Ripple In Stillwater

Ripple in Stillwater Updates

2012-02-29T23:11:00.000-06:00

By Karl Bremer
A recent FBI bulletin regarding the "sovereign citizen" movement caught our eye here at Ripple in Stillwater. We reported extensively on local hate-radio celebrity and former "sovereign citizen" Bradley Dean Smith in 2010-11, and thought the FBI's renewed interest in this movement was worth an update.

Likewise, recent reports that the fraudster known as "Bobby Thompson" may now be in New Mexico should be of interest to those who followed my award-winning investigation into the Minnesota operations of "Bobby Thompson" and his fraudulent Navy Veterans charity.

THE MAN KNOWN AS “BRADLEEDEAN”

The FBI and several states are taking the “sovereigncitizen” movement a little more seriously these days. You might remember ourown local “sovereign citizen”—Bradley Dean Smith, aka “Bradlee Dean,” of theAnnandale-based hate “ministry” You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International.Dean, who was the subject of a Ripple in Stillwater investigation in 2010-11, renounced his "allegiance to the world" to become a “sovereigncitizen” in the Kingdom of Heaven.

Smith’s “citizenship” in the Kingdom of Heaven was issued inNovember 2003 and expired in November 2010, according to his online Embassy ofHeaven ID:

“On file is a signed statement by Bradley Smithrenouncing allegiance to the world and declaring citizenship in the Kingdom of Heaven.

“We are fellow citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, the Government of God,which was handed to the Apostles by Jesus Christ at the Last Supper (Luke22:29), We fulfill the Great Commission by traveling from place to place usingold and modern conveyances. Our government is not of this world, and we expectto be held accountable to the laws from which we come. Our conduct is not anoffense if it not an offense in the Kingdom of Heaven."

While Smith’s escapades with the Embassy of Heaven mightsound loopy, the FBI has taking a more jaundiced look at the sovereign citizenmovement recently.

“The FBI considers sovereign-citizen extremists ascomprising a domestic terrorist movement, which, scattered across the United States, has existed for decades, withwell-known members, such as Terry Nichols, who helped plan the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, bombing,” saysa September 2011 bulletin from the FBI’s Counterterrorism Analysis Section.

“They could be dismissed as a nuisance, a loose networkof individuals living in the United Stateswho call themselves “sovereign citizens” and believe that federal, state, andlocal governments operate illegally. Some of their actions, although quirky,are not crimes. The offenses they do commit seem minor: They do not pay theirtaxes and regularly create false license plates, driver’s licenses, and evencurrency.

“However, a closer look at sovereign citizens’ moresevere crimes, from financial scams to impersonating or threatening lawenforcement officials, gives reason for concern,” the report continues.

The FBI bulletin cites several instances where sovereigncitizens resorted to violence and notes:

“Although the sovereign-citizen movement does not alwaysrise to violence, its members’ illegal activities and past violent—includingfatal—incidents against law enforcement make it a group that should beapproached with knowledge and caution. It is important that law enforcement beaware of sovereign citizens’ tactics so agencies can warn the public ofpotential scams, spot illegal activity and understand its potential severity,and be prepared for and protect against violent behavior or backlash throughintimidation and harassment.”

While Smith’s ugly, homophobic, on-air diatribes againstgays often push the envelope, there is no record of any violent or illegal activity onbehalf of or connected to You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International.

It’s not known whether Smith still has any affiliation withthe Embassy of Heaven or any other sovereign citizen organization. He took legalaction in 2008 to sever his ties with Glen Stoll of Edmonds, WA, who introduced Smith to the Embassy ofHeaven and allegedly induced him to establish ministerial “trusts” under theauspices of his sovereign citizen organization, the Family Defense League.These trusts were described in Smith’s court filings as “false and fraudulentschemes” and “shams, devoid of economic substance.”

In March 2009, District CourtJudge Stephen Halsey granted Smith’s church and organization, Old Paths Church,Inc. and YCR, Inc., their motion for a summary judgment against Stoll thatterminated Stoll’s trusts and removed Stoll as trustee.

Nonetheless, the FBI’s September2011 bulletin predicts:

“The sovereign-citizen threat likely will grow as thenationwide movement is fueled by the Internet, the economic downturn, andseminars held across the country that spread their ideology and show people howthey can tap into funds and eliminate debt through fraudulent methods. Assovereign citizens’ numbers grow, so do the chances of contact with lawenforcement and, thus, the risks that incidents will end in violence. Lawenforcement and judicial officials must understand the sovereign-citizenmovement, be able to identify indicators, and know how to protect themselvesfrom the group’s threatening tactics.”

You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International had a

recruiting and merchandise table at Michele Bachmann's

April 2010 fundraiser with half-term Gov. Sarah Palin.

THE MAN KNOWN AS 'BOBBY THOMPSON'

"Bobby Thompson" and President George W. Bush

The noose may be tightening around the man known as “BobbyThompson,” who led a fraudulent nationwide veterans’ charity that allegedlybilked thousands of donors out of tens of millions of dollars.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, whose originalinvestigation revealed the elaborate charity scheme in 2010, U.S.Marshals are concentrating their search for “Thompson” in Albuquerque, NM. The owners of several of the con man’s stolenidentities, including “Bobby Thompson,” reportedly had ties to Albuquerqueor New Mexico.

Ripple in Stillwater’s award-winning investigation into “Thompson”found that the Minnesota operations of his phony U.S. Navy Veterans Associationtook in more than $1.5 million over a six-year period, with little more than aUPS drop box for a presence in the state.Very little of the $1.5 million was ever accounted for.

The Minnesota Attorney General’s Office has conductedlittle, if any, investigation into “Thompson” or his scam, despite the factthat he has been the subject of numerous other state and nationalinvestigations. The Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Boardfined “Thompson” $21,000 for illegal campaign contributions as a result of aninvestigation of a complaint filed by Ripple in Stillwater.

In what clearly looks like a money-laundering and/or illegal campaign contribution scheme, theU.S. Navy Veterans Association collected millions from unsuspecting donorswhile “Thompson” gave thousands of dollars to Minnesota Republican politicians,including Michele Bachmann, the state GOP and other GOP political entities. Hismost recent donation in Minnesotawas $5,000 to “Patriot PAC,” a political action committee formed by GOPoperative Joey Gerdin.

Gerdin says she met the alleged con man in St. Paul at a fundraiser she hosted during the 2008Republican National Convention.

“He seemed like a nice guy, completely congenial, supportive ofveterans. Seemed like your typical patriot to me,” Gerdin told Ripple in Stillwater.She has since refused to talk about “Thompson,” or his $5,000 illegalcontribution to her PAC.

For reasons yet unknown, “Thompson,” a Floridaresident with no apparent Minnesotaconnections, showered tens of thousands of dollars on Minnesota Republicanpoliticians and the Republican Party of Minnesota. Besides the $10,000 he gaveto Bachmann and the $5,000 he gave to Patriot PAC, he made the followingdonations to other Minnesota Republicans and GOP entities:

• $21,500 to Republican Norm Coleman’s Senate re-election campaign from2006-2008
• $7,000 to the Minnesota House Republican Campaign Committee in 2008-2009
• $10,400 to the Republican Party of Minnesota from 2008-2010
• $500 to former Rep. Marty Seifert’s Seifert for Governor Campaign in 2009
• $500 to Republican David J. Carlson’s Citizens for David Carlson committee inHouse District 67B in 2008.

“Thompson” is currently wanted by several states and federalagencies for money laundering, fraud and identity theft.

Milk carton graphic: Ken Avidor

Redistricting poses tough choices for Bachmann's political future

2012-02-21T16:07:00.000-06:00

By Karl Bremer

Minnesota’scongressional redistricting maps released today present a dilemma for our MIA failedpresidential candidate Congresswoman Michele Bachmann.

In a nutshell:

Bachmann’s million-dollar golf course palace in West Lakeland Township is now in the 4^th CD represented by Betty McCollum, presenting a possible match-up between Bachmann and McCollum.
Fearing a real opponent in McCollum, Bachmann has vowed to run in the 6^th CD rather than in the 4^th CD in which she lives. That Bachmann would consider representing a district in which she doesn’t live—and isn’t required by law to live in—should surprise no one. Bachmann has been running for president and claiming to represent Iowa for the past year while purportedly representing Minnesota’s 6^th CD in Congress.
Bachmann’s marquee issue—the $700-million Boondoggle Bridge across the St. Croix River—will be null and void for her if she decides to run in the 6^th CD, as the proposed new bridge site in Oak Park Heights, the City of Stillwater and the old Stillwater Lift Bridge are now in the 4^th CD—McCollum’s district. That will leave the Star-Tribune and Pioneer Press newspaper editorialists, along with Stillwater Mayor Ken Harycki and his cronies, looking like fools for chastising McCollum to stay out of the bridge debate because it’s not in her district. This scenario would clearly make the bridge debate McCollum’s issue and not Bachmann’s.

Which will it be, Michele? Face a real challenge from anincumbent congresswoman? Run in a district in which you don’t even live? Carpetbag into the new 6^th CD whereyou think your wingnut base will send you back to your $174,000-a-year salaryto continue promoting yourself? Abandon yourprecious Boondoggle Bridge?

Some tough choices ahead for our absentee congresswoman.

UPDATE: BACHMANN RUNNING IN OLD
6TH CD EVEN IF SHE DOESN'T LIVE THERE

In a fundraising email to supporters tonight announcing her plans to run in a congressional district in which she doesn't live, Bachmann charged the five-judge redistricting panel responsible for the "injustice" of placing her in the same district as DFL Congresswoman Betty McCollum with "liberal bias."

"Just as we suspected, the liberal courts have changed the makeup of Minnesota's Congressional districts," Bachmann wrote. Unfortunately, she's lying again.

Of the five judges on the panel, two were appointed by GOP Governors Tim Pawlenty and Arne Carlsen, two were appointed by IP Governor Jesse Ventura, and one was appointed by DFL Governor Rudy Perpich.

"The courts' liberal bias was evident by cherrypicking the districts and going so far as to draw my home — where I have raised my family and represented in Congress for the past six years — outside the new sixth district," Bachmann continued. "I refuse to allow the courts to arbitrarily determine who my friends, neighbors, and constituents are, and I will take every necessary step to correct this injustice.

Another lie.

Bachmann put the 3,200-square foot Stillwater home where she raised her family on the market for $359,000 in 2008 and moved away to a $1.27-million, 5,200-square-foot palace on the 18th hole of Stoneridge Golf Course in West Lakeland Township that same year. She was hardly forced into the move by the "liberal courts."

"I have therefore decided to campaign for re-election in the new sixth district, where a majority of my constituents remain," Bachmann concludes her email, before tapping the rubes for money one more time.

Photo illustration by Ken Avidor.

'Madness of Michele Bachmann' authors signing books at Valley Bookseller in Stillwater March 3

2012-02-18T17:02:00.001-06:00

The authors of TheMadness of Michele Bachmann: A Broad-Minded Survey of a Small-Minded Candidate, are coming to Stillwater,Bachmann’s hometown, for a book signing March 3 at Valley Bookseller from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.Authors Ken Avidor, Karl Bremer and Eva Young will sign and talk about theirbook, which chronicles a decade of the Stillwatercongresswoman’s foibles, falsehoods and fruitless political career. ValleyBookseller is located at 217 N. Main St.in Stillwater. http://www.valleybookseller.com.

Come out and join us. Pick up a copy of this sizzling bestseller and get it signed by all three authors. We’re hoping to see Michele,Marcus, and a few of the 28 kids and foster kids come out for this very specialevent!

More truth, less 'truthiness' needed in St. Croix River Boondoggle Bridge debate

2012-02-17T17:24:00.001-06:00

While Michele Bachmann and Mark Dayton would have you

believe the Stillwater Lift Bridge is ready to fall into the

St. Croix, MnDOT says it's safe.

By Karl Bremer

truthiness

The quality of stating conceptsone wishes or believes to be true, rather than the facts.

Origin: Stephen Colbert, "The Colbert Report," 2005

Truthiness has been the hallmark of the pimps peddlinglegislation to allow construction of a $700 million freeway bridge across thefederally protected St. Croix River. One would expect acertain amount of truthiness from lobbyists for this boondoggle. But members ofCongress--specifically Michele Bachmann and her Wisconsin colleagues--now have employed the tactic in an effort to railroad a House votethrough as a “noncontroversial” measure. Minnesota’s two Democraticsenators, Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, passed the Senate version of thislegislation on a curiously “noncontroversial” voice vote.

The most insidious to date is the recent attempt by Bachmann to peddle her Boondoggle Bridgeas a modest $292 million project in a recent "Dear Colleague" letter to members of Congress.

“The St. Croix River Crossing Project includes a new $292million bridge, which costs less per square foot than the Interstate 35W bridgereplacement outside of the Twin Cities,” Bachmann wrote in the letter, which was published in an article for Roll Call and co-authored by Wisconsin Republican Sean Duffy and Democrats Ron Kind andTammy Baldwin.

That’s simply a lie. This so-called St. Croix River BridgeCrossing Project cannot be built for $292 million, yet that is the only dollaramount that Bachmann and her co-authors cite in the arm-twisting letter totheir colleagues. This entire project has a total cost estimate of $574 millionto $690 million that still does not include many other ancillary costsassociated with the bridge, such as $20 million in utility work for Oak Park Heights, thecity where the bridge will lie.

But Bachmann’s never been one to let facts get in the way ofher arguments.

So let’s examine Bachmann’s “Dear Colleague” letter andother public pronouncements for further truthiness:

$292 million bridge cost.

If only that were true. Unfortunately, Bachmann’s cost is just for the actual bridge portion in the river. She conveniently leaves out the remaining $282-$388 million for Highway 36 construction, Minnesota and Wisconsin approaches, engineering, right of way, environmental mitigation and contingency/risk. Those numbers aren’t from some radical environmentalists either. Those are from MnDOT’s 2011 “Annual Project Summary Report.”

Bachmann plays on the fear factor by describing the existing Stillwater bridge as “structurally deficient, functionally obsolete and fracture critical.”

Here’s what MnDOT has to say about“structurally deficient” in its April 2011 “Condition Summary”:

“Thefact that a bridge is structurally deficient does not imply that it isunsafe. The classification of structurally deficient is used to determineeligibility for federal bridge replacement or rehabilitation funding. Theprimary reason the lift bridge is termed “structurally deficient” is because itis subject to flooding that can close the crossing.”

Closinga bridge due to flooding carries a whole different meaning than implying thatit’s unsafe to drive on at any time.

So what does MnDOT have to say about “functionally obsolete?”

“Theclassification functionally obsolete is also used as a justification forfederal bridge replacement or rehabilitation funding. Functional obsoletebridges are not inherently unsafe. It does mean that the bridge does notmeet the minimum federal clearance requirements for a new bridge.”

Onceagain, Bachmann takes a term used to justify federal funding for a project—darewe say an earmark—and twists it to suggest that it describes a bridge unsafefor traffic.

And then there’s “fracture critical,” the latest favorite term used to describe the Stillwater Lift Bridge by the Chicken Little Boondoggle Bridge proponents who publicly proclaim that they drive across the lift bridge with their doors and windows open.

SaysMnDOT in its April 2011 “Condition Summary”: The lift bridge is afracture-critical bridge because there are two main trusses that support eachspan of the bridge; if one of these trusses were to fail the span couldcollapse. The classification of fracture critical does not mean thebridge is inherently unsafe.

So“fracture critical” simply describes the bridge design and has nothing at all to do with its current condition.

“The safety rating of the bridge is an astounding 32.8 on a scale of 100, warranting several structural safety concerns,” Bachmann claims.

Bachmannis actually referring to the bridge’s “sufficiency rating,” not safety rating.According to MnDOT, “a bridge’s sufficiency rating is a number that isfrequently misunderstood and misused. It is a calculated numerical value thatis based on a number of factors and then used to determine eligibility forfederal funding.” The “structural safety concerns “ Bachmann cites were takeninto consideration by MnDOT when determining its sufficiency rating.

Bachmann says the bridge currently sees about 18,200 vehicle crossings per day and then claims that “by 2030, an estimated 48,000 vehicles per day would need to be driving over the bridge.”

Thatone almost sends the BS meter off the charts. MnDOT’s own figures predict “averagedaily vehicle traffic on the river crossing of 23,100 at an average vehicle occupancy of 1.30 persons per vehicleby the year 2030 if no new St. Croix Rivercrossing is built, no cross-river modal alternatives are established, and Minnesotaand Wisconsinprojected development and programmed roadway improvements occur as planned.

“If no bridge is built, already-lengthy traffic wait time is expected to double,” Bachmann states.

What Bachmann fails to mention isthat wait times are largely due to frequent bridge lifts during peak summerperiods. Yet none of the parties involved have asked the Coast Guard, whichcontrols lift bridge schedules, to consider lowering the frequency of lifts tolower traffic delays commensurately.

“We also have the Obama Administration on board,” Bachmann told a tv audience recently.

Butwhen Congresswoman Betty McCollum asked Interior Secretary Ken Salazar aboutthat during a House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior hearinglast week, it was news to him.

“That is not my understanding. Myunderstanding is that (Transportation) Secretary (Ray) LaHood and I offered towork with the Congressional delegation from both states to see whether we couldfind a common ground based on the alternative, which you have proposed, and thealternative other members of the congressional delegation have proposed.”

“The existing bridge cannot be removed or replaced because of its placement on the National Registry of Historic Places,” Bachman told her colleagues, “so a new bridge must be built — and soon.”

Not true again, according to Salazar’s response to McCollum when she askedhim whether the old lift bridge can be taken out.

“I think it is probably possible.It may take an act of Congress, and I don’t know what else, but there areprobably ways in which it can be done although it obviously would be adifficult climb,” Salazar replied.

Bachmann isn’t alone in the Minnesotacongressional delegation in her truthiness on the Boondoggle Bridge over the St. Croix.Minnesota Senators Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken, along with Governor MarkDayton, have been equally disingenuous in leading this full-scale assault onthe St. Croix and the Wild & Scenic Rivers System.

It’s time to take Secretary Lahoodand Salazar up on their offers to bring the two sides together to hammer out acompromise, despite Bachmann’s contention that their offers are “not productive and are only meant to delay theconstruction” of her Boondoggle Bridge.

At that time, maybe we can start on a level playing field of the truth, andleave the truthiness to the Colbert Report.

Photo by Karl Bremer.

Ramblings from the Cancer Desk

2012-01-19T22:06:00.001-06:00

By Karl Bremer

The words still stare back at me from the yellow legal padon my desk: pancreatic cancer. I scrawled them out as I was talking to mypersonal physician about the results of a CT scan earlier that day, December 1.You kind of know something is up when you go from a stomach scan to anultrasound to a CT scan within the course of three days. Still, nothing everquite prepares you for the actual diagnosis of cancer.

This is the second visit this pox has made on our household.My wife, Chris, took the first call six years ago and beat it. But there are no family memberships in thisclub, so despite the seemingly long and cruel odds of it striking twice, it’smy turn now.

There’s a creaturein my body

There’s a creaturein my blood

Don’t know how longhe’s been there

Or why he’s afterus.

--AlejandroEscovedo, “Golden Bear”

Once you’ve been diagnosed with cancer, it’s like looking atlife through a new camera lens. Some things come sharply into focus that werebarely visible before, while others just as quickly dissolve into a blur in thebackground.

What mattered yesterday may mean little today and even lesstomorrow. The daily sunrise gains relevance in the grand scheme of things asopposed to the small-minded political candidates flaming out like so many piecesof space junk re-entering the atmosphere. You begin to have a personalrelationship with Orion every time he appears overhead in the night sky. Abrand new Terrapin Station crescent moon melts away any remaining doubts aboutwhether this is all worth it.

To be sure, you’ll get countless pieces of advice—all of itwell-intentioned—about how to beat this creature. When it comes right down toit, though, you have to pick your own weapons of mass destruction and hope forthe best. For my severe condition—Stage 4pancreatic cancer—nothing short of heavy guns will do. That means threedifferent chemo drugs pumped into me over a three-day period every other week,and a battery of pills in between to counter the cancer pain and side effectsof the chemo poison.

To try to bring some equilibrium to this cyborg-like life ofgetting hammered by cancer from one side and enough chemo drugs and pharmaceuticalsto choke a horse from the other, I’ve added weekly acupuncture to the mix. I’ma firm believer in it now for both pain relief and just evening the keel of alisting ship. I don’t have to understand how it works any more than I have tounderstand how this other Western medicine stuff works. It just does.

A variety of herbal medications are in the bullet box aswell—Chaga mushroom tea from Siberia, Humboldt County’s finest, and ginger ismy new best friend.

Music is a healing salve on many levels, like the touch of adog or cat.

The greatest cure of all, however, comes from the family andfriends who walk this sometimes dark journey with you. That healing power is atleast equal to the healing powers of modern medicine. I can’t imagine walkingit alone, as some must.

One of these days, I hope to be able to scrawl “in remission”on that yellow legal pad. Meanwhile, I don’t plan to disappear. There are boondogglebridges to monkeywrench and fraudsters to lock up. In between the sunrise andOrion, don’t count me out yet.

Photographer Michael P. Smith: Preservationist of New Orleans' Cultural Wetlands

2011-12-26T18:28:00.003-06:00

Michael Smith found himself in his usual spot--in the thick of the action--when he shot this amazing jam session of Roosevelt Sykes, B.B. King, Bukka White, George Porter Jr. and Professor Longhair at the 1973 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest.

This profile of New Orleanscultural historian and photographer Michael P. Smith was originally publishedin 2004 in Beat Street, a New Orleansliterary magazine now out of print. By that time, Smith had slipped into semi-retirement bythen as he began to succumb to the effects of Parkinson’s and possibly Alzheimer’sdiseases.

