It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity . . .
The first few weeks of a legislative session often are sleepy affairs: lots of ceremony, feel-good receptions and meet-and-greets, introductions and informational hearings.
Not this year.
A number of factors combined to create a flurry of early activity . . .
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” said Sen. Julie Rosen, R-Vernon Center, who has been at the Capitol since 2003.
Rosen, who leaves on a two-week trip to Myanmar this week, said the Senate’s rush to pass its health care bill last week was not related to her travel plans. Lawmakers were eager to get it done so that Senate and House negotiators could work out differences for final passage by the end of the month, which is the deadline for Minnesotans to sign up for health insurance.
Still, Rosen’s absence is notable because it shows how thin the GOP’s one-seat majority really is. With just one member gone, the Senate conceivably could come to a halt, with Republicans lacking the numbers to move any legislation opposed by the DFL.
Nonetheless, her absence may slow the machinery of power in St. Paul, thus dashing the hopes of the ink-stained wretches in the newsroom of the Crookston Times, who opined on Monday in Compromise in St. Paul:
Compromise in St. Paul
The last time Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton had to work with a Republican-controlled Minnesota Legislature, we had to suffer through a brief government shutdown, as Dayton and the Republicans refused to work together to get anything meaningful accomplished. Dayton said the other day he fears it could happen again, now that Republicans again control both the Minnesota Senate and House. But it doesn't have to, especially not with meaningful legislation like health insurance relief, a bonding bill, and tax bill that, according to last year's numbers, would give Crookston an additional $116,000 or so in Local Government Aid. If Dayton and the Republicans approach each other with reasonable expectations and a willingness to give instead of just take, things could get done. But forgive us if we're less than hopeful that the governor and legislative leaders will work together for the benefit of Minnesotans who elected them.
Were we the least bit cynical, we'd suggest that in the absence of the bread of LGA, the good citizens of Crookston might eat cake, but far be it from Bluestem to even imply such a thing.
Photo: A still from the classic Tale of Two Cities.
Please donate! If you enjoy Bluestem's take on the news--and our investigative blogging--please consider throwing some spare change into our paypal account during our January contribution drive. Bluestem relies on reader contributions to continue publishing.
If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) 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 sally.jo.sorensen@gmail.com as recipient.
Stories about how fake news pervades the internet and how it even helped Donald Trump win the presidency have been wide spread in the news media over the past couple weeks.
First, we don’t think the Republican candidate won because of fake news. He won because a majority of those who voted in states that count in the electoral college did so because of his conservative social stands, because he was a Republican, because many undecided voters detested Democrat Hillary Clinton, because many Democrats wished they had another choice, and because people wanted change in Washington.
But news that is made up, twisted far from the truth, and intended to deceive is a significant problem on the internet and to an informed citizenry. Too often people reading it take what they see and read on the internet as truth, repeat it to friends, and to like-minded people through Facebook sharing, through Tweets, and through other social media. . . .
Another Times story tracks a post by a Texas man who had fewer than 50 Twitter followers, but whose simple Tweet of a photo of a line of large busses lined up along a street in Austin brought him instant celebrity. Because the busses were lined up relatively close to where a Trump celebration rally was taking place, and because he thought the timing of the busses appearing was relatively close to the time of the rally, he surmised that they must have brought protestors. He never saw anyone get on or off the busses.
But it wasn’t long before his Tweet was shared 16,000 times on Twitter and 350,000 times on Facebook. Even Trump saw it and Tweeted saying, “Just had a very open and successful presidential election. Now professional protesters, incited by the media, are protesting. Very unfair!”
The busses had, in fact, brought a group of people attending a business convention to the venue where they would be meeting. . . .
Bluestem found a very similar example of a Facebook account sharing fake news in the congressional district that's home to both the Monitor and our poor country blog. Our old friends at the Minnesota 7th Congressional District shared the post capture in the screenshot above:
We suppose these are the same protesters we are seeing Busing from City to City. Paid Agitators Fox News says George Soros is flipping the bill for.
The Milo Yiannopoulos post purported to depict buses that brought protestors to Chicago.
Not so fast, Western Minnesota Republican activist Allen Anderson chimed in a few hours later:
Allen E Andersonwrong these buses were used to bus Cubs fan in for the world series parade according to a post I saw elsewhere. somebody actually took the time to call badger lines to find out why they were there instead of just assuming what they were there for.
The page administrator thought that was nice to know, but didn't remove the post--or edit the headnote.
Yiannopoulos is a senior editor at Breitbart, a Right-wing online magazine and the most-read conservative news website in the States — and whose chair, Steve Bannon, has just been appointed President-elect Donald Trump’s chief strategist.
If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) 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 sally.jo.sorensen at gmail.com as recipient.
"Car rental taxes are an easy target for politicians because they only affect visitors, not residents, right? Wrong. Short term rental services have sprung up, catering to downtown residents and others who don't need or want the cost and upkeep of owning a vehicle. But the service couldn't survive with the high rental car taxes plus the high local taxes and fees in the twin cities. It was a double whammy. So Car2go will be gone by the end of the year."
Anderson adds the headnote: "interesting maybe something that could be fixed in the legislative session."
That might be a little--how do we say?--awkward, given that Representative Jeff Backer favors the Minnesota Republican caucus transportation plan, or so he told Morris's KMRS-KKOK Radio in February's State Representative Backer on Transportation Plan:
Ahead of this Friday’s February Budget Forecast, Representative Jeff Backer, R-Browns Valley, is urging support for a long-term transportation plan that would invest $7 billion in state roads and bridges over the next 10 years without an increase in the gas tax. In total, the plan would repair or replace more than 15,500 lane miles of road and 330 bridges statewide.
“As I have traveled across the district, I consistently hear from constituents about the need to improve our roads and bridges,” said Backer. “Our plan not only makes significant investments in our transportation infrastructure, it does so without implementing a harmful gas tax increase.”
Over the next ten years, the Republican proposal invests:
$4.03 billion for state roads $1.44 billion for county roads $583 million for municipal roads $282 million for small cities under 5,000 $139 million for Greater Minnesota bus services $60 million for township roads & bridges
The Republican proposal creates a special fund called the Transportation Stability Fund that collects existing proceeds from dedicated tax revenues and deposits them into accounts for each of their dedicated purpose. There are five accounts that would dedicate a combined $3.078 billion over ten years:
1. Road and Bridge Account – revenue from existing sales tax on auto parts 2. Metro Capital Improvements Account – revenue from existing sales tax on rental vehicles 3. Small Cities Account – revenue from existing rental vehicle tax 4. Greater Minnesota Bus Services Account – revenue from 50% of existing Motor Vehicle Lease sales tax 5. Suburban County Highway Account – revenue from 50% of existing Motor Vehicle Lease sales tax
Backer repeated his support for using existing car rental taxes for the Small Cities Account in a March 2016 legislative update. Nice of him and his conservative colleagues to grab those high rental taxes from an urban car service and other rentals to pay "for street and road repair over the next ten years for communities that have less than 5,000 residents."
Predictably, conservatives in the PiPress's comment section are blaming the rental vehicle tax on those darned liberals, while the intern who wrote the article doesn't seem to have thought to mention that redirecting the tax from general revenues to the proposed "Transportation Stability Fund" is a key feature of the Republicans' avoidance of raising the gas tax.
Perhaps they could save Car2Go and lower or eliminate the vehicle rental tax--but then Backer and his pals have to find another money pot somewhere to rob for the the Metro Capital Improvements Account and the Small Cities Account.
What additional programs paid out of general funds (diverted under to the plan to the new fund) will get the axe? Mental health funding? Local government aid? Daycare for the children of the working poor? The possibilities are endless--but we doubt the legislators' mileage requests will be in play.
Screengrab: We must say, politicians like those in the Minnesota House Republican Caucus most certainly did find the pot o' money collected with car rental taxes to be an easy target when proposing to raise more money for roads and bridges while not raising gas taxes. Cough.
If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) 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 sally.jo.sorensen at gmail.com as recipient.
Ruthie Hendrycks, who drove in from southern Minnesota, said she was stirred to action by Trump's hardline stance on immigration. "The citizenry is awakened. Trump is a movement now," Hendrycks said. "It's not just voting for the man, it's voting for the man that has started for the movement and woken up so many people."
It's unfortunate that MPR simply left readers thinking that this was a random woman who'd wandered out of Southern Minnesota to laud Trump's anti-immigration sentiments. It's saddening that she's become normalized as a standard issue Republican, when back when, she was far to the right of a Republican governor.
With many people despairing of Trump's movement lasting past Election Day (including our guest writer Phillip Cryan), perhaps it's time to look back at the way in which a prank can defang Hendrycks's brand of malice. Here's Dan Feidt's video of "Robert Erickson's" first prank:
As a bonus, here's Clayton Schoolcraft's incomparable Youtube documenting Hendrycks' reaction:
While Hendrycks might have been at the airport, her old nemesis Robert/Nick was nowhere around. Like many progressive Minnesotans, he's been working on get-out-the-vote (GOTV) efforts for state legislative candidates. Indeed, this contrast may may be one of the most hopeful signs we've seen on this beautiful November day in Minnesota.
