Bluestem Prairie

Minnesota Senate race crucial to DFL’s trifecta set; Davids and Kresha hold off GOP challengers

A good overview of last night's state legislative primaries from MinnPost's Peter Callaghan.

A couple of observations. Somehow, Bluestem doubts that Davids' and Kresha's victories will blunt the criticism from rightward groups like Rocks and Cows of Minnesota and Action for Liberty, but those aren't competitive seats.

I do hope DFLers from across the state unite to keep the open seat in MNHouse 26A, where Sarah Kruger narrowly won last night's primary, as Callaghan reports.

As I noted in Who's funding Minnesota House District 26A's pricey DFL primary? Looks like an expensive general ahead too given GOP cash reserves. last night's Republican winner wasn't spending much of his cash-on-hand on the primary. Expect high spending and high need for volunteer help to keep the seat in the DFL column. I suspect the attacks against her from Republicans in the general election will be much more harsh than the relatively genteel exchanges between the DFLers in the primary.

Wednesday morning analysis from MinnPost

Minnesota Senate race crucial to DFL’s trifecta set; Davids and Kresha hold off GOP challengers
by Peter Callaghan, MinnPost
August 14, 2024

It will be up to former state Sen. Ann Johnson Stewart to defend the DFL’s majority in the state Senate.

The civil engineer, who was on the bad end of redistricting in 2022 and didn’t seek reelection, ran and won the nomination for the 45th district seat left open by the resignation of Kelly Morrison, who opted to run for Congress.

Johnson Stewart will go into the November general election against Kathleen Fowke who ran unopposed for the Republicans nomination. Fowke was the GOP nominee in 2022, losing to Morrison 56% to 44%.

The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the state legislative campaign branch of the Democratic National Committee, quickly put the 45th Senate seat on its target map as one of a relative handful of state legislative chambers that are in reach or at risk for Democrats. The Minnesota House is already on the target list for the national group.

Johnson Stewart defeated first-time candidate Emily Reitan in the district that surrounds Lake Minnetonka. GOP primary voters cast 2,574 votes for Fowke.

The 45th is the only Senate seat on the ballot this year, as the rest of the Senate members are in the middle of four-year terms won in 2022. But because the Senate is currently tied 33-33 due to Morrison’s resignation, this one election will determine majority control. A GOP win would end the DFL trifecta — the governor’s office, the House and the Senate — won in 2022. It was that trifecta that allowed the DFL to pass sweeping legislation including paid family leave, abortion rights, child tax credit expansion and recreational cannabis.

While the DFL holds the state House by four seats, that majority is also at risk in November because all 134 House seats are on ballots statewide. Despite that number, there were only 22 contested primaries Tuesday night. 

Three Republican incumbents faced fierce intra-party challengers Tuesday, and one lost. Rep. Brian Johnson, R-Cambridge, lost by a two-to-one margin to GOP challenger James “Jimmy” Gordon in District 28A.

But Rep. Greg Davids, the Preston Republican and former Taxes Committee Chair, held off Gary Steuart in District 26B by 4.5 percentage points to win a chance at a 17th term.

And Rep. Ron Kresha, R-Little Falls won nomination for a 7th term over Diane Webb Skilling in District 10A.

House Speaker Melissa Hortman said Wednesday she was happy to have the general election fields set and said she was optimistic about holding the DFL majority in both the House and the Senate.

"There was a tremendous advantage for incumbency and for candidates who work hard in the field, and we're very good at that and plan to keep doing that," the Brooklyn Park lawmaker said. And she said she expects DFL candidates to be helped by top-of-ticket races for president and U.S. Senate.

"When you look at Royce White vs. Amy Klobuchar as the first race a person is going to vote on, the leading Republican candidate is essentially a goofball compared to a serious senator who is bipartisan, pragmatic, who is interested in getting things done," Hortman said. "Her work-ethic narrative is super helpful for our candidates."

And while Hortman said she thinks the DFL hold on the 45th Senate seat is likely, she knows Republicans will spend a lot of money there.

"In a way I hope they throw millions and millions there because they have to make choices about where to spend money, and Johnson Stewart is going to win regardless of how much they spend," Hortman said. "We're going to have some close races in the House."

MinnPost left a message Wednesday seeking reaction from House Minority Leader Lisa Demuth, R-Cold Spring.

Other House primary results with implications for November and the narrow DFL majority were:

61A: This is the Minneapolis seat being vacated by Rep. Frank Hornstein and the candidate he endorsed, Katie Jones, won a three-person DFL primary over Will Stancil and Isabel Rolfes. While there is a Green Party candidate, Toya Lopez, there is no GOP candidate and Jones is likely to win the seat in November. 

8A: The open seat created by DFL Rep. Liz Olson’s decision to step down had a primary between two Johnsons: Peter and Jordon. Peter Johnson won easily and will face unopposed GOP candidate Mark McGrew. All three live in Duluth.

26A: A seat held by DFLer Gene Pelowski of Winona since 1987 is open with his retirement and drew primaries on both sides. In the GOP primary, Aaron Repinski easily surpassed S. Jame Doerr. On the DFL side, Sarah Kruger had a narrow win over Dwayne Voegli.

38A: Another DFL retirement — Rep. Michael Nelson of Brooklyn Park — created contested primaries in both the DFL and GOP. Among the Republicans Brad Olson easily bested Yelena Kurdyumova. On the DFL side Huldah Hiltsley had a narrow win over Wynfred Russell.

41A: In 2022, Republican Mark Wiens defeated DFLer Pat Driscoll by 128 votes. Wiens has now decided to run for Washington County commissioner, and this now one of just a handful of Races to Watch. The GOP has a primary between Grayson McNew and Wayne Johnson and Johnson held a narrow lead. The winner will face off against Lucia Wroblewski in what remains a true swing district along the St. Croix River.

This article first appeared on MinnPost and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.

Photo: Minnesota State Capitol Credit: MinnPost photo by Peter Callaghan.

Related posts

• Watch the July 30 Winona League of Women Voters MN House of Representatives District 26A Primary Forum 
• Who's funding Minnesota House District 26A's pricey DFL primary? Looks like an expensive general ahead too given GOP cash reserves
• Incumbent Davids loses MN House District 26B GOP endorsement to Fillmore County Chair.
• Update: Post Bulletin provides more details on Greg Davids losing Republican endorsement

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Heckova US Senate race in Minnesota: GOP's Royce White to face incumbent Klobuchar

Bluestem is hoping that Royce White's place near the top of the ballot in Minnesota will contrast unfavorably with that of the Democratic presidential ticket of Harris-Walz and popular United State Senator Amy Klobuchar--and aid down ballot DFLers in Minnesota House districts like Winona-area's 26A, where Sarah Kruger won the DFL primary last night to face Winona City Council member and owner of the Winona Tour Boat Aaron Repinski.

That open seat will play a role in the DFL maintaining control of the Minnesota House, and the weak Republican statewide candidate may help give the DFL candidate a boost in November--and not just in Winona.

From the Minnesota Reformer.

Republican Royce White to face Amy Klobuchar in November, early primary returns show
By Michelle Griffith

Royce White will face U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar in November after he won Tuesday’s Republican primary election, according to unofficial primary results.

The ex-NBA player, who won the Minnesota Republican Party’s endorsement in May, beat Navy veteran Joe Fraser. A business executive, Fraser was endorsed by Minnesota GOP Gov. Tim Pawlenty and former U.S. Sens. Norm Coleman and Rudy Boschwitz.

“Bring it on commies… The People Are Coming!” tweeted White on Tuesday evening, accompanied with a clip of a fight scene from the movie “Troy.”

Minnesota Republican voters opted for White despite his history of scandal: He pleaded guilty to theft and disorderly conduct, fallen behind on child support, denigrated women and LGBTQ people, and allegedly violated campaign finance laws by illegally spending thousands in campaign donations on strip clubs and mysterious wire transfers, among other scandals. He also called himself an antisemite on his own Twitter profile.

Klobuchar, who was first elected in 2006, is heavily favored to win in November.

White is likely to be a distraction for Minnesota Republicans, now forced to run with a candidate who is a MAGA conspiracy theorist, his worldview once described by Mother Jones this way:

“He believes that the Democrats, Bill Gates, the World Economic Forum, President Xi Jinping, the CCP, non-MAGA Republicans, George Soros, ‘millennial purple-haired white liberal women,’ ‘the Church of LGBTQ,’ the National Basketball Association, and various government agencies all act on behalf of the same ‘global corporate community.’”

Minnesota DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin in a statement said Republicans chose a far-right extremist as their candidate.

“While Royce White’s language and policies seek to divide Minnesotans, Senator Amy Klobuchar is focused on bringing people together to get things done, and she is consistently ranked as one of the most bipartisan and effective legislators in the Senate. The choice this November could not be more clear,” Martin said.

White has the support of former Trump advisor Steve Bannon, who is currently in federal prison, and disgraced conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

Former GOP operative Andy Brehm was bereft Tuesday night. Echoing the sentiment of GOP elites, he wrote on X: “Serious parties don’t do things like this.” 

White shared his own take last night on the X platform:

Bring it on commies… The People Are Coming! 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/cnpdSuBx1a

— Royce White 🇺🇸 (@Highway_30) August 14, 2024

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

Photo: A White logo from the candidate's YouTube channel.

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USDA to take ‘additional step’ in testing beef from dairy cattle for bird flu; indoor cat concerns

An update on USDA monitoring of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in dairy herds'--and barn cats--from States Newsroom via Iowa Capital Dispatch.

USDA to take ‘additional step’ in testing beef from former dairy cattle for bird flu
By Jennifer Schutt

WASHINGTON —  The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to embark on a year-long study beginning next month that will test samples for evidence of highly pathogenic avian influenza from former dairy cattle moved into meat production.

Emilio Esteban, the undersecretary for food safety at the USDA, told reporters on a call Tuesday the new testing program follows three studies undertaken during the spring and summer that all found beef in the nation’s food supply is safe to eat.

“However, we want to move forward with an additional step,” Esteban said. “And what this means is that when those carcasses are tested, they are held and are not going to go into commerce until we get the results back.”

The virus, also referred to as bird flu or H5N1, has been found in wild bird and domestic poultry flocks within the United States for years. But the ongoing outbreak in dairy cattle has forced animal and human health experts to establish testing for a new community of agriculture workers and livestock.

The news of additional testing for the country’s meat supply came alongside the results of a study from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that reinforced the safety of pasteurized dairy products.

Steve Grube, chief medical officer for the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, said that the most recent round of dairy product testing included 167 foods that were processed in 27 states in June and July.

“None of the product samples contained viable H5N1, reaffirming that pasteurization is effective,” he said. “The second survey was intended to address geographic and product gaps from the initial sampling of the commercial milk and dairy product supply that the FDA conducted during April and May.”

Testing milk in bulk tanks

Federal officials have also launched a voluntary program for farmers to test the milk in bulk tanks for H5N1, a step that’s intended to make it easier for them to move their cows between states without having to individually test each one.

Eric Deeble, deputy undersecretary for marketing and regulatory programs at USDA, said the department’s Farm Service Agency has approved 23 of the 35 applications it has received so far to help ease the financial burden on dairy farmers who take their herds out of production after testing positive.

The program — known as Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honey Bees, and Farm-raised Fish — has approved more than $1 million in payments.

The price paid to farmers is based on a formula that includes the price of milk from the preceding month as well as the number of dairy cattle that contract H5N1.

Deeble said on the call with reporters that of the approved applications, a dozen are from Colorado, which has seen a sharp increase in the number of positive H5N1 tests within its dairy industry.

Deeble argued the uptick is due to certain factors within the state and cautioned people against assuming that if testing was increased in other areas of the country, the number of positive H5N1 tests for dairy cattle would spike.

“I don’t think that it is accurate necessarily to extrapolate from the situation in Weld County, Colorado,” Deeble said. “Weld County and Colorado dairy in particular is rather unique in the degree to which the dairies are all closely associated with one another; both spatially and the way in which there is a lot of movement between the facilities.”

“It is a tightly integrated dairy community that’s isolated from much of the rest of the state, and there is a lot of connectivity between the premises in the way in which they use vehicles, support services, milk trucks,” Deeble added.

During the last 30 days, five states have had dairy cattle test positive for H5N1, including Colorado, Michigan, Minnesota, South Dakota and Texas.

Colorado holds a disproportionate number of cases with 26 of the dairy herds to test positive, while the other four states combined hold a total of six herds.

Other mammals diagnosed with H5N1 during the last six weeks are overwhelmingly in Colorado, which has found the virus in house mice, deer mice, domestic cats, a desert cottontail and a prairie vole.

Effect on cats

Public health officials said during the call Tuesday they are beginning to look more closely at when and why cats are being affected by the spread of H5N1.

