Bluestem Prairie

Mary Franson calls Echo Press non-endorsement for MNHouse 8B "an endorsement of sorts"

On Friday, the Alexandria Echo Press Editorial Board published Our choices for Minnesota Legislature, for Minnesota state senate and house seats in the Alexandria area.

A Forum Communications chain newspaper, the Echo Press endorsed incumbent Republican state senators Bill Ingebrigtsen, Alexandria, in Senate District 8 and Torrey Westrom, Elbow Lake, in Senate District 12.

For the House districts, the editors split their approval for candidates in the three seats closest to Alex, leaving off the open seat in 8A, which hearkens much more to Fergus Falls. In House District 12A, the editors endorsed DFL challenger Murray Smart over incumbent Jeff Backer, with the latter's "No" vote on the bonding bill; in the B side of 12, the editors picked Paul Anderson, R-Starbuck.

But in 8B, the editors made no endorsement.

Let's recap: that's three Republicans and one DFLer endorsed, with a pass on one race. Not exactly Bernie Sanders progressive leanings.

Incumbent state representative Mary Franson, R-Alexandria claimed it as a positive thing on her campaign Facebook page yesterday:

I’ve never had a “no endorsement” before - and have only been endorsed once and that was last election.

I’ll take this “no endorsement” as an endorsement of sorts. Governor Walz is hurting the people of Minnesota and we can’t spend money we don’t have even when the projects are worthy.

Here's a screengrab of the post:

 

Below that, she posts photos of the part of the print version of the editorial devoted to the 8B seat. Here are the images, downloaded from the Facebook post:

 

What Franson doesn't include in her post is a link to Our choices for Minnesota Legislature, which leaves her fans an opening to decry the evil liberal newspaper.

Some examples:

Sovereign Roxanne

They have sold their soul to evil. Stay strong and true. We the People pray for freedom and peace. 

Dan Goeden

It's because your taking a stand. And the media doesn't like that. Your absolutely doing the right thing when you continue to take a stand. Keep up the good work

Chris Hooper

When we had our place on Osakis, we found the Echo Press quite useful for disposing fish entrails! 

Karin Anderson

When the echo press reported third covid death in Douglas County which was a complete lie, I have no respect for that newspaper anymore. If they can’t put the whole truth in they shouldn’t even write about something. And they shouldn’t be writing stuff about politicians and giving their viewpoint on it. Trying to sway people.\

 

Betty Haskins

Ha, the candidate the echo press is endorsing is or was employed by them ... once again play to pay and You are owned by us!!

Mary you have the endorsement of We The People! Thank you for your hard work! 

Jonah Berglund

The Echo Press is going the way of the mass media at large. They’ve lost their credibility and they’re losing their subscriber base. Meanwhile, I fully support you and your stances, Representative Franson. I believe you truly have our district’s best interests at heart and represent us well

We're curious how these folks would respond had Franson shared the fact of the paper's endorsement of three area Republicans, including the sitting state senator in District 8.

 

Franson's Facebook post also reminds us of the response by state representative Tim Miller, R-Prinsburg, to the West Central Tribune's endorsement of his DFL challenger, Ben Dolan, of Appleton. We noted in A little pity party on the prairie: Rep. Tim Miller misleads fans on local paper's endorsements:

On Facebook Wednesday, Rep. Tim Miller shared the image at the top of this article, in a post whining about the West Central Tribune's endorsement of his DFL opponent.

Miller wrote:

Proof positive I have been faithfully serving the people of my district. The West Central Tribune Circulation once again did not endorse me. In the past it’s because I was too Republican. This year I’m not Republican enough for them. I don’t serve a Party or special interests. I serve the people of my district.

I am proudly endorsed by the groups in the photo. I am also supported by multiple Ag groups including Southern MN Beet Sugar Cooperative, MN State Cattlemen, and MN Soybean Producers. All of the major pro-life groups support me. All major Second Amendment groups support me.

I am the only pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, and pro-small business candidate in my race. I am not pushed around by special interest groups. The WC Trib editor has always gone after me for those things. I embrace and proudly proclaim that paper’s lack of support. It confirms to me I am doing the right thing. I ask for your vote.

Your mileage, dear readers, may vary on whether the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and the like are special interests. What does seem odd about the post is the impression that it leaves that the paper has never endorsed Miller. 

And the comments of Miller's followers about the paper being "a communist rag" and "they're a left-wing biased newspaper, just like the Star Tribune"? The paper's endorsement track record suggests otherwise.

We reviewed the paper's record of endorsements for races in which Miller ran: 2012, DFL incumbent; 2014, no endorsement; 2016, Miller endorsed; 2018, no endorsement, equal good will.

 

And like the Echo Press, endorsements in other legislative races weren't exclusively bestowed on Democrats. The West Central Tribune endorsed Republican incumbent state representative Dave Baker in the other state house district serving the Willmar area, while endorsing Olivia Republican incumbent state senator Andrew Lang.

 

Honestly, we can't make this stuff up, as the cliche goes. We have to leave that to Franson and Miller.

 

Photo: Representative Mary Franson speaking unmasked on the Minnesota House floor. Minnesota House, via Bring Me The News report, 'A virus is going to virus': Unmasked Republican lawmaker rails against COVID-19 measures.

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Addendum to MPR story: here's an ad Steve Wenzel ran in the Morrison County Record

Last Saturday, a reader sent the image above, an ad former state representative Steve Wenzel paid to have published in the Morrison County Record.

We believe it's an illustrative addendum to Riham Feshir's very fine story at Minnesota Public Radio, In Trump Country, immigration takes back seat to abortion, taxes and spending in many voters’ minds. Feshir reports in part:

Steve Wenzel hasn’t always been a strong and visible supporter of the Republican party. In fact, the former state representative from Morrison County served in the Legislature as a Democrat for 29 years. 

Now Wenzel takes credit for helping his rural Minnesota county back Donald Trump by the state’s highest margin four years ago. The 73-year-old went from being inspired by Hubert Humphrey and John F. Kennedy to becoming a Republican delegate for President Trump the last two election cycles. He chaired the county’s Republican party and his name is well-known in a community influenced by his political activism in recent years. 

“I didn’t leave the Democratic party, the Democratic party left me,” said Wenzel, now a political science instructor at Central Lakes College in Brainerd. “The Democratic party became so far left that it became unrecognizable.” . . .

But for Wenzel and farmers who support President Trump, what’s top of mind is the conservative U.S. Supreme Court appointments, an improved economy and a commitment to the anti-abortion movement.

“The average person, the little guy didn’t have a chance,” Wenzel said. “That resonated with people, little people, including the good people of Morrison County who felt that this was the only one that was speaking of their concerns.”

Wenzel provided the Editorial counterpoint: Why Donald Trump is the president we need, after the Minneapolis Star Tribune editorial board endorsed Democratic nominee Joe Biden.

There's more to the back story of Wenzel's ideological transformation. Minnesota Legislative Reference Library's page for Wenzel notes that beginning in August 2001 (George W. Bush's first term):

He was appointed State Director of Rural Development in the United States Department of Agriculture.

Wenzel had over a year left on his term. The page also states:

Steve Wenzel was a member of the DFL during his legislative tenure but became a Republican later in life, participating in the 2016 Republican National Convention and serving as a delegate to the 2020 Republican National Convention. (Star Tribune, August 25, 2020)

In 2009, the Forum News Service reported in Wenzel ready for the third act of his professional life:

After 29 years as DFL state representative and about 7 1/2 years as a Republican presidential appointee, Steve Wenzel of Little Falls is ready to start the third act of his professional life. And this latest act doesn't foretell a run for elective office. .  . .

Figuring where Wenzel now fits in politically might be a bit of a challenge. He said the Democratic Party has moved too far to the left, even though he still considers himself a Democrat. In addition to accepting an appointment in 2001 from President George W. Bush to be state director of Rural Development in the U.S. Department of Agriculture, he has supported a number of Republicans in recent years. That list of GOP candidates includes former Sen. Norm Coleman; former Rep. Greg Blaine, who succeeded Wenzel; Gov. Tim Pawlenty; and unsuccessful House District 12B candidate Mike LeMieur, his nephew.

"I would describe myself as an independent, conservative Democrat," he said. "The party has become way too liberal for me."

As an example of how the DFL has changed he noted that in 1973 when he co-authored legislation to ask Congress to overturn the Roe v. Wade abortion ruling he said he obtained the support of 90 percent of the DFLers.

Looking at Minnesota's wide open governor's race he said that the Republican political landscape would be defined by whether former Sen. Norm Coleman decides to run. Without Coleman in the race, Wenzel said, former House Speaker Steve Sviggum is a person he admires and a candidate to be watched. On the DFL side, Wenzel predicted that former Sen. Mark Dayton would probably win in a primary contest. . . .

Although he wasn't looking for a new job, his long-standing interest in agriculture and rural communities prompted him to think seriously about a change when then-House Speaker Steve Sviggum said the Little Falls legislator was being recommended for the Rural Development post.

Did it occur to him that the Republican House speaker might have recommended him for the job to get rid of a Democrat who was firmly entrenched in a legislative seat?

"There was no question that was a part of the mix ... one of the motives," he said.

Still the honor of a presidential appointment and the chance to work in an area that he was interested in made the offer attractive.

"It was an opportunity to continue my work in agriculture," he said. "At some point you have to give it (elective office) up. You don't want to be disappointed." . . .

In 2017, Tyler Jensen reported in the Morrison County Record story, Mr. Wenzel goes to Washington... for Trump’s inauguration:

For Steve Wenzel, a former state representative and now a college professor in political science, the fourth opportunity to go to a presidential inauguration was the  charm.

Wenzel was a DFL representative in the Minnesota state legislature from 1973-2001 and a delegate at President Jimmy Carter’s nomination at the 1976 Democratic National Convention.

He had been invited to Carter’s inauguration and wanted to go, but the inauguration was during the legislative session and he didn’t plan to take a day off.

Wenzel also had the opportunity to go to both inaugurations for President George W. Bush, but again, the first inauguration was during a legislative session. By Bush’s second inauguration, Wenzel had met him a few times and chose not to go.

For Steve Wenzel, a former state representative and now a college professor in political science, the fourth opportunity to go to a presidential inauguration was the  charm.

Wenzel was a DFL representative in the Minnesota state legislature from 1973-2001 and a delegate at President Jimmy Carter’s nomination at the 1976 Democratic National Convention.

He had been invited to Carter’s inauguration and wanted to go, but the inauguration was during the legislative session and he didn’t plan to take a day off.

Wenzel also had the opportunity to go to both inaugurations for President George W. Bush, but again, the first inauguration was during a legislative session. By Bush’s second inauguration, Wenzel had met him a few times and chose not to go. . . .

While Wenzel was not a Trump supporter from the beginning of the campaign, going from Jeb Bush to Marco Rubio to Jon Kasich, he said he felt Trump was a better choice than Hillary Clinton, especially on the issues of abortion and combating terrorism.

If Clinton had been elected, Wenzel said, the Supreme Court would have justices who he said would continue the “abortion on demand climate,” in the country.

“I felt that this particular election was important for the future of the Supreme Court. . . .

Read the rest at the Morrison County Record.

Photo: The ad from the Morrison County Record, via a Bluestem reader.

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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The peculiar knots of cannabis policy prompt GOP kinks in South Dakota and Minnesota

Reefer madness once again shades headlines in South Dakota and Minnesota.

Here in South DaCOVID--where the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported Wednesday South Dakota reaches new highs in COVID-19 hospitalizations, daily cases--Joe Sneve reported earlier in the week, Poll: South Dakotans narrowly favor legal marijuana in the state.

Also popular? The governor's handling of the pandemic, despite the climbing hospitalization and death counts, Sneve report Wednesday in Polling: South Dakotans like Noem's handling of the pandemic.

Sneve reported earlier this week in Personal freedom not part of Noem's thinking on legal pot in South Dakota:

Kristi Noem talks a lot about personal freedom while defending her hands-off approach to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first-term governor of South Dakota, though, doesn't support a libertarian approach to the use of drugs such as marijuana, which voters will decide whether to legalize for both medical and recreational use in next week's election.

Noem has said repeatedly during this campaign season that she opposes both Initiated Measure 26 (medical) and Constitutional Amendment A (recreational). And Friday during an interview with the Argus Leader at the Sioux Falls Convention Center, Noem said she opposes legalizing marijuana in any fashion because it would hurt South Dakota families in the long run.

"I ran for governor telling people that I wanted to build stronger families and create more opportunities for our kids, and i just don't see smoking pot as a gateway to helping people be better," the governor said.

But proponents of legal marijuana say that flies in the face of her repeated calls for less government involvement in people's lives amid the coronavirus pandemic. While Noem has championed personal responsibility during the pandemic, many of her fellow governors issued stay-at-home restrictions and mask mandates.

. . .Noem pointed to various studies linking marijuana use to mental health disorders like anxiety, depression and schizophrenia and said problems have arisen from marijuana use in places that have passed lax marijuana laws. She is appearing in advertising for No Way on A. . . .