Smith passed in 2008 and left behind a legacy that representsone of the Crescent City’smost magnificent treasures. Smith’s prints, negatives and other archivalmaterial was acquired by the Historic New Orleans Collection in 2007 where itis being preserved for future generations. His photographs also are in thepermanent collections of the Bibliotheque National in Paris,the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Smithsonian Institution and, the NewOrleans Museum of Art, the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, and the Louisiana State Museum.

By Karl Bremer

New Orleansphotographer David Richmond calls Michael P. Smith “the last true greatundiscovered photojournalist of the 20^th century,” and places him inthe pantheon of such giants as W. Eugene Smith, Dorothea Lange and HenriCartier-Bresson.

Jeff Rosenheim, a former assistant of Smith’s in the early‘80s who is now associate curator of photography for the Metropolitan Museum ofArt in New York, assertsunequivocally that “Mike Smith’s life’s work should be preserved in perpetuityin New Orleans for the study of theculture of New Orleans in the lastthird of the 20^th century.”

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest Producer Quint Daviscalls Smith “one of the great documenters and great depicters of a uniqueaspect of American culture. Mike is not just documenting, he’s creating greatart.”

But it’s the words of Larry Bannock, Big Chief of the GoldenStar Hunters, that would be most likely to bring a smile to Smith’s face.

“Mike Smith wasn’t a cultural pirate,” Bannock says. “Hegave back.”

Bannock’s speaking of Smith in the past tense reflects thebittersweet fact that Smith hasn’t been a fixture out on the street for thepast couple of years, capturing the pulse and spirit of New Orleans’ mesmerizing subcultures of Mardi Gras Indianpractices, social and pleasure clubs, second-line parades and spiritualchurches. His battle with Parkinson’s and possibly Alzheimer’s diseases haskept him from pursuing the mission that at once has been Smith’s vocation andavocation in life: to preserve on film the living, breathing, organic, culturalwetlands known as New Orleans.

“There’s a popular misconception around town that Mike is,like, gone,” says New Orleansphotographer Bob Compton. “But that couldn’t be further from the truth. There’sstill light in those blue eyes.”

There’s also a lot more information behind those blue eyesthat Smith is frantically trying to download into his latest book, In theSpirit: The Photography of Michael P. Smith from the Historic New Orleans Collection, before it slips away. (The book was published in 2009. View an accompanying video here. ) Smith also has coauthored a bookwith University of Munichprofessor Berndt Ostendorf on New Orleansjazz funerals that is essentially complete but remains unpublished.

While the subject of Michael Smith’s physical and mentalhealth has been of concern to many in recent months, the health andpreservation of his legacy—and his monumental archives—has become of paramountimportance as well.

“The value of this life that Michael has led is enormous,and it would be a shame to let it slip through New Orleans’hands like so many other things,” declares Rosenheim.

Rosenheim was 22years old when he moved to New Orleansin 1983 and went to work for the Louisiana State Museum.Smith’s first book, Spirit World, a captivating look at spiritualchurches, Mardi Gras Indians and other aspects of African-American New Orleansculture, had just been published, and planning for a related exhibition of hiswork was underway.

“I had the pleasure of being involved in his exhibition atthe Louisiana State Museum,” recalls Rosenheim.“I had a lot of experience working with archives of both living and deceasedphotographers. And I could recognize that Michael was not just a localphotographer, but a local photographer who was connected to some of the bestaspects of New Orleans culture.Michael not only had a remarkable commitment to his subjects but he seemed tobe blessed with being at the right place at the right time. … He did some veryinnovative things, and he just ‘had it.’”

Rosenheim workedin the darkroom with Smith to put together two duplicate sets of prints fromthe exhibition for a traveling U.S. Information Agency show. “One would travelto the Caribbean—the Black Caribbean—and the other wouldgo to Africa. It traveled for years and years. I used toget photographs from people who saw this exhibit all over the world.”

The cross-cultural appeal of the exhibit was remarkable,says Rosenheim. “Music culture isan international language and so is photography, and they both come togetherperfectly in Michael Smith.”

Besides documenting New Orleansculture with his camera, Rosenheimsays Smith also maintains a vast audio archive of events he’s covered.

“He used to wire himself with sophisticated stereo equipmentand record these parades and funerals.” Listening to those recordings as heworked in the darkroom with Smith’s powerful images “was like a kineticexperience.” The sounds of Smith working his way through the drum section of ajazz funeral, then the horns, shifting this way and that as he finessed hisposition for the maximum vantage point provide an aural context for theseimages that should be preserved as well, says Rosenheim.

Smith’s body of work reaches deep into New Orleans’ subcultures. But he is probably best knownfor his images from the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Fest. Smith is the onlyliving photographer to have shot every Jazz Fest (until his last in 2004), according to Fest producerQuint Davis.

Leslie Smith, Michael's daughter,
helped guide her father's lens at the
2004 Jazz Fest.

Jazz Fest recognized Smith in 2004 with a showing inthe Grandstand of his images printed in large format by David Richmond, and50-60 of his images reproduced, mounted on boards and placed around thefairgrounds as close as possible to where they were originally shot. His workalso is being exclusively featured in this year’s Jazz Fest program.

“We’re going to celebrate our 35^th anniversarythrough the eyes of Mike Smith,” says Davis.“The whole infield is going to be a Mike Smith kaleidoscope of the festival.”

Since the beginning, Smith has been “Jazz Fest’s unofficialofficial photographer,” says Davis.“When you start to do a heritage festival that has New Orleans street culture in it, Mike comes alongwith it. Because in addition to being an artist and a photographer, he’s anintrinsic part of the culture himself. When we started doing this festival, hewas part of New Orleans streetculture. Then he became part of the festival culture. He was also unbelievablysteadfast. He came every day, every year and went to every stage. Multiply thattimes 35 years.”

But Davis isquick to note, “Jazz Fest is really just a spoke in the wheel of Mike Smith’swork. We’re maybe a big spoke … Having created this great body of artisticwork, he also has brought the images and the awareness of the culture to a lotof people. His photography of those things is a window to the world, and hehelped to both popularize and legitimize those cultures.”

Larry Bannock: 'Mike Smith wasn't

a cultural pirate. He gave back.'

Says Larry Bannock: “He gave something to the people that alot of guys don’t. Mike was one of the first whites to see one of these suitsput together. Mike was there when you be sewing, and for years when I wasmaking my Indian suits, Mike would give me books. Whenever Mike would gotraveling and there was a book on Native American culture, he brought it backand said ‘Maybe you can use this.’

“A lot of times when I was doing patches, Mike would go outand take pictures of landscapes and color to make it come out right. There’renot a lot of photographers you could ask that of.”

Smith recognized the value of preserving the Mardi GrasIndian culture and he encouraged Bannock: “Don’t just do the beadwork. Know theculture, know the history, know why the blacks ran away and how the NativeAmericans helped them.” He also urged Bannock to become registered as a “mastercraftsman in black Mardi Gras Indian beadwork” with Louisiana Folklife.

“One of the people that made me a Big Chief was MikeSmith,” says Bannock. “When I first became a Chief, I was going through aproblem, and I was talking to Mike about it.

And he said, ‘When you become a Chief, you become the centerof attention. People say things about you—negative things. That’s all part ofbeing a Chief.’ And the first thing he said was, ‘Buy your own equipment.’Everything I needed to make a suit, Mike said that’s what I need. When you gotyour own, nobody can come at you.

“Mike isn’t a 9-to-5 friend. He’s a 24-hour friend,” Bannockcontinues. “Whenever you called him, he was there. There’s a lot of peoplethat’s on the street today because of Mike. Carpenters, contractors, whenthings were slow, Mike would help them get jobs. He wasn’t just a little whiteboy who came along and took all the pictures and made all the money. … When thetestimony is given, they can say Mike gave back—he didn’t take away.”

Becoming a part of the culture he was documenting had itsdown sides, too, says Bannock. “Mike and Jules Kahn were taking pictures ofsecond lines when it wasn’t popular. Mike Smith was run out of places, MikeSmith was harassed, the same thing we went through. But when Mike Smith wentUptown, he was protected, and a lot of people knew what he was about.”

David Richmond first knew Michael Smith in 1969, when hetook Smith’s place as an assistant to local Black Star syndicate photographerMatt Heron. He ran into him periodically in the mid-70s, although they werenever close friends.

“I had a little gallery in New Orleansin the 70s and that was the first real gallery showing of Mike’s work—the SpiritWorld stuff. But Mike didn’t hang out with that gallery group. He neverspent any time being a dilettante photographer. He was hanging out with people closer to the culture—Jerry Brock, JasonBerry, Jeff Hannusch.

“I really lost track of Mike for about 15 years,” Richmondcontinues. “Two years ago I started this exhibit space and went over to Mike’splace and said this can’t happen. There was nobody to really champion his work,and he certainly wasn’t going to do it anymore.”

Richmondselected about 30 images for an exhibit. “I started printing them bigger, andcleaner. And I just realized that I’d fallen in love with the images. His bestpictures—they’re alive, they’re not two-dimensional. You don’t look at thepictures—they come out and knock you out, especially when you’re giving birthto something like that in the darkroom.”

And, Richmondobserves, “I’ve come to the conclusion, in looking at the proof sheets of hisstuff and working with the images, that Mike didn’t just take pictures, hereceived pictures. He just went out there and wrestled away until somespiritual force said ‘You’re gonna receive this one.’”

The Louisiana State Museum raised the bar forrecognition of Smith’s work last year when it purchased 75 archival-qualityprints for its collection. “These pictures are going to be the museum’s basisof the representation of African-American culture in New Orleans,” says Richmond.

Rosenheim saysSmith’s entire collection—photography, recordings, notes—should find apermanent and appropriate home in New Orleans,perhaps the New Orleans Museum of Art or the Louisiana State Museum.“It should be there, in the city that created him and in the city that createdthe music and culture. I would urge any one of the museum directors in the cityto preserve this archive in all its complexity and richness.”

The archiving of Smith’s work “is an ongoing process,” saysBob Compton. “The phrase ‘treasure trove’ does not do it justice. There must be100,000 images in that Race Streetbuilding. It physically fills up five great big rooms in an old hotel-sizehouse.”

Meanwhile, Smith races against time to finish In the Spirit, which his daughter, Leslie, describes as “an exploration offreedom rituals in New Orleans,”from jazz funerals to the underground gay Mardi Gras.

“He’s driven. He’s afraid of not remembering, so he writesand doesn’t sleep, but he’s got so much writing to do, and it’s a viciouscycle.”

Bannock hopes the recognition that’s due Smith happens soon.

“There’s an old saying in the black church,” he muses. “Giveme my flowers while I’m alive.”

A second line parade was held at the Jazz Fest Fairgrounds in 2009 to commemorate Michael Smith and human jukebox guitarist Snooks Eaglin, who passed earlier that year.

Top photo: By Michael P. Smith

Bottom two photos: By Karl Bremer

A personal note from the author

2011-12-20T21:52:00.000-06:00

By Karl Bremer

Ripple in Stillwaterwas never meant to be a personal blog, but I need to steer into that territory for a moment.

Three weeks ago, I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. TomorrowI start chemotherapy to try to destroy it. I’ve fought a lot of battles in mylife and beaten some long odds. None of them have ever been life-threatening,though, so at this point, they all seem rather inconsequential.

This one’s for real, and I’m going to need all the energy Ican muster to beat it. Consequently, you may see a little reduction in flowhere at Ripple in Stillwater. I’llbe recycling some old material to keep you entertained in the meantime.

Thanks for your understanding as we work our way throughthese troubled waters.

Petters Ponzi clawback targets Bachmann-Vennes connection

2011-12-01T18:12:00.001-06:00

Frank Vennes Jr. is still running from his past.

Complaint in Florida bankruptcy court seeks
Vennes campaign contributions to Bachmann

By Karl Bremer and Ken Avidor

The long arm of the Tom Petters Ponzi scheme clawback hasreached out for Congresswoman Michele Bachmann in an effort to recover $27,600in contributions to her congressional campaign from Petters associateand Bachmann friend, convicted money launderer Frank Vennes Jr.

The move camein an "adversary case" complaint filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court proceedings in theSouthern District of Florida for the Palm Beach Funds. These were Palm Beach, FL- and offshore-basedhedge funds allegedly used by Vennes to steer billions of dollarsinto the Petters Ponzi.

Barry E. Mukamal, liquidating trustee for the bankrupt PalmBeach Funds, filed the action November 29 against Michele Bachmann, Bachmannfor Congress, and Bachmann Minnesota Victory Committee. It identifies sevencontributions to Bachmann’s congressional campaigns made between December 2005and June 2008 that it seeks to recover for the Palm Beach Fund creditors. Basedon Federal Election Commission records, those contributions were made by FrankVennes Jr. and his wife, Kimberly.

Because the donations were made with Vennes’ allegedlyill-gotten gains from the Petters Ponzi, the complaint seeks to recover themfor the Palm Beach Funds, which are now creditors of Vennes. According to courtdocuments, from 2002 through September 2008, the Palm Beach Funds investedapproximately $8 billion in PCI (Petters’ company) notes. As of September 24,2008, when the Petters Ponzi came crashing down, the Palm Beach Funds had morethan $1 billion invested in PCI.

“The direct effect of Petters’ fraudulent activities wasthat Palm Beach Funds’ investments in Petters purchase financing transactionswere worthless,” the adversary case complaint states.

Vennes earned more than $60 million in commissions paid byPetters and/or PCI for the Palm Beach Fund investments based on a percentage ofthe money he attracted. Vennes was indicted July 19 on 24 counts of fraud, moneylaundering and making false statements, many of them related to his involvementwith the Palm Beach Funds.

David William Harrold and Bruce Francis Prevost were ownersand managers of the Palm Beach Funds. Vennes recruited the two to raise moneyfor Petters and Petters’ company, PCI. The arrangement netted Harrold andPrevost more than $58 million in fees under their agreements with the PalmBeach Funds.

Harrold and Prevost were indicted along with Vennes inApril. They pleaded guilty to securities fraud in the scheme and reportedly arecooperating with federal authorities.

The November 29 complaint says that Bachmann and her campaign committees were “unjustlyenriched” by their receipt of Vennes’ campaign contributions, which occurredwhile Vennes was “committing these tortious acts and receiving transfers fromthe Palm Beach Funds.”

The complaint concludes:

“The Defendants’ [Bachmann] receipt of the benefit of theTransfers unjustly enriched the defendants to the detriment of Vennes and hiscreditors.

“Under the circumstances set forth herein, it would beinequitable for the defendants to retain such benefits.”

THE BACHMANN-VENNES CONNECTION

Bachmann previously has tried to wash her hands of some ofVennes’ “dirty money.” Following FBI raids on Vennes’ and Petters’ homes in2008, Bachmann quickly moved to donate $9,200 of Vennes’ and his wife’s moneyto charity. However, that represented only a portion of the more than $50,000Vennes and his family and personal lawyer gave to Bachmann from 2005-2008.

Ripple in Stillwater asked over a year ago why political contributions of fraudsters and Ponzi men weren't being clawed back.

Vennes was donating heavily to Minnesotapoliticians throughout most of the last decade as he sought a presidentialpardon for earlier crimes unrelated to the Petters Ponzi.

Vennes was convicted in North Dakota of money laundering andillegal firearms and cocaine trafficking charges in 1987, served 38 months infederal prison in Sandstone, MN, and a decade or so after his release, began layingthe groundwork for his presidentialpardon.

In addition to Bachmann, Vennes and his family were majorcampaign contributors to former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, former U.S. SenatorNormColeman, and state RepublicanParty entities. Vennesand his family also contributed to Sen.Amy Klobuchar and formerState Sen. Ted Mondale, who now chairs the MetropolitanSports Facilities Commission.

Vennes and his family were among Bachmann’s heaviest campaigncontributors. Bachmann wrote a glowing letterof support for Vennes’ pardon on December 10, 2007, even though Vennes, a resident ofShorewood, MN, and Jupiter, FL, was not and never had been a constituent.

“As a U.S. Representative, I am confident of Mr. Vennes’ successfulrehabilitation and that a pardon will be good for the neediest of society,” Bachmannwrote to the Office of Pardon Attorney. “Mr. Vennes is seeking a pardon so thathe may be further used to help others. As I know from personal experience, Mr.Vennes has used his business position and success to fund hundreds of nonprofitorganizations dedicated to helping the neediest in our society.”

Bachmann noted that Vennes needed a pardon because he “still encounters thebarriers of his past and especially in the area of finance loan documents.”Bachmann has refused to further explain the nature of her “personal experience”with Vennes or provide clarification of the finance loan documents to which sherefers in her letter.

Less than a week after FBI agents raided Vennes’ home inSeptember 2008, Bachmann wrote a letterto the Office of Pardon Attorney withdrawing her earlier letter ofsupport for Vennes’ pardon.

MORE MINNESOTACLAWBACKS

Other clawback actions filed by the Palm Beach Fundsliquidating trustee include:

Vennes family members Norma Vennes (Frank’s mother), ColbyVennes and Denley Vennes (Frank’s sons), seeking funds that are alleged to havebeen fraudulently transferred from Metro Gem, Inc., one of several feeder fundsfor the Petters Ponzi scheme managed by Frank Vennes. Other Vennes family members targeted by the clawback madesignificant political contributions to Pawlenty and the Republican Party of Minnesota.It’s not known whether they will be subjected to clawback attempts by the Palm Beach Funds as well.

Vennes business associate Darrel Amiot, who is mentionedin a lecture by Frank Vennes [listen to an Amiot sermon here]Another case was filed against Larry Greely, anassociate of Amiot.

The Fidelis Foundation. Vennes sat on theboard of Fidelis Foundation.

A single complaint was filed against CitySites Urban Media,Inc., North Dakota Teen Challenge, Inc., Minnesota Teen Challenge, Inc.,KidsFirst Scholarship Fund of Minnesota, Desiring God Ministries, PrisonFellowship, Trinity Christian School, Crown Financial Ministries, Inc., GreatCommission Foundation, Inc., New Life Family Services, Northwestern College,Masterworks of Minneapolis, Inc., Metro Hope Ministries, Inc., Smithtown GospelTabernacle, Inc., T-Net International, Wheaton College, Billy Graham Center,Seg-Way Ministries, International Ministerial Fellowship, Williston Assembly ofGod.

Some of these institutions have close connections to Vennes. Vennes served onthe boards of Minnesota Teen Challenge and Northwestern College. Some of theseinstitutions, like Desiring God Ministries (whose Pastor John Piper wroteabout an anti-homosexual-tornado) and Minnesota Teen Challenge wereinvolved in the strangesaga of Hope Commons.

Grace Consulting of Southeast, Inc. run by Vennes’ brotherand Bachmann donor GregoryVennes, who was sued by investors in 2008 for alleged seven counts of fraud andmisrepresentation (the lawsuit was settled).

This week’s clawback action suggests that the shadow ofFrank Vennes Jr. will continue to cloud Bachmann’s political future well into thepresidential caucus and primary season. For a candidate who can barely explainaway her present—let alone her past—that can’t be good news.

For the full story on the Michele Bachmann-Frank Vennes Connection, read The Madness of Michele Bachmann by Ken Avidor, Karl Bremer and Eva Young.

Photo © Copyright Karl Bremer

A window into the hidden world of New Zealand's white herons

2011-11-25T19:41:00.001-06:00

By Karl Bremer

Deep in a secluded lagoon near the hamlet of Whataroa on New Zealand’s South Island West Coast, a spectacular aviandisplay takes place between October and March when the country’s entire populationof majestic white herons returns to nest at the Waitangiroto River colony. Dozens of thesemagnificent birds—called Kotuku by the native Maori—take up residence inkowhai, mahoe and kamahi trees and in the crowns of fern trees alongside a colonyof even rarer royal spoonbills that also migrate to this remote backwater northof Okarito Lagoon to breed.

The regal white herons mingle as one with the equally nobleroyal spoonbills in this secret, otherworldly lagoon. Gliding across the bronze-colored water,these iridescent creatures are like poetry in motion. The two spindly, whitebirds are distinguished in flight by their markedly different bills and thecrook of their neck; the sharp-billed herons fly with their necks kinked, whilespoonbills extend their broad beaks and long necks in flight. Together hereduring the breeding season, they present birders with a marvelous opportunityif you schedule your visit right. For much of the rest of the year, the heronsand spoonbills are not even at the lagoon.

We arrived in late November—prime time to witness them resplendentin their breeding plumage cavort with one another while others sit on the nestwith their fledgling young.

The trip back into the hidden sanctuary is part of thethrill of the white heron experience. White Heron Sanctuary Tours in Whataroais the exclusive operator allowed into the sensitive area by the Department ofConservation and works closely with the Department to protect the heron andspoonbill population.

The jet boat skimmed across gravel bars in less than 6 inches of water.

After a short van ride across the open glacial plain withthe Southern Alps visible in the distance, we arrived ata launch and boarded a jet boat. Apprehension about the propriety of roaring upand down the river to view a rare bird nesting area gave way to awe as our tourguide/pilot deftly guided the craft down the winding Waitangitaona River at speeds of 50-60 kph,shooting between deadheads and flying over gravel bars in 6 inches of crystal-clearwater. And, as we would soon find out, the jet boat doesn’t get anywhere nearthe sanctuary.

The well-muffled roar of the boat’s jet propulsion scarcelygot a nod out of the cows grazing contentedly along the river as we flew by. Anoccasional Putangitangi, the paradise shelduck, took flight and kept pace toescort us down the river. After about 20 minutes, we disembarked and boardedour third means of transport—an open-air jitney pulled by an ATV—that took usover to a different river.

Yet another boat ride awaited us there—this time on adouble-decker pontoon that chugged quietly back up the murky, stained waters ofthe Waitangiroto River,which drains the middle of the floodplain. As we cruised along, we began to seeincreasing numbers of spoonbills and white herons skimming low across the wateror perched on the shore fishing.

