HometownSource Blogs

Jesse Venutra is one of those individuals who people just don’t, and likely never will, understand.

Why?  Because they don’t want to.

Ventura was on ESPN radio with Colin Cowherd this afternoon, as one of those guests that needs no reason for attendance (although he apparently has a new TV show coming out detaling his many conspiracy theories from an insiders perspective).  He is a ratings machine.  He is an expert on nothing more than issuing his own opinion, and in my book, that is a worthy specialty.

If you have some time on your hands, I suggest looking up some of The Body’s most memorable rants and raves on issues like the Twin Towers collapse on 9/11 and torture as used by the U.S. government (”you give me a waterboard, Dick Cheney and one hour…”, hilarious!).

In many ways, I could argue that Jesse is my hero.

On Tuesday, while speaking to a group of Vikings fans in Austin, Minnesota Vikings owner Zygi Wilf made it clear that he and his brother Mark want to see the state address the issue of a new stadium – NOW! Not a couple of years from now when the economy might be better as the Metropolitan Sports Facility Commission proposed last week.

The Vikings have taken off their gloves and are gearing up for a bare-knuckle fight.
Zygi is right. The issue needs to be closely looked at by the legislature when it convenes in January. Read more »

Now that 6th District Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, R-Stillwater, has achieved national standing, it’s tempting to look at her career for signs that she was following a carefully planned script.

For instance, did Bachmann, in her celebrated 30-second grab of former President George Bush following his State of the Union Address in 2007, expect the episode to receive the massive media attention it generated?

Was it carefully preplanned and staged?

Former state senator Sean Nienow, R-Cambridge, who worked for the congresswoman for about a year, doesn’t think so.

Recently Nienow, when asked, said he believes all Bachmann was after that January day was the president’s autograph.

He has no doubt, Nienow went on, the congresswoman strategically placed herself as to be near the departing president.

But Bachmann was hoping to get a presidential autograph, not a media storm, Nienow opined.

Nienow frankly said that he was not in close communications with Bachmann during his year of service.

But Nienow did recall discussing the State of the Union Address flap with the congresswoman.

She thought the whole thing had been overdone, he recalled.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty today predicted that the upcoming legislative session, which begins in early February, will be more difficult than some are expecting.

A “much more challenging session than I think people realize,” said Pawlenty, speaking at the Capitol this afternoon.

It won’t just be a bonding bill, a few touch-up items, and everybody hitting the campaign trail, he predicted.

Talking about the Minnesota Vikings and the elusive new stadium, Pawlenty praised the team owners and said the Vikings “bring a lot of joy” to Minnesotans.

Still, Pawlenty diagnosed finding a stadium solution “a tough one.”

“It’s going to add excitement to the debate,” he said when asked about the political implications of a possible Vikings appearance in the Superbowl.

The Thanksgiving holiday will find the governor on the ice at least part of the time.

Pawlenty hopes to play hockey over the holiday — perhaps playing on Friday, his birthday.

Pawlenty will turn 49-years-old.

The governor may also spend some of the holiday weekend in the kitchen, having recently picked up a cook book on southern cooking.

The Minnesota Department Health (MDH) today released its weekly H1N1 statistics for the past week showing ten schools in Minnesota reporting outbreaks of flu-like illnesses — one school more than the week before.

MDH officials last week said the decline seen in the number of flu-like outbreaks in schools could mean the second wave of H1N1 was about over.

But they also stressed that no one could tell if and when a third wave would occur and encouraged Minnesotans to continue to take flu precautions such as being vaccinated, frequent hand washings, staying home if sick.

Since last Wednesday, Nov. 18, six H1N1-associated deaths and one influenza-type unspecified death were confirmed in Minnesota, according to MDH.

All told, 32 H1N1-associated deaths and three influenza-type unspecified deaths have been reported since the virus was first identified in the state, according to MDH.

Following are opinions from Mille Lacs County Times  editor-sports editor Gary Larson, reporter Luther Dorr and Logan Marxhausen, a Milaca native who is on the sports staff at the St. Cloud State University Chronicle. Note: This feature is written on Monday each week.
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•Question:  What are your thoughts on the Vikings’ 35-9 victory over the Seattle Seahawks Sunday?
-Dorr: I watched only part of the first half but my reaction, without seeing statistics or knowing much about the game, is that the Vikings finally  threw a knockout punch against a team they should dominate. Read more »

The House Small Business Caucus online survey, which has already attracted some 400 responses from small business, is being extended through the month of December.

“The enthusiastic response of Minnesota’s small business community has been outstanding,” said Rep. Denise Dittrich, DFL-Champlin, who co-chairs the bipartisan Small Business Caucus.

“The more input we gather directly from small business owners, the better lawmakers can address the challenges facing our business community in this difficult economy,” she said.

The online survey can be accessed on the House of Representative website at www.house.mn

Sen. Satveer Chaudhary, DFL-Fridley, will attend a White House state dinner tomorrow honoring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh — Chaudhary’s parents came to America from India in the 1960s.

“I’m honored to be invited to attend this noteworthy event,” said Sen. Chaudhary.

“The event highlights the strong and growing economic and political partnership between India and the United States, as well as the friendship between the two countries,” he said in a press release.

Chaudhary has pushed to foster greater understanding between the United States and India legislatively at the Capitol.

Independence Party of Minnesota (IP) delegates at its recent state convention in Brooklyn Park voted to throw out the recent practice of candidate cross-endorsement.

