Of all the obvious jabs at Minnesota 8th District Congressman Raymond “Chip” Cravaack for moving to New Hampshire — which reached a fever pitch today for the New Hampshire primary — this is definitely the funniest. (Note to moderators, it’s blatantly partisan, certain to test the new commenting policy).
Not sure if the movie clips are fair-use or not so I suppose it could get yanked at any time.
The Blockbuster store on Central Entrance is closing; what video shops remain? See DNT.
How long until I won’t be able to own my media any more?
In the past, the swearing in ceremonies were a very small part of the State of the City activities. This year we’ve decided to try something different in order to give City Councilors their own event, allowing the newly elected councilors to be the focus of that event. So, next Monday, I will have a very short outdoor inauguration at noon at City Hall. That evening, the council inauguration will be held at 6 p.m. at Clyde Iron Works, the ceremony starting at 6:30. As a reminder, the councilors being sworn in include Jay Folse, Sharla Gardner, Jennifer Julsrud, Garry Krause, Linda Krug and Emily Larson.
At 7 p.m. there will be a reception featuring live music by Teague Alexy and the Boomchucks. All these events are free and open to the public — we’d love to see you there!
This looks like fun. Some friends of mine are going. Deadline is on the horizon! –db
From the Star Tribune: “Why are we more boozy?”
“Many residents in the Upper Midwest are descendants of northern Europeans, and that’s an area of heavy alcohol consumption,” said Peter Nathan, a professor at the University of Iowa who has been studying alcohol use patterns and effects for more than 40 years. “The long, cold winters keep people inside more than in other parts of the country, so that contributes, as well.”
Thanks to all the pagan drummers and bonfire tenders, the sun came back up this morning. From Park Point, it was rising right over the mouth of the Amnicon River. Where was your solstice sunrise?
Here are a few musings on the topic.
Happy winter!
MPR: $300M initiative to clean up Great Lakes
Congress has approved $300 million to continue a multiyear program aimed at fixing some of the Great Lakes’ most severe environmental problems. Some of the money is expected to benefit Lake Superior and Duluth.
[This post originally featured a video from the Northland’s NewsCenter that is no longer available.]
The Senate has voted to pass the National Defense Authorization Act , which contains a provision that would allow the military to abduct American citizens, on US soil, without charges or trial, indefinitely. Ex CIA analyst Ray McGovern discusses it here. Both Minnesota senators voted yea. This is a big deal!
UMD released the name of a student found dead in his dorm Monday. William “Billy” Harper, 19 from Coon Rapids, was discovered dead in his room at Heany Hall on Monday. Lisa Erwin, chancellor of student life, says it appears he died of natural causes. Billy Harper was enrolled in the Labowitz School of Business and Economics. He was very active in sports and talented football player in high school. My prayers are with his friends and family.
As someone still fairly new to town, I’m not sure I understand the whole story behind the legalities of the Fond-du-Luth casino downtown.
Is it located on sovereign Indian territory or is the Fond du Lac band just the landlords? Why do we have such an eyesore that encourages anti-social behavior in our downtown at all? Isn’t there some way to make it go away entirely in favor of say, a museum, or a book store, or affordable housing, or a cafe?
[BTW — I come from a family of origin where the scourge of gambling wreaked havoc. Yeah, yeah, I know people can enjoy gambling and do it responsibly — but can’t we at least leave that out of downtown and off in Nevada or on reservations? (Of course, I don’t think it’s really healthy for reservations either, but if that’s a sovereignty issue I respect that.)]
[This post originally contained an embedded video that is no longer available at its source.]
If you are trying to make sense of the “Proposed Property Tax for 2012” statement you got in the mail last week, check out the following link on the Minnesota Dept. of Revenue website. I found it helpful in explaining the changes related to the axed Homestead Tax Credit: “Understanding Recent Changes in Homestead Benefits
For Property Tax Purposes.”