Photo: Via Facebook, Scott Hendrycks (left) and Ruthie Hendrycks (middle) pose for a photo on their way to the Trump rally.
If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) 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 sally.jo.sorensen at gmail.com as recipient.
Adams Publishing Group announced today that it intends to purchase ECM Publishers Inc., founded by former Gov. Elmer L. Andersen, which is one of the largest publishers of weekly newspapers in the country.
ECM has 50 individual publications reaching more than 600,000 households across central Minnesota and western Wisconsin.
“We are excited to welcome the ECM associates to our APG team in Minnesota,” said APG Chairman Stephen Adams. “Our company is headquartered here, and my family has a long newspaper history in the state of Minnesota. ECM has done a fine job navigating through difficult times, and producing the highest quality print and digital products. We commend them for their efforts, and wish the Andersen family the best in their future endeavors.” . . .
. . . APG owns the northern Minnesota publications Mesabi Daily News, Hibbing Daily Tribune, Grand Rapids Herald-Review, Chisholm Tribune Press, Pilot Independent in Walker and Manney’s Shoppers.
It also owns several southern Minnesota publications, including the Faribault Daily News, Owatonna People’s Press, Waseca County News, St. Peter Herald, Northfield News, Lonsdale Area News-Review, Le Sueur News-Herald, Kenyon Leader, Le Center Leader and several shoppers.
The Adams family also owns radio stations, outdoor advertising companies and Camping World/Good Sam, a national distributor of recreational vehicles and camping-related products and services.
A billionaire backing Donald Trump is taking advertising into his own hands.
Stephen Adams, a billboard magnate who made his fortune in a half-dozen different business ventures over the last five decades, is pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into a pro-Trump campaign. Yet it is not the Trump campaign or a Trump super PAC that is spending over $650,000 to boost the Republican nominee -- it is Adams himself, who his buying his own billboards in a set of swing states.
It is an unusual purchase and a throwback to a previous era when the wealthy had close to unfettered control over how their dollars were spent. Adams disclosed the spending this week in independent expenditure reports almost always filed by political action committees or nonprofits, rather than individuals: $150,000 in North Carolina, $200,000 in Pennsylvania and $300,000 in Michigan.
That is not a trivial amount of money, given the long struggles of Trump high-dollar efforts. If donated to a PAC -- staffed by professional operatives and fundraisers -- Adams would instantly become one of Trump's top donors.
But Adams is hanging a shingle.
"Mr. Adams is a long-time supporter of, and contributor to, the Republican Party," said an Adams aide, Rich Zecchino. "He has contributed these advertisements to the presidential campaign in furtherance of that historical support."
The digital billboards produced by his company, Adams Outdoor Advertising, are not flashy, with simple white text reading "For the people" overlayed on a navy background accompanied with an American flag. The bottom reads "Trump Pence 2016" in bold. And it is not the first time that Adams has gone outside the normal campaign finance system to support his chosen candidate. A Republican donor for decades, Adams financed similar billboard campaigns in 2000 and 2004, federal election records show, spending $1 million each cycle in order, when asked on federal forms for the purpose of his independent expenditure, "to win election." . . .
A search of the Open Secrets database reveals Stephen Adams had contributed $1,008,982 in Independent Expenditures, Communication Costs and Coordinated Expenses for Republicans as of October 26, 2016.
None of the billboards appears to have been sighted in Minnesota, additional evidence that this isn't a swing state.
And here The Donald and his supporters whine about media bias. Perhaps Mr. Adams' giving at the top will cancel Mr. Hubbard's reluctance to support Trump, although his down ticket largesse to the pachyderm party is impressive as ever.
More about Stephen Adams
Bluestem recommends the Wikipedia entry for Stephen Adams as an entry point for getting to know the aging tycoon who owns so many greater Minnesota and suburban papers. A Skull and Bones man at Yale, Adams is "son of long-time newspaper journalist and CBS radio and television broadcaster Cedric Adams."
A native of Adrian, MN, Cedric Adams was "the 'best known voice' in the upper Midwest" from the 1930s through the 1950s, according to his own Wikipedia entry, and the radio celebrity's newspaper column carried in 20 papers marks the family's "long newspaper history in the state of Minnesota."
The rest of the family's "newspaper history" is of relatively recent origin, according to articles published by local venues in Ohio and Maryland upon the firm's acquisition of local papers. In 2014, Jim Phillips of the Athens News reported in Local daily gets swept up in massive media sale:
A little over six years after it was bought by a Texas-based newspaper chain on behalf of an Australian mega-bank, The Athens Messenger has been sold again.
The buyer this time is the corporate persona of a multi-millionaire (some say billionaire), whose business background is in billboards, banks, retail stores, RVs, magazines and direct marketing; who is new to newspapers; and who reportedly likes to dabble in music and French vineyards.
The purchase, which was announced with almost no fanfare on the part of the buyer, is part of a much bigger deal involving a total of 34 print publications, special print products, digital media assets and commercial printing facilities, according to a report (apparently based on a news release) posted by Editor & Publisher magazine March 14.
Adams Publishing Group LLC (APG) - apparently principally owned by 76-year-old private equity investor Stephen Adams - has announced it is buying three newspaper divisions from American Consolidated Media (ACM), which had owned The Messenger and other regional papers including the Logan Daily News. . . .
Online information about APG was initially difficult to find, but once the connection with private equity capitalist Stephen Adams was confirmed, it became quite a lot easier. There's quite a bit of biographical and background information available on Adams and his enterprises, including a complete Wikipedia entry and another in Bloomburg BusinessWeek.
A story that ran last Friday in Maryland's CecilTimes, a small news outlet that covers the same community as the Cecil Whig, one of the newspapers in the new APG Media of Chesapeake company, noted that one thing "unusual" for such a large media buyout was "the total absence of any comment by the purchaser - only comments from regional executives of the sellers, ACM, were included in the local newspaper's published reports." . . .
Does the relatively new owners' conservative bent influence the coverage in the three groups of acquired papers themselves? Given the legendary heavy hand of the conservative Huckle family on the southern Minnesota papers--and Hanna's axe-grinding that's as certain as the northern snows, we're not sure how anyone could tell.
As is the practice at the Fargo Forum chain, the corporate editor board for ECM Publishing has done much of the endorsement of statewide and federal candidates and causes. Many of those endorsements went to Republican candidates. A notable exception was endorsing both incumbent Rick Nolan and challenger Stewart Mills III in 2014, after endorsing Cravaack over Nolan in 2012. The board reverted to form this year in endorsing Mills over Nolan.
We'll keep our eye open for more Minnesota media ownership fun. In the meantime, we recommend Gannett’s newsroom cuts slash at St. Cloud’s heart, Bob Collins' post about the gutting of the news staff at the St. Cloud Times.
If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) 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 sally.jo.sorensen at gmail.com as recipient.
These are the times that try poor country bloggers' souls, especially the moments of nincompoopery that Representative Dale Lueck, R-Aitkin, dropped in a debate this week..
In District 10B candidates share positions, Chelsey Perkins' coverage for the Brainerd Dispatch of a candidate forum between Lueck and DFL challenger Erin Wagner, we read this passage:
. . . Funding for broadband internet expansion in rural areas, was also a success, he said, adding metro legislators don't understand those needs.
"Frankly, they just don't know what you're talking about when we're talking about no coverage or spotty coverage," Lueck said.
Everybody knows "metro legislators" is Republican code for "DFL." But as the infographic at the top of this page illustrates, those God-awful metro-centric Democrats stated the digital divide quite clearly when they posted the image to the Minnesota House DFL Caucus Facebook page on January 21, 2016.
That damn metro Minority Leader Paul Thissen and his crew, spreading those facts before the session started. We gather Lueck missed that part about his "metro" colleagues knowing what talk about "no coverage or spotty coverage" means.
The Aitkin Republican must have missed another image posted that same day:
Indeed, that inglorious metro bastard Thissen, who represents Minneapolis for cats' sakes, had been rattling on for months--months! we tell you!--about such matters. Witness his October 7, 2015 column in the Grand Forks Herald, GOP leaves communities disconnected by underfunding broadband:
At a recent forum about the lack of high-speed Internet access in greater Minnesota, a woman from Aitkin, Minn., told us, "this isn't just a need—it's a necessity."
I agree. The availability of high-speed Internet has become a critical issue of economic vitality and quality of life for all Minnesotans. Unfortunately, House Republicans ignored this critical priority for greater Minnesota and halted our momentum to ensure all Minnesotans have access to high-speed Internet.
Broadband infrastructure—the means in which we provide high-speed Internet access across our state—got its first significant investment in 2014 by our DFL-led Legislature. But we knew this was only a down-payment. In fact, the Governor's Broadband Task Force has recommended a $100 million per year investment in our state's Border-to-Border Broadband Development Grant program.
