The agriculture finance bill, one of the bills Dayton rejected, would have left the Good Food Access Fund with no money for the next biennium. . . .
The fund is part of an effort to deliver local produce to areas that otherwise wouldn’t have access — a major issue in rural areas such as southwest Minnesota, where most small towns don’t have a supermarket.
Studies show a lack of access to healthy, affordable food options in small, rural towns means more health problems for those residents, including a greater risk for obesity and obesity-related diseases.
Steve Kinsella of the Minnesota for Healthy Kids Coalition said the Minnesota Department of Agriculture (MDA) saw significantly more applicants for the grant program than expected.
The MDA received more than 50 applications totaling more than $1.5 million out of the $150,000 available for Equipment and Physical Improvement Grants. Many of the applicants were small-town grocery stores looking for help in updating their refrigeration systems, an expensive operation that typically isn’t economically feasible.
The fund was set to receive $500,000 for the next biennium, but the money was cut out during conference committee.
“Minnesota has this significant food desert problem,” Kinsella said. “The legislature acted last year to take steps to help address the problem, tremendous interest developed for the program and its potential to help improve access to healthy and affordable foods, and then the legislature killed the funding for it.” . . .
If there's one way to show love for rural Minnesota, it's re-affirming our food deserts.
Photo: An ex-grocery store.
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The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency will be hosting three open houses on the wild rice sulfate standard rulemaking in January 2017. The main purpose is to provide the interested public with an opportunity to learn more about the MPCA's proposed approach for revisions to its wild rice sulfate water quality standard before the proposed rule goes on public notice later in 2017. MPCA staff will be available to provide information about the agency's proposed approach to protect wild rice from sulfate, the list of proposed wild rice waters, the rulemaking schedule and upcoming opportunities for public comment.
Additional information about the wild rice sulfate water quality standard is available here.
Open house events are scheduled for:
Tuesday, Jan. 17, 6 – 8 p.m., Dakota Lodge, Thompson County Park, 1200 Stassen Lane, West St Paul
Wednesday, Jan. 25, 6:30 – 8:30 p.m., UM-Duluth, Kirby Student Center, Griggs Center, 2nd floor, 1120 Kirby Drive, Duluth
Tuesday, Jan. 31, 6 – 8 p.m., Northeast Service Cooperative Office, 5525 Emerald Drive, Mountain Iron
More information about the open houses is available here.
Scientists say high levels of sulfate in water damages wild rice by increasing sulfides and restricting plant growth. PCA officials — under pressure from mining companies, state lawmakers and environmental and tribal groups — are working to find out what levels of sulfate can be allowed and still protect wild rice beds.
Photo: Photo credit, University of Minnesota, National Center for Earth-Surface Dynamics.
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Bierschbach interviewed Andrew Schmitt, executive director of the Minnesota Beer Activists, and discussed the results of the candidate questionnaire the tenacious advocate sent out:
So ahead of the fall election, Schmitt sent out a survey to every candidate running for the Minnesota Legislature to see where they stood on the Sunday liquor ban. Schmitt didn’t get a response back from everyone, but the ones he did get back were encouraging, with new candidates being much more open to lifting the ban.
Now, heading into the 2017 session, which will convene just after the start of the new year, both sides of the Sunday sales issue are surveying the new makeup of the Legislature to see where the votes could land. In all, there will be 21 new state senators and 23 new House members in the 201-seat Legislature when session convenes — more than enough votes to swing the issue.
“It would be very premature to say that [we have the votes],” Schmitt said. “But there is a lot of new blood, which is good.” . . .
Unfortunately for those of us who want to buy our adult beverages seven days a week, another candidate survey and statewide voter guide by those anti-Sunday sales bluenoses at the Minnesota Family Council, reveals that some of the new faces might not have answered Schmitt's survey, while telling the socially conservative party poopers that they would have voted against Sunday sales.
While the Beer Activists appears to have asked the more general question about full legalization of Sunday alcohol sales, the Minnesota Family Council scored a 2016 vote on Eden Prairie Republican Jenifer Loon's bill to allow municipalities to allow Sunday sales if they wished ("Would you have voted to support or oppose authorizing individual municipalities to allow Sunday liquor sales? (2016 House Journal, p. 8059)").
Minnesota’s 158-year-old ban on Sunday liquor store sales will remain for at least another year.
The House voted 70-56 to keep the ban in place Thursday.
Minnesota is one of a dozen with similar blue laws. Most of the other states are southern, along with Utah, Montana, and Indiana.
Minnesota already allows a few exceptions, mostly approved in recent years. Craft breweries and microdistilleries can make limited sales on Sundays. Restaurants and bars can serve alcohol with municipal approval.
“This is an issue of freedom: economic freedom, freedom for consumers,” said Rep. Jenifer Loon, R-Eden Prairie, whose proposal would have allowed Sunday sales with municipal approval. “The time has come.”
The side-by-side comparison of the answers from winning candidates in the Minnesota House is embedded below. Since the Minnesota Family Council only included a Sunday alcohol sales question for the Minnesota House in its voter guide, we haven't looked at the Minnesota state senate.
While not a one-on-one comparison of the same language, Bluestem thinks it's enough to slow down celebratory cork popping, as newy elected lawmakers like Republicans Matt Gossell, Sandy Layman and Mary Shapiro told the MFC they would have voted against Loon's bill.
We've pulled out the answers to both surveys by the winners in all 133 Minnesota House seats where voters had a chance to elect someone. (Sorry, MN32B voters). We're hoping this handy chart will help focus the efforts to gain a majority of votes in the House.
Legislators whose position isn't known are highlighted in yellow, while we've bolded those who answered "No" to the MFC survey while not returning the MBA survey--or who have contradictory answers on the surveys (incumbents who likely are more sensitive to the nuances of the differences in the language in the surveys.
Photo:Women's Christian Temperance Union members picketing for Prohibition. via Minnesota Historical Society. Our grandmother Sorensen was a member, while Grandpa and the family cat were not.
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I wonder why McNamar goes to the metro for his campaign funding. Surely he must know that they expect favors back from him. . . . How can you have your slogan as a “voice for rural Minnesota” and go to the metro for your funding? You cannot.
If the Backer backer was serious about that Q & A, Bluestem hopes her head doesn't explode when she learns of a Republican House fundraiser in the metro that also raises the spectre of Kurt Daudt's caucus enlisting on the wrong side in the War On Christmas.
Yes. The HRCC is having a fundraiser in the metro for the entire caucus!
Bluestem dipped into the Fundraising Calendar that the Messerli and Kramer* website maintains for government affairs professionals (known to us in the sticks as "lobbyists") to look for opportunities that might be afforded to these passionate paid advocates to grease the wheels of power for their clients.
