and solar technology projects.
  • $17 million for energy research, including funding for the U of M Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment.
  • $3 million to double the number of E85 stations in Minnesota from the nation-leading 300 stations to 600 stations.

In addition, the NextGen Energy Board is established and will begin meeting next month to develop bioenergy and biofuels policies and recommendations.

“The Next Generation Energy Initiative is providing the pathway to a better energy future,” Governor Pawlenty said. “Minnesota is the leader in energy policy that benefits the environment, rural economies, national security and consumers.”

Governor Walz' December 2 press release, Governor Walz Establishes Climate Change Subcabinet, references this legislation:

The state’s 2007 Next Generation Energy Act set statutory goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but Minnesota has fallen short of reaching these goals. The Subcabinet will be tasked with identifying policies and strategies that will put Minnesota back on track to meet or exceed the goals, identify challenges and opportunities to mitigate climate change, and create a public engagement framework to provide a platform for dialogue about climate change mitigation and resilience solutions. The Advisory Council will be made up of up to 15 members appointed by the Governor to represent different perspectives and experiences and will advise the Subcabinet in its duties.

Read the Governor's proclamation here. As Orenstein reported, Walz's own legislation stalled last spring.

In 2007, like most of his colleagues, Bakk voted for the Next Generation Energy Act (SF145/HF436) Indeed, of the five naysayers in the Minnesota Senate's vote on the conference committee report, only Alexandria Republican Bill Ingebrigtsen still serves in the body--although Bruce Anderson, R-Buffalo Township, who voted against the final bill in the House, has jumped into the upper chamber. Of the nine state representatives who voted no, only Forest Lake Republican Bob Dettmer still serves in the lower chamber.

Of course, this was before the more current collection of characters who cast the recent votes in the Minnesota House denying a human role in climate change.

Bakk also voted for former St. Paul DFL senator Ellen Anderson's 25x’25 Renewable Electricity Requirement (SF4) mentioned in the Pawlenty press release, as did nearly all of his colleagues.

Bakk and North Dakota Coal

Despite those votes, Bakk has been quick to lend kind words to North Dakota's lignite coal industry. An undated (but pre-2011) story by Dave Thompson at Prairie Public News, ND says it can meet MN energy needs, reported:

That was the subject of a panel discussion at the Lignite Energy Council's annual meeting in Bismarck. Governor Hoeven was a panelist -- and he says North Dakota can meet those needs through lignite -- and renewables.

"We have the ability to generate the power here in North Dakota," Hoeven said. "Clearly, Minnesota and the region very much need that power."

But panelists from Minnesota say there are roadblocks. Minnesota DFL Senator Tom Bakk is the vice-chairman of the Senate Jobs, Energy and Community Development Committee. He says Minnesota is focused on renewables -- and it will take a lot of work to convince people that more baseload production is needed.

"Renewables aren't bad," said Bakk. "They're only part of the solution. Those paper mills and mines don't shut down when the wind quits blowing."

Bakk says the key will be to convince Minnesotans that new plants will be clean -- and not "dirty old coal."

Clearly, the lignite industry thought that over. In 2015, we reported about the involvement of the North Dakota Industrial Commission in Horse hockey: who's pushing the puck for new Coalition for a Secure Energy Future TV ad?.

There was a nice reception that year, too: Will scheduling woes keep lawmakers away from Coalition for a Secure Energy Future's free food?

In 2016's ND state/lignite industry partnership continues funding for Coalition for Secure Energy Future, we featured this picture of then-Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk with some energy lobbyists:

We recycled the picture in Is putting a smile on Tom Bakk's face the best thing ND lignite research fund has ever done?

Our July 2015 post, Tom Bakk nabs good conduct certificate from ND Industrial Commission coal marketing program, notes the origin of the photo.

Also worth a read, Fact check: is the Coalition for a Secure Energy Future "hard hat labor" lobbying group? Well, no.

We'll see whether Bakk is so eager to burn coal now that he's joined the new caucus (for those promoting carbon capture or synfuels as "clean coal," we recommend Project Tundra's clean coal; or, does Petra Nova project's tech really reduce carbon emissions? and Lignite Energy Council research veep touts experience gathered at synfuels plant).

The future Belongs to the grandkids

So has Bakk had a change of heart? The Minnesota Senate DFL twitter account shared this press conference video clip:

"The future is not mine, but the future does belong to my grandchildren." –Senate Minority Leader Tom Baak

Young people continue to show up for the planet, for their future, and for each other – but, they shouldn’t have to do it alone. It is time to take action. #mnleg pic.twitter.com/hKPXEqa3Ls

— Minnesota Senate DFL (@SenateDFL) December 10, 2019

We'll keep an eye of this guy--whether he remains the Minority Leader or not--to see whether he's sticking with the kids or the coal guys.

Photo: The grip and grin, photo submitted by the Coalition for a Secure Energy Future to the Tower Timberjay.  If you see a photo of other legislators getting a certificate from the marketing campaign sponsored by $1.2 million of the North Dakota Industrial Commission Lignite Research, Development and Marketing Program's money, please send it to us!

