Sutton goes to New Ulm

From GOP Chair Sutton's Twitter page...

agsutton:On the way to New Ulm to talk how we beat Tim Walz.
about 4 hours ago from mobile web

What a waste of time and money.

Next Sutton and Brodborb will be enroute to Moorhead to discuss how to beat Congressman Peterson...

Fargo Forum: "Peterson Tells It Like It Is"

I'm up in Fargo for the weekend and as we sat in out hotel bar last night, I caught this op ed in the Fargo Forum.

Republicans in Minnesota’s 7th Congressional District think they have been handed a club they can use to beat up Congressman Collin Peterson. Not gonna happen.

The ever-candid Peterson said Monday that he doesn’t hold town meetings in the district because “25 percent of my people believe the Pentagon and (then-Defense Secretary) Rumsfeld were responsible for taking the Twin Towers down” on Sept. 11, 2001. The comment was immediately seized upon by state GOP Chairman Tony Sutton, who called it “really bizarre.” Sutton said the comment should help Republicans recruit candidates to run against Peterson.

Good luck with that, Tony.

Fact is, many people in the pool Sutton would plumb for candidates believe what Peterson said they believe about the 2001 terrorist attacks. Peterson, who knows the 7th very well, might have been exaggerating by saying 25 percent of his constituents subscribe to such nonsense, but enough do so that open town meetings could very well deteriorate into nut-fests. Later he expanded his initial comments by noting that people on the far right and far left “try to hijack public forums like town meetings.” Anyone who’s been to one of those meetings knows the congressman has it right.

What’s “really bizarre,” as Sutton put it, is that Republicans apparently don’t recognize that Peterson’s tendency to speak his mind – whether about Fargo-Moorhead flood control or the fringe folks in his district – is one of his political strengths. He might ruffle feathers, but his appeal to voters in the 7th is as strong as ever. Indeed, no matter who Republicans run against him, he wins by margins so wide that an impressive number of Republicans have to be voting for him.

If the best Sutton and his minions can do is hang their election hopes on a frank and honest comment by Peterson, the congressman will run up another landslide win in 2010.

A pretty harsh indictment on Brodkorb and Sutton's faulty tactics, if I do say so myself!

Minnesota GOP Steps Up to Defend Far Left Conspiracy Theories

Just when you think the Minnesota Republican Party couldn't be in any worse shape...

I mean really, we're talking about following in the footsteps of Ron Carey and his press release templates.

I honestly didn't think things could get much worse under the dynamic duo of Tony Sutton and Michael Brodkorb...

Oh how I was wrong!

In very calculated and well thought out act of strategery, Sutton and Brodkorb launched an ad campaign in Minnesota's 7th Congressional District, taking shots at Congressman Peterson for his remarks on 9-11 conspiracy theories and constituent outreach.

Now, when you hear folks saying Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and the Government were behind the attacks on 9-11, what do you thing of?

I think of left-wing...well...wacko's. I do.

So, in a district that Peterson won by more than 40% in 2008 and probably the third most conservative district in the State, Sutton and Brodkorb decide to come to the defense of left wing wackos?

Brilliant!

Didn't Seifert and other House Republicans try to get rid of RINO's the past few years? I guess they're really stretching that big tent concept...

I'm waiting for Ashton Kutcher to show up anytime now...

I like Congressman Peterson, and while he's too conservative at times for my tastes, he represents the enormous 7th CD well. In fact, the GOP attacks on Peterson's comments may actually serve to prove to those on the right that Peterson IS a better representative for them, after all his dissing of those damn left wing wackos.

Peterson may end up in better shape after the 5 figure ad buy! I can see the McLeod County GOP folks lining up to support Peterson now, especially after Peterson came out against those damn liberals!

But it gets better.

Ryan Flynn and the clowns at MDE think they're having a field day with Congressman Peterson's statements.

Once again, this has been a great week for the MNGOP putting pressure on Congressman Peterson.

While part of me didn't want to create this post and allow the MN GOP to continue their nonsense, my zeal for going after the MN GOP surpassed that.

So, anyone else feel better about the new direction of the Minnesota GOP?

MN GOP to go after Congressman Peterson

So apparently, they're going to unveil a new ad campaign against the Congressman?

I say go for...in fact, the Minnesota GOP should spend every penny they have going after Congressman Peterson on this.

We won't tell them that Congressman Peterson hasn't gotten less than 65% of the vote in the 7th since 1996.

He won't lose on this issue...but if the Minnesota GOP wants to waste money on this (post PCR), go for it.

Ron Carey meddles with GOP delegate elections

From a ticked off 6th CD GOP delegate.

