Statewide blog
New Ulm woman carries torch for closing Kmart
Posted at 10:52 AM on May 25, 2012
by David Cazares
(0 Comments)
Filed under: Minnesota
Photo by Dave Engen
By Sasha Aslanian
Marge Hames, a 74-year-old retiree in New Ulm, is protesting the closing of her local Kmart.
"Kmart may have been a [chain store], but I always felt it came up like a local store. I don't like that the ownership doesn't care what the store means to a town," Hames told the New Ulm Journal in March when she began her protest.
She's been out every day since late March (except Sundays) and will be there until the store closes in early June.
Her one-woman campaign inspired communication professors Dave Engen at MSU Mankato and Robert Jersak of Century College who were looking for a story to tell about neighbors. They recorded Hames for a short doc competition for the Third Coast Audio Festival.
"The story is about Kmart, yes," writes Engen. "But really it's a story about loyalty and faithfulness to her neighbors."
Listen to the doc here. It's a lovely audio portrait of a determined neighbor, an unexpected object of affection, and two teachers with ears and hearts for a good story:
International Falls wins $657,000 grant for rail hub project
Posted at 3:10 PM on May 24, 2012
by Tom Robertson
(0 Comments)
Filed under: Arrowhead, Economy, International Falls, Northwest Minnesota
The International Falls Economic Development Authority as been awarded a $657,000 state grant to construct a warehouse that will aid international shipping and create jobs.
A private company called Nexus Distribution will use the facility to provide repackaging services that enable Canada and other international companies to meet U.S. regulatory requirements, according to The Journal newspaper in International Falls.
The warehouse and processing center will be built on an 80 acre site adjacent to what city officials say is the largest rail port in North America. They expect the development will create about 50 much needed jobs over the next five years.
The project was among 14 in Minnesota that received funding through the state's Transportation Economic Development Program, a two-year-old initiative between the state Department of Employment and Economic Development and the Minnesota Department of Transportation. The program aims to improve transportation infrastructure and create jobs.
International Falls Mayor Shawn Mason told The Journal that the grant will help the city capitalize on its location in the center of North America. Rail containers carrying Asian-made product travel through International Falls from Vancouver, British Columbia and then on to Chicago.
Mason says the warehouse and processing center will provide services that help manufacturers comply with U.S. labeling and packaging codes. Much of that activity now happens in Chicago, where the process can be slower and more costly.
Local officials hope the project will lead to additional investment and economic opportunity along the rail corridor.
Groundbreaking on the facility is set for July 2.
New approach for organic weed control
Posted at 12:31 PM on May 23, 2012
by Mark Steil
(0 Comments)
Filed under: Farms, Research
(Photo courtesy of Dan Humburg, South Dakota State University)
A research scientist in western Minnesota is testing a new approach to weed control for organic farms. His idea is to cut the weeds down with a fine grit propelled through specially designed compressed air nozzles.
U.S. Agriculture Department research agronomist Frank Forcella, based in Morris, said he came up with the concept a few years ago:
"It seemed like a crazy idea," he said. "But it simply wouldn't leave my mind."
Early tests with a hand-held nozzle proved the sandblasting concept worked. But instead of sand, Forcella uses a softer, organic product: ground corn cobs. The material is powerful enough to kill the weeds but not harm young corn, soybean or other plants.
A team at South Dakota State University in Brookings is building a four-row prototype (above). Forcella hopes to begin field testing it later this month.
Organic farmers don't use chemical weed killers, so they largely rely on plowing to keep unwanted plants down. Forcella said if his concept works, farmers may get an added bonus. He said instead of corn cobs, farmers could use nutrient-rich material like ground alfalfa or canola seed meal. Besides killing weeds, the grit would also help fertilize the growing crop.
Around MN: Chipotle struggles after firing 450 undocumented workers in Minn.
