Central Minnesota Political

Below is a response to my article, " Kresha, Gazelka, Poston gift insurance companies " from my  brother John. Following his  comments to me is a letter he sent to the Long Prairie Leader last April.   Tim, Here is a letter I wrote for the Leader last year during the session. You remember our really cool budget surplus?  Well about half of it went to bail out the insurance companies. That why HHS and a bunch of other stuff didn't get funded adequately and why when CHIP wasn't reauthorized this year (by Republicans), the state was facing a deficit because we had to fund the program ourselves. God!! I'm sick of Republicans! Gazelka votes to insure the insurance companies instead of the people Dear Editor: This is a fair question to ask:  Who needs health insurance premium relief the most?  The insurance companies themselves or Minnesotans, you and I?  The question answers itself.  We have been inflicted by 20% premium increases with no end

State Representatives John Poston and Ron Kresha, along with Senator Paul Gazelka, voted last legislative session to give the gift of tax payer money to non-profit Health Maintenance Organizations licensed to sell medical insurance in Minnesota. Edward Ehlinger, Minnesota’s Commissioner of Health, called the action reckless. Since the Republican bill was enacted in 2017, Medica, one of Minnesota’s medical insurance non-profits, has begun the process of transferring $90 million of taxpayer money out of Minnesota.  Here’s how it happened, according to Tina Liebling, a seventh term Rochestor area State Representative and a leader amongst the DFL on medical insurance issues. Tina Liebling - Thanks Wikipedia “You remember there was a big issue last fall (2016) that insurance rates were very high for a lot of people who had to buy their own insurance on the individual market,” Liebling said. Governor Dayton suggested giving those people a twenty-five percent State fund

The first Trumpeter Swans that I ever saw in this area were on Lake Charlotte south of Long Prairie. It was twenty years ago. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I’d never seen such magnificent creatures. I’d never dreamed I’d see Trumpeter Swans on Lake Charlotte or any other lake. When I was a kid I heard that Trumpeter Swans were nearly extinct. They could be counted in the dozens and weren’t long for this world. Then, as a young adult, I read E.B. White’s delightful story The Trumpet of the Swan . The message was the same: Trumpeter Swans were highly endangered and only hung on in remote northern locations and in inaccessible locations in the western mountains. Swans on Lake Charlotte Photo by Sue Farmer Since that first sighting on Lake Charlotte I’ve had numerous and wonderful encounters with Trumpeters. A flock blessed me by flying over my head at tree top level. The rush of their magnificent wings nearly lifted me off my feet. I came across a pair while camping at the

Because of the pending  snow storm for tomorrow we are rescheduling the Book Club for Monday February 5th. Good news for those of you who have had problems getting a copy of the book. Here are the details: Change of Date - Monday, February 5th  -  Join us at MN350 Office,  2104 Stevens Ave. So. Minneapolis ,  Monday, February 5th at 6:30 PM.or Join the meeting through our conference call line  641-715-3200  access code number 350350  The MN350.org    http://www.mn350.org  book club is called  "Change the Story". The first book will be What We Think About (When We Try Not To Think About) Global Warming by Per Espen Stoknes. A trained psychologist and economist Espen explores the psychological barriers to climate  action  and how to talk about the problem in ways that create positive solutions and meaningful actions.   Email Brian questions you think might be good to ask and suggestions for the next book club read.    Brian@MN350.org

Hello Friends and Neighbors, My name is Alex Hering and I am seeking the DFL endorsement to  represent Minnesota State House District 9A . My wife Jill and I moved to Pillager over twenty years ago, raised two daughters and own a general contracting business. Over the years we have watched the region suffer plant closings, a dot.com crash, then a total housing financial credit meltdown. I was optimistic as the Affordable Care Act came together that our family  wouldn’t be meeting the maximum out -of-pocket expense as we had every year, on top of the premium jumping 10% consecutively. But our Republican legislators locked up and wouldn’t sit down to work out what we Minnesotans need in order to make healthcare affordable for everyone. I will work to protect affordable healthcare for all Minnesotans. I will fight to protect healthcare assistance at the state level regardless of what may happen in Washington. Area citizens have expressed concerns to m

