Minnesota
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9:03 a.m.
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by Dave Mindeman Congress passed a bill that will bring $167 million in direct education money for Minnesota. The idea is to help ailing school districts to keep education jobs and meet budget deficits. But it will have zero effect. As this MinnPost article by Beth Hawkins points out, school districts are so tenuous about future budgets that a lot of them plan to go with the patched together...
mnpACT! - 9:03 a.m.
Tonight the Minnesota Discovery Center in Chisholm closes its "Art in the Park" concert series at the amphitheater. Admission is free with live local music, food, beverage and fun for all. "Slapshot" will be the headliner at this show, which runs from 5-9 p.m. I'm sure there will be plenty of surprises. As I said last week, the series has been a big hit and a great opportunity for the local mu...
MinnesotaBrown - 8:40 a.m.
Two nights ago the Goodhue County United Veterans Organizations held a candidate forum at the Cannon Falls VFW. CD2 U.S. Congressional Candidate Shelley Madore (D-MN) had no problem showing up and reaching out to her constituents. But, Congressman John Kline (R-MN) was M.I.A. In 2006, Mr. Kline was also a no-show for the Goodhue County Veterans candidate forum. Check out this video ...
Minnesota Progressive Project - 8:23 a.m. - 3 clicks 
State Republican Deputy Chair Michael Brodkorb, "former blogger", loses patience with blogger questions. Brodkorb with his faithful Mark Dayton tracker took the podium after a press conference with Twin City Mayors, DNC chair Tim Kaine and Mark. Link to press conference: http://theuptake.org/2010/09/0... Soren Sorenson, peace activist and blogger tried to follow up with Bodkorb; not ...
Minnesota Progressive Project - 5:49 a.m. - 5 clicks
He’ll only be in office a few more months, but he wants to destroy whatever he can while he still has a chance. August 31st — “Gov. Pawlenty today signed an executive order directing state agencies to decline all discretionary participation in the federal health care legislation. Newly christened monster Tim Pawlenty, in a futile [...] ...
Pro MN Politics - Wed 9:45 p.m. - 7 clicks
I have a full rest of the week, but as a parting gift to you and all the other amateur slime sleuths working on your behalf, I would suggest you buy a plane ticket to New York City, see if......
Across the Great Divide - Wed 9:44 p.m. - 7 clicks
by Dave Mindeman Luke Hellier over at Minnesota Democrats Exposed got himself into a lather over the divorce records of Mark Dayton. He went into post after post about releasing these "unsealed" documents -- Republican translation: He has something embarrassing in there and we want it. He even got to ask Dayton a question about it at a press conference -- God knows how he got a pass f...
mnpACT! - Wed 4:48 p.m. - 9 clicks
Blogger and GOP activist Sheila Kihne has Luke Hellier and other GOP disinformation artists all atwitter over the fact she was unable to verify the employment of Mark Dayton by New York City public schools 40 years ago. It took......
Across the Great Divide - Wed 4:24 p.m. - 12 clicks
New polling data came out today about lame duck Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty's anemic 2012 presidential campaign. Pawlenty's presidential hopes have never really gotten off the ground. He has continually polled in the lower single digits. Keep in mind that this is the same flawed MPR/Humphrey Institute poll Joe dissected yesterday. In other words, because of the rig...
Minnesota Progressive Project - Wed 3:07 p.m. - 5 clicks
Minnesota State Senate District 15, geographically comprising much of St. Cloud and regions south and east, is home to an open seat going into the 2010 election, because incumbent Tarryl Clark is running for the US Congress. Her federal race is the object of no little interest, including here on this website. The DFL candidate is Bruce Hentges. Under 'Priorities' on his website, education...
Minnesota Progressive Project - Wed 12:41 p.m. - 4 clicks
Hello, traveler. You've located a blog about the Iron Range in northern Minnesota. Stay! Stay! Peek inside the machinery . See the wonderful gears turn like fingers of the gods. It is magic, magic I say! In olden days Iron Rangers lived and died never seeing the powerful pen flicks and filed papers that controlled their very livelihood. Now Google news alerts have pried up the rotten board, ...