While we don't agree with Noem  about cannabis policy, we applaud her for being straightforward about it, for all her disordered thinking about masks.

Minnesota Republican own reefer madness

Her reefer madness is a far cry from the complete labyrinth Minnesota Republicans have created for Tuesday's election. Let's review the coverage.

At the Star Tribune, Briana Bierschbach report in Pot party candidate said GOP recruited him to 'pull votes' from Minnesota Democrat:

Four months before Legal Marijuana Now Party candidate Adam Weeks died in September, sending the pivotal Second Congressional District race into a legal tailspin, he told a close friend that he had been recruited by Republicans to draw votes away from Democrats.

In a May 20 voicemail message provided to the Star Tribune, Weeks told a longtime friend that Republicans in the Second District approached him two weeks before the filing deadline to run for Congress in the hopes he’d “pull votes away” from incumbent DFL Rep. Angie Craig and give an advantage to the “other guy,” Tyler Kistner, the Republican-endorsed candidate.

The recording, underscoring the intense battle in one of the state’s most competitive elections, has come to light just as the Southern Minnesota Regional Medical Examiner’s Office listed Weeks’ death as a result of substance abuse, caused by ethanol and fentanyl toxicity. The death was ruled as accidental.

The message, left on the answering machine of his friend Joey Hudson, indicated that Weeks planned to meet with some GOP operatives in May, but he did not identify them other than as “CD2 [Second Congressional District] Republicans.”

The Craig and Kistner campaigns declined to comment on the recording. Second District Republican Chairman Jeff Schuette said no one in his organization met with Weeks about running in the race but other conservatives in the district could have recruited him.

In the Second District race and other swing seats across the state, Democrats have accused GOP operatives of recruiting third-party candidates such as Weeks to siphon off votes that would otherwise go to Democratic candidates. Weeks, an organic farmer from Red Wing who voted for President Donald Trump in 2016, publicly denied allegations before he died that he was running as a spoiler.

Privately, he was more open about the situation with friends and family — even if the campaign was taking a physical and mental toll. . . .

At Bring Me The News, Adam Uren put together a timeline of news reports on earlier reports of Minnesota Republican pot party recruiting efforts in Minnesota Republicans facing new claims they recruited legal weed candidates to run in swing races:

This is just the latest claim alleging Republicans in Minnesota have been encouraging candidates to run marijuana legalization campaigns in an effort to siphon votes for the DFL – which has itself expressed a willingness to legalize weed in Minnesota. This follows two pro-legalization parties achieving major party status in the 2018 elections, which meant they lost control over who could run under their banner.

MinnPost reported in August that there are marijuana candidates in several swing races in Minnesota who have little to no record of being involved in the legalization movement and who have links to the Republican Party.

The Minnesota Reformer meanwhile reported earlier this year that one of the pro-legalization candidates running in the tight 7th Congressional District was encouraged to run by a "youngish GOP operative." [Editor's note: that guy]

And in the wake of the report from the Star Tribune, Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka came under renewed scrutiny after the Minnesota DFL shared a recent Politico article that reported he had met with a legal weed advocate named Sammy McCarty and asked him to run as a third-party candidate in a swing state Senate District.

What followed in response to the DFL sharing the Politico story on Twitter was a remarkable exchange between Gazelka and McCarty, in which the latter alleged Gazelka said he would be "rewarded" if he ran for the Senate.

Several leading DFLers, among them House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, have expressed a desire to make Minnesota the latest state to legalize and regulate the production and sale of marijuana, and should the DFL win the House and Senate on Nov. 3, it's likely to happen, with Gov. Tim Walz having already said he would sign off on such a bill.

After his tweet regarding Gazelka – about which he said he's "willing to go under oath" – McCarty tweeted that the "only shot" at legalizing marijuana and expunging criminal records for pot offenses "is straight-ticket Democrat." . . .

Read the exchange at Bring Me The News. Minnesota Reformer editor J. Patrick Coolican wrote in Wednesday's Daily Reformer Newsletter:

It may seem unrelated, but the Republicans' furious effort to prevent the counting of mail ballots is of a piece with Briana Bierschbach’s scoop in the Strib about the late Adam Weeks saying in a voicemail that local Republicans recruited him to run on a pot party ticket to siphon votes from DFL Rep. Angie Craig. Weeks has since died. 

Reformer readers were not surprised by the story, because it follows our reporting from June, as well as smaller items in this space, in which it’s become quite clear there’s been at least a loosely organized effort by Republicans to get people to run on the pot parties’ line. 

Even after Weeks assured me he was a changed man and that his candidacy was authentic, I published a photo of him at a big Republican bash this summer with a MAGA headband on.

We have a couple other examples of suspiciously Republican types running on pot party lines in state Senate races, including Jason Hoschette, Robyn Smith and Tyler Becvar. 

Sammy McCarty says he was recruited by Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka to run on a pot party line. 

(Gazelka took the extraordinary step Tuesday of taking to Twitter to deny it: “Not accurate. I told Sammy when he came to my office a dozen times about pot that if he was that passionate about recreational marijuana, he should run for office.  It wasn’t behind the scenes, I tweeted it.” Ok, senator, but who recruited Hoschette, Smith and Becvar? Smith told me she was recruited by a Republican, but wouldn’t say who it was.)

The reason I tie the situation to the extraordinary effort to prevent the counting of ballots is because this too-clever-by-half pot party okey doke is the result of a total lack of confidence that voters like what you’re offering. 

We agree. It's also a bit stunning to think that voters in South Dakota, now one of the most conservative states in the union, may just legalize recreational cannabis before the People's Socialist Republic of Minnesota's legislature manages to do so.

Holy smokes.

Related posts

• South Dakota governor signs industrial hemp bill
• Noem softens opposition to industrial hemp
• Will recreational pot be legal in South Dakota before farmers get to grow industrial hemp?
• Editorial review: South Dakota should learn to walk & chew gum with regard to industrial hemp
• Knowns & unknowns: SD Gov. Kristi Noem goes full-bore Donald Rumsfeld on industrial hemp
• Hemp: the weed with roots in Minnesota
• In 1937, industrial hemp was a thing in Winona, but reefer madness legislation killed the crop
• Representative Franson gets cosmic birthday present in today's industrial hemp news report

Photo: Cannabis leaf and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem. Via South Dakota Marijuana.

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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State Pollinator Coordinator: Rusty patched bumble bee scratch tickets coming to MN Lottery

We've been wallowing in state and federal campaign finance reports, and so an email from Rebeca Gutierrez-Moreno, the State Pollinator Coordinator at the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board was a welcome relief.

We have an exciting announcement. The EQB has been working on a project with the MN Lottery to create a pollinator-themed lottery ticket, with the technical assistance of the IPPT. The ticket will have the image of the rusty patched bumble bee, since it’s the official MN State Bee. This project also includes a blog post about pollinators in Minnesota, the stressors they are facing, and how we can all help them. We are hoping that our pollinator protection message will reach more audiences through this project

The ticket will be available during the Spring of 2021, the exact release date is upcoming. Here is the link to the MN Lottery blog announcing this special project.

That post, The Buzz About Minnesota’s State Bee:

Did you know that Minnesota has a state bee? The rusty patched bumble bee became Minnesota’s state bee in 2019. The rusty patched bumble bee has been listed as federally endangered since 2017.

Pollinators like our state bee help support Minnesota’s environment and economy. That’s why the Minnesota Lottery is working on a very special scratch ticket with our friends at the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board. Look for scratch tickets starring our state bee to land in retailers across Minnesota in spring 2021.

Rusty Patched Bumble Bee Facts

Where they live

In Minnesota, the rusty patched bumble bee has been found recently as far north as Bemidji, south to the Iowa border, with many sightings in the Twin Cities metro area.

How they got their name

Workers and males present the characteristic “rusty patch” on their abdomen. This rusty patch is sandwiched between yellow bands, and the rest of the abdomen is black.

Why They Are Endangered

Native pollinators, including the rusty patched bumble bee, are threatened by several factors:

1. Loss of habitat. Significant habitat loss and fragmentation has contributed to a long slow decline of rusty patched bumble bee by removing the essential things they need to survive such as flowers and nesting opportunities.
2. Pesticides. Insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides are applied in different types of settings such as urban and agricultural landscapes. Exposure to pesticides can happen when bumble bees eat nectar and gather pollen.
3. Diseases and parasites. The commercial production of bumble bees and management of honey bees to provide pollination services can introduce foreign pathogens and parasites to native bee populations.
4. Climate change. As temperatures across the globe change, extreme weather events connected with climate change such as flooding, drought, and fires directly harm pollinators. There have been reports of disruptions between bee emergence and flower blooms, reducing food availability and pollination services. For example, after warmer winters, some spring flowers will start blooming early, and by the time RPBB queens emerge, there will be fewer flowers available, meaning that bees miss out on food, and flowers miss out on pollination (Kehrberger et al. 2019).

These four factors interact and amplify the effect of each one on its own. For example, poor nutrition due to habitat loss can make bees more susceptible to negative effects of diseases and pesticides. In addition, habitat loss reduces the ability of pollinators to move when areas become unsuitable due to climate change.

To learn about how you can help, please check out the rusty patched bumble bee fact sheet here.

Pollinator policy is one reason elections matter.

Rusty patched bumble bees once lived here in Northeastern South Dakota but none have been seen for years. We keep an eye out for them when our partner's apple and plum trees blossom.

Related posts:

• Pollinator Friendly Alliance: the natural world, enviro policy & bringing back a healthy planet
• Good & bad news for pollinators: a news digest

Photo: A rusty patched bumble bee. Photo by Erik Runquist.

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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Best wishes: MNGOP U.S. Senate candidate Jason Lewis undergoes emergency surgery

From the Minnesota Reformer

GOP U.S. Senate candidate Jason Lewis undergoes emergency surgery

By Ricardo Lopez -October 26, 2020

GOP U.S. Senate candidate and former congressman Jason Lewis on Monday was rushed into emergency surgery because of a “severe internal hernia” after experiencing abdominal pain, his campaign announced.

“Early this morning, (former Rep.) Lewis was rushed to the emergency room with severe abdominal pain,” his campaign said in a statement. “Following tests and examination, doctors determined that he is suffering from a severe internal hernia, a diagnosis which they indicated is life-threatening if not treated quickly.”

His campaign said he was in “good spirits, optimistic” prior to undergoing surgery.

Minnesota GOP chair Jennifer Carnahan tweeted her well wishes.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with ⁦@LewisForMN⁩,” she said. “He’s one of the biggest fighters I’ve ever met in my life. We are praying for him as he undergoes surgery and wish him a speedy recovery.”

Lewis is currently running against U.S. Sen. Tina Smith as the GOP-endorsed candidate for the U.S. Senate. It’s unclear how long he would be off the campaign trail. Previously, he was sidelined because of exposures to people who tested positive for COVID-19.

Smith on Twitter said she and her husband, Archie, wished Lewis well. “Archie and I are wishing Jason Lewis a successful surgery and a speedy recovery,” the tweet said.

Photo:U.S. Senate candidate Jason Lewis held a town hall in Bemidji in support of Beltrami County's vote to not accept new refugees. Photo by Max Nesterak/Minnesota Reformer.

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Winona district write-in candidate seems confused about Pelowski voting record

The Republican Party of Winona County may not have been able to endorse a candidate in Minnesota House District 28A, but as the screengrab of its Facebook page above illustrates, it's distributing yard signs for write-in candidate Carl Mastenbrook out of its office in downtown Winona.

The Winona County Republicans' website doesn't include the write-in contender on its "Our Candidates" page.

Mastenbrook, a naval veteran and welder, is running to "Stop Mpls Crazy"--whatever that means. It's an odd charge to lob at Pelowski. David Montgomery reported in the 2017 Pioneer Press article, We calculated how liberal or conservative each MN representative voted this year:

As partisan as the Minnesota House is — and a Pioneer Press analysis found it is very partisan — a number of Republicans and Democrats broke through the voting ranks and landed in the middle this year.

Moderate Republican Reps. Dario Anselmo of Edina and Keith Franke of St. Paul Park crossed party lines enough that they had more in common with moderate DFLers like Winona’s Rep. Gene Pelowski and Dilworth’s Rep. Paul Marquart than with conservative stalwarts like Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa. . . .

The ideology scores produced by W-NOMINATE are estimates and will usually vary a little from year to year depending on the particular bills that come up for vote. Most incumbent representatives had very similar ideology estimates in 2017 as they did in 2015-16 . . .

Mastenbrook's campaign seems to have launched its Facebook page around October 7. The ICANN Domain Name Registration Data Lookup for the campaign website name carlmastenbrookformn.com reveals that the domain name was created on October 6, 2020. The registrant is "Wireless270 LLC."

The write-in candidate is misrepresenting Gene Pelowski's Special Sessions voting record to align him more closely with the Majority Caucus. Heck, he's just plain wrong on a series of special session roll call votes..