So at the 3rd and 7th district conventions Ron Carey, state party chairman stepped in front of the conventions to call Ron Paul supporters a bunch of libertarian infiltrators who are going to destroy the party, neglecting to mention that many are long time party members. He then denounced us for running slates, which he waved around, and proceeded to order the delegates to vote for HIS slate if they didn't want to lose in November.

I wonder if Ron Baert knows Meeker County didn't even count their votes during precinct caucuses because...GASP...Ron Paul won Meeker County!

I questioned what was going on in Meeker County. When I checked the Secretary of State site this morning, the only precinct that reported numbers was Cedar Mills, where Ron Paul beat Mike Huckabee 83-67. Romney finished with 55 votes, McCain 43, and Alan Keyes 7.

It remains the only precinct in Meeker County to have results posted at the SOS site.

Interesting. Ron Paul won Meeker County and the "Republican Leadership" in Meeker County decided to not send in the proper election results? They reported zero's to their party and to the Secretary of State!

It's been said that "the revolution will not be televised". The "Ron Paul Revolution" swept through Meeker County Tuesday night yet the votes weren't even reported properly.

Granted, we know Ron Carey addressed these delegates long before the "Ron Carey Gag Order" was issued, the one where he cannot talk about the sorry state of the Minnesota Republican Party's finances.

It's been 4 days since the "Ron Carey Gag Order" was exposed. When will Carey actually talk to Minnesotans about the waste, fraud, and abuse with GOP finances?

We already know they cannot count votes, at least in Meeker County.

Frank Moe won't seek relection in 2008

Now this is a shocker!

Moe said he didn’t know if he should announce now, or at the end of the legislative session, which is the normal time lawmakers announce their intention.

“Just last night (Friday) I thought I can’t go and ask the Senate district for the endorsement, knowing in my heart that I wasn’t really going to run for office,” Moe said in an interview. “That wasn’t honest, and I didn’t feel like I could do it.”

I met Rep Moe and his wife while at a MSUSA Conference up in Bemidji a few years ago. Rep Moe was always a strong supporter of higher education issues, a strong advocate for our association and our students.

Nolan, Nicole and I had a great conversation with Rep Moe at the State DFL Convention in 2006. His insight helped my campaign for the State Senate immensly.

Frank Moe is a strong role model in Minnesota politics and will be greatly missed. I wish Frank and Sherri the best!

A rural GOP mutiny?

Apparently, McLeod County Republicans are not satisfied with Senator Coleman.

The past month or so, multiple stories and op ed pieces have been covered in the McLeod Chronicle.

At the Glencoe caucus.

"I'm disappointed the Republican Party is becoming too liberal," Krueger said. He pointed to the elections of Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman and the fact that former state Rep. Scott Newman was "left out to dry" in the last judicial election as proof the party has changed.

"I can't go on holding my nose," Krueger said as Arizona Sen. John McCain has surged in the polls for Republican candidate for president.

"John McCain is a liberal," Krueger lashed out. "There's no difference between (Barack) Obama, (Hillary) Clinton and McCain," he added. He pointed to the media bias as having brainwashed Republicans about McCain.

The McLeod County Convention in Silver Lake

"Your voting record is disappointing to say the least," the letter stated. "Reviewing some of your votes within the last month, we wonder if you have forgotten that you are a Republican and not a Democrat."

The letter stated Coleman's support of the "Dream Act," which allows illegal immigrants access to federal money for student loans and gives a fast-track to citizenship to millions "is a sellout to millions of taxpayers in the United States who will have to pay for 'lawbreakers' to go to school" and will bring millions more of illegals into the country.

Also, the local GOPers were critical of Coleman's support for a "hate crimes bill," that will enhance punishment for crimes against homosexuals and transgender people.

"Why do you feel that a homosexual or a transgender person should be given special treatment? All crimes are hate crimes," the letter stated.

Coleman's support for a bill to spend $35 billion on healthcare for children and his intention to override the president's veto also drew criticism.

"Of course, we all want children to be healthy! But having the federal government manage the program will never work and will only lead to failed socialized medical care and cost taxpayers in America billions of dollars."

Fourth, Coleman's support of $65 million for the Northstar Corridor Rail and another $35 million for the Central Corridor Rail line at a time when the country is trillions of dollars in debt drew the ire of the local Republicans. "What is the sense in this?"

The local party board members wrote to state leaders and to Coleman that they elected the leadership; "However, there is also a responsibility on your part to support our party principles to the best of your ability.

"We don't see you are doing that; therefore, we have decided not to support you (Coleman) if you are endorsed next spring," the letter stated.

Wow, McLeod County Republican leadership will not support Senator Coleman?

The mutiny LTE: They don't like RINO's much in this neck of the woods...

This county "problem" brings to light the greater national Republican "problem." Now that the Democrats have moved from a liberalist to a socialist platform, the Republican machine thinks it is in their best interest to slide left and take up some of the liberal void left behind, all in hopes of capturing a few votes from the "other side.