Many people in greater Minnesota began this year with high hopes, given the promises Republican legislators made on the campaign trail. But despite a $2 billion surplus, the Republican-led House did not continue this commitment to rural broadband access in 2015. They initially zeroed-out our state's broadband investment and ended up putting just $10 million into our broadband program.
They also proposed to eliminate the Office of Broadband Development. That's because their top priority last session was massive tax breaks that benefit large corporations and businesses that predominantly reside in the metro area.
We knew that $10 million for broadband was inadequate then, and we have now confirmed it. This past week, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development released their list of communities that applied for broadband grants. The resources passed by the Republican-led House will only cover about one-third of the requests, leaving dozens of Minnesota communities disconnected.
And as noted at the meetings, the skimpy Republican commitment probably discouraged a lot of communities from applying.
Consider what is happening in Pine City, Minn., and in many rural areas across the state. After closing time at the local library, you can see people huddled in their cars with their laptops, struggling to maintain a connection on the library WI-FI so that they can complete homework or send an e-mail.
We must do better—for a student who can't log on to the Internet to complete a research paper, for a small business owner trying to stay competitive with the metro area, and for a parent who wants to connect online with a son or daughter at college.
We hear a lot of happy talk from Republican legislators about broadband. But talk won't build a single mile of broadband infrastructure.
Before next session, I urge Herald readers to contact their legislators and urge them to put their money where their mouths are in support of broadband infrastructure funding.
Indeed, the Republicans ended up taking Thissen's advice--though with only one-third of what that equally-metro governor wanted for broadband.
No wonder Lueck is reduced to placebaiting of the lowest sort. The fact is that "metro" legislators--like the leader of the Minnesota House DFL Caucus--fully understand the problem, as does the DFL governor and Lt. Gov. Tina "Bright Lights, Big City" Smith.
However, Lt. Gov. Tina Smith said in a statement that the Republican broadband proposal wasn't enough, and pointed out that Gov. Mark Dayton proposed $100 million in grant funding.
"The governor and I welcome the work of House Republicans on broadband," Smith said. "Their proposals, however, barely make a dent in the need for high-speed, affordable broadband access in greater Minnesota. At the level of investment they are proposing, the 244,000 households in greater Minnesota without broadband connections will wait decades to get up to speed. This is bad for our economy, bad for greater Minnesota, and we need to do better."
Perhaps Lueck simply imagines that since so much of rural Minnesota is still left without reliable high-speed broadband, no one's going to fact check the complete blither that escapes from his mouth into the world as he placebaits his metro colleagues.
Images: Infographics released by the Minnesota House DFL Caucus. Via Facebook.
If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) 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 sally.jo.sorensen at gmail.com as recipient.
In his first rodeo, Nolan served in Congress from January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1981, in Minnesota's old, old Sixth Congressional district. In his second, he's served as congressman for Minnesota's 8th, from the northern exurbs to Duluth and the Range.
With each passing year, this becomes increasingly clear: U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan, simply put, is good for Duluth, good for the Iron Range and good for Northeastern Minnesota.
On Nov. 8, voters here are going to be needed to propel Nolan to re-election victory, assuring the congressman stays on the job for them, the same congressman who got pavement-pounding semis off of Superior Street in our downtown, a feat long eluding local leaders; who has been consistent and unwavering in his support of mining, pipelines and protecting good-paying Northland jobs; who has made national headlines by fearlessly butting heads with politics-as-usual Washington; and who has been willing to contradict his party in favor of supporting his 8th Congressional District.
Rick Nolan has been accessible and responsive and has earned the support he’ll need to prevail and remain in office.
Little his challenger has done or said suggests he’d be as open or as willing to address our needs here in the north. Republican Stewart Mills’ base of support clearly is in the southern end of the district. He’s rarely seen in Duluth or on the Range. That’s in stark contrast to Nolan and, before him, Reps. Chip Cravaack and Jim Oberstar. Mills has no campaign office here, even though Duluth is the biggest city in the district.
And voters can be forgiven for being suspicious of Mills’ seeming unwillingness to answer questions publicly or to face scrutiny — or even inquiry — in front of constituents in the north or anywhere. Mills turned down numerous invitations this campaign season to debate his opponent or to appear with him on television, on radio or elsewhere. And the one time he did agree to share a stage with Nolan — at the Playhouse in Duluth on Sept. 19 at a candidate forum sponsored by the News Tribune and Duluth Area Chamber of Commerce — he arrived through a back door moments before the debate was to begin and then dashed away soon after it was over.
When the News Tribune editorial board requested a follow-up meeting, Mills said he’d only do so off the record. . . .
Read the rest at the News Tribune.
One example of Mills public shyness? On Thursday, Minnesota Public Radio host Tom Weber and Nolan chatted about Nolan's record, then Nolan took listeners' calls. Readers can listen to the audio online at Mills and Nolan battle it out over Minnesota's 8th District.
In the copy that follows the audio, the MPR staff did provide Mills some time with the website's readers:
Mills declined the invitation. . . .
Below are some key points taken from Nolan's conversation with host Tom Weber. Also below are answers Mills has given in other instances on similar topics.
Check out the answers at MPR.
Photo: Via MPR, Mills (left) and Nolan (right) in their only debate, back in September. Perhaps Mills fears the giant blancmange on stage between them will return and challenge him to a game of tennis. (Hat-tip Chris Steller for recognizing the object for what it is).
If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) 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 sally.jo.sorensen at gmail.com as recipient.
I was puzzled to read Rep. Dave Baker claim on his campaign website, "From the beginning, my goal was to fund our schools and see rural schools receive more equitable funding in comparison to metro schools."
Really? Baker had a funny way of showing it when he voted to send a targeted $500,000 to the ritzy metro Eden Prairie School District for "college readiness." He did this on May 22, 2016, when he voted "yes" for House File 2749. Doesn't Baker think that Kandiyohi County students also deserve some special preparation for college? Why didn't Baker advocate for kids in his own district over Eden Prairie kids, or at least equally? . . .
On the same page, there's commentary by Minnesota Chamber of Commerce President Doug Loon in Table is set for special session. Loon's wife, Jenifer, R-Eden Prairie, chairs the Minnesota House Education Finance committee.
Dave Baker will use his 12 years of experience as a small business owner to be the voice of the state’s largest business advocacy organization when he takes over as chairman of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce Board next year.
Baker, who owns and operates the Oaks at Eagle Creek, the Super 8 Motel in Willmar and Green Lake Cruises with his wife, Mary, was recently named the chairman-elect of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. He will assume the lead role in September.
“I feel so honored and humbled to lead the organization as a volunteer chair,” said Baker, who is beginning his second three-year term on the board of directors. . . .
Perhaps West's question can be answered by a small circle of friends.
Photo: Dave Baker.
If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) 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 sally.jo.sorensen at gmail.com as recipient.
Of course, it asserts the truthiness of the impulse to post a bogus representation. Since their point was to illustrate that stabbings at a mall took place, they should be forgiven for posting the double-duty hoax using a decade-old photo of an inmate stabbed in a brawl in an incarceration facility. Because they fear Muslims, their hearts are pure. You betcha. [end update]
Let's hope that St. Cloud's Ron Branstner and Willmar's Bob Enos take it upon themselves to let their new friends know they've been punked by a fake photo online.
A gruesome photograph from a decade ago does not show injuries sustained by a victim of the September 2016 St. Cloud mall stabbing.
Claim: Photographs show injuries sustained by a victim of the September 2016 St. Cloud stabbing
Rated: False.
Origin: On 17 September, nine people were injured (none of them fatally) in a rampage by a knife-wielding man at the Crossroads Mall in St. Cloud. Minnesota, who was himself shot and killed by an off-duty police officer. Afterwards, some of the photographs displayed above were circulated on social media as pictures of one of the St. Cloud victims.
However, these images are much older than that incident. The photographs of a man with inch-deep slash wounds across his chest and back first reached our inbox March 2006, accompanied by text stating they depicted a United States Air Force (USAF) airman injured in a barroom incident near Kunsan Air Base in South Korea, home of the 8th Fighter Wing, also known as the Wolf Pack:
Kunsan Staff Sergeant Michael Jones, was assaulted in an A-Town bar by unknown assailants. 8th SFS and members of the OSI Detachment 641 B, are investigating. If anyone wishes to donate to the family of SSgt Jones you can call the 8th MXS First Sergeant at 782-4041 or (281) 330-8004.
"A-Town" is a commercial district about three miles from Kunsan Air Base frequented by Americans; "8th SFS" and "8th MXS" designate the 8th Security Forces Squadron (an Air Force police unit) and the 8th Maintenance Squadron, both at Kunsan; and "OSI" refers to a USAF Office of Special Investigations detachment at the air base.
