If it weren’t for the anxiety dreams, Minnesota’s education advocates might actually be enjoying spring break. After all, the DFL controls both legislative chambers and the executive branch, there’s a budget surplus —  and threats of a final snow flurry notwithstanding, the sun has been out.

Too bad, then, that the final weeks of the session threaten to be the equivalent of a poker marathon in which the players’ hole cards are already on display. 

The Legislature gets just as intensely political about this time every year. But there are some unique — and uniquely painful — dynamics at play in 2014.

Before adjourning for the midsession recess last week, the state House of Representatives and Senate cranked out a quartet of omnibus education policy and finance bills that ticked most major boxes. Yet chances are slender that all of the hard-won initiatives in those bills will survive the conference-committee process. And so those who would be allies in a typical year are likely to find themselves at odds.

A short review of recent history is in order. When Minnesota last ran budget surpluses in the late 1990s and early 2000s, then-Gov. Jesse Ventura chose to use the money to underwrite sales-tax rebates. His replacement, Tim Pawlenty, presided over two terms of deficits and cuts.

The sluggish economy persisted during Mark Dayton’s first two years as governor, when the GOP controlled both the House and Senate. In 2013, the notion that schools would be a top beneficiary helped DFL majorities pass modest tax increases.

'New money' didn't close gaps

Yet even as educators roundly applauded the modest “new money” directed to E-12 last year, they politely pointed out that it didn’t come anywhere close to closing the budgetary gaps created by years of freezes and cuts.

As the second year of the biennium, the 2014 Legislature was supposed to be about policy and bonding. But news of a $1.2 billion surplus attracted education wish lists like a set of new Crayolas draws kindergarteners.

There is disagreement between Dayton and lawmakers as to just how many wishes should be granted. As they hammered out their respective omnibus packages, leaders of the House and Senate, Speaker Paul Thissen of Minneapolis and Majority Leader Tom Bakk of Cook, respectively, struck a deal to set aside, in effect, $750 million of the surplus for the next biennium.  

“Now that there’s money, there’s pent-up demand,” said Mary Cecconi, executive director of the grassroots group Parents United. “But spending all of that money wouldn’t be smart.”

One reason: Education is not an arena ripe with opportunities for one-time expenditures. And by passing legislation that has “tails” — ongoing funding streams that will become part of future years’ base expenditures — lawmakers could be setting themselves up.

Spending targets higher in the House

Spending targets — the budgets legislative leaders give committees to play with — for E-12 education were set at $41 million in the Senate and $73 million in the House. Deal notwithstanding, education advocates note, overall House targets, unaltered, would hold back $600 million for the 2015-2016 legislatures.

It’s worth noting that every member of the lower chamber will stand for re-election this fall. There are no Senate races this year.

The election is one reason the tension is unavoidable, Cecconi added. “There are lots of people who believe, ‘What if we lose the House? We lose our only shot,” she said. “There are those outside of the Capitol who are pushing to fund unmet needs, not knowing if the Democrats will hold the House majority next session.”

Both bills would put $5.4 million into a long-awaited combination of supports for English-language learners, whose numbers mushroomed throughout the state during the years of cutbacks. And each would extend free school lunches to all low-income students, as well as offer a couple of small safety and school-readiness initiatives.

The big differences: The Senate would spend $12 million each on Early Childhood Family Education and on a badly underfunded two-year-old early-ed scholarship program.

By contrast, the House would increase the general fund — the basic financing that follows every child in the state — by $55 million, or 1 percent.

Finally, Dayton’s preferred education spending this year is a mere $3.5 million — just enough to extend free school lunches to all low-income students in the state.

All seen as priorities

So which of these items is most desperately needed? All of them, agree the education advocates who are spending the recess trying to figure out how not to get pitted against one another when conference committees begin meeting next week.

Case in point, the most prevalent fear is that the early-childhood scholarship funds will become the most convenient bargaining chips. Lawmakers last year voted to spend $40 million to fund the program, which directs impoverished families to high-quality programming, in each year of the biennium. While advocates applauded the funds, thousands of families remain on waiting lists, they noted.

Earlier this year, early-ed advocates feared that their proposed funding increase would be stacked against another initiative policymakers have sought for years. Chairs of the House and Senate Education commitees, Rep. Carlos Mariani and Sen. Patricia Torres-Ray, have long pursued changes in the way Minnesota approaches its English-language learners (ELL).

The original version of the bill called for extending the number of years of ELL services the state will reimburse schools for from five to seven — the level at which they were funded until a 2003 cut. As the funding discrepancies became clear, Mariani and Torres-Ray backed it down to six, leaving money for other projects.

The executive director of the Association of Metropolitan School Districts (AMSD), Scott Croonquist, is of the opinion that lawmakers can spend more of the surplus without laying the groundwork for future shortfalls.

“With a $1.2 billion surplus it’s not unreasonable to provide some supplemental funding on E-12 after what has clearly been a tough decade,” he said. In that light, Croonquist believes, AMSD’s wish list is modest.

Last year lawmakers funded all-day kindergarten and several other worthy programs, he continued, but educators are still in need of unrestricted funds they can use for general needs.

“I’m not in any way critical of what was done last year,” Croonquist said. “But it left them with very little on the [general ed funding] formula. If they had known last year that they would have a surplus this year, they would have put more on the formula.”

The bottom line: Unless the Senate and governor become comfortable with the House’s spending target — something that could happen, if they believe it will help the DFL retain a majority — trade-offs will have to be brokered. 

It’s official: 325,000 Minnesotans will get a raise. This afternoon, Governor Dayton signed House File 2091, the bill increasing the state minimum wage, into law.

The increase is long overdue. The previous minimum wage was not enough for many workers to support their families or escape poverty. But as a result of the minimum wage increase, 325,000 Minnesotans will have higher wages. This will make it easier for working families to make ends meet. And it’s good for our economy, as these workers have more to spend in their local communities.

The new minimum wage begins phasing in over a two-year period:

• Large employers: $8.00 per hour starting on August 1, 2014, $9.00 starting on August 1, 2015, and $9.50 starting August 1, 2016.
• Small employers: $6.50 per hour starting on August 1, 2014, $7.25 starting August 1, 2015, and $7.75 starting August 1, 2016.
• Training wage (for employees ages 18 and 19 for the first 90 consecutive days of employment): $6.50 starting August 1, 2014, $7.25 on August 1, 2015, and $7.75 on August 1, 2016.

Two other wage tiers are created:

• Youth wage (workers under age 18): $6.50 starting August 1, 2014, $7.25 on August 1, 2015, and $7.75 on August 1, 2016.
• Hotel or resort workers under an Exchange Visitor non-immigrant visa for summer work who receive a lodging or food benefit: $7.25 starting August 1, 2014, $7.50 on August 1, 2015, and $7.75 on August 1, 2016.

For purposes of the minimum wage, Minnesota will match federal definitions for small and large employers. A large employer has annual gross sales over $500,000, and a small employer has gross sales below that amount.

Minnesota’s minimum wage will increase each year based on inflation starting in 2018 (commonly called “indexing”), so that it keeps up with the cost of basic necessities. The annual increase cannot be more than 2.5 percent. The state has the option of suspending an annual increase if economic indicators show potential for a substantial downturn in the state’s economy. In the years after a wage increase is prevented, the state can make supplemental increases in the minimum wage to catch up.

This new law will help thousands of working Minnesotans – especially people who are often left behind in the economy, including women and people of color. It will make sure these workers benefit from the economic growth they help create.

This post was written by Caitlin Biegler and originally published on Minnesota Budget Bites.

If you blog and would like your work considered for Minnesota Blog Cabin, please submit our registration form.

The Minnesota Family Council, a group that supports conservative social issues, will feature Dr. Ben Carson as keynote speaker at its May 6th annual dinner.

