Energy co-ops statewide back Lower Sioux Community’s right to produce its own energy, a big win for Minnesota voters, and it’s Pride Weekend in Minneapolis.
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WITH HEADLINES FROM AROUND THE STATE, I’M XAN HOLSTON.
COMING UP... A DAIRY HERD THE SIZE OF A SMALL CITY CLEARS A MAJOR STATE REVIEW HURDLE WITHOUT A FULL PICTURE OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT.
[REP. KRISTI PURSELL: NEARLY THE AMOUNT THAT THE GRAND CASINO ARE ARENA HOLDS …THAT'S THE EQUIVALENT EXCREMENT OF ABOUT 1.1 MILLION HUMANS.]
BUT FIRST …
--DAKOTA COUNTY ICWA COURT--
WHEN A NATIVE CHILD ENTERS FOSTER CARE... THE QUESTION ISN’T ONLY WHERE WILL THAT CHILD SLEEP... IT’S WHETHER FAMILY... TRIBE.. CULTURE AND IDENTIFY WILL REMAIN PART OF THE CHILD’S LIFE.
MINNESOTA JUST OPENED ITS ‘SIX’TH SPECIALIZED COURTS FOR CHILD WELFARE CASES INVOLVING NATIVE AMERICAN CHILDREN AND FAMILIES.
DAKOTA COUNTY.. JUST SOUTH OF THE METRO.. IS THE LATEST TO OPEN AN INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ACT COURT.
THE SPECIALIZED COURT BRINGS JUDGES.. COUNTY SOCIAL WORKERS.. AND TRIBAL REPRESENTATIVES TOGETHER EARLIER.. SO RELATIVES AND TRIBAL CONNECTIONS ARE PRIMARY CONSIDERATIONS FOR THE CHILD’S PLACEMENT .. ACCORDING TO DAKOTA COUNTY CHILDREN AND FAMILY SERVICES DIRECTOR NIKKI CONWAY
[NIKKI CONWAY: IT HELPS ENSURE THAT TRIBAL VOICES, CULTURE, AND COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS ARE NOT SIMPLY AN AFTERTHOUGHT, BUT A CENTRAL PART OF THE CONVERSATION FROM THE BEGINNING.]
THE INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ACT, OR ICWA... IS THE FEDERAL LAW DESIGNED TO KEEP NATIVE CHILDREN CONNECTED TO THEIR FAMILIES AND TRIBES DURING FOSTER CARE AND ADOPTION CASES…
THE U-S SUPREME COURT UPHELD THE ACT IN 2023...DAKOTA COUNTY’S W COURT IS THE SIXTH IN MINNESOTA.. AND ONE OF 25-ICWA COURTS ACROSS THE U-S
--LOWER SIOUX SOLAR SUPPORT--
TWENTY-SIX MINNESOTA ELECTRICAL CO-OPS ARE BACKING A DAKOTA ENERGY SOVEREIGNTY PROGRAM IN SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA.
THE COOPS SENT A LETTER OF SUPPORT TO THE STATE PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION SAYING THE UPPER SIOUX COMMUNITY HAS THE RIGHT TO GENERATE SOME OF ITS OWN ELECTRICITY.
THE DISPUTE CENTERS ON A SOLAR ARRAY AT THE TRIBE’S PRAIRIE’S EDGE CASINO...WHICH WOULD PRODUCE ABOUT 30-PERCENT OF THE CASINO’S ELECTRIC NEEDS ... ALLOWING IT TO PURCHASE LESS POWER.
‘MINNESOTA VALLEY COOPERATIVE’ THREATENED TO CUT OFF THE TRIBE’S POWER IF IT ACTIVATED THE SOLAR POWER SYSTEM.
IN THEIR LETTER ... THE OTHER CO-OPS SAY A CUSTOMER SHOULDN’T LOSE ELECTRIC SERVICE FOR GENERATING SOME OF ITS OWN POWER.
--WINONA SOLAR PANEL VANDALISM--
SOLAR PANELS ARE ALSO AT THE CENTER OF A CRIMINAL CASE IN SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA …
THE WINONA COUNTY ATTORNEY CHARGED A LEWISTON MAN WITH FELONY PROPERTY DAMAGE AFTER AUTHORITIES SAY HE SMASHED 17 SOLAR PANELS AT THE LEWISTON-ALTURA SCHOOL.
POLICE SAY 21-YEAR-OLD BRENDEN MYERS USED AN EXTENSION CORD TO SHATTER THE SCHOOL’S SOLAR PANELS … AND THAT MYERS LATER SAID HE SHOULDN'T HAVE DONE IT ... AND IS DEALING WITH MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES.