MinnesotaBrown - Wed 10:27 a.m. - 4 clicks
Deanna Coleman, the government witness who blew the whistle on the $3.6 million Ponzi scheme is scheduled for sentencing tomorrow at 9:00 AM. Deanna Coleman was the source for some interesting information about Frank Vennes Jr. (for more about Bachmann's close ties to Mr. Vennes, see yesterday's post about Michele Bachmann and crime ). Here's a screenshot from the FBI affidavit (PDF) that i...
Dump Michele Bachmann - Wed 7:25 a.m. - 10 clicks
On Monday, the Minnesota Department of Education formally applied for $167 million in federal education stimulus funding. The money could save as many as 2,800 teacher jobs in the next year. Not that that matters to Gov. Tim Pawlenty. He’s irked that the money is part of Congress’ $26 billion stimulus package. “The federal government should [...]...
Hindsight 2020 - Wed 7:05 a.m. - 15 clicks
by Dave Mindeman There is a fine line that elected officials have to walk. It's the line between (a) doing what's best for your constituents and (b) doing what is poltically beneficial for yourself. Governor Pawlenty has thrown (a) out the window and now his only policy test is what will get him another few votes in Iowa. Minnesota is in massive deficit and has health care issues. When it com...
mnpACT! - Wed 1:03 a.m. - 9 clicks
Dave Mindeman on his MNPact.org blog notes that Dakota County Commissioner’s plan to raise property tax rates for transit improvements after failing to obtain the final $20 million through a Federal appropriation : Republican U.S. Rep. John Kline has refused on principle to seek earmarked federal funding for Cedar Avenue, (Dakota County Commissioner Will) Branning said. While Mr. Kline’s Fo...
MN Political Roundtable - Tue 8:47 p.m. - 7 clicks
UPDATED I added the link I neglected to Demmer's quote, and this is the answer . When Republicans push for the privatization of Social Security (one hint on observing politics: when Republicans resume pushing to privatize Social Security, it means they feel cocky) they like to claim Social Security is broke. For example, State Rep. Randy Demmer, who is challenging US Rep. Tim Walz in CD1, said,...
Minnesota Progressive Project - Tue 8:47 p.m. - 6 clicks
Yesterday I read an article in the Star Tribune about how Joel Pourier stole more than $1 million from a charter school in Minneapolis. Pourier was hired by the school in 2002 as a finance director and was later promoted to executive director. When he applied for the position he listed on his resume that he Follow this link to read more of: Our tax dollars aren’t properly funding charter s...
MN Political Roundtable - Tue 8:26 p.m. - 7 clicks
Mark Dayton and Tom Emmer are (more or less) tied in the race for Governor of Minnesota. This is hard to believe. Do half of my fellow Minnesotans really want Emmer, a right-wing extremist who despises certain random people and wants to gut every helpful program in this state, to replace the current right-wing extremist? [...] ...
Pro MN Politics - Tue 8:03 p.m. - 11 clicks
The Walker-Hackensack-Akeley School District – one of the few districts in Minnesota that has no locally funded operating levy – will ask voters to support a $500 per pupil operating levy referendum even though it has cut $2.4 million of the district’s $8 million budget over the last three years and that the last two [...]...
Hindsight 2020 - Tue 4:41 p.m. - 9 clicks
free range (uncaged) large poultry operation Minnesota is a 'fly-over' state, one which is active in producing the food supplies for the entire nation and beyond. In this context, I contacted the office of one of our Minnesota senators, junior Senator Al Franken. My response to that contact was extraordinarily prompt, and as has been my experience when contacting h...