Imagine how shocked our tender rural souls were to discover--on the Monday after the First Sunday of Advent, no less--a Republican "Holiday Party." Here's the text:
HRCC Holiday Fundraiser
Event Date and Time:
November 30th, 2016 - 5:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Event Location:
Town & Country Club 300 N Mississippi River Blvd St. Paul 55104 United States
Description:
Please Join Speaker Kurt Daudt, Majority Leader Joyce Peppin and Members of the House Republican Caucus
For Our Annual Holiday Celebration
Wednesday, November 30, 2016
Town & Country Club
300 N Mississippi River Blvd
St. Paul, MN
GOLD SPONSOR: $5,000 includes three tickets for dinner and four tickets to the Main Reception
SILVER SPONSOR: $2,500 includes two tickets for dinner and four tickets to the Main Reception
BRONZE SPONSOR: $1,500 includes one ticket for dinner and four tickets to the Main Reception
$300 per person for our Main Reception
Private Dinner with House Republican Leadership and New Members
5:00-6:00 PM
Main Reception with House Republican Members
6:00-8:00 PM
All Sponsors will be recognized at the event
Please RSVP by November 25, 2016 ~ By Mail: Return the enclosed reply card ~
This raises Solvie's question again. How can a caucus define itself as the "rural" heart of Minnesota and yet go to the evil metro for fundraising?
If we can't trust Jeff Backer's caucus to avoid metro fundraisers, we're going to retreat to our big country kitchen, clutch our pearls, and cry tears of frustration into our Sugar Plum Advent Cake batter.
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Little did representative Tony Cornish's colleagues and House staff know that this year, when they savored the delicious Rapidan Dam Store pies that the Vernon Center Republican shares on his birthday, they were participating in a campaign event.
Bluestem suspects that this tasty tradition is best listed as a non-campaign expense that reflects the cost of serving in the legislature. While Cornish didn't use campaign committee funds to buy those amazing, out-of-this-world pies in 2015, he did spend $240 for pies as a non-campaign expenditurein 2014 (page 10, year-end report).
That was the first and only other time the pie expense for his birthday pie was paid by campaign coffers.
While it's not clear from the House rules whether members can use the House floor for campaigning, the rule is clear for staff members. They can't use House equipment or working hours for campaigning. Let's hope no one employed by the House cut the pie, served it or cleaned up after the birthday treats--or if they did, the Cornish campaign amends its report, shifting this expense into the non-campaign expenditure category.
Here's a photo of House members and staff enjoying those pies in a past year:
Bluestem encourages readers to try the pie (and buy it with their own funds) at the Dam Store next time they're down south of Mankato, at the Rapidan Dam on the Blue Earth River.
Photos: Various pieces of the pie. Cornish in 2013 or 2014 (top); the dam store expense (middle); colleagues and staff having a little pie (bottom).
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The North American Meat Institute's DC National Hot Dog Day weinerfest, co-sponsored by Minnesota's Seventh District Congressman Collin Peterson ,was met with a PETA protest, Roll Call's Alex Gangitano reports in Meat vs. Veggie Showdown on National Hot Dog Day:
With only the front security entrance to Rayburn separating them, traditional hot dogs and veggie dogs were handed out for lunch simultaneously. So which do you choose?
Several hot dog companies passed out the classic summer chow in the 97-degree heat. Another perk was that former Major League Baseball players were signing balls and bats for attendees.
On the other side, five of PETA's "Lettuce Ladies" dressed in lettuce bikinis, stood around a table of veggie dogs, which were handed out by PETA employees , not the scantily dressed women. The PETA display outside the Rayburn front entrance encouraged people to “Go Vegan.” . . .
Gangitano notes that the National Hot Dog Day battle between the North American Meat Institute and PETA is an annual event. Peterson chose the meat dogs:
Rep. Collin C. Peterson stuck to the meat version, sampling hot dogs from the Boar’s Head and Smithfield stands. His verdict: “They were both good.”
The Minnesota Democrat is a co-sponsor of the institute’s annual lunch, which also included hot dogs from Tyson Food, Dietz and Watson, Hormel, Hoffmann and Land O’Frost.
“It showcases these companies that do a great job and all of them have great products,” said Peterson, ranking member of the House Agriculture committee. “They are people we work with all the time on the committee, so it’s a way to just showcase what they do for people that aren’t close to agriculture.”
A press release for the event also listed the American Bakers Association, American Beverage Association, Diageo, International Bottled Water Association, and Snack Food Association as sponsors.
Peterson's sprawling district in western Minnesota is largely agricultural. The Open Secrets database reports on Peterson's career totals from ag-related industries. While the veteran congressman didn't join the lettuce ladies, Peterson has parted company with the North American Meat Institute in the past, most notably in the rush to repeal Country of Origin Labeling (COOL).
Photo: Lettuce Ladies offered vegan dogs. via Roll Call.
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Rep. Paul Torkelson, R-Hanska, must be having one heckova day. First his long-promised, but hastily vetted bonding bill went down on the Minnesota House floor, as KEYC-TV's Shawn Loging reports in Day After House Releases Bonding Bill, Fails To Get Votes Needed.
But that's not the only bad news for the Hanska-area Republican pork producer. The station also reports in Kelsey Barchenger's Drinking Water Warning In Fairmont:
High nitrate levels have the city of Fairmont warning of possible health concerns caused by the drinking water.
Water samples tested today show nitrate levels of 12 mg/L. That’s above the maximum contaminant level of 10 mg/L.
The city says high nitrate rates can infants younger than six months to become seriously ill and could die if untreated.
Water, juice and formula for infants should not be prepared with tap water.
Adults and children over six months can drink the tap water, however pregnant women or those with specific health concerns are asked to consult with a doctor before drinking the water.
The city says the water entering the Water Treatment Plant meets standards, however it may be several days before the water reaches all areas of the distribution system.
In a May 3 discussion with Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Weber and Representative Rick Hansen, DFL-S. St.Paul, Representative Paul Torkelson, R-Hanska, dismissed concerns about nitrates and drinking water quality.
In the discussion (audio here) Torkelson claims that the problem of nitrates in drinking water is an isolated problem that's no threat. Around the 7:40 minute mark, Hansen calls nitrates in drinking water the iceberg beneath the surface in terms of infrastructure needs. With more detection of nitrates and more research into data that the legislature funded, the suburban Democrat says, there's more need to mitigate.
Around 9:52, Torkelson says, "The nitrate issue is a very complicated one. Nitrogen moves with water but it comes from a variety of sources and it can be in the ground for a long times before it shows up in any water system. And I'd like to remind folks that we do not have any systems that I know of --any municipal systems in Minnesota that have high nitrates. They're tested regularly and they meet the requirement. So they're safe. Minnesota's drinking water is safe. . . .