Carson, a retired neurosurgeon, has become an author and a leading spokesman for conservative family issues such as opposition to traditional marriage and abortion.

As a doctor at Johns Hopkins, he was known for leading a surgical team that separated twins conjoined at the head in 1987.

The Minnesota Family Council says its mission is: "To nurture and defend families by restoring biblical truth in our culture."

The May 6 dinner's theme is "Restoring our Foundations: A Prescription for America." It will be at the Doubletree in Bloomington; registration is at 6:15p.m. Tickets are $150 in advance, but the cost is $55 for pastors, legislators and guests under 30.

Lots of 'money equals speech' in the Third Congressional District ... for one side. GOP U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen has a 70-to-1 cash advantage over his possible Democratic opponent, the Strib's Corey Mitchell reports. Paulsen has nearly $2 million banked for re-election ... that would be decent for a U.S. Senate challenger right now. The Lake Minnetonka-area district has voted narrowly for Obama, but this isn't a great year for the president, and high-profile Dems cashed in their chips months ago, thus this result.

Last Friday’s double homicide in the Somali community at least has the local politicians' attention. Jon Collins at MPR reports, “Those in attendance at Monday's meeting included representatives from Minneapolis City Council Member Abdi Warsame and Mayor Betsy Hodges' offices, anti-violence activists from north Minneapolis and former Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher, who began educating law enforcement officials about Somali culture following his election loss in 2010. One group that wasn't represented was the Minneapolis Police Department. In a meeting where many attendees lamented the lack of progress on investigations involving the killings of Somali-Americans, and where even Fletcher criticized the MPD for their lack of outreach to the Somali community, that absence was glaring.”

KMSP's Tom Lyden reports on the alleged Minnesota cult leader charged with 59 sexual misconduct counts "involving two of his underage followers" over — gulp — nine years. Paul Walsh of the Strib notes Victor A. Barnard, “ministered at a youth camp in east-central Minnesota" and is a fugitive "believed to be in Washington state .... Barnard, whose last known address was in Finlayson, Minn., abused the girls starting in 2000 while they attended a Christian camp through The River Road Fellowship near Finlayson, according to the criminal complaint.”

Tonight is premiere night for the TV reboot of “Fargo.”At MPR Liala Helal says, “The movie depicted residents in a good light, Laurie Lind, 54, of Fargo, said, although she didn’t enjoy the language or graphic sexual references in the movie. They were depicted as hard-working, mostly clean-talking, salt-of-the-earth types, she said. ‘The ‘out-of-towners’ … were the vile, filthy, indecent, dishonest, criminally-minded scummy sorts. All of which, I thought, was a very funny premise to the movie,’ Lind said.” The hit men were from Green Bay, weren’t they?

Speaking of … . Robert Bianco, TV critic for USA Today says, “If you love the Coen brothers' films, you may be disappointed to learn that they're not actively involved in the day-to-day creation of the show. But they have put their names on it as producers, and you can see why: Hawley has channeled their style in a way that works as a tribute without coming across as cheap imitation. Hawley's Fargo is something all its own, and yet something equally wonderful.”

In the New York Times, Alessandra Stanley says, “ ‘Fargo’ finds humor in the stunning ordinariness of Midwestern small towns, where people are uniformly even tempered and mild, bringing Jell-O salads to potlucks and saying ‘aw jeez’ and ‘heck’ when bad things happen. The snow tamps down so much: In Minnesota, even some of the killers have placid miens and pleasant manners.… Stretched over 10 episodes, the suspense lies less in whodunit than in the strange ways these quirky characters react to violence.”

And … at The Wire Esther Zuckerman writes, “The lead actors were instructed to handle the accent with care, however, and leave some of the more over-the-top inflections to performers with smaller parts. ‘There are some minor roles to the story  were allotted a little bit more local color because the producers didn’t want the main people to be caricature. It was sort of like Fargo the movie minus 20 percent,’ [actor Colin Hanks] explained.”

No doubt you have your tomatoes in. The AP tells us, “Spring fieldwork is getting off to a late start because of winter’s stubborn grip on Minnesota but farmers say their yields shouldn’t be hurt as long as they can get into their fields soon after Easter.” Uh huh. And how does the Fourth of July sound to you?

Finally, there’s ammo for both sides of the (greater) LRT discussion in an Atlantic story by Yonah Freemark. “ … light rail remains the most appealing mode of new public transportation for many American cities. Billions of local, state, and federal dollars have been invested in 650 miles of new light rail lines in 16 regions, and today 144 miles of additional lines are under construction at a cost of more than $25 billion. … According to an analysis of Census data, in four of the five cities with new light rail lines, the share of regional workers choosing to ride transit to work declined, and the center city's share of the urbanized area population declined, too.”

Curious what the weather was like on the day you were born and how it stacked up to the 30-year normals? We've added a feature to our historical weather application — now you can explore weather data going back to the late 1800s. 

You can look back at this winter to see how it was almost 10 degrees below our normals (we use Dec. 1 through March 31 to better reflect Minnesota's extra-long winters). This same week last year was even colder than what we've experienced in 2014.

Scroll to the bottom of MinnPost's temperature-data app to get information on a custom date.

Note that the 30-year normals (i.e., the averages from 1980-2010) are not a perfect comparison for temperatures before 1980, as the normals change and have been going up in recent years. Still, if you look back at January 1st, 1900, you can see that week was colder than our current 30-year normals, and the winter was only slightly warmer.

If you have feedback or questions, feel free to get in touch: data@minnpost.com

The Macalester College Board of Trustees has named a new campus building the "Joan Adams Mondale Hall of Studio Art."

Mondale, the wife of former Vice President Walter Mondale, died in February. She graduated from Macalester in 1952.

The building, a studio arts facility renovation and expansion, "includes spaces that are larger, more modern, and more flexible than was previously the case, allowing faculty members and students to work together under the same roof for the first time in many years," the college said.

In a statement, Walter Mondale said:

“We are thrilled by Macalester College's decision to honor Joan Mondale’s lifetime devotion to Macalester and to the arts. This decision perfectly fits her years at Macalester, what Macalester meant to her, the role of her family and the years she spent on the Macalester Board and the other ways she remained deeply involved in the life of Macalester College. The Adams-Mondale family is profoundly grateful that Macalester is naming this magnificent center and Hall of Studio Art in her honor.”  

Macalester President Brian Rosenberg said:

“It’s fitting to name our new Studio Art building after Joan, a life-long advocate for both the arts and Macalester College. Joan combined both passions when, as a trustee, she suggested setting aside one percent of construction project budgets to be used for public art on campus. As a result, the Joan Adams Mondale Hall of Studio Art is filled with sculpture, drawing, painting, printmaking and ceramics, all forms of art that she loved.” 

Minnesota’s six Republican gubernatorial candidates together out-raised DFL Gov. Mark Dayton’s campaign in 2014’s first three months. However, Dayton is still on a bigger pile of cash than his opponents combined.    

Here’s how the newly reported first quarter 2014 numbers break down:

Dayton raised $189,000, and has $733,114 cash on hand and unpaid bills of $1,700.

Collectively, gubernatorial Republicans raised $493,700 and have $462,180 in unpsent cash.

Businessman Scott Honour's campaign out-raised Dayton, receiving $236,075, including $50,000 Honour loaned to the campaign.  Honour's cash on hand is $13,693 more than the loan, or $63,693.

Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson and former state Rep. Marty Seifert are nearly tied with each other in retained cash — Seifert leads the GOP field with $141,700, while Johnson has $139,000.  Seifert raised $64,127 during the quarter while Johnson raised $32,000. 

State Rep. Kurt Zellers took in $91,407, including a $20,000 personal loan.  His campaign has $79,777 cash on hand.