"Let us tell you, those few votes aren't even going to come close to the votes you are going to leave behind. We, who make up the core of the party, are not going to slide left with you. We have reached our moral "line in the sand." We are tired of voting against someone rather than for someone.

Senator Coleman responds!

"I represent Minnesota, not just the conservatives," Coleman responded. He said his aim is to do what is right in the end on the main things important to the state.

As to the Dream Act, he said some of these immigrants have served in the armed forces, while others "are here due to the sins of their parents (born in the U.S.). Should they be punished for that?"

He said if the immigrants grew up in the U.S., they should be allowed to attend schools in the U.S.

As to the hate crimes legislation, Coleman said he recognizes the concerns of the conservatives in the party, but what is proposed on the federal level "is already Minnesota law."

He said if the federal bill oppresses folks' religious beliefs, "I'd oppose it."

He said he has spoken to a lot of conservatives who are worried about their Christian values being attacked, but he said there is no evidence that is happening "or I would have opposed it."

As to county criticism by conservatives, Coleman said the same thing is happening on the federal level with conservatives having a tough time supporting Arizona Sen. John McCain as the Republican nominee for president.

But Coleman said, "I think the talk radio" attacks on McCain, "are a death wish for the party."

He asked Minnesota conservatives if they want Al Franken as their next U.S. Senator. "That's a judgment people have to make. Or do you want Hillary or Obama there (in the presidency)?"

He said voting for McCain "is not the less-of-two-evils choice. The choices are so clear."

While Coleman said he disagrees with McCain on some issues, "he's there on life, 2nd Amendments, national security (issues)."

Coleman said he often uses an old saying from former New York Mayor Ed Koch. "If you agree with me 100 percent, you need a psychiatrist. If you agree with me 80 percent, then support me."

Ah, the DREAM Act.

In 2006, we had an actual debate in Hutchinson at Ridgewater College. Congressional candidates, State Senate and House candidates were in attendance.

The subject of the DREAM Act came up. Out of the 7 people on stage, I was the only one who knew what the DREAM Act really was about. I was the only one on stage that could actually explain the Minnesota legislation.

Michael Barrett was crazy on this subject! Senator Dille responded by saying, "It seems like Hal knows a lot more about this subject than any of us up here. I'll have to take a look at this."

After the debate, Barrett supporters in McLeod County told me I would lose the election over my support of the DREAM Act.

Damn, had I just not supported this fair piece of legislation...

Ron Shimanski sends heartfelt constituent email...over his listserv

Wow.

I cannot believe what I just read.

State Rep Ron Shimanski, R-Silver Lake has a email update he sends out to constituents. Typically I do not read them, as Rep Shimanski tends to do the whole "blame the Democrats" and "tax and spend" dance in virtually every edition.

This one came with a different look, so I checked it out.

I was astonished at what I read. A constituent wrote Rep Shimanski about some issues within the district. I will not divulge the contents of the letter, other than to say that I am deeply disturbed that a State Representative could make a mistake in releasing private information of this proportion.

Sick...just sick.

Still a MinnCan pipeline fan?

Tragic news on a pipeline in Northern Minnesota.

While Koch Industries was not directly related to this recent tragedy, they historically have a very poor safety record.

Check out my previous posts on the MinnCan Pipeline, I'll try to post more on this later!

*Update*

I'd like to welcome back the Koch Industries exec's who are reading the blog today! Welcome back...now keep your damn pipeline out of my backyard!

Michael Barrett: Kicked off the righty blogosphere

Many thanks to our friend Ollie Ox for pointing this out!

Ah, the memories...

Parades in Litchfield, Glencoe, Silver Lake, and Stewart with big blue signs that said "Stop the Invasion."

Forums in Glencoe and Hutchinson where Barrett's platform was nearly 100% anti-immigration based.

Grandstanding at Ridgewater College to announce a "major policy statement" where he announced a plan for higher education that left higher education lobbyists, students, and faculty alike wondering what they had just witnessed.

Ah, the memories of our favorite "bat shit crazy" Congressional candidate not named Bachmann.

Former 7th Congressional District GOP candidate Michael Barrett has taken down his blog, Seventh Son, after he used content from another blog and failed to cite his sources.

May I say, I think Barrett's in the wrong party...or maybe not, the mix of elitism and clumsy stupidity make him perfect material for the upper echelons of the Republican Party Leadership...maybe Trent Lott will need an assistant in his new lobbying gig.

I've tried to get in contact with Barrett through various means for the past five days, I've also given the MN GOP notice that we have this story, have received confirmation they received the notice, and are looking into it. However, I think its best that people are made aware of Barrett's plagiarism, particularly because he may be running for the House again in 2008. We may as well put this story out there, because it'll be us, or it'll be the Left, and I'd rather we police our own.