Weber reminds Torkelson that the only reason the water is safe in some communities is because "you've had to take that extra step of adding the infrastructure to treat the water.
At 10:55, Torkelson replies, "True, but it's a very small number of communities, it's quite isolated at this time and I don't anticipate that it's going to be a broad concern." . . .
We're not sure the citizens of Fairmont would agree right now.
Meme: Breaking news about nitrates, from our May 9, 2016 post. Photo via Torkelson's twitter avatar.
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On December 7, Matthew William Gust allegedly "filled a 40-ounce beer bottle with gasoline, broke the window of Juba Coffee and Restaurant and threw the bottle inside, resulting in an explosion that caused $90,000 in damage."
The Grand Forks Herald reports that Gust hurled the Molotov cocktail through the window just days after words “go home” along with Nazi-like symbols were spray-painted on the restaurant, leading many to suspect that the small business was targeted because the owners are Somali. He's in custody after pleading not guilty, waiting for a March 15 trial.
We are writing to express our deepest gratitude to the Greater Grand Forks community for its residents' most kind wishes and donations.
We are deeply grateful to be part of this community. We have hope in this country because of you residents. Thank you for your generosity.
All of the donations will help us rebuild our restaurant, Juba Coffee and Restaurant, which served all people — any color and religion.
Juba provided free meals to the unemployed and to newcomers. We don't see color and religion. We see humans first.
The horrible act that happened to our restaurant has no place in the Greater Grand Forks community. We know that this hate does not represent North Dakota. The welcoming comments and best wishes from members of the community are truly appreciated.
Again, many, many thanks for the support and donations from members of the Greater Grand Forks community. We sincerely appreciate it. It means the world to us.
Ilhaam Hassan, Abdulaziz Moallin, Noura Ahmed and family
Grand Forks
The owners' mention of feeding the unemployed and newcomers echoes one such story the Grand Forks Herald included in coverage the day after the fire:
. . . Wayne Torrey, who lives at the nearby Ambassador Motel and said he was incredulous of the destruction.
Torrey said he regularly walked past the restaurant on his way to the bus stop and would greet patrons and workers there.
One day, he was having a rough day when restaurant employees offered him a free meal, he said.
“If they’ve got that much heart, I don’t even know why someone would do this” he said.
The Go Fund Me page is still accepting donations here. The effort is still $2,734 short of the goal--we hope readers can help reach that if they have not given already.
Photo: The Juba Cafe in better days.
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First lady Michelle Obama and congressional Republicans may be headed toward a truce on meals served to the nation's schoolchildren, but at least one GOP presidential candidate is signaling the political battle isn't over.
A bipartisan Senate agreement would revise healthier meal standards put into place over the last few years to give schools more flexibility, easing requirements on whole grains and delaying an upcoming deadline to cut sodium levels on the lunch line. . . .
After more than two years of public quarreling, the bill signals a possible armistice between school lunch directors, congressional Republicans and first lady Michelle Obama, who has highlighted the standards as part of her campaign against childhood obesity.
Farris reports Peterson's reflections on the compromise being cooked up in Washington:
U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson spoke with local leaders in education on Wednesday, shuffling through his opinions on topics including private funding of political campaigns (opposed) and attempts to relax health requirements for school lunches (in favor).
Perhaps most relevant to the audience of educators, he voiced support for a Senate bill that would loosen whole grain requirements, and extend a deadline to cut sodium levels. Other meal standards created by the Obama administration would remain in place.
"It sounds like schools like it better. Schwan's likes it better," he said. "It's good for everyone."
That might not be good enough for Peterson's presumptive opponent, Amanda Lynn Hinson, who wrote in Why I'm Running for Congress:
I put my kids in public school this year. My kids don't like the taste of skim and 1% milk, and I’m a firm believer that Minnesotans in cold weather require a few more lipids. When I checked with the school to see if there was some way we could have 2% milk available to my kids, I had to work my way up from the school lunch guy to the MN Department of Education and then was told I would have to talk to my U.S. Congressman about getting my kids 2% milk.
I’ve called congressmen about this; they confirmed it’s up to them. The National School Lunch Program touts that school lunch is "a matter of national security", rhetoric Collin Peterson has used about the food industry. Really? When we have to talk to our congressman about what our kids eat and drink at school lunch, I think we have a big problem with government overreach.
Can you imagine what this is like having national policies for anything educational? It's like playing volleyball, and the ball just volleys back and forth with no real resolution about anything. The very spirit of the law is lost, and we keep aimlessly trying to follow it-- this is stupidity. Federal regulations on local schools brings an environment of fear as our schools attempt to do everything by regulation and can't do anything about parents' concerns. Eventually, we all have to give up, give in, and drink the skim milk.
Hunger-Free Kids Act. This bill was so championed by the first lady, children don't complain about the lunch lady anymore, they blame Michelle Obama for their dislike of school food. Last year, when the House Republicans tried to answer the complaints of their constituents (people and schools), Michelle Obama got into the scene and fought back. The people lost! Try calling your congressman or the USDA today about what they're "offering" your kids at school, and you will find that your opinion falls on deaf ears. I, personally, was told by the USDA that since this was public school lunch, I didn't have a say-- the Government was the one in charge. I beg to differ! We all have a say! We pay for that school lunch with our tax dollars and some of us still opt out of the free lunch program, paying additionally. As you can read in her own speech, Michelle Obama is more concerned about what a handful of "experts" say about food than what your kids and you would prefer they eat.
#1 Bestseller print on cover of Hinson's self-published book
Hinson seems ready for the world of politics and spin. Elsewhere, on the cover of her self published book, Hinson claims that her memoir was a #1 Bestseller.
The Amazon page for Wide Open Curtains: A Journal of a Pregnant American in Russia Kindle Edition lists these rankings:
Within very narrow categories, she's done fairly well, but the book doesn't show up on the 2013 Ebook 100 Bestsellers list, much less as #1. The page states that the book was published in 2013.
The paperback, which was self-published via the CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (December 22, 2012), according to the book's Amazon page, also doesn't appear to have been a bestseller. According to Amazon, these are the rankings for the paperback:
We looked elsewhere to find reviews of the volume or mention of it in the book trade, but were unable to find any reviews outside of reader sites like Goodreads.
That book, “Wide Open Curtains: A Journal of a Pregnant American in Russia,” went on to become one of the best-selling e-reader books on Amazon in 2012.
As she campaigns for office, let's hope Hinson clarifies for the media which bestseller list her self-published book topped.
Photo: U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson (left) talks with Superintendent of Bemidji Area Schools Jim Hess in front of other educators on January 27, 2015 n Bemidji. Via Jillian Gandsey | Bemidji Pioneer.