State Sen. Dave Thompson’s campaign took in $66,889, with $37,695 cash on hand and unpaid bills of  $27,000.

Hibbing teacher Rob Farnsworth raised $3,335, including a $500 personal loan, with cash on hand of $315.

Also of note: the Dayton campaign still has on its books $3.9 million in loans that Dayton made to the campaign during his successful 2010 gubernatorial campaign.

A Norman County deputy exchanged gunfire with a suspect during a traffic stop early Tuesday morning, leaving the deputy in the hospital with unspecified injuries, according to a report in the Fargo Forum. The Norman County Sheriff’s Department hasn’t released the name of the deputy or the extent of his injuries or the name of the suspect, citing the fluidity of the situation. “Clay County Sheriff Bill Bergquist said an arrest took place about 10:40 a.m. not far from where the shooting occurred. He said the incident began about 8:30 a.m., when a Norman County Deputy made a traffic stop on County Road 39 east of Perley. At some point during the stop, the deputy and the driver of the car exchanged gunfire and the deputy was wounded, Bergquist said. The deputy, who is not being named, was taken to a Fargo hospital, according to Bergquist. Perley is located just east of the Red River and roughly 23 miles north of Moorhead on Highway 75.”

CC/Flickr/Jacob Norlund

At 118.1 inches (so far), this has been one of Duluth's snowiest winters.

Here’s another spring storm story, but the interesting thing about this one is the totals listed at the bottom of the story. Andrew Krueger of the Duluth News Tribune pulls out a standard snow story in advance of a predicted Wednesday storm. The area might get as much as a foot of snow, etc. At the bottom, though, is a list of the top 10 snowiest winters in Duluth. Here they are:

SNOWIEST WINTERS IN DULUTH

1. 1995-96, 135.4 inches

2. 1949-50, 131.8 inches

3. 2012-13, 129.4 inches

4. 1996-97, 128.2 inches

5. 1968-69, 121 inches

6. 1988-89, 119.1 inches

7. 2013-14, 118.1 inches (so far)

8. 1970-71, 116.9 inches

9. 1964-65, 110.8 inches

10. 2003-04, 109.9 inches

Down in Rochester, the Rochester Tea Party Patriots celebrated its fifth year of tax-day protest in a subdued way, writes Heather J. Carlson of the Rochester Post Bulletin. “About 150 people gathered at the Eagles Club in Rochester on Monday night. Some sipped on beer while perusing a table of silent auction items that included books by conservative authors and a framed Adrian Peterson jersey. It's a far cry from the early tea party rallies outdoors that featured people toting picket signs railing against government bailouts and deficit spending. But while the signs are gone, the political anger remains. Rochester Tea Party Patriots member Mary Frances Burton said she turned out for the group's first tax day rally on April 15, 2009, at Silver Lake Park because of her frustration with the direction the country was headed. She has remained involved, with the goal of doing what she can to help get conservatives elected. ‘I believe in the principles of small government, less taxes, get rid of Obama and all of that,’ she said."  

Here's a story about summer allergies from Ryan Johnson of the Fargo Forum. “Load up on tissues and antihistamines now, Red River Valley allergy sufferers – it could be a long spring and summer,” he writes. Woei Yeang Eng, an allergy and asthma specialist with Sanford Health, predicts an intense start to allergy season. “ ‘In the past few years, we’ve seen allergy season coming gradually,” he said. “You start noticing little symptoms get worse, worse, worse. This year, probably we’re going to see a burst of allergy season because of the way that the weather’s going right now.’ " Linda Regan, a physician assistant at Catalyst Medical Center in Fargo, said the actual conditions will depend on temperatures and rainfall this year. Moisture can remove pollen from the air, but too much can lead to mold. If it’s a dry summer, she said, dust just adds to the air pollution, making for misery and irritation.

Some national reports have predicted it will be the worst allergy season in years, warning of high pollen counts and an intense first few weeks of spring because of the cold, wild winter. But Regan said that’s more likely to apply to other areas of the country, especially the Northeast, where heavy rains and snowfall could mean a bad time for allergy sufferers.

So this fire is a bad deal, but the takeaway has to be: A $75,000 mower?Kay Fate of the Rochester Post Bulletin writes, “Firefighters were called about 11:10 p.m. to the district's maintenance complex in the 10 block of 9 1/2 Street Southeast for a waterflow alarm. After searching the area, crews discovered a 1999 Jacobsen lawn tractor inside one of the buildings had caught fire, but was extinguished by the sprinkler system, said Larry Mueller, assistant fire marshal. Early investigation has led officials to believe the fire was started by an electrical spark in the tractor's ignition, he said. According to the report, the mower had been moved two days earlier, but hadn't been used at all Saturday. The building itself sustained "very minimal damage," Mueller said, but the loss was estimated at $75,000 for the tractor, which was destroyed. 

This story won’t win any Pulitzer Prizes, but the headline makes a guy stop and read: Man accused of driving go-kart while drunk. Trey Mexes of the Austin Daily Herald has the details:

AUSTIN — A 25-year-old Austin man is in jail after trying to drive a child-size go-kart while drunk early Sunday in northeast Austin.

Police Chief Brian Krueger said an officer nearly drove into the suspect on the go-kart, which was stopped on the side of the road ... at about 12:30 a.m. Sunday.

The suspect told police he was “testing out” the go-kart and was celebrating the Lao New Year. The Lao New Year was on April 12.

Police noticed the suspect appeared drunk. They later found he had a revoked driver’s license and arrested him. Krueger said the man had a blood alcohol level of .10, which is above Minnesota’s 0.08 limit.

The man was taken to the Mower County jail on a gross misdemeanor second-degree DUI, driving after revocation, and possession of drug paraphernalia. Police took the Razor brand go-kart into custody.

Condoleezza Rice

Nearly 200 University of Minnesota professors have joined the controversy over a scheduled speech on Thursday by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, saying in a public letter that they don't think the Humphrey School lecture series is an appropriate forum for her talk.

The speech at the university's Humphrey School of Public Affairs is part of the Distinguished Carlson Lecture Series, which, this year, focuses on civil rights.

Students and others have been protesting the appearance of Rice, who was involved in many of the Bush administration's controversial human-rights decisions before and during the Iraq War, on such issues as prisoner renditions, torture, the detention of militants at Guantanamo Bay, and others.

The professors signing the letter say they support Rice's right to free speech, and would like to hear her talk about her foreign-policy decisions and experiences, but they don't feel the civil-rights lecture series is the right time or place.

"We aren't requesting that they rescind the invitation, but we're suggesting that the parameters of the invitation were not well thought through," said Barbara Frey, director of the Human Rights Program at the University's Institute for Global Studies.

"We want to be on the record, in opposition not to her speaking, but of the framework of her presentaiton. And we hope [Humprey School] Dean [Eric] Schwartz, when he's introducing her, might take cues from letter of the kinds of questions that he might ask."

Schwartz said Tuesday in a statement:

The Humphrey School welcomes the conversations this invitation has generated; we value public discussion and dialogue. We strongly believe that our School's namesake, Hubert Humphrey, would feel the same way. 

Dr. Rice is one of about 20 speakers of differing perspectives that the Humphrey School will have hosted over the course of the year to reflect on progress achieved and challenges ahead in this 50th anniversary year of the Civil Rights Act.

Another professor, who helped organize the letter but asked not to be named, said two issues prompted the protest letter:

• The lecture series is focusing on civil rights this year, and she's not really a civil-rights expert, they said. She's famous for her foreign-policy work, which was very controversial.
• And the website announcement of her speech identified her as a spreader of democracy around the world, which didn't ring true to the signers.

Says the letter:

While Dr. Rice is an accomplished African-American woman, the advancement of civil rights — the theme of this year's lecture series — is not central to her legacy. Indeed, as a leading national security official during the entirety of the Bush administration, she bears responsibility for substantial violations of civil liberties and civil rights that were carried out in the name of prosecuting the War on Terror.

