Minnesota News Network

State agriculture officials got an earful from farmers about Minnesota’s nitrogen fertilizer rule during a town hall meeting this week in Mankato. Ag Commissioner Dave Frederickson says they’re trying to figure out the most reasonable way to approach it.  He says, “We’re getting a pretty good sense of that. The proposed rule will change, but we want to hear from everyone.”  The rule is designed to minimize nitrate pollution in groundwater.

The Minnesota Agricultural Water Quality Certification Program is a voluntary opportunity for farmers and agricultural landowners to put conservation practices in place that protect water. Frederickson says there are currently 432 farms certified statewide, representing more than a quarter million acres, and 390 applications in process.

Farmers also voiced continued concern over commodity prices at the Mankato town hall meeting. Commissioner Frederickson says there isn’t a lot that can be done at the state level, but they’re taking whatever steps possible – including raising the biodiesel blend to 20 percent blend next summer.  He says, “When we went and mandated B-10, biodiesel 10, that brought an additional 63 cents a bushel to soybeans. If we mandate B-20, that should bring another 60 to 63 cents.”

 

Fredrickson says they’ve also been reaching out to new export markets, including Cuba.  He adds that one-third of the Minnesota’s overall exports are agriculture related, and the state is number one in turkey production nationwide, number two for hogs, has the third-highest soybean production in the U.S. and fourth for corn.

 

 

 

There are extra law enforcement officers on Minnesota roads now through Labor Day looking for drunk driving and other offenses.  State Traffic Safety Office Director Donna Berger says, “Our message is simple: If you’re planning to celebrate the close of summer with friends and family, plan a sober ride.”  She says over the past four years, Labor Day has been the most dangerous holiday for drunk driving on Minnesota roads.

 

Berger says over 40 percent of drivers arrested for D-W-I in Minnesota in 2015 had a least one prior offense.  “We need enforcement to remove these drivers from behind the wheel. It’s not safe for them, and it’s not safe for any of us that are sharing the road with them,” she says.  Berger notes Minnesota’s D-W-I courts, now operating in 11 areas of the state, offer hope for those struggling with alcohol addiction.  A study found D-W-I courts reduced repeat offenses up to 69 percent.

 

 

2017 D-W-I Courts in Minnesota:

· Beltrami 9th Judicial District Court

· Cass County Court 9th Judicial District Court

· Crow Wing County 9th Judicial District Court

· Hennepin County 4th Judicial District Court

· Pennington/Marshall County 9th Judicial District Court

· Roseau/Kittson County 9th Judicial District Court

· Ramsey County 2nd Judicial district Court

· Ottertail County 7th Judicial District Court

· St Louis County 6th Judicial District Court

· Tri-County DWI Court 9th Judicial District Court

· White Earth Reservation

 

A woman from Brooklyn Park is in a medically-induced coma after authorities say her husband repeatedly stabbed her in front of their children. 34-year-old Jethro Gboeah has a first court appearance Monday afternoon. The Star Tribune reports the couple’s children told police their father strangled their mother and said he would kill her before repeatedly stabbing her.

 

A woman accused of murdering a Saint Cloud market owner in 2015 awaits trail after being extradited from California. 24-year-old Cheryl Albert faces second- and third-degree murder charges for allegedly drugging, robbing and shooting Keletigui Keita at his apartment. He owned Kilmandjaro Market in Saint Cloud,

A nine-year-old boy is dead and 10-year-old girl injured after a utility vehicle overturned on a slope in a hay field Thursday afternoon north of Millerville in Douglas County. Authorities say Jon Dingwall, who was driving the vehicle, was trapped underneath. The girl was able to get free and is hospitalized in fair condition in Saint Cloud.

 

Why are prescription drug prices so high in Minnesota, particularly for brand-names and specialty drugs? U-of-M College of Pharmacy Professor, Doctor Steven Schondelmeyer told a special Minnesota Senate panel Thursday that although true new innovations should be rewarded, “We’ve awarded a monopoly and exclusivities that go on for long, long periods of time — and you don’t have market-based prices when you have monopolies.”

Schondelmeyer told lawmakers, “Many of the things that would be best to make this [the market] work probably need to be done at the federal level, but that doesn’t mean you should sit by at the state and say, oh, I can’t do anything, throw my hands up. There are things you can begin to do, and some states are beginning to do that.”  He says one would be rate regulation, as is done with utilities. Schondelmeyer says a “Price Regulation Review Board” would help.

The Senate panel’s assignment is to make recommendations on health care reform to the 2018 Minnesota Legislature.

Leaders of the S-E-I-U Healthcare Minnesota union are calling on Mayo Clinic C-E-O John Noseworthy to publicly disclose all ties to the president, as the furor continues over Trump’s comments about violence between protesters and white supremacists in Virginia. Union president Jamie Gulley says, “Across the spectrum, hospitals, CEOs, those that have relationships with the president are clarifying those relationships right now, and we think that we deserve to know from Dr. Noseworthy and Mayo Clinic what the nature of the relationship is today.”

Mayo officials respond the president invited Noseworthy and others to share best practices for veterans’ health care, but “this group has no formal standing.” Mayo adds it “rejects statements of equivalency between Neo-Nazi groups and those who oppose them, and expressions of hatred and bigotry.”

 

More in this interview with Gulley:

 

Here’s the complete statement from Mayo Clinic:

 

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump invited John Noseworthy, M.D, president and CEO of Mayo Clinic, and leaders from four other academic medical centers, to share best practices to help ensure that our nation’s veterans receive the best healthcare possible. This ad hoc group met face-to-face twice, once in December 2016 and once in February 2017. This group has no formal standing.

 

The engagement with the current Administration reflects Mayo Clinic’s historic commitment of service to the United States government. As part of that commitment, Mayo Clinic has responded to the call to serve each White House administration back to the time of President Abraham Lincoln.  

 

Mayo Clinic rejects statements of equivalency between Neo-Nazi groups and those who oppose them, and expressions of hatred and bigotry.  Mayo Clinic is a place of compassion, respect and trust, and our collective diversity helps make us the best place to work and receive care.

 

Mayo Clinic strongly embraces diversity, inclusion and cultural differences as critical qualities among our staff and our patients, and integral to Mayo Clinic’s ability to live out its mission and values every day. As Dr. Noseworthy publicly stated in January, “Mayo Clinic remains steadfast in supporting our patients, staff, families and community. Each year, we welcome thousands of visitors from across the globe, many of whom receive care from our incredibly talented and diverse team members.”