On October 10, his campaign Facebook page shared a September 11, 2020 article from Session Daily, House again backs governor's emergency powers in special session, along with the headnote:

Governor Tim Waltz (Uncle Timmy) Emergency Powers. In the last 2 special sessions the house DFL (Gene Pelowski included) voted unanimously to not even bring it to the floor for a vote. That means there were no votes to end it. We are now 7 months into 15 days to flatten the curve. What has that gotten us, small business closing some forever, peoples lively hoods being taken away from them through no fault of there own. Winona is losing money and losing jobs still. If you write me in and I have the privilege of representing you I will work to stop Uncle Timmy's dictator powers.

The Session Daily article notes that the Fourth Special Session vote was 67-64. As many of our readers know, and the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library confirms, the partisan split in the Minnesota House is 75 DFLers and 55 Republicans. Nope, DFL members didn't vote  "unanimously" against the Neu Motion to Suspend HCR1.

A visit to the Roll Call  on Neu Motion to Suspend HCR1, reveals that Pelowski was among the DFLers who voted yes.

Moreover, Pelowski voted yeah on similar motions in other special sessions. According to the 64-69 roll call vote on the Neu Motion on October 12, there's a Pelowski yes vote in the Fifth Special Session. Not was he the only DFLer voting yes.

In the Third Special Session's August 12  Roll Call vote, Pelowski voted yes in a 61-71 split.

In the Second Special Session's list of Roll Call votes on July 20, there does not appear to have been a recorded vote on suspending the rules.

In the First Special Session's list of Roll Call vote on June 12, Pelowski voted yes on a Daudt motion to adopt a resolution to end the Governor's emergency powers. Pelowski was joined by Dilworth DFLer Paul Marquart in voting with the minority caucus.

The write-in candidate is either ignorant of the existence of roll call votes or lying. We're not close enough to know which one it is, though the usage errors in the text suggest the first option.

Mastenbrook's campaign page offers "A unique walking tour of the City with time to enjoy lunch and shopping too! Maximize your sightseeing with this exceptional tour" next to its PayPal contribution button. A screenshot:

In the first paragraph of his Who is Carl Mastenbrook website bio, we read:

I was born and raised in Winona Minnesota. My family has been a hard working family in the county since the 1800's. From farming to business and the business of farming each generation has worked to increase the opportunities of the next generation. I believe the Metro calls this white privelage, out here, we don't call it anything, it is just our way of life.

As we noted earlier, usage isn't the man's strong point, though he seems to be making a case that he can read the minds of "Metro" Minnesotans.

A wild stab at getting in office on the assumption Winona DFLers have voted early and left Pelowski's circle blank? We're not sure, but think it's sad that the young naval veteran is burning the ethos earned by serving his country by just plain lying about Pelowski's special session votes.

Screengrabs: From Facebook and Mastenbrook's campaign page.

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"Pink Slime" Metric Media outlet promotes Gruenhagen's Facebook bonding bill take

As a long time reader of small town newspapers, we had read accounts of the rise of sketchy news sites with great interest.

That reading helped process a "news" report, Gruenhagen votes 'yes' on bond bill, about the Gaylord Republican state representative's recent official  Facebook post on the October 15 passage of the bonding bill in the Minnesota Senate.

The online publication? SC Minnesota News, part of the Metric Media LLC network of 18 venues in the state.

We recognized the brand from our earlier reading about a  Tow Center for Digital Journalism report by Senior Research Fellow Priyanjana Bengani in the Columbia Journalism Review, Hundreds of ‘pink slime’ local news outlets are distributing algorithmic stories and conservative talking points. Bengani reported last December:

In increasingly popular tactic challenges conventional wisdom on the spread of electoral disinformation: the creation of partisan outlets masquerading as local news organizations. An investigation by the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia Journalism School has discovered at least 450 websites in a network of local and business news organizations, each distributing thousands of algorithmically generated articles and a smaller number of reported stories. Of the 450 sites we discovered, at least 189 were set up as local news networks across ten states within the last twelve months by an organization called Metric Media. . . .

In mid-July, we read Hannah Jones' piece in the City Pages, 'Hyperpartisan' right-wing news sites are thriving in Minnesota:

The Nieman Journalism Lab has some bad news.

In a study tracking hundreds of "hyperpartisan" news websites across the country, the Harvard-based organization has exposed many that are “masquerading” as state and local reporting. In reality, they’re often funded and operated by “government officials, political candidates, PACS, and political party operatives.”

Based on previous research by Columbia University’s Priyanjana Bengani, Neiman sifted through these hundreds of urls and pinpointed them on a map of the U.S., all to study how these left or right-leaning news sources are being deployed and where. Minnesota has at least 15 of these little pins studded across the metro and in the greater regions of the state – all with a conservative tilt.

In fact, the vast majority of the sites listed in our state belong to the same network: Metric Media, which claims to have over 1,000 different news sites. Titles include SW Minnesota Today, SC Minnesota News, and South Hennepin News.

You’ll find a lot of the same headlines shared between each, along with an astonishing variety of stock photos depicting stacks of cash money changing hands.

In short, it looks like news. Local news, even. But on second glance, it seems both weird and a little bit padded -- other than the more detailed, quote-heavy stories about Republican lawmakers and talking points. (Reopening Minnesota, for example, is a common theme.)

According to Metric Media’s mission statement, its goal is to “restore community-based reporting through modern platforms that make local news possible again.” The network, it says, works with “hundreds of freelance reporters around the country who adhere to strict journalistic standards,” and there’s “no political bias or favoritism.”

You won’t find many ads on any of the sites. That may be because, as Metric’s website claims, their funding comes from “donation and grants” from “contributors who care about restoring local news in their communities.”

According to Bengani’s research, Metric shares privacy policies, servers, and analytics identifiers with four other gargantuan, politically connected pseudo-news networks, including the Record network (founded by conservative businessman Brian Timpone) and Franklin Archer (the CEO of which is Timpone’s brother, Michael). . .  .

Read the rest at the City Pages. The notion that Gruenhagen's district is some sort of news desert struck us as odd, since it's served by a variety of bi-weekly and weekly small town newspapers like the McLeod County Chronicle, the Hutchinson Leader, the Arlington News, and others.

At the New York Times, Davey Alba and Jack Nicas reported on October 18 in As Local News Dies, a Pay-for-Play Network Rises in Its Place:

. . . Maine Business Daily is part of a fast-growing network of nearly 1,300 websites that aim to fill a void left by vanishing local newspapers across the country. Yet the network, now in all 50 states, is built not on traditional journalism but on propaganda ordered up by dozens of conservative think tanks, political operatives, corporate executives and public-relations professionals, a Times investigation found.

The sites appear as ordinary local-news outlets, with names like Des Moines Sun, Ann Arbor Times and Empire State Today. They employ simple layouts and articles about local politics, community happenings and sometimes national issues, much like any local newspaper.

But behind the scenes, many of the stories are directed by political groups and corporate P.R. firms to promote a Republican candidate or a company, or to smear their rivals. . . .

The network is largely overseen by Brian Timpone, a TV reporter turned internet entrepreneur who has sought to capitalize on the decline of local news organizations for nearly two decades. He has built the network with the help of several others, including a Texas brand-management consultant and a conservative Chicago radio personality. .  . .

The network is one of a proliferation of partisan local-news sites funded by political groups associated with both parties. Liberal donors have poured millions of dollars into operations like Courier, a network of eight sites that began covering local news in swing states last year. Conservative activists are running similar sites, like the Star News group in Tennessee, Virginia and Minnesota.

But those operations run just several sites each, while Mr. Timpone’s network has more than twice as many sites as the nation’s largest newspaper chain, Gannett. And while political groups have helped finance networks like Courier, investors in news operations typically don’t weigh in on specific articles.

While Mr. Timpone’s sites generally do not post information that is outright false, the operation is rooted in deception, eschewing hallmarks of news reporting like fairness and transparency. Only a few dozen of the sites disclose funding from advocacy groups. Traditional news organizations do not accept payment for articles; the Federal Trade Commission requires that advertising that looks like articles be clearly labeled as ads.

Most of the sites declare in their “About” pages that they to aim “to provide objective, data-driven information without political bias.” But in April, an editor for the network reminded freelancers that “clients want a politically conservative focus on their stories, so avoid writing stories that only focus on a Democrat lawmaker, bill, etc.,” according to an email viewed by The Times.

Read the rest at the Times.

So what's the focus of the article about Glenn Gruenhagen's Facebook post? In Gruenhagen votes 'yes' on bond bill, Kyla Asbury (whose LinkedIn profile describes the writer as a "A Result-Driven Written Communications Professional Delivering Quality Communications Solutions" based in Wayne County, West Virginia, which may explain why she calls it "a bond bill") reports:

House Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen (R-Glencoe) said a recent bond bill does not include money to rebuild the City of Minneapolis, according to a Facebook post.

Gruenhagen said that while there was spending in the bill he didn't agree with, he voted yes to the bill to represent the people in his district.

"These bonding bills are difficult, especially when you have divided government as we do with Democrats controlling the House and the Governorship," Gruenhagen said in the post. "Bonding bills must be originated in the House, not the Senate. The House is controlled by Democrats, hence the Democrats stick things in the bill to force Republicans to take difficult votes that will anger their constituents either way they vote. It’s a no-win situation because no matter how you vote, someone will be disappointed."

He said he voted for the bill because it contains help for Section 179, which includes farms and small businesses, as well as money to raise a road for flood mitigation for Henderson, which is something he has been trying to get done for eight years.

Nothing for rebuilding the evil metro. Here's the beginning paragraph of what Gruenhagen wrote on Facebook (originally posted on his campaign Facebook page):

As you may have heard, the bonding bill passed in the House (100-34)last night. It passed in the Senate today (64-3). There are false rumors that the bonding bill had money to rebuild the city of Minneapolis. This is not accurate. There was about $5 million in the bill for "Civil Unrest" to fund overtime pay for law officers, firefighters, EMTs, etc., NOT to rebuild the city. The amount of destruction caused by the protesting and rioting is estimated to be between $300 to $500 million. There was no funding in the bill to rebuild the city. ...

This struck a chord with us, as we had seen a Facebook post by the conservative group Action4Liberty. On October 15, this turned up:

We posted earlier about a Minneapolis bailout, which is how many of us read the language in the multi-subject,...

Posted by Action 4 Liberty on Thursday, October 15, 2020

We're curious that someone thought Gruenhagen's Facebook post that started with talk of rumors--source unknown--was thought to be worthy of siccing a freelance reporter in West Virginia on the trail. Is there fear of the Action4Liberty take on the bonding bill?

There's coverage of the vote in the Belle Plaine Herald (owned by the same company that publishes the Henderson paper online) in State to Fund Flood Mitigation for Henderson:

Henderson’s prayer for flood mitigation has finally been answered. After months of political turmoil and multiple failed bonding bills, the Minnesota House and Senate last week successfully passed a $1.9 billion bonding bill that includes funding to fix Highway 93 and County Road 6 in Henderson. . . .

Walz, Sen. Scott Newman, and House Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen were among the state representatives that came to Henderson in July in a push to pass a bonding bill that includes flood mitigation.

At that time, Gov. Walz told the Independent that he would sign a bonding bill that includes flood mitigation for Henderson. . . .

And this from KARE 11, House passes $1.9 billion construction bonding bill, which starts out mentioning the flood prone highway near Henderson.

We're also curious if there were any elements of pay-to-play in the amplification of the Gruenhagen Facebook post as "news."

Those rumor-mongers at Action4Liberty describe their mission on their about page:

Our Mission at Action 4 Liberty is to expand individual freedoms by reducing government control. We concentrate our efforts on three policy areas: business freedom, health freedom and educational freedom.

We recruit conservative candidates for the legislature and equip them to win their elections. Our objective is to lead a conservative offense at the Capitol to overpower the liberal agenda that seeks to grow government and reduce freedoms.

The group does operate a state level political action committee, though filings at the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board report taking in no donations this year, while contributing $1000 to a candidate committee, Marianne Stebbins, who lost the MN House 33B Republican primary (see 2020 September report here). Bluestem reported on her bid in early June's Pair to draw to: "Liberty Republican" Stebbins & Liberate Minn host Malsom file for MNHouse.

Representative Gruenhagen's district is deeply Republican, so we're puzzled about what the threat might be to trigger an article about his vote on the bonding bill.

Photo: Glenn Gruenhagen, Via Facebook.

 

News release: MN AG Ellison wins assurance Atlas Aegis recruits will not bug state voters

We had been dismayed by news articles about Atlas Aegis recruiting special forces veterans to patrol Minnesota's polling places. Andrew Mannix had reported at the Star Tribune back on October 10, Private security company recruiting armed military veterans to guard Minnesota polls from 'Antifas' in November election.

Minnesota election officials say they’re working with law enforcement to ensure voters won’t face intimidation at polling locations next month, responding to reports that a private security company is recruiting U.S. special operations forces veterans to protect the polls from “Antifas” intent on “destroying the election sites.”

Atlas Aegis, a Tennessee-based company, posted a job listing this week calling for “security positions in Minnesota during the November Election and beyond to protect election polls, local businesses and residences from looting and destruction,” according to a Washington Post report.