According to the U.S. military newspaper Stars and Stripes, Air Force officials quickly determined that there had been no such attack involving any USAF personnel around Kunsan, nor was anyone with the name included in the e-mail (Staff Sergeant Michael Jones) currently stationed at Kunsan Air Base:
"The name of the person on that hoax e-mail is not anyone that is stationed at Kunsan," [Capt. Richard] Komurek said. "I don't know in the history of Kunsan if that person was ever stationed here, but when that e-mail came out, that person was not stationed here."
Wing officials, including OSI personnel, checked into the report and within a day or so concluded it was fake, Komurek said.
"We had no such attack and we confirmed that the e-mail was a hoax. We notified the chain of command and the Wolf Pack members about the e-mail right away," he said.
The e-mail gave a DSN number and a commercial number with a Houston area code for those wishing "to donate to the family of SSgt Jones." Repeated calls to the DSN number went unanswered and calls to the Texas number produced a recording stating that the number is not in service.
Evidently Air Force investigators didn't get the joke: the name and phone number used in the text were taken from Houston rapper Mike Jones' 2005 CD release on the Asylum label, Who Is Mike Jones?, on which he exhorts listeners to "Hit me up: 281-330-8004, baby."
According to Air Force officials, the photographs are genuine, but they originated in the U.S. and were pictures used by law enforcement authorities for training purposes (that documented the aftermath of a fight between inmates).
Air Force investigators aren't the only ones not to get this extended joke--the frightened people in Aberdeen didn't stop to verify the authenticity of the photos, either. Let's hope they gain at least a tiny bit of enlightenment from Branstner and Enos tomorrow night.
Screenshot: Americans First, Task Force of Aberdeen SD shared this online hoax on its Facebook page.
If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) 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 sally.jo.sorensen at gmail.com as recipient.
Because of the effects on bees and other pollinators, which of the following should the legislature enact to restrict the use of pesticides containing neonicotinoids?
A) Totally ban the use of neonicotinoids for home and agriculture use 50.30% (2572)
B) Ban the use of neonicotinoids at the consumer level (home use and pretreating plants purchased for the home), while still allowing neonicotinoids to be used for agriculture purposes by those who are trained in their use 22.65% (1,158)
C) Maintain the current law requiring the proper labeling of neonicotinoid use on plants, but do not regulate the use of specific insecticides or products 14.73% (753)
D) Undecided/No opinion 12.32% (630)
We're talking the State Fair here, not a dirty hippie convention, so it's astonishing that so many poll takers at the Great Minnesota Get Together are willing to entertain complete or partial bans on neonic use in the North Star State.
Indeed, that slightly over half of those answering the question favor a complete ban of neonics puts the Ag Mafia's whining about Governor Mark's executive order in an entirely different light. Using the findings of a pollinators summit and a subsequent scientific study, the administration came to a more moderate conclusion and policy.
We learned today that the House Ag Policy committee plans an "Informational Hearing" on Tuesday, September 13 on Dayton's executive order. While the committee has posted the order and the Minnesota Department of Agriculture's summary of the study, it hasn't posted the list of those who attended the pollinators summit last February. The list of participants is included at the end of the MDA Pollinators Summit Outcomes report. Representatives from the Minnesota Corn Growers, Farm Bureau and other farm groups were there.
Perhaps this absence will make it easier for the Ag Mafia to whine about not being consulted about the policy making. If some members of the ag community couldn't bother to attend the summit, why are they to be afforded a special place at the table outside of the process? If they did attend, what's the basis of the claim that ag wasn't in the loop?
Or are they simply more equal than the rest of the stakeholders in pollinator policy?
For more information, check out our earlier posts:
Image: A poster about native bees. Bee City posts: "This poster from the Pollinator Partnership is one our best teaching tools. It illustrates some of the 4000 species of native bees in the United States."
If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, 33166 770th Ave, Ortonville, MN 56278) 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 sally.jo.sorensen at gmail.com as recipient.
Look carefully at the sourcing in the Reuters story. It's one lobbyist and activist (Lex Horan of the Pesticide Action Network) versus Ag Industry talking heads. Nothing against the PAN folk, the Soybean Growers organization, or the Farm Bureau, but this sort of frame is journalistic laziness personified:
“Minnesota just became the national leader in protecting pollinators,” said Lex Horan, an organizer for Pesticide Action Network, a US activist group. . . .
Farmers said they hoped other US states would not follow Minnesota’s lead.
Paul Schlegel, director of environment and energy policy for the American Farm Bureau Federation, said the governor was “restricting the ability of farmers to use all the tools the EPA has said they can use”.
“I don’t think that we’re aware of any other state that’s going to start taking away tools from farmers,” Schlegel said.
MPR: the reality behind Plan Bee
Contrast that with the Gunderson and Dunbar piece which adds an important voice to the mix, that of Minnesota's best known pollinator scientist:
The state recommendations come the same day another study from University of Minnesota researchers was published showing the effects neonicotinoid insecticides have on bees.
Marla Spivak, who co-authored the study, calls the state proposal to use insecticides only when needed a common-sense approach.
"That in itself is a huge statement that nobody else in the nation is making," said Spivak. "So it's a big correction, it's drawing a line in the sand and saying no, we're going to use our pesticides in Minnesota responsibly."
The state will set up a 15-member committee to oversee pollinator protection policy and advise the governor.
Entomologist Marla Spivak is passionate about developing practical applications to protect honey bee populations. Spivak’s fundamental contributions have enhanced our understanding of bee biology and been instrumental for finding ways to protect the bees’ decimation by disease. Affiliated with the University of Minnesota since 1993, Marla is a Distinguished McKnight Professor in the Department of Entomology. Spivak’s work toward breeding lines of honey bees that detect and quickly remove diseased larvae has put her on the map. In 2010 she was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship Grant, “the genius grant,” for her work. Other primary contributions by Spivak include her study of the effects of surrounding landscapes on health and nutrition of native bees.
Here's the video about her that the Agrigrowth Council posted on its Youtube channel:
Bluestem appreciates the Minnesota Department of Agriculture for relying on sound science--common sense science--in selecting a respected scientist to prepare its study.
Photos from the MN State Fair: The press conference at the MN State Fair (top); a photo of Dr. Spivak's prepared remarks (below).
If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) 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 sally.jo.sorensen at gmail.com as recipient.
An invitation will be on its way to Gov. Mark Dayton to tour the Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton.
Rep. Tim Miller, R-Prinsburg, is asking the governor to tour the shuttered prison after hearing recent news reports that the governor is opposed to purchasing the facility.
Miller said he is particularly concerned about a statement attributed to the governor in news reports in March. Dayton expressed concerns at the time that the privately owned prison needed rehabilitation.
Bluestem thinks it's encouraging that Representative Miller has noticed that Dayton isn't interested in purchasing the prison and hasn't been since his chief of staff met with CCA lobbyist(s) at their request sometime before the March 23 press conference.
Miller had nearly the whole session to bring up his objections to the governor's office, but waits until now to run to the West Central Tribune with his concerns. You'd think he'd get this work done during the session, but we suppose that's too old school for Miller and the rest of his caucus.
But Miller still told the public that some deal was in the works throughout the summer. After all, back at the beginning of July, the first-term Prinsburg Republican lawmaker was telling Appleton residents that a $99 million offer to sell was on the table.
Miller said the opposition continued to ignore the fact that the corporation had offered the state an option to purchase or lease to own, and that the state would have operated the prison with union employees.
Corrections Corporation of America had offered to lease the facility for $6 million to $8 million a year, and to sell it for $99 million. The lease payments could be used toward the purchase price, according to Miller.
Appleton attorney Brian Wojtalewicz questioned the $99 million purchase price when Corrections Corporation of America is paying property taxes based on a $15 million value. Miller said that's the offer the corporation put on the table. Negotiations between the state and the company are not in the Legislature's hands.
Miller said he is hoping Gov. Dayton will take advantage of either of two upcoming visits to the area to tour the facility. The governor be in the Watson and Montevideo area for the Governor's Pheasant Opener on Oct. 15. The governor is also visiting all 87 counties in coming months.
What other needs that the legislature didn't get around to resolving during the session does the King of Minnesota want to introduce into the governor's calendar?
Dayton's press secretary, Sam Fettig, said Friday that the governor's focus, along with Department of Corrections Commissioner Tom Roy, has been "to resolve our prison overcrowding with existing facilities, but it is a strategy which can be reviewed by the next Legislature."
Dawdling over approving untested blaze pink for deer hunters, fretting about where transgender people pee and other such time-suckers during session has its consequences.
If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) 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 sally.jo.sorensen at gmail.com as recipient.
Are negotiations underway between the owner, Corrections Corporation of America and the State of Minnesota? How much is the closed Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton worth?
The answer to the first question appears to be no, while finding the answer to the second is more complex--and CCA's current price tag may butt against a little-known state law passed in 2014.
UPDATE August 19: About 20 minutes after this post was published, the West Central Tribune published Forum Communications political reporter Don Davis' article, Dayton not interested in Appleton prison purchase. [end update]
Rumors of negotiations
Earlier this summer, Representative Tim Miller, R-Prinsburg, told a town hall meeting in Appleton that CCA lobbyists met with the governor's office and made an offer to lease the Prairie Correctional Facility "for $6 million to $8 million a year, and to sell it for $99 million. The lease payments could be used toward the purchase price, according to Miller," Tom Cherveny reported in the West Central Tribune.