Penigma - Tue 3:28 p.m. - 4 clicks
Today I am confronted with two alarming facts: Minnesota is home to a roller derby league reviving the all-female rollerskating battle sport phenomenon from the 1970s. The Iron Range DOES NOT have a team in this league. Well, we DIDN'T until I discovered this , the recruitment page for the Iron Range Maidens. They need 20 women roller athletes and all manner of coaches, equipment managers ...
MinnesotaBrown - Tue 1:20 p.m. - 7 clicks
Associated Press: Republican U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann's latest critical TV ad uses the Minnesota State Fair to look at her Democratic rival's tax record. Just one problem - Bachmann used the fair's trademarked logo without permission. MinnPost: Says Fair spokeswoman Brienna Schuette in an e-mail: "The Minnesota State Fair logo is trademarked. Michelle Bachmann’s campaign did not ask f...
Dump Michele Bachmann - Tue 12:50 p.m. - 16 clicks
In the nearly twenty years since Minnesota authorized charter schools, charter school advocates have championed their educational model as the solution to nearly every traditional school problem. Asserting that charter schools will educate children better and at lower cost, they’ve also consistently resisted educational and organizational standards for publicly funded schools. When Minnesota 2020 ...
Hindsight 2020 - Tue 10:25 a.m. - 9 clicks
As a nerd engaged in a lifelong battle with body weight, an event called "Lunch and Learn" is a siren call to be heeded. Maybe for you too? Iron Range historian Pam Brunfelt will be the featured speaker at this Minnesota Humanities Center event Thursday, Sept. 9 at Valentini's in Chisholm. I'll be there. Join me! ( RSVP ) Here's the description: What would U.S. history look like without M...
MinnesotaBrown - Tue 8:41 a.m. - 8 clicks
Our latest analysis, released today, “Minnesota 2020 Property Tax Report: 2002-2010″, outlines how eight years of regressive “no new taxes” state policy has forced local governments to rely more heavily on property taxes as a source of revenue while also making deep cuts in education, infrastructure and public services. Take a look at the report [...]...
Hindsight 2020 - Tue 6:20 a.m. - 9 clicks
Over and over we've heard that the Central Corridor light rail line running between St. Paul and Minneapolis will eliminate 85% of on-street parking along University Avenue. Periodically, I bike commute along University, and since I've done some consulting related......
Across the Great Divide - Mon 9:20 p.m. - 13 clicks
The person we really need to represent us in Minnesota’s sixth district, someone who cares and won’t just go through the motions is Tarryl Clark — hopefully our next Congresswoman. Help us make it happen! Our current Congresswoman is Michele Bachmann, and she cares far more about raising money and her own fame than the [...] ...
Pro MN Politics - Mon 8:02 p.m. - 10 clicks
MinnPost: This morning's news conference took a sharp turn, however, when Luke Hellier, who runs a conservative website Minnesota Democrats Exposed, started asking Dayton about his divorce records a decade ago from Janice Haarstick, his second wife. Earlier, he and his first wife, Alida Rockefeller Messinger, had divorced. On his website and in repeated questions to Dayton this morning, ...
Dump Michele Bachmann - Mon 7:06 p.m. - 28 clicks
Interesting quotes from a new, fluffy article about Michele Bachmann are in abundance in this month’s Minnesota Monthly. Yeah, yeah, it’s a “study in perspectives”, but it’s far too positive to describe the nutty Michele Bachmann. First, let me say how horrified I am by most of the things Bachmann says in public. Her 2008 [...] ...
Pro MN Politics - Mon 6:09 p.m. - 54 clicks
From the Tarryl Clark Campaign: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Carrie Lucking August 28, 2010 St. Cloud, MN AFTER 2 DAY DRIVE-BY OF DISTRICT, BACHMANN CONTINUES HER 'ANYWHERE BUT HERE TOUR' Bachmann holds townhall in Washington, D.C., not at home After a brief, 2-day drive-by of her home District, Michele Bachmann spent Friday night and today holding her own rallies and events in conjunction w...