Minnesota election rules prohibit private security or other related individuals or groups from entering polling places, said Secretary of State Steve Simon in a statement Friday afternoon. Only one challenger per major political party is allowed inside, and anyone else who isn’t voting or working at the poll site must stay 100 feet away. . . .

Earlier this week, the Strib's Stephen Montemayor reported in Attorney General Keith Ellison probes firm hiring armed guards for Minnesota polling sites:

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison has launched an investigation into a Tennessee-based company that listed job postings seeking ex-soldiers to provide armed security at polling places in the state next month.

The probe, opened last week, includes a demand for information about who contracted for Atlas Aegis' services, what the security guards' exact roles would be, and what training they would have on the state's voter protection laws.

Atlas Aegis, in a job advertisement that surfaced earlier this month, recruited for "security positions in Minnesota during the November Election and beyond to protect election polls, local businesses and residences from looting and destruction." The listing noted that the jobs were exclusive to U.S. special operations forces veterans.

The company is not licensed in Minnesota and has not disclosed what licensed entity it would work with. Its chairman, Anthony Caudle, recently told the Washington Post its guards would protect against "Antifas" and Black Lives Matter supporters who he said were intent on "destroying the election sites."

Ellison said the company is legally bound to reply to his office's civil investigative demand within 10 days, based on a Ramsey County District Court order. The formal request for information was sent on Oct. 14. . . .

That effort on the part of Ellison has yielded results. From a press release sent out by Ellison's office this afternoon:

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison announced today that his office has won a written assurance from Tennessee-based security company Atlas Aegis that it is not recruiting and will not recruit or provide private security at or near polling places in Minnesota in conjunction with the November 3 election. The company admits that its statements that it was doing so are incorrect. Attorney General Ellison announced on October 20 that his office had launched an investigation into Atlas Aegis. 

As part of the settlement, Atlas Aegis agrees not to provide any security services in Minnesota around the November 3 election; not to intimidate any voters in Minnesota; and to communicate through its channels that it was wrong to suggest it was recruiting security for “protection of election polls” in Minnesota. 

“Minnesotans should expect that our elections will run as safely, smoothly, and securely as they always have. One of the reasons is that my office and our partners are actively enforcing our laws against threatening, frightening, or intimidating voters,” Attorney General Ellison said. “I’m holding Atlas Aegis to account for their misstatements about recruiting security for polling places in Minnesota that potentially frightened Minnesota voters. They won’t be doing it again and will not be anywhere in Minnesota before, during, or after Election Day.” 

“Minnesota and federal law are clear: it is strictly illegal to intimidate or interfere with voters. I want to make to make it crystal clear to anyone who is even thinking about intimidating voters that I will not hesitate to enforce the laws against it to the fullest extent,” Attorney General Ellison concluded. 

Atlas Aegis was never asked to provide election security 

In an Assurance of Discontinuance filed today in Ramsey County District Court, Atlas Aegis admits the following:  

• A Minnesota security company sought security officers to work at the private property of its clients around the date of the November 3 election. It never indicated the work would involve any security at or near polling places, and made it clear the work would be performed only at the private property of its clients. 
• Atlas Aegis received word of this staffing request from other industry contacts. Those contacts did not indicate that the scope of work would encompass polling places. 
• Atlas Aegis solicited individuals in its network for this assignment. Of its own accord, without the prompting or knowledge of its industry contacts or the prime security contractor, it advertised that the scope of work included security “to protect election polls.” 
• Atlas Aegis and its chairman Anthony Caudle misunderstood the potential scope of work, which did not include any security at or near polling places or “election sites.”  Caudle had no direct information to suggest that Minnesota election officials or Minnesota law enforcement were aware that “armed civilians intended to guard polling sites,” as he represented to the Washington Post. 

Atlas Aegis acknowledges its statements were incorrect  

Atlas Aegis additionally admits the following: 

• Atlas Aegis acknowledges that its statements to the Washington Post were incorrect.  In making these statements, Atlas Aegis did not intend to intimidate, coerce, or threaten Minnesota voters, poll workers, or others aiding or urging Minnesota voters to vote; or to make Minnesota voters less willing to vote. 
• Neither Atlas Aegis as a company, nor any of its officers or employees, have been engaged to perform work in Minnesota in November.   
• No officers or employees or contractors of Atlas Aegis will be present in Minnesota in November, nor will they be acting as “security” at polling places or election sites. 
• Atlas Aegis is not aware of any other individuals or groups who plan to provide private “security” at polling places or election sites in Minnesota in connection with the election. 

Atlas Aegis will not provide security in Minnesota around November 3 elections, will not intimidate voters, will retract misstatements 

Atlas Aegis agrees to the following terms of the Assurance of Discontinuance: 

• Atlas Aegis shall not provide any protective agent services in Minnesota from October 22, 2020 through January 1, 2022.  
• Atlas Aegis will not seek to intimidate voters, in Minnesota or elsewhere, in connection with the election.   
• Atlas Aegis shall communicate to each and every listserv, job board, and individual to whom it originally sent its request for election security in Minnesota that it was wrong to suggest the scope of work included “protection of election polls.”  

If Atlas Aegis violates the Assurance of Discontinuance, it is liable for a $50,000 penalty. 

State law prohibits voter intimidation, private armed forces 

As a reminder, a variety of state and federal laws, along with the Minnesota Constitution, prohibit intimidating or interfering with voters and operating private armed forces in Minnesota. They include, but are not limited to:  

Prohibiting voter intimidation or interference  

• Minn. Stat. § 204C.06 
• Minn. Stat. § 211B.07 
• 18 U.S.C. § 245(b)(1)(A)  
• 18 U.S.C. § 594 
• 52 U.S.C. § 20511(1)  

Prohibiting operation or activities of private armed forces  

• • Minnesota Constitution, Art. 1, Sec. 14  
  • Minn. Stat. § 609.669  
  • Minn. Stat. § 624.61  

This is very good news, as voters should be able to vote without fear.

Photo: Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.

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A little pity party on the prairie: Rep. Tim Miller misleads fans on local paper's endorsements

On Facebook Wednesday, Rep. Tim Miller shared the image at the top of this article, in a post whining about the West Central Tribune's endorsement of his DFL opponent.

Miller wrote:

Proof positive I have been faithfully serving the people of my district. The West Central Tribune Circulation once again did not endorse me. In the past it’s because I was too Republican. This year I’m not Republican enough for them. I don’t serve a Party or special interests. I serve the people of my district.

I am proudly endorsed by the groups in the photo. I am also supported by multiple Ag groups including Southern MN Beet Sugar Cooperative, MN State Cattlemen, and MN Soybean Producers. All of the major pro-life groups support me. All major Second Amendment groups support me.

I am the only pro-life, pro-Second Amendment, and pro-small business candidate in my race. I am not pushed around by special interest groups. The WC Trib editor has always gone after me for those things. I embrace and proudly proclaim that paper’s lack of support. It confirms to me I am doing the right thing. I ask for your vote.

Your mileage, dear readers, may vary on whether the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce and the like are special interests. What does seem odd about the post is the impression that it leaves that the paper has never endorsed Miller. 

And the comments of Miller's followers about the paper being "a communist rag" and "they're a left-wing biased newspaper, just like the Star Tribune"? The paper's endorsement track record suggests otherwise.

Let's review that record.

The 2012 contest

In 2012, the paper wrote in Editorial: Our picks for the Legislature - Gimse, Falk, Sawatszky, and Urdahl:

House 17A: DFL incumbent Andrew Falk of Murdock is being challenged by Republican Tim Miller. Falk is a farmer and businessman from Murdock and Miller is a business development consultant from Prinsburg.

Falk has served two terms representing former District 20A and previously had worked as a legislative aid in the district. Part of a five-generation family farm, he focuses on agricultural and rural issues, including ethanol industry development. He believes the state needs to address the structural budget deficit, which began during the Ventura administration. He believes government and public policy have a role in improving people's lives. His weakness at times is his youthful exuberance at times become too focused on political themes.

Miller believes that state government should serve a greater good, but it has become too large and costly. He follows a conservative approach focusing more on reducing spending in the state budget and not raising revenues. He recommends targeting government inefficiencies to save budget funding. He believes he has the ability to be a good communicator and be a "translator" to facilitate compromise. His weakness would be the lack of legislative experience.

The West Central Tribune believes Falk has represented his previous district well, especially on agricultural and rural issues, and recommend his re-election in District 17A.

The criticism of Miller isn't of his conservatism, but rather his legislative inexperience. Note also that the paper endorsed two Republican and two DFL candidates for the races. Not exactly a bastion of liberal Democratic bias.

2014: No endorsement

In 2014's roundup, Editorial: A review of our 2014 endorsements, there's no endorsement for the Minnesota House 17A seat. The paper did endorse Republican challenger Dave Baker over the DFL incumbent in 17B.

Incumbent Andrew Falk remembers that the paper did not endorse in the 17A seat that year. We've contacted the editor to see if we've missed something here.

Editor Kelly Bolden replied via email: "The West Central Tribune did "not" make an endorsement of either candidate - Andrew Falk of DFL or Tim Miller of GOP - in House District 17A in 2014."

Miller won the election.

2016: Miller endorsed

Falk and Miller opposed each other for the third time in the 2016 election. There's only a headline online for the 2016 November 2 endorsement editorial, Tribune 2016 Endorsements: Re-elect Koenen, Baker and Miller in District 17 legislative races. Two of the three candidates endorsed by the paper are Republicans.

An November 8 editorial, West Central Tribune endorsements for 2016, states:

State senator, District 17: Our editorial board recommends incumbent Lyle Koenen be re-elected.

State representative, District 17B: Our editorial board recommends incumbent Dave Baker be re-relected.

State representative, District 17A: Our editorial board recommends incumbent Tim Miller be re-relected.

Koenen, the sole DFLer endorsed by the paper for the state legislature, lost to Andrew Lang.

2018: No endorsement, equal good will

In 2018, Koenen ran for the Minnesota House (he had served there before winning a special election following the death in office of Gary Kubly) against Miller.

The paper made no endorsement in the race, but praised the legislative experience of both men in Here are our endorsements for the 2018 election, while endorsing the Republican incumbent in the other half of the Senate district:

Legislature

House 17B: The House 17B race features incumbent Dave Baker, R-Willmar, who has served two terms in the Minnesota House. He should be re-elected for a third term.

House 17A: The House 17A race features two candidates with legislative experience - incumbent Tim Miller, R-Prinsburg, and Lyle Koenen, DFL-Clara City. Either candidate would be a suitable choice for the district. The final choice will be up to District 17A voters.

Not exactly a Miller bashing.

2020: Now we're getting somewhere

Once again, after eight years, the West Central Tribune endorses a Democrat for this seat. In West Central Tribune Endorsements: Minnesota House, we read:

House District 17A

The House District 17B race has incumbent Tim Miller, R-Prinsburg, being challenged by Ben Dolan, DFL-Appleton, and Ed Engelman of the Legal Marijuana Now Party.

Miller claims he works across the aisle, yet he cannot even get along with his Republican Party. After losing a bid to be the Republican House leader in December, he was one of the four Republicans to leave the House Republican Caucus and form the New House Republican Caucus of 4.

Most recently, when Minnesotans needed the long-delayed 2020 bonding bill, which included Montevideo flood hazard mitigation, Miller voted simply no. Other local legislators supported the bipartisan bonding bill.

Engelman will have minimal support and no chance of election in this contest.

Dolan is a graduate of Lac qui Parle Valley High School and attended Southwest Minnesota State University, where he was student body president. Then he earned a Juris Doctorate at the University of South Dakota School of Law, while also serving as a class president. He is currently a judicial law clerk in the Minnesota court system.

Dolan seeks to build positive change in his district, supports broadband investment and understands the importance of health care, daycare, housing and mental health in rural Minnesota. He believes you need teamwork within your party and across the aisle.

It is time for District 17A to choose a fresh face for its future. Ben Dolan is the right choice to represent District 17A in 2021 in the Minnesota House.

Smack!

It's worth noting that the editors of this "communist rag" that's "a left-wing biased newspaper, just like the Star Tribune" not only endorses Republicans Baker in MN17B and Lang in Senate District 17 over their DFL opponents, but they also endorse Dean Urdahl in House District 18A:

Rep. Dean Urdahl, R-Grove City, is running unopposed in District 18A in 2020. First elected in 2003, he has served his district and Minnesota well.

Urdahl should be re-elected to continue as the District 18A voters’ state representative for the next two years.

Those dirty reds!

We can only conclude that Tim Miller has an awfully thin skin and his supporters have very short memories.

Screengrab: Miller whines about the West Central Tribune in a post accompanying this image. To visit the active Facebook page of the paper, try this link instead of the one Miller provides.

We recommend a subscription to those dirty hippies at the West Central Tribune; subscribers are able to access Forum Communications papers from Rochester to venues in North and South Dakota.

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.

Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email [email protected] as recipient.