THE SCHOOL ESTIMATES REPAIRS COULD COST MORE THAN 100-THOUSAND DOLLARS.
--WEST RIVER DAIRY FARM EXPANSION --
A SINGLE DAIRY FARM IN WEST-CENTRAL MINNESOTA NEAR MORRIS... COULD SOON HOLD A HERD THE SIZE OF A CITY...
THE MINNESOTA POLLUTION CONTROL AGENCY SAYS RIVERVIEW’S WEST RIVER DAIRY DOES *NOT NEED A FULL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STUDY.
THAT IS NOT FINAL APPROVAL.. BUT CLEARS A MAJOR REVIEW CHALLENGE AND ALLOWS FEEDLOT AND WATER PERMITTING TO CONTINUE
THE STEVENS COUNTY OPERATION WOULD MORE THAN DOUBLE… FROM ABOUT EIGHT-THOUSAND TO ALMOST 19-THOUSAND COWS..
EACH DRINKING AN AVERAGE OF NEARLY 50-GALLONS OF WATER PER DAY...
REPRESENTATIVE KRISTI PURSELL AND SAYS THE SHEER VOLUME SHOULD STOP PEOPLE SHORT... WHILE THE FARM BUREAU SAYS THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STUDIES CAN DETER FARM GROWTH.
[REP. PURSELL: THAT WILL MEAN AN INCREDIBLE NEED FOR WATER AND INCREDIBLE AMOUNT OF ANIMAL WASTE … NOT TO MENTION POTENTIAL AIR POLLUTION, LIVING CONDITIONS FOR EMPLOYEES AND THE ANIMALS.]
[HUNTER PETERSON: MY NAME IS HUNTER PETERSON AND I SERVE AS THE PUBLIC POLICY SPECIALIST AT MINNESOTA FARM BUREAU FEDERATION. WITHIN CURRENT REGULATORY FRAMEWORKS, FARMERS AND RANCHERS OF EVERY SIZE AND SHAPE, TAKE THE ROLL AS ENVIRONMENTAL STEWARDS SERIOUSLY.]
MORE THAN 14-HUNDRED PUBLIC COMMENTS WERE SUBMITTED... ASKING FOR A DEEPER EXAMINATION THAT THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STUDY WOULD PROVIDE
--ELECTION LAW RULING – ELLISON--
MINNESOTANS WHO REGISTER WHEN THEY VOTE … OR VOTE FROM A MILITARY BASE OVERSEAS … WILL NOT FACE NEW RULES UNDER A RECENT COURT ORDER.
ATTORNEY GENERAL KEITH ELLISON SAYS MINNESOTA AND 18 OTHER STATES WON A PERMANENT INJUNCTION (DO WE KNOW WHAT THIS IS?) THAT BLOCKS KEY PARTS OF PRESIDENT TRUMP’S 2025 ELECTION EXECUTIVE ORDER.
THE ORDER WOULD HAVE REQUIRED DOCUMENTARY PROOF OF CITIZENSHIP ON FEDERAL VOTER REGISTRATION FORMS … CHANGED FORMS USED BY MILITARY AND OVERSEAS VOTERS … AND THREATENED SOME FEDERAL ELECTION FUNDING.
A FEDERAL JUDGE RULED THOSE KEY PARTS UNCONSTITUTIONAL.
MINNESOTA HAD MORE THAN THREE-POINT-TWO MILLION VOTERS IN 2024 … AND NEARLY 300-THOUSAND REGISTERED WHEN THEY VOTED.
[MINNEAPOLIS PRIDE PARADE: ]
AND FINALLY …
THE 54TH ANNUAL TWIN CITIES PRIDE FESTIVAL TAKES OVER LORING PARK THIS WEEKEND … KICKING OFF WITH A YOUTH NIGHT TONIGHT FROM FIVE TO EIGHT P-M.
THE PARTY IN THE PARK STARTS SATURDAY AT TEN … AND THE PRIDE PARADE THROUGH DOWNTOWN STARTS SUNDAY AT ELEVEN. ORGANIZERS SAY THEY EXPECT 200-THOUSAND PEOPLE.
MINNESOTA’S LARGEST PRIDE PARTY MAY BE THIS WEEKEND … BUT THE RAINBOW KEEPS ROLLING AROUND THE STATE ALL SUMMER LONG.
BEMIDJI PRIDE IS SET FOR LATE AUGUST … MANKATO PRIDEFEST RUNS SEPTEMBER 10TH THROUGH 13TH … AND BRAINERD LAKES’ ‘PRIDE IN THE PARK’ IS SEPTEMBER 12TH AT GREGORY PARK.
FOR NORTH STAR STORIES, I’M XAN HOLSTON.