Instead of only being against the Trump-Galzelka-Daudt cabal MN350.org  http://www.mn350.org  is starting a process to envision a time when they are marginalized and irrelevant. Taking a cue from Minnesota comedian, who said something  like "if you don't like the story change it" they've started a book discussion group called Change the Story.  You can join the January 22nd discussion in person if you're in the Twin Cities or you can sign up to participate by phone.  You can also simply sign up to receive the titles of the books being read by the Change the Story group. The first book is  What We Think About When We Try Not To Think About Global Warming by  Per  Espen Stoknes. It's published by Chelsea Green  Publishing  https://www.chelseagreen.com  I've got the  publishers publicity review below too you can get an idea of what Change the Story is about: What We Think About When We Try Not To Think About Global Warming Why does knowing more me

In 2003 Paul Gazelka wrote a book called Marketplace Ministers: Awakening God’s People in the Workplace to Their Ultimate Purpose. To me, the subtitle of the book is more important then the title. The reason is that Paul Gazelka believes he is one of God’s people and I am not. Further, Paul Gazelka believes his ultimate purpose, as a person of God, is to convert me to his way of believing. That is why he is a marketplace minister and that’s why he wants others to be one.   Sen. Paul Gazelka When Gazelka wrote the book he was an insurance agency owner. So, the fact that he was practicing and promoting religious extremism from his insurance office was only somewhat concerning. Today Paul Gazelka is the Senate Majority leader in the Minnesota Senate and he is the representative in the Senate for all of us that live in Senate District Nine. That Paul Gazelka is in an exalted position of leadership in Minnesota is deeply concerning to me. It should also be deeply co

Sue Farmer, a former Long Prairie Leader editor, photographed this beautiful creature while she was walking in Long Prairie's Harmony Park last summer. Harmony Park used to be a wetland but is now a mowed grass land with a large rectangular pond in the center. It's a lovely place for humans to walk and sit but not very friendly to wildlife. That's why Sue was so pleased to see this egret in the pond. Sue says she would like to see some riparian plantings along the edge of the pond to increase wildlife habitat. She's concerned about the herbicides that the park department continues to use, however. Photo by Sue Farmer

In December fifty-eight Democratic members of Congress voted yes to impeach Donald Trump. They did so, in part, because of his continued willingness to incite violence with speech not fitting a leader. Below, in a letter sent to the editor of the Long Prairie Leader, John King compares Trump's violence laden rhetoric with that of former Alabama Governor George Wallace. To the Editor: History doesn’t repeat itself, but a look back is useful when one is disoriented by the insanity of the present political moment. George Wallace, former governor of Alabama, ran for president in every election from 1964 to 1972. His 1968 campaign was his most threatening attempt to become president. Wallace ran as an unreconstructed segregationist representing a southern social system that forced blacks to the back of the bus, imposed restrictive poll taxes and tests that kept blacks from voting and forced black children into segregated schools where they received substandard educations. 

The Trump administration spent the last days of 2017 claiming that the tax cuts from their tax legislation were the biggest tax cuts ever legislated in the U.S. They also claimed that their legislative agenda was the most successful in history.  Both claims are false. Making large, obviously false statements, has been a consistently used propaganda tool of the Trump administration. It is deeply disturbing when our local politicians use similar language. Both Representative Ron Kresha and Representative John Poston have told me that they support renewable energy. But they have consistently voted for legislation that cuts support for it. I have asked them both to provide me with examples of their support for renewable energy.  They have not done so. Poston and Kresha live in an Orwellian reality where support for renewable energy equals opposition to it. Donald Trump would be proud of their double speak. Below is a lightly edited column recording their legislative attack

Boletus mushroom - Thanks Wikipedia