Barn cats as well as those that hunt outside, coming into regular contact with wild birds that hold a reservoir of H5N1, have tested positive for the virus before.

But a report from the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association earlier this month noted that two of the six cats diagnosed with H5N1 in that state this year “were indoor only cats with no direct exposures to the virus.”

Public health officials on the call were unable to answer a question about how indoor-only cats would have come into contact with H5N1.

Experts on the call cautioned that as fall approaches, wild birds will begin migrating and dairy farmers will likely ship their cattle at higher rates, both of which could lead to an uptick in the number of positive cases of H5N1 being reported in dairy cattle as well as other animals.

Lia Chien contributed to this report. 

This article was republished online under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. 

Photo: A cow barn cat, from CIDRAP's Tests confirm avian flu on New Mexico dairy farm; probe finds cats positive, As the article above notes, the Colorado Veterinary Medical Association earlier this month noted that two of the six cats diagnosed with H5N1 in that state this year “were indoor only cats with no direct exposures to the virus.”

Related posts

• Concerned about highly pathogenic avian influenza mutation, Centers for Disease Control seek livestock worker vaccinations
• HPAI dairy update: fourth human case of bird flu diagnosed in Colorado dairy farm worker 
• Fed health officials prepare for bird flu jump to people by commissioning Moderna vaccine, tests
• Board of Animal Health: First case of bird flu in MN dairy cows strikes Benton County herd
• HPAI digest: 3rd worker catches flu; testing not reaching workers; more MN flocks stricken
• At a Michigan dairy: CDC confirms second bird flu infection of dairy worker
• U.S. Department of Agriculture to require bird flu tests of lactating dairy cattle before transport 
• How two vets discovered avian flu in dairy cows
• Sick cows news digest: Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza detected in South Dakota dairy herd 
• [VIDEO] State vet briefs MN House Ag Committee on avian flu (HPAI) in dairy cows and people
• Not an April Fools' Day joke: Person in contact with HPAI infected cows in Texas catches bird flu
• Dairy cattle in Kansas and Texas catch highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) from wild birds
• Minnesota Board of Animal Health: Stevens County goat tests positive for avian influenza
• MN Board of Animal Health: HPAI confirmed in commercial Meeker County turkey flock 
• MN DNR: Wild fox in Minnesota tests positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza
• In America's turkey industry, SD producers hit hardest by highly pathogenic avian influenza
• Board of Animal Health: Minnesota poultry sales and exhibitions temporarily banned for 31 days
• Board of Animal Health: Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza confirmed in two Minnesota flocks 
• SD Game, Fish & Parks: Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) detected in South Dakota 
• Associated Press: Bird flu detected among commercial flock in southeastern South Dakota
• Minnesota Reformer: Menacing bird flu detected in western Iowa backyard chicken and duck flock
• Shocking photos in state vet's report to Midwest lawmakers reveal bird flu toll to farmers & flocks 

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South Dakota secretary of state now a defendant in Life Defense Fund abortion rights case

And now we return to the soap opera that is thefight for reproductive freedom in South Dakota.

From the South Dakota Searchlight.

South Dakota secretary of state now a defendant in abortion rights case
By John Hult

South Dakota Secretary of State Monae Johnson is now a defendant in a lawsuit over an abortion rights ballot measure, but the lawsuit is still unlikely to change the look of the Nov. 5 general election ballot.

If passed, the measure would reinstate legal abortion in spite of a state law that banned the procedure when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. The ban has one exception to “preserve the life of the pregnant female.”

The anti-abortion group Life Defense Fund first challenged the legality of the signatures gathered to place the measure on the ballot earlier this summer. Minnehaha County Judge John Pekas dismissed the lawsuit because the group failed to name Johnson.

The lawsuit sought to remove the measure from the general election ballot, but only named the measure’s sponsor, Dakotans for Health, as a defendant. Only Johnson can do what Life Defense Fund wants, Pekas wrote in a July 17 opinion, so the case could not go forward.

The state Supreme Court sent the case back to Sioux Falls earlier this month, however, which gave Life Defense Fund the chance to amend its complaint and add Johnson.

On Friday, Pekas agreed to allow that, and also denied an effort to dismiss the case by Dakotans for Health. He inked a scheduling order that sets a trial date during the week of Sept. 23-27.

That’s after the Wednesday deadline for the secretary of state to certify copies of ballot questions to county auditors, but before the deadline for counties to publish facsimiles of the general election ballot in their legal newspapers. Those facsimiles must be published within two calendar weeks of the general election.

In its amended complaint, Life Defense Fund argues that if it wins, Johnson could issue a statement prior to the election instructing voters to disregard Amendment G, the abortion amendment. 

Life Defense Fund argues that it has “mounds of evidence” that petitioners working on behalf of Dakotans for Health were “clearly breaking election law” as they gathered signatures for the measure.

Dakotans for Health has consistently argued that Life Defense Fund’s legal efforts are meant to stifle the right of South Dakotans to make the call on abortion rights in the state.

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

Photo: South Dakota Secretary of State Monae Johnson applauds Gov. Kristi Noem before Noem delivered her 2023 budget address on the House floor of the Capitol building on Dec. 5, 2023. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight).

Related posts

• Abortion rights measure likely to appear on South Dakota ballot, but lawsuit could affect election results
• South Dakota State Supreme Court revives legal challenge to abortion-rights ballot measure 
• South Dakota father is leading effort to restore abortion rights in the state
• South Dakota doctors form group to support state abortion-rights ballot measure
• Anti-abortion group appeals judge's ruling on abortion rights amendment to SD Supreme Cour
• Reproductive rights update: former South Dakota legislator establishes Republican group to support abortion-rights amendment 
• What's up with the lawsuit against South Dakota’s abortion-rights ballot measure
• Mifepristone ruling digest: SCOTUS rejects attempt to limit access to abortion pill; doesn't change South Dakota’s existing ban
• SD News Watch poll shows South Dakota abortion amendment holds nearly 20-point lead
• South Dakota's Republican Secretary of State Monae Johnson runs afoul of anti-abortion groups after labeling their phone calls a ‘scam’
• ACLU, Planned Parenthood North Central States, SD Justice Empowerment Network don’t support ballot measure aiming to restore abortion access 
• At SD Democratic Party reproductive rights rally, Sioux Falls Rep. Duba shares her abortion story
• In South Dakota, where abortion is now outlawed, college students ramp up activism
• SD News Watch: SD women evade abortion ban by accessing medication in neighboring states 
• View from the Coteau: a tale of two states in the wake of SCOTUS's Dobbs v. Jackson decision 
•  Abortion poll: Is South Dakota the next Kansas?

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A closer look at the abortion debate in Minnesota House District 26A DFL primary

 

n a July article in the Minnesota Reformer, Madison McVan reports in With no DFL endorsement, race to replace longtime DFL rep from Winona is wide open:

The two candidates have similar policy platforms, both promising to continue Pelowski’s advocacy for education funding, and to vote in favor of abortion access, unlike their predecessor Pelowski, who is among the last anti-abortion DFL elected officials. 

How has that issue played out in the public discourse between the candidates?

Online letters section at the Winona Daily News and the Winona Post have produced a flurry of letters from each candidate's supporters.

But perhaps the most intriguing example of the discussion is preserved in a March 17, 2024 complaint to the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board from district DFLer Sigurd Schuerle.  While Schuerle makes clear that Sarah Kruger has disclaimed affiliation with the mailer, he named as the subject of the complaint.

The Board dismissed the complaint (Prima Facie Determination (PDF) since Kruger didn't seem affiliated with the disclaimer--such as it was--on the postcard that  "Winona Area Democrats For Reproductive Rights" sent the card. Nor is " Winona Area Democrats For Reproductive Rights" registered with the Board, which noted in the dismissal that it thus had no authority to chastise " Winona Area Democrats For Reproductive Rights."

The card included no return mailing address, though the union bug on the piece --see below in the embedded file; proves that it was printed at Seven Corners Printing in St. Paul. Seven Corners is used by pro-union candidates and causes across the state of Minnesota and is well known to Bluestem from years of reading campaign finance reports.

A call to Seven Corners sent staff checking orders from the time before the DFL district endorsing convention didn't yield any orders from  "Winona Area Democrats For Reproductive Rights" or anyone officially on the Kruger campaign committee. The helpful staff member thought that the postcard might have been ordered by a consulting firm, though establishing the identity and location of that firm would be impossible given the volume of printing the shop does in an election year.

Here's the complaint. As I noted above, there's an image of the card in the PDF.

Complaint to CFB: Winona Area Democrats For Reproductive Rights uploaded by Sally Jo Sorensen on Scribd

A couple of observations. 

1. According to Kruger's year-end report for her 2020 Minnesota Senate race, Schuerle contributed $300 to her campaign that year. In 2024, he's donated to the Dwayne Voegeli campaign.

2. The text on the front of the postcard reads:

Winona Area DFLers need a candidate who refuses to waffle on women's reproductive healthcare rights.

This election si too important to support Dwayne Voegeli who agrees with Donald Trump on abortion access.

Sarah Kruger is the only candidate who fully support a woman's right to choose.

Reading this, Bluestem can understand why some delegates to the convention might want to avoid endorsing a candidate whose supporters obtain the delegate mailing list, only to compare the other candidate to Donald Trump.

3. Both candidates support reproductive rights.

Kruger is endorsed by Women Winning, a Minnesota group dedicated to electing pro-choice women to office, and Planned Parenthood Action, the health care group's political acti9on committee.

Voegeli is endorsed by Pro-Choice Minnesota, "founded in 1966, before abortion was legalized in the United States."

4. Some Kruger supporters use the "waffling" rhetoric published in the postcard. Witness student leader Jess Weis's July LTE in the Winona Daily News, Voegeli can't be trusted on reproductive rights:

There is one thing young women like myself will emphatically tell you when it comes to our reproductive rights: A middle-aged man is not "best equipped" to make decisions about our bodies and our health care. We have enough of those in office already.

It's pretty obvious from past letters to the editor that people are rightfully upset about Dwayne Voegeli's waffling on choice. But instead of coughing up to his past recent public statements, he's decided to double down. Well, Voegeli, young women aren't buying it. Period.

Voegeli — this is for you, while you snake your way around to get endorsements, real Winonans are not fooled.

I’m unsure of how you managed to get endorsed by Pro-Choice Minnesota when you have blatantly said: “Publicly I am 110% in support of returning to Roe v. Wade and voting for pro-choice legislation. Some people have been saying that I’m pro-life; I am conflicted personally.” There is nothing to be conflicted about when it comes to health care. Women don’t just wake up one day in the last few months of their pregnancy and decide to get an abortion — that is a false narrative. . . .

A Kruger supporter offered to send Bluestem a recording of the Voegeli statement quoted above, I'm not sure whether video or audio, as I never received it. Thus, I can't assess the statement or its context.

In the Winona Post article, DFL House candidates debate, Chris Rogers reported Kruger using the "waffling" rhetoric herself:

. . .She also said, “One of the things we need to be doing is electing a representative who has always been a very strong advocate for choice, who has not waffled or wavered on this issue or put qualifiers on it.”

Rhetoric isn't proof of connection with an unethical postcard sent to a targeted mailing list of party delegates, but it's certainly a shade I'd avoid using under the circumstance. At least she didn't summon the walking ghost of Donald Trump.

 

5. As far as Bluestem can tell, both candidates will be pro-reproductive freedom. The real battle for electing a pro-reproductive rights champion in Gene Pelowski's district will have in November, against whomever is selected in Tuesday's Republican primary. Perhaps the DFL campaign and its supporters who worked so hard on disparaging the other DFLer might have thought this through a bit better.

 

Image: A pro-Voegeli, pro-choice LTE from the Winona Daily News, Voegeli pro-choice, more than 'single-issue candidate." via Dwayne Voegeli for Minnesota House 26A Facebook page, July 19.

 

Related posts

• Land Stewardship Project releases Minnesota House 26A Candidate Survey on Agriculture
• MN House 26A DFL primary: a look at both candidates' environmental action claims
• Watch the July 30 Winona League of Women Voters MN House of Representatives District 26A Primary Forum 
• Who's funding Minnesota House District 26A's pricey DFL primary? Looks like an expensive general ahead too given GOP cash reserves
• Fact checking: Was MN House District 26A candidate Sarah Kruger charged with a felony?
• Winona district write-in candidate seems confused about Pelowski voting record

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

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

Land Stewardship Project releases Minnesota House 26A Candidate Survey on Agriculture

Last week, Bluestem posted MN House 26A DFL primary: a look at both candidates' environmental action claims, part of a series of articles about the Winona-area DFL House primary. Now held by retiring representative Gene Pelowski, the seat may prove pivotal in the general election as to whether the DFL maintains its trifecta of power--and the ability to get stuff done--in St. Paul.