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the  paypal subscription button.

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Document: Environmental Quality Board Pollinator Legislation Memo 2019

Back in November, we posted a draft of the State Agency Pollinator 2019 Annual Report. The final draft is now online at the Environmental Quality Board at MN State Agency Pollinator Report 2019.

The Information Sources for the 2019 Pollinator Report are also posted, as is the Agency Pollinator Summaries 2019.

We find the Pollinator Legislation Memo 2019 especially helpful and embed it below.

Pollinator Legislation Memo 2019 by uploaded by Sally Jo Sorensen on Scribd

See also our other recent post, BWSR accepting applications from MN residents, local orgs for Lawns to Legumes Grants, which was one of the legislative accomplishments.

Photo: A rusty patched bumblebee. Via US FWS.

If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the  paypal subscription button.

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MN Board of Animal Health: CWD confirmed in small Douglas County hobby farm deer herd

This press release came in from the Minnesota Board of Animal Health about an hour ago:

The Minnesota Board of Animal Health confirms an 8-year-old white-tailed doe tested positive for chronic wasting disease (CWD) after its white-tailed buck pen-mate killed it in a small, two-deer, hobbyist herd in Douglas County. The USDA National Veterinary Services Laboratory confirmed the doe’s brain and lymph node tissues were positive for the disease. The site is under quarantine, and this is the first time CWD has been confirmed in Douglas County.

“We’re conducting a full and thorough investigation of herd history and animal movements to determine any likely routes of CWD transmission in the herd,” said Board Senior Veterinarian, Dr. Courtney Wheeler.

When the Douglas County herd owner received the CWD-positive results for the doe, he decided to euthanize the only remaining deer on site, the buck, and submit it for CWD testing. Test results are pending as of this release. The Board is continuing its investigation with other state and federal agencies to detect and control CWD in the state.

CWD is a disease of the deer and elk family caused by prions, which can damage brain and nerve tissue. The disease is most likely transmitted when infected deer and elk shed prions in saliva, feces, urine, and other fluids or tissues. CWD is not known to naturally occur in other animals. The disease is fatal in deer and elk, and there are no known treatments or vaccines. Consuming infected meat is not advised.

We've been posting about CWD results for wild deer. Our last post Update: MN chronic wasting disease positive results rise to 13; map of special hunt, included the results from thousands of wild deer shot during this fall's hunt.

Photo: A white-tail buck, via Flicker, Creative Commons.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the  paypal subscription button.

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Bonanza Valley Groundwater Management Area Plan public meeting in Glenwood, Wed. Dec. 11

The Alexandria Echo Press reports in DNR meeting to look at Bonanza Valley water use:

The Minnesota DNR will hold a public meeting from 1-3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 11 in Glenwood to talk about a proposal that could affect farmers who irrigate and others who get state permits to use large amounts of groundwater.

The proposed plan affects the Bonanza Valley, where the DNR says groundwater resources are at risk of becoming overused and degraded. Part of the valley extends into southeastern Douglas County.

Over the past 25 years, permitted groundwater use in Bonanza Valley has nearly tripled, the DNR says, at a rate five times faster than the state as a whole. Agricultural irrigation has grown the fastest, and is expected to continue to grow.

The state is concerned that continued growth could affect drinking water, as well as plant and animal habitat. Permits are required when users withdraw more than 10,000 gallons of water per day, or 1 million gallons per year.

The meeting, to be held at the Glenwood State Bank conference room on the second floor, is aimed at residents of Stearns, Pope and Kandiyohi counties and others who could be affected by the proposal. About 18,000 people live within the affected area or close to it, the DNR says.

Called the Bonanza Valley Groundwater Management Area Plan, it outlines how the DNR will ensure that groundwater supplies in the area remain adequate to meet individual and community needs while protecting lakes, streams and wetlands.

Learn more about the area at the DNR's webpage, Bonanza Valley Groundwater Management Area (GWMA). Read the Bonanza Valley Groundwater Management Area Plan PDF for even more information.

Minnesota Public Radio's Dan Haugen's 2014 report, Big rise in irrigation pumping draws DNR attention to Minnesota's 'Bonanza Valley, is a good introduction to the genesis of the plan.

Photo: An irrigation rig watering a corn field. Via the MN DNR's Bonanza Valley Groundwater Management Area (GWMA) webpage.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the  paypal subscription button.

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Arizona Republic: Riverview LLP may be largest AZ corporate farmer, farm with most wells

Back in September, we posted Riverview Dairy drawing down Arizona's aquifers, based on Draining Arizona: Residents say corporate mega-farms are drying up their wells, a report by NBC News.

In the Arizona Republic on Friday evening, Rob O'Dell and Ian James reported in These 7 industrial farm operations are draining Arizona's aquifers, and no one knows exactly how much they're taking.

Riverview Dairy's Arizona operations were included in the list of the seven industrial farms operations:

The giant dairy: Riverview near Willcox

With more than 37,000 acres in the Willcox area, Riverview LLP, a Minnesota dairy, may be the largest corporate farmer in the state and the farm with the most wells.