Some organizers also said there was concern about her $150,000 speaking fee, which is being paid by private sources, not from university funds.

"That seems wildly inappropriate for any speaker, especially in a civil-rights/economic-justice situation," said the professor.

The letter includes specifics about Rice's record in the Bush administration:

Dr. Rice is welcome to speak on the University of Minnesota campus, but let's not ignore her record. As National Security Adviser in the critical period of 2001-05, Dr. Rice played a central role in the design and implementation of the Administration's policies, which legitimized the use of torture by redefining it to include only practices so severe as to induce organ failure. By this logic, "enhanced interrogation techniques" that had previously been defined as torture, such as waterboarding, were no longer defined as such and became standard practice in the War on Terror. Since the end of her tenure, Dr. Rice has defended the use of torture and has not publicly distanced herself from these decisions that violated both US and international law and resulted in severe violations of human rights.

Dr. Rice also supported the Administration's policy of rendition, whereby individuals were abducted and delivered by US authorities to "black sites" in third countries such as Egypt and Syria, countries that were known to subject prisoners to torture. This practice violated due process, since these individuals were detained without being given the opportunity to defend themselves. They were effectively found guilty without trial. And they were tortured. Since some detainees died while in custody, this practice was, in many circumstances, tantamount to authorizing extrajudicial execution.

University President Eric Kaler has said said that free-speech issues dictate that the speech must go on.

The letter and faculty members' signatures can be seen here.

CC/Flickr/Brian Smith

Conventional wisdom has held that students must learn English before they can conquer academics.

Right now, the fate of Minnesota children who are learning English depends on where and how they end up in school. The least fortunate languish, falling years behind in classrooms where lessons are spooled out in a language they can’t understand.

Because conventional wisdom has held that students must learn English before they can conquer academics, others attend school in pull-out classrooms. By the time they are “mainstreamed,” they, too, can be years behind.

And it’s no small problem. Over the last two decades the number of Minnesota English language learners, or ELLs in education jargon, has grown by more than 300 percent [PDF]. There are now 65,000 enrolled in schools here, 50,000 more than 20 years ago.

Perhaps, then, the most revolutionary piece of legislation expected to emerge from the state Capitol in coming weeks is a long-sought package of reforms laying out strategies proven to bring ELL students to grade level reliably and quickly. 

Its provisions merit dissection [PDF],  but the most important aspect of the bill is the sea change it calls on educators, policymakers, higher ed and employers to make.

Seeing multilingualism as a big asset

Right now, many perceive the fact that a student is acquiring English as a deficit that needs fixing. ELL advocates, by contrast, insist that Minnesota’s prosperity rests on seeing multilingualism as a tremendous asset.

In fact, if the Learning for English Academic Proficiency and Success Act or LEAPS Act, is passed into law this year as expected, all Minnesota high schools graduates who are assessed as fluent in more than one language will receive a special seal on their diploma.

“That’s a signal to higher ed and to businesses,” said Mary Cecconi, executive director of Parents United. “This person can cross cultures.”

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, Minnesota ranks 15th nationwide in terms of the number of languages spoken by its students. A multilingual workforce without an achievement gap would put the state at a major advantage.

“The focus for far too long has been on the wrong indicators,” Cecconi added. “We need to understand that our job is to teach them content.”

In short: No more waiting for a child to conquer English to begin instruction in math, literacy, science or any other subject. And no longer is the goal acculturation. 

A new expectation

Rep. Carlos Mariani

“It sets the expectation in state law that ELL services be delivered in a way that looks like the home language of the learner,” said Rep. Carlos Mariani, the St. Paul DFLer who has been incubating the policy for years along with Sen. Patricia Torres-Ray, DFL-Minneapolis. “I’m pretty proud of it.”

Last year, ELL students lagged 20 percentage points behind the state’s 79 percent high school graduation rate. Only 28 percent of ELL students scored proficient in math on the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCAs), vs. 61 percent of all students.

Just 17 recent passed reading tests, vs. 58 percent overall. And 12 percent were deemed proficient in science, vs. 53 percent of all students.

During the special session of 2003 then-Gov. Tim Pawlenty and the Legislature balanced the budget in part by making a series of cuts to education. Some $11 million was pared from the ELL funding stream by reducing the number of years students could receive services from seven to five.

At the same time, the number of immigrants enrolling in Minnesota schools was mushrooming. Skyrocketing in particular was the population of refugees whose backgrounds do not include exposure to formal education. Not only do they not speak English, they typically have no exposure to literacy or numeracy in their home languages.

“With home language proficiency, you’re building on those building blocks in the brain of the child,” said Mariani. “So when you supply another language the architecture is there.”

The measure builds on last year’s World’s Best Workforce legislation, a series of provisions that establish a cradle-to-career pipeline that seeks to keep Minnesota’s economy competitive by ratcheting up dramatically the number of students who are poised to finish college.

Culturally responsive teaching

To that end, this year’s LEAP Act directs schools to adopt culturally responsive teaching practices and to ensure students are literate in at least their home language by third grade, a critical juncture. The Minnesota Department of Education’s Regional Centers of Excellence, established last year in the workforce legislation, will supply resources to districts without strong ELL programs.

It also includes provisions requiring teachers and administrators to expand their understanding of how to serve ELL students most effectively and directs teacher colleges to include ELL strategies in their curricula. And when staffing bilingual programs, districts must give priority to native speakers.

Far from being received as one more set of mandates educators must cope with, teachers are expected to welcome the changes. Response to a survey of ELL teachers by the state’s largest teachers union, Education Minnesota, about the key concepts was highly favorable, Mariani said.

A number of school and civic leaders have already been working to promote the value of a multicultural education.

A third of St. Paul pupils are ELL students

St. Paul Public Schools (SPPS) Superintendent Valeria Silva has received national recognition for her ELL programming. One third of pupils in St. Paul, the largest district in the state, are ELL students.

Minneapolis Public Schools are working to expand a promising program for students who arrived here weeks or months ago and may have had little exposure to schools, let alone English.

And former Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, now the head of the education data trust Generation Next, has spoken compellingly for years about the hunger among the city’s employers for workers whose skill set includes being able to cross cultures.

These are examples of the shift Cecconi talks of. “Right now, we look at an [ELL] child and say, ‘Oh, the poor kid, let’s teach them English,” she said. “You learn the culture by learning the language. And they are living in a world where they can navigate two languages.”

The LEAP Act is included in both the House and Senate omnibus bills. Next week, when lawmakers come back from their mid-session recess, the legislation will be taken up by conference committees.

While Mariani is hopeful that he measure will return intact, there are fears within the education sector that the committees will not be willing to fund everything in the bills.

“This is not a change you are going to see next year,” said Cecconi. “This is a societal change.”

It might once again be possible to travel south on Nicollet Avenue from downtown Minneapolis to Richfield without jogging around the Kmart at Lake Street.

It was nearly 40 years ago when Nicollet was blocked just north of Lake Street to allow Kmart to build a store on two adjacent blocks with surface parking.

And so it has been until this week when the new Lake and Nicollet Redevelopment Project was given preliminary approval by the Minneapolis City Council Community Development and Regulatory Services Committee.

This opens the door to developers and opens up the possibility of reopening Nicollet. Also in the seven-block project area is proposed access to 35W from Lake Street and revitalization of the commercial district.

But before anything happens, the two landowners and two tenants on the land must agree.

“The only way that they [Kmart] could have a store in a different location that would allow the street [Nicollet] to run through, is if they say we like your proposal, or the developers proposal, and we’re going to move into a new store that sits in a different way on the site,” said David Frank, director of transit development for Minneapolis.

