Bluestem Prairie

Minnesota Reformer: Cost of managing Minnesota’s whitetails: 33 million bucks

Data reporter dude or not-from-around-here-guy? At the Minnesota Reformer, North Star State transplant Christopher Ingraham doesn't quite seem convinced about spending money for wildlife management.

I've had to stifle my inner deep-rural, bumpkin heritage conservation and hunter soul to realize the questions are good ones, and Ingraham buries the lede in the last paragraph:

The DNR, however, estimates that deer hunting “generates nearly $500 million annually in total economic activity to the state.” If you buy that figure, $32.8 million seems like a reasonable investment.

The state herd is threatened by an always fatal prion disorder and habitat issues, so there's that, too.

From the Minnesota Reformer:

The cost of managing Minnesota’s deer: 33 million bucks
By Christopher Ingraham

There’s an awful lot of spending in the $72 billion two-year budget recently signed into law, much of it the subject of fierce, headline-grabbing partisan battles: public safety, education, the social safety net, and so on. 

But there are also plenty of line items that flew under the radar. Like deer, for instance: The environment and natural resources budget includes $32.8 million earmarked for the state’s whitetail deer population. 

There are roughly 1 million deer in Minnesota, so it’s kind of like if the state mailed a 33-dollar check to every buck, doe and fawn. 

How do those bucks get spent?

The bulk of the appropriation — $17 million — comes from the DNR’s “deer management account.” By law, money in that fund can only be spent on deer management and habitat improvement. That includes things like prescribed burns, forest and grassland development, and efforts to improve winter food supplies for deer, according to a 2022 DNR report.

Those deer management funds come primarily from hunter license fees.

The second-largest item in Minnesota’s deer budget is $8.4 million for inspections, investigations and enforcement actions taken against deer farms, and for managing chronic wasting disease (CWD) more broadly. CWD is a communicable, neurological disorder — think Mad Cow Disease but for deer — with a similar concern that the condition could jump to humans.

In addition to placing a moratorium on new operations, the legislation tightens regulations on fencing, testing and dealing with positive CWD cases at deer farms. That new regulation will require stepped-up enforcement, which is where the $8.4 million comes into play.

A separate $5.4 million sum is earmarked for additional CWD actions statewide. Those include testing thousands of deer shot by hunters each year, researching CWD hotspots, tracking outbreaks, disposing of infected deer and issuing reports on the disease.

The budget directs an additional $1.6 million to the University of Minnesota to develop CWD contingency plans.

Finally, Bemidji State University gets $393,000 for an analysis of urban deer behavior in the city of Bemidji. The goal is to improve special archery hunts put on by some cities in the hopes of reducing car collisions, mitigating deer damage to plants and limiting the spread of CWD.

One important caveat to these numbers: there are many other line items in the natural resources budget, like land acquisitions and preservation efforts, that benefit the state’s deer even if they’re not done with deer exclusively in mind. Conversely, much of the habitat improvement earmarked for deer also benefit other species that share the same environment.

In the end, $32.8 million may not seem like a huge sum in a budget measured by the billion. But it’s nonetheless notable that the state devotes more money to deer management than to many human endeavors — $25 million for film production tax credits, for instance, or $17.7 million for electric vehicle rebates, or the entire $15 million annual operating budget of the state auditor’s office.

The DNR, however, estimates that deer hunting “generates nearly $500 million annually in total economic activity to the state.” If you buy that figure, $32.8 million seems like a reasonable investment.

This Minnesota Reformer article is republished online under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. 

Related posts

• Session Daily: Bill targets deadly deer disease with tighter proposed restrictions on farms
• Omnibus environment bill aims to ‘correct past wrongs, prepare for future,’ committee chair says 
• VIDEO: MN House environment committee passes most sweeping anti-CWD measure to date
• DNR: Chronic wasting disease suspected in a wild deer in Bemidji area for the first time
• MN Chronic Wasting Disease dilemma: should new deer farms be blocked? The old bought out?
• Chronic Wasting Disease: St. Louis County permanently bans new or expanded cervid farms .
• Todd Miller's deer farm was depopulated Tuesday,
•  On Facebook, operator of CWD doomed Winona County deer farm wears Miller Scrap hat 
• MN Board of Animal Health: CWD confirmed in quarantined Winona County captive deer herd
• Update: More on Miller family deer farm interests
•  Senate DFL Leader Franzen raises conflict-of-interest concerns in Republican leader's role overturning bipartisan vote to protect wild deer 

Photo: A white-tailed buck.

