A statement by Theresia Gillie, a farmer from Hallock who's the president-elect of the Minnesota Soybean Growers Association, during a question and answer period for a Minnesota AgExpo panel on ag mergers made us pause with wonder while reading about it in Mikkel Pates' Ag-At-Large blog:
In a question-and-answer period, Gillie asked the company executives to consider the consumer when naming their pesticide products. She said the “tough” sounding terminology (examples, Roundup, Warrior) for herbicides are understood by farmers who must be pursuaded [sic] to purchase them.
Gillie said the “consumer doesn’t always understand.” She said maybe it’s silly, but perhaps the products should be named so the public knows they are good things — “a warm, fuzzy thing that is going to be good for you, good for your family and give it that kind of perception.”
“It’s a hard road to cross, but we do have to figure out that the rest of the economy and the rest of the consumers are listening in on our conversation,” she says. It may sound “silly,” she told them, but half-joked that products should be named like “puppy dogs.”
Because it's not the super-weeds, cancer fears or such that causes consumers to worry about of Round-up. And it's not concern about insecticides like Warrior affecting pollinators that makes consumers nervous (soybean aphids in Brown, Redwood and Renville counties, on the other hand, have grown tolerant of pyrethroid insecticides).
. . . the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a Lyon, France-based branch of the U.N. World Health Organization, classified the chemical as a “probable human carcinogen.”
Shortly afterward, the most populated U.S. state took its first step in 2015 to require the warning labels.
St. Louis-based Monsanto contends that California is delegating its authority to an unelected foreign body with no accountability to U.S. or state officials in violation of the California Constitution.
Attorneys for California consider the International Agency for Research on Cancer the “gold standard” for identifying carcinogens, and they rely on its findings along with several states, the federal government and other countries, court papers say.
Nope, consumers are stupid and frightened by anything other than cat memes and baby names, and that's the source of the problem. Let's brand Round-up with the name "Snowball," call pyrethroids "Slipperpaws" and label neonics "Fluffy," and consumers with flock back to the fruits of production agriculture with due speed.
Gillie made her suggestion to panel members John Smith, vice president for Bayer CropScience LP; Scott Partridge, vice president of global strategy for Monsanto; and Phil Kunkel, an agribusiness lawyer, according to Pates' post, Ag Woman Leader: Ag Mergers Good; Product Names Need Work.
These gentlemen think the Monsanto-Bayer merger is great and deep thinker Gillie agreed. We're holding out for Brawndo. It has what plants crave.
Photo: Snowball, the herbicide formerly known as Round-up (main ingredient, glyphosate).
JANUARY FUNDRAISING DRIVE
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.
Let you Legislators know Minnesota should not have a Real ID Driver's Licience. When did we need "papers" to travel to another State in the Union? We cannot allow the Feds to control our Citizen's ability to travel from one place to another. Plus - You cannot be denied your rights to fly by TSA if you don't have this special license. This is nothing but an effort of the Feds to grab more control over a State controled function. What is next? A special Fed License to purchase Groceries? Remember - Obamacare stopped you from buying Insurance across State Lines.
Minnesotans — and many of the lawmakers who represent them — generally want the state to make its driver’s licenses valid for airplane travel and other federal purposes before next year.
Minnesota is one of just three states that have not changed their licenses to comply with the federal requirements and have never received an extension to do so, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The other two are Missouri and Washington. Four other states have expiring extensions to comply.
The Department of Homeland Security last year said that by January 2018, it would require Real ID-compliant licenses from all states. States granted extensions to change their licenses would have until 2020.
Heckova slippery slope toward making the feds the grocery cops.
Photo: Is Rep. Dennis Smith, center, really trying to get the feds to license that adorable shopping cart? Or just trying to get Minnesotans on a plane? (If we recall correctly, the dual-track license solution was part of Representative Rick Hansen's proposal last January,but why solve a problem when an entire caucus can dither for another year). Image via Press and News.
JANUARY FUNDRAISING DRIVE
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.
The Republican State Leadership Committee gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to the MN Jobs Coalition in 2014 to flip control of the Minnesota House from Democratic to Republican hands--and vowed in July 2015 to do the same thing for the state senate in 2016.
It's time to take a look at the Q2 report, due July 15, to look for clues on how that's going. Here are the itemized contributions from Minnesota:
This giving from Minnesota contributors supplements that we reported in June:
What's in it for Minnesota? On page 9, the "Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus" gave $100 in January, while page 11 lists a $100 contribution by the same in February. (Since the CFB server is down, we can't check to see if this is from the Senate Victory Fund ). [Update: this expenditure not listed in the SVF's Q1 and Q2 reports].
Where in Minnesota was the RSLC spending in the second quarter (April though June)? Here's a pdf of the items--bills for conference calls and direct marketing paid to Republican fundraising and marketing firm, FLS Connect.
If the Republican State Leadership Committee intends to give to the Minnesota Jobs Coalition, its political fund or other political committees and IE funds to flip the Minnesota Senate and retain the House, apparently that spending will come in the third and fourth quarters. The Q3 filing (for getting and spending in July, August and September) is due on October 15.
Other bonbons in the report
The biggest contributor to the RSLC is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce And Related Entities/Institute for Legal Reform, which had given $2,450,235 as of June 30, 2016.
Our dear friends at the Corrections Corporation of America gave a mere $30,000 for the year, which might cost them as the federal government withdraws from the private prison bed rental market. That shuttered prison in Appleton, Minnesota, probably will lose value as the market is suddenly flooded with empty hoosegows. It's a good thing that Dayton and the senate Democrats rejected Tim Miller's notion of buying the joint for $99 million. Already we see in CNBC in that Prison stocks plunge after report Justice Department will end use of private prisons.
Other big contributors come from the noisy set of drug companies, railroads, energy interests and payday lenders the martyrs call the world. Here's the entire 103-page Form 8872 filing, where our readers can perform Adam's curse, doing the work of reading for themselves.
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.
Little did representative Tony Cornish's colleagues and House staff know that this year, when they savored the delicious Rapidan Dam Store pies that the Vernon Center Republican shares on his birthday, they were participating in a campaign event.
Bluestem suspects that this tasty tradition is best listed as a non-campaign expense that reflects the cost of serving in the legislature. While Cornish didn't use campaign committee funds to buy those amazing, out-of-this-world pies in 2015, he did spend $240 for pies as a non-campaign expenditurein 2014 (page 10, year-end report).
That was the first and only other time the pie expense for his birthday pie was paid by campaign coffers.
While it's not clear from the House rules whether members can use the House floor for campaigning, the rule is clear for staff members. They can't use House equipment or working hours for campaigning. Let's hope no one employed by the House cut the pie, served it or cleaned up after the birthday treats--or if they did, the Cornish campaign amends its report, shifting this expense into the non-campaign expenditure category.
Here's a photo of House members and staff enjoying those pies in a past year:
Bluestem encourages readers to try the pie (and buy it with their own funds) at the Dam Store next time they're down south of Mankato, at the Rapidan Dam on the Blue Earth River.
Photos: Various pieces of the pie. Cornish in 2013 or 2014 (top); the dam store expense (middle); colleagues and staff having a little pie (bottom).
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 tax changes will cost the state $32 million in future taxes. Repealing the automatic cigarette tax hike will cost $26 million in taxes over next three years. Lawmakers also cut $6.2 million in taxes on e-cigarettes.
