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Statewide: January 11, 2012 Archive

BWCA cell tower appeal, growing Duluth, winter's return

Posted at 7:59 AM on January 11, 2012 by Michael Olson (1 Comments)
Filed under: Around MN

AT&T asks appeals court to allow tower near BWCA
AP: "AT&T is asking the Minnesota Court of Appeals to overturn a judge's decision barring it from building a 450-foot cellphone tower with flashing lights that would be visible within parts of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness."

Pederson calls for simpler vendor bidding rules
Saint Cloud Times: "A St. Cloud legislator is echoing a local business's contention that state officials set unfair ground rules for vendors vying for a contract to supply food to the Department of Corrections and other state agencies."

Tevlin: Aw, c'mon, Gary. You're really retiring from MPR?
Star Tribune: :So, will the man who has interviewed just about every prominent Minnesotan over the past four decades miss being out of the loop? 'Damn right,' says Eichten, who turns 65 in two weeks. 'But it's time. It's the right thing to do.'"

Ness lays out plan to increase Duluth's population to 90,000
Duluth News Tribune: Duluth Mayor Don Ness "unveiled what he called his 'prosperity agenda' to an audience at the Kitchi Gammi Club on Tuesday afternoon, saying the keys to growth will include new and better-paying jobs, access to affordable housing and a well-trained work force."

Shakopee launches fourth-quarter drive for Vikings stadium
Patch: "With deadlines from Vikings owners to come up with a stadium deal that would keep the Vikings in Minnesota, Mayor Tabke and other Shakopee officials are running their own version of the two-minute drill."

Deputies called; Dusso, Rohne resign
Austin Daily Herald: "It wasn't a meltdown like many predicted, but the Lyle Public School board meeting had some fireworks. Board members were at odds once more."

Now supplying 10 percent of nation's domestic crude production, North Dakota's output more than just a drop in the bucket
AP: "North Dakota oil drillers have surpassed a milestone of half a million barrels of oil a day, the state's top oil regulator said Tuesday."

Old Man Winter comes out of hibernation
Updraft: "Well, it is about time we tap into some colder air north of the border. Ten days into the new year and the temperatures are running close to 15 degrees above normal. ... Daylight has already lengthened and Old Man Winter has to play some catch-up. That begins today."

High-tech devices leave cellphone users vulnerable to spies
Forum of Fargo Moorhead: "Spy technology is now available to the average person who wants to glean cellphone information, read private emails and track someone's location using global positioning systems. And increasingly, experts say, the technologies are being used by spouses and partners to track, harass and stalk."

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Food stamps get a new name in Minnesota

Posted at 11:10 AM on January 11, 2012 by Julie Siple (1 Comments)
Filed under: Hunger

SNAP.JPG


Remember food stamps? They're not called that anymore.

What they are called is something of a problem.

When the program got started in April 1939, the name made sense. Food stamps were actually orange and blue stamps people could use to buy food.

After the federal government moved from paper coupons to electronic cards, it changed the name of the program to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. That 2008 change was intended to reduce the stigma that food stamps carried. The idea was to identify food stamps as a nutritional program, not welfare.

Meanwhile, most people kept calling them food stamps.

And for some reason, Minnesota officials who administer the program went with "Food Support."

When I write about this program, I generally go with something like this:

"More than 500,000 Minnesotans are now on Food Support, known nationally as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and formerly as food stamps."

No editor likes that.

On Tuesday, state Department of Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson announced that Minnesota will change to align with the federal name: SNAP. She said the name reflects the program's focus on healthy food for low-income Minnesotans, and will allow the state to take advantage of national promotional materials. Minnesota joins 29 other states that have done the same thing.

Jesson also acknowledged the current name has caused much confusion.

It's pretty hard to argue with that.

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