“If they don’t like the proposal and they don’t like the plan, they stay in their store the way it is and we can’t have our street,” said Frank.

The property under the Kmart is owned by the Kadish family, who are not local and who regard the land as an investment, according to Frank, who said any decision to sell the land would probably be a business decision. Kmart has a lease for the store that runs through 2053.

The land under the grocery store adjacent to the Kmart is owned by John Leighton with Jerry’s Foods, based in the Twin Cities, holding a lease for the store. The food store has about three more years before the lease expires, according to Frank.

When the Kmart store opened in 1977, the company had strict rules for the size of building (this one is 80,000 square feet) and the number of surface parking spots. The guidelines did not allow for parking ramps or parking that would require customers to cross a street to access the store.

Today the rules are different. The store needs to be on one floor, but it could be built above or below a parking ramp, according to Max Bulbin, director of real estate and leasing for Kmart.

“It doesn’t work to have that giant piece of land,” said Bulbin speaking to reporters on a conference call from company headquarters in Hoffman Estates in the Chicago area.

'Long and tough process'

“We’re really looking to the city for direction,” said Bulbin, who added that he would like to see Nicollet Avenue reopen and a new Kmart in the same neighborhood but thinks it could be a “long and tough process.”

The store currently employs 100 people and pays $1 million in sales and employment taxes annually.

“We’ve enjoyed a longstanding relationship with our customers in nearby neighborhoods,” Tom Manke, district manager for the Lake Street Kmart. Manke said that he supports establishment of the Redevelopment District, but that uncertainty about the future is hurting sales and employee morale.

The Redevelopment Project calls for retail on both sides of the reopened Nicollet Avenue, a mix of housing options, parking ramps and a small park along the west side of Nicollet Avenue leading to the Midtown Greenway. A variety of public finance options are available for developers.

City of Minneapolis

Herb Bergson, a former mayor of Duluth, was sentenced to 20 days in jail this week in Wisconsin for his third drunk-driving conviction.

Bergson had served four years as Duluth's mayor, from 2003-2007. During his time as mayor of Duluth, Bergson was known for working to end homelessness. 

He's a former police officer who'd also been mayor of Superior, Wis., in the 1980s.

The Duluth News Tribune reports that under a plea agreement, a Wisconsin judge stayed a one-year jail sentence and ordered Bergson to serve 20 days in jail, complete treatment and pay a $1,872 fine. Bergson's first drunk-driving offense came in 2005, when he was Duluth's mayor. His second came in May 2012; he served 22 days in jail earlier this year for that.

Editor’s note:On Tuesday, MinnPost’s Britt Robson sat down with new Star Tribune owner Glen Taylor to talk about the purchase. Robson has interviewed Taylor many times over the years about the Minnesota Timberwolves, Taylor’s NBA team, often getting remarkably candid responses. This piece is no different; Taylor, a former state senator, says the Star Tribune, which fellow Republicans criticize as liberal, will “have better balance,” aided by veteran staffers retiring — though the shift has been ongoing and would’ve happened even if he hadn’t bought the paper.

A new owner acknowledging political changes at the state’s largest daily will likely send tremors through Minnesota’s political and journalistic establishment (including the Strib’s newsroom), and for that reason we have not edited Taylor’s remarks, however lengthy.

One change we did make is splitting the interview into two parts. The second will run Thursday, and cover the backstory of how Taylor’s solo purchase came to be.

MinnPost: I know I always bring this up when we talk, but you once said that your primary training to be owner of the Timberwolves came not from your other businesses but from your time in politics as a state senator at the Legislature. Is the Star Tribune purchase and the media business similar in that sense, that it is a high-profile field?

GT: Yes, this is definitely high profile. So when I looked at buying the paper and I wrote down the good and the bad, one of the bad things was the same thing I know about politics: You have to take a stand sometimes. And the media takes a stand. Sometimes the story being reported — though true, and though accurate — is not very favorable to a group of people or a company or something like that. So all of a sudden, I find myself in that position.

Let’s just use the example of some corporation and it does something that is unfavorable. And a story gets written about it. Well, I’m sure the corporation would say, “Well, Glen Taylor, keep the gol-darned story out of the paper.”

And my answer — and it gets back to what you were just saying, in a way — is that you never can keep something quiet in politics.

But I look at this at some point in time and I know that Glen is the owner, not the publisher, he’s not on the board. Probably he is going to make a phone call at some point to somebody who is relevant in this state. And Glen is going to have to tell them, “The story is out there. It is going to be done. If we don’t do it somebody else will. But I am going to make sure that the story is done accurately.”

I mean, I do have that responsibility in the ownership that it is accurate. And somebody else from out of state might not care so much if it is accurate; they might care that it is a little more sensational. 

MP: But what you are saying, and I agree with you, is that you will probably be in a position at some point where you are going to have to injure your friends.

GT: But it is going to happen to them anyway. Somebody will do the story.

MP: Okay. Another topic. You are a bedrock Republican.

GT: No. 

MP: Less so now?

GT [quietly]: I am a Republican. I don’t know about bedrock.

MP: Well maybe I am dating myself with that description. By the old standards, you used to be a fundamental, old-school Republican. 

GT: I have always said that I am a moderate Republican. I think I was then, when I was in the Legislature, and I think I am today.

MP: Fair enough. But even moderate Republicans will occasionally kvetch about the ‘liberal media.’

GT: Yep.

MP: The Star Tribune is regarded as a liberal newspaper, rightly or wrongly, and probably less so now than ten years ago. Will that change under you in any way shape or form?

GT: I think the answer is yes. But I think the answer is yes whether I buy it or don’t buy it. Everything changes, and some people are going to say, “Well it is, because you bought it, that it changed.”

I would say back to them, “No. You are going to have new hires. You are going to have new people. There are going to be changes in seniority. You have got to be responsible to your readership.” And I think it has already been changing, and I have been a longtime reader of the paper.

Will it change because of the ownership of Glen Taylor? Yeah. To say it won’t wouldn’t be accurate. But it isn’t like Glen Taylor is going to come in there on day one and say, “I’m going to fire people” and do all sorts of things. I am going to say — and I have already told them this — that first of all it has got to be fair and it has got to be accurate.

I think it is important in the paper — and this is where I don’t know for sure, I think the paper is responsible for reporting both sides. I don’t think you can say if you are the news — and I think the news does this too much — that “this happened, but we are only going to show you the picture from this side. There is another picture from this side but we choose not to tell you about that.”

I think that’s an inaccurate picture. And it is my expectation that we be accurate.

I think that you divide that down. The news part has to be accurate, fair, consistent, and show this and that. [Taylor holds his hands up to indicate “both sides.”] I don’t know that they always do that. I don’t know that any media does. But I would challenge them to do the best job.

Now, there is another part called the editorial. I was asked this question, and it was probably like “Are you going to read every editorial?” and this kind of stuff. And I said, “No, I don’t expect that I am going to agree with every editorial that comes out of the paper. But I want good thought put into it, I want accuracy put into it, and I want a position stated. It doesn’t have to be my position. But it has to be logical and put together well.”

Now I can kind of say that, and where that will take us, and if it changes, I guess we will see. But I don’t plan on going in and firing and that kind of stuff. I just think we’ll have good discussions on this. Do we do that now, are we doing that?

I’ve seen some of the new reporters and I think there is a little bit more of a balance. But I think traditionally, some of the reporters that have been hired and they have been there for a long time, I don’t know how you are ever going to change those people and what they write, but through time itself, some of those people will retire.

And that’s where the decision is made, who are the people you hire to replace those people? And if that person is from the old school and thinks that my job is to make or show one viewpoint, well then whose else do you have on the paper that is giving the other side?