MN01: Forum Communications and Star Tribune endorse Dan Feehan for Southern Minnesota

After no endorsement in the 2018 First Congressional District race between Jim Hagedorn and Dan Feehan, Forum Communications has endorsed DFL challenger Dan Feehan for Minnesota's Fighting First congressional district.

The chain publishes the Rochester Bulletin and Worthington Globe in the district.

Headline: Endorsement: Dan Feehan is the right fit for U.S. District 1.

Earlier, the Star Tribune endorsed Feehan in the October12 editorial, After close loss in 2018, Dan Feehan focused on First District's needs.

Forum Communications

Endorsement: Dan Feehan is the right fit for U.S. District 1 weighs the strengths of each candidate, concluding:

Hagedorn was elected in 2018 by a thin margin, and his first term has been marred by ethics questions. One concerned his use of the taxpayer-funded mail program and payments made to people tied to his campaign. Another is a report that his campaign was given rent-free office space by a supporter.

Overall, Feehan seems the better fit for District 1. He didn't play the blame game and demonstrated a common sense, let's-work-this-out-together attitude that is largely missing in today's politics.

Star Tribune

In After close loss in 2018, Dan Feehan focused on First District's needs, the Star Tribune editorial board wrote:

Dan Feehan won the Star Tribune Editorial Board’s enthusiastic endorsement to represent southern Minnesota in the U.S. House.

A decorated combat veteran with impressive experience, including a stint as an acting assistant secretary of defense, Feehan’s breadth of knowledge, eloquence and commitment to public service easily made him a standout among those candidates running for office in Minnesota that year.

Two years after losing the 2018 race by 1,315 votes, the 38-year-old father of three from North Mankato is again the clear choice in the First Congressional District. A promising talent during his first run, Feehan has become an even stronger candidate in 2020 and gets our recommendation again over Republican Rep. Jim Hagedorn, who is seeking a second term. Also on the ballot: Bill Rood of the Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party of Minnesota.

Feehan’s work since 2018 with the National Farmers Union, as well as consulting work with several reputable nonprofits, has focused on issues deeply important to this district: agriculture, education, veterans’ issues and health care. The additional experience has forged deeper connections to the district and made him an even stronger advocate for southern Minnesota families, farmers and businesses.

Feehan’s differences with Hagedorn on a key issue — health care — have also become more important in the past two years. . . .

Hagedorn, 58, declined the Editorial Board’s invitation for an endorsement interview. . . .

Read the entire editorial at the Star Tribune. While the incumbent refused an interview, the editorial has published (as is the paper's policy) Hagedorn's case for himself, This election gives voters a clear choice — socialism vs. freedom.

Weak sauce, given Feehan's combat military service. And there's this in the comments:

"Democrats...offer far-left transformational socialism and the end of the America we grew up with and love......I will continue to work across the aisle in bipartisan fashion and on behalf of southern Minnesotans and the United States of America."

A bit of cognitive dissonance here.

The Cook Political Report rates the race as a "Toss Up Republican," given that the incumbent is a Republican.

While Southern Minnesota historically has been Republican, both Tim Penny (1982) and Tim Walz (2006) won the seat (varying geography, depending on redistricting). Penny beat Hagedorn's father in a 1982 upset election, and Wikipedia notes, " Penny was reelected in 1984 with 56 percent of the vote, becoming the first non-Republican to win reelection in the district since statehood."

Photo: Dan Feehan.

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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MN Reformer: Eichorn tries to hold off Bemidji Mayor Albrecht; control of MN Senate at stake

From the Minnesota Reformer:

State Sen. Justin Eichorn tries to hold off Bemidji Mayor Rita Albrecht, with control of Senate at stake

By Deena Winter -October 20, 2020

Justin Eichorn helped flip the Minnesota Senate when he beat then-Sen. Tom Saxhaug by fewer than 600 votes in northeastern Minnesota’s District 5 as part of a red wave in 2016, when Donald Trump was at the top of the ticket.

This year, the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party hopes to win the seat back with Rita Albrecht. The Bemidji mayor charges that Eichorn, who lives in Grand Rapids, has largely ignored her city, the largest in the district.

The district is clearly in the crosshairs: Albrecht said at least five organizations have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars in negative digital and print ads against her.

One mailer blamed her for doing nothing to stop the rioting, looting and arson in Minneapolis after George Floyd’s death, she said.

It’s no mystery why corporate and labor groups would spend heavily. The stakes are high: If Republicans can maintain their current slim 35-32 hold on the majority, they can continue to thwart first-term DFL Gov. Tim Walz’s agenda while helping to shape how a $4.7 billion budget deficit will be erased during the next legislative session. Also on the agenda next session: additional police reforms, an expansion of government health insurance, paid family leave, legalization of marijuana and the redrawing of congressional and legislative maps.

All of that means the campaign up north has been more vicious than Albrecht expected.

“Lucky for me, in eight years as mayor, I’ve had a little practice in letting it roll off me,” she said.

Albrecht is no shrinking violet, criticizing Eichorn for a lesser known history of alleged labor violations, and his absence from whole swaths of the district.

Eichorn did not respond to a request for an interview.

Pivot counties

The sprawling district — which includes parts of Itasca, Cass, Beltrami and Hubbard counties — is home to more than 1,000 lakes. And it includes crucial “pivot counties” that voted for Trump in 2016 after going for Barack Obama in 2008 and 2012, according to Ballotpedia.

Bemidji and Grand Rapids were redistricted together in 2010, and the area has historically been represented by a Democrat, Albrecht said.

“We think this is a winnable seat and we’re gonna make it happen,” Albrecht said.

Getting through Eichorn won’t be easy, however. Trump won the district by nearly 7,000 votes in 2016.

Eichorn grew up in Grand Rapids, was the third generation to work at his family’s outdoor store and runs a small business there, according to his website. During his first campaign, he said his family’s store sold a wide range of firearms, and he learned early on the importance of the Second Amendment. He promised to be one of the Capitol’s staunchest supporters of the right to bear arms, fighting any additional restrictions on gun owners.

On his campaign website, he has said good-paying union jobs in mining, forestry, trucking and other industries are the backbone of a strong economy in northern Minnesota, which has long relied on taconite, timber and tourism.

“Recently our way of life has come under fire by groups who think they know our land and resources better than we do,” he said.

He has vowed to “support mining every chance I get in St. Paul and not just when it’s election season.”

“Mining is one of Minnesota’s greatest natural resources,” his campaign site says. “Strong mining operations will help bring back great middle-class jobs that we greatly need.”

(Taconite mining is not controversial in the district; copper-nickel mining, especially near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, is a fiercely debated issue.)

Eichorn introduced legislation to give iron ore mining workers additional unemployment benefits. He also introduced a bill to prevent the state from closing a minimum-security boot camp in Togo, about 40 miles north of Hibbing, and another bill that would require the state to sell a St. Paul storage facility — purchased during the pandemic to store human remains — and use the money to prop up the Togo prison budget.

Albrecht says Bemidji people rarely hear from their senator: the Bemidji City Council has not had a visit from Eichorn in four years, she said.

“I want to be someone who represents the whole district because I recognize that everybody needs to have someone that cares about their voice,” she said.

Eichorn has lately been ducking events such as a League of Women Voters forum and Bemidji State University Student Senate forum. He did participate in a recent debate hosted by the local PBS station, where he said it’s time to reopen businesses in Minnesota, even as COVID-19 has begun to spread rapidly again.

From A&W to city planning

Albrecht, 65, grew up in northern Minnesota, went to Bemidji State University and owned the A&W in Bemidji with her husband Mike for 11 years. She went back to school when her two children were in high school, then became assistant planner for Bemidji and worked as a community development director and tribal planner for the Leech Lake Band of Objibwe.

She was elected mayor in 2012 after serving two years on the Bemidji City Council, and her fourth term as mayor ends in December. She was “happily retired” from her job as northwest regional director for the Department of Natural Resources last year and not planning to run for another office when she was encouraged to run for the Legislature. She felt like her region needed a strong voice.

“I do think my experience is something that would be valuable to have at the Capitol because I’ve just lived the kind of issues that affect us here and that the Legislature tends to take up,” she said.

Minnesotans are sharply divided on the Enbridge Line 3 oil pipeline, but the two candidates agree it should be replaced.

Albrecht said she wants to move away from fossil fuels, but right now the country still uses oil, and pipelines are the safest way to transport it.

Albrecht calls Eichorn a union buster, because his family’s car dealership, Eichorn Motors, was charged with a litany of labor violations — including refusing to bargain with the United Auto Workers International Union — after he and others bought the business in 2006. An administrative law judge wrote in 2008 that Eichorn Motors was a “brazen recidivist and egregious violator that has clearly demonstrated a general disregard for its employees’ fundamental rights.”

Eichorn has also supported right-to-work laws.

Eichorn made headlines in May when he compared homeless people living in tents to recreational camping. He questioned why people could live in tents in St. Paul even as campgrounds remained closed due to the pandemic. (Campgrounds opened shortly thereafter.)

In a statement to the Bemidji Pioneer, Eichorn said he may have “missed the mark” while trying to convince Walz to be aware of the problems caused by his pandemic-related orders.

Dennis Barsness of the Grassroots-Legalize Cannabis Party of Minnesota and Robyn Smith of the Legal Marijuana Now Party are also on the ballot. Barsness and Smith did not respond to requests for interviews.

As the Reformer reported in June, Smith appears to be a Republican plant to siphon votes away from Albrecht. She admitted she was recruited to run by a Republican and would be glad to help Republicans hold onto the Senate.

Albrecht said the shenanigans are a sign that Republicans are desperate to win, even if it means tricking the electorate.

“It just shows that they will use every trick and tactic in the book to try and sideline good candidates and mislead the electorate,” she said.

Photo: Bemidji Mayor Rita Albrecht, the DFL candidate for state Senate, does some socially distanced campaigning this summer. Courtesy photo.

Donate: If you appreciate the Minnesota Reformer's coverage, consider making a donation to the non-profit news operation.

Snow day: Bluestem offline until satellite internet unthaws

The heavy, wet, somewhat unseasonable snowfall has knocked out our satellite internet, with the dish filling with snow and ice. The same has happened with our back-up location, and our phone hotspot has limited bandwidth.

Bluestem Prairie will be back as soon as our equipment clears up.

Please remember that rural Americans often don't have the choices for internet that many of our fellow Americans enjoy.

Ironically enough, a local provider marked the paths for fiber installation here in Summit in the last few weeks. Those spray-painted marks are buried under the snow.

See you as soon as we can.

In 2019 Small Business Week event, Hagedorn happy to learn about one in which he was once an minority owner

On May 7, 2019, Congressman Jim Hagedorn hosted a small business roundtable for Small Business Week. A couple of days later on Facebook, he shared the message and photo in the screenshot at the top of this post. Here's what he wrote:

Gary Steuart of Steuart Laboratories, Mabel -

Always happy to learn more about the amazing small businesses of southern Minnesota like Gary’s organic manufacturing business from Mabel!

Based on what the men are wearing, the photo is from the day of the roundtable (see photo here).

We are deeply surprised that the congressman could learn much more about "Gary’s organic manufacturing business from Mabel!" since according to Hagedorn's 2013 financial disclosure statement, (page 4), Hagedorn  was a "retail propriator [sic], minority owner" of Steuart Laboratories.

Moreover, on page 5 of the disclosure statement, Hagedorn noted an agreement with Steuart Laboratories: "Resigned Position; compensation and future payments conditional upon transfer and sale of internet site assets."

There's no mention of those compensation and future payments in subsequent disclosure filings.

Clearly, Hagedorn knew something about this business before Small Business Week 2019. He might have mentioned that to his Facebook friends.

But there's more! Mr. Gary Steuart contributed quite a bit of cash to Representative Hagedorn's campaigns over the years before. Between 2009 and 2018, Steuart made 29 contributions to the  Friends of Hagedorn campaign committee, according to the campaign finance database at the Federal Elections Commission. For us, that added up to $11,650. For the 2018 DCCC online Research Report staffers, the total came to $9,900.00, but the research was concluded by March 2018.

There's more in the database for this cycle: 15 contributions for a total of $4,100.

And there's more! Steuart is the chair of the Fillmore County Republicans.

The DCCC's online research book also includes this item:

Was there an ethical or legal violation to include a former business associate, Republican Party BPOU/county officer and generous campaign contributor in that Small Business Week event? We couldn't find that information.

Rather, we think this episode illustrates a culture of cronyism in Jim Hagedorn's world that favors friends, relatives and business associates over ethical and legal boundaries.

Last week, Trey Mewes at the Mankato Free Press reported in Hagedorn, DJ deal could draw FCC inquiry:

KTOE DJ Al Travis Thielfoldt and Congressman Jim Hagedorn face further questions about the nature of their working relationship as documents raise questions over whether Hagedorn’s campaign paid Thielfoldt for radio interviews, which experts say could trigger a Federal Communications Commission inquiry.