Monday morning, Bluestem Prairie received a PDF of a survey of candidate running in the district created by the Land Stewardship Project.

According to the email that accompanied the document embedded below, the organization-which maintains a Southeast Minnesota office in Lewiston --created the survey using this process:

 . . .wanted to pass along the information we collected from the candidates following a survey we conducted with our members in the district. We asked our members – what do you want your next state representative to prioritize to build a just a farm and food system and thriving communities in Southeast MN? The main themes we heard back were -- the root causes of nitrate pollution while supporting small and midsized farmers, creating markets and resources for small and midsized farmers, consolidation and corporate control in our farm and food system. We sent these themes to the four candidates asking for a response in how they would address these issues and attached are there responses.

Here are the responses from DFL candidates Dwayne Voegeli and Sarah Kruger. Republican candidates Aaron Repinski (party endorsed) and Stephen Doerr did not respond to the query.

2024 Land Stewardship HD26A Priorities--Candidate responses uploaded by Sally Jo Sorensen on Scribd

Some try to frame LSP as an evil metro organization, but group's Board of Directors can be viewed here.

Bluestem urges voters in the district to cast their ballots in tomorrow's primary, if they have not already done so.

Image: The Land Stewardship Project logo.

Related posts

• MN House 26A DFL primary: a look at both candidates' environmental action claims
• Watch the July 30 Winona League of Women Voters MN House of Representatives District 26A Primary Forum 
• Who's funding Minnesota House District 26A's pricey DFL primary? Looks like an expensive general ahead too given GOP cash reserves
• Fact checking: Was MN House District 26A candidate Sarah Kruger charged with a felony?
• Winona district write-in candidate seems confused about Pelowski voting record

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.

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Update on repurposing somebody else's yard signs: Wendy & Judd Hoff in Douglas County Jail

Update #2, 8/12: At the Alexandria Echo Press, Travis Gulbrandson reports in DFL committee rescinds endorsement of Judd Hoff after alleged sign thefts:

. . .Both of the Hoffs appeared in court for a hearing Monday morning. The court set unconditional bail for both defendants at $15,000. In the alternative, the defendants may each post $500 cash or a $5,000 bond on standard conditions including remaining law abiding.

The Hoffs have both posted bail. . . .  

On Monday, Aug. 12, the executive committee of the Minnesota DFL Sentate District 12 met and rescinded Hoff's endorsement "for cause." It said the decision was based on police actions related to the alleged sign thefts. "In taking this action, we are following the rules, bylaws and recommendations of the State DFL Office," the committee said. . . .[end update]

Update: the Douglas County DFL posted Sunday on its Facebook page:

The Executive Committee of the Minnesota DFL SD12 has met regarding Candidate Judd Hoff's endorsement for State House of Representatives seat 12B.

The endorsement has been rescinded for cause based on police actions related to the alleged theft of advertising and campaign "yard signs." In taking this action, we are following the rules, bylaws, and recommendations of the State DFL Office.

Please address any questions to the State DFL office. 

 

End Update

Heckova campaign in Minnesota House 12B.

Bluestem had updated its August 8 post, Updated! Alex police recover over 240 signs at home on 2700 block of Le Homme Dieu Heights, before I started reading the morning papers.

At the Alexandria Echo Press, I saw that Travis Gulbrandson had reported in Charges filed against Wendy and Judd Hoff in Douglas County:

As of Sunday, Aug. 11, both of the Hoffs are in Douglas County Jail.

ALEXANDRIA — Charges have been filed against Wendy and Judd Hoff in relation to the theft of more than 240 signs.

The signs include political campaign signs, real estate signs, special events and advertising.

Wendy Hoff has been charged with felony theft, while Judd Hoff has been charged with aiding and abetting felony theft and felony receiving of stolen property.

The maximum sentence for all of the charges is 5 years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine.

The charges were filed in Douglas County District Court on Aug. 9.

As of Sunday, Aug. 11, both of the Hoffs are in Douglas County Jail. ..

Many of the signs recovered from the home were covered in black paint, and several of them were repainted with "Vote Hoff, State Representative 12B." . . .

As I suggested in the earlier post about this case, perhaps the repurposing of others' property is related tolow fundraising on Hoff's part:

According to campaign finance records, Hoff's campaign reported taking in $222.99 ib cash and in-kind donations in its amended pre-primary campaign finance report.

An X post about the details:

Judd Hoff, the guy spent a stint in the slammer for an incident involving an American flag and a machete, and who would later go on to dig through his opponent Mary Franson's trash can and mail unopened Christmas cards back to their senders, has raised $119.99 this year. pic.twitter.com/XbaELMFAdr

— Your Unburdened Pal Donavon 🌴🦃 (@hellodonavon) July 30, 2024

Perhaps the campaign planned to repurpose the boosted signs.

Here are the charges listed in the Douglas County Sheriff's Office Inmate Roster sorted by Name as of 08/10/2024:

Hoff, Judd Bradford

Booking Date: Saturday, August 10, 2024

Booking Time: 8:57 PM

Charges: Theft-Take/Use/Transfer Movable Prop-No Consent

 

Arresting Agency: Alexandria Police Department

Status: Court Pending

Hoff, Judd Bradford

Booking Date: Saturday, August 10, 2024

Booking Time: 8:57 PM

Charges: Receiving Stolen Property

Arresting Agency: Alexandria Police Department

Status: Court Pending

 

Hoff, Wendy Beth

Booking Date: Saturday, August 10, 2024

Booking Time: 2:51 PM

Charges: Wrongfully Obtaining Assistance-Theft- By False Stmts,Concealment, Impersonation

Arresting Agency: Alexandria Police Department

Status: ROR

Hoff, Wendy Beth

Booking Date: Saturday, August 10, 2024

Booking Time: 2:51 PM

Charges: Public Assistance/Food Stamp/Food Support - Declaration Requirement

Arresting Agency: Alexandria Police Department

Status: ROR

Hoff, Wendy Beth

Booking Date: Saturday, August 10, 2024

Booking Time: 2:51 PM

Charges: Theft-Take/Use/Transfer Movable Prop-No Consent

Arresting Agency: Alexandria Police Department

Status: Court Pending

I'll keep an eye on the jail roster to see when they're sprung from the hoosegow.

A pair to draw to, as my late father would have said.

Update: A reader pointed out that Hoff had posted a defence of his wofe's actions on his campaign Facebook page. Here it is. with the full text below:

There's a lot of talk circulating about Wendy and I, again, so I'll clear a few things up.

 

Alexandria, prior to my wife's noble beautification efforts, was clogged with ILLEGALLY PLACED signage in the right of ways. Illegal according to both city ordinances, the Department of Transportation, and multiple state laws. All kinds of signs. People sticking them wherever they want. It looked horrible and cluttered, and yes: According to MNDOT, it all counts as litter.

 

In many instances the city and county were mowing around them. Some realtor signs had been in the ditch for years. Years of the county having to mow around them. Such a nuisance, obstruction, liability, and eyesore. In fact, 77% of people consider such illegally placed signage to be just that; an eyesore.

 

Well, Wendy Hoff made no secret of her perfectly legal activities, even posing for pictures that the "victims" (criminals) took of her in action, and this led to APD executing a fraudulently obtained search warrant on our property. We watched them remotely on our cameras as they violated our 4th Amendment rights and illegally entered into our home, and illegally seized OUR property, some 240 signs.

 

We are putting together a lawsuit and will be sueing them for a civil rights violation. Their illegal and unconstitutional, fascist scare tactics won't impress the federal judges in Fergus Falls, and there are dozens of legal precidents and rulings that anyone can easily refer to on this issue. They dont have a leg to stand on. Nothing was stolen, and Wendy was careful to document her own actions so that she could prove later that the signs were all in the public right of way.

 

We are also referring these unconstitutional actions committed by the APD to the US Department of Justice and the State Attorney General's office.

 

Now they have fucked up.

 

Here is a statement from my wife:

 

"I stand with the beautification and safety of our local roads. I have been in communication with someone from the City about the excessive amount of signs throughout the town. All activities have followed with current State and Federal Laws, like the Highway Beautification Act, Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as current City ordinances. I have also utilized MNDot as a resource and communicated with them. Actions of local law enforcement have been based on incomplete information, and once all of my documented items are seen and investigated, I am confident this will be resolved, however I have yet to be contacted by them for this investigation.

 

It is important to keep our roadways clear of distractions and follow our current ordinances when it comes to our public right of way spaces. We all have a duty to insure our public space is just that... PUBLIC SPACE not commercial billboards for only the "privileged" and to insure safe public right of ways without litter or obstacles... so yeah "Those bitches gotta go". "- Wendy Hoff

Apparently, voters should pay attention to his and her potty mouths and not the repurposing others' property.

Image: from Pine and Lakes Echo Journal Douglas County MN Jail In-Custody  page.

Related posts

• Updated! Alex police recover over 240 signs at home on 2700 block of Le Homme Dieu Heights
• News digest: DFL House District 12B Judd Hoff endorsement wasn't a winner.

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Pesticide labeling becomes issue in South Dakota’s Johnson v. Johnson U.S. House race

It looks as if following Bayer/Monsanto's money has stepped on the stage of South Dakota's congressional race.

(And that contest--with Democratic candidate Sheryl Johnson challenging incumbent Dusty Johnson--has its own Blazing Saddles aspect. Quote your own favorite lines from Rock Ridge town meetings).

On Thursday, Bluestem republished a South Dakota searchlight article, Dusty Johnson denies trying to help Bayer shield itself from existing Roundup cancer lawsuits.

Now the Searchlight is back with another episode.

Pesticide labeling becomes issue in South Dakota’s U.S. House race
By Seth Tupper and Joshua Haiar

Legislation affecting the regulation of pesticide labels has become an issue in South Dakota’s U.S. House race after a Democratic challenger leveled criticism at incumbent Republican Rep. Dusty Johnson.

The Washington Post reported in June that Rep. Johnson worked with biotech giant Bayer to insert a provision into a draft of the federal farm bill. According to legal and environmental experts interviewed by the Post, the provision could help shield Bayer from lawsuits alleging that frequent use of its Roundup herbicide causes cancer.

Rep. Johnson is seeking reelection to a fourth term. His opponent in the Nov. 5 general election is Sheryl Johnson, a Democrat.

Sheryl Johnson alleged in a press release Thursday that Rep. Johnson is “putting the interests of large corporations above the health and safety of our people.”

Rep. Johnson answered questions from South Dakota Searchlight on Wednesday at the Sioux Empire Fair in Sioux Falls.

“Our legislation doesn’t do anything in the courts,” Rep. Johnson said. “If somebody’s got a legitimate claim in court today, there isn’t anything that we would do to adjust their claim from a backward-looking perspective.”

He did not address the forward impact of the legislation. The Post reported that Bayer is “hoping to erect a blockade against future lawsuits.”

Bayer’s role

Roundup was originally produced by Monsanto, which was acquired by Bayer in 2018. Users ranging from homeowners to farmers apply Roundup by the hundreds of millions of pounds annually to kill weeds. Some seeds sold to farmers are genetically modified to tolerate Roundup.

Bayer has already faced expensive litigation from plaintiffs alleging links between Roundup’s active ingredient, glyphosate, and cancer. In 2020, the company agreed to pay approximately $10 billion to settle lawsuits involving roughly 125,000 claims, without an admission of wrongdoing.

Rep. Johnson, in answer to Searchlight questions on Wednesday, did not deny working with Bayer.

“Listen, anytime you’re writing legislation, you need to be talking to a broad cross-section of stakeholders,” he said. “Shame on any member of Congress who thinks they have all of the answers and just goes in and tries to make law for the whole country without talking to people who were affected.”

Sheryl Johnson’s news release referenced Searchlight’s Wednesday story about Rep. Johnson’s comments.

“While he talks about consulting ‘the people affected,’ he fails to recognize the most critical stakeholders — those who have cancer as a result of exposure to Roundup,” Sheryl Johnson said. “These people, many of whom are South Dakotans, deserve more than just lip service. They deserve justice and accountability.”

Rep. Johnson: Uniformity is goal

Rep. Johnson has described his provision in the farm bill as providing “uniformity” in pesticide labeling. The provision would reaffirm the federal Environmental Protection Agency’s legal authority over pesticide labeling requirements, and squash attempts by individual states — including California — to impose their own labeling rules.

California has attempted to require a label on Roundup warning users that glyphosate causes cancer. That requirement has been blocked in federal court.

The EPA does not classify glyphosate as cancer-causing, but plans to reevaluate that position in 2026. Meanwhile, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer has classified glyphosate as “probably carcinogenic to humans.”