Miller said the opposition continued to ignore the fact that the corporation had offered the state an option to purchase or lease to own, and that the state would have operated the prison with union employees.
Corrections Corporation of America had offered to lease the facility for $6 million to $8 million a year, and to sell it for $99 million. The lease payments could be used toward the purchase price, according to Miller.
Appleton attorney Brian Wojtalewicz questioned the $99 million purchase price when Corrections Corporation of America is paying property taxes based on a $15 million value. Miller said that's the offer the corporation put on the table. Negotiations between the state and the company are not in the Legislature's hands.
While there was opposition to the prison legislation, Miller said there was also some progress. There was sentiment in the Senate in favor of purchasing the facility. And, the governor's office had met with lobbyists for Corrections Corporation of America to discuss the offer, he said.
The article--verified as accurate by two acquaintances who attended the town hall--raised a series of basic questions about the offer. With yesterday's announcement by the federal government that it will be phasing out private prisons, the notion of purchasing the prison was back in the West Central Tribune. Veteran reporter Carolyn Lange writes in Lawmakers speculate price of Appleton prison could drop with federal phase-out of private facilities:
News Thursday that the federal government intends to phase out use of privately owned prisons has renewed questions about the future of the privately owned prison in Appleton.
During the last year Corrections Corporation of America and officials from Appleton and Swift County launched a campaign to persuade the state to lease—or buy—the prison to ease overcrowded state prisons.
That proposal was opposed by Gov. Mark Dayton and a variety of political, religious and community groups who oppose for-profit prisons.
But there's speculation now that the Appleton prison may be available at a bargain price after CCA's stock prices plunged about 35 percent a few hours after the announcement by the Department of Justice.
The action by the federal government will likely put "downward pressure" on the price of the Appleton prison, said Sen. Lyle Koenen, DFL-Clara City.
"That puts us in a good negotiating position," said Rep. Tim Miller, R-Prinsburg.
Oh? In the earlier article, Miller asserted that the legislature had no role in negotiations, so it looks like Miller is indulging his proclivity for wanting to have things any number of ways depending on the audience and situation (more on that with regard to the prison in a bit).
Some basic questions (and answers) about "the offer"
Earlier, Bluestem had attempted to contact the governor's office, two state agencies, the Chief Fiscal Analyst of the Minnesota House Fiscal Analysis Department, a CCA staff lobbyist and contract lobbyists while consulting other sources in an attempt to learn more about the offer mentioned in the first article (and reported again in Thursday's article).
Our questions were basic in reporting terms, looking for the when of the meeting with the governor's office, the who of those attending the meeting, the how this offer was calculated and how it was conveyed (written or oral) and the like.
While the CCA lobbyists did not answer emails or voice messages, the Department of Corrections and the Department of Administration (which manages government property) both were unaware that an offer was on the table.
The office of senator Ron Latz, who convened the prison population task force, was not aware of the offer.
According to administration Press Secretary and Senior Communications Advisor Matt Swenson, Dayton's chief of staff Jamie Tincher met with a CCA lobbyist (or lobbyists) at their request. While Swenson offered few details about the meeting, it concurs with Minnesota Public Radio's Brian Bakst reporting in Dayton sounds off on prison, PolyMet, MNsure and more:
Reopening a western Minnesota prison. In no uncertain terms, the governor said he would veto a bill with traction in the House to reopen a private prison in western Minnesota under some level of state control.
“I’m told they want $100 million to buy it. Then we have to rehab it and operate it. Hugely expensive. And I certainly don’t support this private corporation being authorized or leasing the facility to them or paying to have them to come back and do it with all the problems they brought before,” Dayton said.
According to Swenson, Dayton's knowledge of the $100 million price tag comes from this single meeting with Tincher.
While advocates for reopening the prison took this press conference statement as a hopeful sign, a review of the press conference footage (unavailable online, as it was removed with other press conference footage that was found to be non-compliant with the state's Americans with Disabilities Act [ADA] policy) reveals that Bakst's account is accurate--and Dayton doesn't seem particularly happy with the added expenses that would follow a hypothetical purchase.
We also contacted nonpartisan House staffer Bill Marx,the Chief Fiscal Analyst of the Minnesota House Fiscal Analysis Department , who responded in two emails. Bluestem received the first on July 15:
The bill that had a hearing in the House and was moved to the Ways and Means Committee (HF 3223) directed the state to rent the Appleton facility. So the fiscal note on that bill did not address the value of the facility. The fiscal note is attached - there may be items of interest.
Here's the fiscal note for HF 3223, which only addressed the cost of leasing and operating the Prairie Correctional Facility:
Then the House Public Safety portion of the Supplemental Appropriations bill that went to the Supplemental Budget bill conference committee. contained language (copied below) that directed the commissioner of corrections to negotiate a contract to purchase or lease to own the facility. That language did not become law. I am not aware of any estimate that we had for the cost of purchasing the facility. Our fiscal analyst who works with Public Safety issues is not in the office today. . . .
The second email from was received on July 21:
I have talked with several more legislative staff about the value of the Appleton prison.
The taxable market value is $14 million, as you stated.
Our fiscal analyst who works with Public Safety issues says he heard a $90 million number at one time but has seen no documentation of that and only heard the number once. He says he is aware of no discussion of what the state might pay if the state purchased the facility.
If the prison were operating the taxable value might be considerable higher than $14 million. Do you have any way of getting county tax information from a time when the prison was operating?
When reviewed in tandem with the Department of Corrections and the Administrative Services being unaware of any offer, it appears that no active negotiations are underway, however pro-prison folks might spin it.
How much is that prison in the window?
A review of available sources about the value of the prison while it was operating suggests that $99 million or $100 million may be a steep price for the facility. According to bipartisan legislation passed in 2014 and signed by the governor, no state agency (with the exceptions of the DNR, MNDOT and BWSR), the University of Minnesota and MnSCU may pay not over ten percent of the appraised value of real property. Assessed, appraised and "carrying value" are not equivalent terms.
The highest assessed value that we were able to find in news reports is based on Swift County tax information that was challenged by CCA. In 2009, the Morris Sun Tribune reported in Appeal likely on valuation of Appleton prison:
A $20 million difference of opinion in the market value of a privately owned prison in Appleton could end up in court.
The Swift County assessor set the 2009 value of the property at $42.9 million.
A representative of the Corrections Corporation of America told the Swift County Board of Appeal and Equalization on Tuesday the property should be valued at $23.7 million.
The board, which is comprised of the members of the regular Board of Commissioners, denied a request to lower the property values. . . .
Unlike residential property values that are set each year, Swift County and the prison have agreed to go through the complicated process every three years to establish a three-year schedule for the valuations.
During the last round in 2006, the prison filed an appeal in court and then the two sides negotiated an agreement, said Giese. The county spent about $5,000 in legal fees.
The commissioners are hoping a similar smooth scenario takes place this time.
In 2003, a different approach was used. At that time, each entity hired appraisers and attorneys and negotiated an agreement without court intervention.
Ironically, that method cost the county about $125,000 in legal fees.
Giese said it's actually easier to negotiate an agreement once an appeal has been filed in court, than doing it outside the boundaries of the court. Also, he said, when an agreement is negotiated during a court appeal, the settlement is binding.
In 2006 the property value of the prison was set at $24 million. In 2007 it was $28 million and in 2008 it was set at $32 million.
Although prison populations are decreasing and the prison is currently at 55 percent capacity, during the last three years it's been at about 98 percent capacity, said Giese. That historical data was used to determine the 2009 rate.
In short, when the prison was operating at near-capacity, it was assessed at $42.9 million, though CCA thought it was worth quite a bit less. An anti-privatization website created by the Private Corrections Working Group, includes subsequent news coverage in its Minnesota Hall of Shame page (we have broken the copy into block paragraphs to make it more readable, but have not changed the content)
June 21, 2012 West Central Tribune
The market value of the privately owned Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton — its prison beds empty for nearly 2½ years — has been reduced by $7.5 million to a new value of $14 million.The reduction was approved Tuesday night by the Swift County Board of Equalization.
But even that large reduction may not be enough to prevent the prison’s owner, Corrections Corporation of America, from seeking even greater tax relief by means of an appeal to the state. “They left, we hope, content enough not to appeal to the state board of equalization,” said Swift County Auditor Byron Giese. Assistant County Assessor Wayne Knutson had said the prison property should be valued at $22.5 million.
The Corrections Corporation of America said it should be valued at $10 million.[bold added] The Swift County Board of Equalization members agreed that the value of the empty prison should be reduced and members compromised with a market value of $14 million. It’s not known if Corrections Corporation of America will accept that $14 million valuation or if it will stage another appeal.