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I read with interest the West Central Tribune’s Jan. 21 editorial defending Willmar’s immigrant community. I commend the editorial board for speaking out against hateful speech that demeans Willmar’s East-African residents. I thank you for celebrating the invaluable economic and cultural contributions of these hard-working Minnesotans.
Minnesota was built by immigrants and pioneers. Today’s immigrants may look and sound different than the Germans and Scandinavians of generations past. But their hard work, and the dreams and aspirations they hold for their children, themselves, and our communities are no different.
Willmar is stronger because of our immigrant neighbors. So is Minnesota.
Willmar and the West Central Tribune have taken an important stand. I applaud your courage. And I stand with you as a partner as we resolve to make our state a welcoming place for all Minnesotans.
Thank your for your insightful editorial on Jan. 21 regarding our Muslim neighbors in the Willmar community.
We winter in California and we even had received an email with that biased piece that you referred to in your editorial out here.
We responded back to the sender by stating that was NOT the Willmar we know and love.
Sadly, too many people forward such erroneous and mean-spirited emails without bothering to check the sources, causing prejudice and divisiveness to foster and grow. We can all do our small part to improve our communities and world by not forwarding such “garbage” and instead challenging people who do.
Willmar isn't a paradise for anyone living there, but many people, new and established residents, work intentionally to build a better community. Those talking against refugees and immigrants haven't made their case, though they've tried.
Photo: From September 2014: Bashir Yusuf speaks to participants in the Walk the Corridor tour Tuesday at his restaurant, Somali Star. Event participants visited ethnically-owned businesses in downtown Willmar. (Tribune photo by Gary Miller). via Walk the Corridor, West Central Tribune.
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The DFA plant in Zumbrota has been fined more than $100,000 by the city since 2014 over a smelly wastewater discharge. The dispute between the city and DFA eventually landed in the Minnesota Court of Appeals. Repeated wastewater violations prompted the city to increase its fee and fine schedule for the third time since 2009, which led to the legal challenge by DFA.
Bauer said Saturday that the local dairy plant, which processes about 8 million pounds of milk each week, has continued to be fined in recent months, though the new fines pale in comparison to the $90,000 fine that was issued in the summer of 2014; exact totals were not available.
"It has been better," Bauer said of the city's relationship with the dairy plant. . . .
Zumbrota is located on the North Branch of the Zumbro River. A friend who grew up in the area said kids called it the Scumbrota River, so we're hoping they manage to talk to those stinky cheese guys and figure it out.
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Now David Hann's caucus is going even farther in removing Christ as the reason for the season. As the image below indicates, the December 8 fundraiser in the Shamrock Room at O'Gara's in St. Paul.
Here's the entire invite-- which is about winter coming, not the birth of the Christ child:
Images: The Lord of Winter from Game of Thrones (above); the invite (below).
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Bluestem has been following the saga of industrial spud giant R.D.Offutt's plans to expand its potato lands in rotation on to pine lands.
A group of rural Minnesotans has filed a petition asking for an environmental assessment worksheet (EAW), after the agency and the multinational corporation struck a deal that dropped an earlier plan for review by the agency.
Here's the press release:
This week, residents of north central Minnesota filed a petition calling on the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to require an environmental review of industrial potato producer RD Offutt’s (RDO) planned expansion in the region, which would use over 166.4 million gallons of water per year.
The DNR, concerned about the impacts of deforestation, groundwater depletion, and heavy pesticide and fertilizer use, initially ordered an environmental review of the company’s plans to drill 54 new wells. But after RDO protested, the DNR struck a deal with the company to drop the requirement in exchange for scaling back the project. Instead, they will work with Offutt on a taxpayer-funded study that will have no impact on the potato producer’s ambitious plans to expand.
Toxic Taters, a grassroots organization based in Callaway that works throughout the potato-growing areas of Minnesota, called the deal between the DNR and RDO a mistake and filed a petition calling for an environmental assessment worksheet (EAW) today. Along with filing the petition calling for the EAW, Toxic Taters and allied organizations including the Land Stewardship Project are calling on the DNR to hold a public hearing in the impacted region regarding the project. Until this point, no state agency has solicited public comments on the issue, and no plans have been announced to request input from the public.
Dave Butcher, a farmer from Pequot Lakes and member of Land Stewardship Project, helped collect signatures. “It’s not right for a corporation to be able to control its own regulatory process,” he said. “We need to make sure when projects like this come in that they’re really looking at the potential damage, and that there’s a chance for public input. This study wouldn’t do that.”
Toxic Taters Coordinator Amy Mondloch expressed concern that the agreement reached between RDO and the DNR is a failure for the state. “The EAW is the proven public process our state has to determine if projects like this are environmentally safe. We believe that the DNR has a responsibility to the public to use that process to hold corporations accountable. The agreement that RDO and the DNR have made is a failure to live up to that responsibility.”
After researching the growing methods used by industrial-scale potato growers like RD Offutt, Bluestem's editor decided to grow her own crop of pesticide-free spuds. Delicious. Even the cat enjoys them.
Photo: New potatoes from our garden. The straw mulch worked to deter potato bugs, while encouraging insect helpers. We'll probably hear the in-the-bag politicians run their usual placebaiting kvetching about evil metro folks being behind the petition, but the truth is that rural people want a healthy environment, too. Also tasty wholesome taters.
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For once, Minnesota's cultural inferiority complex, obsessed with listicles and defensive of apples and the beauty of remote counties, will likely take comfort in mediocrity. But an article in Monday's Mesabi Daily News underscores the problem.
City officials are looking beyond their two major lobbyists in St. Paul — DFL state Rep. Jason Metsa and Sen. David Tomassoni — for more help to secure bonding money for the Miners Memorial Building renovation.
The Finance Committee last week approved a recommendation that Jerich & Associates of the Twin Cities be hired to lobby for the city, with the Miners project its major focus for the upcoming 2 1/2-month legislative session.
The City Council on Tuesday will consider that recommendation, which calls for Jerich & Associates to receive $36,000 for one year from Nov. 1, 2015-Oct. 31, 2016.
It’s very likely to be OK’d as the mayor and councilors gave it the favorable recommendation last week.
The Miners project is estimated to cost $12 million, with $4 million needed for the first stage.
Mike Jerich said Jerich & Associates will work year-round on Miners, along with other projects. . . .
But Jerich said the lobbying group will work year-round when there is no session to have fundraisers, strategic planning, and meetings with legislators on issues. Jerich said that would be important work to lay a foundation to secure funding for projects.
Lobbyists can't give campaign contributions during the session, but fortunately for those hoping to raise interest in their clients' bonding projects and policy changes via fundraisers have a somewhat bigger window to slither through, since the legislature gets a late start in March this coming year.