Our guide eased the pontoon up to the dock and we set out onthe last leg—a short hike on a boardwalk through the swampy forest to the viewingstand. Along the walkway, box traps are set for stoats, a weasel-like varmintthat preys on the eggs of white herons and other birds, including theendangered kiwi.

Visitors become hushed as they approach the two-levelviewing stand across the lagoon from the nesting area. Once inside the woodenshanty, it’s like looking through a window into another world. The verdantforest spread out before you, thick and tangled below with taller kahikateatrees towering above, is punctuated with brilliant white herons and royalspoonbills. Dozens are sitting on nests while others perch like sentries orsoar back and forth feeding their newly hatched young.

Fantastic plumes spray light off their backs and wings asthey sit elegantly on their nests and preen. When they lift off, their sleekbodies float with ethereal grace on their immense wings, announced by anoccasional guttural croak.

The viewing stand is equipped with multiple pairs ofhigh-quality binoculars, allowing everyone ample opportunity to zoom in closeon the birds’ family life for as long as they wanted. It appears to beunobtrusive to the birds’ activities, although during nesting when the birdsare more protective, it’s sometimes necessary to partially shutter the largeopenings in the stand to keep from spooking them.

When the herons start arriving at the colony in August orSeptember, they begin the magical transformation into their breeding stage.Their yellow beaks turn black, the facial skin turns blueish-green and long,spiked plumes develop on their backs and wings. These plumes long have beenhighly prized by humans. Maori thought them to be sacred and used them to adorntheir chiefs and other tribal elders. Their desirability for women’s hats inthe 1800s nearly decimated New Zealand’spopulation of the birds when their breeding ground was discovered in 1865. By1941 only four nests remained, and the area was established as a reserve. Itsince has received increasing levels of protection.

Once they arrive at the lagoon, the males build a platformupon which they perform a dazzling mating ritual to compete for a mate. When birdsare paired off, the female builds another nesting platform of fern fronds andsticks anywhere from 8 to 40 feet in the air.

Between 40 and 50 pairs of white herons typically breed atthe site each year. Of the three to five eggs laid, only one or two usually arefledged. Their survival largely depends on weather conditions during nestingseason, when storms can blow nests down, or flooding occurs in the nearbyOkarito Lagoon, which can make stalking their diet of whitebait, eels andcrayfish difficult.

The birds disperse throughout New Zealand in the winter after breeding, but theWaitangiroto Rivercolony remains New Zealand’sonly heronry. Their numbers reportedly have stabilized at between 100-120. Howthe colony was established in the first place is still somewhat of a mystery. Egretta alba modesta is found throughoutIndia, China,Japan and Australiaas well. Some theorize that perhaps hundreds of years ago, winds carried aflock from Australiaacross the Tasman Sea, and they established this colonyon the West Coast just a few miles from the sea.

A royal spoonbill soars beneath the white herons.

Even more rare than the white heron in New Zealand is the royal spoonbill, or KotukuNgutu Papa (board-billed kotuku), that has been coming to the same lagoon tobreed since 1949. Because the royal spoonbills nest in the much tallerkahikatea trees, they’re more exposed and vulnerable to storms. As a result,fewer chicks are fledged. Their population, while stable, is far less than thewhite heron’s in New Zealand.

The royal spoonbill is slightly shorter and heavier than thewhite heron. It sweeps its black, shovel-like bill from side to side as itwades the swamps and estuaries to feed on shellfish, frogs and other aquaticlife.

Similar to the white herons, plumes extend off the back ofthe royal spoonbill’s head during breeding. They disperse across both the Southand North islands after the nesting season, usually to estuaries along thecoast.

The lagoon is also home to a kawaupaka, or little shag,rookery. The little shag is common throughout New Zealand and nests near the white herons androyal spoonbills. Slightly smaller than either of its neighbors, the littleshag’s plumage ranges from all black to black and white, with black feet, ayellow face and stubby yellow bill.

After about 45 minutes, we left the viewing stand in silenceand with a sense of reverence at what we had just seen. The serene pontoon rideback down the Waitangiroto gave us a chance to ruminate on the experience as wepassed an intermittent heron or spoonbill wading along the riverbank.

As the jet boat flew upstream and across the shoals of theWaitangitaona, it felt like we were being transported forward in time from avisit to an ancient world, where these wondrous monarchs ruled the sky.

To the Maori, Kotuku is a sacred symbol of all things rareand beautiful. It even shows up in a Maori funeral chant that concludes: “Ko tokotuku to tapui, e Tama – e” (“Kotuku is now thy sole companion, O my son!”). Visitthe White Heron Sanctuary at Whataroa and see for yourself why.

IF YOU GO

Whataroa is on the South Island’sWest Coast on State Highway 6, 103 km south of Hokitika and 32 km north ofFranz Josef Glacier. White Heron Sanctuary Tours is on the west side of theroad in the middle of the village.

White Heron tours run from late October to March. Arainforest nature tour by jetboat in the Waitangi Roto Nature Reserve is runduring the rest of the year. Cost for both tours is $110 for adults and $45 forchildren 12 and under. Tours are run daily at approximately 9 a.m, 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. Studio, motel and cabin units also are available at theSanctuary Tours Motel next door.

Phone: 0800-523-456

Email: enquiries@whiteherontours.co.nz

Internet: www.whiteherontours.co.nz

A visit to the tiny Kotuku Gallery in Whataroa is timewell-spent before or after the 2.5-hour white heron tour. It features asplendid collection of bone, jade, wood and antler art pieces by a local Maoricarver and his family. And there’s nothing like buying direct from the artist.

'Madness of Michele Bachmann' book signing December 10 at Common Good Books in St. Paul

2011-11-19T15:45:00.001-06:00

The authors of "The Madness of Michele Bachmann" -- myself, Ken Avidor and Eva Young -- will sign copies of our book at Common Good Books, 165 Western Ave. N., St. Paul, on December 10 at 2 p.m. Come out and meet the authors behind the bylines and get your holiday shopping done at the same time!

A Veterans Day for Veterans

2011-11-11T00:14:00.001-06:00

By Karl Bremer

It’s Veterans Day again.

Huzzah!

Federal government workers will get the day off, whetherthey served or not. Likewise, most state employees will get a holiday,regardless of their veterans status. Bankers too. In fact, 21 percent ofprivate employers plan to observe the holiday in 2011, according to the Society for Human Resource Management.

But if you’re aveteran, unless you’re working for one of the employers listed above, chancesare, it’s just another day on the job. If you want to attend one of the manyevents recognizing veterans today, you’ll probably have to take a day of vacation.

Which brings meto my modest proposal.

If we are to set asideone day a year to honor veterans and call it Veterans Day, why are we givingthe day off to nonveterans? For most, it’s an extra day to put away the mower and getthe snowblower out, a free day in thetree stand waiting for a deer, a bonus day on the golf course, an opportunityfor a three-day road trip somewhere, or just an extra day to sleep in. Not that there’sanything wrong with that.

But if veteransare going to lend our name to a holiday, why not make Veterans Day truly a dayfor veterans and give those who served in uniform the day off while otherswork? It’s simply a matter of truth-in-advertising. Otherwise, we may as wellcall it Government Workers & Bankers Day. See how well that goes over.

Minnesota wouldn’tbe the first state to move in this direction. Since 2010, all employers in thestate of Iowa are required to give veterans the day off on November 11.However, they have the option of making that a paid or unpaid holiday for theveteran, which in the latter instance, isn’t really a holiday at all.

Governor Dayton yesterdayannounced two new veterans initiatives—one to expand a job retraining programto all veterans and another to provide funding for military honor guards atveterans’ funerals. Ripple in Stillwater is calling on him to add a third:

Require that allpublic and private employers in the state of Minnesota give veterans a paidholiday on November 11, and rescind it as an “official” state holiday for all others.

Memorials,editorials, rememberances, flags and salutes are all fine. But ifyou really want to show your appreciation for those who served, givethem a real holiday to go along with it.

(For the record,I was drafted in 1972 and served two years and a day in the U.S. Army, MilitaryPolice.)

A River of Misinformation

2011-11-09T22:53:00.000-06:00

By Karl Bremer

When I exposed the Coalition for the St. Croix RiverCrossing’s big lie about the Obama Administration and Transportation SecretaryRay LaHood supporting their Boondoggle Bridge, the Coalition’s directordefended its claim in a blog posting of his own.

“Despite what some people want us to believe, recentcomments by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood indicate that the ObamaAdministration really does want the St. Croix River Crossing to be built,”huffed Coalition Executive Director Michael Wilhelmi. “Honestly.”

“The only way one could think that his comments in supportof the St. Croix River Crossing actually mean that the Obama Administrationdoesn’t support the St. Croix River Crossing,” Wilhelmi charged, “is when youignore basic facts, as was recently done by a local blogger.” He linked to mycolumn.

Today, the Star-Tribune newspaper in Minneapolisconfirmed what I had reported last week: the Obama Administration has notthrown its support behind the Boondoggle bridge, and neither has Secretary LaHood,as the Coalition has falsely claimed. Mary McComber, the Coalition member whotold Ripple in Stillwater thatneither the Administration nor LaHood had expressed a preference for anyparticular bridge, also reaffirmed to the Star-Tribune what she told me.

According to the Star-Tribune:

McComber, who was at the White House last month for ameeting with local officials, said Tuesday that [White House Chief of Staff] Daleydid not specifically back the projectand that the coalition's statement went too far. "Something has gottenmixed up somewhere along the lines," she said.

When one of Wilhelmi’s own Coalition members says they aren’tbeing truthful, that should tell you something.

The Star-Tribune went on to note:

Even though LaHood has said he supports building abridge, he declined to back the specificlegislation in Congress, saying that's something he never does.

The White House declined to comment for the Star-Tribune’sstory.

Wilhelmi boasted in his missive that “We make sure that thedetails and facts that we use in support of the project are verified by a stateor federal regulatory agency. Bridge opponents cannot say the same.”

Maybe when Wilhelmi sees his deceptions exposed by abig-city newspaper instead of just a “local blogger,” he’ll think better ofcontinuing to make false claims about support for his Boondoggle Bridge that doesn’t exist. Then again, maybehe’ll just blithely accuse the Star-Tribune of “ignoring the facts” too, andcontinue to spew his river of misinformation.

A Kinky Night with Ray Davies

2011-11-09T07:53:00.001-06:00

By Karl Bremer

Kinks co-founder and former frontman Ray Davies turned in a splendid performance at St. Paul's Fitzgerald Theatre last night. Backed by L.A. indie rockers The 88, Ray blew through a wide range of mostly Kinks material-- from transcendent classics Waterloo Sunset and Celluloid Heroes to timeless treasures like 20th Century Man, which still resonates even in the 21st Century:

This is the twentieth century
But too much aggravation
This is the edge of insanity
I'm a twentieth century man
but I don't wanna be here.

Ray last played in Minnesota in 2006 at First Avenue in Minneapolis. For more photos of last night's show, go here. For a great interview on Minnesota Public Radio, go here.

All photos copyright by Karl Bremer.

Boondoggle Bridge Coalition muddies the St. Croix waters with more misinformation

2011-11-06T21:42:00.000-06:00

By Karl Bremer

Michael Wilhelmi

Michael Wilhelmi, executive director of the BoondoggleBridge-supporting Coalition for the St. Croix River Crossing, took umbrage atmy recent post regarding the misinformation campaign of his Coalition. In arather huffy response on the Coalition’s blog, Wilhelmi responded with moremisinformation, and accused me of ignoring the facts. Let’s have a look.

Curiously, Wilhelmi begins by disclaiming ownership of the$700 million Boondoggle Bridge.

“First, the St. Croix River Crossing proposal is not ‘thecoalition’s’ bridge,” Wilhelmi insists. That’s funny, because they’re the onlyones lobbying for it, so if it’s not “their” project, whose is it?

Wilhelmi continues down this twisted path: “The FederalHighway Administration, which is led by Secretary LaHood, participated in thebridge design process and approved the bridge project with a Record ofDecision. The administration even defended the project in a three-year courtbattle with the Sierra Club.” Therefore, Wilhelmi reasons, “the U.S. Departmentof Transportation supports this project.”

There are a few things wrong with that assumption.

First, the FHWA issued its Record of Decision on the bridge in1995 during the Clinton Administration two presidents ago. The National ParkService (NPS) subsequently ruled against the bridge that administration’s FHWA signedoff on, and the courts upheld the NPS’s decision.

It was the FHWA under the Bush Administration that issued asecond Record of Decision in 2006 and defended the project in the Sierra Clublitigation. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that the current FHWA—which isled by FHWA Administrator Victor Mendez and not Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, as Wilhelmi states—supports the Coalition’s bridge.

Remember, it was under the Bush Administration in 2005 thatthe NPS gave the project a green light. That decision was reversed by the ObamaAdministration’s NPS after the courts sided with the Sierra Club in 2010 andordered the NPS to reconsider its earlier approval.

Nor does it mean that Transportation Secretary Ray LaHoodnecessarily supports the Coalition’s version of the bridge, as Wilhelmi claims.Even Coalition member Mary McComber admitted to Ripple in Stillwaterthat LaHood’s recent comments didn’t indicate support for any specific versionof a bridge—only that it be done “within the law.” If Wilhelmi has any solid evidence of LaHood’ssupport for the Coalition’s bridge—a letter, perhaps?—he needs to offer moreproof than his own wishful thinking and hearsay.

Wilhelmi continues with his fantasies.

“There is no way to build any new bridge without anexemption from the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. The National Park Service hasconcluded that the Act does not allow them to grant a permit for any newconstruction in any Wild and Scenic River that would have a ‘direct, adverse’impact on the river’s ‘scenic values’,” he states.

That’s not what the NPS concluded at all. It concluded that “theSt. Croix River Crossing Project (emphasis added) would have a direct and adverse impact to theriver and that those impacts cannot be mitigated.” It said nothing about bridgedesigns other than the Coalition’s monstrosity it had before it.

Wilhelmi’s contention that “there is no way to build anybridge without an exemption to the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act” is equallyphony. In fact, two bridges have been built across the St. Croix River since it fell under protection of the Act and neitherrequired an exemption by Congress: the replacement bridge at Osceola, WI, in 1980, WI, and the lift bridge at Prescott, WI, in 1990. It’s just that there’s no wayto build his bridge without anexemption to the Act.

Wilhelmi claims that "the law specifically allows Congress to provide an exemption for worthy projects. Therefore, exempting the St. Croix River Crossing from the provision in the WSRA is 'within the law.' However, the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act has never granted an exemption for a bridge. The Coalition once promoted that myth as well until Ripple in Stillwater debunked it too. The only two exemptions that have been granted under the Act in itsentire history have been for fisheries habitat improvement projects.

Wilhelmi concludes by playing the victim card and accusesopponents of the Coalition’s Boondoggle Bridge of trying to “attack andsmear” them. Maybe he’s just upset that he’s got a gaping $80,000 hole in hisCoalition’s budget thanks to the diligence of those opponents.

Following after the Coalition for the St.Croix Crossing’s press releases is getting to be a bit like the guy with thebroom and shovel trailing the elephants in the circus parade. It’s a distastefuljob, but someone’s got to clean up the mess they leave behind.

Obama Administration supports Boondoggle Bridge? Not really

2011-11-03T21:52:00.001-05:00

This is the $700 million monstrosity proposed to be built just 6 miles north of the eight-lane I-94 bridge at Lakeland-Hudson.

By Karl Bremer

The way the lobbyists for the bridge across the St. Croix River are portraying recentcomments from Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, you’d think President Obama has given his personalstamp of approval to the $700 million Bachmann-Klobuchar-Dayton Boondoggle Bridge.

Not so fast.

“St. Croix River Crossing is apriority for President Obama,” trumpets the headline on a press release fromthe Coalition for the St. Croix Bridge Crossing, a lobbying group for the Boondoggle Bridge. The press release continues:

“Oak Park Heights City Councilmember Mary McComber spokewith LaHood and White House Chief of Staff Bill Daley about the St. Croix RiverCrossing during a briefing for city and municipal leaders held at the WhiteHouse on Thursday, October 27. McComber was invited in her capacity as incomingchair of the Regional Development Committee of the National League of Cities.

“In response to a question from McComber during hispresentation to the group, LaHood said that President Obama and hisadministration are well aware of the St. Croix River Crossing and are committedto getting it done.

“Secretary LaHood said, ‘I know about your project. I knowwhat the problem is. I am committed to getting it done. The President iscommitted to getting it done,’” McComber stated.”

So is that project that he’s committed to getting done theCoalition’s $700 million, 65-mph, four-lane freeway version of the bridge? Notnecessarily.

Ripple in Stillwatercontacted McComber and asked her to clarify her statement—specifically, whetherLaHood was referring to the Coalition’s bridge proposal.

“What Ray LaHood said was that theObama Administration is committed to getting this project solved, but totallylegally—and he kept referring back to this—within the law,” McComber said.

LaHood did not say he or Obamasupported an exemption from the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act to get the bridgebuilt, and did not express support for any specific bridge proposal, McCombersaid. There was some discussion about the need to streamline federal approvalprocesses for infrastructure projects when multiple agencies are involved, saidMcComber, but there was no talk about including an exemption from the Act in a “streamlining” of the process to get the St. Croix bridgeproblem resolved.

The Administration’s support was “morejust to get it off people’s plate,” McComber noted.

The Obama Administration onNovember 1 released a list of 14 infrastructure projects that it said “willbe expedited through permitting and environmental review processes” in order tomove them “as quickly as possible from the drawing board to completion” andcreate jobs.

There are two bridge projects on that list, but the St. Croix bridge is not one of them.

Once again, the Boondoggle Bridge Coalition appears to beplaying loose with the facts, and their strategy worked with some in the media..

Stillwater loses battle over $80,000

TIF donation to bridgelobbyists

Meanwhile, in other Boondoggle Bridge news, the City of Stillwaterdecided to cut their losses and return to Washington County the $80,000 in tax-incrementfinance (TIF) funds the state auditor ruled they had illegally donated to theCoalition. The city stands to lose half of those funds because of theirmisappropriation of them to the bridge lobbying group, which Stillwater MayorKen Harycki co-chairs.

The state auditor's ruling was in response to complaints filed by myself and Stillwater historian Don Empson.

Stillwater City Attorney Dave Magnuson

refuses to admit he was wrong.

Not content with having his dubious legal opinions repeatedlycalled into question by the Office of State Auditor in its reports on thematter, Stillwater City Attorney Dave Magnuson accused the auditor’s office ofplaying politics with its decision. He was joined by City Council member JimRoush, who the Star-Tribune reported opined in an Oct. 31 council meeting onthe matter: “Ithink their office is out of control and has exceeded their authority.”

Said council member Micky Cook, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press: “I think we just need to suck it up, unless we want to getslapped around some more.”

Roush told the Star-Tribune’s Kevin Giles after the meetingthat the auditor’s ruling was “politically motivated” but Roush declined toelaborate.

State Auditor Rebecca Otto responded that Roush’scomments were “a little bit like blaming the dentist for a cavity in yourmouth.”

The Legend of the Blue Light lives on in the St. Croix Valley

2011-10-30T22:04:00.000-05:00

The Arcola High Bridge over the St. Croix River north of Stillwater.

Ripple in Stillwater investigation sheds new light on one of the area's most enduring ghost stories

By Karl Bremer

A couple of months ago, John Michaelson was heading back to his rural Somerset, WI, home in the woods high above the St. Croix River a little over a mile north of the Arcola High Bridge. It was somewhere between midnight and 2 a.m. Michaelson, who has lived out there for 11 years, followed the dark county road west along the railroad tracks to where it veers north at the High Bridge and follows the bluffline.

“I came around the corner, and that’s where I saw him,” Michaelson recalls. “I noticed this guy walking along in a northerly direction on the left side of the road with a blue lantern in his hand. He had a blue denim jacket on—looked like an old railroad guy, maybe in his 60s, kind of heavy. I thought it was kind of odd that a guy would be walking down that road that late and carrying a blue lantern.”

Michaelson drove by the old man, a little bit freaked out, and never looked back.

“All of a sudden, it hit me,” Michaelson says. “I just saw the Blue Light.”

The Blue Light. Mention those three words to a St. Croix Valley native and you’re likely to get a wide-eyed reaction underscored by a knowing smile. The legendary local ghost story goes back to at least the 1960s, and probably much earlier.

The Blue Light's origins lie on Arcola Trail, a quiet little township road that loops off of MN 95 toward the St. Croix a mile north of Stillwater. At about the midpoint of the loop, the road is bisected by the former Soo Line railroad, now owned by Canadian National Railway. After crossing over Arcola Trail, the tracks head eastward into Wisconsin and traverse the St. Croix at a dizzying height of over 200 feet on the magnificent ½-mile-long, five-arch Arcola High Bridge. It’s there, high above this jewel of a river, where most have dared to come in search of the Blue Light in the deep of the night.

Bridges long have been common sites for paranormal activity. They’re often in remote locations and the scene of accidents or other tragedies. Some believe there are spiritual reasons why so many bridges are haunted. The source of the Arcola High Bridge haunting varies from one version of the legend to the next, but in all cases, the Blue Light sightings have always been either on or near the Arcola High Bridge on either side of the river.

There are least a half-dozen variations on Arcola’s poltergeists. The tale I grew up with involved a farmer who lived near the bridge. He went mad, killed his wife and four children and then set fire to his house and hung himself. It was the lonely ghost of this crazed farmer who walked the bridge at night carrying a blue lantern in search of his family. To this day, the crumbling remains of an ancient limestone foundation lie in the woods atop the bluff south of the High Bridge, but there’s no evidence that it’s connected to a mass murder.

An old limestone foundation lies in the woods south of the Arcola High Bridge.