Started in 2014 with the purchase of the Faria Dairy on Kansas Settlement Road south of Willcox, it is building a huge expansion to the southeast called Turkey Creek Dairy. 

Together the company plans to manage 150,000 cattle on both properties, said spokesman Kevin Wulf. 

The new Turkey Creek farm has 14,000 “calf-huts” that look like large dog houses and are used to house calves that are immediately taken from their mothers after birth. The huts are arranged in rows that are longer than football fields.

Riverview produces the majority of the food for its cattle on its properties, growing wheat, silage corn and alfalfa. Records show the company has 420 wells. More than 90 of these wells are drilled to depths of more than 1,000 feet. Its deepest well is nearly 2,500 feet deep. 

Wulf declined to say how much water is used annually. He said the company has reduced water usage by 25 percent since it purchased the land.

Wulf said the dairy would like to be a part of the water solution in Willcox and is supportive of water regulation in Arizona, though he couldn't say the exact rules he wants enacted.

"It has been pretty much a free-for-all," Wulf said. "There could be some things to be gained by having water regulated across the state."

Peggy Judd, a Cochise County supervisor, is a huge proponent of farming in the Willcox area, particularly the Riverview dairy. She said the companies didn’t invest millions of dollars into the area “in order to fail.”

“They don’t intend to ever leave,” Judd said. “They know there’s enough water.”

But the water pumped by commercial farms has helped dry up wells owned

But the water pumped by commercial farms has helped dry up wells owned by residents, who worry for their future. Riverview offered to contribute money toward a new water system being proposed for the residents close to its farm, Wulf said. But that won’t stop the pumping of the aquifer.

“This is a major, major deal for this county," said Claire Miller, who lives near several farms. With tens of thousands of cattle and the company insisting on growing all of the food on its land, "you are talking a lot of water,” she said.

As a former business owner, Miller said she can see both sides of the issue. But she said she is scared by the sheer amount of water being pumped out.

“If the damn state, pardon my French, and the county do not stop handing out commercial well permits like your Christmas candy, us homeowners are going to be screwed,” she said. “I told my husband I want to move. I want to sell, that’s it.”

For those who might have missed our September post, Riverview Dairy LLP has played an oversized role in Minnesota policy making, we noted some background about the role of Riverview in recent Minnesota political history:

Riverview Dairy

It's fascinating to see Riverview Dairy called a corporate farm in the national media. We began to pay attention to the LLP (the structure allows the operation to slip under Minnesota's corporate farm law) in posts such as MN12A: Does Backer want to strip citizens of ability to ask MPCA for environmental studies?.

Indeed, that's exactly what Riverview, Backer and their pals were after--and got--in eliminating the Citizens Board of the MPCA, as MPR's Elizabeth Dunbar reported in MN lawmakers pull the plug on pollution-fighting citizens' panel.

Ironically, the Dunbar piece is illustrated with a photo of Thief River Falls' Excel Dairy; the caption notes:

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's Citizens' Board has weighed in on many agriculture decisions over the years, including the Excel Dairy case, in which the board denied to reissue the Thief River Falls dairy a permit after it was declared a public health nuisance.

In Dairy operation to reopen, the Jamestown Sun reported:

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Citizen's Board today in St. Paul will hear the case to allow Excel Dairy, a rural Thief River Falls mega-dairy, to once again fill its barns and produce milk.

The dairy has been closed and empty of cows since January 2009, when the state filed air quality regulation violations against the dairy and its parent company, the Dairy Dozen. Earlier this month, Excel filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but plans to re-open as soon as possible, said company owner/manager Rick Milner. . . .

Millner is one of several investors of a dairy farm conglomerate based in Veblen, S.D., that has had six dairy operations in recent years in South Dakota, North Dakota and Minnesota. Environmental violations connected to manure pits have occurred at the two farms near Veblen in recent years, as well as the Five-Star Dairy near Milnor, N.D.

Five-Star also filed for Chapter 11 protection in federal bankruptcy court earlier this month, but remains in operation.

One of the Veblen dairy farms also filed Chapter 11 this month, Millner said.

The company's other dairy farm near Veblen was placed into receivership earlier this year in the hands of a Minnesota agricultural lender, according to news reports.

The chronology can be found in 2011's Dairy drama: A timeline at AgWeek, which includes the acquisition of the Veblen dairy by Riverview. It's as if there's a circle here.

Riverview also starred in our post, From Land Stewardship Project: U economist says help is disservice to many dairy farmers:

Rural Communities & Family Farming Under Attack

Here is an example of how corporate interests and big ag are working against rural communities and family farmers at the legislature. On Feb. 26, the Senate Ag Policy and Finance Committees met for a special joint hearing to overview the state of agriculture in Minnesota.

Dr. Marin Bozic, a dairy economist at the University of Minnesota, testified “on behalf of Minnesota Milk, and as well as [his] employer,” the U of M. Incredibly, Dr. Bozic said, “I anticipate out of 3,000 dairy farms left in the state, probably over 80 percent are last generation dairies… We are going to see a number of dairy farmers that are no longer competitive… We would be doing them a disservice by offering some handouts that would prolong their hope but really there is nothing there to hope for.” He then lifted up Riverview Dairy, an 8,000-cow dairy in Morris, Minn., as the prime example of what type of operation our state resources should be focused on. (Watch or listen to his testimony, which starts at 1:06:15.)