Posted at 7:51 AM on May 22, 2012
by Michael Olson
(0 Comments)
Filed under: Around MN
Chipotle struggles after firing 450 undocumented workers in Minnesota
Businessweek: "The 1,260-store burrito chain fired about 450 Minnesota workers who couldn't confirm the validity of their work documents. The firings affected store operations and resulted in a temporary increase in labor costs to train new workers, Chipotle said in a filing."
Also on Minnesota Today
Gambling insiders doubt wisdom of Minnesota bet on e-gambling
Pioneer Press: "Minnesota is betting big that bringing technology to small-dollar bar gambling will draw a surge of new players whose wagers will help build a $975 million football stadium for the Vikings." MPR News: The e-pulltabs will arrive in establishments around the state in September.
High winds and heavy rain events eroding farmland
Daily Globe: "A wind advisory issued for today and a forecast for potentially heavy rains as early as Wednesday have the potential to wreak even more havoc on eroding topsoil across southwest Minnesota's farmland."
State's program a better measurement of Minn. schools, education official says
Duluth News Tribune: "The Minnesota Department of Education released new ratings today to gauge student achievement in an attempt to accurately portray school performance -- something the No Child Left Behind law failed to do, officials said."
MPR News: "The state system considers academic growth and other factors when assessing schools, not just one set of test scores. It identifies a narrow group of the highest- and lowest-performing schools for all to see, not just a broad list of who failed and who didn't. It also removes many of the toughest sanctions for low performance."
[MAP] Minnesota schools: MMR Ratings 2012
Best Buy's interim CEO snags big pay package
Star Tribune: "Corporate governance experts say G. Mike Mikan's pay is overly generous, given his lack of retail experience."
Pipe fight underway in Hudson
Hudson Patch: "A court fight is brewing between Left of Center and the City of Hudson after local cops changed the way they are enforcing the city's drug paraphernalia ordinance."
Buffalo on the loose
KEYC: "An update for you on those wayward buffalo in Northern Iowa. Some are still on the loose and have made it into Minnesota."
Couple says 'I do' over family graves
Austin Daily Herald: "Wedding bells rang out this weekend over the least likely place imaginable. Diane Waller and Randy Kjarland gave their vows during a 3 p.m. wedding ceremony Saturday set beside their parents' graves in Oakwood Cemetery. ... 'How cool is that?' Waller, the bride, said."
Soudan Underground Mine tours resume Saturday
Duluth News Tribune: "The park closed after a March 2011 fire deep below the surface that took several days to completely extinguish."
Daycare disaster; Paul delegates deliver; Solar eclipse
Posted at 7:45 AM on May 21, 2012
by Michael Olson
(1 Comments)
Filed under: Around MN
Overcrowded day cares 'a recipe for disaster'
Star Tribune: "When care providers take too many children, dangers multiply. Several sites of child-care deaths had been cited for capacity violations."
Ron Paul has Texas-size influence in Minnesota GOP
MPR News: "An overwhelming majority of the Minnesota delegation to this summer's Republican National Convention will be going to Tampa, Fla., as Ron Paul delegates. The Texas congressman had a huge influence on last weekend's Minnesota GOP convention in St. Cloud. Beyond nearly sweeping the national delegates, state Rep. Kurt Bills, Paul's endorsed candidate to take on Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar this fall, won the GOP endorsement over two other Republicans." Star Tribune: "The eclectic Texan's triumph at the state Republican convention was discouraging to longtime activists." Christian Science Monitor: Ron Paul 'bloodless coup' in Minnesota takes most delegates. Now what?
Bills to take to the road in school bus to campaign for U.S. Senate
Princeton Union Eagle: "He and his family, explained Bills, intend to 'rattle around' the state in the bus campaigning. Indeed, the back of the bus may get an upgrade from a church group to make it more comfortable for Bills, his wife Cindy, and the couple's four children, the candidate explained."
Ely firefighters catch a break from weather
Duluth News Tribune: "More than an inch of overnight rain helped firefighters make significant progress Sunday toward extinguishing a wildfire that earlier had threatened the city of Ely."