A variation on that story is in the book “Ghost Stories of Minnesota” by Gina Teel. That version has the farmer living below the bridge and working as a track-checker for the railroad. A shower of sparks from a passing train set his house afire and killed his wife and animals. The distraught farmer put a curse on the area and has haunted it ever since with a blue light that glows where the farmhouse once stood.

Michaelson used to come out to Arcola Roadas a kid from Stillwater in the ‘70s. He recalls that it was a railroad worker who had been killed on the tracks many years ago, and his ghost continued to walk the tracks with his blue lantern. A 2002 Journal of Contemporary Ethnography article confirms his recollection:

During World War I, it (Arcola High Bridge) was used in transporting ammunition from the Twin Cities to out East somewhere. In case of sabotage (from whom I was never told) the railroad company that owned the bridge had a nightwatchman hired on with the task of keeping the bridge secure. During a dark and rainy night, in the middle of summer, the night watchman started his hourly inspection of the bridge. Upon reaching the middle of the span (between Minnesota and Wisconsin) he happened to get caught on the bridge while an ammunition train was crossing. In the ensuing ruckus that the train and the high winds made, the night watchman fell from the bridge to his death. The story goes on to say that the night watchman’s ghost walks across the bridge on the midsummer anniversary of his death. The ghost apparently carries a green lantern to light his way on his eternal trip across the bridge. Those unfortunate individuals who see this green light apparently end up dead the day after seeing it.

Still others say the ghost is that of a worker who was killed during construction of the bridge sometime between 1909 and 1911, or a farmer out searching for a lost cow with a blue lantern. Some say it’s the dead farmer’s wife—a lady in white—and not the farmer who walks the tracks.

We spent many nights in the ‘60s and ‘70s camped at the foot of the Arcola High Bridge on the Minnesota side of the river. Besides being a prime camping spot, it afforded a clear view of much of the bridge, and the allure of the Blue Light was an added attraction. We’d wait till after midnight to climb the embankment to the top and walk the tracks under the night sky. There was a narrow walkway along the south side of the bridge with a pipe railing. On the other side of the tracks, there was no railing.

The bridge then was operated and regularly used by the Soo Line, so if a train came when you were out in the middle, your choices were to run like hell to either side before the train got on the bridge, hold on tight to the railing or jump in one of the 55-gallon rain barrels placed at intervals along the ½-mile length and wait until it passed.

On one of many unfruitful visits over the years, we got back down to the riverside campsite from a late-night trip up to the bridge, looked back and saw a faint blue light passing over the bridge. No human figure was discernable, just a blue glow drifting slowly from the Minnesota side toward Wisconsin. And then it was gone.

John Koonce lives about a mile south of Michaelson in rural Somerset. You can see the High Bridge through the bare trees about a quarter-mile away from his home of 33 years. He’s heard about the legend of the Blue Light for about as long.

“It was supposed to have been some guy who lived over on the Minnesota side who got killed working on the tracks,” Koonce recalls. “He carried a blue railroad lantern across the bridge.”

Koonce was a cold-typesetter for the Minneapolis Tribune for many years and worked until after midnight. He saw the Blue Light on two or three occasions when he returned home between 1 a.m. and 3 a.m.

“It was a lantern-sized blue light, just crossing the railroad tracks,” he says with assurance. He saw no figure accompanying it, just the Blue Light glowing in the darkness.

The last time he saw the Blue Light was about 10 years ago.

Mary Smith lived on a farm near Withrow, west of Arcola Trail. She knew of the Blue Light legend, and even spent nights prowling around Arcola Trail looking for it, but she never put much stock in it.

“It was a good excuse to spend a night in the woods with friends trying to scare each other,” she laughed.

In later years, she volunteered with Arcola Mills, the 1847 Greek revival mansion built on the river by lumbermen John and Martin Mower off Arcola Roadjust north of the High Bridge. Dr. Henry and Katharine Van Meier later owned the estate and after their death, left it under the auspices of the Arcola Mills Foundation, which now operates the house and 50-acres as an historic site and retreat. Visitors to Arcola Mills occasionally would bring up the Blue Light, she says.

This old gypsy wagon was one of several eclectic "cabins" on the Van Meier

estate on Arcola Trail near the High Bridge. It also had a reputation for being

haunted. The disheveled structure is still on the property, now called Arcola Mills.

“They would have different stories about not only the Blue Light but about other ghosts in the area.” However, Smith says, “I’ve only met a couple of people who swear they saw a blue light or greenish-blue light. One man said he absolutely saw a light, to the south of of the mansion.”

She remains a skeptic.

“There are some low areas down there,” she explains. “I think it was will o’ the wisp,” a colloquial term for a natural phenomenon caused by burning swamp gasses. Decaying organic matter in marshes and bogs produces phosphine and methane gases that spontaneously combust on contact with oxygen in the air. The reaction creates a ghostly glow with no apparent source.

“In my opinion, that’s what the light was,” Smith says with equal assurance of those who claim to have seen it.

DOES THAT EXPLAIN EVERYTHING?

The Blue Light wouldn’t be the first ghost story debunked by the explanation of will o’ the wisp. But how does that explain all those other accounts of unhinged farmers and dead railroad workers? Is there a kernel of truth in those tales somewhere?

Brent Peterson, executive director of the Washington County Historical Society, says visitors to the WCHS Museum also bring up the Blue Light legend from time to time. The version he was most familiar with was the murderous farmer who torched his house, but he says he has never seen any documentation of events that might have been the genesis of that legend or any of the other ones from Arcola Trail.

It is a fact, however, that on the railroad, a blue light or flag signaled to trains that there was work on the tracks ahead and to proceed with caution. So that aspect of the legend does have some basis in truth.

Buzz Kriesel, who lives in Somerset just south of the High Bridge, says that while he’s never seen anything unusual around there, he has heard an anecdote about a man being killed during construction of the High Bridge in the early 1900s.

Matt Peterson has lived on Arcola Trail close by the High Bridge his entire life. His family built a home on the site of an old farmhouse in 1962. He’s heard about the Blue Light for many years—but says “I’ve never seen anything weird out here.” On the other hand, a relative of his may have had something to do with some sightings.

In the early ‘70s, Peterson says, “I was about six years old when my cousin moved out here from Rice Street. He stayed with us for three years. He used to go down to the river and hang out. It was a big party area.”

Picking up on the local legend, Peterson confides that his cousin “painted a lantern blue and used to hang it off the bridge.”

Will o’ the wisp. Painted lanterns. Was that all it was? Perhaps. Or perhaps not.

BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE

Peterson says the version of the legend he’s heard over the years was of the farmer looking for his lost cow. When I told him about the crazy farmer who murdered his family and burned his house down, Peterson paused and then reflected on something else.

“The original farmhouse used to be across the tracks on the north side of the bridge and the barn was down here in our yard. They moved the house down here where our house is now when they put the railroad in. It split their property.”

His family’s house was built on the site of the old farmhouse, he continues. “When we did our remodel job awhile back and dug down into the old farmhouse foundation, we found that it was burned down.”

That’s not all.

Peterson says that 100 years or more ago, a fever swept through the St. Croix Valley and killed many people.

“The people in this farmhouse had four kids and they all died from the fever,” says Peterson. Just two weeks ago, he adds, “We were tearing apart the old foundation of the barn and some people pulled up who said their relatives used to own the old farmstead. They said there’s supposed to be four family members buried right there by the barn.”

So how did the house burn down? Did the farmer torch it? Sparks from the train? Did the separate stories of the fire and the four kids who died from the fever become embellished over the years and morph into a more grisly single tale of murder and mayhem?

Based on what Ripple in Stillwater has learned, it seems the events at the old farmstead on Peterson’s property may be at the heart of some of the Blue Light legends. But it still doesn’t elucidate sightings such as John Michaelson’s.

As long as there is a High Bridge at Arcola Trail, there will be a Legend of the Blue Light. Crazed murderer. Dead trackman. Grieving widow. Lost farmer. Whosever spirit it is that haunts the century-old bridge will endure—at least in the minds of the believers.

For the rest, there’s always the will o’ the wisp.

Arcola High Bridge is a rock star

The Arcola High Bridge on the St. Croix River north of Stillwater is world-renowned among bridge engineers and enthusiasts for its stunning five arches. A steel deck arch design, the Arcola High Bridge was built by the American Bridge Company of New York for the Wisconsin Central Railway between 1909 and 1911. Construction began on the Minnesota and Wisconsin sides of the river simultaneously and the two sides met in the middle. Fifty thousands tons of structural steel were used in its construction.

The Arcola High Bridge was designed by C.A.P. Turner, a structural engineer who also designed the Mendota Bridge across the Minnesota River between Ft. Snelling and Mendota, and the Aerial Lift Bridge in Duluth.

Total length of the bridge is 2,682 feet. Height of the lowest steel to the water at normal level is 184 feet.

The Arcola High Bridge was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. Arcola Trail resident Matt Peterson says they get people coming to the door all the time interested in the bridge. “One guy came all the way from Washington to see it this year,” he says.

“Experts have called this bridge the most spectacular multi-span steel arch bridge in the world,” writes bridge aficionado John A.Weeks III. “Others compare the magnificent steel work to that of Eiffel's creations in France.”

The Wisconsin Central merged with other railroads in 1961 to form the Soo Line, which owned and operated it until 1987, when the bridge and tracks became part of Wisconsin Central Ltd. Canadian National Railways (CN) acquired Wisconsin central Ltd. in 2001 and has operated the Arcola High Bridge since.

The Arcola High Bridge celebrated its 100^th birthday in June 2011.

The Arcola High Bridge was built to replace the original railroad

crossing about a half mile down river. The old pilings remain in the river.

All photos by Karl Bremer.

State Auditor hammers City of Stillwater over $80,000 donation to bridge lobbyists, sends matter to Washington County Attorney

2011-10-25T12:42:00.000-05:00

Stillwater City Attorney Dave Magnuson was
taken to the woodshed by the State Auditor.

By Karl Bremer

When the Office of State Auditor found the City of Stillwater to be in violation of state Tax Increment Financing (TIF) laws over a controversial $80,000 “donation” of TIF funds the city made to a lobbying group this summer, Stillwater City Attorney Dave Magnuson convinced the City Council to challenge the Auditor’s ruling. This week, the State Auditor slapped down Magnuson’s novel legal arguments, citing numerous inconsistencies in the City’s earlier statements, and again ruled that the $80,000 lobbying expense to the Coalition for the St. Croix River Crossing “is not a qualified expenditure of tax increment” from the city’s TIF District No. 1.

In an October 21 letter, Assistant State Auditor Arlin Waelti informed Mayor Ken Harycki and the City Council that the matter is being forwarded to the Washington County Attorney for enforcement.

The matter came before the State Auditor as a result of complaints filed by myself and Stillwater historian Don Empson.

Harycki, who has been the driving force behind the $80,000 donation to the Coalition that he co-chairs, last month vowed to take the money from other city funds if they failed to convince the State Auditor of the propriety of using TIF monies.

The Coalition returned the $80,000 to the city in September. However, city officials balked at complying with the State Auditor’s initial ruling when it found out that under state statutes governing the use of TIF funds, a large portion of the money would be diverted to the county and school district rather than back to the City’s TIF fund as a penalty for the City’s misappropriation of them. No one seemed certain how much the City would lose. Figures ranging from $40,000 to $60,000 were thrown around during discussion of the matter at a special city council meeting September 13.

“I think they didn’t get it right,” Magnuson told the city council. But the OSA clearly ruled that it was Magnuson’s who didn’t get it right.

In its response to the OSA, which Magnuson wrote, the city argued that the $80,000 was not a donation after all, but rather, a “pass-through to lobbyists under an implied contract with the nonprofit.”

The OSA strongly disagreed.

“The City is wrong on the facts,” wrote Waelti. “During the OSA’s review of this matter, the City and the Coalition repeatedly and consistently described the City’s payment to the Coalition as a “donation.” The Coalition’s Executive Director, the City Administrator, and the City Attorney each described the payment as a “donation.” In addition, the City Administrator and the City Attorney each specifically denied that the City had a contract with the Coalition.”

Furthermore, Waelti noted, “The City did not pay the Coalition based upon invoices submitted by the Coalition for services rendered to the City. The city’s payment to the Coalition was purely gratuitous … Minnesota law generally requires a written itemization of claims prior to payment, and the vendor must declare that the money is owed and no part of it has been paid. The lack of supporting documentation for expenditures has historically resulted in OSA findings of noncompliance with the TIF Act. The City’s $80,000 payment was not made in response to a claim/invoice for services rendered. It was a donation, and the City has no assurance of what, if anything, it might receive from the Coalition in return.”

The City argued that it doesn’t always have contracts with lobbyists, but the OSA noted that “is also contrary to the City’s own prior conduct. According to reports the City provided to the OSA, the City has expended $728,193 for contracted lobbyists from 1996-2008.”

Waelti wrote that “The City fails in its efforts to re-characterize the donation as a pass-through to lobbyists.” But even if the OSA were to accept that argument, he continued, that action “would thwart Minnesota’s lobbying disclosure laws.” The Coalition’s executive director, Mike Wilhelmi, is a registered lobbyist for the Coalition but not the City, and the Coalition has declared all contracts with its lobbyists to be “non-public, trade secret” documents. “Under the City’s new theory,” Waelti states, “a city could hire lobbyists through another entity, and the lobbyist would never need to report that the lobbying was being done on the City’s behalf.”

The OSA also took issue with Magnuson’s contention that lobbying for the new bridge would benefit the TIF District from which the $80,000 was taken, even though the bridge is nowhere near the TIF District or even in the city, because the old lift bridge that it will replace is in the district.

“First, the City tries to divert attention from the construction of a new St. Croix River bridge located outside the City to the closing of the Historic Lift Bridge,” Waelti writes. “However, the Coalition’s stated lobbying effort is to obtain an exemption from the Federal Wild [and Scenic] Rivers Act to allow construction of the new bridge. No change in the Wild [and Scenic] Rivers Act is needed to close the Lift Bridge. Therefore, the closing of the lift bridge does not require the Coalition’s services.”

Waelti went to point out that the City’s contention that the new bridge would bring other benefits to the TIF District is off base too.

“Such an expansive use of tax increment for activities outside a city’s boundaries would be unprecedented and is not authorized by the TIF Act.”

Waelti also rejected Magnuson’s “attempts to equate lobbying efforts by the nonprofit Coalition for a new bridge located outside the City with promoting developments within a district.”

“The Coalition claimed that its efforts were attempting to influence federal legislative action by obtaining a change in the Federal Wild [and Scenic] Rivers Act—lobbying activity at the national level.” However, TIF law “to promote developments within a district does not extend to attempts to influence federal elected officials. A donation of tax increment to a nonprofit corporation that states it is lobbying to change federal law so a bridge can be constructed outside Tif District 1 is not a qualified expenditure of tax increment from the City’s TIF District No. 1.”

“The City failed to resolve the OSA’s finding of noncompliance,” Waelti concludes. As a result, this matter is being forwarded to the Washington County Attorney as required” by state law.

Read the Office of State Auditor's final ruling letter here.

The Call of Mt. Hope Cemetery

2011-10-24T23:51:00.000-05:00

The Berry family plot beckons visitors in Afton's Mt. Hope Cemetery.

A little-known piece of St. Croix Valley history slumbers in the peaceful hills above Afton.

By Karl Bremer

Above the sleepy St. Croix River townof Afton in the late 1960s, anaxle-challenging, one-lane road carved a steep path up a wooded hillside to anancient, unkempt cemetery on top that was straight out of Edgar Allen Poe. Itwasn’t on any map or in any guide book. You pretty much had to be taken thereby someone in the know, but if you grew up here, that wasn’t hard to find.

We knew the old graveyard simply as the Old Afton Cemeteryback then; its official name is Mt. Hope Cemetery. It was the kind of placeyou discovered as a teenager when you wanted to do things you couldn’t do athome. You know, catch a buzz, cop a feel. The more remote the better. For mostof us, that meant as soon as we knew someone with a driver’s license. We alwaysassumed it was sort of legal to be up there, but such details would havemattered little then anyway.

William J. Owen died October 28, 1866.

The cemetery had no apparent boundaries. There was no signannouncing your arrival. It just sort of ethereally appeared on the side of theroad when you reached the top of the hill. Remnants of tombstones leanedagainst trees scattered deep in the woods. A small grove of cedar trees in formation like whispering sentries with crumbling, lichen-etched headstonespropped against their peeling trunks. A creepy family plot bound by a disheveledwrought-iron fence with a clanking gate that dared you to come inside.

Oddly enough, ghosts were never part of the lore of the Old Afton Cemetery,but that didn’t stop us from looking for them. Whatever spirits may have beenup there kept to themselves, because we never saw anything of another world. Werevered the graveyard as a kind of sacred grounds not to be disturbed, butweren’t aware of the true historical significance of the ground—and the unmarkedgraves below—that we were treading on.

Several Civil War veterans are buried among the 40 markedgraves here; more are likely buried in the estimated 60 unmarked gravesscattered throughout the woods, says Ken Martens, vice president with the AftonHistorical Society who has extensively researched Mt. Hope Cemetery and its occupants. Martens led a tour of the graveyard on a brisk Octoberafternoon recently for about 85 of the cemetery-curious.

The first grave in Mt. Hope Cemeterythat was marked with a monument was in 1854. Prior to that it was just a“burial ground,” Martens explained, with many graves marked only with rocks forheadstones and footstones.

The cemetery was officially dedicated in 1855 on 5 acresdonated by the Haskell and Getchell families, two of Afton’searliest settlers. Charles Getchell had a sawmill and a grocery in Aftonand later was a Quartermaster for the Union in the CivilWar. Charles’ wife, Electa, is credited with naming Aftonafter a Robert Burns poem, “Afton Water.” Both Charles and Electa are buried inMt. Hope.

Sam Paterson built Afton’s firsthotel. It burned down and in 1861, he also joined the Quartermaster Corps. Whenhe returned from the war, he started a general store in Aftonwith his only surviving son. Another son, a daughter and his wife preceded himin death. They’re buried in a small plot Martens called “Paterson Square.”

Isaac Van Vleck, a Stillwaterlawyer, lost a grandson in 1861 and the following year, joined the 8^thMinnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment at the age of 50. He went west with theRegiment to fight the Indians at the Sioux frontier, including the Battle ofKilldeer Mountain in North Dakota in 1864. He was also at the surrender of the ConfederateArmies in 1865. Van Vleck died in 1880 and is buried at Mt. Hope, along with his seven-year-oldgrandson, Willy Van Vleck.

Rev. Simon Putnam, one of at least four
Civil War veterans buried in Mt. Hope.

Rev. Simon Putnam lived in what is known as Afton’s“Little Red House” when he organized the village’s first congregational church.He was a chaplain with the 3^rd Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regimentand helped recruit many of its volunteers, according to Mertens. His son, Myron,also signed up. He and his son fought the Indians at the Wood Lake Battle in Yellow Medicine County, Minnesota, in 1862when they returned from the war but both died shortly after they weredischarged and are buried at Mt. Hope.

The Berryfamily occupies the plot inside the wrought-iron fence. David Berry left Englandin his 30s and came to Americato fight the Seminole Indian wars in Florida.He returned to Englandtwice and came to Minnesota on histhird visit to America.He went up north to work in the lumber camps of the “pineries” and then he andhis wife, Elizabeth, settled in Afton. Their son,Charles, was the first marked burial in Mt. Hope in 1854. His seven-year-oldbrother, Henry, died the following month. David Berry was the last recordedburial in Mt. Hopein 1892, until the city approved a special burial there in 2004.

The Guernsey family plot is inside the stately cedar grove. Known to be buried here are Bertha C., Edward H., George A., Josephine E., and Rolla A. Guernsey. Others are likely there, but the tombstones are so badly damaged and scattered it’s hard to discern who belongs where.

The Guernsey family--and possibly more--are buried inside the cedar grove.

“Planting cedar trees was a common practice in Victorian-eracemetery culture,” Martens explained. “They planted evergreens as a symbol ofeternal life, everlasting life.”

The Cushing family plot is marked by an unusual monumentmade of “New Jersey zinc.” CharlesCushing arrived here in the 1850s and volunteered with the 7^thMinnesota Infantry Regiment in 1864 when they offered him a $100 bounty. They made him a musician and after serving inAlabama, he returned to open Afton’ssecond hotel, The Cushing House, which today is the Afton House Inn. Up to sixCushings could be buried in this plot, according to records posted at thecemetery.

The three Stouffer children buried here died within three weeks of each other.

A lone monument in the woods marks the grave of the threeStouffer children—George W. (7 yrs.), Amanda J. (3 yrs.) and John A. (5yrs.)—who died within three weeks of each other in June 1855. One sourceattributed it to “putrid sore throat,” an infection that took the lives of many children during that era.

Martens demonstrated the fascinating technique he uses tosearch for unmarked graves in the “burial grounds” part of the cemetery. Trampingthrough thickets of buckthorn, he paused at a small spot that was free of theinvasive brush. Buckthorn doesn’t grow in areas where the soil has beendisturbed, Martens said, hinting that a grave might be below.

Ken Martens uses a small rake to locate
unmarked graves in Mt. Hope Cemetery.

He scratched around the opening with a small, long-handled rake in search of a particular type of sedge grass that remains green even through the winter. This was planted on top of graves much like the plantings of evergreens, a part of the “cemetery culture.” When he finds some in the buckthorn opening, he gets down to inspect the ground closer, tracing the sedge grass plot and looking for large stones that may have served as a headstone or footstone but are now hidden under years of decaying grass and leaves. A slight depression in the ground between two such stones may be further evidence of a burial below. Then magically, the faint outline of a grave long ago consumed by Mother Nature becomes visible. How many more are hidden in this old hill?

