Davnie’s dual duties

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Rep. Jim Davnie just started his new job as executive director of SciMathMN, an advocacy organization that promotes science, technology, engineering and mathematics education.According to its website: “SciMathMN is Minnesota’s statewide coalition for standards-based systemic improvements in K-12 science and mathematics education. The coalition came into official existence in 1993 with its incorporation as an IRS-approved nonprofit educational entity and with significant annual funding from the State of Minnesota. As a coalition, SciMathMN represents a variety of organizations and individuals, and it has functioned much like the statewide systemic initiatives that flourished in other states under National Science Foundation support in the early to mid-1990s. SciMathMN is led by a board of directors whose composition reflects the basis of the coalition—education, business and policy representatives. In 2002 SciMathMN moved into a new phase, having lost its state funding and resulting staff support but newly energized by volunteer involvement and emerging strategic partnerships.”It seems that two of SciMathMN’s primary strategic objectives would be to lobby the State Board of Education and the legislature on improving the standards for teaching science and math and to lobby the legislature to restore funding so they could rehire staff.It’s perfectly legal for a state legislator to also be a lobbyist, because it’s the state legislature that writes the laws determining what’s legal.  On Feb. Continue Reading

Buffers: farmer mentions removal of Dakota people, whines about land grabs in same breath

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The tweet above by a friend who attended the Governor’s buffer initiative meeting in Worthington was fleshed in a Worthington Daily Globe article by Julie Buntjer, Dayton’s buffer initiative targets water quality:A New Ulm-area farmer was the first to speak up, saying that of the 55 million acres in Minnesota, the state’s Department of Natural Resources (DNR) manages more than 5 million acres, and 27 million acres is in production agriculture.“I foresee this as a land grab,” the man said. “My ancestors settled in southern Minnesota in 1858. They removed the Native Americans from this property to gain access to it, and now I look at our government moving us off of our land.”Moerke noted in a message that this statement caused some in the audience to groan.  Buntjer reports on the governor’s response:“We’re not trying to take your land away, but when it comes to runoff and stuff going into the water, that’s a different story,” Dayton responded. “If everything were good out there, there’d be no reason to get involved with it.”He then turned the table on the crowd, asking for solutions to clean up Minnesota’s waters.Covering the same meeting, MInnesota Public Radio’s Mark Steil reports in Plan to curb runoff too costly, unworkable, farmers tell Dayton:At a meeting in Worthington Thursday, farmers said they want to help solve the problem. But many told Dayton his plan goes too far and would take too many acres of cropland out of production.”I foresee this as a land grab,” said Tim Waibel of New Ulm, Minn. “When you start taking 50 feet of my ditch slopes away, it hurts you in the back pocket.”Moerke confirmed that Waibel is the same guy who mentioned that his ancestors removed Native Americans from the land and he now fears a land grab by the government.  This is a curious take from a guy who grabbed $588,971 in farm subsidies between 1995-2001, $4,765 of which came from conservation subsidies, between 1995 and 2012, according tothe EWG Farm Subsidy Database.Here’s a screengrab of the payments:[Another sign of Tim Waibel’s oppression are the crop subsidies he’s received, via EWG Farm Subsidies Database. He’s a victim.]Waibel’s farm property is locate in rural Courtland, Nicollet County. Courtland is a small town near New Ulm.  Waibel’s wife, Mary Jean Waibel, received $115,293 in subsidies from 2006 through 2012, according to the EWG database.In an added twist of irony, the New Ulm Journal reported in 2008 that the Pawlenty administration gave the Waibels a good neighbor award. Continue Reading

36 Lyn Refuel Station in Minneapolis saves big with LED lighting improvements

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The Clean Energy Resources Teams (CERTs) is spearheading a statewide campaign,Light Up Your Station & Save, to help convenience stores reduce energy and maintenance costs and improve their businesses with LED lighting. We spoke with Lonnie McQuirter, owner of the 36 Lyn Refuel Station at 36th Street & Lyndale Avenue in south Minneapolis.  Joel Haskard: Why did you decide to upgrade your canopy lights to LEDs?We have been familiar with LED technology for some time. However, price and financial incentives as well as the long-term reliability of LED lights became clear to us a couple years ago (2013). I was tired of pulling out our 24-foot ladder in the brisk winters to change out our old metal halide bulbs. The ballasts, which use even more energy beyond the bulb itself, also were a pain to deal with.Joel Haskard: Have you seen a reduction in your energy bills?Lonnie McQuirter: We have seen a significant reduction in our energy bills, despite us using our current lights for longer periods than we had with the old metal halide bulbs. Continue Reading