Rep. Johnson declined a follow-up request Thursday from Searchlight for another on-the-record interview. He instead provided a written statement reiterating that his pesticide labeling provision would ensure labels are “consistent across the country, consistent with federal law, and consistent with EPA’s science-based process.”

“There is a reason the Constitution calls for Congress to regulate interstate commerce,” the statement said. “Having 50 different and competing product labeling requirements across the country would be a mess. That’s why I’ve supported a variety of labeling legislation, especially in the agricultural and food arena.”

He noted the provision has support from colleagues of both parties, and that 11 state attorneys general — including South Dakota’s — urged the EPA this week to prevent a patchwork of state regulations on farm chemicals.

Challenger has ‘serious questions’

Sheryl Johnson criticized her opponent’s rationale and questioned his motivation.

“By advocating for federal-only oversight in this case, Dusty Johnson is effectively putting the interests of large corporations above the health and safety of our people,” Sheryl Johnson said. “His selective advocacy for federal oversight raises serious questions about whose interests he’s really serving.”

Data compiled by Open Secrets, a nonprofit that tracks money in politics, shows that Rep. Johnson’s campaign committee has received $4,000 from political action committees affiliated with Bayer this election cycle, and $1,000 in each of the 2020 and 2022 cycles.

Open Secrets also reports a combined $11.83 million of lobbying spending by Bayer or its affiliates in 2023 and 2024.

The House has not yet scheduled a vote on its 1,000-page farm bill. The current version of the bill expires Sept. 30.

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

Photo: Sheryl Johnson talks about her candidacy for the Democratic nomination for South Dakota’s U.S. House seat during an announcement March 6, 2024, in Sioux Falls. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight).

Related post

• Dusty Johnson denies trying to help Bayer shield itself from existing Roundup cancer lawsuits

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MN House 26A DFL primary: a look at both candidates' environmental action claims

Much of Sarah Kruger's environmentalist cred hangs on the endorsement of former governor Arne Carlson. That's no small commendation, given the former governor's continued advocacy for the defense of Minnesota's water against ruthless mining interests. I'll go into the details of Carlson's work in a bit.

The screenshot at the top of this post--from the Winona Chamber of Commerce's guide to candidates shares this claim but looking at Kruger's claims of working with Carlson on this crusade made Bluestem wonder about the basic timeline of Kruger's environmental activism.

When did Kruger work on this project?  According to her campaign website, here's Kruger's work experience in politics (I've added some dates in hope of creating a timeline):

Sarah Kruger is the Chief of Staff at FairVote Minnesota, a pro-democracy nonprofit (2023-2024). She holds a Master of Research in Political Science with a focus on electoral politics and is a passionate advocate of rural organizing across southern Minnesota. Sarah Kruger founded the Southern Minnesota Democratic Action Group, which empowers Greater Minnesotans across our region (2021) RuralOrganizing.org hired her to run public affairs for the American Rescue Plan Act in the upper Midwest (2021). Recently, she served as Campaign Manager for congressional candidate Jeff Ettinger (beginning June 2022, according to FEC records). 

She ran for the Minnesota Senate in 2020. filing paperwork for her race with the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board on January 10, 2020.

Why does this timeline matter when considering her claim for being an environmental activist? As she told the Chamber of Commerce, she's worked "closely on clean water initiatives with former Republican Governor Arne Carlson."

Indeed back on March 9, an endorsement letter from Carlson appeared in the Winona Daily News Arne H. Carlson: Sarah Kruger will protect healthy water supply

Note the part I've put in bold face:

Today some 85% of Americans do not fully trust their government, and 80% blame this on the influence of monied interests. Frankly, this is a crisis that builds political instability.

All of us have a responsibility to immediately turn this around and elected honest and capable leaders that will only work for the people. That is why I am fully committed to the election of Sarah Kruger to the Minnesota Legislature.

For some six years, Tom Berkelman and Janet Entzel, both retired DFL legislators, and I have been trying to alert our state government to take action to preserve our remaining and dwindling supply of healthy water. We are making progress, but not enough. Kruger has been a vital part of this effort.

She is intelligent, dead honest and resolute — reminiscent of the traits we saw in Walter Mondale, Dave Durenberger and Paul Wellstone.

When I read the statement by Bruno Borsari, professor emeritus of biology at Winona State University, about Kruger’s opponent, Dwayne Voegeli, I become alarmed:

“His swing vote to allow factory farming in Winona County was unexplainable and oblivious of the consequences that this decision had, and continues to have, about the fate of farming in this county.”

No, we need sturdy leadership committed to our well being, and Sarah Kruger is the person we need in our state’s Capitol.

Arne H. Carlson

Lake City

Note six year time frame, as well as the observation "Kruger has been a vital part of this effort."

Closer to the endorsing convention later in the month, the Kruger campaign mailed delegates to the endorsing convention the following letter of endorsement. In his document, Carlson claims that Kruger joined him early in this effort.

Arne Carlson Endorsement Letter... uploaded on Scribd by Sally Jo Sorensen

To assess the claims made in both documents, I had to research the project Carlson discusses. While the report for the project was posted several places online at the time of publication, none of the links connected with it are still live.

Fortunately, I was able to obtain a copy of the August 23, 2021 report, the Future is Today, from the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library. I embed it below.

A column about the study was published at the Faribault Daily News in September 2021 under the headline, Call to action: The future is today.. 

Not long afterward, the four authors published Standing up to special interests, an opinion piece at the Minnesota Reformer.

There are more op-eds from around the same time.

I was curious whether Kruger had worked on the report,

 

Future is Today uploaded by Sally Jo Sorensen.

What was Kruger's role in creating this document? The report notes that the team started working on the project 2019.When did she sign on to the team? And what has her role been?

I was able to obtain Arne Carlson's phone number and called him with my questions about Kruger's involvement on July 23. In the call, Carlson spoke highly of Kruger, but noted that he had drafted the report before he met her. Nor was he certain of the exact circumstances of their meeting. He suggested that I call Kruger.

Later that day, I reached Kruger by phone. She said she'd met Carlson when citizen advocate for health care reform and Pathfinder leader Lois Quam was scheduling Carlson to speak to the Southern Minnesota Democratic Action Group in 2021.They hit it off and have kept in touch since.

Given that Kruger met Carlson after the report--documenting the work he and his fellow activists did--was published--and her life was filled with running a congressional campaign, then the FairVoteMN effort to pass ranked choice voting in the legislature, it's hard to view her as an environmental activist, I contacted clean water lobbyists in St.Paul and none had any knowledge of her.

Nor did I find any evidence in the legislative record that she had testified about any environmental bills in hearings or press conferences.

As far as accusations of Voegeli's derelict votes as a Winona County commissioner, that seems to be based entirely on a November 2006 Counterpunch article, Green Stench in Minnesota. I was a bit puzzled by the text, since none of the votes in question involved giving a feedlot a variance over the county's animal unit cap.  Indeed, using the piece now seems to confuse Voegeli's decade's old votes with Daley Dairy's efforts to punch its herd up to 4,600 cows.

Looking at Voegeli's record on environmental action, there's a distinct absence of vaporware. Here are examples of endorsements. Here's former state senator Steve Morse:

 

And the Sierra Club's endorsement:

 

And the endorsement of chair of the Minnesota House Environment and Natural Resources Finance and Policy Committee Rick Hansen, who stressed hoe having real experience on the ground is a good start for creating solid environmental policy:

 

The primary is Tuesday and Bluestem hopes district residents get out and vote.

Screenshot: The Winona Chamber of Commerce candidate profile for Sarah Kruger.

Related posts

• Watch the July 30 Winona League of Women Voters MN House of Representatives District 26A Primary Forum 
• Who's funding Minnesota House District 26A's pricey DFL primary? Looks like an expensive general ahead too given GOP cash reserves
• Fact checking: Was MN House District 26A candidate Sarah Kruger charged with a felony?
• Winona district write-in candidate seems confused about Pelowski voting record

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Updated! Alex police recover over 240 signs at home on 2700 block of Le Homme Dieu Heights

Update #2:  On Saturday, KARE 11's Lou Raguse reported in People react to theft of 244 yard signs in Alexandria, allegedly by political candidate's wife:

Wendy Hoff faces one misdemeanor charge so far as the county attorney reviews the bizarre case.

 . . .A worker at a local gun shop saw a woman snatching political signs from the lawn outside and said he snapped a photo she posed for before driving away with the signs in her van.

"They're mad. They're frustrated," said Alexandria Police Chief Scott Kent.

Kent said his department put together a number of similar reports describing the same suspect stealing signs. They wrote a search warrant, raided the suspect's home, and say they found 244 lawn signs in the garage — from realtor ads and political signs to random garage sales.

"It was pretty much non-discriminatory," Kent said.

The suspect is Wendy Hoff, who has been charged with misdemeanor theft in one of the cases while the county attorney decides how to handle the rest.

She's the wife of Judd Hoff, the local DFL-endorsed candidate running for Minnesota House of Representatives against his neighbor, Republican Mary Franson. [end update #2]

Updated: Late this afternoon, the Alexandria Echo Press's Travis Glubrandson reported Wendy Hoff named in Douglas County search warrant:

Court documents reveal that the address of the search warrant executed Wednesday, Aug. 7, in Alexandria was that of Wendy Hoff, whose husband Judd Hoff is running for a seat in the state House of Representatives.

According to a press release issued Thursday, Aug. 8, more than 240 signs were recovered at the address located on the 2700 block of Le Homme Dieu Heights.

The signs include political campaign signs, real estate signs, special events and advertising.

The search warrant reads that the signs were both large and small and included those advertising Donald Trump, Gov. Tim Walz, Calvary Lutheran, Art in the Park, Casey's Amusement, ReMax, the Vikingland Parade, Legacy of the Lakes, Hoffman Produce and many others.

Wendy Hoff is cited as a suspect in multiple thefts dating back to last month, the warrant reads. . .. 

Read the rest of the details at the Echo Press. [end update]

I heard a snippet about this story on Minnesota Public Radio, and so sought reports about it on local media in Alexandria MN. 

At the Alexandria Echo Press, Celeste Edenloff reported 240 signs, including political campaign signs, seized in search warrant of an Alexandria home The house is located in the 2700 block of Le Homme Dieu Heights.

Over at the Voice of Alexandria radio station, there's Search warrant results in over 240 signs being recovered at area home. Mark Anthony reports:

(Alexandria, MN)--On Wednesday, the Alexandria Police Department executed a search warrant in the 2700 block of Le Homme Dieu Heights in Alexandria. This investigation has spanned over several months and there are dozens of reports of stolen signs; the signs include political campaign signs, real estate signs, special events, and advertising. Officials will be working with the victims of the stolen signs to return them and get them back to their rightful owner.

Law enforcement says there were over 240 signs recovered at the search warrant and this will take some time to contact all the victims and return them. They say to please be patient with us as this is an ongoing investigation and we are working as quickly as we can to return the signs to the victims.

As of this time, no arrests made.  However, reports are being sent to the county attorney's office for review.

That block seemed familiar to me, though only from reading candidate profiles on the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board's webpage.

Both parties' candidates for Minnesota House 12B live on that block.

The CFB record for endorsed DFL candidate Judd Hoff lists "2749 Le Homme Dieu Hts NE Alexandria, MN 56308" as his address.

His opponent, incumbent Republican Mary Franson? 2740 Le Homme Dieu Hts NE Alexandria, MN 56308.

I'd posted on X:

Jeepers, 2 #mnhouse candidates live on that block & I don't think the culprit is Mary Franson.
240 signs, including political campaign signs, seized in search warrant of an Alexandria home--the 2700 block of Le Homme Dieu Heights. #mnleghttps://t.co/kZcPpJZb6P

— Sally Jo Sorensen (@sallyjos) August 8, 2024

A source in Alexandria tells Bluestem Prairie that the warrant was served at the Hoff residence. The source didn't know which campaigns had their signs stolen, but that an Alexandria Avon lady had been asked to pickup her purloined sign.

Bluestem will let readers know if this information is confirmed.

Earlier this year, Bluestem had posted about his controversial endorsement beginning with News digest: DFL House District 12B Judd Hoff endorsement wasn't a winner.

As I noted in that mid-April news digest, at the Star Tribune, Briana Bierschbach reported in DFL faces backlash for endorsing state House candidate accused of harassing Republican incumbent:

Minnesota Republicans are calling on state Democrats to rescind the endorsement of Judd Hoff, a candidate for a state House seat with a criminal record who has been accused of stalking and harassing the incumbent Republican legislator.

Hoff was endorsed this month by local Democrats to run in a central Minnesota House district that's been represented by Rep. Mary Franson, R-Alexandria, since 2011.