By 1870, cemeteries were required to keep paper records oftheir burials. But because no cemetery association for Mt. Hope had ever formed, this wasnever done for the little graveyard on the hill. Now, laments Martens, “We’relosing our history because all we have are the stones.”

Edith O. McDonald’s grave was particularly nettlesome forMartens to decipher. It was marked by a simple stone in the woods away from theother gravesites. The year of death chiseled in it was “185?” with the fourthnumeral illegibly chipped. Martens deduced that a “3” or an “8” were the mostlikely numerals to have chipped off.

After researching census, newspaper and Civil War recordsfor years in his quest to identify every possible grave in Mt. Hope, Martens eventually cameacross an item in an area newspaper about a local couple named “McDonald” who haddied in a ferry accident on the Mississippi River at Hastingsin January 1858. They had a child who had died earlier, so with all the other pieces in place, Martens determinedthat child was Edith and that she had died in 1853.

“It only took me 40 years,” Martens laughed.

Here lies C.A. Wemple (no date).

Mt. Hope Cemetery gets a little moreattention these days but is by no means a popular tourist Mecca.Afton Coulee Ridge Road,the name given to the rutted trail we used to navigate up the hill to the Old Afton Cemetery,is slightly better maintained, but it remains relatively unknown to anyone but St. Croix Valleylocals and cemetery hunters. There’s a single parking spot for visitors off tothe side before you reach the top. A kiosk built by Eagle Scout GarrenRiemenschneider of Afton’s Troop 226 in November 2005 informsvisitors about the known burials and shows a map of the archeological surveydone there in 2000.

The old observatory platform is barely standing.

An old wooden observatory platform in the woods on the edge of the hillside is still standing, but the once-breathtaking vista of the Afton Hills it afforded is now obscured by full-grown trees.

Patrick Tierney, who was involved with the Afton HistoricalSociety for many years and had a special interest in the preservation of Mt.Hope Cemetery, was buried here at the age of 52 in 2004 after the Afton CityCouncil granted special permission to his wish.

“Patrick Tierney thought that if he were buried here,somebody would always take care of this place,” says Martens.

Other than Tierney, the cemetery has seen no burials sinceDavid Berry was put to rest here in 1892. What little maintenance that getsperformed on this hidden gem sequestered in the hills above Aftonis done by volunteers like Martens. It's an ongoing task because with every new generation comes a new round of vandalism, he sighs.

I still get up to the Old Afton Cemeteryat least once a year. It usually calls in the fall when the ghosts of livespast stir old dreams from their cobwebs. No matter how many times I return, Ialways know it won’t be my last. That visit will be when my roasted bones arescattered beneath the cedar trees of Mt. Hope to mingle with the rest,waiting to send shivers up the spines of future generations of youthfulvisitors.

That’s one trip up the hill to the Old Afton Cemetery I’m inno hurry to make.

Click here for directions to Mt. Hope Cemetery.

Minnesota Democrats giving a helping hand to Klobuchar-Bachmann Boondoggle Bridge

2011-10-06T10:11:00.000-05:00

House Natural Resources Committee votes bill to floor as no-show Bachmann campaigns in Iowa

By Karl Bremer

Almost 20 years ago, I stood with Paul Wellstone on the veranda of a large Stillwater Victorian home overlooking the St. Croix River from halfway up Myrtle Street hill. It was a fundraiser for Paul’s campaign, and I managed to corral him for a few minutes to talk about the proposed freeway bridge across the St. Croix River.

I directed his gaze south of Stillwater, and asked how he’d like to see a massive new bridge crossing the federally-protected St. Croix River bluff-to-bluff, which then, as now, was being heavily promoted by business and development interests. Paul winced, knowing full well how close to their heart many of his supporters held the St. Croix River and the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act. He also knew how desperate other factions of his own party were to push this bridge forward, despite the federal prohibition against adding new structures on rivers protected under the Act.

The conflict went even deeper than that. One of Paul’s heroes and mentors, Walter Mondale, was the Senate co-author of the Act in 1968, and still had a place on the river.

“The passage of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was one of the proudest moments of my political life,” Mondale told the Department of Natural Resources’ Minnesota Conservation Volunteer magazine in 2006. “Still, I've always recognized the designation as a starting point for protection of the St. Croix. It bought us some time, perhaps. But sustaining the values of the St. Croix will require that each generation make a renewed commitment to the cause. We will need to be most vigilant on the local level, making land-use decisions carefully and responding to threats to the riverway as they arise.”

Paul never responded to my question out on the veranda that day with anything more than that quizzical grin of his that suggested he was listening. I wouldn’t presume to guess whose side he ultimately would come down on. He never had to make that choice. But I’d like to think that he would have erred on the side of the river, and not greedy business interests and Wisconsin land developers, if he were faced with the decision of whether to circumvent the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act as one of his successors, Amy Klobuchar, now seeks to do.

Klobuchar, a Democrat up for re-election next year, is the author of the Senate version of Rep. Michele Bachmann’s bill, H.R. 850, to do an end-run on the Act. Yesterday, the House Natural Resources Committee amended Bachmann’s bill to adopt Klobuchar’s language, and then moved the bill to the House floor. Minnesota’s other Democratic senator, Al Franken, supports the Klobuchar-Bachmann bill, which will likely grease the skids for its passage in that chamber. Democratic Governor Mark Dayton, after initially announcing that all bridge options were on the table, abruptly reversed himself a month later and became an enthusiastic supporter of the Klobuchar-Bachmann bridge.

Proponents of the massive $690 million freeway bridge have waged a disingenuous—and sometimes secretive—lobbying war of misinformation. Klobuchar and Franken have pitched the Klobuchar-Bachmann bill as a “one-time exemption” and tried to downplay the potential for it to set a “dangerous precedent” for future such exemptions, as Mondale has predicted. However, former Congressman James Oberstar, longtime chair of the House Transportation Committee, told a recent forum on the Stillwater bridge to pay no attention to claims that so-called one-time exemptions will not set a precedent. In his 35 years in Congress, Oberstar said, he’s seen such promises broken “over and over again.” He’s even been guilty of it himself, he confessed.

Klobuchar also has leaned on the reprehensible excuse that because there’s already a power plant on the river south of the proposed bridge site—Xcel’s Allen S. King plant—adding another scar to the face of the St. Croix nearby makes perfect sense. What she fails to mention is that the Lower St. Croix River was brought under the protection of the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act in 1972, in large part, to prevent another riverway development like the King plant from despoiling it.

Bachmann introduced her legislation to make it appear like she was doing something in Congress. But as with everything else on her legislative agenda, she has abandoned it in favor of her self-promotional run for president. She didn’t even bother to show up for the only full committee hearing for her marquee bill yesterday; she was in Iowa campaigning instead.

So what’s gotten into Klobuchar and Franken, and DFL Governor Mark Dayton? One source, a transportation consultant and former longtime congressional staffer, told me recently that the word in Washington is that Klobuchar introduced her bill to inoculate herself again a Bachmann claim to victory on the bridge should Bachmann challenge Klobuchar in 2012, which long has been rumored. The same source said Franken truly wasn’t wild about supporting the bridge, but was only doing it to provide cover for Klobuchar. Dayton’s erratic behavior and flip-flops on the issue, according to several sources, is inexplicable but not surprising.

Bachmann’s bill was amended yesterday to adopt the language of Klobuchar’s. It was later passed out of the House Natural Resources Committee on a 30-14 vote, with all Republicans voting in favor and all but four Democrats voting against. It was passed out of a House subcommittee earlier this year on a voice vote. The next stop will be a full House vote. Klobuchar’s bill has had one subcommittee hearing to date.

If the Klobuchar-Bachmann bill to open the flood gates for billion-dollar bridge exemptions to the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act becomes law, the blame will rest squarely with Minnesota Democrats Klobuchar, Franken and Dayton. Bachmann never could have passed this bill on her own. She has shown zero interest in anything but promoting herself for president since she first began publicly speculating about running last year, and has not cast a single House vote since August 1.

Once Klobuchar and Bachmann get their way, river advocates everywhere should be on their guard. Despite the authors’ claims to have written a tightly drafted bill that will trash only the St. Croix River, the next time developers on any protected river want to change the rules of the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act, they’ll merely have to point to the Klobuchar-Bachmann Boondoggle Bridge exemption and say “I want mine now.”

I hope environmentalists remember this come election time when their boondoggle-supporting “friends” in Washington and St. Paul seek their expected endorsement and vote. They should say “Thanks, but not this time.” Because for some of us, this is our BWCA. Our Everglades. Our Glen Canyon. Cramming this bridge down the throat of our St. Croix River and spitting on the legacy of one of the greatest pieces of natural resources legislation ever passed will be an unforgivable sin that we will not soon forget.

Spotty's Spot

2011-10-04T22:21:00.000-05:00

Spotty over at The Cucking Stool put together this nice promo video for our upcoming book, featuring the folks at Drinking Liberally and the words of Michele Bachmann. We were kind of hoping we could get Michele herself to make an appearance in it, but she seems to have lost her way back to the district.

Ripple in Stillwater celebrates first anniversary online

2011-10-03T23:02:00.000-05:00

By Karl Bremer
It’s been quite a first year for Ripple in Stillwater.

I published my inaugural post here on October 3, 2010, followed by the latest in aseries of investigative articles I had written throughout last year on afraudster known as “Bobby Thompson.”

That series of articles, which appeared here and onDumpBachmann.com, was virtually ignored by the mainstream media, but not by theMinnesota Society of Professional Journalists, which awarded it 2^nd Place in the special category of “Best Use of Public Records” in its 2011 Page One Awards. It also resulted in aninvestigation by the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Disclosure Board, whichfound “Thompson” guilty of making fraudulent campaign contributions in Minnesotaas my earlier investigations had found. The CFB fined “Thompson,” who is on thelam from other state and federal investigations, $21,000.

Frank Vennes Jr.

That was far from the only exclusive Ripple in Stillwaterhas broken in its first year. The malpractice lawsuit filed against GOPgubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer last year in the weeks before the 2010election was first reported here. The twisted history of Michele Bachmann’strack-suited pastor pal “Bradlee Dean,” lead homobigot at the Annandalehate “ministry” You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International, was exposed onRipple in Stillwater. Thecontinuing saga of Michele Bachmann’s subsidy-reaping family farm in Wisconsin,first reported by me in 2007 and updated here this year, continues to dog hercampaign. Likewise, Ripple in Stillwater has been the go-to source for thestory on Bachmann’s Ponzi pal Frank Vennes Jr., the convicted money laundererand campaign contributor for whom she solicited a presidential pardon. The mainstreammedia is still playing catch-up on that story.

Ripple in Stillwater’sexclusive, in-depth look at the unsolved murder of legendary Stillwater storekeeper Caton Felix prompted widespread media coverage on the 30^thanniversary of his death last year. We've helped bring some sunlight to the shady lobbying shenanigans the City of Stillwater has engaged in regarding the proposed freeway bridge across the St. Croix River. And you’d never have heard about theStillwater Sasquatch if Ripple in Stillwaterhadn’t broken the story.

I’ve been able to indulge my own musical interests bypublishing stories of personal heroes Dave Ray, Lil' Band O’ Gold, theRadiators, and James McMurtry, without first having to secure the imprimatur ofthe gatekeepers at mainstream media outlets. Stay tuned—there’s plenty morewhere that came from.

Ripple in Stillwater also has served as a repository for oldarticles deserving of a second life, like my Paul Wellstone interview from TheProgressive in 1991. Look for more of those nuggets in the future as well.

The cherry on top is the forthcoming book on MicheleBachmann I and my two compatriots from DumpBachmann.com, Ken Avidor and EvaYoung, have coming out in early December. For a decade, the local media slumberedthrough Bachmann’s rise in politics while we toiled away at documenting it. Sowhen Bachmann’s political star began rising and a major New York publishing house went looking for someone to writethe book on her, they tapped us. The book, The Madness of Michele Bachmann: A Broad-Minded Survey of a Small-Minded Candidate,is a compilation of years’ of material we’ve written about Bachmann on ourrespective websites.

Thanks for stopping by in the past year, whether you’refriend or foe. Your interest is appreciated, as are your links andacknowledgments. With your help, our total visits just rolled over 100,000 tonighton our first anniversary! Thanks, also, to the friends, family and professionalcolleagues who have encouraged me to keep on keepin’ on. I’m just gettin'warmed up, so stick around.

Bachmann Boondoggle Bridge legislation up for markup in House committee October 5

2011-10-02T22:06:00.000-05:00

The markup on Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann’s bill to do an end-run aroundthe Wild & Scenic Rivers Act in order to build her Boondoggle Bridge across the St. Croix River is Wednesday, October 5, in the House Natural ResourcesCommittee.

Bachmann’s bill, H.R. 850, is one of about 20 bills thecommittee is expected to deal with at Wednesday’s meeting, which begins at 9 a.m. CST. It will be streaming live online atthe committee’s website.

Minnesota Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar has introduced a Senate version of Bachmann's bill, S.1134, that was heard in the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on National Parks July 28.

You can use this form to send the committee your comments onBachmann’s legislation. For some ideas on where else in Minnesotawe could spend $360 million on bridge repair and replacement rather than thisBridge to Nowhere, you can start with this recent report. To discuss the issueof the precedent this bridge would set for other rivers protected under theWild & Scenic Rivers Act, check out this past article. For background onone no-cost option the city of Stillwaterand Minnesota department oftransportation have so far ignored--reducing the frequency of the bridge's lift--read this. Jim Erkel of the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy gave an excellent presentation at a recent forum on theproposed Stillwater bridge. You canview it here. For details on a more sensible bridge proposal that costs hundreds of millions of dollars less and significantly less in environmental impact, go here.

Please send your comments to members of the House NaturalResources Committee before Wednesday. Tell them this bridge is an environmentaland economic disaster that will result in a horrible precedent for thedevelopment of other protected rivers nationwide. Tell them there are far moresensible bridge solutions to crossing a protected scenic riverway than with a $680million, 65-mph freeway bridge just 6 miles from an existing eight-lane freewaybridge. Tell them this is the wrong bridge at the wrong time.

New historic Gateway Trail bridge over Washington County 15 gets a third lease on life

2011-10-02T14:07:00.000-05:00

Not every Stillwater bridge is a boondoggle

By Karl Bremer

An historic Minnesotabridge has begun its third life in 134 years as part of the Gateway Trail betweenthe city of Grant and Stillwater Township. The bridge will now servebikers, hikers, rollerbladers and horseback riders crossing Washington County15 (Manning Avenue) on the popular East Metro state trail.

This isn’t your run-of-the-mill span. This bridge has beenaround the state and has a few stories.

The historic 378-foot Silverdale Bridge was born in Sauk Centre in 1877. It was constructed as a wood-deck, wroughtiron truss bridge across Main Streetin Sauk Centre. In 1937, it wasdismantled and moved up north to serve as a Minnesota Highway 65 crossing overthe Little Fork River in southeastern Koochiching County near the town of Silverdale.Traffic loads that included heavy logging trucks eventually became too much forthe old bridge and it was replaced and dismantled once more in 2009.

The Silverdale Bridge spanned the Little Fork River in Koochiching County.

Like the historic Stillwaterlift bridge, the Silverdale Bridgeis on the National Register of Historic Places. It was listed there in 1998, andis one of 24 bridges on the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s (MnDOT) list of historic bridges to preserve. Also, like the more famous lift bridge overthe St. Croix River, the Silverdale Bridge is what is known as a “camelback-through-truss”design. Its wrought-iron construction is much less susceptible to rusting than steel,which explains its longevity.

Louie Zeleznikar of Silverdale, MN

Officially called Bridge No. 5721 in MnDOT parlance, the Silverdale Bridge also has been called the Zeleznikar Bridge, named for local Silverdale residentLouis Zeleznikar, who lived on the Little Fork River anddied in 2007.

The Silverdale Bridge was scanned using lasersurvey equipment to measure the geometric properties of each member (check out this cool video) and movedto Maplewood, where it remained instorage until this year.

MnDOT began construction of earthen ramps on either side ofWashington County 15 north of MN 96 in August 2009. Old Bridge No. 5721 wasrehabilitated, reconstructed on-site and set on concrete abutments built into the bermson May 20. A new concrete deck was poured in June. Washington County paid $100,000 of theapproximately $2.8 million cost for relocating the bridge.

Bikers, hikers and horseback riders no longer have to risk life and limb crossing Washington County 15, which some motorists apparently mistake for I-35.

The bridge was opened to nonmotorized, pedestrian and equestriantraffic in September. Its 18-foot width easily accommodates three lanes of “traffic”high above the speeding motorists on County 15 below.

ANOTHER RAIL-TO-TRAIL

That’s not the only good news for Washington County bikers and hikers. Work isbeginning on the Brown’s Creek State Trail, which will connect the GatewayTrail at its junction with MN 96 to the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway in Stillwater.The 6.5-mile section will use the old Zephyr dinner train railroadright-of-way. Washington Countykicked in $1 million toward the $4.2 million right-of-way purchase price. Thestate will pay for the remainder, including the cost of removing the old tiesand rails, which will begin this fall. Funding for the project was in the 2011bonding bill.

The trail may be open for walking later this fall. TheDepartment of Natural Resources will pave 2 miles of the trail next summer andthe remainder as additional funds are secured. Another bridge over Manning Avenue eventually will be built for the Brown’sCreek Trail.

The DNR will hold a public meeting and open house on theBrown’s Creek trail at the Stillwater Public Library October 19 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

New bridge photos by Karl Bremer
Historic bridge photo courtesy of gatewaytrailmn.org.

Michele Bachmann owes her 6th District constituents a refund

2011-09-27T22:57:00.000-05:00

Campaigning congresswoman has missed nearly 60% of House roll call votes since July 2011

By Karl Bremer

Michele Bachmann has failed to show up for work in Congress 58.7 percent of the time since July 1, missing 145 out of 247 roll call votes. Thelast time Bachmann even cast a vote was August 1. If we were to pay ourgoldbricking congresswoman on a pro rata basis forthe time she was actually working for us in the past three months, we would dock her $174,000 annual paycheck$25,534.50.

Unfortunately, Congressional pay isn’t performance-based,and there are no penalties for not showing up. I don’t foresee Bachmannvoluntarily forfeiting any of her ill-gained government salary either.

Recall for nonfeasance isn’t an option. Since 1996, Minnesotastate legislators, the governor and other executive officers, and judges can berecalled for “malfeasance or nonfeasance” or conviction of a serious crime. Butshiftless, no-show members of Congress like Bachmann are free to come andgo to work—or not come at all—as they please.

The votes Bachmann has missed aren’t inconsequential littlematters. As noted here earlier, Bachmann skipped voting on the 2012 Intelligence Authorization Act, even though she is assigned to the HouseIntelligence Committee, and partied with Iowafootball fans at 9 a.m. the nextmorning instead. That same day, Bachmann also missed the House’s solemn remembrance of 9/11 and passage of aresolution commemorating the terrorist attacks that day.

Bachmann gets a lot of campaign mileage out of bashing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), one of her favorite whipping boys. Lastmonth, Bachmann pledged to lock the doors and turn out the lights at the “job-killing EPA.”

So last week, one would think she’d be the “tip of thespear,” as she likes to call herself, to pass H.R. 2401, which calls for analyses of “thecumulative and incremental impacts of covered rules and actions of the EPAconcerning air, waste, water, and climate change for each of calendar years2016, 2020, and 2030.” Such analyses, the bill states, would include “estimatesof the impacts of such rules and actions on the global economiccompetitiveness of the United States, electricity prices, fuel prices,employment, and the reliability and adequacy of bulk power supply in the UnitedStates; and (2) a discussion and an assessment of the cumulative impact onconsumers, small businesses, regional economies, state, local, and tribalgovernments, local and industry-specific labor markets, and agriculture.”

But when it came time to hold the EPA accountable for its “job-killing”policies, Bachmann was nowhere near the voting button in the House chambers.Instead, she was in Nashville onSeptember 23 being introduced at a campaign rally by her high-flying pal Pastor Mac Hammond.

Bachmann never fails to remind her audiences that she is asmall-business owner with her husband. But H.R. 2608, a bill to extend most SmallBusiness Act programs through FY2012 and repeal authority for a number ofothers, escaped Bachmann’s attention—and vote—while she was in Nashvillewith Pastor Mac as well.

Bachmann is nothing if she is not about children (you know,five biological and 23 foster). So you would think that H.R. 2883 to extendthrough FY 2016 such Social Security programs as the Stephanie Tubbs JonesChild Welfare Services Program and the Safe and Stable Families Program, andenhance a court improvement program “to serve the purpose of increasing andimproving engagement of the entire family in court processes relating to childwelfare, family preservation, family reunification, and adoption” would beright up her alley. But her “titanium spine” evidently turned to jelly. OnSeptember 21, when the House was voting to support children, Bachmann wasprobably cramming misinformation and lies for the next night’s debate, becauseshe didn’t cast a vote on that bill.

The day before, Bachmann chose an Iowa meatpacking plant photo op over voting for the "Veterans Health Care Facilities Capital Improvements Act of 2011," which authorizes major medical projects and leases for the Department of Veterans Affairs. But what's supporting medical care for our veterans when you can stand amidst a few thousand pounds of hanging beef in a slaughterhouse for the cameras?

On September 15, Bachmann failed to show for votes to reauthorizethe International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, and on the “Protecting Jobs from Government Interference Act.”

And on September 13, Bachmann, who helped start a charterschool in her hometown of Stillwater,walked on a vote on H.R. 2218, the “Empowering Parents Through Quality Charter Schools Act.” The Act replaces “the current charter school grant program with aprogram awarding grants to states and, through them, subgrants to charter schooldevelopers to open new charter schools and expand and replicate high-qualitycharter schools.”