That's from the Land Stewardship Project. It's curious to read over a year later when dairy farmers are struggling. Who knows that a dairy economist at the University of Minnesota and Minnesota Milk, said such things?

And who knew that Arizona's groundwater was being sent to giant dairies in Minnesota and South Dakota in the concentrated form of heifers? My, my.

We'll be curious to see how Riverview and other industrial agriculture operations exploit sympathy for small family farmers in order to gain more advantages over them in policy making in in the coming sessions in St. Paul and Washington D.C. Minnesotans concerned about protecting aquifers and groundwater should be especially vigilant.

Screenshot: "The new Turkey Creek farm has 14,000 “calf-huts” that look like large dog houses and are used to house calves that are immediately taken from their mothers after birth. The huts are arranged in rows that are longer than football fields." From the video about in These 7 industrial farm operations are draining Arizona's aquifers, and no one knows exactly how much they're taking. Via Arizona Republic.

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the  paypal subscription button.

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Update: MN chronic wasting disease positive results rise to 13; map of special hunt

When we last looked at the Chronic Wasting Disease test results for whitetail deer killed by hunters in special zones-- Update: DNR updates chronic wasting disease results; special December deer hunt set in SE MN--seven positive results had been detected.

As the images above indicate, that figure has nearly doubled to 12.

In addition, one deer was discovered dead in the wild and tested positive.

More on the results here.

More detailed map of special hunt

In our last post we noted the DNR  had announced two special hunts in December in Southeastern Minnesota. Here's a more detailed map of the hunts:

If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post. Those wishing to make a small ongoing monthly contribution should click on the  paypal subscription button.

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KOTA: South Dakota teen meth use rates have actually declined over the past two decades

We haven't looked at South Dakota's messaging about meth since our post, The first step to recovery is admitting there's a problem; or, Meth, We're On It in South Dakota.

One constant in the messaging campaign to stop meth in its tracks (as one public servants so felicitously put it) has been the notion that South Dakota teen meth use is increasing.

A new investigation by a Rapid City  television station tweaks this notion in KOTA Investigates: Teen meth use may be declining, study shows:

A study linked to a viral anti-drug campaign suggests South Dakota teens try methamphetamines at a higher rate than the national average, but one long-lived survey implies something different.

The South Dakota Department of Social Services launched the self-deprecating "Meth. We're On It" campaign against use of the eponymous drug in mid-November. According to Gov. Kristi Noem, the intent of the campaign was to create "dinner table" dialogue on meth use in the state.

Noem's office linked a study to the campaign early in its life: they referred to troubling statistics from the 2016-2017 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) to drive home the prevalence of meth use in the state.

One such statistic mentioned that "in South Dakota alone, 12-17-year-olds who have tried meth is two times the national average."

As part of a weeks-long investigation into the numbers surrounding the campaign, KOTA Territory News dug into the data on teen methamphetamine use to solve one simple, initial question: "what exactly is the national average, and how many South Dakota teens are using meth?"  . . .

However, the investigation did glean a new perspective on the drug campaign - a consistent decline in drug use among teens.

The Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) is an comprehensive study on risky student behaviors that comes out every two years. Associated researchers first began documenting methamphetamine use among high schools seven years after its inception in 1999. . . .

The latest YRBS data shows that 3.8 percent of South Dakota students used meth at least once in their life. The state average rests within less than half a percent of that, which indicates high school meth rates are statistically normal.

Other states and school districts are nearly double the national average: 6.0 percent of high school students in Mississippi and Arkansas have tried meth, while 7.9 percent of students in Baltimore, MD have abused the drug.

The YRBS also measures frequency of meth use. The survey's questionnaire asks whether a student has used the substance once or twice, three to nine times and up to 40 or more times, as well as if they have never used the drug.

Our state aligns with national averages related to frequency: 1.4 percent of South Dakota students have used meth one to two times - a tenth of a percent greater than the U.S. rate.

Also, an estimated 1.1 percent South Dakota students abused methamphetamines 40 or more times in their life, which is just two tenths above the national rate.

In stark contrast to the tone of the meth campaign, state teen meth use rates have actually declined over the past two decades. According to the 1999 YRBS, 10 percent of high school students in South Dakota tried meth at least once in their life. Two years later, that number decreased to eight percent. . . .

Interesting. Read or watch the entire report at KOTA.

Meanwhile, SDPB reported in Noem announces difficult year for state economy during FY2021 budget address:

Noem proposes $3.7 million for intensive meth treatment and enforcement in continuation of her anti-meth campaign.

“In South Dakota, twice as many 12 to 17-year-olds reported using meth in the last year, as compared to the national average,” she said. “Not only does it devastate our families, but it also cost our state millions and millions and millions of dollars each year.”