The Free Press recently obtained a series of invoices written by Thielfoldt in his work as a paid advertising consultant to the campaign covering September 2019 and the first five months of 2020. In those monthly invoices, Thielfoldt lists dates of interviews he or others conducted with Hagedorn on KTOE as well as interview blocks of time.

Those interviews featured Hagedorn talking with Thielfoldt on a variety of issues, from football to the weather to COVID-19, rather than a straight news segment. Thielfoldt, an afternoon talk show host on KTOE, lists 10 interviews with Hagedorn from Jan. 6 to May 18 in the 2020 invoices reviewed by The Free Press. . . .

And there's the series of Minnesota Reformer articles by Daniel Newhauser, detailing various lapses.

And that Politico article, The mystery of a GOP congressman's seemingly rent-free campaign office.

In related news, Minnesota Public Radio's David Montgomery reported in Campaign cash piles up in final stretch:

Minnesota’s congressional candidates have millions of dollars to spend in the campaign’s final weeks — though some candidates have more money on hand than others. . .

In the battle for Congress, Democrats have the money edge in the state’s three most competitive districts. As of Sept. 30, 1st District Democratic candidate Dan Feehan had nearly five times the war chest of incumbent Rep. Jim Hagedorn. Feehan raised three times as much money as Hagedorn in the last quarter, and outspent him nearly two-to-one.

Jeepers.

Related posts:

• It's Friday, so time for another Hagedorn scandal: the tale of the vanishing free campaign office
• MNReformer update: After Hagedorn payment revelations, Al Travis off KTOE until after election
• MN01 race news digest: Feehan and Hagedorn spar; do Hagedorn's accusations hold water?
• This week in Jim Hagedorn: a MN01 news digest
• Jim Hagedorn news digest: Rochester Bulletin, Mankato Free Press, MN Reformer and more!
• More MN Reformer: Expect an ethics complaint against Jim Hagedorn, DFL Chair Martin says
• But his emails! Strib reports Hagedorn personally involved in decisions about publicly funded mail
• Hagedorn aide at center of sketchy spending posts conspiratorial, homophobic social media
• The plot thickens in the Fighting First: Jim Hagedorn hires legal help for spending scandal
• Minnesota Reformer: MN01's Hagedorn spent tax dollars on vendor owned by a member of his staff
• MN01 data points: Does Hagedorn's internal polling conducted in March still matter?
• Hyperbole, much? Hagedorn's revelation about November 2020 is galloping nincompoopery
• Coals of criticism heaping on Jim Hagedorn; UnitedHealth Group says no more cash for you
• Rightwing values and performance art in MN-01: Mr. Quist and "Mr. Conservative" (2009)
• Republican Party of MN reports self-employed James, Hagedorn lives in St. Louis Park
• RPM, Friends of Hagedorn confuse state & federal campaign finance reports in answering PB question about Hagedorn's residence
• MN01: Meet a Hagedorn Washington legislative assistant working on agriculture issues
• MN01: the hostile world of Hagedorn town halls, updated with videos of Mankato area meetings
• Nazi namecalling: two Southern MN Republicans lose their wits about Warren, insulin critics
• MN01: Hagedorn echoes colleague's remark about kids being free to leave detention centers
• Congressman Hagedorn's campaign emails share only the finest COVID-19 news sources
• MN Reformer: The Hagedorn rule: Watchdogs say congressional family deals need oversight

Screenshot: Hagedorn used Small Business Week to learn about a business of which he was once a minority owner.

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.

Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email [email protected] as recipient.

Will Buria re-brand Oct 21 Meet & Greet with Brian Johnson after MPPOA pulls endorsement?

 

Update 10/17: The image and post captured Friday in the screengrab have been removed, but the October 21 Meet and Greet is still on, as is Representative Brian Johnson guest spot.The campaign wrote Saturday morning in a new Facebook post: "Just a reminder for a Great event coming this Wednesday!!! Don't miss it!!"

The updated image is posted at the end of this article. [end update].

Julie Buria, the endorsed Republican candidate in Minnesota House District 6B, centered  her October 21 Meet & Greet at the Rink Sportsbar and Grill around support for law enforcement, urging supporters to "Come meet Julie, Back the Blue, support Law and Order, and hear about Public Safety in Minnesota. Julie is endorsed the Police and Peace Officers Association."

The special guest for the event is Brian Johnson, the Cambridge Republican who is minority lead on the Minnesota House Public Safety Committee.

We captured a screengrab (above) of the image posted to her campaign Facebook page.

We're curious how Buria will re-brand this campaign event, given a Thursday news report in the Mesabi Tribune, Minnesota police group drops Buria over ‘anti-Semitic comments’ Board endorses Lislegard, a Democrat, in House 6B race:

Minnesota’s largest police association has pulled its endorsement of Republican House 6B candidate Julie Buria, citing since-removed social media posts considered to be anti-Semitic in nature.

Brian Peters, executive director of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association (MPPOA), a group representing more than 10,000 law enforcement members statewide, emailed constituents Wednesday informing them that the organization changed course, effective immediately. The MPPOA board “cannot stand behind a candidate who makes anti-Semitic comments of any kind,” Peters wrote in an email obtained by the Mesabi Tribune.

The board moved to endorse incumbent Democratic State Rep. Dave Lislegard, “a supporter of public safety and will continue to be a champion to protect the rights of the men and women who wear the uniform,” Peters added.

She was mired in controversy after a July social media post on her personal account used graphic Holocaust imagery and likened it to the state’s coronavirus pandemic response, drawing sharp admonishments from the Minnesota Jewish community and some leaders in the Iron Range community.

The criticisms only increased after Buria, a current Mountain Iron city councilor, told the council a week later that she was “forced” to apologize in a dramatic about-face that contradicted a Minnesota GOP statement expressing her regret and “sincere” apology over the post. Buria has also been linked to QAnon, a group known for spreading conspiracy theories, but told The Associated Press, “Have I looked at it? Yes. Do I believe all of it? No. I’m not really sure what to think about all that.”

The Minnesota GOP, party leaders in the Minnesota Legislature and regionally based Republicans including Congressman Pete Stauber — a former Duluth police officer — as well as party groups representing St. Louis County and the Eighth District, declined comment on Buria’s reversal and have continued to promote her as the party’s endorsed candidate. . . .

The article reports Buria's reaction:

“The reality is there’s only one candidate in this race who will support our law enforcement and first responders," Buria said in a statement late Thursday night. "Dave Lislegard joined his Metro Democrat colleagues in voting to allow cities to defund the police, and even voted to allow liberal cities to disarm officers in good standing. Democrats have proven time and again they stand with the rioters, not the police who keep us safe.”

Whatever her opinion about her opponent might be, under Minnesota campaign law, one can't claim an endorsement one doesn't have. We curious when Buria's campaign will replace this image.

We're also curious what Representative Johnson's response might be.

Updated image, posted on Facebook, Saturday, October 17:

Related posts: Jewish Community Action calls out GOP's Julie Buria for yet another Holocaust-themed meme

Screengrab: This post remained on Julie Buria's campaign Facebook page after the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association (MPPOA) rescinded its endorsement and gave it to her opponent, incumbent Democratic State Rep. Dave Lislegard.

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.

Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email [email protected] as recipient.

Board of Animal Health: Chronic wasting disease confirmed in Houston County farmed deer herd

Another development in the North Star State's struggle with Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in white-tailed deer, in a press release from the Minnesota:

Chronic wasting disease confirmed in Houston County farmed deer herd

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) has been confirmed at a Houston County white-tailed deer farm. A 2 ½-year-old white-tailed doe tested positive for CWD after it died; all farmed cervids that die or are slaughtered must be tested for CWD. The herd has been quarantined and the herd owner is cooperating with the Board of Animal Health’s (Board’s) CWD investigation, which includes evaluating herd records and animal movements for the past five years.

“We’re compiling the last five years of the herd history and movements as required by federal program standards, and we’re working with the USDA to appraise and request federal indemnity for this herd,” said Board Assistant Director, Dr. Linda Glaser. “There are 38 adults and 11 fawns in the herd and we plan to work with the producer to develop a depopulation and testing plan.”

The farm is located within the Board’s designated CWD endemic area* in southeastern Minnesota and the herd enclosure was double-fenced in 2017; before the Board established the endemic area in Houston County in late 2018. In the last five years, this herd has only imported animals from two Minnesota herds and did import the CWD positive animal in 2019 from a Winona County herd which has also been quarantined. The herd has only exported animals to one location in Wisconsin.

The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is currently testing hunter harvested wild deer in Houston County as part of the planned CWD surveillance for the fall deer hunting seasons. This surveillance is a critical part of the state’s efforts to reduce the impact of CWD on the state’s wild deer population.

“We typically heighten our efforts to collect samples from wild deer in areas that surround CWD-infected cervid farms,” said Dr. Michelle Carstensen, Wildlife Health Program supervisor. “Even though sampling is voluntary this year, the more hunters submit samples, the better we can understand how CWD is spreading in the area. This new detection is within our CWD management zone and intensifies our need for Houston County deer hunters to submit samples.”

Last fall, three deer tested positive for CWD out of approximately 2,260 deer that were tested within 10 miles of this newly detected CWD-positive farm. Hunters should check the DNR’s CWD webpage for sampling station availability. Sampling result totals from the DNR are available on the CWD sampling page.

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 meat from CWD infected animals is not advised.

* The Board establishes the endemic area boundary 15 miles around all confirmed cases of CWD in the wild. The designation of this area impacts farmed Cervidae herds found within the area. Farmed Cervidae in these herds are restricted from moving to other areas of the state until the producer can demonstrate the herd is maintained in such a way to prevent commingling of farmed and wild Cervidae.

The mission of the Minnesota Board of Animal Health is to protect the health of the state’s domestic animals through education and cooperation with veterinarians, producers, owners and communities.

Related posts:

• Some of the science at the center of Update on Chronic Wasting Disease Efforts hearing
• MN DNR: Deer hunters urged to submit samples in chronic wasting disease sampling areas
• Capital Report & Session Daily updates on MN Chronic Wasting Disease research and policy
• MN DNR reminds deer hunters of significant changes to regulations related to CWD
• Session Daily: Experts want to study how CWD flows in state's waterways
• CWD news digest: #Mnleg agenda; Wisconsin confirms 105 recent CWD cases in captive deer
• Douglas County deer farm investigation leads to discovery of Pine County captive doe CWD case

Photo: Some whitetail does.

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.

Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email [email protected] as recipient.

Senator Bill Ingebrigtsen gains national attention for believing racial discrimination isn't a thing

Following a reader tip five days ago, on Sunday, Bluestem Prairie posted Pioneer Public TV debate: Bill Ingebrigtsen doesn’t believe racial discrimination is a thing:

The Star Tribune, Minnesota Public Radio and KARE-11 Minnesota Poll Shows 56 Percent of Voters Recognize Racial Inequality, The Voice of Alexandria reported on September 30.

But former Douglas County sheriff and Alexandria-area Republican state senator Bill Ingebrigtsen  told viewers during a Senate District 8 debate on Pioneer Public TV that he doesn't think racial discrimination should even be a topic of discussion.

He's having none of it. . . . .

The Minnesota DFL had also tweeted that day:

Back in June, Republican State Senator Bill Ingebrigtsen of District 8 went on the record stating that he thought racism was simply a “sidebar” issue.

Now, he’s outright denying the existence of racial discrimination altogether. This is why we need to #flipmnsenate! pic.twitter.com/h9T0uPQaGK

— Minnesota DFL Party (@MinnesotaDFL) October 10, 2020

Since then, the video clip has captured the nation's fancy. On Tuesday, City Pages' Hannah Jones reported in White MN senator: If there's racism, how come Obama won?:

Minnesota Sen. Bill Ingebrigtsen (R-Alexandria) has been known for making sweeping statements.

Like the one recently implying the debate about defunding the Minneapolis police department was the reason why “little kids” were “being shot.”

Also for trying to make English the official language of Minnesota, which would have done little else other than make it really hard for residents who didn’t speak perfect English to understand written instructions on how to vote.

The former Douglas County sheriff  is seeking a fifth term to represent his district in the west-central part of the state, containing parts of Otter Tail and Douglas Counties.

On Thursday, Ingebrigtsen appeared alongside his Democratic challenger, Michele Anderson of Fergus Falls, for a debate on the local public television station. Like most things that appear on PBS, it was a very understated and soft-spoken affair. Unless you were paying attention to the particularly understated and soft-spoken bullshit coming out of Senator Ingebrigtsen’s mouth.

The moderator asked the candidates what Minnesota legislators can do to end racial disparities and protect human rights in our state. . . .

Ingebrigtsen['s]esponse started out confusing, then veered pretty quickly into upsetting.

“Well, quite frankly, I think this country is going through some times now where I guess it’s the… I guess I don’t know how to put it, exactly. But I don’t think there’s an educational opportunity that’s been turned down for a teacher,” Ingebrigtsen began, seemingly vaguely addressing Anderson’s point about teachers of color in classrooms.

He continued: “We shouldn’t even be talking about this. We shouldn’t even be discussing this. And I don’t believe there is racial discrimination going on. I absolutely don’t.”