But Michele couldn’t be bothered with improving charterschools—not when she had a date on the Today show to defend her outrageous anddangerous comments on the HPV vaccine in the previous night’s debate.

Bachmann’s supporters and many in the kid-glove media have always lovedto talk about her boundless energy and dedication to issues. What they fail toacknowledge is that her energy and dedication are rarely, if ever, expended onanything but promoting herself. As the numbers prove, that has worsened exponentiallysince she officially started running for president, to the point where herconstituents should be demanding arefund.

Now, about that $25,534.50, Michele. You can send it here:

Gifts to the United States
U.S. Departmentof the Treasury
Credit Accounting Branch
3700 East-West Highway,Room 622D
Hyattsville, MD 20782

The Madness of Michele Bachmann coming soon

2011-09-27T07:44:00.001-05:00

New book by Ripple in Stillwater and Dump Bachmann authors due out in early December

While some in the mainstream media want to write off Michele Bachmann already in the loopy 2012 GOP presidential race, the co-authors of Ripple in Stillwater and DumpBachmann.com have just written her up.

The Madness of Michele Bachmann: A Broad-Minded Survey of a Small-Minded Candidate, is the new book on our absentee congresswoman by me, Ken Avidor and Eva Young. It's due out in early December from John Wiley & Sons Publishing--just in time for your holiday shopping--but you can pre-order it on Amazon.com now.

Bachmann's own book, Core of Conviction, is scheduled for release about a week earlier. Given Bachmann's penchant for burying the ol' Truth-o-Meter needle deep in the Pants-on-Fire zone, we're fairly certain that our assessment of her unseemly political career will be far more accurate and revealing than her own. We're also pretty sure that most of the main characters in our book won't find a place in Michele's, even though they are central to understanding her "core of conviction."

Another big difference between our book and hers: we didn't need a ghost writer.

The Madness of Michele Bachmann fills nearly 300 pages.

Former supporter's malpractice lawsuit against Tom Emmer dismissed in Wright County

2011-09-23T00:17:00.001-05:00

By Karl Bremer

The remaining claims in a malpractice lawsuit filed against2010 GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Emmer by a former friend and supporterwere dismissed by Wright County District Judge Stephan Halsey September 14.

The lawsuit was filed on Sept. 21, 2010, in the heat of last year’s gubernatorialcampaign, by Steven R. Hackbarth and his roofing contracting company, HackbarthEnterprises Corporation, both of Silver Lake, MN.Ripple in Stillwater broke the story two weeks later, and it created a firestormamong Emmer’s supporters, who accused Hackbarth of trying to extort money fromEmmer to avoid a messy pre-election lawsuit.

“The timing of the filing,” Emmer’s lawyer Michael Schwartztold Ripple in Stillwater today, “speaksfor itself.”

Emmer represented Hackbarth in a 2009 legal proceeding thatresulted in a judgment against Hackbarth and cost him his state contractor’slicense. According to Hackbarth, one of his roofing materials suppliers suedhim in 2009 over money the supplier claimed Hackbarth owed him.

“People charged my account with the supplier and they weren’t supposed to,” Hackbarthtold Ripple in Stillwater last year.“I was disputing that with my supplier, so I asked Emmer to represent me. Buthe didn’t file the documents he was supposed to file with the court. He showedup the day of the hearing,” but beyond that, Hackbarth said, “he didn’t donothing.”

According to Hackbarth, Emmer botched his case. He said Emmer only fileddiscovery papers in the lawsuit a week before the hearing, and failed toproperly file other court documents. Hackbarth said he couldn’t reach anagreement with his supplier to pay back the money the supplier claimed he wasowed since “our money was all tied up because of our house burning down” inMarch 2009.

He lost the case with his supplier, and as a result of the judgment againsthim, the state Department of Labor and Industry revoked hiscontractors license in May of this year and levied a $10,000 fine against him,$8,000 of which was stayed.

At one point, Emmer tried to link Hackberth’s 2009 housefire to his innocence in the malpractice lawsuit.

“The circumstances surrounding the fire have been called into question by thefire inspection report,” Emmer wrote in asking a judge to dismiss the case.“Additionally, other circumstances regarding the fire at Hackbarth's home willbe divulged if this litigation survives ... as the facts of the fire arenecessary to establish the absence of fault in (Emmer’s) defense of thisbaseless action.”

Emmer campaign spokesman Carl Kuhl charged that “While Mr.Hackbarth denies political motivation, he made outrageous financial demandsprior to filing his suit in the hope of leveraging Tom Emmer's candidacy toadvantage himself. Tom Emmer does not negotiate with extortionists.”

Schwartz claimed Hackbarth sought more than $200,000 to settle the case.

The personal claims of Stephen Hackbarth were dismissed by Halsey on January 4, 2011. The claims dismissed last week were those of Hackbarth’s roofing business.

In his dismissal of the remaining claims last week, JudgeHalsey cited Hackbarth’s failure to provide sufficient expert testimony in hismalpractice lawsuit as required by law, along with other deficiencies in his claims.

After he filed the lawsuit, Hackbarth told Ripple in Stillwaterthat Emmer had represented him in previous legal matters, and that he’d been alongtime supporter of Emmer’s past political campaigns.

“If he would have just apologized, it probably never would have come to this,”said Hackbarth. “I pulled floats for him in parades for years. I have a JohnDeere tractor. My daughter has a goat, and we’d put a sandwich board on thegoat with Emmer signs. And now all I got was kicked in the head. I thought hewas my friend.”

Emmer’s lawyer Schwartz said today that “Tom is anoutstanding attorney who had, and now again, has an unblemished record ofproviding zealous and ethical representation on behalf of his clients … It’sgood that you’ve got a lawyer who’s both zealous and ethical. Some lawyers lackin either or both.”

Judge Halsey did not grant Emmer an award for attorney’sfees and costs associated with defending the matter. Schwartz said "We are not going to be pursuing costs aginst him."

Emmer took his Tea Party politics to the airwaves followinghis defeat by DFLer Mark Dayton in the 2010 election. He's been mentioned as a possible candidate for Minnesota's 6th Congressional District depending on what the district's current placeholder Michele Bachmann decides to do.

Feds: Vennes' criminal past was problematic for bringing new investors to Petters Ponzi scheme

2011-09-20T15:06:00.000-05:00

February 2012 trial could create Michele
Bachmann's own 'crony capitalism' problem

Frank Vennes Jr. flees the lens of Ripple in Stillwater.

By Karl Bremer

Pre-trial documents filed last week in the federal government’s 24-count indictment against Frank Vennes Jr. on fraud, money-laundering and false-statement charges suggest that Vennes’ motives in pursuing a presidential pardon to wipe his earlier criminal past clean through friends like Michele Bachmann, Norm Coleman and Tim Pawlenty weren’t quite as altruistic as his supporters claimed.

At an arraignment hearing this morning before Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Keyes in U.S. District Court in St. Paul, Vennes pleaded "emphatically not guilty" to all 24 counts in the indictment.

When Vennes began pursuing a pardon in 2000 for his 1987 convictions on federal money laundering and cocaine and gun running charges, he sought help from powerful Washington, D.C. lobbyist John D. Raffaelli. Raffaelli met Vennes several times and was impressed by his story.

“I was touched by him and thought it was certainly worth it to look at it,” Raffaelli told Ripple in Stillwater. Vennes told him he needed a pardon because “at that time, he was doing a prison ministry thing. He couldn’t go into any federal prison because of his conviction.”

When Bachmann lent the weight of her congressional office in 2007 to campaign for a presidential pardon for Vennes, her close friend and major campaign donor, she stated that Vennes was “not asking for a pardon that he may achieve personal success. By the grace of God, that has been done.” Rather, she wrote in a passionate letter to the Office of the Pardon Attorney, “Mr. Vennes is seeking a pardon so that he may be further used to help others.”

Bachmann wrote that she knew from “personal experience” how Vennes had used his success to help others. “Despite his success,” Bachmann continued, “Mr. Vennes still encounters the barriers of the past and especially in the area of finance loan documents. This hinders his ability to expand his business which places limits on his support to the neediest in society.”

But a response from U.S. attorneys to motions filed by lawyers for Vennes and co-defendant James Nathan Fry suggests that Vennes was seeking a pardon because it was causing him problems with banks and potential investors in the Ponzi scheme in which he allegedly was involved with Tom Petters.

Vennes collaborated with Fry, CEO of hedge fund investment advisors Arrowhead Capital Management, LLC, to raise money for Petters and Petters’ company, PCI. From 1999-2008, according to the indictment, Arrowhead arranged the investment of more than $500 million of its investors’ funds in PCI, for which Vennes was paid $60 million in commissions by PCI.

Joseph Friedberg and Robert Richman, lawyers for Fry, argued in a memorandum filed with the court September 1 that all allegations pertaining to Vennes’ prior conviction should be stricken from the indictment because “Vennes was not a principal in any of the transactions involving Fry” and “his 1987 criminal conviction is not material to any of the issues in this case.” Vennes was merely an “intermediary” between Fry and Petters’ company, they stated in a memorandum to the court.

Frank Vennes Jr.

"Mr. Vennes' criminal record is no more material than is the criminal record of the Federal Express courier who delivered packages from PCI to Arrowhead," Friedberg and Richman claimed.

They also argued that Fry “had no duty to disclose” Vennes’ criminal past and that allegations that Fry had “affirmatively concealed” this information from investors in the Arrowhead Funds was “irrelevant, prejudicial and inflammatory.”

“All he (Vennes) was, was an agent for Mr. Petters,” Vennes’ lawyer Jim Volling told Magistrate Judge Keyes at a hearing on the motions following the arraignment hearing this morning. The government bringing Vennes’ criminal history into the case, Volling said, is nothing more than an “attempt by the government to prejudice the jury” and tell them “Mr. Vennes is a crook.”

U.S. Attorney’s Office lawyers Timothy Rank and Joseph Dixon challenged those assertions in their response.

To say that Vennes’ past convictions of federal crimes was irrelevant to his current fraud and money laundering charges “defies common sense,” Rank told the judge. Rank noted that one of Vennes’ crimes for which he served time in prison was a “conviction of money laundering.”

“Fry knew very well that Vennes’s criminal history was material to investors—and he learned this very early in their business relationship,” Rank and Dixon wrote. “The government will present evidence at trial that in 2000, the Bank of N. T. Butterfield & Son (“Butterfield”), the Bermuda bank which, for more than a year, had acted as the administrator and custodian bank for Arrowhead’s offshore fund which was invested in PCI Notes, discovered Vennes’s criminal history and terminated its relationship with Arrowhead.”

According to the government’s response, “Fry also had to persuade Arrowhead’s auditor, KPMG, to continue in that capacity after KPMG indicated its concern about continued dealings with Vennes without disclosure of his criminal history. In October of 2000, Fry represented to KPMG that ‘Vennes’ case is before the Executive Committee of the White House for expungement and complete discharge.’”

It's not clear what the "Executive Committee of the White House" was that Fry allegedly referred to. Vennes applied for his presidential pardon through the U.S. Office of the Pardon Attorney in July 2000.

When asked by Magistrate Judge Keyes whether the government knew Vennes’ claim that he was seeking an expungement of his record through the White House was true, Rank replied “I don’t know.”

The U.S. Attorney's response continues: “Vennes’s convictions were not ‘expunged,’ and so Fry represented to KPMG in March 2001 that 'ACF [Arrowhead Capital Finance, Ltd.] now deals direct with Petters and the previous arrangements involving MetroGem and Frank Vennes no longer apply.' This, of course, was false and designed to conceal Vennes’s involvement in the PCI transactions: while Fry had altered the transactions so that funds flowed directly from PCI to Arrowhead, Vennes remained contractually in place controlling the deals and the communications between Arrowhead and PCI.”

Rank told the judge that “Metro Gem is Frank Vennes” and that “Metro Gem acted as the agent that controlled the deal flow between Arrowhead and PCI.” Rank added: "The only way they could get those transactions was to contact Vennes.” At that point, Vennes laughed out loud.

Volling disagreed.

“Mr. Vennes was a conduit for information. He didn’t control the deal flow,” Volling told the court.

Friedberg, Fry's lawyer, explained that originally, Arrowhead sent investors' money to Metro Gem and then Metro Gem sent it to PCI. But after the investment structure was changed between 2001 and 2003, Arrowhead stopped sending funds through Metro Gem. "That left Frank Vennes as a salesman for PCI," Friedberg told the court.

The government’s attorneys stated in their response that they will "present additional evidence that Fry knew that disclosure of Vennes’s role and criminal convictions was material to investors. Indeed, an Arrowhead internal meeting agenda from early 2003, contains, under the heading “Goals,” the following items:

“1. Eliminate any legal/operational process that puts Metro Gem in the trail of money flow (big investors will do background checks on all parties, thus stopping money flow if felony convictions are discovered)

“2. Keep Metro Gem in the mix to obtain fee income on the amount invested

This Arrowhead memo, Rank told the court, shows that Fry was concerned about Vennes' troubled past "well after the structure had changed" and termed the failure to disclose Vennes' criminal past to investors a "classic fraudulent omission."

The U.S. Attorney noted in its response that “the government will adduce evidence at trial that Vennes began searching for other individuals to form hedge funds … because he himself had difficulty bringing in institutional investors due to his criminal history.”

Thus, it appears from the government’s argument that Vennes’ determination to secure a pardon to wipe his record clean was driven by his need to find new investors to steer to Petters' Ponzi scheme—not, as Raffaelli said Vennes told him, so he could bring his ministry into federal prisons. And certainly not, as Bachmann claimed, to help the “neediest in society.”

A jury trial for Vennes and Fry is currently set for Feb. 6, 2012.

Photos by Karl Bremer.

Stillwater votes to challenge State Auditor ruling on $80,000 TIF donation to bridge lobbyists

2011-09-13T22:01:00.000-05:00

City Attorney creates novel definition of 'lobbyist' to prove he's right and State Auditor is wrong

Stillwater City Attorney Dave Magnuson

By Karl Bremer

The Stillwater City Council, relying once again on CityAttorney Dave Magnuson’s legal and verbal gymnastics, voted 4-1 tonight tochallenge the State Auditor’s contention that it cannot spend $80,000 in TaxIncrement Financing (TIF) funds on a lobbyist for the proposed Boondoggle Bridge across the St. Croix River.

If that turns out to be a losing argument again, StillwaterMayor Ken Harycki indicated that he would seek the money from another cityfund.

Responding to complaints from myself and Stillwaterhistorian Don Empson, the Office of State Auditor (OSA) last month determinedthat the City’s donation of $80,000 to the Coalition for the St. Croix RiverCrossing, a lobbying group that Harycki co-chairs, was illegal and recommendedthat the City get the money back.

The Coalition returned the money to the city today, but the Councilfound out in the past week that under state statutes governing the use of TIFfunds, a large portion of the money would be diverted to the county and schooldistrict rather than back to the City’s TIF fund as a penalty for the City’smisappropriation of them. No one seemed certain how much the City would lose.Figures ranging from $40,000 to $60,000 were thrown around during thediscussion.

At a special meeting of the City Council today, Magnuson stillinsisted he was right and the State Auditor was wrong in its determination thatusing TIF funds to hire a lobbyist is illegal.

“I think it’s worthwhile for the City to respond to theauditor,” Magnuson said. “I think they didn’t get it right.” If the City canconvince the OSA that its use of TIF funds was in compliance with the law andsimply draw up a contract for their services, Magnuson reasoned, the City wouldget to keep the entire $80,000 instead of losing a portion of it to the schooldistrict and county.

PRETZEL LOGIC

Magnuson’s argument hinges on yet another creativedefinition of “lobbyist” as determined by the City. It goes something likethis, according to his draft response to the auditor that the Counciltentatively approved:

The old bridge is in the City’s TIF District No. 1. Statelaw grants to the City within the TIF district the power to “promotedevelopments aimed at improving the physical facilities, quality of life andquality of transportation.”

Building a new bridge and taking the old one out of servicewould do all these things, Magnuson proposes, but a new bridge cannot bebuilt without an exemption from the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, and that takesan Act of Congress. “Acts of Congress require the aid and skill of professionallobbyists to assist in the promotion of the new bridge project” so, Magnusonreasons, a promoter is needed.

Turning to his trusty Black’s Law Dictionary, 4^thAddition (sic), Magnuson finds that “a promoter is practically synonymous witha lobbyist,” and cites a couple of legal definitions from his dictionary toprove it. Ergo, a lobbyist under Magnuson’s definition now becomes a promoter.

“Under those circumstances,” Magnuson concludes in his draftresponse, “the use of TIF funds from District No. 1 may be lawfully paid tolobbyists hired to promote the construction of a new bridge and the closing ofthe historic bridge to vehicular traffic.”

“The TIF allowed us to promote,” Magnuson told the Council,so the City can “hire a promoter.” At least twice during the discussion,Harycki suggested changing the term “lobbyist” to “promoter.”

Councilmember Doug Menikheim questioned whether it was wiseto continue arguing with the State Auditor and risk “compounding the problem.If the auditor disapproves of us again, then what do we do—keep playing thegame over and over again?” he asked.

Magnuson replied that the auditor’s final ruling after theCity responds will be sent to the county attorney to either be resolved orpursued. At that point, the City would have to decide whether to give it up or go to court.

MORE AUDIT PROBLEMS

Councilmember Micky Cook

Regarding another problem the OSA found, Magnuson said theCity’s contract with The Conach Group, a “legislative consultant” hired by theCity, is being re-drawn to comply with the auditor’s recommendations. Theauditor had noted that “The Conach Group’s attorney has admitted that thecontract between the City and the consultant is ‘poorly drafted andsignificantly misrepresents the scope of what The Conach Group did and is doingfor the City.’” It recommended that the contract be re-written “to clearlydefine the roles, responsibilities, and performance expectations of The ConachGroup and City staff.”

Upon questioning from Councilmember Micky Cook, Magnuson andHarycki assured the Council that Stillwater City Hall’s address would no longerbe used as the registered address for the bridge Coalition.

The Council also voted 5-0 on a motion by Cook to revoke anearlier action authorizing the City to pay membership dues to theCoalition—another violation the auditor found—even though no one on the Councilcould recall voting on the matter last November.

A $70 filing fee the City paid for the Coalition’sregistration with the Secretary of State also was found to be in violation ofstate law by the auditor. That was refunded by the Coalition today along withthe $80,000 donation.

Finally, Cook, who cast the lone dissenting vote today and onthe donation to the Coalition when it was first approved, wanted assurance that“We’re not going to try to find another $80,000.”

Harycki responded: “Not today.”

Boondoggle bridge lobby group says it will return illegal $80,000 donation to City of Stillwater

2011-09-12T23:05:00.001-05:00

Mayor Ken Harycki vows to find money elsewhere to give to coalition he co-chairs

By Karl Bremer

Michael Wilhelmi

The Coalition for the St. Croix River Crossing will be sendingback the City of Stillwater’sillegal $80,000 donation to the lobbying group following a determination by theOffice of State Auditor (OSA) that the donation was an “unauthorizedexpenditure” and that the City “attempt to recover the money donated to theCoalition.”

The OSA’s opinion was in response to complaints filed bymyself and Stillwater historian DonEmpson with the OSA regarding the legality of the donation.

"This is a distraction," said Coalition Executive Director and registered lobbyist Michael Wilhelmi.

The Stillwater City Council will discuss the OSA’srecommendations and the City’s response to them at a special September 13meeting. At the advice of City Attorney Dave Magnuson, the City Council held aclosed-door meeting on a portion of the discussion involving the TaxIncrement Financing source of the funds last week in a meeting that manycitizens felt should have been held in the sunshine instead.

The City relied on the legal advice of Magnuson to supportits contention that the donation to the bridge lobbying group was proper. TheOSA strongly disagreed.

The OSA chastised the City for its sloppy contractingprocedures with the Coalition and stated that “If the City decides to contractwith the Coalition for services directly related to one of the City’sauthorized functions, the City should use proper contract management proceduresto protect public funds.”

The OSA also took issue with the contract between the Cityand The Conach Group, with whom the City has contracted for $1,500 a month for“legislative consulting” services. The OSA noted that “The Conach group’sattorney has admitted that the contract between the City and the consultant is“poorly drafted and significantly misrepresents the scope of what The ConachGroup did and is doing for the City.” The OSA recommended that the City amendits contract with The Conach Group “to clearly define the roles,responsibilities, and performance expectations of The Conach Group and Citystaff.”

The OSA found during its investigation that the City notonly donated $80,000 to the Coalition without authorization, but it alsopaid—at Stillwater Mayor Ken Harycki’s request—the Coalition’s $70 filing feewith the Secretary of State when it was formed. Harycki is co-chair of theCoalition. The OSA stated that the filing fee payment, along with any membershipfees paid by the City to the Coalition, also were not authorized expendituresby the City.

The $80,000 the City donated to the Coalition was to comefrom a Tax Increment Financing fund for the downtown Stillwaterdistrict. The OSA stated that it “will handle any issues related to the use oftax increment for the $80,000 donation through the procedures required underthe tax increment financing laws.”

Harycki appears determined to secure the $80,000 in city fundsfor the lobbying group he co-chairs one way or the other. Following the StateAuditor’s initial report, according to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, “Haryckisaid if the city attorney says using TIF money is a problem, he would simplytake the $80,000 from another city source.” Then upon the announcement that theCoalition was giving the money back to the City, the Pioneer Press reported, “StillwaterMayor Ken Harycki said Friday that the contribution might come up again - as apayment to the same group, with a contract.”

City Council member Micky Cook, the lone dissenting voteagainst the original $80,000 donation and a critic of otherless-than-transparent actions taken by Harycki and bridge supporters on thecouncil, cautioned that the lack of a contract for the donation was only one ofseveral legal questions raised in the OSA report.