We're hoping that more of that cash goes for treatment rather than enforcement, after reading Nick Martin's Locking People Up: South Dakota’s On It in the New Republic:

. . .The essential question is why the state’s response has been to throw people, and overwhelmingly Native people, in prison rather than carve out the funds for prevention and rehabilitation.

All of the above trends continue despite the fact that, in 2013, the state legislature passed legislation aimed at addressing prison overcrowding by, theoretically, reducing penalties for nonviolent offenders. However, the South Dakota ACLU found in August that, six years out from the legislative updates, the overall prison population was just barely smaller than it would have been without the bills: a difference of 281 people.

The “on meth” public awareness campaign is accompanied by the announcement of a partnership between the state and the Rosebud Sioux Tribe to have the Sioux operate the only tribe-run Intensive Methamphetamine Treatment Program in the state. It’s a positive development that may yet prove to be merely cosmetic, particularly if the state continues to dedicate its resources to cracking down and locking up Native communities. “In the future,” CNN reported, “Noem said there will be commercials, billboards, Facebook ads, and state agencies working with nonprofits to bring relief to people who are dealing with addiction and the meth epidemic.” Neither these vague promises nor the Sioux-operated treatment program are remotely sufficient to address the drug crisis and the deep inequalities driving it.

Fighting the meth epidemic on sovereign Native land requires federal involvement that has been more than usually absent in the past three years. Some of the tribal nations within the state’s borders are operating on shoestring budgets, with their programs drastically underfunded by Congress and the Trump administration. On Tuesday, the day after the “We’re On It” rollout, a congressional hearing was held to review the 2018 “Broken Promises” report, which detailed how the federal legislature has failed to adequately fund Indian Country services over the last 15 years. The Trump administration cut funding to the Department of the Interior, which houses the Bureau of Indian Affairs, by 12 percent in 2017. That included funding for the Indian Health Service, after-school programs, and the Bureau of Indian Education. Trump’s 2020 proposed budget slashed the IHS “preventive health” budget by $53 million.

In a vacuum, the “Meth: We’re On It” campaign would register as little more than an innocent misstep, a sloppy attempt aimed in the right direction. But politics do not operate in a vacuum. This is the same state and same governor who planned on criminalizing future Keystone XL pipeline protesters just to save themselves and their corporate partners a headache. South Dakota locks up Native people at rates that are only matched by North Dakota and Alaska. What the state needs isn’t a public awareness campaign, but a total overhaul of its punitive approach to drug use in favor of a treatment- and prevention-focused public health program. What its Native nations need is federal funding for basic services that would help keep people from drugs in the first place. Without a serious plan to address these needs, the posters, no matter how many hotline numbers they include at the bottom, are a distraction.

Image: From South Dakota's startling and much-mocked anti-meth campaign.

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MN Sen. Andrew Lang and Rep. Tim Miller to hold Dec. 11 town hall on Appleton's private prison

Update December 11: As we predicted below back on December 3, local radio would probably announce this event. Sure enough, on December 10, Willmar Radio reported Miller, Lang to host meeting on reopening PCF in Appleton Wednesday. An interesting wrinkle in JP Cola's report:

..Miller says right now the owner of PCF, Core-Civic, is working with the Trump Administration regarding possibly housing detainees for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE. Miller says he doesn't have any info on where that process stands. Prairie Correctional Facility at one time employed around 350 people but closed it's doors in 2010 after The State of Minnesota stopped contracting to house prisoners there. Subsequent discussion about reopening the 1600-bed facility has met with stiff resistance from state employee unions and civil rights groups who oppose the idea of privately-owned prisons. Miller says local support for reopening PCF has been great, similar to the local support they've received for creating a veteran's nursing home in Montevideo.

As readers know, the location for tonight's town hall was used back in August by area residents opposed to the hypothetical ICE contract as we reported at the time in s Opposition to CoreCivic bid to re-open Appleton Prison as ICE detention center meet ...

Miller also tells Wilmar Radio:

Miller says it's been about a year-and-a-half since there has been a public meeting regarding PCF. Legislation passed in 2017 mandated that the state consider using PCF before they discuss building any new prison facilities in the state...

Indeed, the state issued a report that we covered in January 2018's #Mnleg ordered study: Appleton private prison bed rent more expensive than county jail cell.

Read the entire 241-page MN Prairie Correctional Facility - Architectural Assessment online.

There's another longer report, MN Prairie Correctional Facility - Facility Condition Assessment (FCA) online as well. [end update]

Via one of Minnesota state representative Tim Miller's Facebook pages, we learned that he and state senator Andrew Lang, R-Olivia, will be holding a "town hall discussion on the prison" on Wednesday, December 11, 7:00 p.m. at Shooter's Bar and Grill in Appleton.

Miller captioned the graphic at the top of this post with this message:

Join Senator Andrew Lang and I to discuss the current status of the prison in relationship to state and DOC plans. Rep. Jeff Backer and possibly other legislators will be joining us as well.

Representative Backer, R-Browns Valley, represents the house district to the west of Miller's turf.