He said he was born in the ‘60s and remembered seeing Civil Rights protests on TV, with “fire trucks and hoses and dogs and horses.” He also said we’d come “leaps and bounds” since then, though without addressing how often recent police brutality protests resulted in protesters seriously injured by tear gas and less-lethal projectiles.

In an aside, Ingebrigtsen suggested that somehow civil rights got a little worse “under the Obama administration.” . . .

But the story didn't stop there. At Raw Story, Tom Boggioni picks up on City Pages' tale in Minnesota Republican denies racism still exists in bizarre Senate debate rant.

Most recently, Ingebrigtsen hit the mainstream, with Tuesday's Daniel Villareal piece in Newsweek, GOP Minnesota Senator Suggests Racism Doesn't Exist by Invoking Obama's Presidency.

Comic Sands picks up on the twittersphere's response to the DFL tweet in Minnesota GOP Lawmaker Absurdly Suggests That Racism Can't Exist Because Obama Was Elected. Head over and check them out.

We're used to Ingebrigtsen's grumpy-cat Marijuana-The-Weed-With-Roots-In-Hell Drug War schtick, but it took his anti-anti-racism to gain his nincompoopery a national audience.

Related posts:

• On Sensible Change MN Cannabis Policy Voter Guide, Ingebrigtsen clings to reefer madness
• Sheriff Bill and Bub Nornes go full blown grumpy cats on medical cannabis bills
• Raw marijuana menace: Senator Bill Ingebrigtsen speaks out against legalizing killer weed
• Ingebrigtsen & Rosen warn colleagues about "dangerously addictive" pot that rips apart families
• Have a hemp heart: Sheriff Bill gets a free bag
• Grumpy cat Senator Bill Ingebrigtsen still grumpy about industrial hemp's infernal roots in Hell
• Ingebrigtsen update: grumpy cat is still grumpy about medical cannabis & intractable pain
• Ingebrigtsen update, part 2: Have a Blessed and Merry Christmas, your kids think pot is a-okay
• MN Senator Gary Dahms shares scary vision of pot-loving DFL majority with Brown Co faithful
• Hagedorn: Senator Gary Dahms stands between you and socialist legal recreational marijuana:

Screengrab: Senator Ingebrigtsen at the moment he said "We shouldn't even be talking about this, people. We shouldn't even be discussing this. And I don’t believe that there is racial discrimination going on. I absolutely don’t" in the Senate District 8 debate on Pioneer Public TV.

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.

Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email [email protected] as recipient.

Resident: "We really don’t want to be known in Murdock as the center of hate in Minnesota"

Back in July, we broke the story of Baldurshof: Third Hof of the Asatru Folk Assembly setting up in Murdock, Minnesota.

Murdock residents have organized against the whites-only AFA, which has been identified as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

We weren't able to make the Murdock city council meeting last night, but the Star Tribune and Fox9 news sent reporters.

At the Star Tribune, John Reinan reported in Big crowd in Murdock, Minn., grills representative of controversial Nordic heritage church:

The two sides were crystal clear Wednesday night as a packed town hall in this western Minnesota town debated the arrival of a controversial Nordic heritage church that scholars have identified as a white supremacist group.

On the one hand, residents who have mobilized against the Asatru Folk Assembly (AFA), which bought an abandoned Lutheran church here earlier this year and hopes to turn it into a Midwest regional gathering hall. “We don’t want to be known as the hate capital of Minnesota,” said Murdock resident Pete Kennedy.

And on the other, a representative of the church, who defended his beliefs under a spirited grilling from community members.

“A hundred thousand years from now, I want there to be blond hair and blue eyes,” said Allen Turnage, a member of the AFA’s board. “I don’t have to be a German shepherd supremacist to want there to be German shepherds.”

Nearly 50 people in the Swift County town of 275 residents filled the hall for a special City Council meeting, wearing masks and sitting in chairs placed 6 feet apart. Most clearly were there to oppose the church’s application for a permit that would allow it to hold gatherings in the old church building, vacant for years and purchased by the AFA for $45,000.

The AFA is among a growing number of groups that seek to practice a pre-Christian, European spirituality. The AFA is unabashedly pro-white, according to statements on its website. . . .

Turnage said the AFA would not admit a Black person “because they’re not of northern European descent.”

That brought a response from Christian Duruji, a Black resident married to a white woman.

“I fail to see how a group that would reject me on sight and view my daughter as an aberration not to be celebrated” could contribute to the well-being of Murdock, he said.

“These groups are growing,” said Tammy Porwoll, who has family ties to the area and now lives in Alexandria. “What they’re promoting is ringing hollow to me.”

There can be a danger in such groups, said Lisa Waldner, a sociology professor at the University of St. Thomas who has studied white supremacy for decades.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with having an interest in one’s ancestry or participating in ethnic celebrations,” she added in an interview, citing the Sons of Norway as an example. “It can be a healthy form of self-identity.”

The problem, she said, comes when groups become exclusionary and believe that their identity is superior to others.

“It sounds a lot less offensive to say, ‘I don’t hate minorities. I love my race! What’s wrong with that?’ ” Waldner said. “Well, it’s about thinking minorities are inferior, and to create separate social spaces where minorities are not welcome.” . . .

City Council members spoke little at the meeting, saying they were there to listen. The council plans to take a vote on the church’s permit request at a meeting scheduled for Nov. 4.

Fox 9's Sarah Danik reported in Community members fight against permit for whites-only Pagan organization in western Minnesota:

A special meeting in a small western Minnesota town was filled to capacity on Wednesday. The residents of Murdock showed up to oppose a controversial group that wants to set up shop in the town. The group does not allow anyone of color to join -- and that’s not sitting well with the people who live there.

The meeting on Wednesday was to consider granting the group a conditional-use permit. For most organizations, the request doesn't get much attention. But the request by a group labeled a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center led to a packed house at the Murdock City Council. . . .

AFA says they consider themselves a religion for only those of northern European descent and makes clear they don’t allow anyone outside of that to take part. That doesn’t sit well with those who live in Murdock.

"I fail to see how a group that will disqualify me on sight as well as view my daughter as someone not to be celebrated, I fail to see how that would promote the general public safety," said Murdock resident Christian Duruji.

"We don't hate anybody," argued Turnage. "This is our religion. It's our way of practicing our religion."

But those who live here want to make sure Murdock is a place that is welcoming to all and doesn’t discriminate.

"We really don’t want to be known in Murdock as the center of hate in Minnesota," said resident Pete Kennedy. . . .

Here's the Fox9 clip:

We'll update this post when other news reports and commentary is published.

UPDATE #1: At NBC News, David K. Li reports in  Whites-only church eyes small town; residents fear becoming 'hate capital of Minnesota':

Plans by a little-known whites-only church to open in a small Midwestern town drew sharp opposition Wednesday from residents, who don't want their community known as "the hate capital of Minnesota."

Nearly 50 residents of Murdock filed into a town hall to largely voice opposition to the Asatru Folk Assembly (AFA) which wants to establish its Midwest regional center in the western Minnesota city that's home to less than 300 people. . . .

etired elementary school teacher Karen Falk attended Wednesday's meeting with a hand-painted sign reading "Life is too short to hate."

If the church was allowed to take root in Murdock, Falk said outsiders would believe her town "isn't a welcoming community that people would want to seek out."

"I am hopeful they will be denied," Falk said Thursday. "And if it's not denied, at least have very strict conditions placed on the conditional use permit."

Falk is the mother of former state representative Andrew Falk.

UPDATE #2: In the West Central Tribune, Tom Cherveny reports in Murdock residents tell council to deny permit to Asatru Folk Assembly:

Citing concerns for safety and voicing their rejection of the Asatru Folk Assembly’s practice to exclude those not of northern European descent, residents of Murdock pleaded with City Council members to deny a conditional use permit to the new owners of a former Lutheran church building in the community.

“We don’t want to be known as the hate capital of Minnesota,” resident Pete Kennedy told council members at a public hearing Wednesday evening on the permit request.

An estimated 50 people, including news reporters from the area and the Twin Cities, attended the hearing. A majority of those who spoke voiced objections to a permit. . . .

Residents cited concerns raised by organizations such as the Southern Poverty Law Center, which has termed the Asatru Folk Assembly a hate organization.

Murdock resident Victoria Guillemard organized the Murdock Area Alliance Against Hate in response to the arrival of the AFA to the community of 275 people earlier this year.

She told council members that the FBI has identified several members of the national Asatru Folk Assembly as active in the Klu Klux Klan and Nazi hate groups. Some people have been prosecuted in the name of the religion for attempting to bomb a black church and a synagogue, she said.

Guillemard said the AFA does not have the means to police its members. The evidence showing violent activities by some of its members puts residents in the small town at risk, she said. “How are we going to protect our citizens,” she asked.

Laura Thomas, of Benson, urged council members to consider the “long-term trajectory” of allowing the group to establish a hof in the community. She said it will put Murdock on the map for hate groups, and attract more.

She warned that this is only a “honeymoon period,” with people focusing on the group’s activities to clean up the church property and donate its Christian crosses to local churches.

“It’s important to think about the safety of the community going forward,” she said.

Thomas said many workers at the local Riverview dairies, many of whom are from Mexico and Central American countries, are terrified of what the AFA’s arrival will mean for their personal safety and livelihood. She expressed concerns that they may choose to find employment elsewhere, and harm the economy dependent on their labor.

Christian Duruji is a Black man who lives just west of Murdock with his wife, a Murdock native, and their daughter. Pointing to the AFA’s avowed practice of not accepting people of color, he told council members that they have the obligation to say “no” to a permit on the basis of protecting the welfare and safety of citizens.

“I fail to see how a group that will disqualify me on sight as well as view my daughter as somewhat of an aberration or something that is not to be celebrated, I fail to see how that would promote the general public safety,” he said. . . .

One meeting participant said she wanted to thank Asatru for having cleaned up an “eyesore” after purchasing the vacant church building.

But other residents at the meeting took turns expressing their dislike for AFA’s exclusion of people of color, and said the community is a welcoming one.

Pam Skoglund said her mother-in-law moved to Murdock more than 70 years ago as its only Native American resident, and never had a door closed to her.

“I don’t think any of us want Murdock to get a reputation as a town that is not welcoming to all people,” said Skoglund. . .

Related posts:

• AFA gothar coordinator's life changed from police shoot-out & prison to serving old Gods
• WC Trib: "Murdock City Council, on advice of city attorney, not commenting" on whites-only group
• Bluestem in the news: Strib & the Intercept
• Quiet protest is start of anti-hate movement in Murdock (West Central Tribune)

Photo: Concerned area residents share their concerns before the meeting. Photo by Kathy Hartley, via Facebook.

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MN DNR: Deer hunters urged to submit samples in chronic wasting disease sampling areas

We've been covering chronic wasting disease incident and policy in Minnesota since Bambi was a fawn, and post this press release as part of that effort.

Deer hunters urged to submit samples in chronic wasting disease sampling areas

Mandatory carcass movement restrictions in effect for disease management and control zones

Minnesota deer hunters should be aware of chronic wasting disease regulations and sampling as they plan ahead for upcoming deer seasons, including the antlerless-only and youth deer seasons that take place from Thursday, Oct. 15, to Sunday, Oct. 18, and the opening weekend of firearms deer season Saturday, Nov. 7, and Sunday,
Nov. 8.

For the 2020 hunting season, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources has shifted to voluntary sampling for all designated CWD areas. Hunters may submit samples from their deer at unstaffed sampling stations.

Hunters planning to transport harvested deer should also familiarize themselves with the deer carcass movement restrictions that are in place for certain areas of the state.

Voluntary CWD sampling
The change to voluntary sampling using unstaffed stations facilitates social distancing required during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hunters in CWD management zones, control zones or surveillance areas are urged to drop off the head of deer 1 year of age or older at these stations.

“Samples are critical in helping us monitor the spread of chronic wasting disease in Minnesota’s wild deer,” said Michelle Carstensen, DNR’s wildlife health program supervisor. “The more samples we receive, the better we understand the prevalence of CWD in these areas and the more information we have to determine the best methods to keep our deer healthy.”

Hunters can find details about how to submit their deer for sampling, including any deer that will be made into deer mounts, on the DNR’s CWD sampling page. Hunters must register their deer prior to sampling, by phone, internet or at a big game registration station. After submitting a sample, hunters can check their CWD test results online at mndnr.gov/cwdcheck by entering their nine-digit MDNR number from the deer’s site tag.

Sampling stations will be available for all seasons in the disease management zones (north-central, south metro and southeast) and control zone (southeast). In disease surveillance areas (east-central, west-central and south metro), stations will be available until sampling goals have been reached. Hunters should check the
CWD webpage for current station availability.

Mandatory carcass movement restrictions details
Deer carcass movement restrictions are in effect for all CWD management and control zones, located in north-central and southeastern Minnesota and the south metro area. No carcass movement restrictions are in place in CWD surveillance areas, where the disease has not been discovered in wild deer. These carcass movement restrictions help keep the disease from spreading farther in the state.