Klobuchar defends Democratic approach on budget
MPR News: "Sen. Amy Klobuchar's opponents accuse her of letting spending get out of control, but she points out that she has supported some big spending cuts."
Minnesota same-sex marriage fight re-energized -- on both sides
CNN: "Minneapolis is a conflicted city. It's home to one of the largest gay pride festivals in the Midwest and was once dubbed the 'gayest city in America' by The Advocate magazine. The metropolitan area is also home to the conservative power base of Rep. Michele Bachmann."
Farm prices continue to rise
Mankato Free Press: "Agricultural property values in Blue Earth and Nicollet counties continue to shoot up while homes and businesses stay the same or fall slightly in value."
Wine country comes to rural St. Peter
Mankato Free Press: "After watching the first grapevines planted three years ago, Kent Schwickert spent the weekend welcoming customers for the first time to Chankaska Creek Ranch & Winery near St. Peter. "
Congress cranks up heat on Minnesota HMO/Medicaid Probe
KAAL: "Congress sends follow up questions and requests state documents. All of this is connected to a Congressional investigation into Minnesota's 4-billion dollar Medicaid program."
Hill of Three Waters
Minnesota Brown: "An unofficial understanding has long existed between the various mining companies and local Ojibwe people that allowed the three-way watershed to remain untouched. The location's mystical, spiritual power has been recognized by centuries of peoples, quite possibly an eon's worth. It shows a rare point where the watershed breaks three ways: north to Hudson Bay, south to the Mississippi River and East to the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Seaway."
Beautiful solar eclipse!
Astro Bob: "It cleared just in time here in northern Minnesota for a great eclipse experience. My friend Jim joined me for a jaunt to Island Lake north of town, where we set up a couple small telescopes along a pleasant stretch of sandy beach."
Canada may close unique environmental research facility
Posted at 5:28 PM on May 18, 2012
by Dan Gunderson
(0 Comments)
Filed under: Research
Photo courtesy Fisheries and Oceans Canada
A decision by the Canadian government to end more than 40 years of unique environmental research has scientists up in arms.
The Experimental Lakes Area in southern Ontario is a place where scientists use dozens of small lakes to perform large scale, real world environmental studies.
The Winnipeg Free Press reports the Canadian federal government wants to eliminate funding for the program.
That dismays Jeff Jeremiason, environmental studies program director for Gustavus Adolphus College in Saint Peter, Minn. He conducted his doctoral research in the Experimental Lakes Area in the 1990s.
Jeremisason said the proposal "speaks to the declining value that society places on real science.
"The number of seminal studies conducted at ELA on dozens of environmental issues is astounding," Jeremiason wrote in an email. "Amongst scientists, it is world renowned. Its closing will hamper society's ability to address serious environmental concerns."
A number of University of Minnesota researchers also have done studies at the Canadian facility, said Deborah Swackhamer is co-director of the Water Resources Center at U of M.
She said shutting down the one-of-a-kind research site would be huge loss for science.
"There is not a way to do whole ecosystem scale freshwater research anywhere else in the world," Swackhamer said. "The work done there has been instrumental in our understanding of acid rain to endocrine disruption."
The project apparently won't be shut down without a fight. The Free Press reports provincial officials strongly oppose the budget cuts.
Long day ahead for firefighters near Ely
Posted at 8:00 AM on May 18, 2012
by Michael Olson
(0 Comments)
Filed under: Around MN
"This thing isn't over yet." Firefighters brace for long day near Ely, expecting high winds and warm temps. Dan Kraker reports there are 75-100 firefighters in Ely that will combat the fire which has subsided significantly since yesterday when it threatened the town.
Firefighters mop up near Ely
MPR News: Firefighters were able to stop a fast moving wildfire just outside the town of Ely on Thursday. The Highway 1 Fire started when a power line snapped.Several small fires quickly grew into a 216-acre blaze. Superior National Forest District Ranger Mark Van Every says the fire got to within a couple of hundred yards of Ely.