The tax breaks were passed on Sunday by Democrats and Republicans alike on the last day of the chaotic 2016 legislative session, buried in a tax bill containing hundreds of other items.
Even the Democratic Gov. Dayton says it was a surprise.
“I don’t know where it came from, I don’t know who was behind it, but it is just very, very distressing,” Dayton said.
Republican leaders who support the change say it is bad public policy to automatically raise anyone’s taxes, and they strongly deny the cigarette tax change is a tax break at all.
“We didn’t reduce the tax or give a tax cut or a tax break to anyone,” said Rep. Kurt Daudt, the GOP house speaker. “We simply removed the inflator that would automatically increase the tax over time. It’s horrible policy.”
Kessler reports that anti-smoking groups favor the inflator:
We know that keeping tobacco prices [high] is good public policy because it keeps kids from a lifetime of addiction and death and disease from smoking,” [ Anne Mason, public affairs manager for ClearWay Minnesota] said.
Higher taxes or more ailing and dying Minnesotans? Which is the horrible policy?
No surprise: the Drazkowski and Melin debate on HF700
Although many are acting as if the notion of repealing the automatic cigarette tax hike is something aliens might have dropped from a flying ashtray before jumping in hyperspace on their way to Planet Smokefilledroom, Bluestem recalls that Greg Davids' HF700 was heard in the House Tax Committee on February 18, 2015.
Drazkowski was one of Davids' coauthors, along with Moorhead Democrat Ben Lien. The Senate companion bill was authored by Lyle Koenen, DFL-Clara City, with David Senjem, R-Rochester, as his more or less conservative wingman.
Other than those peculiar coincidences, Bluestem has no idea where this idea came from, who brought it to the table, and who pushed for it in conference. These things are a mystery that passeth all understanding.
The C-Store Lobbyist
Steve Rush has never given to any candidate; rather, he's given $7,890.52 over the years to the HRCC (House Republican Campaign Committee which elects House Republicans), MN Retailers Impact, and the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce Leadership Committee.
From 2004 through December 31, 2015, the MN Retailers Impact has given $89,775.00 to other PACS, political party committees and candidates. For same period, the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce Leadership Committee gave $829,094.34.
The Tobacco Lobby
Tomorrow, we'll have more about lobbying by tobacco and other interests in Part 2
If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie's 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 below:
While Life Site News and the Minnesota Child Protection League have the fantods about the "political correctness" of Minnesota's advertising industry, perhaps they should be worrying about just being correct with their own twitter social media campaing.
Bluestem dropped in to see what was up with the plan to have a truck wrapped with a fear-mongering, anti-transgender graphic visit every Target store in Minnesota when we captured the exchange above. We didn't recall the Steele County Target being a "SuperTarget" branded with the signage on the store above.
"Hannah West," an account that might have been created simply for this single tweet, was on to something. We contacted the Owatonna store and learned that indeed, it's just a regular Target and there's no "Super Target" signage on the building's exterior.
A simple slip-up? Logo fluidity? Media incompetence? All of the above?
The Child Protection League, a group that opposes LGBTQ rights, rented a truck with LifeSiteNews, a propaganda website for ultra-traditionalist Catholic theology, after Minnesota billboard companies refused to sell the duo an anti-transgender billboard for their Flush Target campaign.
Claire Chretien, national spokeswoman for LifeSiteNews’ #FlushTarget campaign, told the news outlet she works for — LifeSiteNews — that Minnesota ad agencies declined to do business with the two groups. “We had to resort to using a billboard truck to get our message out after every billboard company in Minnesota turned down our advertisement,” Chretien added. “It would seem ‘political correctness’ has now trumped ‘free speech’ even in the advertising industry.”
The Flush Target campaign takes aim at Target’s recent announcement that it does not discriminate against transgender and gender non-conforming customers and employees. The MNCPL and LifeSiteNews appears to be attempting to capitalize off of the American Family Association’s boycott of Target.
The religious right duo have also enlisted the help of veteran culture warrior Andy Parrish. A former staffer for former Rep. Michele Bachmann, he also served as campaign manager for the unsuccessful attempt to ban marriage equality in Minnesota. Parrish ran press for the Flush Target truck unveiling at the Minnesota Capitol on Monday.
Is it any wonder why the Minnesota House Republicans have taken up bills with language allowing blaze pink to be worn by deer hunters (something for the ladies) and bathroom bans? Let us recommend a good road map/GPS and less gender identity panic.
Screengrab: Flush Target not at the Owatonna Target.
If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie's original reporting and analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or use the paypal button below:
The North American High Speed Rail Group may never have operated any train more serious than a Lionel model, but they certain can make their talking points move fast.
. . .The privately held firm based in Bloomington says it has backing from undisclosed U.S. and Chinese investors and expects to raise $4.2 billion for the project. Once it receives a permit from MnDOT early next year, the North American High-Speed Rail group will have 120 days to complete its pre-development study.
"Right now, it's all still just an idea on paper and the group needs to study the project's viability and cost before moving forward," Meadley said. "It's not that we're trying to do things behind the scenes. We don't have any rights yet. So, there really isn't anything secret going on. We're trying to figure out how, we haven't even really started the process."
The proposals are entirely independent of each other but state and other officials are interested in having a private developer complete the project at no expense to the public, said MnDOT Chief of Staff Eric Davis. If the private proposal moves forward, it will have to do its own environmental review and public outreach, he added.
Data practice requests show plenty behind the scenes, including the North American High Speed Rail Group's attempt to to figure out how to avoid legal ramifications of sharing Tier 1 ZipRail data without cost to the private investor--or violating the terms of the federal grants that funded it.
Emails and other documents obtained by a data practice request and forwarded to Bluestem Prairie flesh out the desire of the North American High Speed Rail Group to receive the benefit of that earlier spending, as well as the expertise of the consulting engineer paid by Olmsted County.
The discussion in March of how to "transition" work product from a publicly-funded project into private hands are visible particularly in three places. First, there's this broad outline of tactics to get around legal restrictions on private use of publicly funded work product:
And then, in the next three pages of documents from the data practices material, there additional discussion, including consideration of how to fend off concerns about the project on the part of Representative Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, who had been contacted by constituents alarmed by the prospective of a high-speed train speeding across their counties (and no stops for them).
We particularly draw readers attention to this language:
:At this time, North American High Speed Rail Group (NAHSR), a Minnesota company is requesting the transfer of all rights and responsibilities related to the completion of the Tier 1 EIS feasibility study, the service development and business plan components. Additionally, if relevant and within the county’s rights and responsibilities, the right to go ahead with development upon successful completion of the appropriate federal, regional and state level authorizations and approvals including the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
"In order to successfully transition this important economic development project for Minnesota and the Southeastern region of Minnesota including: Olmsted, Goodhue, Dakota, Ramsey and Hennepin (the affected counties along the proposed corridor), the North American High Speed Rail Group requests the project management collaboration and continuity of the current Project Manager, Chuck Michael through 2015. This also allows for the significant relationships and knowledge created and cultivated at the city, county and regional levels to continue to be leveraged to the success of the project."
It's obvious that the rail group was asking for work product and project management that was paid by public dollars. Here are the three pages from which the text is drawn:
Kudoes to the Dayton administration for not signing off on this "transition."
Air right-of-way to ordinary 120-day permit
Also likely to make a cat laugh? This passage in the MPR report:
Once it receives a permit from MnDOT early next year, the North American High-Speed Rail group will have 120 days to complete its pre-development study.