If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

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

I'm on Venmo for those who prefer to use this service: @Sally-Sorensen-6

 

Third time: Scott Jensen to rejoin usual bunch of quacks at Global Health Freedom Summit

A recent appearance at a town hall in Rochester by unsuccessful 2022 Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen--read about it here at KTTC's Former Minnesota governor candidate Scott Jensen speaks at town hall in Rochester--made me wonder whether he'd again be joining the speakers at the annual anti-vaxxer fest in Alexandria MN, the Global Health Freedom Summit.

Yes indeedie, as the screenshot above from the website's Event Speakers page shows.

The purpose of the event? From the Global Health Freedom Summit's tickets page:

Our goal is to give uncensored updates from names you trust while discovering new and important front-line voices. We strive to offer only the best in the movement that will stand and deliver truth! This year you will learn to legally protect yourself from forced vaccinations, mask mandates, and other forms of medical tyranny. You will become an advocate for you, your family and our communities!

And a slightly different message on the main page:

Our goal is to give uncensored updates from names you trust while discovering new and important front-line voices. We strive to offer only the best in the movement that will stand and deliver truth! At this event you will gain more knowledge surrounding our current world issues and become an advocate for you, your family and our communities!

It's not the first time for Jensen. As the bio notes, "This will be his 3rd year speaking at our event." 

Originally, Jensen's third year of speaking at the event was to be last October, while he was campaigning for governor.

As Bluestem first reported on August 20, 2022 in Scott Jensen to speak--again--at "vaccine awareness" Global Health Freedom Summit:

Back in January 2019, we posted  Minnesota, kiss your herd immunity good-bye: Senator Scott Jensen cuddles up to anti-vaxxers, before the COVID pandemic, before COVID vaccines, and before Jensen announced his intention to run for Minnesota governor.

We followed up that with mentions of Jensen's presence as a speaker at one of Minnesota's premiere "vaccine awareness" annual event. There are his speaking engagements at the 2020 Vaccine Awareness Event - Minnesota and its successor.

And now he's speaking again at an anti-vaccine/"vaccine awareness" forum in Alexandria that's getting to be an annual event under one name or the other.

And then there's that 2021 fundraiser hosted by Wellness My Way yearly event organizer. My, my.

By September 3rd, I posted MNGOP gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen bail[ed] on 3rd annual Alex anti-vaxx event. noting that Bring Me The News' Adam Uren had reported in a story about the upcoming appearance:

Scott Jensen's campaign spokesman says that Jensen will not be speaking at the Oct. 1 event, despite being listed as a guest speaker, as he has a family wedding to attend that day. This story has been update to reflect this. Bring Me The News has reached out for further details.

At the Minnesota Reformer--a bit late to news of the cancellation and silent about the earlier appearances, Deena Winter focused on the usual bunch of quacks and anti-vaxxers at the Summit in Jensen to appear with all-star lineup of anti-vaxxers at Alexandria event.

Many of the same speakers will appear with Jensen on September 30, though Oath Keepers pal gal KrisAnne Hall doesn't seem to be on the roster this autumn. New from last year?  Leila Centner, a private school founder who's the object of Vanity Fair's Florida School Run by Idiots Says Vaccinated Students Must Stay Home for 30 Days After Each Shot and the Daily Kos' item Private school owner likens public schools to indoctrination camps, says they are pushing sexuality.