Dump Michele Bachmann - Mon 6:08 p.m. - 17 clicks
by Dave Mindeman An article in the Apple Valley paper regarding the latest Dakota County Commissioner's meeting caught my attention. Especially this little blurb: Commissioners also talked about raising the 2011 Regional Rail levy 38 percent. Although the percentage increase sounds significant, the result on a median-value home, which for 2011 is $206,100, would increase $2.35 per year, go...
mnpACT! - Mon 3:27 p.m. - 13 clicks
Minnesota’s state budget ax has fallen hard on higher education, forcing the U of M and MnSCU to reduce departments, programs, and instructors, resulting in fewer class offerings. Here’s what’s in the trash bin: Minnesota State University–Mankato cut 28 programs and will reduce many more; St. Cloud State University is eliminating 26 programs, including its [...]...
Hindsight 2020 - Mon 12:50 p.m. - 7 clicks
The Taxpayers’ League of Minnesota (TLM) is supporting a charter amendment that would cap the rate of spending growth in the City of Greenfield. Such spending restraints are generally a bad idea. Local officials—elected by city residents—are in the best position to gauge the need for spending increases or spending reductions. Hardwired caps cannot anticipate [...]...
Hindsight 2020 - Mon 12:50 p.m. - 7 clicks
Bradlee Dean's ministry of hate tweets their return to the The Great Minnesota Get-Together: Stop by our booth at the MN State Fair. Located on Dan Patch and Cooper Ave. by the Merchandise Mart! Here's some pics of the creepy YCRBYCH booth (click on the pics to make them bigger): ... and here's Bradlee & Jake at the AM 1280 "The Patriot" booth. The "Sons of Liberty" wil...
Dump Michele Bachmann - Mon 12:49 p.m. - 16 clicks
Readers of my book, "Overburden: Modern Life on the Iron Range," might remember that I'm a fan of the myth and historical impact surrounding the Northwest Passage. Northern Minnesota's Iron Range was just one of many regions that early European explorers believed might have been part of the fabled "sea route to the Orient." The St. Louis River, Lake Vermilion and the mighty Mississippi, all o...
MinnesotaBrown - Mon 11:41 a.m. - 7 clicks
When we first considered building our current house in the country, what struck me about the site was this tall white pine along the property line. The woods around northern Minnesota's Iron Range once teemed with some of the largest white pine in North America, a fact that literally put the place on the map as loggers, then miners, then tourists poured in from places with smaller trees. The ...
MinnesotaBrown - Mon 6:23 a.m. - 8 clicks
by Dave Mindeman You know if you are Michele Bachmann, and you are going to go to all the expense of getting a bus with your likeness emblazoned all over it, you really ought to get more than 2 days out of it, don't you think? Well, at least she made some appearances in the 6th District. It's so hard for her to fit in the time you know. She has rallies and revivals and media events to attend...
mnpACT! - Sun 10:22 p.m. - 16 clicks
John Kline (R-MN-02) warned us on September 29, 2009 : Congressman John Kline, the top Republican on the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee, today strongly criticized legislation that would dramatically expand the federal government by eliminating the private sector-based federal student loan program and spending tens of billions of dollars on a range of new Follow this link to read more o...
MN Political Roundtable - Sun 5:27 p.m. - 10 clicks
The Southern Poverty Law Center: Pulido's coziness with the gay-bashing IFI was no more notable than that of some Minnesota elected officials' with You Can Run But You Cannot Hide Intl. Inc., a music ministry that brings punk rock evangelism into public schools in the Midwest. On a May 15 radio show, the ministry's front man, Bradlee Dean, applauded the call of some Muslims for violence agains...
Dump Michele Bachmann - Sun 12:47 p.m. - 9 clicks
Andy Steiner wrote a well-balanced profile of Michele Bachmann. She interviewed both those who supported Bachmann and those who opposed her. She interviewed both myself, and Ken Avidor for this article. From the article: In comic books, it’s easy to tell the good guys from the bad guys. That may explain why Ken Avidor, a blogger, illustrator, transit activist, and comic-book artist from Min...