Bluestem chronicled one of those fundraisers in which the Jerichs were involved--for a pair of DFL state senators in With construction putting lobbyists in a pinch, senator offers to take bite out of their anxiety. Reader may remember that the senator in the headline is Scott Newman, who kindly thought ahead and asked lobbyists for their contributions up front. That would certainly spare the expense of throwing a party for him.
It's worth a side note to observe that the Jerich lobbying firm--one client for one project in the House and Senate district--will be paid more to pursue the bonding than the base pay ($31,000 and change) for either the elected House or Senate "lobbyist."
Ron Jerich is a jocular character, exceedingly charismatic and quick with a joke. But beneath the grandfatherly veneer, according to those who've dealt with him, is a hustler with savoir-faire, money, and connections to burn. In that sense, Jerich is a throwback to a different era. He personifies the influence-peddling backdoor dealer who roamed Capitol halls before a 1993 gift ban put a damper on their activities. . . .
Jerich's far-reaching clout is best illustrated by a 2002 scandal that he helped resolve. At the time, American Bankers Insurance Group was facing a $10 million fine for selling unlicensed insurance policies to about 200,000 Minnesotans. Looking to avoid what was then the state's largest-ever civilian penalty, American Bankers sought to implement a "political strategy," according to sworn testimony. Jerich recommended they get friendly with ranking officials, a political strategy that entailed getting rid of James Bernstein, commerce commissioner under then-Gov. Jesse Ventura. To that end, American Bankers cut a $10,000 check to the Tim Pawlenty for Governor campaign, which was illegal.
"It speaks to Jerich's reputation as a money man, a guy who'd take you over to the Blue Horse and pay for your martini and lunch," says a state investigator familiar with the case. "But since you can't do that anymore, Ron likes to pass the money around through committees and to his friends.
Jerich didn't return messages requesting an interview and was never accused of any legal wrongdoing associated with the case. Officers at American Bankers agreed to settle for $2 million.
"Pawlenty gave them a sweetheart settlement," says the investigator, "It was much, much less than anybody thought."
When Sen. David Tomassoni accepted a position with a local association of public schools in January, some of his colleagues questioned whether the move was appropriate.
The association lobbies on behalf of northern Minnesota schools located in the same district that Tomassoni represents at the legislature. But the Democratic senator denied that his $6,500 monthly salary posed a conflict of interest, saying he would not accept payment while the legislature was in session.
Some lawmakers didn’t agree. But the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board, which is responsible for monitoring conflicts of interest, did. It determined that Tomassoni’s new position did not pose a conflict in and of itself, but that the senator should monitor issues as they arose to determine whether a given situation presented one.
The case revealed the overall weakness in how the legislature handles conflicts of interest, said David Schultz, a political science professor at Hamline University in St. Paul. Minnesota has no restrictions for outgoing public officials seeking private sector work, and 60 former lawmakers have taken lobbying positions since 2002, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
We believe that the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board does a very good job policing existing laws, especially when issues are brought to the staff's attention. However, the board doesn't write the laws it's charged to enforce (a point the report makes).
Coolican's article notes how minority leaders in the Minnesota Senate and House seized on the new report for partisan advantage. The Mesabi Daily News article illustrates why ordinary citizens might conclude that the process is rigged against policy changes and projects they desire--unless they have a little walking around money to grease the skids.
The fact that this is all legal is no comfort; rather, it's an invitation to cynicism and disengagement among the middle-aged--and if we're lucky, a signal flare for youth to organize and demand good government.
Photo: Ethics, Minnesota, a lost town somewhere down the road from Echo.
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A friend who is an elected official in a Greater Minnesota city forwarded an invite to this event in Scottsdale, Arizona, from December 2-4:
Join other local elected officials from across the country at the American City County Exchange (ACCE) for the 2nd ACCE Policy Summit in Scottsdale, AZ on December 2-4.
We want you to be a part of the positive change taking place in communities throughout the United States. At ACCE, you can work and share ideas with other problem-solvers from across the 50 states. Lawmakers are thinking of new, innovative policies that cut red tape, improve local business climates and create workforce-ready students. And it's all happening at ACCE. . . .
We hope you can join us in Scottsdale for the 2nd American City County Exchange Policy Summit December 2-4. You will meet local elected officials from across the country in a variety of workshops to educate and inform you about policy experiences in other communities. At ACCE, you can also help develop public policy that encourages best practices for both cities and counties.
The ACCE Policy Summit takes place in conjunction with the American Legislative Exchange Council States and Nation Policy Summit, which brings together state legislators across America.
ACCE is an affiliate of the American Legislative Exchange Council [ALEC], a 501(c)3 organization, that focuses on nonpartisan research, analysis and educational study to protect hardworking taxpayers. Right now, you can lock-in a low registration rate.
Regardless of your political perspective, we want your input. Come to Scottsdale, share ideas and learn best practices from other elected officials.
Bluestem recommends that readers keep an eye out on city and county board meetings to see if mayors, city council members and county commissioners are going to this conservative fest--and to monitor who is footing the bill for registration, travel, meals and hotel accommodations.
With Congress and the states gridlocked and dominated by special-interest spending, America’s cities have emerged as engines of policy innovation. From efforts to raise the minimum wage and secure paid sick days to bills banning fracking, some of the biggest progressive policy victories in the United States are happening at the local level.
So how has the American Legislative Exchange Council, a powerful lobby serving right-wing interests at the state level, responded to this resurgence of local democracy? With a systematic effort to destroy it. . . .
ALEC task force director Cara Sullivan recently explained to a room full of local officials that when it comes to citizen movements supporting job creation and higher wages, “perhaps the biggest threat comes from the local level.”
Thankfully, she added, ALEC has a solution: “ALEC has passed…state legislation that preempts the polities from within the state from raising the minimum wage higher than the state level.” In other words, if living-wage campaigns succeed at the city or county level, state legislators should intervene, repeal, and ban any such advances.
Sullivan’s comments were consistent with ALEC’s longstanding support for bills to block local control over issues that are important to everyday Americans. Even though ALEC has generally bashed all federal policy affecting the states, and its leaders have claimed that “people are better served by local leaders,” for decades its official policy has been to override local democracy when it threatens corporate interests. . . .
Fortunately, the bill passed early this year (it wasn't partisan), and we'd like to see local leaders hobnob with someone other than ALEC and Coburn. Sheesh.
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Across Minnesota today, rural residents, family farmers, Native organizations, environmental health proponents and students organized actions at McDonald’s stores, calling on the fast food giant to cut pesticides in its supply chain by pressuring the R.D. Offutt potato empire to clean up its act.