Republicans say Hoff has harassed and stalked Franson for years, "digging through her trash, publishing her address and contact information, filming her at her private residence, and relentlessly sending rude and threatening messages online," said Rep. Josh Heintzeman, R-Nisswa, chair of the House Republican Campaign Committee (HRCC).

"While I have no doubt that Rep. Franson will overwhelmingly win re-election, this man belongs nowhere near the ballot and the DFL should make clear that this behavior will not be tolerated," he added.

State GOP Party Chair David Hann said in a statement that the endorsement "normalizes his threatening behavior towards Representative Mary Franson" and must be immediately rescinded.

Hoff did not respond to a call to a phone number listed on a previous campaign page. On his current campaign Facebook page, he said he's a full-time construction worker, married with children and grandchildren and "a bit of an activist and political agitator in my spare time."

DFL Party Chair Ken Martin said in a statement that the state party "strongly disavows this endorsement" and he's asked the local party unit to "withdraw their endorsement immediately. . .. 

On his campaign Facebook page, Hoff noted his felon status:

Under see more in that post, there's this:

. . .  I delivered two short speeches, one before the vote and one after being endorsed. In them I expressed several important points:

 

1. Since 2023 in Minnesota, convicted felons can now vote. Even those still on papers. Many of us know relatives, friends and co-workers who have run afoul of the law at some point in their life. In fact, 8% of the population is comprised of convicted felons.

 

That's 1 in 12 people. The DFL has restored their voting rights through state law, and as long as they aren't currently incarcerated, they can register and vote just like anyone else. Spread the word! The DFL is THEIR party, and they need to be told that they are allowed, in Minnesota at least, to once again participate in their democracy as full-fledged citizens, no different than anyone else. . . .

Perhaps I'm just a poor country blogger who doesn't understand the law very well--I posted about it Wednesday in MN state supreme court upholds law restoring voting rights to felons freed from incarceration-- but Bluestem imagines it's probably best for the candidates and other felons to avoid reoffending.

As news reports note, there are no charges resulting as yet from discoveries made after the warrant was served, nor has local media confirmed the exact address where the hundreds of signs were discovered.

According to campaign finance records, Hoff's campaign reported taking in $229.99 in cash and in-kind donations in its amended pre-primary campaign finance report.

An X post about the details, based on the initial report:

Judd Hoff, the guy spent a stint in the slammer for an incident involving an American flag and a machete, and who would later go on to dig through his opponent Mary Franson's trash can and mail unopened Christmas cards back to their senders, has raised $119.99 this year. pic.twitter.com/XbaELMFAdr

— Your Unburdened Pal Donavon 🌴🦃 (@hellodonavon) July 30, 2024

Perhaps the campaign planned to repurpose the boosted signs. The new EchoPress article reports:

.  . . Over the course of the investigation, a deputy spoke with Hoff regarding one of her husband's signs being removed from the public right of way by law enforcement.

Body camera footage was taken of Hoff on July 10, which allegedly included statements from Hoff expressing frustration with her husband's sign being taken.

Hoff allegedly made the statements, "If I put a sign within 12 feet of this property, by law you as a person could come by and take that piece of property because it's in the right of way."  . . . 

Curiously, there's no report of spending for campaign signs in Hoff's pre-primary report nor the amended report.

No one can say DFL state party chair Ken Martin didn't try to warn the local DFLers.

Photo: Repurposing other candidates' campaign signs. From the Judd Hoff campaign Facebook page on April 16.

Related post

• News digest: DFL House District 12B Judd Hoff endorsement wasn't a winner.

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

Dusty Johnson denies trying to help Bayer shield itself from existing Roundup cancer lawsuits

Bluestem has covered herbicide and pesticide politics over the years and was not pleased to read this report from the South Dakota Searchlight.

Johnson denies trying to help company shield itself from existing Roundup cancer lawsuits
By Joshua Haiar

Questions remain about legislation’s impact on future litigation

U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, denies allegations that a provision he helped insert into a draft of the federal farm bill would protect the maker of Roundup from pending lawsuits claiming that frequent use of the herbicide causes cancer.

“Our legislation doesn’t do anything in the courts,” Johnson said Wednesday in an interview with South Dakota Searchlight at the Sioux Empire Fair in Sioux Falls. “If somebody’s got a legitimate claim in court today, there isn’t anything that we would do to adjust their claim from a backward-looking perspective.” 

Questions remain about the forward impact of the legislation. The Washington Post reported in June that Bayer, the manufacturer of Roundup herbicide, is seeking a “blockade against future lawsuits.”

The Post also reported that Bayer helped Johnson and Rep. Jim Costa, D-California, draft a measure that’s since been included in the House version of the farm bill. Johnson declined an interview request from the Post. 

On Wednesday, South Dakota Searchlight asked Johnson if he worked with Bayer on the legislation.

“Listen, anytime you’re writing legislation, you need to be talking to a broad cross-section of stakeholders,” Johnson said. “Shame on any member of Congress who thinks they have all of the answers and just goes in and tries to make law for the whole country without talking to people who were affected.”

The measure would affirm federal authority over warning labels, which Johnson said would ensure a “science-based, evidence-based approach” aligning with federal guidelines. 

He also said a national standard is necessary to prevent a patchwork of state regulations. He highlighted California as a state that has enacted its own labeling requirements.

“We can’t have effective interstate commerce if we have every single state doing their own label on these herbicides, pesticides,” Johnson said. 

Attorneys general in 11 states, including South Dakota, took a similar position Wednesday by asking the Environmental Protection Agency to stop a patchwork of state labeling efforts. The attorneys general of Nebraska and Iowa announced the effort in Omaha, along with two farmers and state agricultural officials.

The Post’s June story cited legal experts who said the farm bill provision could effectively shut down some lawsuits against Bayer. The measure would prohibit state and local governments from penalizing or holding companies liable for pesticide warning rules that differ substantially from the federal government’s. Currently, the EPA does not recognize glyphosate, the main ingredient in Roundup, as a carcinogen.

Roundup’s uses range from residential weed control to large-scale farming. Bayer’s Roundup Ready Corn, for example, is genetically modified to tolerate applications of Roundup for weed control in fields.

A 2019 report from Investigate Midwest said farmers used an estimated 287 million pounds of glyphosate in 2016. Nearly 6% of that estimated usage — about 17 million pounds — was in South Dakota.

Critics of Johnson’s legislation, including environmental groups, argued in the Post story that the legislation undermines state autonomy and public health protections. They fear that by creating a single federal standard, the bill could limit the ability of plaintiffs to argue that they weren’t adequately warned about the dangers of Roundup. 

Bayer has faced expensive litigation from plaintiffs alleging links between Roundup and cancer. In 2020, the company agreed to pay approximately $10 billion to settle lawsuits involving roughly 125,000 claims, without any admission of wrongdoing.

According to Open Secrets, a nonprofit that tracks money in politics, Bayer has spent $9.7 million on lobbying during the current election cycle. Open Secrets also reports that Johnson’s campaign committee received $1,000 from political action committees affiliated with Bayer in each of 2020 and 2022.

The House has not yet scheduled a vote on the 1,000-page farm bill. The current version of the bill expires Sept. 30.

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

Photo: U.S. Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, greets attendees at the Sioux Empire Fair in Sioux Falls on Aug. 7, 2024. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight).

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MN state supreme court upholds law restoring voting rights to felons freed from incarceration

As Reuters, Democracy Docket, the Star Tribune and other sources report the Minnesota Supreme Court has upheld the state law that allows felons freed from incarceration to vote, even though they may still be under supervised release, probation or work release.

The decision for A23-1940  Minnesota Voters Alliance, et al., Appellants, vs. Tom Hunt, et al., can be read online here.

Via the Rochester Post Bulletin, Reuters' Joseph Ax reports in Minnesota court upholds Walz-backed law restoring felons' right to vote:

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a law, signed last year by Governor Tim Walz who is now the Democratic vice presidential candidate, that restores the right to vote for felons who have completed their prison terms.

The court's unanimous ruling did not address the merits of the law, instead finding that the group that had challenged the law, the Minnesota Voters Alliance, did not have the legal standing to do so.

The alliance — a conservative group that argued the law violated the state constitution — and its legal team did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The law in question allows felons to vote once they've been released from prison, even if they remain on parole or probation. Incarcerated felons are not permitted to cast ballots in Minnesota.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's campaign criticized Walz on Tuesday for supporting the law, even though Trump was convicted of 34 felonies in New York this year for falsifying business records to cover up a hush-money payment to a porn star. . . .

There's that. 

Democracy Docket's Rachel Selzer reports in Law Restoring Voting Rights to 55,000 Minnesotans With Felony Convictions Upheld by State Supreme Court:

The Minnesota Supreme Court unanimously upheld a 2023 state law that restores voting rights to 55,000 Minnesotans on parole, probation or community release due to a felony conviction.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, whom Vice President Kamala Harris announced yesterday as her running mate, signed the legislation last March.  

In today’s ruling, the state’s highest court rejected a bid from a right-wing organization known as the Minnesota Voters Alliance to invalidate the historic rights restoration legislation for allegedly violating the state constitution.

The justices specifically concluded that the Minnesota Voters Alliance, which sued alongside Minnesota residents, lacked standing to challenge to the law, but did not address the merits of the organization’s arguments. 

Under the re-enfranchisement statute enacted by the state’s Democratic-controlled Legislature last summer, voting rights were restored to Minnesotans with felony convictions immediately after release from incarceration. 

Prior to the law’s enactment, those with felony convictions were permitted to regain their voting rights only after the completion of their entire sentences, which often include years- or decades-long periods of probation. This felony disenfranchisement scheme disproportionately impacted people of color by denying voting rights to nearly 4.5% of Black adults and more than 8% of Native American adults living in Minnesota. 

According to the Minnesota Voters Alliance’s lawsuit, individuals on supervised release, probation or work release because of a felony conviction have “not been restored to all civil rights” and are therefore ineligible to regain voting rights until they are fully discharged from their sentences. The group also claimed the law unlawfully authorizes the use of taxpayer funds to educate and notify people about the new voting rights restoration scheme. 

A Minnesota trial court held last year that the organization lacked standing and rebuffed as “fundamentally flawed” the main premise of its legal challenge — that individuals must regain “all civil rights” as a prerequisite to having their voting rights restored. 

Minnesota officials — including Secretary of State Steve Simon (D) — referred to the lawsuit as an attempt to “disenfranchise more than 55,000 Minnesotans” in a brief defending the law before the state Supreme Court.  . . .

Read the opinion here.

Learn more about the case here.

Read the entire article at Democracy Docket, which calls itself "the leading digital news platform dedicated to information, analysis and opinion about voting rights and elections in the courts."

Closer to the court chambers in St. Paul, Rochelle Olson reports for the Star Tribune in Minnesota Supreme Court upholds law restoring voting rights to felons upon release from incarceration:

A conservative nonprofit challenged the 2023 law passed by the DFL and signed by Gov. Tim Walz.

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday unanimously upheld the year-old law restoring the right to vote to felons upon their release from incarceration.

In an opinion written by Chief Justice Natalie Hudson, the court rejected a challenge to the 2023 law by the Minnesota Voters Alliance. The Anoka County District Court had dismissed the lawsuit and the alliance asked the high court earlier this year to reinstate its challenge.

The decision focused on the issue of legal standing and whether the alliance was in a position to sue. The courts said the alliance didn’t have the right to sue simply because taxpayer money was used to implement the law. The court’s ruling didn’t address the substance of the law because the challenge didn’t get that far.

In late 2023, Anoka County Judge Thomas Lehmann dismissed the lawsuit. Then the state Supreme Court took up the case on expedited review, bypassing the Court of Appeals.

During oral arguments on April 1, Assistant Attorney General Nathan Hartshorn asked the court to uphold Lehmann’s dismissal and issue an opinion in support of the law.

The timing was critical because early voting has already begun and this year’s primary is next week. An estimated 57,000 felons are newly eligible to vote. Those Minnesotans “need to hear from this court whether they’re taking their freedom into their hands by casting a ballot,” Hartshorn said. . . .

Before the new law, those who had been convicted of felonies couldn’t vote until they were off probation and had paid all fines related to their convictions, which for some could take years or decades. Supporters said the right to vote helps newly released felons become invested in their communities and more successful in their rehabilitation.

The change had broad support among DFLers, including Attorney General Keith Ellison, who had been pushing it for two decades. Secretary of State Steve Simon has been conducting a statewide education campaign about the change.

Some Republicans, however, objected to the new law, saying it would disproportionately help DFL candidates. They also argued that losing the ability to vote was a consequence of breaking the law.

The legality of felon voting rights has been before the state Supreme Court prominently in recent years. In February 2023, the court said that barring felons from voting was constitutional. Even before the court ruling, legislators were moving to “Restore the Vote” and Gov. Tim Walz was supportive. . . .

