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Welcome to Minnesota: A Conversation about Immigration and Human Rights

May

26

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Molly Priesmeyer

About me

Molly Priesmeyer (mollypriesmeyer@tcdailyplanet.net) is a freelance writer and editor, living in Minneapolis. Her work has appeared in Minnesota Independent, MinnPost, Rolling Stone, City Pages, the Star Tribune, and the Pioneer Press, among others.

Personal Web site:

Tiny Yurt

Column:

Tiny Yurt

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Budget bills weaken environmental protection, funding, raise constitutional issue

By Molly Priesmeyer, TC Daily Planet

"If I have to go on record and say global warming -- I think it's a farce, I think it's a fallacy," the new chair of the Minnesota Senate Environment Committee Ingebrigtsen told a joint legislative-citizens advisory group on environmental spending in late February. "I just don't buy it. And I think there's a lot of folks that don't." Since then, Sen. Bill Ingebrigtsen (R-Alexandria) has been one of the leaders in crafting serious budget cuts and rollbacks for Minnesota environmental initiatives, together with Rep. Denny McNamara (R-Hastings), the chairman of the House Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources Committee. MORE »

Wisconsin isn’t only obstacle for Minnesota’s rail plans

By Molly Priesmeyer, Midwest Energy News

President Barack Obama recently announced a six-year, $53 billion high-speed rail plan that would connect the nation and give 80 percent of Americans access to high-speed rail by 2035.MORE »

University of Minnesota General Counsel speaks on conflict of interest claims related to suicide

By Molly Priesmeyer, TC Daily Planet

UPDATED 12/10/2010, 5:30 p.m.—Earlier this week eight University of Minnesota bioethicists sent a letter to the Board of Regents calling for an independent investigation into the death of Dan Markingson, a research subject who commitMORE »

University of Minnesota Vice President Karen Himle resigns after Troubled Waters brouhaha

By Molly Priesmeyer, TC Daily Planet

University of Minnesota Vice President for University Relations Karen Himle resigned today, after months of dispute over her attempt to suppress or delay the Troubled Waters documentary.MORE »

U of M faculty members call for an investigation into death of research subject

By Molly Priesmeyer, Tiny Yurt

Dan Markingson was deemed incompetent. Then, days later, he was deemed competent enough to take part in a research study that ultimately netted the U of M hundreds of thousands of dollars-and possibly led to Markingson's violent death.MORE »

More Troubled Waters: University emails reveal big fear of big ag

By Molly Priesmeyer, TC Daily Planet

Late last Friday the University of Minnesota released more than 2,500 pages of documents regarding the film Troubled Waters. The film originally was pulled from its TPT premiere by U of M Vice President for University Relations Karen Himle on September 7 and later rescheduled after the University took a serious hit from the press and the community for what was viewed as censorship and a threat to academic freedom. MORE »

Questions still linger on "Troubled Waters"

By Molly Priesmeyer, Tiny Yurt

"Troubled Waters," the U of M film that has garnered plenty of attention since U of M VP Karen Himle pulled it from TPT on September 7th, premiered as scheduled tonight to a packed house at the Bell Museum.MORE »

U of M President Bruininks, faculty: Academic freedom at stake in Troubled Waters brouhaha

By Mary Turck

By Molly Priesmeyer, TC Daily Planet

UPDATED 9/28/2010 6 p.m.: Yes - academic freedom is at stake in the attempt to stop the premiere of Troubled Waters documentary, said President Robert Bruininks in a statement issued late today. Faculty had already called for a full-scale investigation of why the premiere was canceled by U of M University Relations vice president Karen Himle. On blogs and in classrooms, U of M faculty, students and staff called the move censorship by the university. MORE »

"Troubled Waters": What we saw, why you can't see it

By Molly Priesmeyer, TC Daily Planet

The latest wrinkle in the Troubled Waters controversy is that the University doesn't "own" the film. A final "Project Abstract" was completed by the film's producer, Barbara Coffin, on September 7, and the film was delivered to the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR), the legislative body responsible for overseeing $349,000 in funds for the documentary project.

What this means as far as an official release remains to be seen, but I viewed Troubled Waters at LCCMR on Monday, along with another reporter. MORE »

U of M decision on "Troubled Waters" questioned by commission, other funders

By Molly Priesmeyer, TC Daily Planet

The University of Minnesota looks to be getting itself into deeper hot water. After pulling the film "Troubled Waters" weeks before its premiere for "scientific review," the department of University Relations sent out a statement late yesterday asserting that University officials were reviewing the film to see if it "meets the specifications of the legislative appropriation to the University." The documentary was funded in large part by the Legislative Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR) through the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund.MORE »