There are a number of ways to balance it. Individuals can say I want to give you both sides, or you can have the pros and cons [each giving their side]. My thought is that you are more likely to find two different reporters, one not seeing it from one side and the other not seeing it from the other side, and both of them reporting.

[It is similar to] when we talk about politics; there are two ways of coming up with a solution. Now, if you recall my way in politics — I never thought that, say, [former Senate Majority Leader] Roger Moe, was a Democrat who was evil and had evil principles. I just saw that Roger represented an environment as he saw it and the group of people who elected him saw it.

We both wanted better education and to take care of the disadvantaged. But now, how you do that [is the issue]. I might have said let the education decisions be made by the school board. I like that philosophy. I just think having those decisions closer to home is better, because people are going to keep track of them and throw members of the school board out. And maybe Roger thought that was too inconsistent having each school board make the decisions and so let’s [set policy] at the state level and we’ll have more consistency.

Now, is there a right and a wrong in there? Well, there are different ways of doing it, but I don’t know if that is right or wrong. But it is my principle and as a Republican I am going to say that I like having people closer to the situation making the decisions. It is just my philosophy that the further away people get the more they think they are supreme and can do better.

So I don’t know if that answers where you were going.

MP: Now what about conflicts of interest, which are going to be inevitable? You are a player in this state, and what you do makes news.

GT: Give me an example of what you mean?

MP: A business decision that you would rather keep private is uncovered by one of your reporters at the Star Tribune and the reporter wants to write about it.

GT: Okay. Ah, I think I have thought about that, and I don’t think that I, just knowing Glen Taylor, is going to tell that reporter to stop. If the leadership at the [Star] Tribune tells that person not to do it because they got the information wrongly or in confidence — like, “How did you learn about that?” “Well, I was at a meeting and Glen Taylor said it.” “Well, were you there as a reporter or as an employee?” — that type of stuff.

My sense is that — see, I’m not going to change with the sports guys at all. They’ve got their job to do and they are going to tell me that we crapped up.

MP: With the Timberwolves you are used to that.

GT [with a polite laugh]: Yeah, I am used to that. I don’t think I would change [opinion or behavior on the example], but that is a good question. I think I should never say never. Because I have a tendency wherever I’m at, don’t just do it if it is hurtful to a person. It is like saying that somebody stole something within the company — boy you better know where you are getting that and why you want [to report] it.

So I think your question is a good one, and I think my answer has to be that I have to let society go on and the bad stuff has to be in there with the good stuff. I knew that before I bought the paper and that is just the way it is going to be. But I have to be a little cautious because I don’t know what kind of situation might [come up].

MP: Well they are tough uncomfortable decisions. Let’s say some branch of Taylor Corporation, or maybe even a supplier, is doing something wrong. And you are already in the process of fixing that, of making that right again. And the Star Tribune finds out about the wrongdoing and wants to report on that. Now if you don’t let the paper do its work, isn’t that a double standard that prevents you from reporting on any other corporation?

GT: I think I know the answer to that. I think if you do something wrong, you do try and keep it from the media — I always do. But once the media finds out, I have learned that you never try and stop it. So I am pretty sure here that I would let it go. Now people might say, “Why, because you are just a good guy?” No. It is because I think I have learned that you can’t really stop the media.

MP: The cover up is always worse than the crime?

GT: That’s right. I am pretty clear at that. I know that I am aware of things that my company and other companies have done wrong that have never gotten to the surface. They were cleaned up and put away and nobody ever got harmed, but when it came out, we would have to explain it.

I don’t think I am going to change that way. I am not going to try and get it out there. But on the other hand, I think I have learned if it is going to come out, that maybe the best you can do is say to the reporter, “You might give me 24 hours notice so that I can prepare a response.”

I have always said to my employees, “If you make a mistake, if you want to be a leader, lead them on an honest path.” People know that leaders will make mistakes. If the leader stands up and says, “I have made a mistake. I am taking us down the wrong road. We are going to backtrack a little bit and go down a different road,” the people will accept this because they know they are being led by an honest human being and they like being led by a human being who knows he is not perfect. So I always felt like you should never let your pride get in the way of admitting that you have made a mistake.

So I think I know how I would handle it. If I did it, I did it. I would like time to respond but if I don’t get it, I just have to move faster.

Businessman Mike McFadden, perhaps the top contender for the GOP nomination to run against U.S. Sen. Al Franken, reported this week that his campaign raised $600,000 in the first quarter.

The campaign said it has raised $2.85 million since last May and has $1.8 million on hand.

Franken, who is seeking reelection after his narrow recount victory over Norm Coleman six years ago, had earlier reported raising $2.7 million during the first quarter, with $5.9 million in cash on hand.

Among the other candidates seeking the GOP endorsement are Chris Dahlberg of Duluth, a St. Louis County commissioner, state Rep. Jim Abeler of Anoka and state Sen. Julianne Ortman of Chanhassen.

McFadden, who is, so far, the best-funded of the Republican candidates, said in a statement:

"Our consistent fundraising progress proves once again that we are the only candidate who will have the funds to defeat Sen. Franken in November."

Who gave how much to whom?

That’s one of the games political junkies play when candidates file with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Disclosure Board.

For the 2014’s first quarter, gubernatorial campaigns feature bold-faced names, big contribution amounts, and some trends.

DFL Gov. Mark Dayton collected $169,961 in cash and in-kind contributions, much from donors affiliated with the arts:

• Bruce Coppock, president St Paul Chamber Orchestra, donated $1,000
• Tom Hoch, president of the Hennepin Theater Trust, donated $500.
• Garrison Keillor had an in-kind contribution of $3,000 for hosting a fundraiser, plus $1,000 in a cash contribution.
• Ruth Huss, an arts philanthropist  gave the maximum of $4,000.

Dayton’s list of donors also includes Marilyn Nelson of Carlson Companies, who gave $1,000 and John Noseworthy, CEO of  Mayo Clinic, who also gave $1,000.

Wheelock Whitney is a well-known Republican who himself ran for governor. He’s also a Dayton family friend. He gave $750.

And speaking of family, the Dayton list includes a number of donors surnamed Dayton, including Lucy Dayton of Helena Montana who gave the maximum of $4,000. H. William Walter and Judy Walter of Minneapolis, and Matthew Walter of Edina also gave $4,000.

For this cycle, six donors gave the Dayton campaign the maximum contribution, including Wayzata's Edison Spencer.

On the Republican side, businessman Scott Honour raised the most of all candidates, including Dayton, with receipts $251,071.01, including a $50,000 personal loan.

Hnour had the most donors (seven) giving the $4,000 maximum: St. Peter’s Laurie Davis and Mitch Davis; Jack Helms from Edina; Wayzata’s Patrick Hughes; Connie Hayes and Doug Hayes of Los Angeles; and Jonathan Chan of Singapore. 

Former Eighth District congressman Chip Cravaack gave the Honour campaign his donor list for an in-kind contribution valued at $824.50

Hennepin County commissioner Jeff Johnson raised $32,027. One donor, Brandy Darcy of Wayzata gave the $4,000 maximum contribution. 

Former State Rep. Marty Seifert raised $64,127. His list contains two maximum contributions, each from prominent Republican donors Joan and Bob Cummins.

State Rep. Kurt Zellers raised  $91,407.14 with no maximum contributors.  His list includes a representation of political insiders: GOP consultant Elam Baer gave $500 as did former Gov. Tim Pawlenty chief of staff Bob Schroeder. Pawlenty’s communication director Brian McClung gave $550.

State Sen. Dave Thompson raised $67, 066.07 and was second among Republicans in donors who gave the maximum. Four donors contributed $4,000: Ashley and Brenton Hayden of Minnetonka; Ian McDonald of Lakeville; and Gary Polzin of Northfield. Timothy Pearson of Lakeville contributed $3,950 to the Thompson campaign.