Read Olson's piece at the Strib.

Governor Walz was busy outside of the state today, but Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison's office emailed the following press release on the decision:

Attorney General Ellison successfully defends Restore the Vote Act

Minnesota Supreme Court unanimously rejects attempt to disenfranchise Minnesotans

August 7, 2024 (SAINT PAUL) — In a unanimous decision today, the Minnesota Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit challenging the Restore the Vote Act, which restored voting rights to about 55,000 people. As a result of the decision, the Act remains the law. People who are living in the community serving a felony sentence while on probation, supervised release, or parole have the right to vote. Early voting for Minnesota’s August 13 primary elections is already underway, and early voting for the November 5 general election begins September 20.

“Democracy is not guaranteed — it is earned by protecting and expanding it,” Attorney General Ellison said. “Today, the Minnesota Supreme Court protected the right of 55,000 Minnesotans to participate in our democracy, so today, our democracy is stronger. I’m proud my Office successfully represented Secretary Simon against this baseless challenge, and I’m proud Restore the Vote is definitively the law of the land today more than 20 years after I first proposed it as a state legislator. I encourage all Minnesotans who are eligible to vote to do so and to take full part in our democracy.”

"Today’s decision is great news for voters,” said Secretary of State Steve Simon. “With Minnesotans already voting ahead of the August 13 Primary and making a plan to vote in the November 5 Presidential Election, it is critically important that every voter understands their rights. The Restore the Vote Act remains the law of the land. If you are not currently incarcerated, a U.S. citizen, at least 18 years old, and a resident of Minnesota for 20 days, and have not had your rights to vote revoked by a court – you can vote in Minnesota. Special thanks to the Office of Attorney General Keith Ellison for its strong defense of this law.”

Background

Until 2023, Minnesota law required those convicted of a felony to complete their sentence before automatically regaining the right to vote, even if they were living in their communities (on parole or in another similar program). In a 2023 case, the Minnesota Supreme Court recognized the legislature’s broad authority to restore voting rights. Just weeks after that decision, the Minnesota Legislature enacted the Restore the Vote Act, which automatically restores voting rights when a person is released into the community, even if the sentence is not complete.

Lawsuit

Shortly after its enactment, a self-described “election integrity” organization and three of its members challenged the Restore the Vote Act. The challengers, none of whom had their voting rights affected by the Act, alleged that the Minnesota Constitution, which authorizes people with felony convictions to vote if “restored to civil rights,” prohibited the legislature from restoring only voting rights.

The district court dismissed the lawsuit, reasoning that the premise of the challengers’ argument was “fundamentally flawed.” The court held that nothing suggested that the right to vote could not be restored before a felony sentence was discharged. Noting that nothing in the Restore the Vote Act affected the challengers’ voting rights, the court also concluded that they lacked standing, a legal requirement that a person must have suffered an injury to bring a lawsuit.

Today the Minnesota Supreme Court affirmed the dismissal, holding that the challengers could not “manufacture standing” when they did not claim any injury from the re-enfranchisement of others.

Bluestem hopes that settles that.

Photo: Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon hands out "I plan to vote" stickers as newly enfranchised voters register to vote in St. Paul on Thursday, June 1, 2023. Alex Derosier / Forum News Service.Via post Bulletin.

Related posts

• The 2023 MN Legislature did a lot on election laws. Here’s a (nearly) comprehensive look.
•  HF342: Willmar mayor shares support for Justice 4 All at local League of Women Voters meeting
•  Andy Parrish trolls twitter about "ex-con" voting but doesn't know essentials of Minnesota law
•  Max Hailperin points out more Crockett ignorance on voting in Minnesota  
• MN Reformer opinion: Max Hailperin writes MN tradition of one-stop voting must be protected
• Income, geography, and the amendments: A look at the association between income and voting

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Watch the July 30 Winona League of Women Voters MN House of Representatives District 26A Primary Forum

I'm late in publishing more about the DFL primary in District 26A, the seat left open by the retirement of veteran lawmaker Gene Pelowski. Unfortunately, I'd been stricken with mild, brain-foggy COVID-19, from which I've thankfully recovered.r

Update: Readers can go go off page to watch a reel on the League of Women Voters - Winona, Minnesota Facebook page which can not be embedded. Or watch the YouTube of the file embedded here:

A frieend at Unicorn Riot supplied a higher quality YouTube of the forum on Tuesday, August 13. Much appreciated.

End update

Bluestem had reviewed the spending in the district late last month in Who's funding Minnesota House District 26A's pricey DFL primary? Looks like an expensive general ahead too given GOP cash reserves.

At the end of July, both the Republican and DFL candidates participated in a forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters--Winona.

Wednesday (the date of this post), the Winona Post's Chris Rogers reported in DFL House candidates debate:

In one of the most closely watched primary races in the area, Sarah Kruger and Dwayne Voegeli are competing to be the Democrat-Farmer-Labor (DFL) candidate for Winona’s Minnesota State House seat, District 26A. Alongside their Republican counterparts, the two made their case to voters at a League of Women Voters candidate forum last week.

Endorsed by outgoing Rep. Gene Pelowski, Kruger is a Winona native who moved back to the area in 2019 and ran for State Senate against Sen. Jeremy Miller in 2020 — losing with 18,170 votes to 24,810 (16 percentage points). She was a campaign manager for Jeff Ettinger’s congressional campaign in 2022 and currently works for FairVote Minnesota, a nonprofit that promotes ranked choice voting across the state and in the legislature.

In one of the most closely watched primary races in the area, Sarah Kruger and Dwayne Voegeli are competing to be the Democrat-Farmer-Labor (DFL) candidate for Winona’s Minnesota State House seat, District 26A. Alongside their Republican counterparts, the two made their case to voters at a League of Women Voters candidate forum last week..

Endorsed by outgoing Rep. Gene Pelowski, Kruger is a Winona native who moved back to the area in 2019 and ran for State Senate against Sen. Jeremy Miller in 2020 — losing with 18,170 votes to 24,810 (16 percentage points). She was a campaign manager for Jeff Ettinger’s congressional campaign in 2022 and currently works for FairVote Minnesota, a nonprofit that promotes ranked choice voting across the state and in the legislature. . . .

Read the article at the Winona Post, along with its companion article about the Republican rivals, Repinski, Doerr court GOP voters

Photo: Three of the four candidates for the District 26A Minnesota House seat. From left: Sarah Kruger, Dwayne Voegeli, Aaron Repinski. (Courtesy photos).

Related posts

• Who's funding Minnesota House District 26A's pricey DFL primary? Looks like an expensive general ahead too given GOP cash reserves
• Fact checking: Was MN House District 26A candidate Sarah Kruger charged with a felony?
• Winona district write-in candidate seems confused about Pelowski voting record

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.

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Abortion rights measure likely to appear on South Dakota ballot, but lawsuit could affect election results

Yet another wrinkle in the story of South Dakotans' crusade for reproductive freedom. 

From South Dakota Searchlight.

Abortion rights measure likely to appear on ballot, but lawsuit could affect election results
By John Hult

South Dakotans will likely get to vote on abortion rights in November, but the recent reinstatement of a legal challenge by abortion opponents could upend the results – either before or after the election.

Life Defense Fund sued Dakotans for Health earlier this year. The former is accusing the latter’s petition circulators of a range of illegal tactics in their effort to secure the signatures needed to put a measure on the ballot that would enshrine abortion rights in the South Dakota Constitution.

Circuit Judge John Pekas dismissed the anti-abortion group’s case last month, saying the lawsuit should have but did not name Secretary of State Monae Johnson as a defendant. Pekas did not rule on the merits of the petition circulation arguments. But the state Supreme Court overruled Pekas on Friday and sent the case back to Minnehaha County.

Now, Life Defense Fund has moved to add Johnson as a defendant. 

If Pekas approves the addition, Johnson will have up to 30 days to respond. Like any elected official in South Dakota, she would be defended in court by Attorney General Marty Jackley.

Jackley spokesman Tony Mangan confirmed that the Office of the Attorney General would only represent Johnson in a limited capacity. State law on disputes over petition signatures includes this clause on the attorney general’s role: “Any appearance by the attorney general at a challenge under this section shall be limited to the process of signature verification by the Office of the Secretary of State.”

Life Defense Fund’s arguments go beyond that, however. The group says unlawful actions during the petition-gathering process should nullify a vote to pass the amendment.

The addition of a new defendant and the legal arguments surrounding such assertions are unlikely to be resolved before Aug. 13. That’s the deadline for the secretary of state to certify copies of all ballot questions to county auditors. 

Since Johnson has already certified the abortion amendment to appear on the ballot, the amendment will likely be there unless the case is resolved in the Life Defense Fund’s favor in less than six business days.

“I don’t know if it is realistic anymore to have the case resolved by August 13th, but that would have been the ideal,” said Sara Frankenstein, a Rapid City lawyer who represents Life Defense Fund.

Frankenstein also said there is precedent for legal challenges overturning election results. She pointed to 2020’s Amendment A, which legalized both recreational and medical marijuana. A circuit judge overturned the amendment after the election because, by addressing medical cannabis and recreational cannabis, its verbiage violated the state Constitution’s single-subject rule. The state Supreme Court affirmed that decision.

Separately in 2020, voters passed an initiated measure to legalize medical marijuana, setting the stage for the medical marijuana program now operating in the state.

Life Defense Fund’s abortion measure lawsuit alleges Dakotans For Health’s petition circulators left petition sheets unattended and misled signers about the amendment’s impact on abortions after the first trimester, among other accusations.

Another set of allegations revolves around a 2018 state law that sought to prevent out-of-state residents from circulating ballot petitions in South Dakota. Among other things, the law required petition circulators to file a sworn statement and documentation to prove their residency.

Dakotans for Health says the 2018 law was invalidated by a series of federal court decisions that struck down that law’s restrictions.

Dakotans for Health has requested an injunction in federal court that would stop the Life Defense Fund’s lawsuit in state court. A federal judge last month declined to intervene “at this time,” saying she would wait for further state court proceedings.

Johnson validated the abortion-rights measure in May by using a sample to estimate that 46,098 signatures were from registered South Dakota voters, surpassing the required 35,017.

The lawsuit argues that Johnson is obligated to invalidate what it describes as seven classes of “objectionable signatures,” ranging from residency violations to outright fraud, and that there are enough such signatures to disqualify the measure from the ballot.

Rick Weiland of Dakotans for Health said in a text message that the latest moves in the case represent the abortion opponents’ “ongoing and desperate effort to deny the people of our state their right to vote on this matter because the voters think South Dakota’s abortion ban is too radical.”

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

Photo:  Life Defense Fund attorney Sara Frankenstein readies her case against against Dakotans for Health’s abortion rights ballot measure in Sioux Falls on July 15, 2024. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Related posts

• South Dakota State Supreme Court revives legal challenge to abortion-rights ballot measure 
• South Dakota father is leading effort to restore abortion rights in the state
• South Dakota doctors form group to support state abortion-rights ballot measure
• Anti-abortion group appeals judge's ruling on abortion rights amendment to SD Supreme Cour
• Reproductive rights update: former South Dakota legislator establishes Republican group to support abortion-rights amendment 
• What's up with the lawsuit against South Dakota’s abortion-rights ballot measure
• Mifepristone ruling digest: SCOTUS rejects attempt to limit access to abortion pill; doesn't change South Dakota’s existing ban
• SD News Watch poll shows South Dakota abortion amendment holds nearly 20-point lead
• South Dakota's Republican Secretary of State Monae Johnson runs afoul of anti-abortion groups after labeling their phone calls a ‘scam’
• ACLU, Planned Parenthood North Central States, SD Justice Empowerment Network don’t support ballot measure aiming to restore abortion access 
• At SD Democratic Party reproductive rights rally, Sioux Falls Rep. Duba shares her abortion story
• In South Dakota, where abortion is now outlawed, college students ramp up activism
• SD News Watch: SD women evade abortion ban by accessing medication in neighboring states 
• View from the Coteau: a tale of two states in the wake of SCOTUS's Dobbs v. Jackson decision 
•  Abortion poll: Is South Dakota the next Kansas?

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.

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Alcohol's impact: 35, dry and dying while waiting for a transplant

.

I never knew my maternal grandfather, who died of cirrhosis of the liver before I was born. 

This latest story from South Dakota News Watch reminds me of this unfilled space in my childhood.

Alcohol's impact: 35, dry and dying
By Megan Luther

Chronic liver disease is now the leading cause of death of South Dakotans in their 30s.

OMAHA, Neb. – Taylor Nielsen rests in a room with a view. The wall-to-wall windows feature midtown on an overcast afternoon in late March. The natural light makes the hospital room more tolerable but exposes just how yellow Taylor’s skin is.

