An Iconic Concert Celebrated Farmers in the Twin Cities

Transcript

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HOST: This is North Star Stories: Voices from Where We Live. Today in Minnesota...

ANCHOR: …A former DFL State Senator is sentenced for burglary. Then, for the first time in 40 years, an iconic concert celebrated farmers in the Twin Cities. And, a housing program investigation results in federal fraud charges.

I'm Chantel SinGs.

Former state senator Nicole Mitchell will spend six months in jail for breaking into her stepmother's Detroit Lakes home. Various news services reported that a Becker County judge sentenced the former lawmaker from Woodbury to 180 days on work release in Ramsey County in the central part of the state. Mitchell can leave for work each day but must return to jail after her shift. She also received five years of supervised probation and a 21-month prison sentence that takes effect only if she violates probation. She was convicted in July of first-degree burglary and possession of burglary tools. Her vacant Senate seat will be filled in a special election on November 4th.

Next, thousands of people gathered at Farm Aid 40, held for the first time in Minneapolis. Katharine DeCelle was there and brings us a story about music and the efforts to raise awareness for local farmers.

Dave Matthews: I'm so inspired when I come to Farm Aid every year and see all these brave people that are keeping our planet healthy.

Katharine DeCelle: That's musician and environmental activist Dave Matthews speaking at Huntington Bank Stadium for Farm Aid 40, an annual concert that was held in Minneapolis for the first time in 40 years.

Dave Matthews: Corporate farming, like corporate profit, like the billionaire class, is a death cult and it's destroying our planet.

Katharine DeCelle: Dave Matthews took the stage with a handful of other musicians for the day-long event, including Minnesota's own Bob Dylan. Among others performing were Willie Nelson, neil Young and John Mellencamp, who launched the first Farm Aid concert in 1985 to raise awareness and funds for struggling family farms. In addition to a full concert lineup, farm Aid 40 offered an interactive learning area. The homegrown village was set up for the 37,000 attendees.

Taylor: We have independent farmers, we have folks in the plant-based space and we are all working together to end factory farming in America.

Katharine DeCelle: That's Taylor from the Maddest Cow, a new national coalition making their debut at Farm Aid 40, educating people on corporate-controlled factory farms.

Taylor: 90% of our meat, eggs and dairy come from overcrowding and squalor Factory farms owned by conglomerates.

Katharine DeCelle: The US Environmental Protection Agency defines a factory farm as livestock operations where the animals are confined for at least 45 days and don't have access to grass or other vegetation. To grass or other vegetation and, according to data from the USDA, 1.7 billion animals are confined in US factory farms at any given time, which is a 50% increase from 20 years ago. Minnesota is one of the top five states in the US for the most factory farms.

Taylor: We're amplifying folks that are holding our food system up that are often overlooked, and then calling out the players who are doing wrong when it are holding our food system up that are often overlooked, and then calling out the players who are doing wrong when it comes to our food system.

Katharine DeCelle:One of the ways the Maddest Cow amplified farmers was through an interactive phone booth at the event.

Taylor: We have this booth here called Tales from a Farmer, where you can hear from eight different farmers from across the country.

Ragi Haslett-Marroquin: We are literally subsidizing the destruction of the planet, and we are doing it in the name of food, when it has nothing to do with it.

Katharine DeCelle: That's Minnesota farmer Ragi Haslett-Marroquin, who is on a mission to change the farming system with his Northfield Minnesota family farm.

Ragi Haslett-Marroquin: Farming is really not about producing things. It's about establishing a holistic relationship. When we do that, it's impossible for us to get acting in ways that are destructive to life.

Katharine DeCelle: Farm Aid 40 continued throughout the day, with the concerts finally wrapping up around 12 30 am For North Star Stories. I'm Katharine DeCelle.

ANCHOR: You are listening to North Star Stories.

Prosecutors accused eight individuals of fraud in Minnesota's Housing Stabilization Services program, or HSS. Investigators say agency principals billed for the maximum amount for services while providing little or none, including for people already in stable housing. The HSS Program dates back to July 2022, when Minnesota became the first state in the country to offer Medicaid coverage for Housing Stabilization Services. The charges resulted from a joint state-federal investigation. Officials say the charges mark a major step in holding fraudsters accountable and protecting taxpayer dollars.

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HOST: North Star Stories is produced by AMPERS, diverse radio for Minnesota's communities, with support from the McKnight Foundation and the State of Minnesota. Online at ampers dot org.