Reporting on State Politics and Government
Reporting on State Politics and Government
Capitol View Digest reporting on state and politics and government
| | The Daily Digest for August 12, 2019 | | Posted at 6:15 a.m. by Mike Mulcahy |
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Good morning, and welcome to Monday. I hope you had a good weekend. Here's the Digest. 1. Walz to name new DHS head. Gov. Tim Walz is scheduled to name a new commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Services later this morning.The move comes a day before the Republican-led Senate health and human services committee will hold a hearing where members are expected to press DHS leaders about a slew of unexplained resignations and $25 million in overpayments to two Native American tribes, among other issues. “We have a lot of questions about the $25 million payment issue. We have questions about the (Office of the Inspector General) investigation. We have questions about the departures of commissioners and deputy commissioners. We have questions about the treatment of whistleblowers,” Sen. Jim Abeler, a Republican from Anoka who will co-chair the hearing told the Pioneer Press. On Twitter last night Abeler criticized Walz for moving so quickly to replace former Commissioner Tony Lourey. "Gov. Walz should have worked with bipartisan legislators and advocates to get a consensus choice," Abeler wrote. "Whoever it is, he or she will be inheriting an agency in civil disorder. This could have been avoided." 2. Some lawmakers say state needs new approach to income gap. The Legislature handed out about $16 million in grants this year to nonprofit groups aimed at curbing the wide disparity between the incomes of white Minnesotans and people of color, while foregoing the competitive process used for most other state contractors. The direct spending, which spiked under the administration of former DFL Gov. Mark Dayton, has sparked a debate over accountability and oversight in the state’s nonprofit sector, which has been at the forefront of efforts to combat income inequality. “Oftentimes they seem like no-bid contracts,” said Rep. Tim Mahoney, DFL-St. Paul, who chairs a committee overseeing the money and has sought changes to the annual allotment of “equity funding.” But other lawmakers and some of the nonprofit groups say the Legislature’s direct infusion of money into nonprofits is a response to bureaucratic failure at the state’s employment agency, the Department of Employment and Economic Development, or DEED. These advocates say that for decades DEED failed communities of color and other Minnesotans who have been left behind by the economic expansion, while ignoring the potential of this vast pool of workers. (Star Tribune)
3. Prisons set record for solitary confinement despite law change . Minnesota prisons punished trouble-making inmates with solitary confinement a record 8,281 times last year, according to state Department of Corrections data. And that was before the agency officially reversed course on a policy meant to stem such punishment. Earlier this summer — just a week after lawmakers passed the state’s first law governing the use of solitary confinement — corrections officials significantly increased how much time inmates can spend in “the hole,” from a maximum of 90 days to 360 days. The DOC had limited solitary sentences to 90 days in 2016 after its use of the punishment came under scrutiny. The previous maximum was two years. DOC Commissioner Paul Schnell said the most recent change was made in response to safety concerns from corrections officers. After two of their colleagues died in the line of duty last year, staff called for stricter penalties for inmates who assault corrections officers. Critics charge that the new hike in solitary sentences is at odds with progressive reforms made by the Legislature. The new state law mandates reviews of lengthy solitary stays and establishes safeguards for mentally ill inmates.(Pioneer Press)
4. Joe Begich passes away. A longtime Iron Range lawmaker has died. A statement from Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar's Office on Saturday confirmed the passing of Joe Begich, who served as Eveleth mayor from 1965 to 1974 before serving in the Minnesota House for 17 years. "Today, with the passing of Joe Begich, Minnesota lost a longtime advocate and defender of the Iron Range, Labor, seniors and Minnesota's working class families," Klobuchar said."I am proud to have had the opportunity to call Joe as a friend. I will always remember Joe as a champion for the Range and preserving Minnesota's tradition of mining, education and health care. My thoughts are with his family, his friends, and the people of the Range whom he spent so much of his life fighting on behalf." In 2017, Highway 101 near Eveleth was renamed after Begich. (WDIO)
5. Southern border crisis has impact on northern border. Nurse Darcy Wakefield crosses from Canada into Minnesota four days a week to help deliver babies. It’s a job she loves — and one she says she’ll soon have to quit. The babies haven’t slowed, but the border has. Minnesota-Canada crossings have become a nightmare for Wakefield and others since January 2018, when the Roseau station cut its hours as U.S. Customs and Border Protection shifted officers to the Mexican border.The Roseau station, which ran for years from 8 a.m. until midnight began closing at 8 p.m. The nearby Lancaster, Minn., crossing, which was once open until 10 p.m., now closes at 8 p.m. in the summer and 6 p.m. in the winter. The shorter hours have played havoc with people who built their lives around the old order. While U.S. officials say officers are returning, the border towns are still struggling and local leaders are not confident of a return to normal. Minnesota DFL U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson slammed the Border Patrol’s cuts in May, calling it “arrogant towards people living in rural areas ... Canada figured this out and there’s no reason we can’t either.” In a statement last Wednesday, the Border Patrol said more than 300 of the 731 officers it had redirected to the Mexican border from across the U.S. were now being sent home and that they would “equitably distributed back to their home ports of entry.” For security reasons, the agency won’t release staffing numbers on specific ports of entry. So, it’s not clear if the returning officers will have any effect on hours at the Roseau or Lancaster crossings. (MPR News) | |
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