The $14 million valuation is a far cry from the $42.9 million the county assessor valued the property at in 2010. That rate was also later reduced during a court appeal and binding negotiation — a process in which the county and Corrections Corporation of America has engaged ever since the 1,600-bed prison opened in 2001. “They have appealed every single time,” said Giese.
March 17, 2010 West Central Tribune
A tentative three-year tax agreement reached with the Corrections Corporation of America will mean lost revenues for Swift County, especially in 2011. Property taxes will likely increase to make up for a decrease in revenue that the Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton had generated in the past, said Swift County Auditor Byron Giese.
The prison, which closed in February, had appealed its $42.9 million valuation last fall, triggering a series of negotiation sessions. Following a closed meeting Tuesday, the Swift County Board of Commissioners approved a three-year deal that assumes the prison will remain empty in 2011 and hopeful that it will reopen in 2012, said Giese.
The first part of the agreement includes a reduction in the 2009 valuation from $42.9 million to $32 million for the 2010 payable taxes. That translates into a loss of $50,000 in tax revenue to the county this year, which Giese said will have to come out of the county budget. “It’s something we have to deal with. It’s not insurmountable,” he said.
Harder hit is the city of Appleton that will see $250,000 less in revenue. The Lac qui Parle Valley School District will have a decrease of $40,000 because of the lowered valuation of the prison, and the state will get $60,000 less Giese, said. The 2010 valuation, for taxes payable in 2011, will be lowered to $17.5 million.
The financial impact on tax revenues for the local entities hadn’t been calculated with that low valuation. “Everyone will have to live with it and move forward,” Giese said. He said property taxes may have to increase 3 to 4 percent on each parcel to make up for the lost prison revenue: “Local taxpayers will pay more.”
In the final phase of the three-year plan, the 2011 valuation for taxes payable in 2012 would increase to $21.5 million. “We’re anticipating that, hopefully, it’ll be open again,” said Giese, explaining why the valuation is scheduled to increase at that time. Corrections Corporation of America, which has other empty prisons in the system, has assured the county that reopening the Appleton prison is their number one priority.
“It’s not good for any of us to have this thing closed,” Giese said. The board did express concern, however, that if the prison opens its doors again in a few months with the lower valuation that the county “could look like we have egg on our face,” said Giese. “But it would be a good thing to have it back open.”
The tax plan was approved on a 4-1 vote, with Chairman Richard Hanson casting the lone no vote. Commissioners Gary Hendrickx, Joe Fox, Doug Anderson and Pete Peterson voted for the plan, which still must get final approval from Corrections Corporation of America and the courts.
Another concern with the closed prison is the effect it will have on the 2010 Census. Ten years ago the facility had 1,400 prisoners that counted toward the county’s population. The population of a community is a factor in obtaining such things as federal aid. Giese said if the prison opens and the population increases in the future, the county could appeal the census count.
The one bright spot financially for the county is that a $200,000 annual tax abatement that was part of the prison’s economic development incentive has expired after 10 years, said Giese.
The carrying cost of the prison in CCA's most recent annual report (2015) is $17,961,000 (F-20). Carrying value reflects the purchase price of property.
Why buy or lease?
Those who oppose re-opening the prison by and large look to sentencing and probation reform, as well as expansion of alternative programs like the Challenge Incarceration Program (CIP) to reduce Minnesota's prison population.
Those who seek to re-open the prison see incarceration as an economic development tool (jobs, jobs, jobs) as well as serving a need. Sometimes the narrative of Swift County as the bottom of the pack for unemployment got a bit counterfactual, as in Tom Cherveny's article, Economic tipping point triggers campaign for Appleton state prison:
With assistance from the Upper Minnesota Valley Regional Development Commission, the city of Appleton assembled these numbers a few years ago looking at the economic impact of the prison and its closing:
365 the number of jobs the prison once provided the regional economy
86 the number of lost jobs experienced directly in Appleton.
$13,760,000 The dollar value multiplier of what the loss of jobs meant annually in economic activity for the community.
$500,000 The amount of property taxes the facility pays to the city of Appleton. The taxes would be lost were the state to purchase the facility.
$800,000 The approximate total property taxes paid by the facility including the city, county and school district.
$50,000 The monthly utility bill the facility paid the city of Appleton when it was operating at full capacity.
$300,000 The amount of local government aid the city of Appleton lost annually when the prison closed. Inmates had been counted as part of the city's population in calculating LGA.
90 The number of students the local schools lost when the prison closed.
$586,620 The estimated loss in pupil aid that resulted with the loss of students.
"The Governor's Office is not leading on this issue, especially considering a commissioner has said that we have an overcrowded prison crisis. Months ago he proposed spending $140 million for new prison beds and that proposal was taken off the table after the Appleton prison was found to be a viable option. It's time for Governor Dayton to finally address this crisis by supporting the re-opening of the Prairie Correctional Facility and providing hundreds of good-paying union jobs to unemployed Swift County residents."
However, faced with other audiences, Miller changed his tune, championing criminal justice reform over jobs in his district, while seeming quite sincere about it. At a forum about sentencing reforms and the Appleton prison that was held by Miller's colleague Rep. Raymond Dehn, DFL-Minneapolis, the Prinsburg Republican said:
I totally hear what you’re saying about prison population reform, basically people who don’t belong in prison, and I agree. If someone doesn’t belong in prison, and not by my definition, but if people don’t belong in prison, I don’t want that to happen. If that means reducing the number and that means Appleton doesn’t open, then I’m 100% for it.
Here's the video clip of the moment, courtesy of The Uptake:
Funny how we don't hear that sort of talk out here in the district from Miller, but perhaps truth is a Foursquare app for the freshman legislator.
He does seem to stretched it a bit about those negotiations when talking to his constituents, so maybe his work with the Barn theater came in handy in North Minneapolis.
Photo: Tim Miller (left) tells participants in a North Minneapolis town hall that if the prison population can be reduced, he's 100 percent against reopening the private prison in Appleton, while Jeff Backer, R-Browns Valley, looks on. Screenshot via The Uptake (above); the private prison in Appleton (below).
If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) 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 sally.jo.sorensen at gmail.com as recipient.
The videos never explicitly say "Vote for" Barb, Dave or Jim (or Roz, Randy and Chad), so these online ads aren't considered independent expenditures spent to get Dave, Jim, Roz and Chad re-elected or sweep Barb and Randy into office.
Right-o!
"Issue advocacy": "Join Dave Baker" so doesn't imply you should vote for him!
BATC’s Housing First Network recently launched the next phase of its issue advocacy campaign, Think Local. Following up on our issue advocacy campaign to thank housing champion leaders, Think Local promotes local prioritization of homes, which we know create and tie communities together. Much of the news and public conversation looks at national and international issues. While these are very important, the HF Network is asking the public to think about the benefits a strong housing market provides for our local communities.
The local leaders featured in the Think Local campaign are local elected officials and candidates for elected office that have demonstrated support for strong communities and a strong housing market. Election years are times for public discussion and consideration of priorities. As an issue advocacy campaign, Think Local encourages everyone to consider the local impacts of housing, and to support keeping homes affordable for Minnesota families.
How local is the copy in these digital ads? So far, we've found two boilerplates, one that's 30 seconds, and the second that's 15 seconds or so:
Representative [Name] is a leader who thinks local. In the [Town Name] area, our community is made up of families, schools, and businesses all tied together by our homes and neighborhoods. Like the many growing families in our neighborhoods, [Name] raised [his/her] family in our community. [He/She] knows that the best way to build the american [sic] dream is by creating better communities to live in. Join [Name] in thinking local, learn more at HousingFirstNetwork.org.
Join [Name]. Live. Build. Learn. Work. Play. Think Local. Learn more at HousingFirstNetwork.org
You just can't think any more local than that. They're not place-baiting, we can say that for them.
Nonpartisan spending like you've never seen it before!
Update August 19: the Builders Association of the Twin Cities has announced its endorsements in a blog post, BATC’s Housing First PAC Endorses Legislative Candidates on August 19, three days after this post was first published on August 16. Three of the endorsees are suburban DFLers: 7th term Brooklyn Park Mike Nelson, first-term Edina senator Melisa Franzen, and Lakeville DFL senate candidate Matt Little, running in the open seat created by the retirement of state senator Dave Thompson. We'll look to see if any Local Think shows up online for the DFLers. A search of Youtube didn't yield any BATC/Housing First videos for these candidates. [end update]
In 2014, the Roseville-based political fund spent $547,611.87 in independent expenditures, all for Republican House candidates Jeff Backer, 12A (win); Heidi Gunderson, 42B (loss); Randy Jessup, 42A (loss); Jim Knoblach, 14B (win); Roz Peterson, 56B (win); Jason Rarick, 11B (win); Ryan Rutzick, 44B (loss); Kirk Stensrud, 48A (loss); Stacey Stout, 43A (loss); Tama Theis, 14A; Andrea Todd-Harlin, 51B; and Jennifer Wilson, 51B.
The only negative independent expenditures paid for attacks on Governor Mark Dayton's re-election bid. That worked out well.