Oh, and one last thing, should Barrett decide to scrub his blog if he finds he doesn't like unwanted attention, I've screencapped everything, so I'll post those as needed. Just let me know if he's done so in comments, and I'll post my screencaps.

True North gave Barrett the boot as well.

So, where does he stand with the Fred Thompson people now?

Fred Thompson's campaign announced the members of his Minnesota Steering Committee. Minnesota House Minority Leader Marty Seifert will serve as the honorary chairman and will lead the Thompson campaign in Minnesota. Other members of the committee include Rep. Tom Hackbarth, Margaret Cavanaugh, Mike Barrett and Kurt Daudt.

Marty Seifert heh?

I'm surely going to miss Seventh Son blogging about being ticked off with Governor Pawlenty for not appointing Scott Newman to a Judiciary position...that's for sure!

Good ole Strib LTE's today!

The Strib had some great LTE's today.

About the "bad bills" being brought forth by the DFL. I wonder if any of our local papers will opine on this one soon, it's only been a month since Rep Seifert shot that round across the bow...surely someone out here will pick it up.

Kersten doesn't think we need legislation to protect children from their parents, she doesn't read the newspaper. If we need legislation at all, it's to protect those without a voice. Parents are overwhelmingly responsible for the deaths of their own children.

With another parent having left a child to go to a casino, perhaps us liberal democrats are not so crazy after all?

Congresswoman Bachmann made the Strib again!

Pushing a falsehood
Rep. Michele Bachmann said that the 9/11 attacks and the need to prevent future attacks are two of the reasons that we need to continue our policy in Iraq. Is she kidding? Anyone knowledgeable would never have linked the tragic events of 9/11 to the current situation in Iraq. Al-Qaida, which was responsible for the 9/11 attacks, operates out of Pakistan, not Iraq.
MIKE KLEITER, SAVAGE

Such a tired and overused piece of GOP rhetoric. Iraq/9-11/Al-Qaida...

Congressman Peterson also drew the ire of Strib readers.

I would welcome Peterson's resignation. Better a mature Republican representing the Seventh District than a temper-tantrum-throwing Democrat.

Wow, the letter writer remains clueless as to:

1. How big the 7th Congressional District is. FYI, it has 35 of Minnesota's 87 counties and is one of the largest Congressional Districts in the US.
2. How important Congressman Peterson's work is for farmers and conservation advocates alike.

As Congressman Peterson said, "It could be that I can't event legally fly my own plane even if I don't ask anybody to pay for it, which would be kind of crazy."

Neither of the letter writers live in the 7th CD.

Has Congresswoman Bachmann been anywhere near the rural areas of the 6th CD? No signs out in our rual Wright County outpost. Truthfully, if it makes an elected official more efficient, I am all for it.

McLeod West School Bond Vote

BROWNTON, Minn. - For the second time this year, voters in the McLeod West School District have rejected a bond referendum.

The 16.5 (m) million dollar proposal would have built a new K-through-12 school building.
Voters yesterday defeated the proposal by a margin of 203 votes. Last June, the bond failed by 201 votes.

The district currently has a high school in Brownton and an elementary school in Stewart.

So, the tally for School Levies in SD 18:

Annandale: PASSED
Atwater Grove City-Cosmos: FAILED
Dassel Cokato: FAILED
Glencoe Silver Lake: FAILED
McLeod West: FAILED

On the heels of previous levies that failed in 2005 as well. More to follow in previous bond results.

It's a sad day for schools in rural Minnesota. I hope that our elected leaders are mindful of what is happening here. We spoke about it legnth on the campaign trail. Senator Dille talked about school funding issues a decade ago...yet the status quo remains.

Holy Fundraising Batman!

The figures are in for what was spent politically in MN. Wow!

More than $35 million was spent by Federal Candidates in MN for 2006. Damn!

About $6 was spent in SD 18, CD 6...

CD 6 set a record in Mn for spending $5.7 million! Wetterling spent about $3.1 million? Bachmann about $2.4 million.

CD 7 Congressman Peterson spent $686,000 and Michael Barrett spent almost $37,000, our operatives tell us all of it in SD 18!

I am sure Barrett is fundraising for an 08 run at Peterson. Wetterling is done in politics, IMO...

Democrats are going to have to raise a boatload of money and organize all across CD 6, in order to beat Bachmann in 08.

No Representative Seifert, we have no need to keep drunken sailors away from the ship...

Organizing against the MinnCan pipeline!

Here is a link for you to get more info on the MN PIRG organizing efforts around the issue.

Pipeline fight

Damn you Hutchinson Leader! You do not print your entire articles on line anymore! That's ok though, I understand its just the business.

Perhaps I will follow someone's expert advice and buy print copies of the newspapers instead of trying to read them on line all the time!