Update December 3, 2019: editor's note--some friends have noted that they thought the issue with the prison was settled. They were thinking of proposals to ICE to use the facility to detain unauthorized immigrants. We read Miller's text: the current status of the prison in relationship to state and DOC plans" to not deal with federal agency plans. [end update]

The event isn't listed at the moment on the Upcoming Meetings in the District for Rep. Tim Miller (R) page that opens when one clicks the Town Hall Meetings link on Miller's official page at the Minnesota Legislature, nor is it on the New House Republican Caucus page on the same website.

Nor is it listed in News on the Minnesota Senate Republicans website or on Senator Lang's page there.

Perhaps local radio and the West Central Tribune--both of which provide daily news in the area--will pick up on the event. Most of the small town newspaper in the area are weeklies.

The long-shuttered Prairie Corrections Facility in Appleton is privately owned by CoreCivic, the corporation formerly known as Corrections Corporation of America.

Readers might remember that Shooter's was the location for meeting of those against re-opening the facility, as we reported in August's Opposition to CoreCivic bid to re-open Appleton Prison as ICE detention center meet to Tuesday.

According to co-sponsor Land Stewardship Project, over 170 people attended. Here's a picture of the August anti-prison re-opening meeting at Shooter's:

We also reported in August that MN Republican Senate & House federal PACs took $5000 from CoreCivic PAC in 2018.

Other posts about the anti-prison organizing from last August:

• Land Stewardship Project: LSP member leaders oppose ICE detention facility at Appleton prison
• West Central Tribune coverage of opposition to possible use of Appleton CoreCivic prison by ICE

Photo: From the Land Stewardship Project post,"Over 170 people in western Minnesota attended a meeting Tuesday, August 13, to grow opposition to opening an ICE detention center in Appleton, Minn."

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Kandiyohi County Commissioners consent 3-2 to letter allowing continued refugee resettlement

UPDATE 12/3/2019: We recommend readers check out Riham Feshir's fine reporting at Minnesota Public Radio, In a split vote, one Minnesota county says ‘yes’ to more refugees. Feshir reports:

In a first for the state, a divided Kandiyohi County Board of Commissioners voted Tuesday to accept more refugees into its increasingly diverse community. . . .

Just 10 refugees were settled in Kandiyohi last fiscal year, including six ethnic Karen and four East African refugees. All were joining family already in the area.

Not all immigrants are first-time arrivals, therefore the executive order doesn’t apply to hundreds of immigrants who could move to the county of their choice.

Resettlement agencies in Minnesota have been racing to gather the consent forms from across the state. They’ve sent draft language to the two dozen counties that have accepted refugees within the past two years. . . .

There's much more at MPR--check out the whole article.

Additional reporting is up at Willmar Radio (Kandiyohi County Board votes to continue hosting refugees, includes sound clips from commissioners) and the West Central Tribune (Kandiyohi County to continue accepting refugees for resettlement). The paper's news brief notes that Wednesday's edition will include more information. [end update]

Minnesota Public Radio's Riham Feshir tweeted earlier this afternoon:

They called it the toughest vote this year.
In the end, vote passed 3-2 including chairman of the board voting against.

— Riham Feshir (@RihamFeshir) December 3, 2019

The "toughest vote" was outlined in a December 1 article in the West Central Tribune, Kandiyohi County Board to consider letter of consent for refugee resettlement:

In September, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 13888 on enhancing state and local involvement in refugee resettlement.

The order requires states and localities which wish to continue to be a location where refugees are settled to offer, in writing, its consent to the federal government. The Kandiyohi County Board of Commissioners will consider the request for the letter of consent at its Dec. 3 meeting.

The Willmar Human Rights Commission first took the issue up at its Nov. 19 meeting, first recommending the Willmar City Council give its written consent to continue being a home for refugees. However, according to a spokesperson from the U.S. State Department, only states, counties or county-equivalents can give approval to resettle refugees.

According to an online source, Commissioners  Corky Berg, Harlan Madsen, and Roger Imdieke voted in favor of the letter of consent. Board chair Roland Nissen and Commissioner Steve Ahmann voted against it.

Willmar is home to Somali and Karen refugees.

Earlier this year, Bluestem Prairie was first to report Kandiyohi Co Commish Ahmann only MN elected to sign Say No to Interfaith Dialogue declaration.

The entire county commission meeting was streamed live. Here's the YouTube:

Photo: The Kandiyohi County board of commissioners.

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BWSR accepting applications from MN residents, local orgs for Lawns to Legumes Grants

In posts like Bee in his bonnet: MNHouse Enviro Finance lead Dan Fabian bags on new pollinator programs and On the tao of butterflies & bumblebees: news about pollinators flits through greater MN press, we've touched on the Lawns to Legumes program.

Minnesotans can now apply to the program.

A press release just came our way from Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources announcing that the agency is taking applications:

St. Paul, Minn. – The Minnesota Board of Water and Soil Resources (BWSR) is now accepting applications for the Lawns to Legumes program, which aims to increase residential habitat for at-risk pollinators across the state.