Local organic farming supporters and pesticide protesters picketed Tuesday at the McDonald's restaurant here and in several other cities in Minnesota and around the nation in an effort to let the fast-food mega-chain and its suppliers know they "aren't lovin' it" when it comes to pesticide overuse and drift from potato-growing operations. . . .
Central and northwestern Minnesota is prime potato-growing country and Fargo-based R.D. Offutt Co. is one of the biggest suppliers of spuds in the region for McDonald's french fries and hash browns, said Amy Mondloch, coordinator for Toxic Taters.
The Comstock-based advocacy group, along with the Minnesota Public Interest Research Group, Pesticide Action Network and other groups, organized the rallies.
Mondloch was protesting in Perham, and planned to go to Wadena and Detroit Lakes, too.
Toxic Taters is a grass-roots organization that formed in 2013 after years of efforts by local activists, Mondloch said. . . .
Last year, the group gathered 20,000 signatures to encourage McDonald's to tell potato growers to cut down on pesticide use, she said. . . .
Calloway, Minn.-based Toxic Taters oppose the way pesticides are used by McDonald’s potato suppliers, including midwest supplier R.D. Offutt, saying it causes serious health issues to nearby people. Before they took up positions on the public sidewalk on Highway 210, also known as Washington Street, protesters walked into McDonald’s itself - toting protest signs - in order to deliver a letter to management. There were only a handful of patrons in the restaurant at about 5:30 p.m. They either ignored the protesters or smiled amicably. A manager told Dispatch photographer Steve Kohls he would be asked to leave if he took photos
The Brainerd protest was organized by Stephanie Porter of the Minnesota-based Land Stewardship Project. Porter said the event was in support of a Toxic Taters protest campaign at McDonald's locations nationwide, timed to coincide with McDonald's debut of the all-day breakfast menu. The protest aimed to pressure McDonald's to reform their suppliers' use of pesticides and raise awareness of a problem that doesn't get much public attention, she said.
"The average person doesn't realize that the fries that they're purchasing are causing someone 20 minutes away to get cancer, or someone to lose their sheep to poisoning," she said. "The issue's not really out there."
McDonald's committed in 2009 to improving supplier practices but had yet to follow through, Porter said. ...
In a statement, the Toxic Taters group noted:
The McDonald’s Corporation buys more than 3.4 billion pounds of U.S. potatoes annually, making it the largest potato purchaser in the country — and thus the largest influence on the agricultural practices of our nation’s potato growers. The company has not made any meaningful progress since making its 2009 pesticide use reduction promise. McDonald’s has surveyed its growers about their practices, but has taken no other steps to ensure significant reductions in pesticide use.
Toxic Taters is calling on McDonald’s to make the following changes in its potato supply chain:
1. Require that its potato suppliers — like RD Offutt company, a major producer in northern Minnesota — achieve measurable and significant decrease in use of health-harming pesticides.
2. Require its potato producers to release information on the chemicals they apply to their crops.
3. Fund human and ecological health studies on the regions impacted by potato production.
4. Ensure that its potato producers adopt environmentally sound, sustainable agriculture practices.
But for the people behind "Toxic Taters," a campaign run by the Pesticide Action Network, the problem isn’t with what shape of potato hits the fryer but how the potatoes are grown. The group organized protests at McDonald’s locations around the country on Tuesday to coincide with the debut of expanded breakfast hours, calling on the company to clean up its potato supply chain.
The restaurant chain, which uses 3.4 billion pounds of spuds annually, is the country’s largest buyer of potatoes. Were it to require new pesticide management practices on the farms it contracts with, it could create an industry-wide change. Some are hoping that will happen with American poultry, now that McDonald’s says it will only buy meat that has been raised without antibiotics.
The chain said it would look into reforming pesticide practices in 2009, but residents in north-central Minnesota are seeing more negative effects from the expanding potato farms in the region. McDonald's largest potato supplier and the country's largest potatoe grower, R.D. Offutt, was started in Minnesota and continues to opperate there on a large scale.
“As soon as the potatoes moved in, our lives changed,” Holly Ward, who is part of the Toxic Taters Coalition and lives in Perham, Minnesota, said in a press release. “Earlier this summer I was working in my garden when I started to feel burning in my nose, eyes, mouth and skin. I looked up and saw a helicopter spraying the field next door and a yellow-green cloud of pesticide drifting into my yard. There was damage to all of the plants in my garden. My family couldn’t eat the vegetables we’d grown for the rest of the summer.”
The expansion of potato farms in the region is causing so much deforestation that earlier this year the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources halted projects that would clear jack pines to make way for potatoes while an environmental review is conducted. In addition to habitat loss, there are concerns that the groundwater could be contaminated by new farming operations.
In 2012, a study conducted by "Toxic Taters" found that clorothalonil, a fungicide commonly used on potato farms, was present at two-thirds of the 19 off-farm locations it monitored in central Minnesota. The state Department of Agriculture announced best-management practices in 2013 to combat drift, but the measures are voluntary.
Research conducted at the University of Florida found that chlorothalonil caused 100 percent mortality in several species of frogs. After being exposed to the fungicide at levels commensurate to what they would encounter in runoff, the amphibians died within 24 hours.
After reading about the potato industry and deforestation earlier this year, our editor grew her own potatoes in a large garden at a nearby family farm, where frogs and potatoes thrive without ag chemicals. We believe we've grown and stored enough spuds for the winter.
Earlier post about the politics of Minnesota's biggest potato grower:
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Bluestem has noticed a distinct resemblance to the positions outlined by DFL endorsement seeker, Ely City Council member Heidi Omerza.
Other information online suggests that Johnson's political genealogy is less connected to the progressive wing of the DFL, than to the moderate DFL senators who form the backbone of Tom Bakk's leadership in the Minnesota Senate. Moreover, with the exception of one gun-control group, her client list isn't particularly associated with the progressive left in the North Star state.
A DFL political genealogy
Zoominfo.com has preserved a January 2014 profile of Johnson that had been posted at Capitol Hill Strategies, a lobbying and public affair firm, prior to her moving on to serve as director of state affairs for the Grocery Manufacturing Association (GMA). A press release issued by the GMA in February scrubbed out the specifics, while keeping the outline.
Kelsey A.L. Johnson – Government Affairs Consultant
Kelsey Johnson is a native Minnesotan. She completed her Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy[AH1] from St. Catherine University in 2004. While at St. Catherine University Ms. Johnson was the recipient of the Thomas More Leadership Award, President of the Student Senate and captain of the swim team. Since graduating from St. Catherine University Ms. Johnson honed her skills in customer service, negotiations, and solutions-based selling through her work in the private sector. In her last career before entering the political arena she was an Account Executive, selling audio, web and video conferencing solutions. During her sales career she negotiated contracts with Fortune 500 companies and worked with all levels of leadership within various corporations to come to mutually exclusive agreements.