Anyway...the pipeline issue took a back seat to many issues during the recent campaign.

Seems like the Minnesota Public Interest Research Group, or MPIRG, has gotten involved. They held a meeting in Norwood Young America in which 60 people showed their interest in organizing against the pipeline.

I spoke to many farmers who had significant concerns over the pipeline. One was an organic farmer north of Plato and Glencoe. The fears of farmers are obvious.

I'll turn it over to the St Paul Pioneer Press from here...

Rural residents object to pipeline
Homeowners worry proposed line would crash property values

BY FREDERICK MELO
Pioneer Press

When his eyesight began to dim, Scott P. Anderson set his sights on sprucing up his house. After 10 years of hammering and sawing, the 40-year-old cabinetmaker put his Eureka Township trophy home on the market last year, hoping to sell it for more than $500,000.
He planned to use the money to move his family to Massachusetts, buy a condo and eventually pay his children's way through college.

"That was my investment," said Anderson, who is legally blind.

Then came the MinnCan Project, a proposed 300-mile oil line that would cleave through rural Dakota County, threatening to turn the cabinetmaker's dreams to sawdust.

According to Anderson, Minnesota Pipe Line Co., which has proposed the oil line, offered him $4,300 for a permanent easement running the length of his 4-acre property, south of Farmington. His real estate agent, however, has estimated the resulting loss in land value at $125,000, and possibly much greater.

It's a familiar story for more than 1,000 landowners on the path of the MinnCan proposal. Many homeowners who hoped to one day sell their properties for retirement funds said the easement offers are minuscule compared with land values on the open market, even during the current downturn.

And in another blow to property values, the MinnCan contract prohibits any kind of construction on the 50-foot easement, other than driveways.

"This area out here is growing, and all of the farms that are out here are going to be developed into housing," said Judy Martin, of New Market Township, in Scott County. "When they put the pipe through, you can't build on it. It's gone. You can mow it, and you pay taxes on it. You can't put trees up. You can't do anything."

Martin and her husband have owned their 2½-acre property for 35 years, and the couple had plans to sell it and retire off the proceeds. Now, those plans may be as compromised as their grove of black walnut, maple, plum and apple trees, which is directly in the pipeline's path.
"Who is going to want it?" Martin said. "If you saw land with equal value, one with a pipeline on it, one without, which one would you buy?"

Minnesota Pipe Line Co. has sent out scores of representatives to try to convince resistant landowners like the Andersons and the Martins.

"We did different appraisals to try to get the (correct value) of the land," said Todd McKimmey, engineering and construction manager with Minnesota Pipe Line Co. "We felt like what we needed to do was start with our best offer first."

And about 70 percent of landowners have accepted the contract, which provides a 20 percent down payment on easements and the remainder after construction.
The company says the oil line could help stabilize gas prices throughout the Midwest by drawing as many as 165,000 barrels of oil per day from Canada. The group's existing route, which goes through Anoka and Washington counties, carries 300,000 barrels a day and is expected to reach capacity next year.

The new oil line would branch off from an underground line in Clearbrook, Minn., and stretch south across 13 rural counties to the Flint Hills Resources Refinery in Rosemount. If approved, construction is expected to begin next summer and be completed by early 2008. The new route would be operated by Koch Industries, which spilled 134,000 gallons in June in Little Falls.
Property owners say they've been put through the hard sell.

"We have had … five different representatives out here, " said Karen Ostlie, of Eureka Township. "They have said, 'Well, your neighbors have signed.' We go to the meetings, and we'll call. Nobody has signed anything. I just think of the whole thing as very unethical."
Then there's the question of money.

Peter Johnson's 96 acres of farmland in Eureka Township would be fronted by the oil line for half a mile along Highview Avenue. He said the company offered him $35,000.
"I'm close to 50 and thinking about retirement in the next 10 years," said Johnson, a sixth-generation farmer. "I wouldn't even want to guess the money I would lose in value, but it would be hundreds of thousands of dollars."

At times, he speaks of the project as a fait accompli. "We … are looking at our retirement thrown out the window," he said.

Many landowners had hoped to persuade Minnesota Pipe Line Co. to build the new route along the existing one. State regulators dropped that alternative in June, declaring the area too heavily developed.

Administrative Law Judge Beverly Heydinger is expected to make her recommendation this month to the Public Utilities Commission, which could then make its final decision by mid-December.

Some landowners have managed to persuade the company to avoid their properties, and Heydinger's report could suggest further route changes.

After a fervent letter-writing campaign on behalf of organic farmers, the oil line will no longer go through the Gardens of Eagan, an organic farm in Eureka Township. But as a result, the proposed path traverses the Andersons' and the Johnsons' front yards.

The Andersons, the Martins and the Johnsons say they are determined not to sign the MinnCan contract. If the line is approved, they fear the company will acquire the easements anyway by eminent domain.

