Post office closings call for national day of action

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For eons we have heard murmurs, then shouts, of post offices closings. No problem, we thought, as we skimmed lists of closings in towns we couldn’t find on a map. Not our problem – we’ve got e-mail; we can buy stamps at any big box or grocery store; we’ve more delivery drop offs than mailboxes; we pay the bills online. Folks just need to get with the times. Continue Reading

Hayden-Champion ethics complaint process delayed

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After the second hearing as part of the ethics complaint against Democratic State Senators Jeff Hayden and Bobby Champion, the process has been placed on hold. The complaint, filed by six Republican Senators on September 24, consists of two major allegations:The first reads, “According to a Star Tribune article dated September 12, 2014 (“North Side school effort called failure”), Sen. Hayden and Sen. Bobby Jo Champion ‘threatened to withhold state aid if the Minneapolis school district did not approve the contract [for a project with Community Standards Initiative (CSI)].’”The second part of the complaint concerns allegations that “Sen. Hayden participated in the misuse of federal, state and local funding by accepting trips and other perks such as per diem as a member of the Board of Community Action Minneapolis.”The first of two probable cause hearings to date was held by the Senate Subcommittee on Ethical Conduct on October 23. Much of that hearing centered on concerns that the Minneapolis/CSI portion of the complaint was founded on reporting by the Star Tribune that relied on unnamed sources. DFL Senator Tony Lourey at that hearing criticized the Republicans who brought the complaint for relying purely on unsourced media accounts, and for not doing their own preliminary investigation.This article is reposted from TCDP media partner Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder. Check out the links below for other recent Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder stories:Health food selections in school cafeterias on the risePoor timing, dishonest reporting mark Star Tribune MPD coverageWe asked Senators David Hann, Michelle Benson, and David Thompson to elaborate on their decision to go forward with the ethics complaint on that basis. Continue Reading

University of Minnesota student representatives now sit on Southeast Como, Marcy-Holmes boards

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The Southeast Como Improvement Association officially approved student voting positions Wednesday evening, a policy change neighborhood leaders say represents the growing role University of Minnesota students are playing in the area.Many neighborhood boards comprise property owners and long-time residents. And even though student government leaders have had voting power with the Southeast Como association for a while, the neighborhood group’s official approval of the student voting positions gives students a more established voice within the community.Minnesota Student Association and Graduate and Professional Student Assembly members hold seats on both SECIA and the Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association, which represent two prominent neighborhoods in the area.Because students make up such a large population in the area, SECIA neighborhood coordinator Ricardo McCurley said it’s important to consider them on issues like safety.“We want the student voice to be heard in everything that we do — especially when it comes to the board,” he said.In the past, some residents have considered students a nuisance, McCurley said. But that stigma is starting to dissolve.“They’re an integral part of our neighborhood,” he said. “And we want to find ways to connect them.”To ensure more students can get involved, McCurley said the association has loosened some of its eligibility guidelines to become a board member, like reducing the amount of time a resident has to live in the neighborhood.Michael Tormoen, an MSA representative for SECIA, said as a student he can offer perspectives to the board that are unique to student renters.Specifically, he said, his priority in the coming months will be encouraging students to consider their safety in the area.Nikki Mardell, MSA’s representative for the Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association, said students can point out issues in the area that other board members may not have on their radar.“If students want affordable housing, they’re going to have to fight for it,” she said. “The rest of the board isn’t going to do it.”The Marcy-Holmes Neighborhood Association’s GAPSA representative, Diane Hahn, said it’s important for students to be aware of what’s going on within the neighborhoods because it makes their experiences as residents better.She said she hopes to strengthen communication between students and the neighborhood so that students are more informed about policy changes or area updates.“As a student, it’s often difficult to know what’s going on in the community and how I’m supposed to be following certain regulations,” Hahn said.Mardell said that even though students may not be in the area for a long time, it’s still important for them to get involved and make changes.“Even though we are still kind of a transient group, [students are] still going to be here,” she said. Continue Reading

How much does a seat on the Minneapolis school board cost?

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For incumbent board member Rebecca Gagnon, who came in first in the Nov. 4 election, the cost was approximately $.70 per vote. Gagnon, who ran for one of the two open citywide seats, secured her spot on the board with 56,901 votes.A fundraising chart for the four at-large school board candidates—Gagnon, Don Samuels, Iris Altamirano, and Ira Jourdain—put together by Minnesota Public Radio on Nov. 3 shows Gagnon’s campaign raised or otherwise benefitted from a fundraising amount of around $40,000. By dividing her fundraising dollars by the amount of votes she got, an approximate per vote cost of $.70 is determined.For Samuels, who came in second and therefore also won a citywide spot on the board, the cost per vote was much higher. Continue Reading

Follow the money: Jourdain calls out dark money in Minneapolis school board race

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What do John Kline, Tom Emmer, Mitt Romney, and Minneapolis school board candidates Iris Altamirano and Don Samuels have in common?They have all received campaign donations from Minneapolis attorney Douglas Seaton, who was one of the lead attorneys working against the recent drive to unionize home-based childcare workers in Minnesota. Altamirano is a former organizer for the Service Employees Internation Union (SEIU), which helped lead the fight to organize home childcare workers.Seaton, who has given thousands of dollars to Republican candidates and committees, according to the website opensecrets.org, also  contributed $5,000 to the 2012 Minnesota Voter ID Amendment campaign, which was defeated by voters in the 2012 election.According to recent campaign finance reports, Seaton has given $250 donations to both Samuels and Altamirano.Another donor to both Samuels and Altamirano is the Hubbard family. The Hubbards, who run Minnesota media company Hubbard Broadcasting, gave $2600 to each candidate in September 2014. Hubbard Broadcasting, the corporation, is a very politically active one: the company recently gave $200,000 to the Freedom Partners Action Fund, which is the Koch Brothers’ new super PAC.Other prominent supporters of Samuels and Altamirano include former Minnesota Republican party chair Rob Eibensteiner, who gave $1,000 to Samuels, and local attorney and MinnCAN board member Mike Ciresi, who gave $1,000 to each candidate, individually, and contributed $10,000 to the recently controversial group the Minneapolis Progressive Education Fund, which has been campaigning for Samuels and Altamirano.Benson Whitney, who is the board chair of MinnCAN and a prominent funder of Republican campaigns, also gave $1,000 to both Samuels and Altamirano.These names on Altamirano and Samuels’ campaign reports prompted fellow at-large candidate Ira Jourdain to hold a press conference on Nov. 1. Continue Reading