There's Carrie Madej, whom Reuter fact checked in Fact Check-Unidentified particles in vaccine samples under the microscope are likely contamination:

A self-described osteopathic physician who claims she saw a self-aware organism point at her from a sterile COVID-19 vaccine sample has likely misjudged her findings of common contamination debris, experts have told Reuters. ...

Also on the list? Scott Atlas, who briefly served on President Donald Trump's  White House Coronavirus Task Force, from August 2020 through November 30, 2020, after disagreeing with policies related to masking, social distance, herd immunity and such.

Earlier Jensen Summit appearances

In Bluestem summarized Jensen's earlier appearances at the yearly event in Alexandria:

The 2020 Vaccine Awareness Event - Minnesota in Alexandria . . . some of the stars of the anti-vaxxer world, described on the gathering's Eventbrite page:

This will truly be a once in a lifetime educational event to hear these amazing speakers speak on vaccine awareness and our health freedoms!

 

About this Event

Join us for our Fall 2020 event on Saturday October 24th 9am-5pm as we welcome Del Bigtree, Dr. Bob Zajac, Shelia Ealey, Leah Wilson, Dr. Joel Bohemier, Senator Scott Jensen and Andrew Wakefield! This will truly be a once in a lifetime educational event to hear these amazing speakers present on vaccine awareness and our health freedoms! We anticipate this event will sell out so grab your tickets now!

And Jensen was on the bill for 2121, we noted in Minnesota anti-mandate effort promotes national anti-vaxxer at September 26 state capitol rally:

BigTree will in the Loon State that weekend for the Saturday, September 25 Global Health Freedom Summit in Alexandria, Minnesota, where he'll share the stage with other leading figures in the anti-vax movement, as well as Minnesota Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen. Jensen began establishing his anti-vaxx ties while serving in the state senate. though Salon reported in July that he denies he's an anti-vaxxer — he's just anti-vax-curious.

The State DFL Party reacted to the event with a press release Scott Jensen to Speak at Anti-Vax Summit This Weekend.

 

Curiously, the  Saturday, September 25 Global Health Freedom Summit link  in our post and the DFL statement is now directed to the Global Health Freedom Summit, Saturday, October 1st, 2022. Jensen is there again--along with a rogue's gallery of anti-vaxxers and vaccine skeptics: Peter McCullough, Sherri Tenpenny, Del Bigtree, Joel Bohémier, Dr. Robert (Bob) Zajac and Dr. Larry Palevsky.   Jensen'sbio:

Dr. Scott Jensen has practiced family medicine in Carver County, Minnesota for more than 30 years, and this is where he and his wife, Mary, a small animal veterinarian, raised their three children – Cristy, an anesthesiologist, Matt, an estate attorney, and Jackie, a family doctor.

Dr. Jensen served in the Senate from 2017-2021 and was vice-chair of the Health and Human Services Committee. He has served many organizations as a board member or chair including Waconia school board, Rotary and Lions clubs, several Chambers of Commerce, bank boards and audit committees.

Dr. Jensen is an avid pilot and writer, publishing his first book in 2015, “Relationship Matters” and another book due to be published in the late summer of 2021. In 2001 he founded Catalyst Medical Clinic which now has offices located in Watertown and Chaska. In 2016 Dr. Jensen received the prestigious award, Minnesota Family Physician of the Year,

from the Minnesota Academy of Family Physicians and was elected to the Minnesota State Senate. Dr. Jensen understands that we need to move forward from covid and address rehabilitation of our economy, businesses, schools, and communities.

Jeepers: who knew that Dr. Jensen was running for governor. There's certainly nothing in that biography which mentions it, nor a word about vaccines of any sort.

Not that Alexandria "vaccine awareness" event sponsor Wellness My Way didn't host a 2021 Lunch with Dr. Scott Jensen. As the Eventbrite invite to the fundraiser states:

About this event

In recognition of the people, businesses and leaders of Minnesota, we are pleased to announce a fundraiser for Dr. Scott Jensen, and we would like to warmly invite you to join us for this extra-special event. Please join us on Friday, September 24th at the Legacy of the Lakes Museum in Alexandria, MN.