"It was a very close call," he said. "The fire was moving very rapidly, spotting ahead of itself, being pushed by the wind, you can see by the shape of the fire, it's a classic wind driven fire, it starts here and it gets pushed in a large cigar shape, and it was being pushed directly towards that southeast end of town."
Van Every says a quick response from several large water-dropping aircraft stationed nearby likely saved some homes from being destroyed. He says firefighters today will work to contain the fire's perimeter, and then work from the outside in, extinguishing any hot spots.
Video: Ely escapes wildfire disaster
Duluth News Tribune: "Fire crews and a wind switch combined to beat back a raging forest fire Thursday afternoon that burned to the edge of Ely."
Star Tribune: Ely tamps down a wildfire, but vigilance remains high
Also on Minnesota Today
Health care reform: GOP preps plan for ruling on law
Politico: "House Republican leaders are quietly hatching a plan of attack as they await a historic Supreme Court ruling on President Barack Obama's health care law."
Government support could shift for farmers
MPR News: "Over the last several years prices for soybeans, corn and other crops have increased, bringing in big revenues for Darwyn Bach and other farmers. But despite some years of increased profits, Bach still received a $4,500 check from the federal government."
Parts for Minnesota Power wind turbines blow through Twin Ports
Duluth News Tribune: "The latest installment of a growing wind energy center on the plains of North Dakota is moving through the Duluth port this week as Minnesota Power ramps up its renewable energy efforts."
The DNT is also reporting that the Duluth mail-processing center will remain open
Op-Ed: Dayton turned his back on compromise, Minnesotans
Sen. Julianne Ortman, R-Chanhassen writes in the Star Tribune: "Bipartisan deal in Legislature offered needed tax relief and jobs."
Op-Ed: Mining policies threaten national security and economy
H. Sterling Burnett writes in The Hill: "Instead of utilizing our more than $6.2 trillion worth of key mineral resources to our advantage, we've allowed confusing, outdated regulations deter investment in U.S. mining to the point that we're now 100-percent import dependent for 19 key minerals."
Op-Ed: Citizenship to Go
New York Times: "The real problem with citizenship laws is not their manipulation by lawmakers or entrepreneurs, much less by mythical 'anchor babies.' The problem is more fundamental: the age-old, irrational linkage between citizenship and birthplace."
Photos: Forest fire threatens homes and cabins near Ely, Minn.
Posted at 3:37 PM on May 17, 2012
by Michael Olson
(1 Comments)
Filed under: Arrowhead
Whooping cough concerns; Underappreciated Modernist designs; Sen. Bills?
Posted at 8:00 AM on May 17, 2012
by Michael Olson
(1 Comments)
Filed under: Around MN
Whooping cough cases on the rise in Minnesota
Pioneer Press: "Minnesota health officials say the state is dealing with a rising number of whooping cough cases this year."
Preservationists aim to halt Peavey Plaza redesign in Minneapolis
MPR News: "Brackish, green water fills the reflecting pool at Peavey Plaza in downtown Minneapolis. Two of the three pumps that circulate it have stopped working. The third hasn't been turned on since last year. The fountain's iconic metal columns are dry and a bronzy tinge can be clearly seen." New York Times: "The plaza has become another battleground in the wars being fought around the country between preservationists determined to save what they see as underappreciated Modernist designs and cities and developers pushing to move on."
Vying for Klobuchar's seat, Bills says he can make 'tough decisions'
MPR News: On Friday, Republicans are expected to endorse a candidate to run against DFL Sen. Amy Klobuchar. MPR News is looking at what each of the candidates is proposing to do about the nation's budget deficit. The three Republicans in the race all say government spending is out of control. Each is promoting a balanced budget, but none thinks taxes need to go up. Instead they all insist cuts and spending and regulations cuts are the best approach to ending deficit spending. This week we've heard from Dan Severson and Pete Hegseth. Today, it's state Rep. Kurt Bills' turn.