That is, the IP will no longer endorse candidates that do not belong to the party — recent 6th District DFL congressional candidate El Tinklenberg was quick to mention that he carried both the IP and DFL endorsements.

“Our delegates feel that offering endorsement support to candidates of the parties that brought us this systemic mess diluted our message” said Independence Party Chairman Jack Uldrich in a press release.

“If other political candidates want our endorsement, they are welcome to have it but they are going to have to leave their current party to get it,” he said.

IP delegates also voted to uphold the party’s ban on accepting special interest money.

There has been questions whether the ban damagingly hobbles IP candidates and should be repealed.

Former public safety commissioner and former Pawlenty Chief of Staff Charlie Weaver today (Nov. 23) announced that he would not run for governor in 2010 — something he has suggested in the past was a possibility.

“Running for Governor is a full time job and I know well the sacrifices that go along with the decision to seek statewide office,” said Weaver, who ran for Attorney General in 1998.

“The toll that a year-long political campaign takes on your family is just something that I am not willing to accept. Life is short, and the thought of quitting my job and basically not seeing much of my wife and four children for the next year was just something that I couldn’t justify,” he said in a press release.

Weaver also offered a tongue-in-cheek list of additional reasons why he won’t be running for governor in 2010.

1. The Governor’s Residence is nice, but it ain’t Anoka.
2. Old streaking “ incident” makes endorsement unlikely.
3. Has only raised $25.13 so far.
4. Discovered that he has to pay for personal parties at the Residence.
5. Thinks unallotment is a board game.
6. Troopers told him he couldn’t wander the Residence in his underwear.
7. Friends are too “busy” to attend convention.
8. Gift ban makes it harder to get free stuff.
9. Not interested in all those boring budget meetings.
10. Recent polling reveals he would lose to the intoxicated motorized LazyBoy guy.

Several area lawmakers have returned from a trip to Israel. The idea of the trip was to foster better ties to the country.

According to the House DFL Caucus, the group, which consisted of some nine lawmakers, had some 40 meetings/tours during the visit.

Local lawmakers on the trip were Rep. Sandra Masin, of Eagan, and Rep. Jeremy Kalin, of North Branch.

One Republican on the trip was Rep. Sarah Anderson, of Plymouth.

Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) officials indicated today (Nov. 18) that retail store Santas will have to wait like everybody else to get vaccinated for H1N1 until people at greater risk get theirs.

“We have heard about Santa’s request,” said MDH Director of Infectious Disease Epidemiology Kristen Ehresmann.

Media reports have department store Santas arguing that they should be allowed to be vaccinated because their duties require them to be around children.

But Ehresmann theorized that most retail store Santas are older people, and older people generally are at less risk for H1N1 flu than the young.

Because of this, there’s no pass to the front of the vaccination line for Santas.

An MDH spokesman stressed that if children are feeling sick, parents shouldn’t take them to meet Santa or anyone else, for that matter.

They should stay at home, he said.

Sen. Amy Koch, R-Buffalo, is carrying Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s proposed state spending limit constitutional amendment and will take the bill before the Senate Tax Committee on Dec. 7.

Democrats in general have expressed a willingness to listen to the proposal, an attitude Koch won’t second guess.

“I’m going to take them at their word,” she said.

“I think it’s (the proposal) an idea out there. I don’t think it’s an extreme idea,” said Koch.

Koch said she personally likes the idea of establishing a spending cap on state government.

Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Mark Holsten today (Nov. 16) told a House/Senate natural resources committee his agency had no intentions of relinquishing $20 million in bonding lawmakers approved for a proposed state park.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty many months ago proposed the creation of Lake Vermilion State Park on land currently owned by U.S. Steel — about 3,000 acres near Soudan Underground Mine State Park and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.

But Holsten told lawmakers that talks with U.S. Steel about purchasing the land, which the company is proposing to develop, have been suspended.

“We are still hopeful we’ll be able to come to terms with United States Steel,” said Holsten.

Still, the commissioner explained that the land negotiations and an environmental review the DNR is completing on a proposed expansion to a U.S. Steel facility in the state had become wrongly merged in public perception.

Those two issues must be seen as separate, Holsten said.

But some lawmakers suggested that negotiations had played out long enough.

It’s time to fish or cut bait, said Sen. Elllen Anderson, DFL-St. Paul.

“We are still fishing,” insisted Holsten.

He dismissed Anderson’s assertion that the governor had washed his hands of the park project, saying that would be a grossly inaccurate statement.

“We need some time,” said Holsten, a former state representative from Stillwater.

Rep. Denny McNamara, R-Hastings, praised Holsten for keeping the appraised value of the U.S. Steel land a secret — currently the state can offer 12 percent above appraised value in land deals.

McNamara asked whether a third party — an environmental group, for instance — could add funding for the park land purchase.

“Sure,” said Holsten.

One lawmaker suggested that perhaps the 12 percent purchase cap could be altered.

Rep. Melissa Hortman, DFL-Brooklyn Park, suggested that the conflict of interest the negotiations presented the DNR could be avoided by having the Department of Administration negotiate with U.S. Steel instead.

Holsten indicated that there was no conflict of interest, as different sections within the agency are dealing the issues.

Minnesota Twins General Manager Bill Smith began what hopefully will be a series of move to strengthen the Twins last week by trading outfielder Carlos Gomez to Milwaukee for shortstop J.J. Hardy.

Gomez did provide fans with a bundle of great catches, often climbing the outfield fences to snatch away potential home run bass. And, at times, he showed blazing speed on the bases. Read more »