They'll then have to go to court. And that's a pricey legal battle they don't look forward to.
Based in Wichita, Kan., Koch Industries recently became the largest privately held corporation in the world, by revenue. And it's a giant that has taken a few spills.

In 2000, Koch was ordered to pay $35 million —- the largest civil fine ever imposed on a company under federal environmental law —- to resolve claims from more than 300 oil spills in six states.

In Minnesota, the company paid a state record $6.9 million civil penalty in 1998 for storm water and hazardous-waste problems at the Rosemount plant. Minnesota Pipe Line Co.'s McKimmey said the company has improved its environmental record and has had only two spills in the state in the past 18 years.

How do we stop things like this from coming through our district? Organize, organize, organize! The pipeline is destroying property values (what will we fund our schools with) and could damage the fertile soil in our Western MN farmland.

We can organize to oppose the corporate greed...or we can sit back and let them take it from us.

I know what I am going to do!

The Farm Bill and emergency aid provisions

Startibune had a LTE on the issue today.

Every American is a stakeholder in the 2007 farm bill. That's why Bread for the World, the nation's largest faith-based grass-roots lobbying movement against hunger, will make farm-bill reform the focus of our 2007 legislative campaign. Improving the farm bill can make things better for farmers, and also for rural communities and hungry people.

Farm policy should start from the reality of today's rural America -- not that of the 1930s, when the original farm bill was crafted. It's time to create solutions that offer more equitable support for small and midsized U.S. farmers, strengthen rural communities, provide adequate and nutritious food for hungry people in this country, and help farmers in developing countries to support themselves and feed their families.

Rep. Collin Peterson has a historic opportunity to write a better farm bill -- one that meets the needs of all rural Americans, especially those who struggle with hunger and poverty. By supporting a better farm bill, Minnesotans have a historic opportunity to urge Congress, under Peterson's leadership, to turn this possibility of justice into a reality.

TAMMY WALHOF, MINNEAPOLIS; REGIONAL ORGANIZER, BREAD FOR THE WORLD

No doubt Congressman Peterson will have many groups like this urging him to add things that are needed to the Farm Bill.

What would I expect from a Congressman Peterson led Farm Bill?

Strong support for investment in renewable energy sources. Congressman Peterson is a champion on the issue.

Support to improve upon conservation programs. The Congressman has a knack for working across all sides of the issue, working with famers, environmentalists, and sportmen and women on the importance of comprehensive and progressive conservation programs. He knows that all sides are tremendous stewards for the environment.

Support the the sugar beat industry in Western MN and Eastern ND. It was one of the biggest reasons the Congressman opposed CAFTA. He gave a great address on the issue at St Cloud State a few years ago, after Mark Kennedy ducked the event.

We'll continue to see strong loan programs as well as stronger label of origin packaging requirements on imported foods.

The White House appears to be ready to veto a bill that would provide much needed relief to farmers and ranchers that faced financial hardships due to flooding and drought conditions across the nation.

North Dakota Democrat Kent Conrad was lead sponsor of disaster aid in the Senate and was expected to propose $4.5 billion to $5 billion in aid. Half of it would compensate farmers for crop losses that exceed 35 percent of normal. Ranchers would receive money to help pay for feed purchases. Congressman Peterson is taking the lead in the House.

On the heals of an article recently published talking about the possiblity of a White House veto on a disaster aid bill, Congressman Peterson is posied to do even better things for farmers and Minnesotan's alike.

Harold Windingstad

Looking around the blogosphere, we were lacking a discussion of an unfortunate event that recently occurred. Harold Windingstad, a long time DFLer, passed away at the age of 77.

This past fall, I had the opportunity to attend the Windingstad open in Willmar, a celebration of DFL events and a tribute to a party visionary.

I unfortunately never met the man. But I remember the stories very well. Elected leaders, friends, family and many others shared countless stories of the man and what he did for Minnesotans!

I'll leave it to the professionals at the Startibune on this one.

Harold Windingstad, farmer, DFL leader

Party leaders depended on his uncanny sense of his community and put that knowledge to work as they defined campaign strategies and reached out to voters.

Ben Cohen, Star Tribune
Last update: November 23, 2006 – 9:17 PM

Although Harold Windingstad lived his entire life on his family's farm in Lac Qui Parle County, his reach extended to farmers and DFL leaders across Minnesota.
Windingstad of Providence Township near Dawson was the man DFL political candidates went to for advice and fundraising help in western Minnesota.

He died of cancer Saturday in Clarkfield. He was 77.

Whether helping candidates as DFL chairman of southwestern Minnesota's Second Congressional District or serving as the local leader of the Minnesota Farmers Union, Windingstad had an uncanny sense of his community, said Doug Peterson, a former legislator who now leads the state Farmers Union from its headquarters in Roseville.