It's like suddenly deciding to leave the EB-5 visa money on the side of the trail, claiming that the process was too complicated--after setting up an EB-5 visa regional center and securing approval of it from the Department of Homeland Security. In August, Watchdog.org Minnesota's Tom Steward reported in New EB-5 visa center to help finance proposed high-speed rail line that between 10 and 20 percent of the funding for the project would come from the EB-5 visa investors:
A developer seeking billions for a proposed high-speed rail line between Rochester and the Twin Cities has federal approval to launch Liberty Minnesota Regional Center, an EB-5 immigrant investment center.
North American High Speed Rail group has been quietly negotiating with the Minnesota Department of Transportation to conduct a feasibility study and for exclusive rights to build an elevated line along the 84 mile Highway 52 corridor.
The Minnesota-based group plans to raise much of the estimated $4.2 billion — in private capital from foreign individuals and governments, including China — to finance the rail project. The EB-5 program provides permanent green cards to foreign investors who invest $500,000 to $1 million in businesses or economic development projects that create or preserve at least 10 jobs for U.S. workers.
EB-5 “immigrant investors” could comprise 10 percent to 20 percent of the financial backing for the controversial private rail proposal, which has stirred opposition among skeptical residents and communities along the route.
“EB-5 has never been ruled out as a potential source for this project. We are just preparing with a much larger part of our capital stack with private investment and supplementing as needed and where appropriate with EB -5,” Joe Sperber, NAHSR CEO and Liberty Minnesota owner, said in an email.
The Watchdog.org article noted that the only project on the Liberty Minnesota website was for the EdCampus in Chaska.
Whatever the twists and turns of the private rail group's public statements--and behind-the-scenes actions might have been, the resistance in Southeastern Minnesota is foreshadowed in one of Meadley's statements to the Rochester Post Bulletin in the March 17 article, A private builder for Zip Rail?:
Meadley said her group doesn't plan to spend time trying to convince communities to back their proposal. Rather, she said the conversation could be focused on the project's potential to transform the region and ideas for what could be done as part of it.
She added, "We're going to demonstrate that it's economically viable."
April 1, committees must act favorably on bills in the house of origin;
April 8, committees must act favorably on bills, or companion bills, that met the first deadline in the other house; and
April 21, the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee must act favorably on major appropriation and finance bills.
By law, legislators must adjourn this session by May 23.
If you don't have a lobbyist hired to chat up a bill you favor, that tight schedule suggests that you'd better start contacting your legislators long before the session if you want anything from the legislature.
Image: In April 2016, the deadline for bills to have legs will come sooner than we think. It's likely that time will simply swallow many of them. Where do those unheard bills go?
If you appreciate Bluestem's posts, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or use the paypal button below:
In Friday's Rochester Post Bulletin, Andrew Setterholm reported on one Olmsted County Board meeting agenda item in County closing rail grant early.
Read on its own, the article seems fairly straight forward, but read in the context of the two sets of documents embedded in our post, Meeting minutes and email reveal Olmsted County's consulting HSR engineer can't count, the piece underscores concerns citizens have had about public spending being diverted to a project that claims it will be privately funded.
Olmsted County's investment in investigating a high-speed rail project is winding down. The county's Board of Commissioners on Thursday approved up to $175,000 in expenditures to the project for 2015, but anticipated little spending in 2016.
The county had been working with the Minnesota Department of Transportation under a $2 million grant to study the financial and environmental effects of a high-speed rail line, or Zip Rail, between Rochester and the Twin Cities; the county's share of the grant was about $300,000, said Richard Devlin, county administrator, at a Thursday county board meeting. . . .
The county has made an annual transfer of funds to the Olmsted County Regional Rail Authority, between $80,000 and $100,000 each year since 2010, Devlin told the Post-Bulletin. The rail authority, made up of county board members, could have instated a tax levy but instead chose to annually transfer funds from the county's contingency account.
paid to the rail authority in the last year have gone mostly to the studies surrounding the high-speed rail project — including a Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement — and to pay its primary consultant on the project, Chuck Michael, Devlin said.
MnDOT officials in October said the department would consider suspending work on the project at the conclusion of the environmental study, in order to allow a private group to pursue the project without public support.
The North American High Speed Rail Group, a private company, has estimated the project to cost upward of $4 billion and has been seeking foreign investors.
North American High Speed Rail Group did not return a Post-Bulletin request to comment on whether the group would attempt to take on state grant funding to continue the project-related studies.
Emails and other documents obtained by a data practice request and forwarded to Bluestem Prairie flesh out the desire of the North American High Speed Rail Group to receive the benefit of that earlier spending, as well as the expertise of the consulting engineer paid by Olmsted County.
The discussion in March of how to "transition" work product from a publicly-funded project into private hands are visible particularly in three places. First, there's this broad outline of tactics to get around legal restrictions on private use of publicly funded work product:
And then, in the next three pages of documents from the data practices material, there additional discussion, including consideration of how to fend off concerns about the project on the part of Representative Steve Drazkowski, R-Mazeppa, who had been contacted by constituents alarmed by the prospective of a high-speed train speeding across their counties (and no stops for them).
We particularly draw readers attention to this language:
At this time, North American High Speed Rail Group (NAHSR), a Minnesota company is requesting the transfer of all rights and responsibilities related to the completion of the Tier 1 EIS feasibility study, the service development and business plan components. Additionally, if relevant and within the county’s rights and responsibilities, the right to go ahead with development upon successful completion of the appropriate federal, regional and state level authorizations and approvals including the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
In order to successfully transition this important economic development project for Minnesota and the Southeastern region of Minnesota including: Olmsted, Goodhue, Dakota, Ramsey and Hennepin (the affected counties along the proposed corridor), the North American High Speed Rail Group requests the project management collaboration and continuity of the current Project Manager, Chuck Michael through 2015. This also allows for the significant relationships and knowledge created and cultivated at the city, county and regional levels to continue to be leveraged to the success of the project.
It's obvious that the rail group was asking for work product and project management that was paid by public dollars. Here are the three pages from which the text is drawn:
One final piece: the insistence by the NAHSRG's strategic director--most notably at a meeting she attended--claiming that the new private project was "very different" and that the "rail group's proposal will need its own impact statement if it proceeds" rather than the ongoing Tier 1 EIS.
The Dayton administration and MNDOT have yet to sign off on the ceding of the p, or "transition," of ZipRail project documents into private hands. As rural Minnesotans, we're startled by the request for a free soft technology transfer, since while publicly-funded research is frequently transferred into private hands, those on the receiving end pay for the privilege.
Not this crowd.
A totally different project?
Even after the
Despite the desire for the transfer of government-funded studies from the ZipRail project to the private bullet train, NAHSRG strategic director Wendy Meadley would insist that the projects are "totally different," as in this tweet to Rochester Post Bulletin reporter Josh Moniz:
@Josh_Moniz@PB_News Hey Josh- let's get clear- I don't work on Zip Rail - I work for NAHSR- totally different- pls correct :) #hsr
Moreover, in August, Meadley represented the project as "early on — we haven't even started to study" to concerned citizens gathered in Pine Island. Moniz reported in Irreconcilable: Anti-rail group redoubles efforts:
She [Wendy Meadley] argued the group's proposal is very different than the Zip Rail proposal that has been pushed by the state for years. She said the rail group wants to fund it privately and that it's still a Minnesota company.