Dump Michele Bachmann - Sat 7:49 p.m. - 17 clicks
This past Thursday, after a couple of hours greeting State Fair visitors from the Minnesota Senate booth, I headed south to Savage to step aboard a barge for a trip down the Minnesota and Mississippi River towards St. Paul. The trip was sponsored by the Highway 169 Corridor Coalition as over 100 members made the [...]...
Mr. Dahle Goes to St. Paul - Sat 2:09 p.m. - 16 clicks
by Dave Mindeman I fully understand that people are worried about the deficit. Anybody who says that Democrats aren't concerned about it are just flat out wrong. And, despite all the lofty rhetoric, Republicans are only worried about it when they can make it an election issue. After all, wasn't it Dick Cheney that informed us that "Reagan proved that deficits don't matter"? My comp...
mnpACT! - Sat 11:46 a.m. - 18 clicks
After turning down $1.4 billion in funds for early Medicaid expansion this June and a $1 million grant to reduce insurance premiums earlier this month, Governor Pawlenty may turn down yet another $263 million in Medicaid dollars. Failure to accept the funds by the September 24 deadline would bring the tally for federal health care [...]...
Hindsight 2020 - Fri 7:02 a.m. - 15 clicks
CNN Political Ticker: Bachmann fires assault rifle, ends 2-day tour with a bang Anoka, Minnesota (CNN) – Embracing her strong pro-gun stance, Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann fired off a few rounds from an M4 carbine Thursday morning, according to employees of a local ammunition manufacturer in her district. The pro-Second Amendment conservative and rising Tea Party movement icon m...
Dump Michele Bachmann - Thu 10:03 p.m. - 23 clicks
You can now see all the Minnesota governor debates in their entirety and even read transcripts of them, thanks to The Uptake’s debate site here. The debate video below is from August 26th at General Mills. The debate included the 3 major candidates, Mark Dayton, DFL Party; Tom Horner, Independence Party; and Tom Emmer, Republican [...] ...
Pro MN Politics - Thu 7:09 p.m. - 11 clicks
PBS' NewsHour has produced a video about CSA, the Community Supported Art project co-organized by Springboard for the Arts and mnartists.org. The video segment features Springboard's Laura Zabel, Minneapolis artist Andy Ducett and yours truly. Watch it here. ...
Eyeteeth - Thu 7:09 p.m. - 9 clicks
Hometime Source : City of Ramsey needs help for new passenger rail station by Don Heinzman -- The city of Ramsey needs congressional help to get $3.5 million in federal funds to help build a new passenger rail station for the Northstar Commuter Rail service, a necessary component of a 400-acre transit-oriented commercial development. To finance the rail station, the city first applied unsucce...
Dump Michele Bachmann - Thu 6:07 p.m. - 9 clicks
Like a boy chasing after a moved-on ex-girlfriend, Minnesota elected officials flew to Michigan earlier this week, pleading with the Ford Motor Company for just one more chance. This pitch–if you keep the plant open, we’ll give you stuff like tax breaks–didn’t work the previous dozen times and it didn’t work Wednesday. Minnesota missed the [...]...
Hindsight 2020 - Thu 1:24 p.m. - 12 clicks
Today I'm introducing a guest blogger to add some variety and perspective to the content here. I met Jeff Manuel at a book event in the Twin Cities and he's been sending me some fascinating reading material ever since. He explains the series of posts he'll be sharing here in coming weeks: Hello, Minnesota Browners! I want to thank Aaron for letting me contribute to the blog. As someone who is...
MinnesotaBrown - Thu 9:40 a.m. - 17 clicks
From MinnPost's Derek Wallbank's account of Bachmann's bus tour: National press were barred from the bus (“Local media only,” her handlers repeatedly told a national camera crew) so Bachmann could talk to MinnPost, the Star Tribune, local Associated Press, MPR, WCCO, KARE, St. Cloud reporters and others about her district specifically. Eric Roper at the T he Star Tribune: Aside from a...