A final candidate, Rob Farnsworth, took in $3,335.

The taxi revolution is upon Minneapolis. Says Eric Roper of the Strib, “The city’s taxicab industry is growing increasingly frustrated with a City Council effort to legalize app-based transportation companies like Lyft and UberX. … The city is hoping to hear back from the state’s insurance commissioner and several insurance trade groups, which are reviewing UberX’s insurance policy.” The taxi types are mad the city may allow the online mega-players to nearly self-regulate. "All you guys are worth millions, so we trust you. And you guys aren’t worth millions so we don’t trust you," sums up one cabbie.

Speaking of apps … .Dan Browning of the Strib says, “ … Mayo [Clinic] has ambitious plans to push its expertise out to 200 million people, and one of its first steps toward that goal is a new service called 'Better' that was built around a mobile app developed in Silicon Valley. The service will allow users to tap Mayo’s knowledge bank and symptom checker at no cost. For $49.99 a month, a family — from elderly grandparents to grandkids — could get round-the-clock access to Better’s professional personal health care assistants and Mayo’s own nurses.” Covered by ObamaCare?

Guess after decades of withdrawals, deposits are needed … . Jennifer Vogel of MPR says, “Just northwest of the Twin Cities, in the bedroom communities of St. Michael, Albertville and Hanover, something unusual is happening. A pump is taking water from the jointly run treatment plant and rather than sending it to people's homes and faucets, it's injecting it into the ground at a rate of 300 gallons a minute. The pumping won't stop until 100 million gallons of treated drinking water have been stowed in an aquifer beneath the cities.”

If it's Wednesday, Minneapolis is banning … . Curtis Gilbert of MPR reports, “At least once a week, first-term Minneapolis City Council Member Andrew Johnson buys lunch at Spicy Touch Indian Grill in the city's downtown skyway. He likes the food, but hates what lands in the garbage can. ‘Usually when I come in here, when it's really busy during lunch hours, I'll actually see a little tower of Styrofoam containers coming out of the trash bin, because you just can't fit that many in there,’ Johnson said." Johnson wants to ban such containers, has 100 cities have done. I believe the angry white male radio guys call all this, “hellhole, nanny-state socialism.”

Meanwhile in OldSchoolWorld, you wait in your vehicle because of that which fuels your vehicle.Bill McAuliffe of the Strib says, “Canadian Pacific (CP) freight trains, which Buffalo residents believe are longer and more numerous than ever thanks to the North Dakota oil boom, have increasingly been blocking intersections, cutting off the city’s north side from its south side and sending drivers scrambling sometimes out of town to find an open crossing. ... In November, two of the city’s three crossings were blocked for 16 hours overnight by a train that had stalled due to mechanical problems … .”

As far as I can tell, there are no fracking fluids involved… . A Marketwatch story says, “Minnesota Power, an ALLETE Company , this week applied to state and federal regulators for permits to build the 500-kilovolt Great Northern Transmission Line from the Minnesota-Manitoba border to an electric substation on the Mesabi Iron Range.”

This time they mean it … . Amy Forliti at the AP tells us, “A man who was 17 when prosecutors say he raped and killed a teenage girl won't be eligible for release from prison. The Minnesota Supreme Court on Wednesday reversed a lower court decision that gave Tony Roman Nose a chance to seek parole. The justices reinstated his original sentence of life without release.”

In the confluence of medicine/business … . Stribber Jeffrey Meitrodt reports, “MNsure announced this morning that it is turning to Deloitte Consulting to finish and repair its troubled health insurance exchange. Deloitte, which came close in 2012 to winning the job of building MNsure’s website, will present plans for moving the online marketplace forward this afternoon during MNsure’s board of directors meeting in St. Paul. MNsure officials said Deloitte will earn $4.95 million on an initial nine-month contract.”

Rob Hubbard at the PiPress has a belief that Joshua Bell is just what the Minnesota Orchestra needs. Reviewing last evening’s performance he says, “Could violinist Joshua Bell be the one who got the Minnesota Orchestra playing again? That's only conjecture, but when the orchestra's locked-out musicians announced they were hanging out their own shingle with a subscription concert series that featured Bell among the soloists, contract negotiations really heated up. … But there was nothing uneven about Bell's performance. He seemed as electrified as the audience ... Soon, he and Vanska were both dancing animatedly … .” Quite the word picture.

On April 21, the University of Minnesota will award an honorary doctorate to one of its own, Kate Millett (BA English, ’56). Millett rose to national prominence with her 1969 book, “Sexual Politics,” in which she called for a  movement “toward freedom from rank or prescriptive role, sexual or otherwise.” Fellow feminist and U of M alumna Arvonne Fraser reflects here on the impact of Millett’s work.

katemillett.com

Kate Millett

In “Sexual Politics,” Kate Millett, intelligent, scholarly, courageous and committed, took on and analyzed, through a sexual lens, male views of women expressed in the writings of literary icons like Norman Mailer, Henry Miller and D.H. Lawrence. She pointed out how damaging to women the political implications of such views were. They confirmed women as the subordinate sex, she argued.

Even before the book was published, another notable feminist, Robin Morgan, included an excerpt from Millett's book in her “Sisterhood Is Powerful: An Anthology of Writings from the Women's Liberation Movement,” which also became a best seller. Later, Doubleday, the publisher of Millett's book, said “Sexual Politics” was among the 10 most important works it had issued during its 100 years of publishing, even though it let the book go out of print for a while.

My own copy, now yellow with age, is well thumbed and underlined.

But favorable public attention for Millett was short-lived. Norman Mailer — on all best-seller lists at the time — fought back with an article in Harper's, attacking Millett's work. And Time fed the furor with a December 1970 article that essentially labeled all women's liberationists as lesbians. Ever honest, Millett announced she was bisexual and remained an active participant in women's liberation groups.

Despite unfavorable, often mocking, media attention to Millett and feminists in general, the movement flourished. It should be noted the media in the 1970s was overwhelmingly white male.

Books struck a chord, especially with younger women

Arvonne Fraser

Millett's and Morgan's books struck a chord with women, especially younger women, who had not been moved by Betty Friedan's book, “The Feminine Mystique,” which had shocked the world in 1963 by illustrating the dilemmas of being identified as a housewife. By the time Millett's book was published, younger women had been organizing small, intimate, consciousness-raising sessions and her book fed this group's dissatisfaction about their position in society.

NOW, the National Organization for Women, was formed in 1966, and Millett became an active participant and spoke around the country. Soon other organizations were formed, including WEAL, the Women's Equity Action League — which I eventually headed — and later the National Women's Political Caucus. Ms. Magazine began publication, coedited by Gloria Steinem and Letty Cottin Pogrebin.

Feminism, although derided in the major media, became news as a full-fledged movement developed.

A split developed between the younger, more radical women, often characterized as lesbians or those who followed Millett's line of reasoning, and us "conservatives" who worked for changes in employment, education, and legal or political change. We were often amused, for rarely were we called "conservative"!

'The liberationists and the legalists'

Sara Evans, U of M Regents Professor emerita, rightly defined the two elements of the 20th-century women's movement as the liberationists and the legalists. While some emphasized the split between these two elements of the movement, I worked with the liberationists on many issues.

As in many political movements, those perceived to be more radical make those of us working for political and legal change look respectable or at least middle-of-the-road. Because the radical element serves to make the more conservative respectable, much can be accomplished.

Without Millett's book and the women's liberation groups we would never have had women's studies courses on campuses, never have had Women in Development, which I headed in the U.S. Agency for International Development, nor, probably, would Sara Evans have become distinguished and rewarded for scholarship in women's history.

