Good morning, and happy Friday the 13th. The end of the year is a good time to look back, even at the whole decade. Here’s the Digest.
1. Where did the farm payments go? The APM Research Lab joined forces with Marketplace to analyze and map data about the USDA’s payments to agriculture producers to ameliorate the effects of the trade war with China. The data—acquired by Marketplace through a Freedom of Information Act request—show more than a million payments in the 13 months from the program’s inception in the fall of 2018 to Nov. 1, 2019. In all, the U.S. government paid almost $10.5 billion in subsidies through its Market Facilitation Program during that time. USDA paid nearly $6 billion during the first four months of the program (September to December 2018) and distributed nearly $4.5 billion between Jan. 1 and Nov. 1, 2019. Midwestern producers have seen most of that money: thus far, Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota have each received more than $1 billion in subsidies. The average payment is nearly $10,000, but the median payment was about $1,900; a few very large payments pulled the average much higher. The stand out payee is DeLine Farms of Missouri, whose operation (which appears under three different names that all list the same address) received 15 payments from USDA totaling more than $5.5 million. More than 60 other farming entities also received payments exceeding $1 million. APM Research Lab
2. Prairie Island community wants to move reservation. Schyler Martin’s job calls for him to worry each day about things that could cripple or destroy the Prairie Island Indian Community, but that he can’t control. The nearby Xcel Energy nuclear power plant that towers over the reservation is high on that list, as is an Army Corps of Engineers lock and dam on the Mississippi River that regularly floods tracts of tribal land upstream. Martin, the tribe’s emergency management director, can rattle off a list of flooding headaches the tribe faces annually -- closing roads, building and maintaining berms, diverting water from Prairie Island’s casino and outdoor amphitheater. This year has been especially difficult with flooding lasting deep into the fall, closing roads to hunting grounds and damaging hay that feeds the tribe's buffalo herd. "The soil,” said Martin, “is inundated with water.” Prairie Island leaders understand that the dam, the flooding and the nuclear plant will not be leaving anytime soon, which is why they’re taking an extraordinary step -- expanding the reservation inland, away from their home on the Mississippi River. Prairie Island last year bought 1,200 acres near Pine Island, Minn., about 35 miles south on U.S. Highway 52. The tribe wants Congress to put the land into trust, adding it to the reservation. In return, the tribe would give up rights to sue the government over flooding caused by the lock-and-dam system. While it’s a logical step for a tribe that continues to grow and prosper, the relocation plan has reopened old wounds over the displacement of Native people and white encroachment on Native lands. That includes environmental problems on tribal lands created by non-Native people. MPR News
3. Deal near to allow Liberians to stay. Many in Minnesota’s long-established Liberian community will have an opportunity to finally apply for U.S. citizenship under an amendment in the defense authorization bill expected to pass the U.S. Senate next week. The measure would give permanent resident status to Liberians living in the United States under the Deferred Enforced Departure (DED) program that has allowed them to stay here temporarily for in some cases decades without an opportunity to pursue citizenship. Liberians began arriving in large numbers in the early 1990s, fleeing civil war with temporary protections, but later faced the prospect of losing their status under administrations of both parties. President Trump twice moved to end the program, noting that conditions in Liberia had improved because it is no longer experiencing armed conflicts and had recovered from a 2014 outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus. But as Liberians’ DED status was set to expire on March 31, 2019, the administration approved a one-year reprieve. Liberians in Minnesota vowed to advocate for a permanent solution before the deadline, noting the untenable uncertainty endured by many recipients of DED who had bought homes, paid taxes, found jobs and had American-born children. U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., said Thursday that her office has worked closely with U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., to include the language in the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act “because it’s a must-pass bill.” She said Liberians under DED had been “living with so much uncertainty for so long ... it will finally be relieved.” Star Tribune
4. Impeachment another question for Peterson. In the midst of a difficult harvest slowed by muddy fields, Jeff Ampe wasn’t thinking much about elections or impeachment. When prodded on his congressman, he’s all positive: Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson, he says, has done “a good job for agriculture, standing up for us all the time.” Still, ask the central Minnesota farmer whether he’ll vote next year for Peterson or his likely Republican opponent, former state senator Michelle Fischbach, and he takes a long pause to consider. “That’s a tough one,” Ampe said. “I always voted for Collin. And I always voted for Michelle. So I don’t know how I would.” Ampe’s indecision shows how tough things are for Peterson, a 75-year-old conservative Democrat who has defied political trends and Donald Trump to hold on to his increasingly Republican rural district. The chair of the House Agriculture Committee, Peterson has relied on his influence on farm policy, his willingness to buck his party and his accessibility to win votes in a district Trump carried by a whopping 31 percentage points. But with growing polarization in Washington and an impeachment probe forcing partisans to their corners, it is increasingly difficult for politicians like Peterson to survive behind enemy lines. His chairmanship and agricultural credentials may no longer be enough. And as he’s pounded by outside groups for an impeachment inquiry he does not support, he must weigh whether he’s willing to keep at it. The Associated Press
5. Commission will consider cap on probation. The Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission will proceed with a public hearing next week on a proposed five-year probation cap, despite significant concern among members about the plan. The commission voted 6-5 Wednesday to reject a motion to indefinitely delay next Thursday’s hearing. Department of Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell, who originally advanced the proposal, said the panel has a duty to move forward with the hearing and gather public advice. “We have to start by giving people a voice, when we know, when the data is crystal clear that on a day to day basis depending upon where you live is going to determine oftentimes what your term of probation is going to be,” Schnell said. “That’s simply not okay.” But other members of the commission wanted more time. Christopher Dietzen, who brought the motion to delay, argued that the proposal was being rushed through with insufficient input from judges and other key stakeholders. Dietzen, a retired Minnesota Supreme Court associate justice, said he is not opposed to some type of probation reform. But he raised concerns about the proposed five-year cap. “I think a probation cap in general is a blunt instrument. It’s a one-size-fits-all. I think we need to have judicial discretion to have a tailor-made probation term for each individual offender.” MPR News
6. Regents approve U of M President Gabel’s first major hire. After lively debate, University of Minnesota regents voted 8-4 Thursday afternoon to approve a salary exceeding $500,000 for President Joan Gabel’s first major hire. With the vote, Rachel Croson, dean of Michigan State University’s College of Social Science, becomes the U’s next executive vice president and provost. Croson, an economics professor, replaces retiring Provost Karen Hanson. “She is an accomplished academic leader who brings to this important role an extraordinary breadth of talent, experience and strategic acumen,” Gabel said of Croson in a statement announcing the hire. Croson was one of four finalists for the job who interviewed at the Twin Cities campus following a national search. The university touted Croson for crafting a strategic plan at Michigan State as the school dealt with fallout from the sexual abuse scandal involving former physician Larry Nassar. The U is currently developing its own strategic plan. The pick of Croson, however, had drawn criticism. Several Republican legislators and even some regents disagreed with Croson’s proposed salary, which exceeds $500,000 when accounting for a professorship. They note that Croson would be paid more than Hanson even though Croson has never served as a provost. Hanson, who has held the job for nearly a decade, currently makes about $468,000 per year. Star Tribune |