"We're doing something new that has never been done before in America," Meadley said.
While the project is in the preliminary stages, the rail group wants the exclusive rights [to build in the corridor] so it can determine if the project is economically viable, she said.
"This is early on — we haven't even started to study," Meadley said. "We're not trying to hide anything from people." . . .
The original Zip Rail proposal is undergoing a Tier 1 Environmental Impact Statement process. The rail group's proposal will need its own impact statement if it proceeds. . . .
And yet, behind the scenes, the emails and documents in the data practices request materials suggest that the group had asked to transfer work and expertise generated by federal government grants and state and county funds to its own hands.
Images: The Snowpiercer (above); Wendy Meadley in Pine Island in August (below), photo by Andrew Link of the Post Bulletin.
If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie's original reporting and analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or use the paypal button below:
And if one visits the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development's EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program page, you'll find links to three regional centers:
The organizers of a regional center seeking the “Regional Center” designation from USCIS can find more detailed information on the process and requirements at the USCIS website. The following Regional Centers have been approved or have approval pending by the USCIS to facilitate investment in Minnesota (Disclaimer: The listing of these organizations does not imply endorsement):
Here's a screenshot from the page, with our pointer on the final link, that of the EB-5 visa center connected with the high-speed rail project:
As readers can see, highlighting the link caused the URL for the Liberty Minnesota Regional Center to float in the lower left hand corner of the screen. Click on link from the Minnesota DEED page, and here's what you see at the top of your screen:
In short, the page isn't looking any better than it did in November. The snazzy coat rack was a nice touch.
Bluestem Prairie hopes that Minnesota DEED contacts the Liberty Minnesota Regional Center folks for an updated link and site--presuming one exists--because this sort of link to nowhere really doesn't build confidence in anybody's ability to raise money and construct an elevated 84-mile high-speed-rail line, with or without public funding.
Image: The Snowpiercer. It's fast, it's furious--and it's fiction, if you know what we mean.
If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie's original reporting and analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or use the paypal button below:
A developer seeking billions for a proposed high-speed rail line between Rochester and the Twin Cities has federal approval to launch Liberty Minnesota Regional Center, an EB-5 immigrant investment center.
North American High Speed Rail group has been quietly negotiating with the Minnesota Department of Transportation to conduct a feasibility study and for exclusive rights to build an elevated line along the 84 mile Highway 52 corridor.
The Minnesota-based group plans to raise much of the estimated $4.2 billion — in private capital from foreign individuals and governments, including China — to finance the rail project. The EB-5 program provides permanent green cards to foreign investors who invest $500,000 to $1 million in businesses or economic development projects that create or preserve at least 10 jobs for U.S. workers.
We learned of the suspended site from tip emailed by a reader:
I went to the MN Dept. of Employment & Economic Development (DEED) website and found three (3) EB-5 regional centers that either have been approved or have approval pending at the USCIS website.
Bluestem checked that statement out and located EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, the page on DEED's website where the information is posted:
The Immigrant Investor Pilot Program was created by Section 610 of Public Law 102-395 (Oct. 6, 1992), and has been extended. EB-5 requirements for an investor under the Pilot Program are essentially the same as in the standard EB-5 investor program, except the Pilot Program provides for investments that are affiliated with an economic unit known as a “Regional Center.”
Investments made through regional centers can take advantage of a more expansive concept of job creation including both “indirect” and “direct” jobs. A Regional Center is defined as any economic entity, public or private, which is involved with the promotion of economic growth, improved regional productivity, job creation and increased domestic capital investment.
The organizers of a regional center seeking the “Regional Center” designation from USCIS can find more detailed information on the process and requirements at the USCIS website. The following Regional Centers have been approved or have approval pending by the USCIS to facilitate investment in Minnesota (Disclaimer: The listing of these organizations does not imply endorsement):
When we click on the link, we had the same experience as the source. Here's a screenshot of what she sent us:
What does this mean? We're uncertain. Domain Tools yielded this information (in part) for the URL:
When we google Empyrean West, we find a website for another EB-5 service, Empyrean West. According to its website's About Us page:
We established Empyrean West to answer the demand for commercial project financing in the US. Empyrean West is working with multiple EB-5 projects, establishing our first tri-state Liberty West Regional Center encompassing Southern California, Arizona, and Southern Nevada. We have also launched other Regional Centers across the U.S., details of these centers can be found at (www.LibertyRegionalCenters.com).
What does this mean? That the site is suspended while it's under construction? There are other possibilities (such as non-payment) but we just don't know.
Image: A friend suggested that this snowpiercing high-speed train might be a great illustration for the hypothetical NAHSRG shortline between the Twin Cities and Rochester. Just teasing, we hope.
We're conducting our November fundraising drive. If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie's original reporting and analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or use the paypal button below:
Lockridge Grindal Nauen (LGN) announced a major addition to its government relations team today, as Ann Lenczewski plans to join the firm. A highly-regarded leader in Minnesota politics for more than twenty years, Ms. Lenczewski will assist LGN clients on a broad range of issues, including tax policy, local government matters, and political strategy. . . .
A power player at Minnesota's Capitol is resigning her House seat to take a job at a lobbying firm, where she'll keep a focus on tax and local government policy.
Democratic Rep. Ann Lenczewski of Bloomington says she'll leave next month and join the Lockridge, Grindal, Nauen firm. Her decision will result in a special election for a suburban seat she held for nine terms. . . .
. . . Once she resigns from the Legislature, likely in early December, Lenczewski will join the government relations team at LGN, where the company says she’ll “assist LGN clients on a broad range of issues, including tax policy, local government matters, and political strategy.”
“Ann’s unique expertise in tax policy and its interaction across state, county, and municipal governments — together with her unparalleled political savvy — will significantly enhance our practice,” said Rebecca Klett, an LGN partner who runs their state government relations team, in a statement.
Lenczewski said she started looking around for other options, including government work and joining a nonprofit, but decided lobbying work would offer the best fit for her “skillset” acquired over 16 years in the Legislature.
“I like the work in the Capitol,” she said. “I like being there.”
The Minnesota House has a rule requiring members to wait one year after leaving office before becoming lobbyists, but it’s unenforceable and routinely ignored. Lenczewski will herself ignore it, saying she plans on registering as a lobbyist soon after starting at LGN. . . .
So whom might these clients be to gain from her on-the-job training in St. Paul?
The Lockridge, Grindal, Nauen firm's website page for Government Relations notes that it provides these services:
Services
Local governments, associations, Indian tribes, and businesses of every size must be prepared to quickly and positively influence the legislative process at both the state and federal levels. The Lockridge Grindal Nauen team helps our clients:
respond to public policy changes that affect them every day;
identify opportunities for action at the Capitols in St. Paul and Washington, D.C.;
organize, educate and mobilize stakeholders at the grassroots;
communicate clearly and persuasively; and,
achieve long-term success.
Lobbying
It is our goal to strategically assist our clients with state policy leaders. We work with our clients to formulate a thoughtful and effective strategy to implement their legislative and administrative agenda while responding quickly and effectively to lawmakers and decision-makers’ questions and concerns to maximize their influence on public policy.