Two types of grants are available:

Individual Support Grants: Lawns to Legumes offers a combination of workshops, coaching, planting guides and cost-share funding for installing pollinator-friendly native plantings in residential lawns. Minnesota residents can apply to be reimbursed for up to $350 in costs associated with establishing pollinator habitat in their yards. Funding decisions and all notifications will be emailed in March for Spring 2020 installations.

How to apply: Apply online at Blue Thumb’s website

“These funding and education opportunities empower Minnesotans to proactively work to protect the pollinators we all rely on,” BWSR Executive Director John Jaschke said.

Demonstration Neighborhood Grants: Local governments, tribal governments and nonprofits can apply for grants through a Request for Proposals (RFP) to establish community projects intended to enhance pollinator habitat in key corridors, raise awareness for residential pollinator protection, and showcase best practices. Eligible applicants include soil and water conservation districts, watershed districts, watershed management organizations, cities, counties, non-profits and tribal governments. Applicants can request to be reimbursed for between $20,000 and $40,000 per demonstration neighborhood. Applications will be accepted through January 10.

“Demonstration neighborhoods will encourage collaboration among communities to make a difference for our at-risk pollinators across the state,” Jaschke said.   

Organizations overseeing a demonstration neighborhood will work with local residents to install four types of beneficial planting practices: native pocket plantings, pollinator beneficial trees and shrubs, pollinators lawns and pollinator meadows. Interested organizations can apply on behalf of their organization or on behalf of a group of partners who plan to work together to establish a demonstration neighborhood.

How to apply: Instructions can be found in the RFP on BWSR’s website.

For more information on Lawns to Legumes, see BWSR’s website.

We encourage readers who want to convert their lawns to pollinator-friendly spaces give it a try.

Photo: A rusty patched bumblebee. Via US FWS.

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VIDEO: House Health and Human Services Finance Division members share memories of Diane Loeffler (DFL-Mpls)

Just before the Minnesota House Health and Human Services Finance Division heard MN DHS Commissioner outline improvement plan and take their often-pointed questions, the committee remembered Minneapolis DFLer Diane Loeffler, who passed away in mid-November. Mike Cook reported at Session Daily:

An email from House Speaker Melissa Hortman (DFL-Brooklyn Park), said that Loeffler, serving her eighth term in the House, “had battled cancer, and recently the cancer returned.”

Loeffler, 66, chaired the House Property and Local Tax Division. She also served on the full House Taxes Committee and the health and human services committees, as she has throughout the majority of her legislative career.

In a statement, Hortman said, "Diane was dedicated to helping people in Minnesota who were the most vulnerable -- the sick, the elderly, and those with disabilities. She was unfailingly kind to her colleagues. In the spring, tulips from Diane's garden graced many desks in the House Chamber."

Monday's sentiments matched those of the Speaker, regardless of the division members' politics or region.

Here's the YouTube from Minnesota House Information services:

Star Tribune photographer Glenn Stubbe tweeted:

MN Reps remembered colleague Diane Loeffler fondly before today's DHS hearing pic.twitter.com/1JghDJJFDf

— Glen Stubbe (@gspphoto) December 2, 2019

Photo: Rep. Diane Loeffler, pictured on the House Floor in 2018. Photo by Andrew VonBank, Session Daily.

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VIDEO: MN DHS Commissioner outlines improvement plan, takes MNHouse questions

On Monday, the Minnesota House Health and Human Services Finance Division held an informational hearing with an update from Department of Human Services Commissioner Jodi Harpstead had promised after her first 90 days in the position.

From a DFL Caucus press release

Committee chair Rep. Tina Liebling (DFL – Rochester) issued the following statement:

“Commissioner Harpstead has a very impressive background in business and has managed other large organizations. After serving her first 90 days, today she reported on the results of her investigations and steps the department is making to improve processes and restore trust. Every misstep and dollar misdirected is important, and they must be addressed. Today, she outlined changes that have been made and delivered a message that the department is handling most of its responsibilities well and is headed in a positive direction. Having worked with her over the last 90 days and hearing her thorough report today, I feel confident that DHS is in good hands.”

Here's the video of the hearing:

 

Media coverage

In 'The buck stops here,' commissioner says, laying out a reform plan at Minnesota DHS, the Star Tribune's Glenn Howatt and Chris Hewett report:

A senior official from the Walz administration acknowledged Monday that the state Department of Human Services (DHS) has been "soft around the edges" for 10 to 20 years, but denied that the agency is in "free fall."

In her most comprehensive remarks since taking over the huge agency in September, Commissioner Jodi Harpstead acknowledged the financial and personnel missteps that have produced repeated embarrassments since early summer. But she also said the agency, which runs an $18.5 billion budget and serves more than 1 million Minnesotans, is facing up to its challenges.

"Every dime matters," Harpstead said. "We have reported inappropriate payments this year … I am deeply sorry to our community partners, such as tribes and counties, as well as individual Minnesotans who were affected by these decisions."

As part of an improvement plan she had promised within 90 days, Harpstead said she's forming an outside advisory council that will include Bill George, the respected former Medtronic CEO who was once Harpstead's boss.