The event will be held in the boathouse attached to the museum from Noon - 1:30p.m. You will enjoy lunch and a discussion with Dr. Jensen. Dr. Scott and his team are ready to answer the call and your questions. It is sure to be a meaningful and enjoyable noon hour!

Cost is open and all donations excepted with a suggested donation of $150.

Thanks in advance for your support, and we look forward to seeing you on September 24th at noon!.

Please register today as seats are limited (100). This event is first come first serve and you must have a ticket to enter. Thank you once again for attending our event!

In gratitude,

Dr. Jerod Ochsendorf . . .

It's not just about COVID vaccines at the Global Health Freedom Summit.

What was up at the Rochester town hall?

In a preview of the May 23 town hall, the Rochester Post Bulletin reported in Scott Jensen will speak at a rally in Rochester on May 23:

 Dr. Scott Jensen will speak at a town hall rally in Rochester on Tuesday, May 23, 2023.

The event will include discussion on how Jensen is suing Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice for alleged violations of his First Amendment and civil rights. The program starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Empire Event Center, 1517 16th St. SW.

Jensen, a former Minnesota senator, gubernatorial candidate and practicing physician, has been investigated by the medical practice board six times. The allegations have been dismissed. . . .

After the event, KTTC reported in Former Minnesota governor candidate Scott Jensen speaks at town hall in Rochester:

. . .According to the office of the Minnesota Attorney General, Jensen has not served a lawsuit against the Attorney General or the board.

As Dr. Jensen has stated publicly, he was the subject of complaints filed with the Board of Medical Practice. By state law, the Board of Medical Practice is required to receive and resolve complaints about its licensees. The Board of Medical Practice is one of the clients of the Attorney General’s Office, along with many other state agencies, boards, and commissions. Scott Jensen has not served a lawsuit against the Attorney General or the Board of Medical Practice. . . .

A few days earlier, Jensen shared press release with Willmar Radio about the case, which would be filed in federal court in Scott Jensen suing Ellison over medical license investigations:

Former Gubernatorial Candidate and Minnesota Family Doctor Scott Jensen has announced that he's filing a lawsuit in Federal Court against Attorney General Keith Ellison and members of the Board of Medical Practice for violating his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights. The following is a news release from Jensen...

Government regulatory agencies are not weapons to be used against political opponents. Dr. Jensen is preparing a lawsuit to vindicate the rights of physicians and other health care professionals, cosmetologists, and anyone else who recognizes this grave threat to free speech and the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution.

The purpose of the suit will be twofold: First, to aid the courts in further drawing the line between protected speech and professional conduct subject to regulation. Second, we will hold accountable those responsible for the outrageous weaponization of government against Dr. Jensen and countless other professionals who displayed the courage to speak out against censors and regulators run amok.

After being an outspoken voice during the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Jensen had his medical license threatened 5 times by political activists who leveraged Minnesota's Board of Medical Practice against him. These attacks on speech continued throughout his campaign for Governor of the State of Minnesota.

Said Jensen of the lawsuit, "For three years, while I was a sitting State Senator and while I was running for governor, the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice hovered over me as a weaponized agency. Attorney General Keith Ellison joined that harassment as a political actor. My rights were violated, as were the rights of so many to speak freely during the COVID-19 pandemic and afterwards. We are going to take this lawsuit as far as we need to in order to protect the rights of physicians and all other professionals who have dissenting voices. The silencing and intimidation of political adversaries cannot become the norm in America."

I'll have to see if I can get a PACER account to work for me to see if that filing's been accomplished. I've contacted the Attorney General's office to see if the lawsuit has been filed, and will post the response here should Bluestem get a reply.

UPDATE: In an email response from the Office of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Deputy Chief of Staff John Stiles writes, "No, Dr. Jensen has not filed a lawsuit against the Attorney General or the Board of Medical Practice." [end update]

Jensen is soliciting contributions to help with his legal costs here.