We work closely with our clients to develop a strategic action plan that anticipates and avoids real and potential problem. We manage oral and written communications with key agencies, legislators, and stakeholders to best position you at the State Capitol. Additionally, we compile and analyze the political landscape relevant to your objectives to ensure the plan we develop together utilizes the necessary relationships and political strategy to accomplish your goals.
The Bloomington representative will balance recent hire from the right side Peter Glessing, who until recently served as Deputy Director of Public Affairs at the Minnesota House Republican Caucus. It's all in the game-yo, and we'll leave readers to do the rest of the matchups.
We eagerly await her own registration--and client list--with the board.
Photo: The lost hamlet of Ethics, Minnesota, rumored to be somewhere between Echo and Embarrass. If you find it, let us know.
We're conducting our November fundraising drive. If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie's original reporting and analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or use the paypal button below:
We hear quite a bit these days about "The War on Christmas," in which some take offense that Starbucks created a red cup for Yuletide cheer, or that retail clerks aren't allowed to say, "Merry Christmas," but commanded to say the more politically correct (but hypothetically equally cheerful) "Happy Holidays."
A distressed friend has forwarded us the following invitation to the Minnesota House Republican Campaign Committee (HRCC) Annual Holiday Celebration. While there's more seasonal emblems like snowflakes and very generic ornaments, Speaker Kurt Daudt, Majority Leader Joyce Peppin and Members of the House Republican Caucus have invited potential contributors to a party without mention of Christmas.
Sponsors at the "Gold" level can score three dinner tickets and four reception tickets for $5000; Silver level sponsors receive two dinner tickets and four reception tickets for $2,500; and Bronze sponsors get a dinner singleton and four reception tickets for $1,500. A ticket to the reception alone is $300. Perhaps a child born in a manger to an unwed (but betrothed) young mother was simply priced out of the market for access to Republican lawmakers.
Let's hope they're at the very least saying the Pledge of Allegiance for those prices.
We're conducting our November fundraising drive. If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie's original reporting and analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or use the paypal button below:
While Minnesota opponents of the EPA's Clean Power Plan moan about potential increases in the price of energy (while never uttering the phrase "climate change"), some of them were not the least reluctant to support legislation that will raise electrical rates for residential consumers in favor of energy-intensive industries.
Residential customers of Minnesota Power would pay more for electricity each month to help taconite plants and paper mills survive an onslaught of global competition under a plan to be filed today with the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.
The rate re-jiggering, authorized by the 2015 Minnesota Legislature, would see the average Minnesota Power customer's household electric bill go up 14.5 percent, or about $11.45 per month.
An average homeowner, who uses about 750 kilowatts of electricity, would see their monthly Minnesota Power bill go from about $79 per month to $90.45.
Other customers — most businesses, government agencies, schools, etc. — would see their rates go up by a flat fee of $11.45 per meter, per month, an increase of between 1 and 4 percent. . . .
It's not a done deal, and even the sponsor of the legislation is having second thoughts:
Investor-owned Minnesota Power has a clear stake in the future of mining in the region. Mining companies alone account for more than 47 percent of Minnesota Power's revenue. Add in paper mills, and heavy industry accounts for nearly 60 percent of the utility's customer load, far different from most utilities, such as Minneapolis-based Xcel, which are tilted toward residential customers.
That makes it critical for Minnesota Power's financial health to retain its largest customers. If one or more of those large customers close permanently, Minnesota Power probably would file a rate proposal that would cause homeowner rates to go up much higher, Mullen noted.
But state Rep. Tom Anzelc, DFL-Balsam Township, who sponsored the legislation calling for the rate shift, said he's now having second thoughts. Anzelc said he's not sure the time is right for such a major shift in pricing for electricity.
"What they (Minnesota Power) are proposing to the PUC is not what they are going to get. It's too much" for homeowners, Anzelc said.
During the spring legislative session "it seemed like the right policy. But the timing now is not good," Anzelc said. "I have to see what people think. The PUC is going to have to decide if $11.45 is too much for people on fixed incomes; whether it's worth it for a 5 percent cut for taconite plants. I'm not sure right now."
Buddy Robinson, director of the Minnesota Citizens Federation, Northeast, said the formula used to make the claim that industry has been subsidizing homeowner rates is flawed.
"This isn't the first time the taconite industry has tried to do this and we've challenged it every time," Robinson said. "There are ways to figure the true cost (of electricity) that show there is in fact no subsidy going on." . . .
Here's the Minnesota Power press release. Note that qualified low-income customers won't have their rates increased. We have to wonder why--if those who claim to worry about the cost of the Clean Power Plan to the poor--aren't willing to give them a break on the rates to soften the blow to help save the planet.
Or does that only work when helping out industries that can't compete against cut-throat global capitalism?
We're conducting our November fundraising drive. If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie's original reporting and analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or use the paypal button below:
For once, Minnesota's cultural inferiority complex, obsessed with listicles and defensive of apples and the beauty of remote counties, will likely take comfort in mediocrity. But an article in Monday's Mesabi Daily News underscores the problem.
City officials are looking beyond their two major lobbyists in St. Paul — DFL state Rep. Jason Metsa and Sen. David Tomassoni — for more help to secure bonding money for the Miners Memorial Building renovation.
The Finance Committee last week approved a recommendation that Jerich & Associates of the Twin Cities be hired to lobby for the city, with the Miners project its major focus for the upcoming 2 1/2-month legislative session.
The City Council on Tuesday will consider that recommendation, which calls for Jerich & Associates to receive $36,000 for one year from Nov. 1, 2015-Oct. 31, 2016.
It’s very likely to be OK’d as the mayor and councilors gave it the favorable recommendation last week.
The Miners project is estimated to cost $12 million, with $4 million needed for the first stage.
Mike Jerich said Jerich & Associates will work year-round on Miners, along with other projects. . . .
But Jerich said the lobbying group will work year-round when there is no session to have fundraisers, strategic planning, and meetings with legislators on issues. Jerich said that would be important work to lay a foundation to secure funding for projects.
Lobbyists can't give campaign contributions during the session, but fortunately for those hoping to raise interest in their clients' bonding projects and policy changes via fundraisers have a somewhat bigger window to slither through, since the legislature gets a late start in March this coming year.
Bluestem chronicled one of those fundraisers in which the Jerichs were involved--for a pair of DFL state senators in With construction putting lobbyists in a pinch, senator offers to take bite out of their anxiety. Reader may remember that the senator in the headline is Scott Newman, who kindly thought ahead and asked lobbyists for their contributions up front. That would certainly spare the expense of throwing a party for him.
It's worth a side note to observe that the Jerich lobbying firm--one client for one project in the House and Senate district--will be paid more to pursue the bonding than the base pay ($31,000 and change) for either the elected House or Senate "lobbyist."
Ron Jerich is a jocular character, exceedingly charismatic and quick with a joke. But beneath the grandfatherly veneer, according to those who've dealt with him, is a hustler with savoir-faire, money, and connections to burn. In that sense, Jerich is a throwback to a different era. He personifies the influence-peddling backdoor dealer who roamed Capitol halls before a 1993 gift ban put a damper on their activities. . . .
Jerich's far-reaching clout is best illustrated by a 2002 scandal that he helped resolve. At the time, American Bankers Insurance Group was facing a $10 million fine for selling unlicensed insurance policies to about 200,000 Minnesotans. Looking to avoid what was then the state's largest-ever civilian penalty, American Bankers sought to implement a "political strategy," according to sworn testimony. Jerich recommended they get friendly with ranking officials, a political strategy that entailed getting rid of James Bernstein, commerce commissioner under then-Gov. Jesse Ventura. To that end, American Bankers cut a $10,000 check to the Tim Pawlenty for Governor campaign, which was illegal.