New Blue Cross network ranks Mayo Clinic in Tier 2
Post Bulletin: "Blue Cross ranked Mayo Clinic more costly than some of the other health systems covered by the plan, so the clinic gets a Tier 2 ranking instead of Tier 1."
For first time in U.S., minority babies now in majority
Star Tribune: "Census estimate marks a first for the nation, serving as harbinger of change to come."
Superior woman's 'ex-husband sale' stops traffic
Duluth News Tribune: "A public display of anger over love gone wrong -- or a celebration over a marriage ended -- caused traffic delays on North 21st Street in Superior on Wednesday."
Minn. apple crop mostly survives untimely frost
AP: "The sudden cold snap that interrupted Minnesota's warm spring five weeks ago doesn't appear to have been as big a disaster for the state's apple crop as first feared, but it still has left some growers hurting and worried."
Loving 'em to death
Posted at 3:18 PM on May 16, 2012
by Dan Gunderson
(0 Comments)
Filed under: Environment, Outdoors, Research
MPR photo Dan Gunderson
Minnesota is home to the largest American White Pelican colony in North America.
In 1968 the pelican was nearly extinct in Minnesota, down to one known breeding pair, state Department of Natural Resources researchers say.
Now there are an estimated 50,000 white pelicans in the state. Most of the birds winter in the Gulf of Mexico and return in the spring to raise young.
About 34,000 nest on Marsh Lake, in western Minnesota. On just one island nearly a half mile long and a few hundred feet wide, about 10,000 pelicans nest along with thousands of gulls and cormorants.
It's a bill-to-tail mass of birds and eggs and chicks. You can't take your eyes off the ground while walking because you'll step on a nest.
Researcher Jeff DiMatteo has been to the spot for about 25 years to band young pelicans He worries that the pelican colony is gaining notoriety, and attracting more birding enthusiasts and amateur photographers.
The islands on Marsh Lake are a protected sanctuary.
MPR photo Ann Arbor Miller
Trespassing on the islands can lead to citations and fines, according to Minnesota DNR Non-Game Wildlife Program Supervisor Carrol Henderson.
"Pelican colonies are at a critical stage of nesting right now, with many newly hatched chicks. Only researchers with appropriate permits may visit the island to conduct their studies," Henderson said. "Otherwise, pelicans at this stage of nesting will not tolerate trespassing by photographers or curious members of the public because it can result in the death of young."
MPR photo Dan Gunderson
Researcher Jeff DiMatteo says that's exactly what happened last year at the Marsh Lake Colony. An unidentified photographer paddled out to one of the islands and set up a blind. The parents left their nests and refused to return until the photographer left. Several hundred chicks died as a result. Dimatteo worries growing interest in pelicans will lead people to "love em to death."
To minimize the impact of his research trips to the colony, Dimatteo doesn't spend much time in any one area. He moves slowly to avoid alarming the pelicans.
I also worried about how to record the birds without unnecessary disturbance. Pelicans don't make a lot of noise. To obtain the sound of adults on the nest, I stashed a small recorder among the nests, collecting it when researchers returned to the area an hour later.
There have been cases of pelican colonies abandoned after too much disturbance. A few years ago thousands of pelicans abandoned chicks and eggs at the Chase Lake Refuge in North Dakota. The reason remains unclear. No one knows the limits of the pelicans tolerance for disturbance.
The DNR's Carrol Henderson says people who want to see pelicans should check out a colony on Pigeon Lake near Hutchinson. There is a Highway Scenic Overlook that was provided specifically for birdwatchers to view the colony from a safe distance.
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MN Sounds and Voices Hearing what defines us
Minnesota Sounds and Voices: The Spin Collective dancers
The sun is setting on Lake Superior as members of the Spin Collective dancers soak small kevlar orbs in fuel and set them afire. Then, wielding them at the end of chains or long metal arms, they begin twirling the orbs in what's called a poi dance.
From the Audio Archives
1973: Defining Irish
Dr. Eoin McKiernan talks about what it means to be Irish.