He drifts in and out of sleep. His dad, David Nielsen, hovers over his only child, places his right hand on Taylor’s swollen belly. Fluid has bloated Taylor, pooling around his barely functioning liver.

David, 72, hopes his son’s suffering isn’t in vain. He encourages Taylor to share his experiences. “So we can help at least one to maybe thousands of people avoid going through this, right?”

Taylor nods.

Years of drinking have caught up with the 35-year-old. His liver has given out as have his kidneys. Taylor is dying.

All that can save him now is a liver transplant. He was flown from Monument Health Rapid City Hospital in South Dakota to Nebraska Medical Center in hopes of being approved.

Taylor’s gone through extensive testing, including blood work and a psychological evaluation. The transplant team will decide whether he’s a candidate for a new liver. Taylor and David expect to hear the answer today.

Alcohol-disease deaths skew younger

I met Taylor once before. Two years ago, we had dinner at his dad’s, my neighbor in South Dakota's Black Hills.

Taylor has aged decades since then: hair thinning, face gaunt, body skinny. A tube snakes into his nose for nutrition. 

Historically, most alcohol-associated liver disease deaths occurred in men in their 50s and older. But deaths are skewing younger.

For the first time, chronic liver disease is the leading cause of death of 30- to 39-year-old South Dakotans, according to the state Department of Health. Nearly all were caused by alcohol.

The beginning

Taylor wasn’t always a drinker. Growing up, he watched his mother struggle with alcohol and drugs, something he wanted to steer clear of.

But image is important to Taylor and he wanted to fit in. At summer house parties, he’d take a sip of beer, leave it and grab a second, wasting alcohol and annoying his best friend, Adam Bradsky.

“I remember talking to him like, ‘Taylor, it's fine if you don't drink. Just don't waste the beer.’”

It was after college when his friends and family grew concerned about his drinking. Adam vividly remembers the day he realized it was a problem. He stopped by Taylor’s place in rural Lead, South Dakota, on a random Wednesday. Taylor was on a tractor, haying, drunk. It was noon.

Taylor remembers his downward spiral starting in 2017 after his mother took her own life. “I had to pick up my mom's ashes. And it really triggered me.”

He reached for vodka.

South Dakota saw record liquor store sales during the pandemic, with $126 million in 2021 sales when adjusted for inflation and seasons, according to the Dakota Institute. The numbers don’t account for sales at grocery stores, bars or restaurants.

While they’ve declined the past few years, sales have yet to go down to pre-pandemic levels. Last year, liquor sales were still up 20% from a decade ago.

The news

It’s another March morning at Nebraska Medical Center. Taylor is quiet.

He and David expected the decision yesterday but haven’t heard from the doctors.

Most patients who need a liver aren't this young: Last year, the average age of a person listed for a potential transplant was 56.

Determining who receives a donated liver – or even gets on the waiting list – is a complex process. Many factors influence a candidate's chances, including their blood type, underlying diagnosis and medical urgency. Over the years, roughly 2 out of 3 candidates ultimately received a liver.

A hospital staffer walks into Taylor's room: “Hello. Hi. I'm with transport. We're going to be taking you down to dialysis.”

David waves goodbye. “Make your kidneys better, bud.”

Minutes later, David gets a phone call – the phone call. After niceties are exchanged, the doctor says Taylor doesn’t meet the criteria. 

“I almost said, ‘Oh, they just gave him a death sentence,’ but I didn't do that,” David says.

The stigma and shame

The Nebraska Medical Center declined to answer questions about Taylor’s case or liver transplants in general. It’s one of the biggest liver transplant centers in the region, recording just over 600 transplants in almost six years, behind Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

People like Taylor represent a growing share of liver transplant candidates. Thirty years ago, about a quarter of the candidates were listed with an alcohol-related liver disease. Last year, they represented nearly half. The majority of these patients ended up with a liver.

There's a stigma, of course, but Jenn Jones of Aurora, Colorado, who almost died from alcohol-associated liver disease, is working to minimize that. She points out that doctors also approve new livers for those who suffer from overeating.

The shame patients go through is so overwhelming that Jenn founded Sober Livers, an organization to support those suffering from alcohol-associated liver disease, pre- and post-transplant patients.

She hopes the general public will provide empathy. "As long as the person is willing to get help, stop drinking ... why would we not want that person a part of our society?"

David’s not giving up and contacts a friend at another facility.

Father becomes caretaker

After multiple phone calls and networking, it’s clear to David that Taylor needs to get healthier and log more sober days before doctors will consider him for a transplant.

In early June, Taylor’s well enough to come home and live in the Black Hills with David. At 72, he didn’t think he’d be taking care of his 35-year-old son. “I thought maybe the other way around.”

In July, after one routine 45-minute trip to Spearfish, South Dakota, for dialysis, Taylor decides to stay, and a friend gets him a motel room.

Over the next two weeks Taylor reaches out to a lot of contacts, asking for a ride or money. He may sound like a desperate man trying to buy a drink, but when he talks on the phone, Taylor's words don't slur.

Friends and family also don't believe he's drinking.

His dad arranges for a hospice bed, if he’s willing to go. “I'm not in bad health,” Taylor says. Denial is a strong demon.

One morning, he's found unresponsive and rushed to Monument Health Spearfish Hospital.

Taylor never wakes up.

“He’s finally at peace,” David says.

Editor's note: Monument Health Rapid City Hospital's public relations manager, Stephany Chalberg, also serves on the board of directors of South Dakota News Watch.

This story was produced by South Dakota News Watch, an independent, nonprofit news organization. Megan Luther is a freelance journalist for South Dakota News Watch, based in Mitchell, South Dakota. She has been in recovery for four years.  Contact her at [email protected]. Freelance journalist Cody Winchester contributed to this report.

Reprinted with permission.

Photo: David Nielsen of Lead, S.D., checks the bloated stomach of his son, Taylor Nielsen, on March 27, 2024, at Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha, Neb. His liver is so damaged that fluid builds in his abdomen. (Photo: Megan Luther/ South Dakota News Watch).

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. 

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

South Dakota Parks and Wildlife Foundation launches $10 million campaign for South Dakota parks and recreation areas

A very welcome quick read from the South Dakota Searchlight. I'm happy to see Fort Sisseton State Park and Pickerel Lake Recreation Area on the list. 

Like many Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate men freed from the camp at Fort Snelling after the 1862 US-Dakota War, Charles Crawford--my romantic partner's ancestor--served as a scout out of Fort Sisseton.

Nonprofit launches $10 million campaign for South Dakota parks and recreation areas
By Joshua Haiar

SIOUX FALLS — A foundation that helps fund outdoor recreation projects in South Dakota has launched a $10 million fundraising campaign.

The five-year effort aims to support 28 projects across the state that would otherwise face delays due to budget constraints.

Representatives of the South Dakota Parks and Wildlife Foundation discussed the campaign at the Downtown Sioux Falls Rotary Club’s Monday meeting at the Holiday Inn Sioux Falls City Centre. The foundation works with the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks to fund projects that improve outdoor recreational facilities and conserve wildlife habitats.

The campaign is titled “Great Places Don’t Just Happen.”

“Without the foundation’s help, these projects are going to take years and years to happen,” said Jeff VanMeeteren, GF&P director of parks and recreation.

The projects range from amphitheaters, hiking trail bridges and playgrounds to a proposed $1 million west-side welcome center for Custer State Park.

Kevin Nyberg, foundation board member and president of the South Dakota Retailers Association, highlighted the economic impact of outdoor recreation in the state, which he said amounts to $1.3 billion annually. He said that includes $638 million from hunting, $271 million from fishing and $212 million from parks.

“Those businesses that benefit off the system, in my opinion, need to realize the system helped make them, and give back to the system,” Nyberg said.

In addition to the campaign, the foundation is raising $3 million for an expansion of the Outdoor Campus in Sioux Falls. The project will feature new indoor and outdoor archery ranges, a game processing space with a walk-in cooler, a meat smoking and grilling space, and an improved bird viewing area.

Past foundation projects include funding the new visitor center and renovation of the Peter Norbeck Outdoor Education Center at Custer State Park. The foundation has also supported the development of Good Earth State Park, and the expansions of Rapid City’s Outdoor Campus and Palisades State Park near Garretson.

The foundation took in $1.38 million in revenue in 2023 and spent $4.5 million, leaving it with $12.4 million in total assets. Kristina Coby, the foundation’s executive development director, said those assets include land the foundation owns and makes money on through leasing agreements, and endowment principal that the foundation cannot touch.

Project list

Projects that would benefit from the South Dakota Parks and Wildlife Foundation’s $10 million campaign:

• Mickelson Trail: Kaubisch Bridge replacement; Signage
• Palisades State Park: Split Rock Creek bridge; Amphitheater; Playground surfacing
• Fort Sisseton State Park: Displays; Playground; Visitor center; Amphitheater/Event stage 
• Hartford Beach State Park: Indoor fish cleaning station 
• Oakwood Lakes State Park: Education center
• Lake Herman State Park: Education center
• Lake Poinsett Recreation Area: Indoor fish cleaning station 
• Custer State Park: Welcome Center West
• Good Earth State Park: Playground; Observation deck
• Walkers Point Recreation Area: Picnic shelter
• Lake Thompson Recreation Area: Picnic shelter
• Pickerel Lake Recreation Area: Picnic shelter
• Big Sioux Recreation Area: Picnic shelter; Amphitheater 
• Adams Homestead: Playground additions
• Lewis and Clark Recreation Area: Playground
• Springfield Recreation Area: One to five-acre land acquisition
• Wall Lake Lakeside Use Area: Island access bridge
• Newton Hills State Park: Sargent Creek overlook platform
• Cow Creek Recreation Area: Playground
• Spring Creek Golf Course: Trail

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

Photo: Fort Sisseton State Park, in Marshall County, South Dakota: officers' quarters, seen from the east. Via Wikipedia.

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VIDEO: Carbon capture in Minnesota: public lands, fast money, and pipe dreams

On Thursday, I posted Summit pipeline segment enters final permitting stages in Minnesota; CURE raises objections.

Now CURE has posted a YouTube video to aid in understanding the project.

And introduction from the group's Facebook page:

And the video itself:

This presentation by Hudson Kingston, CURE Legal Director, will cover the currently proposed carbon capture projects and research that are ongoing in Minnesota. From the corn fields of the agricultural region to the stony landscape of our boreal forests, Minnesota’s landscapes are being sized up for a new industrial buildout with different technologies on different timelines and differing potential impacts. Will this big new industry harm or help people and the environment?

Map:

Related posts

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• Referred pipeline law puts Summit Carbon Solution's permit quest in limbo
• Carbon capture news from elsewhere: New Illinois law lays out safety requirements for future carbon sequestration projects
• Broad array of groups object to Summit pipeline permit approval by Iowa Utilities Commission
• Iowa ethanol carbon pipeline opponents poised for Summit Carbon Solutions permit challenges
• Breaking crowded South Dakota ballot news: carbon pipeline law referendum validated
• Sustainable jet fuel company Gevo contributes $167K in defense of carbon pipeline law
• South Dakota Property Rights and Local Control Alliance turns in petitions to SD Secretary of State to force a vote on carbon pipeline policy
• News digest: District 1, the edge of the primary election political earthquake in South Dakota
• South Dakota District 1 GOP House primary news round-up: carbon pipeline politics major issue
• New Midwest battles brew over CO2 pipelines
• Company behind proposed Lake Preston jet fuel plant buoyed by federal carbon credit ruling
• Ethanol carbon pipeline news digest: Gevo aviation fuel needs Summit Carbon Solutions and more!
• ND GOP resolution against CCS pipelines decries "false premise of looming climate apocalypse
• Summit Carbon Solutions says ethanol carbon pipeline system won’t be operational until 2026
• Some Iowa landowners were confused by Summit Carbon Solution eminent domain process
• Navigator CO2 pulls its ethanol carbon pipeline permit application in Illinois
• Ethanol carbon pipeline news digest: Gevo aviation fuel needs Summit Carbon Solutions and more!

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News digest: Masked vandals violate Rochester area MN state representative Kim Hicks' home and yard signs with racist & Nazi graffiti

Some disturbing news from Rochester, Minnesota. The home ad lawn signs of first-term DFL Rochester Minnesota state representative Kim Hicks was struck by vicious racist and antisemitic vandalism.

I first learned about the incident in Sara Guymon's reporting by the Rochester Post Bulletin, Rep. Kim Hicks' property vandalized with hate speech and racial slurs:

Her political signs, house and shed were all vandalized in the night by masked assailants and Hicks feels she knows this was a targeted attack.