“It's disturbing to me that the city of Stillwaterwould get an 11-page finding reprimanding us, basically slapping our hands,”Cook said, according to the Stillwater Gazette. “I think there's a lot more to this opinion than that we just need acontract.” Cook asked that Magnuson address all the legal issues raised in theauditor’s report.

The City Council will discuss its response to theauditor’s recommendations at a special meeting on Tuesday, September 13, at 4:30 p.m.

Bachmann skips 2012 House Intelligence budget vote to tailgate with Iowa football fans

2011-09-11T11:49:00.000-05:00

Bachmann missed 50% of House votes in 2011 3Q

By Karl Bremer

On the weekend of the 10^th anniversary of 9/11,Michele Bachmann chose ‘rubbing shoulders with a rowdy crowd of beer-toting tailgaters’ in Iowa over votingto fund the nation’s intelligence agencies.

At Thursday night’s debate of GOP presidential candidates, asshe’s done many times in the past, Bachmann bragged about how her service onthe House Intelligence Committee gives her special insight into nationalsecurity issues.

“I sit on the House Permanent Select Committee onIntelligence,” she said, responding to a question about Libya (go to 24:50 in this video). “We deal with the nation’s classified secrets, andI firmly believe that the President of the United States has weakened usmilitarily and put us more at risk than at any time.”

Yet the following day, Bachmann skipped the House vote on the 2012 Intelligence Authorization Act, which passed 384-14. That same day, Bachmannalso missed the House’s solemn remembrance of 9/11 and passage of a resolutioncommemorating the terrorist attacks that day.

Instead, Bachmann was getting ready to party down with University of Iowa and Iowa State Universityfootball fans in her adopted home state bright and early at 9 the next morning.

The Des Moines Register reported that “As Bachmann weavedthrough the crowd she was met with football fans young and old, kissing babies,chatting up college students and warmly greeting older fans. From just beyondthese personal embraces, she was asked, over and over again, whether she wanteda beer.”

“She danced with babies, flipped burgers for hungrytailgaters and hugged fans outside Jack Trice Stadium on Saturday morning,” theOmaha World-Herald reported. “Bachmann autographed footballs and nuzzledbabies' cheeks amidst the thousands of sports fans who turned out to watch therivals compete. She sported a custom-made jersey, No. 12, that incorporated thelogos of the University of Iowa Hawkeyes and Iowa State University Cyclones andboasted to fans of both stripes that it was an ‘I-love-everybody’ look.

“She spun in circles, swarmed by a throng of reporters andsome supporting state senators, smiling for the cameras of fans seeking a photoopportunity.”

Bachmann has missed an astounding 50 percent of House votesin the Third Quarter of 2011. Her voting absentee rate has skyrocketed sinceannouncing her run for president.

Meanwhile, constituents of Minnesota’s6^th Congressional District, which Bachmann allegedly represents, arewaiting for the next Bachmann town hall meeting. She has held one in herdistrict since her election to Congress in 2006, and that was in 2009.

Bachmann is paid an annual salary of $174,000 a year.

A Small-Town Rupert Murdoch

2011-09-07T00:02:00.000-05:00

By Karl Bremer

Gene Johnson, the small-minded, government-bashing former publisher of Press Publications in White Bear Lake, spun a little yarn in his St. Croix Valley Press column a couple of weeks ago about a pleasant trip he took with his family down to southeastern Minnesota this summer. It was a “triple-header,” he beamed, describing the highlights of their journey: The Minnesota Marine Art Museum in Winona, the National Eagle Center in Wabasha, and the Great River Shakespeare Festival at Winona State University.

And then Johnson turned his little “Summer in Minnesota” yarn into a blatant political lie.

“All three were privately funded and maintained,” Johnson claimed.

Like the Teabagger above whose sign screams “Goverment keep yore hands of my Medicare,” Johnson would have his readers believe that government had nothing to do with the plethora of culture, arts and nature that made their trip so memorable. But like most Teabaggers’ facts, Johnson’s were dead wrong.

In fact, Johnson's itinerary sounds like he and his family took their trip during Winona's Legacy Weekend, a three-day series of events designed to “celebrate the ways that the Legacy funding preserved the local landscape and brought greater access to the arts.” That would be “Legacy funding,” as in the Clean Water,Land and Legacy Amendment’s dedicated portion of the state sales tax that funds the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.

The Minnesota Marine Art Museum hosted Winona Legacy Weekend events that weekend—events sponsored in part by the Minnesota State Arts Board and National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), both government agencies. The museum also receives support from the Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council, another state-funded arts organization.

The Great River Shakespeare Festival also was a part of Winona Legacy Days. The production Johnson and his family enjoyed so much, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” also received funding from the State Arts Board and NEA and was performed on the taxpayer-supported stage at Winona State University.

Johnson swooned over the National Eagle Center, which he described as a “privately funded two-story facility on the banks of the Mississippi River.” Except that it’s not.

The Center is a public/private partnership between the nonprofit EagleWatch, Inc., the City of Wabasha and the Wabasha Port Authority. The public entities were instrumental in the construction of the $4.5 million National Eagle Center, which opened in 2007. The Prairie Island Indian Community also donated $500,000 toward the 14,000-square-foot building. And, the center receives funding from various state and federal sources.

Johnson went on to recommend checking out the Corps of Engineers’ lock-and-dam operations along the way—constructed, of course, with billions of dollars in taxpayer money. And, he added, the Corps has provided some nice beaches and protected lagoons (courtesy of its taxpayer-financed dredging operations).

So Johnson, who never misses an opportunity to take a swipe at government spending in his writings, had a splendid trip with his family down the river and was entertained, as it turns out, almost exclusively by publicly-supported events, venues and operations. But instead of acknowledging the ways in which government and shared sacrifice can enrich all of our lives in some way, he simply ignores the facts and pretends otherwise.

It’s pretty sad when a former newspaperman has to resort to making up facts to fit his opinions. But if it worked out so well for Rupert Murdoch, Gene Johnson must figure it works for him too.

Public funding of boondoggle bridge coalition gets further scrutiny from State Auditor

2011-09-05T21:54:00.000-05:00

Office of State Auditor asks Washington County to explain its $10,000 donation to lobbying group

By Karl Bremer

The Minnesota Office of State Auditor (OSA) examination ofthe questionable public financial contributions to the Coalition for the St. Croix River Crossing lobbying group now has expanded to include Washington County.

Stillwater Mayor Ken Harycki

The OSA ruled in August that the $80,000 the City of Stillwaterdonated to the Coalition, which Stillwater Mayor Ken Harycki co-chairs, was an“unauthorized expenditure” and recommended that the City “attempt to recoverthe money donated to the Coalition.”

The OSA also recommended that the City of Stillwateraddress deficiencies in its contracting procedures with the Coalition andanother pro-bridge consultant it hired this year. And it recommended thatpotential conflicts of interests—such as Harycki co-chairing a group the Citygives $80,000 to—should be disclosed even if there is no financial compensationinvolved.

The OSA’s ruling was in response to complaints filed bymyself and Stillwater historian DonaldEmpson over improper use of taxpayer dollars to promote the proposed $680million freeway bridge across the St. Croix River. TheCity has until September 30 to inform the OSA how it intends to respond to itsrecommendations.

According to the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the State Auditoralso has asked Washington Countyto explain its $10,000 donation to the Coalition last May. County administratorJim Schug said the county had been asked for information about the donation afew weeks ago but had not heard back.

The City of Hudson, WI, also donated $5,000 to the Coalitionbut it’s not known whether that donation is under investigation by that state’sauditor.

HARYCKI POINTS FINGER AT CITY ATTORNEY

Meanwhile, Harycki appears to have placed the blame for hiscity’s troubles with the State Auditor’s office squarely on City Attorney Dave Magnuson.

“The report was a surprise, because before we had undertakenthis, we went through the city attorney to make sure everything was up to snuffon this,” Harycki told the Stillwater Gazette.

The OSA chastised the City for its sloppy contracting procedures.

“The City does not have a contract with the Coalition, andthe City’s contract with The Conach Group apparently does not accuratelydescribe the services provided under the contract,” OSA attorney Nancy Bode wrote in a letterto Harycki. “If the City decides to contract with the Coalition for servicesdirectly related to one of the City’s authorized functions, the City should useproper contract management procedures to protect public funds,” the OSA toldHarycki.

The OSA took further issue with the contract between theCity and The Conach Group, with whom the City has contracted for $1,500 a monthfor “legislative consulting” services. The OSA noted that “The Conach Group’sattorney has admitted that the contract between the City and the consultant is ‘poorlydrafted and significantly misrepresents the scope of what The Conach Group didand is doing for the City.’ The OSA recommended that the City amend itscontract with The Conach Group “to clearly define the roles, responsibilities,and performance expectations of The Conach Group and City staff.”

Harycki told the Gazette that “This was done with DaveMagnuson's advice, so right now we have to allow him to take the time to digestit and look at her letter and determine if it's accurate. Right now, it's in the hands of the city attorney and he'll advise us asfar as what the steps are and we'll go from there. If we have to change it, wewill. In the meantime, this doesn't do anything to diminish our resolve to getthe bridge done.”

Harycki vowed to take the $80,000 out of some othermunicipal fund if the State Auditor determines that it’s not appropriateexpenditure for Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds, where the Citytook the money from originally.

“Basically, what we've done is asked our city attorney to reconsider hisopinion that he had given us in light of the report from the state auditor,”Harycki told the Gazette. “We'll revisit his opinion and one of two things willhappen: he will say he stands by my (his) opinion or upon further review thestate auditor has something there ... Ifon further review and reflection the city attorney determines the state auditorhas something, then we would finance it out of another source, probably out ofthe general reserves, but there are other sources out there too that would makeup the difference.”

MAYOR AND COUNCIL 'HAVE RUN AMOK'

Empson railed at Harycki and four of the five Stillwater CityCouncil members who have voted in support of the Coalition donation, the “legislativeconsultant” hiring and several other controversial issues.

“The Mayor and four members of the city council (excludingMs. Micky Cook) have run amok. I thought we had elected fiscal conservativeswho were dedicated to a transparent government … The $80,000 donation to theCoalition was disguised on the council agenda as an update to the activities ofthe Coalition,” Empson charged. “The city did no due diligence on either theCoalition or the Conach ‘legislative consultant.’ A legal request for theMayor's correspondence with the Coalition—of which he is the co-chair—was metwith a statement from the Mayor saying he had no correspondence or emailsregarding the Coalition.

“Ms. Cook is the only council member who seems to be awareshe is spending public money which requires due process,” Empson concluded.

The OSA agreed.

“In the future, the City should follow Minnesota law andrefrain from making a donation to nonprofit organizations absent specificstautory or charter authority,” the OSA concluded in its recommendations to Harycki and the City.

Ripple in Stillwater, Dump Bachmann writers co-author book on Michele Bachmann

2011-09-04T09:36:00.000-05:00

Ripple in Stillwater author Karl Bremer, along with Ken Avidor and Eva Young of DumpBachmann.com, are co-authors of a forthcoming book on Michele Bachmann scheduled for early December 2011 release. The publisher is John Wiley & Sons in New York.

Tentatively titled The Madness of Michele Bachmann, the book is a compilation of material written by the three co-authors over the past decade of covering Bachmann, which was routinely ignored by the mainstream media until her run for president.

The book will follow the release of Bachmann's own book, title and author unknown, scheduled for release in November.

State Auditor: City of Stillwater's $80K donation to St. Croix bridge lobbyists 'unauthorized'

2011-09-01T13:38:00.002-05:00

Rep. Michele Bachmann and Stillwater Mayor Ken Harycki

Office of the State Auditor agrees with Ripple in Stillwater on legality of lobbying expenditures and recommends the city get its money back.

By Karl Bremer

The Minnesota Office of the State Auditor (OSA) has determined that the $80,000 the City of Stillwater donated to the lobbying group Coalition for the St. Croix River Crossing was an “unauthorized expenditure” and has recommended that the City “attempt to recover the money donated to the Coalition.”

The ruling was in response to a complaint filed by myself and other citizens with the OSA over improper use of taxpayer dollars to promote the proposed freeway bridge across the St. Croix River, aka the “Bachmann Boondoggle.”

The Office of State Auditor (OSA) chastised the City for its sloppy contracting procedures with the Coalition and stated that “If the City decides to contract with the Coalition for services directly related to one of the City’s authorized functions, the City should use proper contract management procedures to protect public funds,” which it did not in this case.

The OSA also took issue with the contract between the City and The Conach Group, with whom the City has contracted for $1,500 a month for “legislative consulting” services. The OSA noted that “The Conach Group’s attorney has admitted that the contract between the City and the consultant is “poorly drafted and significantly misrepresents the scope of what The Conach Group did and is doing for the City.” The OSA recommended that the City amend its contract with The Conach Group “to clearly define the roles, responsibilities, and performance expectations of The Conach Group and City staff.”

The OSA found during its investigation that the City not only donated $80,000 to the Coalition without authorization, but it also paid—at Stillwater Mayor Ken Harycki’s request—the Coalition’s $70 filing fee with the Secretary of State when it was formed. Harycki is co-chair of the Coalition. The OSA stated that the filing fee payment, along with any membership fees paid by the City to the Coalition, also were not authorized expenditures by the City under state law.

The $80,000 the City donated to the Coalition was to come from a Tax Increment Financing fund for the downtown Stillwater district. The OSA stated that it “will handle any issues related to the use of tax increment for the $80,000 donation through the procedures required under the tax increment financing laws.”

When the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board last month dismissed my complaint regarding the registration of The Conach Group’s “legislative consultant” as a lobbyist, Harycki sniffed that it was “much ado about nothing.” Perhaps Harycki and his legal advisors will listen to the OSA instead.

More to come on this story as it develops. You can read the entire Office of the State Auditor’s letter to Harycki here.

Campaign cash and army of lobbyists keep 'clean coal' boondoggle afloat for a decade

2011-08-30T13:45:00.000-05:00

By Karl Bremer

The Duluth News-Tribune recently published an excellent two-part series by reporter Peter Passi on the Excelsior Energy “clean coal” pipedream that’s been vacuuming up millions in tax dollars from the federal government and State of Minnesota for the better part of the past decade with little to show for it except for a well-paid husband/wife ownership team.

What the newspaper neglected to examine was the role that over $325,000 in state and federal political campaign contributions and lobbying expenses have played in keeping this project on life support for so many years.

The Excelsior Energy boondoggle, according to the News-Tribune’s investigation, has hauled in more than $40 million in taxpayer dollars on the false promise of providing 2,000 MW of electricity. But it has yet to turn one spade of dirt on its proposed $2.1 billion power plant on the Iron Range or create one single job outside of the company’s battalion of lobbyists, consultants and lawyers.

Excelsior Energy is into the state Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board for $9.5 million. It got $10 million from the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission Renewable Development Fund. And the U.S. Department of Energy shoveled in another $22 million. Yet the owners of Excelsior Energy have put up a miniscule $60,000 for their project and at the same time have reaped combined annual salaries that now are estimated to be $600,000.

The News-Tribune series documented the scandalous political history of Excelsior’s proposed project and the unwavering support it’s received from most of the state’s Iron Range legislators—including the 2008 legislature’s action to shield many of the company’s financial records from public scrutiny. Its owners have quit predicting when the plant will ever be built. And the newspaper rightfully is asking what happened to all the money, and why haven’t our elected officials throwing tens of millions of dollars in public funds at this private enterprise demanded more accountability?

Part of the answer lies in the political influence Excelsior Energy’s co-owners Tom Micheletti and Julie Jorgensen appear to have bought over the past decade through at least $123,775 in political contributions and more than $200,000 in lobbying expenses. It’s a scenario we’ve seen before: A private company forms to promote a dubious enterprise, hires politically connected lobbyists, sucks up millions in government grants, hands out boatloads of campaign cash to politicians who keep the government money flowing to enrich a handful of lobbyists and consultants—and then the cycle repeats itself over and over.

The Excelsior Energy money has gone to Republicans and Democrats alike: George W. Bush, Barack Obama, Norm Coleman, Amy Klobuchar, Lori Swanson, the Democratic Congressional campaign Committee, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the Minnesota House DFL Caucus, the Minnesota House Republican Campaign Committee.

Often, the money was handed out to both sides in the same year. For example, On January 22, 2002, Micheletti gave $2,500 to the House DFL Caucus. Three days later, he cut another $2,500 check to the Senate DFL Caucus. Then on January 28, 2002, he turned around and gave $2,250 to the House Republican Campaign Committee.

Last year, Micheletti gave $500 to DFLer Mark Dayton’s gubernatorial campaign on July 12 and $500 to Tom Emmer, Dayton’s GOP opponent, on July 16.

Similarly, the Excelsior Energy Inc. PAC in 2010 gave $250 each to Dayton and Emmer, $650 to the state DFL legislative caucuses and $550 to state GOP caucuses.

Norm Coleman was the big winner of the Excelsior Energy Campaign Cash Sweepstakes with a total haul of $14,600 from the Micheletti-Jorgensen household between 1998 and 2008. According to a November 2003 Public Citizen report, Coleman was key to Excelsior Energy securing federal loan guarantees:

“In September (2003), the two Republican congressmen in charge of the energy bill conference committee, New Mexico Senator Pete Domenici and Louisiana Representative W.J. “Billy” Tauzin, unilaterally inserted language into the energy bill at the behest of Minnesota’s GOP Senator Norm Coleman to provide $800 million in federal loan guarantees to one company, Excelsior Energy. The $800 million loan guarantee is apparently designed to help secure Senator Coleman’s vote in favor of the energy bill. The federal assistance to Excelsior Energy was included in neither the House nor Senate versions of the energy bill, adding to the growing list of provisions that a handful of Republican conferees have inserted to appease special interests.”

Despite Public Citizen's characterization of this as an exclusively Republican boondoggle, Democrats have had an equal hand in keeping the money flowing to Excelsior Energy.

Most individual state campaign contributions from Micheletti and Jorgensen were targeted toward DFL Iron Range legislators in districts where the proposed sites for the project are located. The exception is District 3A Rep. Tom Anzelc (DFL-Balsam Township), the only Iron Range lawmaker who has opposed the project. Anzelc has received no direct contributions from the couple.

Senator Tom Bakk (DFL-Cook), an Iron Range legislator who has long been the project’s biggest shill, made out the best among state lawmakers with a total of $3,750 in campaign contributions from Micheletti and Jorgensen from 2002-2008. The Excelsior Energy Inc. PAC kicked in another $500 to Bakk's 2009 gubernatorial campaign.

The Excelsior Energy co-CEO couple placed their biggest bets on legislative caucuses of both parties.

Between 2001-2010, Micheletti and Jorgensen together donated $9,850 to the House DFL Caucus, $7,700 to the House Republican Campaign Committee, $10,950 to the Senate DFL Caucus, and $8,500 to the GOP’s Senate Victory Fund.

Excelsior Energy’s efforts were aided by a cadre of lobbyists in the state, from four in 2005 to nine in 2010. The company currently has eight lobbyists registered with the state.

Besides Tom Micheletti, the longest-serving Excelsior Energy state lobbyist is former Iron Range State Senator Doug Johnson, who chaired the powerful Senate Tax Committee until he retired in 2003. Johnson ran for governor in 1998, and Micheletti donated $500 to his campaign. He has been lobbying for Excelsior Energy since 2005.

Excelsior Energy has had between three and five lobbyists registered with Congress between 2003 and 2009, including Norm Coleman’s former chief of staff Erich Mische in 2006-2007. The company currently has no federal lobbyists registered. In 2006 and 2007, Excelsior Energy’s federal lobbyists reported spending $120,000 and $80,000, respectively.

The News-Tribune investigation found that Excelsior Energy has already spent nearly $20 million in state funds and soon will deplete more than $22 million in federal tax dollars. It has only $1.9 million remaining in unobligated federal Department of Energy funds available, and may be on its last legs, the newspaper reported.

However, there should be no confusion about where at least some of the money has gone, or how Excelsior Energy’s well-compensated husband-and-wife CEO team curried so much political support for their phantom power plant. They did it the old fashioned way—with campaign cash, politically connected lobbyists and self-serving politicians.

It’s a formula that’s always worked.

Ohio jails accomplice of veterans fraudster "Bobby Thompson"

2011-08-22T22:09:00.001-05:00

The man known as "Bobby Thompson" and George W. Bush

Meanwhile, Minnesota AG does nothing

about phony veterans group that fleeced

Minnesotans out of $1.5 million

By Karl Bremer

Blanca Contreras, an associate of the fraudster known as“Bobby Thompson,” was sentenced to five years in prison by a Cuyahoga County (OH) judge August 10 for her role in bilking Ohioans out of more than $450,000 in “Thompson’s” phony U.S. Navy Veterans Association charity. Contreras pleaded guilty on June 22 to one felony count each of theft, money laundering, tampering with records, and engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity.

According to Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine’s office, “At various times, Contreras represented herself as the “Acting Treasurer,” “Acting Secretary,” and “Chief Fiscal Officer” of various state chapters of an organization that fraudulently solicited donations advertised to benefit Navy veterans that went by the name of the United States Navy Veterans Association. Of the nearly $2 million in donations solicited in Ohio, little if any were used to benefit veterans.”

"Bobby Thompson" and John Boehner

“Thompson’s” phony charity collected over $1.5 million in Minnesota from 2003-2009 under the not-so-watchful eye of the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office. Nationwide, it’s suspected of hauling in tens of millions more. Money collected under the guise of the USNVA appears to have been funneled to Republican politicians and campaigns across the country, including tens of thousands of dollars to Michele Bachmann, Norm Coleman, the Republican Party of Minnesota and other GOP candidates and entities.

While the Ohio Attorney General’s Office has waged an aggressive manhunt for “Bobby Thompson” and thrown one of his accomplices in jail, the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office seems to have turned a blind eye to his fleecing of thousands of Minnesotans out of $1.5 million and done nothing to investigate “Thompson” or the U.S. Navy Veterans Association.