Related posts:

• Jensen ad touts MAFP's 2016 award, but where does he stand on med group's policy positions?
• MNGOP gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen bail[ed] on 3rd annual Alex anti-vaxx event
• Scott Jensen to speak--again--at "vaccine awareness" Global Health Freedom Summit
• Minnesota anti-mandate effort promotes national anti-vaxxer at September 26 state capitol rally
• The headlines keep coming for MN vaccine skeptic gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen
• Small town MN freedom fighting restaurateur's anti-vaxx pals make us pause about her savvy
• Minnesota, kiss your herd immunity good-bye: Senator Scott Jensen cuddles up to anti-vaxxers

Screengrab: Minnesota docter Scott Jensen's billing for the September 2023 Global Health Summit.

If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

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

I'm on Venmo for those who prefer to use this service: @Sally-Sorensen-6

The State DFL Party reacted to the event with a press release Scott Jensen to Speak at Anti-Vax Summit This Weekend.

 

Curiously, the  Saturday, September 25 Global Health Freedom Summit link  in our post and the DFL statement is now directed to the Global Health Freedom Summit, Saturday, October 1st, 2022. Jensen is there again--along with a rogue's gallery of anti-vaxxers and vaccine skeptics: Peter McCullough, Sherri Tenpenny, Del Bigtree, Joel Bohémier, Dr. Robert (Bob) Zajac and Dr. Larry Palevsky.   Jensen'sbio:

Governor Kristi Noem orders South Dakota National Guard troops to Mexican border again

Earlier in this decade, Bluestem reported  Our own Ludlow? Noem partying like 1914 with use of private money to deploy National Guard and AP: ‘Slow day:’ South Dakota National Guard emails don’t match Noem border ‘war’ talk.

Now South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem is at it again.

Joshua Haiar reports for the South Dakota Searchlight in Noem orders National Guard troops to Mexican border again:

Gov. Kristi Noem announced plans Thursday to deploy more South Dakota National Guard troops to the nation’s southern border this summer.

Noem has sent South Dakota soldiers to the border previously. She said the new deployment comes in response to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s request for assistance. Noem is joining 12 other Republican governors who have pledged their support.

“Across the country, crime rates, drug overdoses, and human trafficking have all increased due to the ongoing challenges at the border,” Noem said in a press release. 

The move follows President Joe Biden’s decision to end Title 42 in early May. The COVID-era policy prevented migrants seeking asylum from entering the country because of concerns about the spread of coronavirus.

In April 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the monthly number of migrants taken into custody or immediately sent back dropped to 16,182, which was the second-lowest total in more than 20 years. But encounters with migrants have soared since then, reaching 206,239 in November.

Earlier deployment

In 2021, a billionaire Republican donor from Tennessee, Willis Johnson, reached out to Noem and offered $1 million to help fund a South Dakota National Guard deployment to the southern border. She accepted the call and deployed 48 Guard members soon after. 

The deployment cost $1.45 million, according to records obtained by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit. 

At the time, Noem said the troops would stop drug smugglers and human traffickers. However, the records obtained by CREW and reported on by The Associated Press showed that in the first two months of deployment, the troops didn’t seize any drugs, and mission logs did not contain any confirmed encounters with “transnational criminals.” Some days, the records showed, the troops had little if anything to do.

Noem’s spokesperson, Ian Fury, did not reply to a request for comment Thursday. Noem’s news release about the new deployment did not say how much it will cost or how it will be funded.

This South Dakota Searchlight article is republished online under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

Related posts

• Our own Ludlow? Noem partying like 1914 with use of private money to deploy National Guard
• AP: ‘Slow day:’ South Dakota National Guard emails don’t match Noem border ‘war’ talk.

Photo: An aerial view of the American flags flying over an international bridge as immigrants line up next to the U.S.-Mexico border fence to seek asylum on Dec. 22, 2022, in El Paso, Texas. (John Moore/Getty Images/ via South Dakota Searchlight).

If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 600 Maple Street, Summit SD 57266) or use the paypal button in the upper right hand corner of this post.

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

I'm on Venmo for those who prefer to use this service: @Sally-Sorensen-6