 Minnesota Representative for District 25A, Kim Hicks, and her family woke up to an unexpected nightmare on Saturday, Aug. 3, 2024.

Hicks’ political signs, house and shed were all vandalized in the night by masked assailants. Hicks said she knows this was a targeted attack.

“This was planned. It wasn't like they drove by and we're like, ‘oh my gosh, we're gonna terrorize some political signs.’ This was targeted against my family. It is a hate crime. Rochester has been having a bit of a racial reckoning and I think it's important that we say it out loud. This is a racially motivated hate crime.”

Hicks is married to a Black man. They have children who are Black, and she says the last thing she wants was to expose her family to something like this.

“They started off by spray-painting our political signs and they use the 'N word' and swastikas and 'white power' and all of the typical racist words you would expect from white supremacists and Nazis,” Hicks said.  . . .

Guymon reported that Hicks didn't think that area Republicans were behind the attack:

“I would really like to see the Olmsted County GOP come out and say they condemn racist attacks,” Hicks said. “All of them and their endorsed candidates. I don't think this was them. I think this was somebody who has hate deep in their heart, but I think we should all stand together and say this is wrong in our community and I would hope that they would all do that.” . . .

On its Facebook page, the Olmsted County GOP published this statement on Sunday:

At the Star Tribune, Josie Albertson-Grove reported in Racist graffiti found on Rochester legislator’s home, Kamala Harris signs:

Black spray-painted swastikas, a racial slur and the letters “KKK” were found on a Rochester state legislator’s home and lawn signs for her re-election campaign, as well as signs for Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Vice President Kamala Harris.

State Rep. Kim Hicks, DFL-Rochester, said she woke up Saturday morning to find the graffiti on the signs, on one of her windows and her shed. Home security video showed people in masks spray-painting in the middle of the night, she said.

“I don’t think it’s a coincidence it occurred after we put up a Kamala [Harris] sign,” Hicks said Sunday. She said she’s worried about a pattern of racist graffiti in Rochester, especially after an anti-Black slur was painted on a pedestrian bridge near a city high school earlier this summer.

In a Facebook post, the NAACP Rochester Minnesota Branch said they saw the vandalism as a “textbook case” of a hate crime.

“This is yet another incident in a series of many that have targeted Black people, brown people, and mixed race families in [the] City of Rochester, MN and Olmsted County,” the post read, calling for those accountable to face serious criminal charges. . . .

Over the weekend, as Rochester-area news outlets posted the news, Hicks said she has seen comments on websites and Facebook pages claiming she staged the graffiti, and speculating about her children’s skin color.

“There are just some weird racial undertones, weird racial language,” she said. “There’s a political piece, but there’s also just a racial hate piece, and that rhetoric is happening all over the place”

But Hicks said her community rallied to help the next morning, showing up with supplies to remove the graffiti and apply fresh paint. . ..i 

On Saturday afternoon, Hicks posted her thanks on Facebook:

Today was so hard but then our community showed up. My family felt so much love and support. Thank you Katie Brekke, James Wright,Tina Liebling,Beka Spitzack, David Andrew Kujawa, Sarah Kujawa, Regina Mustafa, Olivia Bergen, William Bud Whitehorn, Stephanie M Whitehorn, Andy Smith and so many more.

We are so thankful for all the support. The shed is repainted. The spray paint is mostly off the siding. We will replace the window next week.

Not in our town!

Last night, Rochester's KTTC TV reported:

State DFL chair Ken Martin posted on Facebook:

Bluestem hopes Rochester law enforcement catch the offenders.

Photo: Some of the offensive graffiti at Hicks' home. Via Facebook.

Related posts

• More antisemitic fliers litter Twin Cities 
• Highland Park anti-Semitic flier drop echoes late May leafletting in Watertown, South Dakota
• News digest: SD violates voter registration laws, MN white juries, Watertown's antisemitic rice
• The Secrets of Owatonna: in the hood edition

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South Dakota State Supreme Court revives legal challenge to abortion-rights ballot measure

Yet another twist in the saga of reproductive rights in South Dakota, whether citizens are working to help diminish the persistence of our state's trigger law.

From South Dakota Searchlight.

State Supreme Court revives legal challenge to abortion-rights ballot measure
By Seth Tupper

An anti-abortion group won the latest round in a court battle over South Dakota’s abortion-rights ballot question.

The Life Defense Fund is attempting to disqualify the measure from the Nov. 5 ballot. A circuit court judge in Minnehaha County dismissed the group’s lawsuit last month. But on Friday, the state Supreme Court reversed that decision and sent the case back to the circuit court for further proceedings.

A sparsely worded order signed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Steven Jensen said “the circuit court erred in dismissing the matter.” The lower court had ruled that the Life Defense Fund should have targeted the South Dakota Secretary of State’s Office with its litigation instead of Dakotans for Health, which is the group that petitioned the measure onto the ballot.

Although the Supreme Court ruled for the Life Defense Fund on that issue, the high court denied the group’s request for a new circuit court judge to be assigned to the case.

Leslee Unruh, co-chair of the Life Defense Fund, hailed the reversal of the circuit court’s dismissal. She signaled the group’s eagerness to continue pressing its claims that Dakotans for Health failed to follow all of the state’s laws governing the circulation of ballot petitions.

“Dakotans for Health illegally gathered signatures to get Amendment G on the ballot, therefore this measure should not be up for a vote this November,” Unruh’s statement said, in part.

One of the Life Defense Fund’s allegations is that Dakotans for Health failed to abide by the requirements of a 2018 state law. The Republican-dominated Legislature adopted the law to prevent out-of-state residents from circulating ballot petitions in South Dakota. Among other things, the law required petition circulators to file a sworn statement with various pieces of information proving their residency.

Dakotans for Health has argued that the 2018 law was invalidated by a series of court decisions that struck down restrictions on ballot petition circulators.

Dakotans for Health Chairman Rick Weiland said his group will fight to keep the abortion-rights measure on the ballot.

“This is just another hurdle put forth by a desperate campaign attempting to stop the will of the voters,” Weiland said.

The Secretary of State’s Office validated the abortion-rights ballot petition in May, after using a sample to estimate that 46,098 of the petition signatures were from registered South Dakota voters, surpassing the required 35,017.

Abortions are currently banned in South Dakota, except to “preserve the life of the pregnant female.” The ballot measure would legalize abortions in the first trimester of pregnancy but allow the state to impose limited regulations in the second trimester and a ban in the third trimester, with exceptions to protect the life and health of the mother.

As the legal fight continues, the clock is ticking toward a Sept. 18 deadline for ballots to be printed and in the possession of county auditors’ offices.

South Dakota Searchlight’s Joshua Haiar contributed to this report.

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

Photo: The entrance to the South Dakota Supreme Court at the state Capitol in Pierre. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight).

Related posts

• South Dakota father is leading effort to restore abortion rights in the state
• South Dakota doctors form group to support state abortion-rights ballot measure
• Anti-abortion group appeals judge's ruling on abortion rights amendment to SD Supreme Cour
• Reproductive rights update: former South Dakota legislator establishes Republican group to support abortion-rights amendment 
• What's up with the lawsuit against South Dakota’s abortion-rights ballot measure
• Mifepristone ruling digest: SCOTUS rejects attempt to limit access to abortion pill; doesn't change South Dakota’s existing ban
• SD News Watch poll shows South Dakota abortion amendment holds nearly 20-point lead
• South Dakota's Republican Secretary of State Monae Johnson runs afoul of anti-abortion groups after labeling their phone calls a ‘scam’
• ACLU, Planned Parenthood North Central States, SD Justice Empowerment Network don’t support ballot measure aiming to restore abortion access 
• At SD Democratic Party reproductive rights rally, Sioux Falls Rep. Duba shares her abortion story
• In South Dakota, where abortion is now outlawed, college students ramp up activism
• SD News Watch: SD women evade abortion ban by accessing medication in neighboring states 
• View from the Coteau: a tale of two states in the wake of SCOTUS's Dobbs v. Jackson decision 
•  Abortion poll: Is South Dakota the next Kansas?

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Suicide declines in South Dakota and Minnesota

Two stories about state suicide rates from States Newsroom venues in South Dakota and Minnesota.

From the South Dakota Searchlight.

Suicides in South Dakota decline for second consecutive year
By Joshua Haiar, South Dakota Searchlight

SIOUX FALLS — South Dakota’s suicide rate has decreased for the second consecutive year, and officials think that means suicide prevention work in the state is making a difference. 

The number of suicides fell from 202 in 2021 to 192 in 2022, and further to 180 in 2023. The statistics were shared by Department of Health Secretary Melissa Magstadt during the state’s third annual Suicide Prevention Conference.

Magstadt emphasized the importance of maintaining momentum.

“I’m telling you that the long game is starting to be a trend that we want to see continue,” Magstadt said.

She highlighted successes including lawmakers giving schools $2 million for K-12 suicide prevention work in 2023, and the state’s gun lock program distributing 3,500 locks since last July.

Magstadt also noted that South Dakota continues to face challenges, including the eighth-highest suicide rate in the country. The suicide rate among Native Americans in the state is 2.7 times higher than the average for all South Dakotans.

The conference underscored several efforts aimed at reducing suicides, including expanded mental health resources and public awareness campaigns. 

Governor Kristi Noem made a surprise guest speaker appearance at the event. She shared that after a close friend committed suicide, she spent years wondering what she could have said or done differently. 

“I remember thinking if somebody would just tell me what I should have done, or what I can do the next time, to have a different outcome, I would feel so much better,” she said. 

When Noem became governor, a couple of members of her staff who’d recently lost family members to suicide asked if the administration could do something different to make a difference.

“That’s how this conference got started,” she said. “By people coming to me, and us sharing our personal stories and that people need to know a plan, or something to say, or how specific they should talk to individuals, or a tool in their toolbox that they could use.” 

Some tools in the state are getting a lot of use, officials said.

The 988 crisis line, launched two years ago, provides immediate support for those in need. The line has received about 20,000 calls and texts, marking a 300% increase from the previous 1-800 number over the prior two years. Ninety-seven of the interactions were resolved without requiring further intervention. About a third were an immediate crisis; the rest were individuals seeking advice for themselves or loved ones.

If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, help is available anytime by dialing 988. The service is free and confidential.

From its sister publication in Minnesota.

Suicide ticks down, remains more common in Greater Minnesota
By Christopher Ingraham, Minnesota Reformer

Minnesota’s suicide rate ticked downward in 2023, according to provisional data from from the state Department of Health.

Last year there were 815 suicide deaths in the state, down from 860 the year prior. Adjusting for population, the suicide rate fell from 14.8 deaths per 100,000 in 2022 to 14.1 in 2023.

Whether that decline represents a one-year blip or a durable trend remains to be seen. Like the rest of the country, Minnesota’s suicide rates have been steadily increasing over the past 20 years. The overall state suicide rate remains about one-third higher than it was back in 2003. Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that Minnesota’s suicide rate has closely tracked the national average for many years.

Suicide rates are much higher in parts of greater Minnesota than they are in the Twin Cities metro. In northeast Minnesota counties like Lake and Cook, the suicide rate is three or more times higher than it is in metro counties like Hennepin, Scott or Dakota. Suicide is also relatively uncommon across much of southern Minnesota.

A report earlier this year from the Center for Rural Policy and Development suggested poor access to mental health care, chronic pain from physically demanding jobs, lack of mental health education, stigma around mental health care, and the availability of firearms all factored into higher rural suicide rates. 

Suicide rates in Minnesota are highest in middle age, the data show, and between three and four times higher for men than for women. Native Americans are considerably more likely to die from suicide than members of other ethnic groups. 

Firearms are involved in nearly half of all Minnesota suicides, reflecting how easy access to guns makes suicide attempts more likely to succeed. 

While the role of guns in suicide is a frequent subject of research, another common factor is less studied: alcohol. Close to a third of suicides in Minnesota involve alcohol, according to data previously published by the state. People who commit suicide are roughly twice as likely to have been using alcohol at the time of their death than any other class of drug, and excessive alcohol consumption tends to be more common in upper Midwestern states than elsewhere.

While the data on substance use only goes through 2021, it shows that cannabis is being more frequently used by people who commit suicide. Prior to 2019, marijuana use was typically recorded in fewer than 5% of suicide victims, but by 2021 it was a factor in 16% of suicides. Those numbers track with increasing rates of marijuana use in the state over the same period.

Both articles are republished online under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.

Photo:  Governor Kristi Noem speaks at the state’s third annual Suicide Prevention Conference on Aug. 8, 2024, in Sioux Falls. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)

Related posts

•  Not just a farmer thing: suicides in Minnesota’s rural communities defy media stereotypes
•  A tale of two ag economies? Higher farm profits forecast & suicide in staggering numbers, largely due to financial stress

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.

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