Nice going, Minnesota! The American Lung Association has downgraded us to an “F.” At MPR, Tom Weber says:“Minnesota received two failing grades in the American Lung Association's ‘State of Tobacco Control,’ an annual report that tracks policies related to tobacco and tobacco prevention at the state and federal level. States are given grades in four categories: funding for tobacco prevention programs, public smoking restrictions, taxes on tobacco products and whether insurance is required to cover cessation treatments. Last year, Minnesota received a failing grade on funding and a D on cessation coverage, while it scored an A for having a statewide smoking ban law and a C for its tax on cigarettes. This year, Minnesota's cessation coverage grade dropped to an F.” And the effect on funding by shoveling tobacco money over to protect our job creators from usurious taxation?
In TIME today,Minnesota native Doug Aamoth savors Google’s Zamboni doodle (up today). “As a young kid growing up in Minnesota, the Zamboni man is always something of a legend at the neighborhood ice rinks. Then you graduate college and some of your buddies are still working (or go back to working) at the ice rink driving the Zamboni, often while under the influence of mood altering substances of varying legality. They all tell the same story: Driving the Zamboni is awesome the first hundred times, then it just becomes work. What I’m saying is, don’t meet your heroes, kids. Hopefully that’s all just an isolated experience, and it should do nothing to taint the legacy of Frank Zamboni, Jr., the inventor of the whimsical machine that bears his name. He’s the honoree of today’s playable Google Doodle, wherein you don what I can only assume is the insulated rink jacket shared by all the rink attendants and is never to be worn home. The jacket perpetually smells like the inside of the warming house, which perpetually smells like sweat, puck rubber and stick tape. You then climb aboard the Zamboni and, using your keyboard’s arrow keys, heroically resurface the sections of the ice made stubbly by the hockey stops and pirouettes of countless tiny skaters.”
Speaking of … The McClatchy Services report:“There is do-able snowpack in a few parts of the state. Golden Eagle Lodge off the Gunflint Trail in northeastern Minnesota reported ‘fair to good’ snow conditions Monday, with a base of 6 to 8 inches in the woods. Zippel Bay State Park on Lake of the Woods was reporting good cross country ski conditions and fair snowmobile conditions. And a few areas in far northern Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula have received enough lake-effect snow to keep trails groomed. However, many trails in Minnesota and Wisconsin were listed in poor condition -- with ice or bare ground making travel tricky — or were closed altogether. Significant snowfall isn't in the forecast. Three weak systems, known as Alberta clippers, were predicted to come through various parts of Minnesota within the next several days, but the most snow any part of the state would see is perhaps 2 inches in the far north.”
This morning’s example of why we need better gun control … . David Unze of the St. Cloud Times writes: “A Sauk Centre man accused of threatening an acquaintance Friday with a gun has been ordered held in lieu of $300,000 bail. Brent Lee Rutten, 39, is charged in Stearns County District Court with second-degree assault and making terroristic threats. … A court complaint says Rutten went to the man’s residence Friday and became agitated because he thought police were after him for a separate incident. The man tried to calm Rutten, but Rutten became more agitated when the victim sent a text message that he thought was being sent to law enforcement. Rutten is accused of telling the victim that Rutten was going to ‘go down in a gun fight’ with police and that the victim was ‘going down with me,’ according to the complaint. Rutten then convinced the victim to get into his pickup truck, and Rutten locked the doors. That’s when he showed a handgun to the victim and started to drive out of the victim’s driveway. The victim grabbed a clip that was next to the gun and jumped from the moving truck.” Of course if the victim were carrying his Bushmaster …
And there’s more where this guy is coming from … Says Mike Creger of the Forum papers: “On a day when President Obama was preparing a slate of proposals to stem gun violence in America, Minnesota's Pine County Sheriff Robin Cole said he would consider any new federal regulation on guns to be illegal and would ‘refuse to carry it out.’‘We will not enforce that,’ Cole told the News Tribune of any potential federal regulation that could lead to confiscation of firearms. … Cole’s position first appeared Tuesday in an open letter he sent to residents of the east-central Minnesota county, disseminated through the media. The sheriff said he made the statement in response to questions from his constituents who are scared about potential new gun laws. Cole said it took him a month to craft the response.” De-weaponizing that guy might be a good first step.