Court grants summary judgment for the defendants in Klayman v. City Pages et al

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Back in 2013, we began posting about the defamation lawsuit filed by conservative activist attorney Larry Klayman against then City Pages blogger Aaron Rupar, local cartoonist Ken Avidor and a host of others.Today, the defendants were granted a summary judgment and the case was closed. We embed the court order below and congratulate Ken Avidor and the rest of the defendants in having this attack on the freedom of the press to report on court proceedings dismissed.As the Pioneer Press first reported in Florida-based lawyer sues City Pages for defamation:A Florida lawyer has hit City Pages with a $1.4 million defamation lawsuit for a story last fall that said the lawyer inappropriately touched his children.Larry Klayman’s lawsuit, announced Monday, March 25, said City Pages sought to hurt the attorney in retaliation for Klayman’s representation of Bradlee Dean, the controversial anti-gay preacher and founder of an Annandale-based group You Can Run But You Cannot Hide.The City Pages story, which ran Sept. 28 last year, said an appeals court in Ohio had ordered Klayman to pay his ex-wife $325,000 in attorney’s fees, and that the order noted a lower court magistrate had heard evidence of sexual abuse from his children’s pediatrician, who reported it to children’s services, and from a social worker at that agency.The story said the social worker’s findings were changed to “unsubstantiated,” but the magistrate found that Klayman acted in a “grossly inappropriate manner” with one of his children, although his conduct may not have been sexual….The wags at Wonkette immediately trolled Klayman with Snipy’s post, In Which Wonkette Tries To Bait Larry Klayman Into Suing Us Also, Too, but to no avail.[See original court documents on the post at Bluestem Prairie: http://www.bluestemprairie.com/bluestemprairie/2015/04/court-grants-summary-judgment-for-the-defendants-in-klayman-v-city-pages-et-al.html] Continue Reading

Guide to the Importance of Powwow Dances

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World champion jingle dress dancer Willow Abramson (Shoshone-Bannock) faced difficult challenges in her life. In 2005, she and her family were involved in a car crash; her baby daughter and husband did not survive. She found healing in dancing.She believes the energy and life on the powwow circuit helped her find strength to raise her son. She encourages her fellow dancers, “Some of us dance to forget, some of us dance to remember, some of us dance to heal, but whatever the reason, just dance with your heart and your spirit: we see it shine when you dance.”It’s officially Powwow Season in Indian Country! The anticipation and excitement dancers and singers built up throughout the winter months will be unleashed within many traditional and contest powwows throughout the country this year. Continue Reading

MN GOP Majority Leader backs anti-transgender bill

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The majority leader in the Minnesota House is among 28 Republicans who have signed on to a bill that would block transgender inclusive school policies.Republican Majority Leader Joyce Peppin signed on to the bill on Monday. She is among more than a dozen Republicans who have added their names to the bill since it was introduced in early March by 17 Republicans.The bill is one being touted by anti-LGBT groups, the Minnesota Child Protection League and the Minnesota Family Council. The bill is a reaction to recent policies enacted in the Minneapolis and St. Paul school districts that increases safety and inclusion for transgender and gender nonconforming students. It is also a reaction to an appeals process put in place by the Minnesota State High School League that allows transgenders student to play on athletics teams based on their gender.Bill proponents missed an important deadline on Friday. Continue Reading

Reduce Affordable Housing Need in Three Steps

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This is part 3 of a series on the interaction between the rental housing market and rents. Read part 1, “How I Set Apartment Rents,” and part 2, “Housing Markets? Humbug!“I’ve dedicated the last 15 years of my life working on affordable housing policy. Mostly, I’ve worked where some sort of subsidy helps make it (more) affordable.In this post, informed by what I’ve learned about the scope of our problem and the inadequacy of existing subsidy programs, I’ll share actions and policies that I think could ameliorate our affordable housing problems.It’s common knowledge we have an affordable housing problem. It might be surprising to learn just how bad the problem is. Continue Reading