Dump Michele Bachmann - Thu 9:40 a.m. - 16 clicks
Friends of Tarryl Clark: Last Tuesday, Michele Bachmann introduced us to "Jim the Election Guy" in the first of what will apparently be a series of attack ads. In it, "Jim" calls Tarryl Clark names - with a smile on his face. Very "Minnesota Nice" isn't it? No one knows who "Jim the Election Guy" is, but today, we'd like to introduce you to Jim the Actual Voter. Actually, we'd like to introduce...
Dump Michele Bachmann - Thu 9:22 a.m. - 11 clicks
The Midway: Ground Zero for Fair goers It has started. The Minnesota State Fair is underway and from now until Labor Day north-south Fair traffic will exceed the east-west commuter traffic running past my place as 1.7 million people a day infest the Midway (not that the city has adjusted the timing on the traffic [...] ...
Norwegianity - Aug 26 - 12 clicks
The word most frequently thrown around to describe our climb out of the economic abyss would have to be “jobless.” Despite an unemployment rate that nearly eclipsed the national number in spring 2009, Minnesota’s recovery has not been entirely without job creation. To see how this recovery stacked up, we compared employment trends in the [...]...
Hindsight 2020 - Aug 26 - 12 clicks
Bachmann Supporter and Fellow Traveler (see sidebar to the left) has a blog post on his "Lake Minnetonka Liberty" blog titled "Mark Dayton & SEIU, do you really need another reason not to vote for him?" . This is what The Admiral had to say about SEIU Local 26 President Javier Morillo-Alicea : That’s right, and what business is it of yours, Javier, how much money Target makes? It doesn’t conc...
Dump Michele Bachmann - Aug 26 - 19 clicks
I'm still on the mailing list for the Asian Carp controversy . A ruling on whether the threat of this invasive species will close two of the Chicago locks is expected soon. MInnesota Public Radio's Bob Kelleher has the story . Mostly I'm writing this because I get to show more carp pictures. Is that wrong? Probably. ...
MinnesotaBrown - Aug 25 - 17 clicks
Lately, predictably, there have been letters and ads and essays written on the “oddness” of Senator Mark Dayton’s (the DFL candidate for governor in Minnesota) closure of his senate office shortly before the election of 2004. This is all an effort to paint him as “erratic”, all because he took careful precautions during the hyped-up [...] ...
Pro MN Politics - Aug 25 - 9 clicks
The next-to-final show of the "Art in the Park" Iron Range music series hits the Minnesota Discovery Center amphitheater stage Thursday night in Chisholm. Support local musicians Thursday, August 26, at Minnesota Discovery Center’s Art in the Park event. Music begins at 6 p.m. featuring Deafman’s Radio, a blues and rockabilly ensemble out of northern Minnesota, followed by Full Range, a vocal ...
MinnesotaBrown - Aug 25 - 12 clicks
You'll notice some changes here at MinnesotaBrown.com. With some fantastic help from my wife Christina we've implemented a new template and header. This is part of my long range plan to do more creative work here on the blog in addition to my established regional and state commentary. Think The Awl but with mostly one author and based entirely on the Iron Range. I am certain to succeed! And whe...
MinnesotaBrown - Aug 24 - 8 clicks
Unfortunately, cab driving doesn't pay well enough to pay all the bills I've acquired over the years, so I figure I will run for governor of Minnesota in 2014. Here's my platform... I'd help any Minnesotan who had the desire to better their lives. As for those who insist on living a life of crime, I'd provide long term housing, at a nearby penitentiary. I'd promote an extension to t...
The Shannon Files - Aug 24 - 5 clicks
Michele Bachmann’s America is all about fund raising to support the candidates and the twisted ideologies of the Tea Party and the GOP, and has nothing to do with real people in Minnesota who need her representation. She doesn’t even meet with people in her district anymore. We are not worth her time. This is [...] ...
Pro MN Politics - Aug 24 - 6 clicks