Harpstead's testimony was the most detailed to date about her plan to address oversight lapses that have roiled the agency since the summer and led to some $90 million in improper payments for substance-use disorder treatment. The agency now faces the politically unpopular task of clawing back excess payments to counties and two Native American bands, while trying to restore confidence in its management practices.

In a scathing report issued in October, Legislative Auditor James Nobles found "troubling dysfunction," that led the agency to make $29 million in wrongful payments to two tribal bands that now face painful cuts to their social programs.

The auditor's office found that no one at the DHS could identify who was responsible for the overpayments or offer a rationale for the unorthodox and unauthorized billing that led to them.

To prevent future overpayments, Harpstead said the DHS has begun a new initiative, "Operation Stopgap," in which funds won't be disbursed without multiple signatures from department heads.

"The buck stops right here," Harpstead said emphatically. "We're planning to use the best processes that we know, that have been used in other organizations … It starts now."

Rep. Tina Liebling, DFL-Rochester, chairwoman of the committee hearing Harpstead's testimony, noted that Harpstead's qualifications set her apart from recent DHS commissioners, many of whom were attorneys. Harpstead was a Medtronic executive for two decades before joining Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota in 2004. She became CEO of that organization, one of the state's largest nonprofit social service providers, in 2011.

"Having worked with her over the last 90 days and hearing her thorough report today, I feel confident that DHS is in good hands," Liebling said.

Several Republican committee members pushed back, saying they still lacked confidence that the agency had substantially turned things around. "How can we trust DHS with any new money or programs until we see fundamental reform and change?" asked Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen, R-Glencoe. . . .

Read the entire article at the Star Tribune. Forum Communications capitol reporter Dana Ferguson writes in After 'viral' problems at DHS, commissioner highlights solutions, steps forward:

The head of the state's Department of Human Services said that 90 days into the job, she feels the agency is making changes to prevent financial problems and increase public trust.

But some of those commitments came under fire Monday, Dec. 2, as Commissioner Jodi Harpstead came before a Minnesota House Health and Human Services Committee. The panel received the commissioner's initial assessment and grilled her about their concerns with the agency.

Harpstead took over as commissioner in September after a series of top-level leadership shakeups and a set of problem payments came to light.

The "frenzy" of news stories and whistleblower complaints at the department highlighted misused funds from years past, Harpstead said, but current officials at DHS were taking steps to prevent additional issues. And following those top turnovers, Harpstead said there've been no employee re-assignments or removals, with one exception.

"Most of the payment issues we're addressing now did not happen in 2019, they went viral in 2019," Harpstead said. "And we put stopgaps in place before the end of 2019."

After a lawmaker [Mary Franson] asked for a status update on the investigation of former DHS Inspector General Carolyn Ham, Harpstead revealed that the probe had closed with no recommendations and no dismissals. Ham accepted a post within another area of the department, Harpstead said, at Ham's request.

The former inspector came under investigation in March after a complaint was filed against her. Few details about the complaint or the investigation have been made public.

The news of the end of that probe and the lack of consequences for department officials who'd overseen the misspending of $106.5 million in the last six years irked Republicans on the committee. Meanwhile, Democrats and Harpstead pointed to the low percentage of the department's budget improperly used in that time — 0.1% — and said DHS officials had largely succeeded in their efforts to provide services to 1 million vulnerable children, older adults and individuals with disabilities. . . .

Again, read the whole dispatch. At the Pioneer Press, Dave Orrick's coverage focused on Ham in MN DHS: Former inspector general investigation ends with no discipline .

Photo: DHS Commissioner Jodi Harpstead. Photo by Dana Ferguson, Forum Communications.

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Crow Wing County landfill accepts over 3000 deer carcasses in effort to contain CWD

As we've pointed out in Update: DNR updates chronic wasting disease results; special December deer hunt set in SE MN, so far, no new cases of Chronic Wasting Disease have been detected so far this fall in the North central Minnesota CWD management zone (DPA 604).

Crow Wing County is remaining alert, the Brainerd Dispatch reports in Crow Wing County tallies deer carcasses left at landfill:

Crow Wing County accepted more than 3,000 deer carcasses at its landfill in an effort to prevent the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in the local deer population after a single confirmed case of CWD was found in the wild deer population earlier this year.

Throughout the hunting season, the county offered free deer carcass disposal to all hunters in an effort to contain any potential cases of infected deer.

“There has only been one confirmed positive wild deer in the county, out 11,000-plus tests over the last three years, including 2019,” Environmental Services Supervisor Ryan Simonson stated in a news release.

The vast majority of the 3,000-plus deer carcasses accepted into the landfill were incinerated as an additional precautionary measure. Proper carcass disposal is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of the disease.

“Although the statistics show that this is not a major problem at the moment, the county board decided to take a proactive approach to reduce the chances this becomes a major problem in the future,” Simonson said. . . .

Better safe than sorry. According to the county's Chronic Wasting Disease webpage, the landfill was open for deer carcass collection only on three weekends during deer season for "hunters that are residents of Crow Wing County."

Photo: Deer carcass drop-off point at the Crow Wing County Landfill. Via the county's Chronic Wasting Disease webpage.

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