"It speaks to Jerich's reputation as a money man, a guy who'd take you over to the Blue Horse and pay for your martini and lunch," says a state investigator familiar with the case. "But since you can't do that anymore, Ron likes to pass the money around through committees and to his friends.
Jerich didn't return messages requesting an interview and was never accused of any legal wrongdoing associated with the case. Officers at American Bankers agreed to settle for $2 million.
"Pawlenty gave them a sweetheart settlement," says the investigator, "It was much, much less than anybody thought."
When Sen. David Tomassoni accepted a position with a local association of public schools in January, some of his colleagues questioned whether the move was appropriate.
The association lobbies on behalf of northern Minnesota schools located in the same district that Tomassoni represents at the legislature. But the Democratic senator denied that his $6,500 monthly salary posed a conflict of interest, saying he would not accept payment while the legislature was in session.
Some lawmakers didn’t agree. But the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board, which is responsible for monitoring conflicts of interest, did. It determined that Tomassoni’s new position did not pose a conflict in and of itself, but that the senator should monitor issues as they arose to determine whether a given situation presented one.
The case revealed the overall weakness in how the legislature handles conflicts of interest, said David Schultz, a political science professor at Hamline University in St. Paul. Minnesota has no restrictions for outgoing public officials seeking private sector work, and 60 former lawmakers have taken lobbying positions since 2002, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
We believe that the Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board does a very good job policing existing laws, especially when issues are brought to the staff's attention. However, the board doesn't write the laws it's charged to enforce (a point the report makes).
Coolican's article notes how minority leaders in the Minnesota Senate and House seized on the new report for partisan advantage. The Mesabi Daily News article illustrates why ordinary citizens might conclude that the process is rigged against policy changes and projects they desire--unless they have a little walking around money to grease the skids.
The fact that this is all legal is no comfort; rather, it's an invitation to cynicism and disengagement among the middle-aged--and if we're lucky, a signal flare for youth to organize and demand good government.
Photo: Ethics, Minnesota, a lost town somewhere down the road from Echo.
We're launching our November fundraising drive today. If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie's original reporting and analysis, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or use the paypal button below:
Lobbyists can look forward to coping with continuing construction-related complications in their day-to-day work when the Minnesota Legislature convenes next year.
. . . Mankato booked its Day on the Hill for the Senate’s new building, scheduled to open early next year, according to Vic Thorstenson, project manager. He said the new building boasts “lots more” public seating and open areas than the Capitol, with pleasant locations for Day-on-the-Hill events. “It will be very accommodating,” he said. “People can congregate in large areas and disperse to canvass very quickly.”
Perhaps the Government Relations professionals can find a friend and pit stop at Senator Scott Newman's office, even in he doesn't move into the new building. He seems pretty sympathetic to them in this letter soliciting campaign contributions from lobbyists:
MGRC has about 500 members. If you'd like to reach our membership with a job opening, event or other campaign information, you can purchase a set of mailing labels from our office. The cost is $75 for current MGRC members and $150 for nonmembers.
Or perhaps a hapless volunteer simply cut and pasted the mailing list out of the directory.
Pay to play suspicions in Newman's past
As we said, we're not so sure how common this sort of letter is, but if we were a senator who'd been involved in an pay-to-play ethics investigation, we'd probably avoid sending out a letter like this one.
Readers may recall that back in 2011, Bluestem Prairie broke the story Email to MNA: Sen. Scott Newman won't meet with groups that endorsed Hal Kimball. An email from Senator Newman's then-legislative assistant asserted that since the Minnesota Nurses Association had "donated to/supported" Kimball in 2010, that her boss wouldn't meet with MNA members who lived in his district.
It's our understanding that the more ordinary conduit for lobbyists is for the government relations professionals to throw the lawmakers a party (commonly known as a "fundraiser"), invite your friends, then charge admission at the door. Here's a recent event sponsored by members of what's genteelly known around St. Paul as the "Ag Mafia," with Majority Leader Bakk doing a turn as the guest star.
While this party was for the benefit of Koenen and Senator Kent Eken, DFL-Twin Valley, we're told this bunch is throwing a lot of parties for DFL senators, including those in the metro. Good cheer will be exchanged by all, in addition to the checks, and perhaps the Jerichs finally will be able to convince those metro-centric types that we small folk in rural areas should have our right taken away to confront large feedlots in court over the nuisances they create.
Money talks and bullsh--manure is only the smell of money. Here's the way fundraising from lobbyists is usually done:
Photo: We're still looking for this place in Minnesota. It's a big state. Note: Bluestem moved its world headquarters from Hutchinson (Newman's district) to sunny Maynard (Koenen's district) in 2013. We can truly say we've enjoyed the best of both worlds.
If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or use the paypal button below:
The latter piece contains language from an unnamed Republican legislator that makes us wonderful who's the designated majority caucus potty mouth:
State Rep. Kurt Daudt (R-Crown) was salty during the early springtime in 2014.
Democrats in the Minnesota Legislature, Daudt carped, were squandering $90 million in taxpayer cash for a new four-story Senate Office Building.
“Here we are," said Daudt. "Democrats in St. Paul are about to spend between $60 and $90 million of taxpayers’ hard-earned money to build themselves an office building. This looks horrible.”
But about the same time Daudt was railing about waste, he was working behind the scenes to secure a posh redecoration of his own digs as part of the Capitol's massive renovation, according to a GOP legislator, who spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to run afoul of Daudt.
"Kurt's not a bad guy," says the source. "But this is fucked because here he was beating the shit out of the Democrats at the same he was angling and negotiating to decorate his new office with fancy shit. It eats away at our credibility." . . .
According to the GOP lawmaker, that cash [an extra $2 million] is earmarked for such things as a $10,000 ceremonial door for Daudt's office, vintage hardwood floors that the speaker "insisted on," and "fancy leather furniture" that will hark back to the days when Theodore Roosevelt was president.
What are Minnesotans to do when both Senate Majority Leader Bakk and now Speaker Daudt appear to require quality construction and furnishings in St. Paul? How can we flourish with slow or no broadband, pock-marked roads and dangerous rail crossings while our leaders craft more backroom conference committee deals behind that closed $10,000 door or rocking in those high-end chairs in committee rooms where the recording equipment's been turned off?
Entirely coincidentally (we think), a lobbyist forwarded photos of an invitation to the House Republican Campaign Committee (HRCC) 20th Annual Elephant Annual Golf Tournament at the Bunker Hills Golf Club on Monday, September 14, 2015, in Coon Rapids (invitation cover at the top of this post).
The enclosed list of prices for sponsorships caught our eye, since that platinum sponsor is $10,000:
We were struck by the fact that $10,000, directed to the restoration, would pay for that fancy door. That insight led us to dream big by proposing one simple trick that will solve the problem of making the role of money in policy-making more transparent.
It's taken for granted now that lobbyists write the laws for our legislators, mostly, while they and their clients foot the bill for political campaigns and independent expenditures. Attack ads on the airwaves assault the voters' tranquility, while our mail boxes are besieged by mean-spirited over-sized junk mail savaging one candidate, canonizing the other, or both.
