Minneapolis Star Tribune, May 3
Legislature should fully fund task to protect women from tribal nations
Months have passed since Mysti Babineau and other American Indian women came forward at the State Capitol to share the painful details of the violent assaults they endured. But their courageous testimony, shared in late January in support of a new crime-fighting task force, cannot be forgotten as the Legislature heads into its final weeks.
Lawmakers are now fully informed about a tragically under-the-radar public safety problem - the plague of crimes committed against women from tribal nations. There is no excuse for inaction.
Legislation to create a state task force on missing and murdered indigenous women and girls has made admirable progress in both the Minnesota House and Senate. It should pass this year, and money should be appropriated so that the group’s members can do the vital work ahead of them.
Failure to do so would disrespect the bravery of the women who testified earlier this year. It would also send a terrible message to the state’s 11 Indian nations - that lawmakers had more important business than these crimes. Minnesota ranked an alarming ninth in a recent listing of states with the highest number of missing or murdered Indian women.
There’s reason for optimism and skepticism about the legislation’s fate. The task force bill is fortunate to have energetic and bipartisan champions. Rep. Mary Kunesh-Podein, DFL-New Brighton, is the lead author in the House. In the Senate, authors include influential committee chair Sen. Warren Limmer, R-Maple Grove.
Bills in both chambers have made considerable progress but have yet to clear a floor vote. There’s still plenty of time for that, but it’s troubling to recall that, last year, a bill also had momentum before falling victim to end-of-session wrangling.
The task -force legislation’s numerous co-authors need to stay vigilant in the weeks ahead to ensure the bill gets across the finish line. Backers must also ensure that the task force gets funded. The House is calling for an appropriation of about $180,000, while the Senate hasn’t yet specified funding. The governor’s budget also appropriated money. The group would have up to 29 members and would produce a report documenting the extent of the violence against Indian women. It also would examine best practices for preventing these crimes and improving investigations when tragedies occur.
There’s growing concern that this violence is underreported and, too often, not vigorously investigated. One key reason: questions between local, state and federal law enforcement agencies about who responds and follows up, especially when the crime occurs on reservations. The task force would launch no later than October and include a mix of law enforcement officials, tribal nation representatives, victims advocates and legislators. Kunesh-Podein said the funding is typical for statewide task forces of this size.
Lawmakers have a chance to pioneer what could become a model for the rest of the nation. They should rise to the challenge in the weeks ahead.
Said Kunesh-Podein: “Other states are watching.”
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Mankato Free Press, May 2
Noor Verdict speaks to bigger problems
The verdict in the Mohamed Noor police shooting trial offered some long-awaited justice in these type of cases, but also reinforced a growing narrative that the justice remains unequal.
Convicting one former police officer of murder and manslaughter won’t change that anytime soon.
Activists were quick to protest the verdict, saying Noor was only convicted because he was black and Somali, and victim Justine Ruszczyk Damond was white. They point to other police shootings where officers were white and victims were black.
The simple fact that racism still pervades large swaths of society gives credence to their argument.
Police and BCA actions that appeared to be geared toward protecting Noor also fed slightly different narrative that justice favors those who carry a badge regardless of their action.
Noor was encouraged by his police colleagues to not give a statement at all to investigators. When his partner was interviewed, he was allowed to do so a few days later at his lawyer’s office. Early on Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman criticized the BCA for shoddy investigative work, including not tracking down some obvious leads. Freeman later said the BCA brought in new agents that did exemplary work.
This tragedy occurred in a culture that is more and more driven by fear. Fear by police, fear of police. That fear feeds a gun culture gone crazy, which leads to “combat warrior” training by police. Conceal and carry permits are off the charts.
So what can be done? Gov. Tim Walz took appropriate action to investigate the BCA process after the Freeman criticism. The city of Minneapolis has banned warrior training and the mayor and police chief have vowed to rebuilt trust between police and the communities they serve.
We’ve begun to realize the need for mental health counselors and social workers in our schools. It’s time we consider them on our police beats too.
Each person has a role to play as we face this growing culture of fear. We can choose to fuel it with support from the NRA and the White House, or we can choose to douse it by reaching on across racial lines in our common search for justice.
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Rochester Post-Bulletin, May 6
Farmers need action from Washington
It’s no secret that these are extremely tough times for Minnesota’s farmers.
We can easily go down the list of reasons why: declining prices, a hard winter followed by a wet, cold spring, a tit-for-tat tariff war, a stalled NAFTA 2.0 trade deal, and inaction by Congress.
Add it all up and farm income in Minnesota dropped an estimated 8 % last year - the fifth consecutive year of decline for farmers.
The dairy industry has been hit particularly hard. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s data indicates the state has been losing one dairy farm a day since November.
After all, who wants to keep working for declining revenue when winter snow collapses the roof of a barn you can’t afford to fix?
That’s some of the background of the angst expressed during a Rural Voices Discussion sponsored by the Minnesota Farmers Union on April 26 in Cannon Falls.
That same week, 1st District Rep. Jim Hagedorn got an earful from farmers during a session in New Ulm.
The message to Hagedorn: Get NAFTA 2.0 passed, get the tariffs that have closed off foreign markets rescinded, and press for real reforms rather than one-time handouts.
That’s going to be a heavy lift for a freshman backbencher whose party does not control the House of Representatives. But Hagedorn, a strong backer of President Trump, needed to be confronted with the reality of what happens to farmers when the White House and Congress dither on ag policy.
Regarding the United States, Mexico, Canada Agreement - an updated NAFTA pact - which Trump made a big deal of renegotiating: It’s not anywhere near the finish line. The presidents of the three nations may have signed the agreement, but the voter-elected governing bodies of each nation must approve it.
During a meeting last week with the Post Bulletin’s editorial board, Canadian Consul General Ariel Delouya said prospects for getting the deal approved by Canada’s parliament this year are getting slimmer by the day.
For starters, Canadians are still upset that Trump imposed tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum based on national security. “It’s the elephant in the room,” Delouya said.
Canada’s defense and security forces are closely allied with the U.S., he said, and Canadians found it insulting to be accused of being a security threat.
Until those tariffs are removed, Delouya said, parliament will be unlikely to approve USMCA.
On top of that, there’s a general election coming up this fall in Canada.
“It’s going to be problematic to bring it for a vote when the tariffs are in place,” Delouya said.
Oh, and by the way, the Trump administration has not yet presented NAFTA 2.0 to Congress for approval.
So Minnesota farmers who have been hoping for relief, and some sort of recognition from Washington that their livelihood is under threat, will continue to be disappointed.
Some will throw up their hands and leave farming. Others will hang on, refusing to give up despite the odds stacked against them.
No matter what, farmers deserve more than posturing and platitudes from leaders in Washington. They deserve to have their voices heard and respected.
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