Ms. Johnson began her political career by interning with Minnesota Attorney General Mike Hatch. After leaving the Attorney General’s Office, she interned for Minnesota State Senator LeRoy Stumpf, Chair of the Senate Education Policy and Finance Committee. Ms. Johnson subsequently took a position in the Minnesota House DFL Caucus where she worked for numerous Representatives and the Chief Sergeant -At-Arms.
Following Ms. Johnson’s departure from the Minnesota House she began lobbying and continues to do so today. During the 2012 election-cycle she served as the campaign manager for the successful re-election of State Senator Terri Bonoff, who has been appointed the Chair of the Senate Higher Education and Workforce Development Committee. Ms. Johnson recently completed her Master’s of Arts in Organizational Leadership with a concentration on ethics and leadership at St. Catherine University. Her final project focused on transparency in campaign finance. In conjunction with her master’s degree, Ms. Johnson obtained a certificate in Strategic Management. Ms. Johnson is a diligent worker who maintains strong working relationships.
Ms. Johnson understands the importance of a balanced life and enjoys any opportunity to play hard. She is an avid water sports enthusiast as a member of both USA Waterski and USA Swimming. Ms. Johnson is active in her community as a current member and former board member to the League of Women Voters Minneapolis, active member of the Junior League of Minneapolis, and current member of the Citizen’s League where she assisted in the development of a platform for current water policy concerns.
These political connections don't exactly scream "Sheila Wellstone" from the mountain tops. Moreover, she's running as an independent for an empty House seat in one half of Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk's home district. Following the DFL primary, would any Democratic state lawmaker buck the nominee?
Nor do her clients while she lobbied holler, "Independent," unless one only defines independence as free of the partisan.
Lobbying for GMA--and beyond
While Johnson bills her "advocacy" for the group as a matter of "feeding the world," progressive citizens might pause to reflect about what chemicals the GMA is comfortable being in children's products. Since joining the GMA, Johnson has testified against former state representative Ryan Winkler's Toxic Free Kids Act (March 2014 hearing) and Senator Ann Rest's SF1099 this past session (Winkler was chief author of the House companion bill). Johnson followed the bill through the committee process, testifying against it three times (here, here and here).
Prior to joining GMA (for whom she registered as a lobbyist in other states such as Florida), Johnson's clients for her lobbying services included the judicial reform group Coalition for Impartial Justice, prison profiteers Corrections Corporation of America (there's a bid to re-open or lease its Appleton prison afoot), Michael Bloomberg co-chaired gun control group, Everytown for Gun Safety, pro-tip credit Minnesota Restaurant Association and the National Popular Vote.
Bluestem suspects having the "gun safety" group on her resume might have clashed a bit with the NRA membership, but there's no timeline. As gun right supporters, Bluestem would like to know if she was for or against gun rights before she was against them--or if she just happened to support both her client and the NRA at the same time. That would be breathtakingly independent.
Independent?
Whatever that case may be, Johnson's business relationships with powerful special interests make her claim to be "independent" of partisan affiliation to be rather beside the point. Sources tell us that polling in state house districts reveals that voters are tired of moneyed interests having more power than ordinary citizens.
It's not an argument for electing one of the most powerful trade group's lobbyists to the Minnesota House.
Given that zeitgeist, it's not surprising that on her website, Johnson uses language to obscure her day job. She wasn't a lobbyist for a group of food industry corporations; instead an "advocate" for "our area and small businesses":
Most recently, Kelsey has been working as an advocate at the State Capitol, working to pass legislation that helps our area and small businesses.
As Director of State Affairs for the Grocery Manufacturers Association, she has learned what it takes to successfully advocate for policies that protect and support our most important initiative: Feeding the World.
Really? Sourcewatch describes the trade association in a much different light:
The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA), previously the Grocery Manufacturers of America, based in Washington, D.C., is the world's largest trade association for corporations making food, beverage, and consumer products. Representing such companies as Campbell Soup Company, Kraft Foods, and Pepsi, it channels political contributions, lobbies and engages in public relations on behalf of its member corporations.[1][2] In 2007, the Food Products Association (FPA), which focuses on science, nutrition labeling, and food safety, merged with GMA.[3]
GMA's primary wing -- its 501(c)(6) trade association -- took in nearly $41.4 million in total revenue in 2013 (its most recently available filing), spent over $41.4 million in total expenses, and had over $31 million in net assets available as of the end of that year.[4] Its 501(c)(3), "GMA Science and Education Foundation," had $588,626 in total revenue, $337,891 in total expenses, and $1,477,901 in net assets for the same time period.[5]
GMA's PAC made $222,245 in political contributions at the federal level in 2014 -- 63 percent to Republicans and 37 percent to Democrats -- according to the Center for Responsive Politics.[6] The top recipient of GMA political contributions from 1989 through the second quarter of 2014 was Democratic Senator Ron Kind of Wisconsin, according to the Sunlight Foundation.[7] GMA made $11,073,608 in political contributions at the state level in 2014, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics.[8] It has spent $41,052,904 in lobbying at the federal level 1989 through the second quarter of 2014, according to the Sunlight Foundation.[7] It spent $4,620,347 lobbying at the federal level[9] and had eight lobbyists active in three states in 2014.[10]
Earlier in this post, we visited her testimony for her client. Perhaps she can spell out how that testimony helped the area and small businesses. Or was she moonlighting?
Perhaps we should simply be grateful that she's not running in the seat Ryan Winkler vacated.
All snark aside, we think that the bid reflects the Minnesota Nice culture of insider politics. We're sure she's a nice person--multiple sources tell us she dated Mr. Nice Guy Kurt Daudt which must have been a nice time--but policy-making should be built more than just being one of the guys.*
*A generic, tradition non-gender specific Minnesota language term for "people." You guys know what we mean.
Photo: According to a GMA press release, Senator Terri Bonoff (right) wasn't expected to win, but lobbyist Kelsey Johnson (left) saved the day as her campaign manager. Other sources were not as certain of Bonoff's potential defeat. Photo via Minneapolis Junior League Facebook page.
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Readers wouldn't know that the peanut butter sector is doing well if they were to visit our favorite venue in Minnesota for unintentional stand-up comedy, the official Minnesot 7th Congressional District Republican Party Facebook page.
Legendary Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich is now RACIST!
The Peanut Butter Jelly Sandwich has now been judged Racist by a Progressive/Socialist Principal, Verenice Gutierrez, of Harvey Scott K-8 School in Portland, Oregon. Like our page if you also think this is overstepping the bounds of Political Correctness. It seems that White Bread is something akin to “White Privilege”, as reported by the Conservative Post, and Gutierrez wants to eliminate all things that relate this coarse thinking (conservativepost.com).