Indeed, as both Condon and Zukowski report, these hit pieces often concern legislators spending on their swanky office suites.
We can put an end to this waste. Let's make government more efficient by cutting out the middleman. Instead of having special interests foot the bills for political campaigns, buy the legislators, then write the laws, let's just sell the state capitol outright and let the lobbyists use the space to do what they do anyway.
Let's not reduce the size of the state legislature or whack one chamber, as reformers repeatedly suggest. Let's get rid of the entire experiment. Let's be honest about the purpose of the building and let the new owners foot the bill.
Photos: Elements from the invitation to go golfing with the HRCC. While we're using a Republican invitation, the DFL caucuses host similar fundraisers.
Bluestem is conducting a week-long, mid-August contribution drive. Please give if you can.
If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen, P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or use the paypal button below:
Rep. Rod Hamilton, R-Mountain Lake, works in human resources at Christensen Farms, the subject of an undercover video released this week that appears to show sick pigs abused and neglected at a farm in Luverne, Minn.
Hamilton, who chairs the House Agriculture Finance Committee, sponsored legislation in 2011 to make it illegal to gain employment or access to animal facilities under “false pretenses,” or to record videos such as the one about Christensen Farms. Critics referred to it as an “ag gag” bill.
Violators, including journalists having or distributing recordings, would have faced a year in jail, $3,000 in fines and restitution charges.
The bill died, but in seven other states similar legislation has become law. A federal judge struck down an Idaho measure this month as unconstitutional, writing, “The effect of the statute will be to suppress speech by undercover investigators and whistleblowers concerning topics of great public importance: the safety of the public food supply.”
Hamilton, who began as a herdsman at Christensen 23 years ago, has not introduced the bill in subsequent legislative sessions, but he defended the idea.
The sixth-term legislator said it’s wrong to win employment or go on someone’s property under false pretense, as undercover investigators do to record their videos.
Minnesota’s “ag-gag” law — isn’t that a great name? — would seek to punish not only photographers and videographers but those who distribute their work...
Rosen represents all of Martin County and parts of Blue Earth, Waseca and Watonwan counties--a part of the state where livestock agriculture is very important. Nonetheless, Southern Minnesota newspaper editorial boards derided the proposed legislation, including the uber-conservative Fairmont Sentinel.
It's looking like the Agri-Growth Council's bill to criminalize videotaping and undercover operations at ag facilities has about as much following as a manure spreader in high August.
If the Fairmont Sentinel isn't the most politically conservative daily newspaper in the state, it's darned close. The editors reject the bill on the grounds that it's not going to stop animal rights activists--and that good farmers have nothing to fear from a free press:
Any activist worth his or her salt is going to ignore it. Their goal is to expose abuse. Some possible time in jail is a small price to pay for these folks. And those who actually produce videos of bad behavior on farms or in processing plants are going to generate a lot of public sympathy, including among juries and judges. After all, abusing animals is a serious crime in itself. If someone exposes it, their "offense" amounts to little more than trespassing or petty fraud. The animal abuse is far worse.
Finally, no reputable farm or business that treats its animals well has to worry about any of this. And, again, that is true for the vast majority.
According to a press release on Christensen Farms' website, "Triumph Foods . . . purchased a 50 percent ownership in Daily’s Premium Meats, the processed meats division of Seaboard Foods, which produces and markets raw and precooked bacon, ham and sausage. Daily’s Premium Meats will be owned 50/50 by Seaboard Foods and Triumph Foods as of September 27, 2014. As a result of the transaction, Seaboard received cash proceeds of $72.5 million and recognized a pre-tax gain of $55.0 million, subject to final working capital adjustments."
According to the family farm corporation's About Us page, "Christensen Farms is also the largest shareholder of Triumph Foods located in St. Joseph, Missouri. Triumph Foods, a producer-owned pork processing plant, is a leading processor of pork products for both the U.S. and the global marketplace." While Hamilton has called himself "an uneducated hog farmer" in the past, given the scale of these operations, we hope he has a revelation about that as well.
Hamilton has gone into a much different scale of farming, as well. According to his economic interest statement on file with the Minnesota Campaign Finance Board, Hamilton is an owner of 542 Global Foods, LLC., a company that's based in Rush City, Minnesota. Hamilton's business partners appear to be Anita Janssen, a former IT firm owner, and Toua Xiong, who owns the Hmongtown Marketplace near the state capital.
When an opportunity to enter the ag industry presented itself, Janssen, 44, jumped ship. She sold her stake in Maxxum in December and joined forces with two partners to launch 542 Global Foods, LLC, a producer and provider of food products for overseas markets and immigrant populations in the United States. The new company, which raises animals on a large scale for the Asian market, is negotiating with a group of investors who want to set up high-quality commercial hog production overseas. “We’re taking a global approach in a way that’s respectful to the earth, the communities and the people we serve, and the animals that ultimately become the protein sources,” says Janssen, who handles the business management and development side of the company.
However, the firm's Facebook page, which has not posted since July 12, 2014, stresses meat from heritage livestock breeds raised in Iowa and Minnesota. Two examples:
From our family farm growers to you: premium Red Ranger chickens, processed fresh or frozen. The Red Ranger is a heritage breed designed for the best tasting, highest quality meat. Raised in clean, healthy, environments and fed Iowa & Minnesota raised crops. KNOW WHERE YOUR FOOD COMES FROM! Coming soon to Twin Cities markets... (June 11, 2013)
542 Global Foods, is all about bringing high quality food to the market. I have learned that heritage genetics (which essentially means it's slower to grow and reach market weight), high quality feed, and clean comfortable "free range" growing conditions creates amazing products for the dinner table. . . . (July 12, 2014)
And yes, the firm supports consumers' desire to know where their food comes from, according to a Facebook post:
542 Global Foods strives to operate in total transparency, so that our consumers understand exactly how their food arrives at their dinner table. Enjoy our chicken story!
The firm obtained its chicks from Hoover's Hatchery, a "small hatchery in a small town" in Iowa that serves small and medium poultry operations. It's a mainstay for backyard chicken operations. The chickens appear to have been raised at Janssen's farm near Rush City.
Despite lack of social media activity, the company remains "active and in good standing" with the Minnesota Secretary of State. Those chickens do look pretty tasty and Bluestem hopes the partners are still enjoying success with this project to bring high quality food to Minnesotans.
Rod Hamilton often says he wants it all for ag (maybe not GMO labeling or snooping animal rights activists), and it looks like he's been trying to get it.
Photo: 542 Global Foods LLC's chickens. Via Facebook.
If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or use the paypal button below:
Bluestem Prairie has no problem with Terry Henshaw Ministries, Inc's "The 99" pitching its tent in the parking lot of the Kandi Mall in Willmar in order to evangelize the citizens of Willmar and Kandiyohi County. It's a free country.
Our great-great-grandmother's fourth (and final) husband was a circuit-riding preacher; it's an honorable profession.
West Central Tribune reporter Jacob Belguim reports:
. . .“I wanted to move from success to significance,” said The 99’s creator Terry Henshaw of his motivation for producing the show. Henshaw owned a sports complex in Tulsa, Okla., before developing The 99.
In fact, Henshaw's ministry predates "The 99," according to the Tulsa World (via ZoomInfo).
A cavernous 20,000-square-foot inflatable tent on the parking lot of the Victory Bible Institute campus soon will house a traveling production designed to save the lives of teenagers.
