Reporting on State Politics and Government
Reporting on State Politics and Government
Capitol View Digest reporting on state and politics and government
| | The Daily Digest for August 23, 2019 | | Posted at 6:25 a.m. by Mike Mulcahy |
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Good morning, and happy Friday. Here's the Digest. 1. Lewis versus Smith or Trump versus Omar? Former GOP U.S. Rep. Jason Lewis, who built a career as a conservative radio talk show host before entering Minnesota politics, announced Thursday that he is running for United States Senate, hoping to take on DFL incumbent Sen. Tina Smith next year. Lewis made his announcement at the Republican Party of Minnesota booth at the Minnesota State Fair on the first day of the fair’s 12-day run. “Let the battle begin,” he said. “Let’s have a battle about issues. Let’s have a battle about ideas. Let’s have a battle about life and liberty and property." At times he sounded like he was taking on 5th District DFL U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar and other members of Congress who are proposing sweeping environmental, health care and economic changes. Lewis said most Minnesotans reject their agenda, especially in rural parts of the state. “I know a lot of Democrats that don’t want to eliminate private health insurance. I know a lot of Democrats that want a reasonable immigration reform...in compromise to build the wall. The Democrats wouldn’t go along with that, but a lot of Democrats out here believe in that.” Lewis has been contemplating a run for some time, and in June told MPR News that he will tie himself closely to President Trump in a statewide campaign. (MPR News)
2. Supreme Court sides with voters on St. Paul trash collection. The Minnesota Supreme Court has ordered the city of St. Paul to allow a question on organized trash collection to be put on the Nov. 5 ballot. The court upheld a lower court ruling from Ramsey County District Court Judge Leonardo Castro, issued May 30, that found the city erred in rejecting a petition from critics of St. Paul’s new system of organized trash collection. The city appealed Castro’s order, noting city officials entered into a binding contract with a consortium of 11 haulers 10 months before the city council passed Ordinance 18-39, which effectively makes the system official on city rule books. St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter’s office has said that, if necessary, the city will continue to abide by the terms of the five-year contract while pulling from city reserves and the taxpayer-supported general fund to pay the six trash haulers that remain licensed within the city. During the past two years, several companies have closed their doors or sold off their routes. In the two-page order issued Thursday, the Supreme Court justices said they would elaborate upon their reasoning at a later date, but they wanted to get an expedited decision out so as to meet Friday’s deadline for preparing ballot language with Ramsey County Elections. (Pioneer Press)
3. Company wants to turn Appleton private prison into immigrant detention center. For nearly 10 years, owners of a shuttered prison in western Minnesota have been keen on bringing inmates back. They want to fill the former Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton, Minn., and its 1,600 empty beds. One idea the private company has turned to is re-opening the prison as a federal immigrant detention center. It’s hard to say how likely that would be — any negotiations between the facility’s owner, CoreCivic, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, are private. But the proposals have divided this town of 1,300, and alarmed some residents who say the firm is too focused on profit and has a national track record of mistreating inmates. Putting an ICE detention facility in an agricultural town that relies on immigrants “is not who we are,” said Amy Bacigalupo, an activist leading the effort to stop a proposed contract with ICE. “We are an inclusive and welcoming community, and immigrants are really important in our community.” ICE has been interested in finding a place to house 200 to 600 detainees within 180 miles of St. Paul, according to a request for information it released in 2017. After receiving bids this year, ICE officials indicated just last week on a government site that “it is not in the government’s best interest to make any award under this solicitation” and closed the bidding process. But that doesn’t mean negotiations with CoreCivic or other entities for a new detention facility in Minnesota are dead. (MPR News)
4.State lawmaker says Omar lied in divorce papers. State Rep. Steve Drazkowski called for criminal charges to be filed against U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, saying she repeatedly lied to the court. In a news conference at the Hennepin County Government Center on Thursday, the Mazeppa Republican pointed to poster boards showing old social media posts that appear to contradict statements Omar made while seeking a divorce from her ex-husband. Drazkowski said Instagram posts show Omar committed perjury when she wrote in a 2017 divorce filing that she did not know the location of her then-husband, Ahmed Nur Said Elmi, and had not had contact with him for years. Drazkowski said he will share the information with district court judges, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman and Attorney General Keith Ellison. “The documents are crystal clear. I believe charges should be brought against Rep. Omar for her conduct. The punishment for perjury is up to five years for each count,” Drazkowski said. Omar’s spokesman Jeremy Slevin declined to comment on Drazkowski’s claims and instead pointed to the work Omar, a Democrat from Minneapolis, has been doing to pass bills and connect with constituents since she was elected to Congress last year. (Star Tribune)
5. More questions about care for troubled kids. When a juvenile correctional facility in northern Minnesota closed three years ago after news reports exposed mistreatment of minors, the state's most populous county had a dilemma: Should it send at-risk youth to another state, knowing that it probably wouldn't be the best treatment for the kid? Experts say kids should be near family and get treatment in familiar surroundings. But few options were available in Minnesota for violent kids who also broke the law. Hennepin County's choice was to send a growing number of those kids away from Minnesota. Over the past two years, the county has sent kids to other states for treatment 85 times — up from 60 during the previous two-year period — a 42 percent increase. The children, who are in the foster care system or were arrested for criminal behavior, have been sent to states as far away as Utah. Some have landed in facilities that have had troubled histories, including allegations of sexual abuse, assault and improper behavior by staff. (APM Reports)
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