"He had the ability to talk to people at a very common level. He was very smart and he knew how to approach people. He had his pulse on the stuff that was happening locally and could relate it to what's happening in the state," said Peterson.

Windingstad often solicited contributions for political and charitable causes. "If you saw him coming, you would start to get out your checkbook," Peterson said.

Windingstad could be counted on, he said, regardless of whether it was a neighbor who needed help clearing snow after a blizzard or a decision needing to be made at the Farmers Union.

"When he showed up, you knew things would get done right," Peterson said.

Attorney General Mike Hatch said Windingstad was the person to whom DFL office-seekers went when they wanted to take the pulse of the state.

"He represented the best tradition of populism," Hatch said.

When Windingstad met presidential candidate Jimmy Carter at a national event, he was asked what he thought of the Georgia governor.

Windingstad's response: "Looks like a nice young man. He might go someplace," Hatch reported.

Windingstad was a delegate to two Democratic national conventions. He is credited with helping the Minnesota delegation come together after Carter won the endorsement in 1976.

Warren Spannaus, who was Minnesota attorney general from 1971 to 1982, said Windingstad was "very intelligent" and "always dependable."He was the kind of guy who made you feel good about being a candidate," said Spannaus.

Windingstad served four terms on the Minnesota Board on Aging, among many community leadership positions.

With his wife, Dolores, he received the inaugural Minnesota Farmers Union Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005. In 1987 he won the Hubert Humphrey Award for his dedication and leadership in the DFL Party.

He is survived by his wife. Services have been held.

Enterprise Dispatch column today

Roz Kohls had a good column today at the ED. Her discussion of tobacco use, drug use, and the societal issues surrounding marketing and body issues of women is something even large urban papers fail to address.

While I still do believe that the risks of tobacco use need to be fully discussed with all teens, the body image issues are abundant in society today. Roz, I could not agree with you more! And as a liberal democrat, I am not embarassed to admit that.

Body image issues are real every day issues that fail to attract any public discourse.

Some may recall the 2004 SCSU Homecoming Queen being a bi-sexual Hmong man. The election of Fue, and for clarification, he was elected by the student body, was about both breaking down gender roles and stereotypes and also about body image issues. It's something I will always be proud of being a part of. Depsite the turmoil, we raised awareness of a lot of isues in our community and on our campus.

We look forward to more progressive and thoughtful columns in the future!

Smoking ban in Hutchinson

Reader letters in the November 23rd Hutchinson Leader indicated a movement towards a smoke free community emerging in Hutchinson.

Mayor Steve Cook talks of how an ordinance could be in place effective June 1, 2007. A public meeting is scheduled for Thursday November 30th at 7pm at the City Center.

Another letter from Courtney Jones, talks of her dealings with the issue from the perspective as a waitress.

I worked in a smoke free bar in Tacoma Washington, the Engine House #9. It was packed 7 nights a week. They did have a front patio in which you could smoke, but it was outside.

I too enjoy sitting in a restaurant and having a meal without being choked by smoke.

I do have concerns with local governments passing bans on smoking in bars and resaurants. First and foremost is the fact that it CAN provide decreased revenues, especially if another town is located near but outside the banned area.

Hutchinson would not necessarily be impacted in a negative way. Although I think the bar in Biscay could see increased revenue if it chose to remain smoke filled.

The same holds true for our small towns in rural MN. If Annandale were to ban smoking, townships adjacent may not. So, bars outside of the city limits could get the influx of smokers who drink.

While already an illegal activity, I would envision an increase in the numbers of those that drive drunk.

It's because of this, I believe our elected officials need to step up to the plate and be leaders. Ban smoking in all bars and resaurants in Minnesota. Work with officials in WI, ND, SD, and IA to help border town bars to remain vibrant.

Foreclosures

Front Page of the Startribune today..

Twin Cities troubled by multiplying foreclosures

Home foreclosures in Minneapolis and St. Paul are rising at a rate that is beginning to alarm officials in both cities and threatening to destabilize some neighborhoods.

Similar trouble is evident in some metro suburbs and around the state, as more homeowners who plunged into the housing boom are now struggling with mortgages they can't pay.

In St. Paul, foreclosures are on a pace this year to be three times as high as they were in 2003. In Minneapolis, foreclosures have increased by about 79 percent compared with last year. Meanwhile in Dakota County, foreclosures exceeded last year's total by Sept. 1.

"There are more and more people who have purchased houses using mortgage products that they didn't fully understand," said Cliff Morse, a mortgage financial planner with American Home Mortgage in Chaska.

"Now people are falling backwards."