Terry Henshaw, director of missions for Victory Christian Center, said the realistic walk-through theater will begin a two-year tour of U.S. cities in April.
It is called "The 99" for the 99 young people who die each day of various causes, Henshaw said.
The production ushers visitors through a variety of sets with live actors illustrating the leading causes of deaths among teens.
Rooms at the end of the production will present the Christian response to the needs of teenagers, and offer visitors an opportunity to discuss what they have seen with counselors.
Impact Productions in Tulsa wrote the script and produced the soundtrack for the presentation. Nearly 30 years ago, Impact President Tom Newman produced "The Toymakers Dream," a multimedia dramatic presentation out of Victory Christian Center that traveled the world for years.
Henshaw developed "The 99" over the past two years at the direction of Victory pastor Billy Joe Daugherty.
"Victory is going after the teenagers of America," Henshaw said. . . .
Again: it's certainly Henshaw's right to conduct his ministry and the Kandi Mall to set up the tent (we're presuming it's private property).
But it's the West Central Tribune's responsibility to report the facts. Instead, there's this "moral tag" (a no-no in journalism) at the end:
The 99’s news release states that the production is “not based on fear and scare tactics, but rather is based solely on reality.”
It’s no haunted house, but it is a haunting tent.
Elsewhere in the country, the lack of disclosure has created news. In 2011, the Fairfield (CA) Daily Republic's Susan Winlow reported in ‘The 99′ raises questions at SCC:
The big white tent in the parking lot at Solano Community College generates a lot of attention.
Not all positive.
Some claim they were duped into believing it was a reality event designed to teach kids between the ages of 12 to 24 about the five leading causes of death of young people. They instead found out that the last portion of the live walk-through show is Christian-based — asking participants to pray, leading them out of the devil’s clutches toward the light of God and then offering “counselors” at the end of the presentation.
I think it really did push a lot of religion into it, especially when they asked us to pray,” said Mario Armendariz, a 17-year-old who is home-schooled locally. “I didn’t feel right praying with someone from a different religion or someone I didn’t know.”
Its religious connotation wasn’t translated to the public, said Peter Bostic, executive director of institutional advancement for the college. He called it a “good marketing job” and added that “you don’t see any sign externally about their objective from an evangelical point of view.”
A flier picked up at Crystal Middle School shows no religious affiliation and no mention that several of the rooms are religious re-enactments.
The outside of the white tent seems to list no religious affiliation. A Daily Republic reporter was refused entrance and a photographer was given minimal access — confined to the first two “rooms.” A call to its headquarters and a search of the website, http://whatisthe99.com, fail to reveal its parent entity — the founder’s name is Terry Henshaw, but that isn’t listed on the website. Its Facebook page doesn’t list its leaders and its MySpace page isn’t working.
“The website is not very revealing and I wonder if it’s deliberate,” said SCC instructor Annette Dambrosio. “It should be up front. If they want to recruit, they should be up-front about it.”
Transparent — or not?
Its overt Christian affiliation wasn’t discovered by Solano Community College until later in the game: at a Board of Trustees meeting in January. That’s when Joan West, a pastor at Liberty Christian Center — which represented “The 99″ locally — was asked if it was a faith-based event, said Jowel Laguerre, president/superintendent of the college. . ..
After West presented to the board in January and the religious affiliation was confirmed, SCC chose not to partner with the group, which would have given the group free use of the parking lot, Laguerre said. The group’s founder, Henshaw, instead signed a facilities contract with Bostic, like any other entity renting a piece of the school, at the end of April and paid $2,016 for use, according to the contract. . . .
Anyone trying to find out what is inside that big white tent in the Solano Community College parking lot will not find any answers on the event’s website.
A glance from the outside doesn’t reveal much either, only a sign saying it is the “Ultimate Near Death Experience.” . . .
Nowhere on the outside of the tent did it say anything about its blatant religious intent. How could something that started out as seemingly innocent pseudo-entertainment, turn into a lesson on eternal damnation and take itself seriously?
I wasn’t bothered by the religious message itself. It was the underhanded way in which it was presented that was so irksome. Apparently the people behind “The 99″ think that the only way to get their message across to the younger generation is to clothe it in sensationalized, B-movie gore and violence.
Do they really think that the younger generation, who is obviously target audience for “The 99,” needs to be shocked into believing?
And though organizers don't want to stress the faith element for fear that will keep some people away, there's no denying it's an integral part of the experience as well.
The last two viewing rooms feature a raw crucifixion scene with a bloodied Christ on the cross, and a shortened version of the Christian video, “The Train,” a story of a father who sacrificed his son to save a train full of passengers. The final stop is an area manned by trained “encouragers” who are standing by if spectators want to talk about issues in their lives or to hear about the Gospel and eternal salvation. . . .
He says word-of-mouth generally doubles the turnout every weekend, with some people waiting in line for as long as two hours. His main concern is that some youth might avoid the 99 if they get the impression it's “too churchy or preachy.” Promotional materials are deliberately “mysterious” instead of religious to create some buzz and intrigue.
It might be Henshaw's job to draw audiences through "mystery", but it ought not be the business of the West Central Tribune to truncate Henshaw's resume or conceal the ministry he leads. For a 2013 990 tax filing for Henshaw's ministries, read the PDF here.
We're also curious whether those figures from the CDC, upon the show drew its name in 2008, are still accurate.
Love the WC Tribune, but this article is an epic fail in reporting.
Photo: A cropped image of The 99's tent from the West Central Tribune, which accompanied the iamge with this cutline: "Workers set up Thursday in the Kandi Mall parking lot in Willmar outside the 20,000-square-foot tent that houses The 99, a live, walk-through reality theater production designed to shock. Beginning tonight, patrons can walk through and view graphic scenes of deadly consequences that young people could have been avoided if they had made smarter choices. (GARY MILLER | TRIBUNE)."
If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or use the paypal button below:
"To me, it is baby steps toward recreational marijuana and I think we will find that out by the end of the session," Sen. Bill Ingebrigtsen, R-Alexandria, said Wednesday after a committee approved a bill to allow hemp to be grown by researchers.
Ingebrigtsen predicted attempts will be made to amend the hemp bill to include recreational marijuana use. Minnesota law allows a limited use of medical marijuana, but recreational use remains illegal. . . .
Many law enforcement officials oppose legalizing hemp because it looks so much like marijuana that they say the illegal plant could be hidden within a hemp field. . . .
Thom Petersen of Minnesota Farmers Union said the only legal problem Canada had when it legalized hemp years ago was that people would steal it out of fields. They were disappointed when they tried to smoke it and it did not give them a high, Petersen said, adding that the thefts only lasted a year or two.
Senator Kent Eken is the author of SF618, the senate companion bill to Franson's HF683, which would allow research in the cultivation of industrial hemp and the development of an industrial hemp industry in Minnesota.
At the current time, hemp products like the soap and treats that Franson gave to her state senator are legal for sale in the state, but farmers and manufacturers can't grow or process the raw product--and reap the profits of this value-added industry.
Perhaps the soap will reassure the retired lawman that growing and processing hemp won't turn Minnesota into a bunch of dirty hippies.
Photos: tweeted images of the goodie bag.
We're conducting our spring fundraising drive. If you appreciate Bluestem Prairie, you can mail contributions (payable to Sally Jo Sorensen P.O. Box 108, Maynard MN 56260) or use the paypal button below:
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