So the PB & J Sandwich, which is wholesome nutrition for kids and a lot of fun to make and eat, is being taken off the School’s Lunch Menu so it will no longer offend certain Minorities as Somali or Hispanic Students. . . .
Unfortunately, the need to flood outrage over political correctness has gotten the better of the page administrator's critical thinking skills (and those of the 21 readers who have so far shared the outrage). The story of "racist peanut butter and jelly sandwiches banned" was debunked back in 2012 by Polifact Oregon, with the Snopes.com Urban Legends site ruling it false more recently in June 2015 as the fodder continues to have a life of its own.
How fair is it for pundits to take a news story that includes the word racism in the first paragraph and boil that down into a headline about a racist sandwich?
The Education Action Group says it’s fair game, given the story and the fact that an educator singled out the sandwich in a lesson about cultural competency. But come on. Read the original story. Gutierrez is quoted as suggesting to staff: "Americans eat peanut butter and jelly, do you have anything like that?" That’s not an indictment of the sandwich.
Portland Public Schools did not spend half a million dollars to label the sandwich "racist." The principal never called the sandwich racist. The Portland Tribune never said the principal called the sandwich racist. And yes, we don’t usually weigh in on lunch, but who could resist? The statement is inaccurate and silly.
We rate the statement Pants on Fire.
More recently, in Peanut Butter Jelly Crime, Snopes.com conducted a FACT CHECK: Are Portland schools banning peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for being racist?, concluding that the claim in the Conservative Post article--shared by the Minnesota 7th Congressional District Republican Party Facebook page--is false. The entry continues:
Amid a then-current national debate over the Confederate flag (and its historical significance) the web sites Conservative Post (CP) and Joe for America published articles, both titled “Peanut Butter and Jelly Deemed Racist.” (The former was published on 24 June 2015, the latter on 25 June 2015.)
In the context of a debate regarding the reclassification of common items as potentially racially offensive, the notion that something as harmless and American as peanut butter and jelly sandwiches could be next had a ring of truth to some unsettled Americans. But extraordinary claims such as this require extraordinary substance to be considered credible, and this one had some glaring weaknesses. . .
The Snopes post concludes:
As noted, the Portland Tribune reporter who penned the original article (not Gutierrez) was responsible for the turn of phrase “the subtle language of racism.” Gutierrez’s quoted remarks simply observed that children of different cultures might not eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches commonly, at home, and therefore might be more accustomed to different foods. Not only was this brief remark made nearly three years prior to its circulation in 2015, but it was broadly misconstrued as “Portland schools ban peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for being racist” even though the remark in question in no way hinted at such a course of action.
It's also worth noting that the Gutierrez quote concerned using an example used in classroom instruction, rather than the menu in the lunchroom, and even within the context of instruction, the goal was to extend the examples, not ban PBJ sandwiches.
Have some schools banished PBJ sandwiches? Yes, but not for concerns over "political correctness." "Bluestem has discovered news coverage going back to the 1990s of peanut butter bans in schools, but those are related to peanut allergies (a source of controversy, though not one over identity politics; rather the concern is for the safety of individuals living with lethal allergies, as the New York Times reported in Nothing's Safe: Some Schools Ban Peanut Butter as Allergy Threat).
Minnesota's Seventh Congressional District is a perennial target for the NRCC to flip from Representative Collin Peterson's control. Given the silliness posted on social media by the district Republicans, Bluestem suspects that it may stay that way until Peterson's retirement.
Screengrab: Oh noes! Someone is coming for your kids PBJ sandwiches!
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Upsala Republican activist Aleta Edin, who challenged Minnesota Seventh District Congressman Collin Peterson in 1998, is completely concerned about religious freedom.
And menus.
In Where does the Christian Right go?, a letter to the Morrison County Record, Edin frets that same-sex couples will force their menu choices on Jewish delis:
. . .This may be a long battle and will require Christian people to support and vote for candidates in the next election who will support, uphold, fight and vote for religious freedom laws which protect people’s right to say “no.”
If a same sex couple entered a Jewish deli and ordered ham and cheese sandwiches for a wedding reception, would the Jewish deli be forced to provide them or risk being sued or fined?
Whatever happened to separation of church and state? Marriage is a religious institution and the Supreme Court just stepped into religion. What’s next? Polygamy?
Bluestem suspects that kosher delis (or halal markets) would probably be able to give the same answer to the same-sex couple that they've given to straight couples ordering ham: not on the menu. But refusing service on the basis of the buyer's sexual identity? That's been against the law in Minnesota since 1993.
Photo: A ham and swiss sandwich.
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In a small but tangible step towards rebuilding Minnesota's once-formidable hemp industry, the Minnesota House of Representatives authorized a limited pilot program, the Industrial Hemp Development Act on an 89-37 vote with bipartisan support. Supporters of expanded availability of cannabis are encourage to contact their senators and urge support for this bill, along with wider farmer access and general legalization for responsible adult use.
The full House voted last Monday to allow farmers to cultivate non-psychoactive cannabis (negligible THC content), under a limited program controlled by the commissioner of agriculture (full text here). The measure is included in the omnibus agriculture policy and finance bill, HF1437, one of several large bills the Legislature passes every year or two. [Update 5/9: Good news: a similar program is included in the Senate agriculture omnibus and apparently Gov. Dayton has indicated he will sign off on the program, according to a knowledgeable source.]
A bipartisan coalition including Rep. Phyllis Kahn (DFL-Minneapolis), a stalwart supporter of full legalization, and Rep. Mary Franson (R-Alexandria), who does not support personal use or medical cannabis, as well as Sen. Kent Eken (DFL-Twin Valley) pushed industrial hemp for economic development this year. Rep. Tony Cornish (R-Vernon Center), law enforcement lobby ringleader, laid on the fearsauce as always.
Word keeps coming up that budget targets have been agreed upon by House and Senate conferees for the ag bill; we hope that the industrial hemp pilot project/study will survive the conference committee. This is common sense legislature that will allow farmers and value-added industries capture some of the profits from the hemp products industry.
Photo: Minneapolis liberal DFLer Phyllis Kahn and Alexandria conservative Republican Mary Franson, the "odd couple" who have guided hemp legislation in the House; Kent Eken (DFL-Twin Valley) is the chief author in the senate. Both bills have been rolled into their chamber's omnibus bills related to agriculture.
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All of the statements, opinions, and views expressed on this site by Sally Jo Sorensen are solely her own, save when she attributes them to other sources.
The opinions, statements, and views of contributing writers are their own.
Sorensen, editor and proprietor of Bluestem Prairie, serves clients in the business and nonprofit sectors. While progressive in outlook, she does not caucus with any political party.
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