City officials and neighborhood leaders are struggling to respond to the problem.
This month, Minneapolis started taking calls to its 311 information line from residents facing foreclosure or having trouble making their mortgage payments. The city is also exploring the possibility of identifying at-risk homeowners before they fall victim to unscrupulous lenders.
Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak said foreclosures are now the top housing issue in the city. "It's on some level the underside of the refinancing boom," he said, "but it also has deeper aspects including financial literacy and risky lenders who sometimes don't have the best intentions."

What's behind the problem
Mortgage bankers and housing advocates cannot point to a single cause of the problem, but cite several factors:
• Relaxed lending standards since 2000 have enticed marginal borrowers into the market with risky and subprime mortgages that are generally at higher than prevailing interest rates.
• Rising short-term interest rates are increasing monthly expenses for families who have adjustable-rate mortgages.
• Stagnant sale prices are making it difficult for homeowners in crisis and investors on the edge to cash out.

Still, the foreclosure problem in the Twin Cities and the state is not as severe as it is in other parts of the country where job losses are higher and incomes are stagnant. Minnesota ranked 34th among the states in the number of properties entering foreclosure in October, according RealtyTrac, which keeps a national database of foreclosed properties.

Foreclosures in local suburbs, while increasing, are not as widespread as in Minneapolis and St. Paul. In Dakota County, the state's third-largest in population, foreclosures have been rising by double-digit percentages since 2002, according to officials at the county's Community Development Agency.

The largest increases have come in the past two years. Last year, 454 homes were foreclosed, a jump of 35 percent. So far this year, 523 have gone into foreclosure.

Even in Minneapolis and St. Paul, foreclosures remain a small fraction of the total number of mortgages. But city leaders are most concerned about the concentration of foreclosed homes in certain neighborhoods.
As of Nov. 3, there were 1,353 sheriff foreclosure sales in Minneapolis, according to data released by the city. During all of 2005, there were 870. And there were 414 in 2002.

Adding to blight
A disproportionate number of those foreclosures are in low-income neighborhoods on the city's north side. Some newly boarded-up and vacant houses are being stripped of copper pipes and anything else that can be carried out -- creating new blight in places already struggling with crime and poverty.

"It's an epidemic of grand proportion and a lot of it starts with foreclosures," said Tait Danielson Castillo, executive director of the Minneapolis Hawthorne Area Community Council.
Roberta Englund, a neighborhood leader on the north side, said she is watching with dismay as homes whose owners can no longer pay their mortgages get taken over by banks and become vacant.

About six weeks ago, she said, a house on the 3400 block of Newton Avenue N. that was home to a single mom and her four children was foreclosed. Now it sits empty with unraked leaves, peeling trim, a roof propped up by a board, and campaign literature still adorning the front lawn.

"I don't think there's any way to explain adequately how devastating one or more vacant houses on a block is to a community," Englund said.

The same thing is happening in St. Paul, where there were 623 foreclosures in 2005. As of July 1 this year, there were already 705.

The East Side and central city neighborhoods of Frogtown, North End, Payne-Phalen and Dayton's Bluff neighborhoods are where the problem is most apparent.

St. Paul City Council President Kathy Lantry said that part of the city's strategy will be to strengthen counseling programs to home buyers and residents with burdensome mortgages.
The nonprofit Family Housing Fund, for example, is working with both St. Paul and Minneapolis to come up with ways to reach out to those residents.

Tom Fulton, the president of the fund, said it is looking for ways to have properties purchased, rehabbed and sold to people who can afford them so they don't stand empty.

Get help early
Aside from the perils of living near a vacant house, neighborhood organizations are concerned the properties are falling into the hands of absentee owners who don't have the same interest in maintaining them as owner-occupants do.
Housing industry officials say it's important for people who are in or near financial trouble to seek help early.

Kristin Wells is among those who dodged the problem.

When she received notice that foreclosure proceedings on her home were imminent, she panicked, then became resigned to the idea that she would have to move out of her house in the north Minneapolis neighborhood where she was born and raised.

Wells got into financial trouble in part because of a brief period of unemployment. By the time she was able to catch up on bills, she learned that her mortgage lender would accept only the entire amount she owed in order to stop foreclosure proceedings.

Northside Residents Redevelopment Council helped her set up a repayment plan she could afford. She said she feels lucky her house was saved.

"When you're in trouble," she said, "don't wait."

Again, I ask the question...

We saw the impact out here in rural MN long before the Strib story. We saw the foreclosed homes in Stewart, Glencoe, Eden Valley, Watkins and Darwin. We talked to people who told us that the number of homes being foreclosed upon has increased significantly over the past year.

What can we do about it? I would legislate against predatory lenders. Secondly, as I talked about extensively on the campaign trail, we must stimulate the rural economies. We need real jobs in our area that pay a living wage and offer benefits.

With 50% of bankruptcy's caused by catastrophic health events, we need reform minded leaders who will advocate for the proverbial little guy.