Didn't know enough to be grateful

We who participated in the late 20th-century women's movement all had mentors who recalled the fight for women's right to vote and for birth control. I took those rights for granted and didn't know enough women's history even to be grateful for my foremothers. That taught me not to criticize young women who don't even recognize Kate Millett's name or that of Dr. Shymala Rajender, who fought the U of M and won the famous sex-discrimination case that gave me and many others pay increases for a while. And never would the issue of violence against women have surfaced and become an international human rights issue without Millett's “Sexual Politics.”

The personal tragedy, in Millett's case and that of many others, is that, as pioneers, their careers and psyches suffered. Millett could never find an academic job that would support her financially, nor did she have much success as an artist. She was too early and her work too explosive for the times.

Many of us owe a great debt to Millett and other women like her who gained celebrity for a time and then were shunned. They paved the way for the rest of us.

Arvonne Fraser is a Senior Fellow Emerita at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, and a mother of six and grandmother of seven. She is the author of a memoir, "She's No Lady: Politics, Family, and International Feminism." Fraser was a counselor in President Jimmy Carter's Office of Presidential Personnel and headed the U.S. Office of Women in Development. She served from 1992 to 1994 as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.

WANT TO ADD YOUR VOICE?

If you're interested in joining the discussion, add your voice to the Comment section below — or consider writing a letter or a longer-form Community Voices commentary. (For more information about Community Voices, email Susan Albright at salbright@minnpost.com.)

Two … years. Pam Louwagie, Jennifer Brooks and Jenna Ross of the Strib continue reporting on the River Road Fellowship “maidens” story. “Even after two young women stepped forward to say their minister had molested them as children and the Sheriff’s Office built its case, it took two years for the Pine County attorney’s office to bring charges. … When the county attorney’s office brought charges two years later, there was little substantial change beyond the evidence investigators submitted in 2012, Cole said.”

In the same vein … .Madeleine Baran at MPR says, “A former top deputy of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis answered questions under oath today about his handling of clergy sexual abuse cases as part of a lawsuit brought by an alleged victim. The Rev. Kevin McDonough, who served as vicar general for Archbishops John Roach and Harry Flynn and led the archdiocese's child safety programs until September, declined to comment. Attorney Jeff Anderson, who represents the alleged victim of the Rev. Thomas Adamson, said McDonough answered most questions. However, McDonough refused to respond to questions about his decision not to participate in a St. Paul police investigation into clergy abuse cases … .”

Did not see this coming. The AP story says, “Football players at Minnesota State Mankato refused to practice for their former head coach Wednesday, greeting his reinstatement by an arbitrator by demanding that the interim coach keep the top job. … They read a statement saying they were unanimous in wanting Aaron Keen to remain as head coach.”

In the Mankato Free Press, Jim Rueda says, “Aaron Keen, the program's interim head coach for two seasons and now the associated head coach, came over and shook Hoffner's hand and appeared to welcome him back. A few minutes later, all but three players emerged from the locker room in street clothes and gathered at the entrance to the practice field. Junior safety Samuel Thompson read from a prepared statement saying the team had been silenced through the two-year ordeal and it was time to speak up.”

Even Lou Holtz stayed longer than this.In the Strib Amelia Rayno says, “At a barely ripe 32 years old, Minnesota coach Richard Pitino has already manned two head coaching jobs in his first two years with that title. ... ESPN's Jeff Goodman reported on Wednesday afternoon that Pitino is on Tennessee's ‘short list’ for replacing Cuonzo Martin, who bolted for the University of California on Tuesday. Minnesota Athletic Director Norwood Teague said on the Dan Barreiro show on KFAN that Pitino is not interested in the job.”

MNsure FUBAR isn't over ... .James Nord of Politics in Minnesota reports nearly 14,000 low-income Minnesotans are not getting the 50-percent health-care premium reductions they should because of problems transitioning from MinnesotaCare to MNsure. For example, a monthly premium now $49 a month should be $29. The state plans to reimburse the mostly single adults, but isn't sure how much that will cost.

The Minnesota Daily wants the legislature to think again about a bill prohibiting “gay healing.” “Minnesota minors may not get the protection they deserve regarding sexual orientation identity now that a bill to ban anti-gay therapy fell short in the state Legislature. Support for the bill grew after two University of Minnesota political science students created an online petition requesting its introduction. The petition received more than 110,000  signatures. ... We are disappointed that the bill did not get a hearing … .”

Will we need personal seat licenses for soccer, too? For NBC Sports, Joe Prince-Wright says, “With Atlanta set to be announced as MLS’ 23rd franchise on Wednesday afternoon now other markets wanting to become the 24th franchise, which MLS Commissioner Don Garber previously said would be the limit for the foreseeable future, Minneapolis-St. Paul seems to be right at the front of the list. … the NFL’s Minnesota Vikings are ‘stepping up’ their bid to bring MLS to the land of 10,000 lakes. The Vikings’ vice president of public affairs, Lester Bagley, said the team are working to secure an MLS expansion franchise to play in their new downtown Minneapolis stadium, which is set to open in 2016.”

Three Minnesota companies made Military Times’  “Best Companies for Veterans” list. Jim Hammerand at the Business Journal says, “No. 25: U.S. Bank U.S. Bancorp's bank subsidiary said 2,000 of its 66,000 employees (3 percent) are military veterans or reservists. … . No. 26: Xcel Energy Inc. The Minneapolis-based power utility company reported 10 percent of its 11,000-person workforce is military veterans or reservists. … No 52: Hormel Foods Corp.  Almost 3 percent of Hormel's 12,267 employees come from the military. Of last year's hires, 2.5 percent were military veterans or reservists.”

Mother Strib tut tutsthe “flap” over Condoleezza Rice. “One has to wonder if the same 182 faculty members would protest an appearance by President Obama over his use of drones or the fact that the Guantanamo Bay detention center remains open today. The letter goes on to cite another point of contention in the Rice flap — the $150,000 speaking fee she will receive. … It’s our hope that Rice will take the opportunity to reflect not only on her upbringing in the segregated South during the civil rights movement, but also on her role in the Bush administration … .”

This will get tricky over family dinners … . Stribber Paul Walsh says, “A 19-year-old man has admitted to charges that he and his father played host to an underage booze party attended by a standout high school athlete who died in wintry weather after fleeing the gathering when authorities showed up. Erik P. Hastad’s father, Gary, was in court Wednesday for a hearing and has yet to enter a plea, according to his attorney, Ronald R. Frauenshuh Jr. If the older Hastad takes his case to trial, he may hear his son testifying against him, Frauenshuh said Wednesday.”

With some tearing up gun registration forms in public protest on Tuesday, some 1 million New York gun owners shrugged off an April 15 deadline to register assault-style weapons under a tough post-Sandy Hook gun control law.

Rena Sarigianopoulos

When we first asked KARE11's Rena Sarigianopoulos to be a part of our annual variety benefit, MinnRoast, she shared her mother's observation that "a baby bunny dies every time I try to sing." We promised Rena she wouldn't have to utter a single note and she agreed to join in the fun.

MinnRoast has moved to a larger venue this year, the Historic State Theatre, and joining Rena for their first time in the show will be comedienne Lizz Winstead, Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges, University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler, Tesfa Wondemagegnehu & VocalEssence, Jim Graves and Kim Crockett of the Center of the American Experiment.

Returning performers include Gov. Mark Dayton, Sen. Al Franken, Growth & Justice's Dane Smith, Al Sicherman, Joe Kimball, Lee Lynch, Cyndy Brucato, Joel Kramer and K-TWIN's Brian "B.T." Turner.

Join us on April 25 to watch politicians and journalists shed their serious personas to sing, dance, act and poke fun at each other and the state of the state we all love.

Order your tickets today, or we'll make Rena sing!

Buy your tickets today!

To request a MinnRoast sponsorship packet email lkramer@minnpost.com or aswenson@minnpost.com.

Become a MinnRoast 2014 sponsor today!