Good morning, and welcome to Wednesday.
Hundreds of people gathered Tuesday in Minneapolis for the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives rally and march. MPR News reports a range of people from politicians to activists spoke — including Sen. Mary Kunesh, DFL-New Brighton, the first Indigenous woman to serve in the Minnesota Senate. Kunesh introduced the Missing and Murdered Women’s Task Force in Minnesota years ago, and in 2019 the Legislature agreed to establish it. In December 2020, the task force called on Gov. Tim Walz to create an office to handle the issue at the state level. The director was named one year ago Tuesday. Minnesota was the first state in the U.S. to have a state office dedicated solely to missing and murdered Indigenous people. Now there is a push to add staff to the office. “The work is never going to be done,” Kunesh said. “I just want to let you all know … we will continue working at the Legislature because yes, representation matters.” According to a task force report from December 2020, 27 to 54 Indigenous women were missing in Minnesota in any given month from 2011 to 2020. Indigenous women and girls are 1 percent of the overall Minnesota population, but 15 percent of the female missing persons cases, according to the report.
And at the Capitol, Minnesota tribal leaders testified Tuesday in favor of legislation that would make the federal Indian Child Welfare Act part of state law. The law sets minimum standards designed to protect the best interests of American Indian children. The Supreme Court is considering a case that could overturn the federal law. MPR’s Dan Gunderson reports Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Chief Executive Melanie Benjamin told lawmakers the federal legislation is critical. "These standards include ensuring stability and security within Indian families, guaranteeing that tribal governments have a role in keeping Indian families together, and helping Indian children retain their cultural identity and heritage," Benjamin said. The law sets minimum standards for the removal of Indian children from families. "Because we do not know what the United States Supreme Court will do in the Brackeen case and what will happen to ICWA, it is important to pass this legislation as soon as possible because the United States Supreme Court opinion can come down any day now," said Jill Kehaulani Esch, the Minnesota Ombudsperson for American Indian families.
The Star Tribune has tapped Minnesota’s commissioner of employment and economic development to take the paper’s top job. Steve Grove was named publisher and CEO on Tuesday. Grove is a Northfield native and a former Google executive who has worked in Gov. Tim Walz’s administration since January 2019. He will take over the job at the Star Tribune from Mike Klingensmith, who is retiring after 13 years in the top job of Minnesota’s biggest media company. Before he led the department of employment and economic development Grove spent 12 years at Google, where he was the founding director of Google News Lab. The Star Tribune reported that Grove will be expected to drive digital subscriptions and increase advertising as the paper faces a future with fewer print subscribers. MPR News reports that along with health officials, Grove as a state commissioner was a visible public presence during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic while some businesses were temporarily barred from in-person contact. As a state agency commissioner, Grove dealt regularly with media outlets. There were occasional clashes over records tied to his activities. Just this week, the agency settled a lawsuit over Grove’s decision to block people on Twitter despite his use of his account to tout actions from his public role. A spokesperson said Grove was unavailable for an interview with MPR News Tuesday.
More from the Star Tribune: Like other newspapers, the Star Tribune has seen print subscriptions and advertising revenue decline as more readers get their news online. Circulation among the top 50 metro newspapers dropped an average of 20 percent in 2022. The Star Tribune has fared better than most, now selling more print single copies than any other U.S. metro newspaper; its Sunday circulation is the fourth-largest among metro papers. The company has about 100,000 digital subscribers. Taylor said the company's overall finances are "OK for the immediate future" as the new CEO takes the reins. "Financially we've done probably better than I expected; we're in a very difficult business," Taylor said. "We've been fortunate to pay down our debt every year, run a paper and have the cash to keep moving ahead." When Grove takes over in April, he'll lead about 700 employees, 230 of whom work in the newsroom.
Meat processing plant workers shared a variety of horror stories with state legislators Tuesday: Hogs on fast-moving production lines swinging and hitting employees. Sharp or heavy equipment causing deep cuts or crushed bones. Spreading sickness from working in close quarters in poorly ventilated facilities. MPR’s Brian Bakst reports the testimony was in support of a bill that aims to give industry workers greater ability to refuse work in dangerous conditions; afford them more whistleblower protections; require that employers provide more programs to prevent chronic injuries; add heft to regulator enforcement; and designate an industry-focused “workers rights coordinator” within the Department of Labor and Industry. The bill got simultaneous airings Tuesday in House and Senate committees, but only the House Labor and Industry Finance Committee moved it along on an 11-2 vote. Rep. Dan Wolgamott, DFL-St. Cloud, said the legislation builds off a packinghouse worker bill of rights enacted in 2007. “This bill is to beef that up and to make sure that we are having the backs of the workers who are putting food on our tables,” he said.
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