The real cost of just ‘one more stadium’

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The question, “Should I have just one more drink?” can be the difference between actually showing up to the sloppily made brunch plans from the night before and quivering in a bed wet with balmy sweat while clutching a fistful of aspirin.This mistake gets made once or twice in your life before you learn to shy away from the tempting words of “just one more.”However, after Wednesday’s announcement of a new Major League Soccer expansion, the city of Minneapolis currently faces its own “should I have just one more” debate. But instead of Grain Belt beer, Minneapolis needs to ask itself whether it needs “just one more stadium.”The MLS awarded Bill McGuire, the former UnitedHealth Group CEO and current owner of the Minnesota United FC, the opportunity to start a new MLS franchise under the stipulation that he commit to building a new outdoor stadium — which would be the fifth large-scale professional stadium in the Twin Cities area.Of all the cities in the United States that have five major professional sports teams, Minneapolis is one of the smallest. I’m a small guy, and consuming five drinks is a lot for me. So what does that say for the Twin Cities’ fifth professional stadium?McGuire estimates that a proposed 18,500-seat stadium would cost about $150 million to build, but he kept mum when asked whether he would seek public money for its construction. That’s a bargain of a price when you glance at the new Vikings stadium ($1 billion), but let’s not forget that we’re still paying off the debt for Target Field. Continue Reading

Twin Cities Hmong community seeks help in closing achievement gap

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Advocates from Minnesota’s Hmong community want to ensure their children are not left behind as legislators continue to tackle the state’s well-publicized achievement gap.HF1930, sponsored by Rep. Rod Hamilton (R-Mountain Lake), would provide funding for the Department of Education to create outreach programs that help Southeast Asian immigrant and refugee families better access early childhood care and education resources, developmental screening and early reading assessments.The House Education Innovation Policy Committee approved the bill Thursday and sent it to the House Education Finance Committee. Its companion, SF1781, sponsored by Senate President Sandy Pappas (DFL-St. Paul), has been laid over by the Senate E-12 Budget Division for possible omnibus bill inclusion.Recent research conducted by the Twin Cities-based Hmong National Development, Inc. indicates that Hmong students in early education score two standard deviations below the national average on reading assessments. That gap follows these students when they transition to K-12 education, said Zha Blong Xiong, a professor of college education and human development at the University of Minnesota.About half of Hmong students in the Twin Cities are considered proficient in MCA reading exams, Xiong told lawmakers. Many of these students would have qualified for programs like early learning scholarships, but their parents aren’t aware of the opportunities, he said.“We believe that family engagement efforts are needed to ensure the hardest to reach populations, like Southeast Asian population, are gaining access to these wonderful early child education resources to close the achievement gap.”Sinying Lee is a working mother to three young children, two of whom attend a St. Continue Reading

We expect better from the StarTribune

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The StarTribune article on March 18, “Nonprofit paid to help with minority hiring at stadium short of goal…Workforce Is Diverse, But No Thanks to Nonprofit That Was Hired to Help”, totally missed the mark. We expect better of the StarTribune. This story was far beneath the standards we expect from a major newspaper in a growing and diverse community. It is no secret that Minnesota has the worst racial disparities on most socioeconomic indicators in the nation. The success of minority employment hiring on the Viking Stadium construction could have far-reaching implications for the economic well-being of our community as a whole. This begs the question of why the success of the Viking’s Stadium, which is exceeding all its workforce and business development goals for people of color, is not being trumpeted. Rather than applauding and understanding this unprecedented accomplishment, the StarTribune squandered this opportunity to educate its readers concerning employment disparities in our cities.  Instead, it chose to unfairly castigate a well-respected African-American led legacy institution – Summit Academy Opportunities Industrialization Center (SAOIC) and its African-American leader Louis King.King, like many others, may have underestimated the actual effectiveness of Mortenson Construction, THOR Construction, subcontractors, the MSFA equity program and the trade unions; and therefore overestimated the actual needs on the project. Continue Reading