While the political fund touts itself as "nonpartisan," we detect a pattern here.
The BATC provided $364,524.99 of the $453,367.29 of cash and in-kind services that the fund took in for the year. It started 2014 with $275,947.97 in the bank.
Though not a partisan entity, Housing First prioritized flipping the House to a pro-housing majority as its top objective for the 2014 election cycle, a goal proudly achieved. Housing First vetted candidates and spent countless hours over the past six months managing a campaign that would propel pro-housing and pro-business candidates into office. We now plan to work carefully with these candidates and friends who were elected to build a pro-housing caucus at the Capitol.
Here’s a breakdown of the winning 11 seats:
House District 2A: Dave Hancock (52.36 percent) defeated DFL Rep. Roger Erickson (47.49 percent)
House District 10A: Joshua Heintzeman (53.37 percent) defeated DFL Rep. John Ward (46.54 percent)
House District 10B: Dale Lueck (51.97 percent) defeated DFL Rep. Joe Radinovich (47.89 percent)
House District 11B: Jason Rarick* (53.68 percent) defeated DFL Rep. Tim Faust (46.15 percent)
House District 12A: Jeff Backer* (51.87 percent) defeated DFL Rep. Jay McNamar (47.94 percent)
House District 14B: Jim Knoblach* (50.15 percent) defeated DFL Rep. Zachary Dorholt (49.54 percent)
House District 17A: Tim Miller (55.37 percent) defeated DFL Rep. Andrew Falk (44.46 percent)
House District 17B: DFL Rep. Mary Sawatzky (49.27 percent) v. Dave Baker (50.66 percent)
House District 24B: Brian Daniels (50.87 percent) defeated DFL Rep. Patti Fritz (49 percent)
House District 27A: Peggy Bennett (53.04 percent) defeated DFL Rep. Shannon Savick (39.93 percent)
House District 56B: DFL Rep. Will Morgan (45.83 percent) v. Roz Peterson* (53.99 percent)
What's fascinating here is the contrast between the five flipped districts where Housing First spent money in 2014 and the seven districts where Housing First Republican candidates failed in a GOP year.
In the 2014 CFB report, there's also the thrilling local spend on video and ad place at Larry John Wright Advertising in Mesa, AZ, though it warmed our cold prairie hearts to see Weber Johnson getting its fair share of the fund's bucks. It's good to keep some of these dollars in the state.
If you've seen one Housing First Video, you've seen them all
Here are two Think Local videos for your enjoyment. The b-roll images change, along with the names of the Republicans and the towns, but one has to admire the metro builders' ability to stay on message:
We can only hope that the pleasant looking couple figures out which Minnesota House District they can vote in November's general election. They can "join" Dave or Barb, but not both.
Photos: screengrabs from Barb and Dave's videos.
If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) 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 sally.jo.sorensen at gmail.com as recipient.
We've frequently written about one of the conspiracy theories that's a staple in the diet of fear on the right in parts of Minnesota: Agenda 21, and we're not the only one in Minnesota to call whatever on this malarky. Over four years ago, John Gilmore wrote in the Minnesota Conservatives post, Agenda 21: Because There's More Room For Crazy:
Thought hemp, raw milk and ending the Fed was the sum of craziness currently infiltrating the Republican Party of Minnesota? Think again. Agenda 21 is the next big thing in making a political party entirely irrelevant in Minnesota. . . .
Members of the Morrison County Board of Commissioners said they’re satisfied with the comprehensive plan for the county. Still, some members of the public are less than thrilled. . . .
One issue present at both the planning meeting and the Planning Commission’s public hearing July 25, was local versuss regional control and more specifically, Agenda 21.
Agenda 21 is a UN created plan for sustainable living local governments can choose to follow. Critics say the plan can be used to take away property rights.
“The reason we are concerned about this wording is how it has been used in other parts of the country,” Greg Smith said.
Smith and others were looking for the county to add protective language into the plan saying it would not follow outside mandates on issues like open/green spaces. These are areas that can’t be developed and are used for things like parks or community gardens..
Commissioner Kevin Maurer proposed an added piece to the plan addressing local control.
“The county comprehensive plan is not intended to or meant to be a means by which local control is given to any other entity. It is a plan meant to encourage and support local control,” Maurer said at the July 25 public hearing.
His statement was added to the draft the commissioners looked at Tuesday. The commissioners said they were OK with the plan, but residents Richard and Shirley Japp were not.
“There is still not anything in the plan about Agenda 21,” Richard said.
Maurer asked whether or not it would hurt the county to add language specifically saying the county doesn’t accept the directives of Agenda 21 and other regional plans. . . .
Alrighty then. How prescient was the Minnesota legislature to authorize comprehensive planning years before the conference in Rio? Bwwaahhhaaaa....
If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) 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 sally.jo.sorensen at gmail.com as recipient.
While that sign at least hangs on some historical fact about Bill Clinton's philandering, the administrator of the Clearwater County Republican Party's Facebook page has posted something that's completely unhinged: the Photoshopped image of Democratic presidential candidate shaking hands with Osama bin Laden.
Contest Directions: Senator Hillary Clinton officially declared her bid for presidency 2008. Making her announcement Hillary said "I'm in". This is the phrase she rarely heard from Bill in their bedroom. In this contest you are asked to photoshop anything connected to Senator Hillary Clinton running for president of United States. Examples may be photoshopping magazine covers, campaign photos, or future presidency achievements.
The musician first lived in the United States as a student in 1988 and now lives in the Washington DC area, according to the bio on his website.
Additional hilarity? The fact that while Alexander Davis's photo has enjoyed 35,389 shares as we post this, despite the far fewer comments by a handful of members of the Friends Who Like Donald J. Trump group who spar with Davis about how the photo is a fake. He tries to defend posting it by saying it's "a statement" but not without insulting Angie Ortiz, the woman who challenged him:
Alexander DavisYou're an idiot this is a statement okay I suggest you don't look at none of my stuff that I put up so go away go vote for Hillary you Moslem ugly face woman.
Bonus bogus hilarity! Tim Miller bamboozled by Babylon Bee!
But the Clearwater County Republicans aren't only ones having trouble discerning truth from satire. As the screenshot above illustrates, our own state representative, Tim Miller, R-Prinsburg, was outraged by a post from Adam Ford's Christian News satire site, the Babylon Bee.
Several of Representative Miller's Facebook friends helped him out with that one, and the post is no longer visible to the general public. As we are not Facebook friends with the freshman Republican, we cannot say through personal experience whether he has deleted or edited his post.
Screengrabs: Clearwater County Republicans post of photoshopped image (top); the original photo of Clinton and Indian musician Shubhashish Mukherjee (middle); Tim Miller publicly bamboozled by the Babylon Bee (bottom).
If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) 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 sally.jo.sorensen at gmail.com as recipient.
The North American High Speed Rail Group double-plus promises everyone that it's going to be completely, one-hundred-percent totally amazeballs privately built and operated.
But the explanation from its mighty strategic communications director, Social Wendy Meadley, on why the corporation needed an extension on its two non-metro work permits for MNDOT right-of-ways suggest that this private passenger rail project isn't going anywhere without public assistance.
Earlier this month, the rail group requested the Minnesota Department of Transportation extend the deadline for two work permits set to expire at the end of the month. MnDOT granted the request, setting a new deadline of Dec. 1 for the permits. . . .
Initially, the company had hoped to complete its preliminary study of the line by the end of the month and present a summary report to MnDOT. But Meadley said the rail group needs more time to meet with key stakeholders before making a final decision whether to push ahead with the project. One reason for the delay was discussions about a possible special legislative session this summer, which made it tough to talk with key officials.
"There were stakeholder meetings that we needed to have that were basically delayed because of the potential special session," she said.
Minnesotans may have noticed that the entire business of government has shut down while those details about a special session are worked out. No? Bluestem missed that part too.
There's the other question about "stakeholder meetings" of course: if the train is private, why are "key officials" and the agencies and bodies they represent "stakeholders" at all?
Moreover, the sentence "North American High Speed Rail Group is seeking to build the first privately financed high-speed rail line in the United States" seems to exist in a Shangri-la for scheming grifters. Although it's meeting resistance, Texas Central, a private 240-mile line between Dallas and Houston, hopes to begin construction in 2017. Unlike the North American High Speed Rail Group, Texas Central has announced its foreign partner, Japanese train operator JR Central.
Image: Marge Simpson stops by the office in "Marge vs. the Monorail." Perhaps this is the potential partner Wendy Meadley is courting.
If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) 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 sally.jo.sorensen at gmail.com as recipient.
Bluestem Prairie grows increasing impressed by the ability of many in Minnesota's conservative movement to discard facts when convenient. We especially admire this rhetorical quality in Tea Party adherent, George Zimmerman fan boy, and Superior Mayor Hagen apologist Jim Gerdes of Sturgeon Lake, Minnesota.
I am taking issue with the News Tribune’s need to tell people who to vote for via endorsement editorials. In this country, in a pure sense, people are supposed to sort out the facts and make their own decision.