Whether DFL leadership likes it or not …Baird Helgeson of the Strib says: “Minnesota's divisive fight over same-sex marriage is moving to a Capitol showdown. Supporters of legalization are preparing to roll out House and Senate proposals as early as next month. Legislative leaders who shied away from the issue earlier now are not ruling out a vote on the measure this spring. The push will kick off with a Summit Avenue fundraiser on Wednesday night.”
On the matter of our electrical grid,Marisa Helms of Finance & Commerce writes: “[Hurricane Sandy] left more than 8 million people without power for several days, and tens of thousands of residents were left in the dark weeks. It’s the kind of catastrophe that leaves some in Minnesota’s energy industry wondering if the state’s system has what it takes to weather a Midwest-style superstorm. While a hurricane isn’t likely to hit Minnesota, the state is susceptible to tornadoes, blizzards, and ice storms. ‘The system is vulnerable, it’s exposed to the elements, and it doesn’t take much to knock it out,’ says Michael Noble, executive director of Fresh Energy, a policy and advocacy organization. ‘Disruptive events like thunderstorms or high winds can create so much vulnerability.’ Noble points out that the state could conceivably face another blow down like the one that swept through the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in July 1999. … ‘What if a derecho hit Minneapolis or the Mall of America?’ asks Noble. ‘We should make sure our system is as resilient as it can be. With the changing climate, a lot of events are coming that are anomalies, not like anything else we’ve seen. It’s the shape of things to come.’ ”
If they can just keep the anti-science kids distracted with the candy store …Josephine Marcotty and Bill McAuliffe of the Strib write:“Science made a comeback at the State Capitol on Tuesday. Five of Minnesota's most prominent researchers on agriculture, land use, weather and climate change gave a room packed with legislators a quick but sweeping summary of the global environmental problems facing the state. They touched on floods, drought, massive thunderstorms, a changing forest, invasive bugs and rising demand for groundwater. The point, Reps. Jean Wagenius and Alice Hausman said, is that the DFL-controlled House intends to base new laws and policy decisions — especially those related to climate change — on research rather than dogma. ‘It's science vs. ideology,’ said Hausman, a DFLer from St. Paul and chairwoman of the House Capital Investment Committee, describing a debate that is going on nationally as well. ‘There are still some that question the science,’ ” True enough, but why do we have to pay any attention to them?
Minneapolis’ homeless situation is kind of embarrassing. Says Randy Furst in the Strib: “Despite numerous public and private programs that spend millions of dollars confronting homelessness, some of which have had marked success, new figures show the number of people with nowhere to live continues to grow. Harbor Lights reported another record-breaking year, with an average of nearly 500 people jammed into the building on any given night. The number of homeless families in Hennepin County rose to 1,453 last year, the highest number in more than a decade but down from a high of 1,817 in 2000. The problem is metrowide. Gerry Lauer, director of the Dorothy Day Center in St. Paul, says the center gets between 175 and 200 homeless people a day at its overnight shelter. Another 20 to 40 people are housed in a nearby building that handles overflow. ‘The numbers we have been seeing have been steadily increasing,’ Lauer said. ‘In the summer we turn them away and they camp outside our facilities.’ ”
Lipstick from birch bark? The AP says: “A University of Minnesota startup is finding new commercial uses for birch bark. The venture is called The Actives Factory and it's based in Two Harbors. The university says it will extract and synthesize naturally occurring chemicals from birch bark to manufacture cosmetics, nutritional supplements, and eventually drugs and industrial products. The university says three birch bark compounds, in particular, have anti-inflammatory properties that have been shown to reduce cholesterol and blood pressure, treat fungal and bacterial infections, stimulate the immune system, and more.” Heck, I’m putting that stuff on my Lucky Charms …