Daily Digest: What's in a name?

Good morning, and welcome to Thursday, the first day of the 2019 Minnesota State Fair. It almost seems like summer's end is near. Oh well, there's still time to check the Digest.

1. A new name for Fort Snelling? The Minnesota Historical Society is looking for public input on the name of Historic Fort Snelling. The area is Minnesota’s first National Historic Landmark and undergoing major renovations until 2022. It includes 23 acres of land adjacent to the junction of the Mississippi and Minnesota rivers — or Bdote in the Dakota language, which means the place where two waters meet. The Historical Society’s executive director Kent Whitworth said the move to change the name is meant to help include history from various cultures that make up the state. "When you do step back and say, ‘Wow, there's arguably 10,000 years of history here and how do we represent those stories in a name?'" said Whitworth. "As you look at this and other projects you realize every person's history matters and it's incumbent upon us to give those different perspectives voice.” The Historical Society's efforts have included adding temporary signage at the site earlier this year, reading "Fort Snelling at Bdote.” Some state lawmakers threatened to slash the organization’s funding because of the signs. (MPR News)

2. Speaking of names, some streets in Minneapolis have new ones. Workers are planning to begin installing new signs Thursday morning after the Minneapolis Park Board voted Wednesday to change the names of four streets around Bde Maka Ska, which is also known as Lake Calhoun. The name of the lake itself remains the focus of a legal dispute. But the park board has sole authority to name the streets and parkland it controls. The vote was 7-2. Supporters of the name change said former Vice President John C. Calhoun should not be honored because he was a strong supporter of slavery and the exiling of Native people. "Our indigenous and African-American youth should not have to walk down streets with names of people who pushed for the subjugation of and violence against the bodies of their ancestors. None of us should have to," said Carly Bad Heart Bull. Park Commissioner Londel French agreed. "We can't change history, but we can determine what the legacies of our buildings and our monuments are,” he said. “To ask me as a black man to keep a name of somebody as despicable as John C. Calhoun is disgusting." Opponents of the move said residents will have to change their addresses — at a cost of time as well as money. According to a notice sent to media before the expected approval, parks staff will install “placards changing East and West Lake Calhoun parkways to East and West Bde Maka Ska parkways at 8 a.m.” ( MPR News)

3. Feds say DHS made more improper payments .The state Department of Human Services (DHS) made improper payments to certain Minnesota chemical dependency providers and must return the money to Washington, federal officials said in a formal notice issued in May. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which administers the Medicaid program, said that DHS “must immediately cease” the payments, according to a letter obtained by the Star Tribune. It is unclear how much money the state must return to the federal government, but sources told the Star Tribune that it could be more than $10 million. DHS officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. The amount would be in addition to the $25 million that was overpaid to two Indian bands for outpatient substance abuse treatment. DHS has asked the bands to give the money back, even though both tribal governments contend they were following DHS guidance that resulted in the overpayments. The back-to-back errors caused renewed criticism from state legislators who have been critical of DHS’s performance. (Star Tribune)

4. Senators want more TSA agents at MSP. Long se­curi­ty lines at the Min­ne­ap­olis-St. Paul International Airport's main ter­mi­nal prompt­ed Min­ne­so­ta's two U.S. sena­tors on Wednesday to call for ad­di­tion­al staff­ing from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). On Mon­day, the Metropolitan Air­ports Commission (MAC) launched a tem­po­rary reconfiguration of two se­curi­ty check­points in the tick­et­ing lob­by of Ter­mi­nal 1, also known as the Lind­bergh ter­mi­nal. The new sys­tem prompted by a con­struc­tion pro­ject has cre­at­ed long lines, con­fu­sion and out­rage a­mong pas­sen­gers this week. But Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Sen. Tina Smith, both D-Minn., said the con­struc­tion ex­ac­er­bat­es an al­read­y fes­ter­ing problem: TSA staff­ing has not kept up with the growth of pas­sen­gers fly­ing from MSP. "The bottom line is that it is simply unacceptable that authorized TSA staffing at MSP has decreased while passenger traffic has increased," Klobuchar said at a news conference Wednesday. "It is critical that we do everything possible to mitigate the impact on wait times caused by construction." Klobuchar said she has sent two let­ters to TSA Ad­min­is­tra­tor David Pekoske since last fall urging the a­gen­cy to bol­ster staff­ing at MSP to ad­dress re­cent in­creas­es in wait times at se­curi­ty check­points. (Star Tribune)

5. Walz to travel to Japan, South Korea. Gov. Tim Walz will travel to Japan and South Korea next month in his first international trip since taking office in January. The trip “aims to promote Minnesota businesses and bolster economic partnerships worldwide,” an announcement from the governor’s office said. Walz will attend the Midwest U.S. Japan Association Conference in Tokyo from Sept. 7-10. The event brings together officials from Japan and the governors of Midwestern states to discuss economic partnerships. Walz will be joined by the governors of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin. Representatives of the Minnesota Trade Office will travel with Walz. Following the Tokyo conference, Walz will travel to Seoul, South Korea for a one-day stop to also discuss economic partnerships. (MPR News)