Getting a biased slant from a liberal newspaper that leans socialist is not giving voters the truth, but only what’s interpreted through the eyes of some editorial board. Stay out of it. The newspaper is there to give an unbiased account of the facts, not someone’s interpretation of the facts.
Do you ever wonder why newspapers are dwindling in subscriptions? I have decided that whenever a newspaper such as the News Tribune or Minneapolis Star Tribune recommends a candidate I will vote the other way. I can make up my own decision, thank you.
The only reason I can fathom for newspapers making endorsements is that they must believe the voting public is ignorant and needs to be told what to do. Of course, that is the Democratic Party’s belief as well.
Given his antipathy to the Duluth News Tribune (and the Star Tribune, for that matter) over perceptions of liberal bias--and his loathing of the Democratic Party--we're wondering how that decision to vote the opposite way of the New Tribune's endorsements.
It must have been tough, but we're completely certain that Gerdes is a man of his word and voted for Nolan, Dayton (and Al Franken) rather than be told who to vote for by that socialist-leaning fishwrap.
That freedom might have lessened the soul-sickness of voting for Democrats in the Eighth's congressional district. If Gerdes is a man of his--and we have no reason to doubt his word-- he would have voted for the late Jim Oberstar in 2010, after the News Tribune endorsed challenger Chip Cravaack, especially since as MinnPost media critic David Brauer reported, Duluth editor: Fargo didn't dictate our Cravaack endorsement.
If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) 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 sally.jo.sorensen at gmail.com as recipient.
From the looks of the letters to the editor flowing into the local papers in House District 12A, Backer backers just can't help themselves when it comes to place-baiting.
Backer backers are the supporters of Minnesota state representative Jeff Backer, R-Browns Valley, who won the seat in the 2014 Republican wave, defeating Elbow Lake's Jay McNamar by a mere 660 votes.
Consider the latest missive, Wolverton excavator William Nichol's Watch what Jay does, not what he says. While Nichol hits the usual 'phobe notes about marriage equality and the dignity of transgender people ("forcing girls and boys to shower together"), he accuses McNamar of favoring metro areas in the distribution of Local Government Aid (LGA):
. . . Secondly, in 2013, Local Government Aid was increased by $80 million. However, half of the new money went to the metro areas. Jay voted for this unfair distribution of funding. . . .
How is it that Jay didn’t actually vote for what he claimed he stood for on the campaign trail? Simple answer – he really is metro at heart. How can he claim to care about rural values but not defend them in office? Weakness. Or he takes us for chumps! Or both. . . .
Let's turn to the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities to understand why LGA isn't simply a thing for "us" in Greater Minnesota but not for "the metro areas." In fact, the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities put out a fact sheet about the "Top LGA Myths."
Note that the working group that crafter the 2013 formula reform includes Greater Minnesota Republicans, not just some secret cabal of metro power brokers. We bold the names of rural Republicans on the list, while placing the names of Greater Minnesota Democrats in italics:
The 2013 LGA formula reform was developed by a working group including legislators and all city groups. The bill containing the LGA formula (HF 1608/ SF 1491) had broad bipartisan support. Authors included Reps. Lien; Davnie, Lenczewski, Simonson, Faust, Mahoney, Davids, Carlson, C. Johnson, Hamilton, Torkelson, Kiel, Nelson, McNamar, Hansen, Marquart,Fabian, Loeffler, Bly, and Bernardy.
We didn't include Simonson as a Greater Minnesota representative, since Duluth is a "first class city." Note that the majority of the working group, regardless of party, represent Greater Minnesota.
It's clear from the support for the LGA reform from the greater Minnesota cities themselves--and the statewide, bipartisan working group that crafted it--that the aim was to do best for all Minnesota. Even Backer praised the compromise while campaigning in October 2014, according to the Wahpeton and Breckenridge Daily News, though he said the increased spending was "not enough."
But for Backer backers, LGA is just another opportunity to placebait, pitting Minnesotans against Minnesotans. Enough.
Photo: Jeff Backer, R-Browns Valley.
If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) 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 sally.jo.sorensen at gmail.com as recipient.
In his most recent column in the Fergus Falls Daily Journal, Politicians at fault for attacks on police, Otter Tail County Republican activist Bill Schulz sees a motive in Governor Mark Dayton's observation that had Philando Castile been white, he might still be alive.
What is the Governor really after? Slave labor camps for those who don't agree with him.
“A day after a St. Anthony police officer shot and killed 32-year-old Philando Castile, a black man, on July 6, Dayton said, ‘Would this have happened if those passengers, the driver and the passengers, were white? I don’t think it would have.’”
Those who follow politics are probably not surprised that our Gov. Dayton would use such caustic language about police. Dayton is merely copying the tactics of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and other liberal and progressive activists. It is a common tactic in the left to impose their will upon a population by causing friction between disparate groups, to fan the flames of dissension and hostility, and step back while the groups destroy or enfeeble each other. Once the ranks of the people are thinned or subjugated, send the most recalcitrant members to the slave labor camps, and put the reminder to hard physical work — those who are exhausted from long days of labor are unlikely to cause any difficulties for the ruling elite. It worked for Stalin and Mao Zedong, didn’t it?
That's more than hyperbole. It's pure nincompoopery--the stuff of conspiracy theorists who image FEMA concentration camps under every rock while chemtrails poison the citizenry.
Moreover, Schulz is under the delusion that members of law enforcement are the only ones who will be prosecuted in lethal confrontations:
Many street thugs feel that they have been given the green light by Obama and the likes of Dayton and other radical government leaders nationwide to attack police, to loot and burn. The message is clear that only police will be prosecuted in lethal confrontations. . . .
Perhaps he missed Hennepin County Mike Freeman's press conference clearing the officers involved in the shooting of Jamar Clark, and the fact that law enforcement officers are rarely indicted following lethal confrontations.
When officers are killed in the line of duty, those responsible are routinely prosecuted--if they're not taken down in the act, as were the men who murdered police in Dallas and Baton Rouge. He's technically correct in saying the shooters in those cases weren't prosecuted, but we fail to see the point of putting their corpses on trial. They've gotten what they deserved for doing the indefensible.
As for officers being prosecuted, data on officer-involved shootings is difficult to identify. In April 2015, the Washington Post reported in Thousands Dead, Few Prosecuted:
Among the thousands of fatal shootings at the hands of police since 2005, only 54 officers have been charged, a Post analysis found. Most were cleared or acquitted in the cases that have been resolved.
According to the Wall Street Journal, 2015 saw the highest number of police officers being charged for deadly, on-duty shootings in a decade: 12 as of September 2015. Still, in a year when approximately 1,200 people were killed by police, zero officers were convicted of murder or manslaughter, painting the picture that officers involved in killing another person will not be held accountable for their actions.
In 2016, several officers have gone to trial but none of them received jail time. . . .
At the conservative libertarian site Reason, John Stossel points out some issues with the "War on Cops" frame:
But Black Lives protesters also have a point: Some cops are sadistic, racist bullies.
Not many are, but with 765,000 police officers in America, if just 1 percent were racist, that would still leave 7,650 bullies with guns. For years, when officers said, "I had to use force; I had to shoot," Americans usually believed them. Now videos show that, in many cases, officers lied.
In addition, DNA evidence reveals that cops and prosecutors have locked up lots of innocent people—disproportionately poor people and blacks.
So there are good reasons for blacks to be angry.
The "war on cops" narrative is overblown, too. "War" means killing. The attack on officers in Dallas was despicable, but, even including those five deaths, it is still safer to be a cop today than in years past. According to FBI records, 2015 was one of the safest years ever recorded.
Crime is down, too. The media mislead us by dwelling on increases in cities like Chicago, but overall, crime continues to drop.
We agree with Governor Dayton's observation about the shooting of Philando Castile, though we can understand the reaction on the part of law enforcement to his words. Schulz's column--with its attribution of motives to Dayton of seeking to create chaos in order to send resisters to slave camps--is pure paranoia.
Americans certainly have the right to think, speak, and write all sorts of crazy things--so Schulz has the right to include utter malarky in his column. But as we learned most recently from the actions of murderer Gavin Long, who entertained the ideas of the "sovereign citizen" movement, those rights don't extend to actions that harm other citizens, including law enforcement.
Given the outlandishness of Schulz's fearmongering, it's hard not to look for a motive in heightening alarm about the Governor's observation. Perhaps it's found in an earlier column, Donald Trump a symptom of a larger problem.
Despite the headline, the columnist is a Trump supporter, so perhaps stoking fears of a Governor Gulag and Clinton Camps is simply a rhetorical strategy to get his fellow elected. Fancy that.
Photo: Governor Mark Dayton thanks a member of the Patriot Guard at Deputy Steven Sandberg's funeral. Doesn't look like a plan for slave labor camps. Photo via MPR.
If you appreciate our posts and original analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) 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 sally.jo.sorensen at gmail.com as recipient.
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.
Recent Comments