Whole carcasses cannot leave a management or control zone until a “not detected” CWD test result is received after providing a sample. Successful hunters may de-bone or quarter their deer to transport their harvest without brain and spinal column material.

To help hunters comply with these restrictions, the DNR has set up dumpsters in the management and control zones to allow hunters to properly dispose of deer remains. After quartering or de-boning the meat so it is free of brain and spinal column material, hunters can then take the meat or quarters out of the CWD area. Hunters can find the current list of disposal locations on the DNR webpage devoted to each CWD sampling area. These area-specific pages are accessible through mndnr.gov/cwd. 

CWD testing outside of sampling areas
Hunters outside of a sampling area may collect their own lymph node sample and submit it for testing to a veterinary diagnostic laboratory at either University of Minnesota or Colorado State University for a fee. The University of Minnesota fee is $39, with an additional charge of $34 if the whole head is submitted. The Colorado State University fee is $35. A DNR video showing how to collect a lymph node sample is available at mndnr.gov/cwd/videos.html.

More information
For more information on CWD, the DNR’s continued efforts to manage the disease and how to help, visit mndnr.gov/cwd. Hunters can also find hunting regulations and information about chronic wasting disease regulations and sampling in the 2020 Minnesota Hunting and Trapping Regulations, available online atmndnr.gov/regulations/hunting and wherever licenses are sold.

Related posts

• MN DNR reminds deer hunters of significant changes to regulations related to CWD
• Some of the science at the center of Update on Chronic Wasting Disease Efforts hearing
• MNDNR: extensive sampling of wild deer in 2019 shows CWD remains biggest concern in SEMN
• News item: Fillmore County Board gets CWD update; approves refugee resettlement
• Meanwhile in South Dakota: Game, Fish & Parks (GFP) Commission modifies rules related to CWD
• Just in from the MN DNR: Wild deer in Dakota County confirmed positive for CWD
• Meanwhile in MN: four more Chronic Wasting Disease positive deer on Pine County farm
• Capital Report & Session Daily updates on MN Chronic Wasting Disease research and policy

Photo: A whitetail buck.

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Ojibwe Nation member Evelyn Bellanger: Giant potato grower threatens what’s left of our land

Environmental Working Group's AgMag has posted Giant Potato Grower Threatens What’s Left of Our Land, commentary by Evelyn Bellanger, who--as noted in the author's bio at the end of the post--is a member of the Ojibwe Nation:

Evelyn Bellanger, of Pine Point, Minn., a member of the Ojibwe nation, has a master’s degree in American Indian studies. She is a member of the Rights of Manoomin and the Elders Indian Affairs Commission. She is a historical trauma presenter, writes educational articles for the tribal newspaper Anishinaabeg Today and is writing a memoir.

A taste of the column:

The White Earth Reservation, in Minnesota, where I was born and live, was created in 1867 by a treaty between the White Earth Band of Ojibwe and the U.S. government. The original reservation boundaries consisted of 837,000 acres. But over time, poor federal planning and fraudulent land grabs whittled our tribal land down by 90 percent.

Today, five major communities or villages are scattered across the reservation. Even as our resources shrank, our membership grew to 20,000 enrolled members living both on and off the reservation.

The White Earth Reservation sits above the Pineland Sands Aquifer, in Minnesota’s Straight River watershed. Our home used to be a natural paradise. My ancestors said the area was once thick with abundant forests and wildlife. They could go out to hunt and trap. All the lakes in northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and Canada were once full of wild rice – “manoomin,” in our language – a traditional food supply for our people. . . .

After the lumber companies and loggers came in the late 1800s, the reservation landscape became dotted with family farms. Starting with the farm crisis in the 1980s, smaller farms began failing. When they did, the R.D. Offutt Company, or RDO, swooped in, bought them up, planted vast potato fields and started spraying chemicals everywhere. The Pineland Sands aquifer is particularly vulnerable to agricultural pollution because of its shallow depth and the area’s porous soils.

RDO is the nation’s largest potato grower and a major supplier of McDonald’s fries, farming 190,000 acres across several states. It also has annual profits projected at $2.5 billion. For the past 30 years, RDO’s expansion of industrial-scale potato cultivation in the Pineland Sands area has relentlessly damaged our quality of life.

Tribal sovereignty – the critical right of White Earth members to self-govern – is directly tied to food sovereignty and our ability to feed ourselves. But the fallout from RDO’s industrial agriculture practices and other land developments has affected our ability to hunt, fish and harvest wild rice.

It’s important for those unfamiliar with Native Americans’ historic plight – driven off our land onto reservations, losing our language and culture – to understand that as a people, we’ve never completely healed from that trauma.

Now, because of Minnesota state regulators’ 30-year-long inability to protect us from RDO’s relentless, chemical-intensive expansion, we are being retraumatized.

For decades, RDO has proudly used small farms in a land-swap scheme to hide the true size of its industrial-scale potato growing and processing operations. But RDO has never been forced to take responsibility for repeatedly imposing this trauma on my people. Our original treaty territories include the 1837 and 1855 territories to the east and south of us, an important point because we never gave up our rights to hunt, fish or gather in the territories, core cultural activities that RDO affects the larger they grow.

In June, the state Department of Natural Resources, or DNR, gave yet another free pass to RDO to keep polluting. DNR denied the Pinelands Sands community members’ petition for environmental review of an irrigation permit for a small farm – a farm that recently unearthed documents prove is another front for RDO’s expansion plans.

But alongside White Earth tribal members, a newly formed coalition – local activists; environmental groups like Northern Water Alliance, Pesticide Action Network, Toxic Taters and EWG; and Honor the Earth, which advocates for Indigenous environmental issues – is fighting back in court and appealing DNR’s appalling decision to allow RDO’s damaging expansion plans. . . .

Read the whole column at Giant Potato Grower Threatens What’s Left of Our Land.

Photo: Non-toxic taters grown by the editor on a tribal elder's place on the Lake Traverse Reservation, home of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate.

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Were Rocks & Cows billboards ever a grassroots thing? Sequel group still satire challenged

At the Minnesota Reformer, the ever-intrepid Deena Winter digs into What is that crass billboard about Gov. Tim Walz? And what does “rocks and cows” mean?. It looks like Bluestem was so beguiled by the large (and mostly former) Rocks and Cows Facebook pages we neglected to follow the money being gathered in the GoFundMe account post pinned to the top of the now defunct page.

Winter reports:

As it turns out, however, this campaign against Walz did not spring from the grassroots, nor the rocks. It sprang from a billboard company. Specifically, Dan Franklin,director of operations of Franklin Outdoors in Clearwater. Franklin set up a gofundme.com campaign on July 27 to pay his own company for the billboards and yard signs. Dan Franklin did not return a phone call and message seeking comment.

That's entirely accurate.

UPDATE October 24: Here's a July 25th version shared by Glencoe Republican state representative Glenn Gruenhagen on his personal Facebook page. It's not a Franklin Outdoors billlboard (note the branding at the bottom middle of the frame):

[End October 24 update]

The Fargo Forum reported on July 27 that Franklin took over the campaign after an different sign company backed out. Matt Henson reported in Group fundraising to dot Minnesota with controversial, anti-Walz signs:

The billboard was sponsored by the Facebook group Rocks and Cows of the North, in reference to a comment the governor made during his campaign that northern Minnesota tends to be more Republican.

The group said a local small-town sign company put it up for them July 24. However, the company decided to take it down the next day when a major buyer threatened to stop advertising. The group feels that buyer, not the sign company, is trying to silence their First Amendment rights with cash.

"Everything offends people these days. You sneeze in the wrong place and everyone looks at you like you just gave them COVID," Hassel said.

However, now a bigger billboard company with statewide advertising is taking over the campaign. Franklin Outdoor, located in the suburbs of Minneapolis, has agreed to plaster the image on billboards and signs across the state as money is raised to pay for them.

Rocks and Cows of the North declined an interview but said, "The intent of the group is to awaken the silent majority."

Other evidence that the billboard predates Franklin's Go Fund Me account, set up on July 27? Minority leader Kurt Daudt's July 24 or 25 tweet:

Hmmm. pic.twitter.com/FkuORnKAK0

— Kurt Daudt (@kdaudt) July 25, 2020

The date stamp above says July 24, but the text in the code reads July 25, 2020.

Confused by satire

We reported in Rocks & Cows & National Guard Cooks of the North is no more; welcome the RCNGC sequel that the original Facebook group was no more, but a sequel had been launched.

Despite the fresh start, the  Rocks and Cows and National Guard Cooks of the North The Sequel, Facebook group members continue the earlier iteration's satire-challenged tradition.

Most of those commenting on the post in the screenshot below failed to recognize that America's Last Line of Defense is a "satire site known for trolling conservatives with unbelievable claims, hoping they will believe them and share."

Even after someone posts the site's banner (at the top of this article).

The member who shared the post doesn't seem to be a bot or progressive making trouble, but a legitimate conservative fellow from Park Rapids.

Lead Stories provides the fact check that Facebook shares about the America's Last Line of Defense item, Fact Check: Nancy Pelosi Did NOT Say She Wants To Remove Votes From Soldiers Overseas:

Did House Speaker Nancy Pelosi say that she wants to remove votes from soldiers overseas? No, that's not true: The story was published by a satire site known for trolling conservatives with unbelievable claims, hoping they will believe them and share. The story was then copied, shared and commented on by people who apparently thought it was real.

The satire site is part of the "America's Last Line of Defense" network of websites run by self-professed liberal troll Christopher Blair from Maine, along with a loose confederation of friends and allies. He runs several websites and Facebook pages with visible satire disclaimers everywhere. They mostly publish made-up stories with headlines specifically created to trigger Republicans, conservatives and evangelical Christians into angrily sharing or commenting on the story on Facebook without actually reading the full article, exposing them to mockery and ridicule by fans of the sites and pages.

Every site in the network has an "about" page that reads (in part):

About Satire
Before you complain and decide satire is synonymous with "comedy":

sat·ire
ˈsaˌtī(ə)r
noun
The use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people's stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues.

Everything on this website is fiction. It is not a lie and it is not fake news because it is not real. If you believe that it is real, you should have your head examined. Any similarities between this site's pure fantasy and actual people, places, and events are purely coincidental and all images should be considered altered and satirical. See above if you're still having an issue with that satire thing.

Bluestem first encountered the satirical network in 2018 when a Kandiyohi County conservative activist shared a post about a fake quotation by Malia Obama, a incident we shared in West Central MN conservatives completely bamboozled by Christopher Blair's trolling:

Conservative activist Gary Swenson of Spicer, MN, has led crusades against transgender students and the like, but a recent Facebook post sharing a meme from America's Last Line Of Defense suggests that there's a limit to his powers of discernment.

His friends' comments also raise questions about critical thinking skills as well--and more.

The America's Last Line Of Defense Facebook page is part of the Christopher Blair network described in the Fake News Codex:

A collection of “satirical” websites that post false and extremely inflammatory articles intended to gain social media shares by gullible conservatives....

Most recently, Blair was profiled in the Boston Globe's One of the country’s biggest publishers of fake news says he did it for our own good:

Fact-checking organizations like Snopes and PolitiFact have labeled Blair one of the Web’s most notorious creators of fake news. Hidden behind his Internet persona, “Busta Troll,” he has for several years pumped out geysers of newsy-looking posts for an audience eager to believe them, with headlines like “College Prank Kills 2 — Malia Obama a ‘Prime Suspect’ ” and “Emma Gonzales attacks a 2nd Amendment supporter’s truck at a March for Our Lives rally.”

His headlines often pinball across the Internet, propelled by thousands of shares and “likes,” generating advertising revenue for Blair in the process — and bringing a chorus of critics who accuse him of fanning the flames of a divided country for personal gain.

He doesn’t deny that he intentionally fools people. But Blair says he does so for an unusual reason — because he’s a hard-core Democrat, a “liberal troll” with a mission of undercutting the far right. His work, he says, is satire, meant to expose what he views as the bigotry and hypocrisy of those willing to accept his inflammatory fictions as truth. And he claims that it is working, that he — with the aid of an army of about 100 other liberal trolls — has actually helped stanch the tide of fake news online. . . .

Polifact reported in 2017 that If you're fooled by fake news, this man probably wrote it.

Summer of 2020 was no better for the keyboard warriors, as we reported in Rocks & Cows Facebook group members decry Ilhan Omar's son John--er Bruno Mars.

We suspect that those members who post to tell others that America's Last Line of Defense is satire assume their peers understand the meaning of that literary term. The lack of that understanding should surely prompt grandparents everywhere to encourage their children to stay awake in their high school English classes when the name Jonathan Swift comes up.

Related posts:

• Conservative Facebook group members think MNGOP absentee ballot mail is DFL Party scam
• Rocks and Cows of MN supports MacDonald for state Supreme Court because tyranny

Images: The banner from America's Last Line of Defense (top); Screengrab from Rocks and Cows and National Guard Cooks of the North The Sequel timeline.

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.

Or you can contribute via this link to paypal; use email [email protected] as recipient.