"Bobby Thompson" and John McCain

Unlike the Attorney General’s Office, the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board conducted a lengthy investigation into “Thompson’s” fraudulent activities in Minnesota and in May fined him $21,000 for making seven state campaign contributions under a false identity.

The contributions were made under the name “Bobby Thompson” and “Maria D’Annuzio” to the Minnesota House Republican Campaign Committee (HRCC), the Republican-leaning Patriot PAC run by GOP political operative Joey Gerdin, the (Marty) Seifert for Governor Committee, and Citizens for David Carlson Committee, 67B, another GOP candidate committee.

Contreras and “Thompson” were both indicted by an Ohio Grand Jury in October 2010. Investigations of the Navy Vets charity also are underway in several other states and by the IRS and Veterans Administration. “Thompson” remains at large using an identity allegedly stolen from a man in Washington.

Concluded Ohio Attorney General DeWine:

“This case makes clear that Ohio will not tolerate scam artists who steal in the name of those who have served our country. I commend the work of our charitable investigators and special prosecutors who worked diligently to bring those who took advantage of Ohioans’ generosity to justice. However, it is important to note that our work in this case is not over until the man known as Bobby Thompson is apprehended and prosecuted for his alleged crimes.”

Anyone with information regarding the whereabouts of the man known as "Bobby Thompson" should contact the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation at 800.282.3784.

State Campaign Finance Board rules Stillwater 'legislative consultant' is not a lobbyist

2011-08-21T20:13:00.000-05:00

Michele Bachmann and Stillwater Mayor Ken Harycki

Lawyer for 'consultant' admits contract is 'poorly drafted' and 'misrepresents' scope of work

By Karl Bremer

The Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board (CFB) on August 16 dismissed my complaint regarding whether Mike Campbell, the “legislative consultant” hired by the City of Stillwater for $1,500 a month who claims he isn’t a lobbyist, should have registered as a lobbyist based on his duties as outlined in a contract with the City.

The CFB’s investigation appears to have consisted of simply asking Campbell's lawyer and Stillwater Mayor Ken Harycki whether Campbell lobbied.

The CFB noted that Campbell’s activities on behalf of the City of Stillwater met two of the three criteria for lobbying—that he provided services to the City of Stillwater for the purpose of influencing official legislative or administrative action and that he has been paid more than $3,000 in a calendar year for his services. However, based on responses from Campbell’s lawyer, Ryan Kaess, and Stillwater Mayor Ken Harycki, the CFB determined that Campbell did not meet the third criteria of communicating “directly with public or local officials to influence their actions or … with other individuals to urge them to contact public or local officials on behalf of the City of Stillwater.”

“In response to a question on whether Mr. Campbell communicated directly with public and local officials on behalf of the City of Stillwater,” the CFB reported, “Mayor Harycki responded, “I received daily updates as to the status of our legislation but to my knowledge, he did not communicate directly with any groups listed. That is to say at no time did he ever have a conversation by saying “I talked to Senator X and he/she informed me…’

“Mayor Harycki was asked if under the duties of the contract Mr. Campbell communicated with individuals and urged them to communicate with public officials on behalf of the City of Stillwater. In response Mayor Harycki stated, ‘Mr. Campbell did not appear before any groups or issue any communication urging individuals to call. He simply provided me with updates on the status or legislation we were following.’”

Mayor Harycki also was asked about a quote in a media story in which the Mayor attributed in part the success of obtaining funding for the Browne Creek bonding bill to the services provided by Campbell. According to the CFB’s findings, Mayor Harycki states, “I am pleased the Browne Creek bonding was done. In a conversation subsequent to the newspaper story and preceding your letter, Mr. Campbell informed me that the budget settlement was a late night deal that he had no connection to. Throughout the legislative session he did inform me that he was tracking the bill and that we were fine.”

In other words, the Mayor attributed part of the success to the Brown’s Creek funding to Campbell even though he “had no connection to it” and only tracked the bill through the session.

According to the CFB’s findings, Kaess explained that Campbell “provided strategic advice, research and messaging related to legislative initiatives of the City of Stillwater. He did not attempt to influence legislative or administrative action, communicate with public officials or urge others to communicate with public or local officials as defined by Minnesota Statute. At no time did my client ever have contact with any public official for the purpose of advocating a position on behalf of the City of Stillwater.” The CFB’s report notes that “Mr. Kaess acknowledges that Mr. Campbell contacted one legislative staffer and requested research information, but states that Mr. Campbell did not urge the staff member to advocate on behalf of any legislative position.”

Campbell, who reportedly has been a political advisor to the mayor in the past and was hired without advertising or competitive bids, is the sole owner and principal consultant for the Conach Group, Kaess told the CFB.

My complaint to the CFB was based on the fact that the contract between the Conach Group and the City of Stillwater stated that the Conach Group is “To secure the required support of the Federal Government State of Minnesota and any administrative Department of either entity for the approval and funding of the pending St. Croix River Crossing at Stillwater” and “To secure Minnesota Legislative funding for the State purchase of the MN Zephyr Railroad Right of Way as an extension of the State Trail system, support for the New Armory Project and Phase III of the Levy Wall Project." According to the contract, “Consultant services will be rendered largely at the Consultant office and the State of Minnesota Capitol.”

The CFB’s Lobbyist Handbook states that, “You must register as a lobbyist within five days after you … are engaged for pay or other consideration and receive more than $3,000 from all sources in any year, for the purpose of attempting to influence legislative or administrative action or the official action of a metropolitan governmental unit by communicating or urging others to communicate with public officials or local officials in a metropolitan governmental unit.”

However, Campbell is not registered as a lobbyist with the CFB.

But the CFB bought Kaess’s explanation regarding the apparent discrepancy between what the contract states and what Kaess and Harycki claimed Campbell’s duties were.

“Regarding the terms of the contract, Mr. Kaess states, ‘I will concede that the contract is poorly drafted and significantly misrepresents the scope of what The Conach Group did and is doing for the City of Stillwater. However, it is clear, based upon the statements made by the parties that The Conach Group was not retained to lobby for the City of Stillwater, and no one from The Conach Group actually lobbied for the City of Stillwater.”

Concluded the CFB:

“What may be confusing to the general public is that tracking legislation, providing research, and providing advice on actions that a client might take to further a legislative or administrative agenda are all actions that support lobbying efforts. But without direct communication with public or local officials, or communication in which the public is urged to contact public officials on an issue, the definition of lobbying is not met, and registration and disclosure under Chapter 10A is not required.”

Harycki dismissed my complaint as “much ado about nothing.” But Stillwater’s troubles involving its lobbying activities with tax dollars may not be over.

The State Auditor is currently looking into the legality of Campbell’s hiring, as well as the city’s donation of $80,000 in Stillwater Tax Increment Financing funds to the Coalition for the St. Croix River Crossing, another lobbying group supporting the construction of the “Bachmann Boondoggle” freeway bridge across the St. Croix.

Michele Bachmann's Missing Mediation Business

2011-08-16T19:38:00.002-05:00

Did Michele Bachmann Mediation LLC ever exist?

By Karl Bremer

Since Michele Bachmann announced her candidacy for president, national and international media have been rummaging through the Dumpster of her life for whatever details about her past they can uncover among the refuse. Much of what is known about her professional and political career has become a staple of her biography: Graduated from Anoka High School in 1974, graduated from Winona State University in 1978, graduated from Oral Roberts University in 1986, got a tax law degree in 1988 from William and Mary School of Law, worked for the IRS from 1988-1993, got elected to the Minnesota State Senate in 2000, and elected to Congress in 2006.

But those seven years between the IRS and State Senate seem to be missing a few pages—particularly anything about "Michele Bachmann Mediation LLC," a business that even Bachmann is uncharacteristically silent on.

You won’t find anything on Bachmann’s official Congressional website about Michele Bachmann Mediation LLC. Nor will you find anything in her bio on her presidential campaign website. Nothing in her Wikipedia entry either. But the alleged business did exist—at least on paper—and was registered with the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office from October 2000 to 2003. The business is now listed as “inactive.”

A business listing for Michele Bachmann Mediation LLC on manta.com describes it as a “Communication Services, NEC” company with an SIC code of 4899. Dun & Bradstreet also listed Michele Bachmann Mediation LLC under “communication services.” Other companies similarly listed with the SEC include satellite and wireless telecommunications companies, not mediation services. Estimated annual revenue of the LLC, according to the manta.com listing, was $67,000. Bachmann’s old home address in Stillwater is listed as the business address.

Bachmann sponsored an “Adopt-a-Highway” stretch of Stonebridge Trail in Washington County under the auspices of “Michele Bachmann Mediation LLC” from 1995 until October 2001, when she requested that Washington County change the name of her Adopt-a-Highway signs to “State Senator Michele Bachmann.” (The signs later had to be changed again to read simply “Michele Bachmann” when it was discovered that the use of her political title was not allowed under county rules.) She used her home address on her Adopt-a-Highway application as well, according to the Washington County Transportation Department.

Bachmann’s political websites simply gloss over the missing seven years between the IRS and the State Senate.

“Prior to serving in the U.S. Congress, Michele was elected to the Minnesota State Senate in 2000 where she championed the Taxpayers Bill of Rights. Before that, she spent five years as a federal tax litigation attorney, working on hundreds of civil and criminal cases,” her campaign website states.

“Prior to serving in the U.S. Congress, Bachmann served in the Minnesota State Senate from 2000-2006. As a Minnesota State Senator, she championed the Taxpayers Bill of Rights. Before holding elected office, Bachmann worked on hundreds of civil and criminal cases as a federal tax litigation attorney,” her congressional website states.

Bachmann never fails to mention her and her husband’s Christian counseling clinic wherever she goes. And she's bragged about virtually every other job she claims she's held, from bus driver to fish cleaner. Yet she’s never spoken publicly about her alleged mediation business.

Despite the avalanche of news stories about Bachmann in recent months, including a 9,000-word opus in the New Yorker magazine, you won’t find a word about Michele Bachmann Mediation LLC in any of them.

There’s nothing in public court records to be found about Michele Bachmann Mediation LLC either, and nothing turns up in searches anywhere else. So what gives?

Did Michele Bachmann ever actually do any mediation, and if so, for whom? Was it just a scam to claim a home-office deduction on her taxes without ever actually doing any business? It is known that the Bachmanns spent part of those years protesting at abortion clinics. Perhaps she called that activity “mediation” much like other such protestors call it “sidewalk counseling.”

Bachmann has already tried to claim her family’s pray-away-the-gay clinic is off-limits to reporters (unless she brings it up). Maybe she’d rather answer some questions about her other alleged business instead. If, in fact, it ever existed at all.

Farmer's Video Captures Alleged Sasquatch North of Stillwater

2011-08-11T21:51:00.000-05:00

Is Bigfoot on the prowl in Washington County?

By Karl Bremer

Out here in rural Washington County, wildlife is abundant. I shoot all the deer I need within 100 yards of my back door. Wild turkey are as common as crows. Black bear are regularly spotted in the township, and even the occasional cougar.

But last month may be the first alleged sighting of Sasquatch in Washington County, and Ripple in Stillwater has learned that it occurred about 5 miles or less from our world headquarters here in Stillwater Township.

On July 6, a farmer and his wife were walking through the woods next to their hayfield north of Stillwater when they heard a low grunting sound. The farmer whipped out his new iPhone and shot about 5 seconds of video of something running through the woods. It wasn’t until he looked at it a few days later that he realized that it may not have been a deer after all.

An internet denizen who goes by the name of "SasquatchWatcher" posted the video to youtube, with his own annotations. He described the alleged Bigfoot creature in the video as an “Auburn Sasquatch,” a reference to its hair color, and left no doubt as to his opinion of the video’s authenticity.

"This is a wonderful example of how adept Sasquatch are at hiding and moving through thick brush,” he notes, and cautions that “We know of at least one nutbar in Minnesota who is actively trying to kill a Sasquatch with his .306.”

The narrator states that the video was shot “near the St. Croix” and that “there have been a number of sightings up and down, we’ve had a number of experiences two hours west and two hours north of this spot.”

According to the video, the unnamed videographer stated:

“We are in (blank) town in Minnesota (north of Stillwater). During a usual walk in the woods next to our hayfield, we thought we scared up a deer, but hearing a low, odd-sounding grunt, we started moving a little faster. I just bought an iPhone so I obsessively photograph or video everything. The video surprised me when I viewed it days later. Doesn’t look like a deer to me. Time was just minutes after sunset.”

The narrator describes various markings and movements of the figure in the video—“all over Auburn hair, high shoulders, gray hands, pigmentation line on hand, muscles move when right foot stomps”—and notes that they match other Sasquatch sightings on record.

The video notes that "The filmer answered a few questions, realized this was serious and wisely chose not to pursue it."

Ripple in Stillwater has its own theories about what our nearby farmer may have captured on video. What do you think?

Washington County GOP officer calls Pulkrabek domestic assault charges 'a mild form of abuse'

2011-08-05T10:22:00.003-05:00

SD52 GOP Deputy Chair Eric Langness and Michele Bachmann

By Karl Bremer

Bill Pulkrabek

Washington County Commissioner Bill Pulkrabek, the man who takes credit for launching Michele Bachmann’s political career, pleaded not guilty to domestic assault in Chisago County Court Aug. 4. He allegedly threw his girlfriend on his bed by her hair, tried to choke her and then dragged her down the stairs by her hair in a Memorial Day incident in Woodbury.

But one Washington County Republican Party officer suggests that Pulkrabek is being persecuted for political reasons and described the domestic assault charges against him as “a mild form of abuse.”

Eric Langness of Forest Lake, deputy chair of the Republican Party of Minnesota Senate District 52, made his comments online on the St. Paul Pioneer Press report on Pulkrabek’s court appearance.

“Who is in charge of this trial?” Langness wrote. “They have 4 counties (Washington, Anoka, Chisago and Ramsey) all mentioned as players in it. Even if guilty this is a mild form of abuse in comparison to so many others I would question if we're causing all this trouble simply because the man holds elected office.” Langness adds the caveat: “For the record, I'm NOT defending the actions or the accused.”

Langness may not be “defending the actions or the accused,” but his take on the severity of Pulkrabek’s alleged domestic assault is rather odd for a guy who describes himself on his Facebook page as a “trusted conservative voice.”

For the record, the Woodbury Police report states that Pulkrabek’s girlfriend alleged he “threw her onto his bed by her hair … he then pulled her down the stairs and out of his residence by her hair … that she was held down when on the bed and Pulrabek placed his forearm across her neck, which hindered her ability to breathe.” She told police she “pushed and kneed him to get him off of her.”

According to the Pioneer Press, Pulkrabek’s girlfriend stated in her application for a restraining order against Pulrabek that the argument was “sparked by a cat and an Estee Lauder skin-care product.”

Langness, a former Forest Lake School Board member, lists Michele Bachmann among the people he is inspired by, and like Pulkrabek, has been an ardent defender of her in the past. Langness was also on Tom Emmer’s gubernatorial campaign and is a past communications director for State Sen. Ray Vandeveer's campaign.

He is director of career services at Anthem College.

No trial date has been set for Pulkrabek. It will be held in Washington County.

Top photo: Facebook

Pulkrabek mugshot: Washington County Jail

Quote image: St. Paul Pioneer Press

Marcus Bachmann's $6,230 Mileage Reimbursement Mystery

2011-08-01T22:19:00.005-05:00

Was spouse's 'driving-around money' legitimate?

By Karl Bremer

Michele Bachmann may wish to shield her husband Marcus from the prying eyes of the national media as she seeks the presidency. But both she and Marcus have some explaining to do about a $6,230 payment from her 2006 campaign to Marcus for “mileage reimbursement.”

The payment was made on Dec. 15, 2006, and was reported on Bachmann’s year-end Federal Election Commission (FEC) statement from 2006. It covered the period of Nov. 28, 2006 to Dec. 31, 2006. Curiously, Marcus’ last name was misspelled on Bachmann’s own FEC report.

Based on the federal mileage reimbursement rate of 44.5 cents/mile at the time, that payment represents exactly 14,000 miles. That’s a lot of miles that Marcus put on for Michele's campaign in 34 days—418 miles a day to be exact—especially considering Marcus claims he drove them a month after the 2006 election was over. It would be interesting to see Marcus’ mileage logs from that busy month on the road.

DumpBachmann.com thought the expense was a bit suspicious at the time, and noted the sizeable disbursement on Feb. 14, 2007. As usual, it was ignored by the mainstream media and nothing more was ever heard about it.

Then, on Bachmann’s next FEC report for First Quarter 2007, a mysterious entry showed up: a Feb. 22, 2007 receipt to the campaign from Marcus Bachmann for the exact same amount as the earlier mileage payment—$6,230. The entry is identified as “Offsets to Operating Expenditures,” which according to FEC rules includes refunds, rebates and returns of deposits. An aggregate total of $6,530 is listed in the same entry, but it’s not clear where the other $300 came from.

Was this refund from Marcus Bachmann an admission that the “mileage reimbursement” was erroneously paid to him and if so, what prompted it?

Ripple in Stillwater has asked Bachmann’s campaign for an explanation of Marcus' mileage mystery. Maybe the FEC should too.

UPDATE, 8.2.2011:

The additional $300 shown in the aggregate total for Marcus Bachmann's campaign "donations" is most likely for this receipt of a donation from Marcus Bachman (sic) to Michele's campaign: $300 for "personal use of vehicle" dated Dec. 11, 2006.

Also, the mileage rate for 2006 was 44.5 cents per mile, not 48.5 cents per mile as originally reported. The rate changed on Jan. 1, 2007 to 48.5 cents. The figures above have been adjusted accordingly.

H/t to City Pages for spotting this.

Michele Bachmann files FEC report using false address

2011-08-01T00:03:00.001-05:00

Is presidential candidate being deliberately deceitful by using bogus address with state, FEC?

By Karl Bremer

For the second time in a week, Ripple in Stillwater has discovered Michele Bachmann using a false address on official government filings. This time it’s on two Federal Election Commission (FEC) receipts for “mileage reimbursement.”

Bachmann’s old Stillwater address where she hasn’t lived for three years was reported on two campaign disbursement receipts that her campaign filed with the FEC earlier this year. One was for $74.80 on Feb. 3, 2011; the other was for $562.51 on Feb. 7, 2011. Both were for payments to Bachmann. It would seem to be hard to explain how a candidate’s own campaign could still be using a 2008 address for the candidate on 2011 FEC reports—particularly when one of the disbursements to the candidate requires a “receipt, invoice or cancelled check.”

Federal election campaign laws state that “The treasurer of a political committee shall keep an account of … the name and address of every person to whom any disbursement is made, the date, amount, and purpose of the disbursement, and the name of the candidate and the office sought by the candidate, if any, for whom the disbursement was made, including a receipt, invoice, or cancelled check for each disbursement in excess of $200.”

It may take a complaint filed with the FEC to determine what address was listed on the receipt, invoice or check that Bachmann provided her campaign for her reimbursement. The FEC frowns on candidates filing false information, and it looks especially bad when the information is the candidate’s own address on a reimbursement receipt.

It’s not likely the current owners of Bachmann’s old house would be happy to find out that she’s been using their address on her legal filings, either, because this isn’t the first time.

Ripple in Stillwater reported last week that Bachmann listed the same phony address on her annual state lawyer’s registration filed July 11, 2011. According to the state’s “Rules of the Supreme Court on Lawyer Registration,” that should result in an automatic suspension of Bachmann’s right to practice law in Minnesota and render her status “not in good standing.”

It's also not the first time Bachmann's mileage reimbursements have been questioned. DumpBachmann.com noted a suspicious FEC receipt for $6,230 in "mileage reimbursement" to Marcus Bachmann, Michele's husband, back in 2007.

MN Supreme Court Rules Say Bachmann's Right to Practice Law Should Be Suspended

2011-07-28T20:51:00.000-05:00

Presidential candidate appears to have registered at state for past three years under old address.

By Karl Bremer

Throughout her political career, Michele Bachmann has rarely passed up an opportunity to burnish her lawyerly credentials by claiming that she’s a “tax litigation attorney.” And for almost as long, Bachmann hasn’t even been authorized to practice law in her home state of Minnesota.

Now, it appears that Bachmann’s license to practice law in Minnesota should not only be unauthorized, but suspended and placed on “not in good standing” status for failure to comply with the “Rules of the Supreme Court on Lawyer Registration.”

Lawyers licensed to practice law in Minnesota are required to register annually with the Lawyer Registration Office in the Minnesota Judicial Branch. They’re also required to pay an annual registration fee that varies depending on the lawyer’s active/inactive status, income level, residence and years in the profession.

The Supreme Court Rules also require that “Every lawyer or judge must immediately notify the Lawyer Registration Office of any change of postal address. Every lawyer or judge who elects to use the online registration system must immediately update their online registration profile to reflect any change of their postal address and email address.”

That rule is clearly referenced on the Minnesota Judicial Branch website on Updating Lawyer Registration.

Bachmann paid her most recent annual registration fee on July 11, 2011. Her address listed on her registration is 1801 Johnson Drive, Stillwater, MN. But Bachmann hasn’t lived at that address for nearly four years.

That would appear to put Bachmann in noncompliance with the Supreme Court Rules—not just this year, but for at least the past three years.

“A lawyer or judge who fails to meet all of the criteria to be on either active or inactive status is placed on non-compliant status, and the right to practice law in this state is automatically suspended,” the Supreme Court Rules state. “A lawyer or judge on non-compliant status is not in good standing. A lawyer or judge on non-compliant status must not practice law in this state, must not hold out himself or herself as authorized to practice law, or in any manner represent that he or she is qualified or authorized to practice law while on non-compliant status. Any lawyer or judge who violates this rule is subject to all the penalties and remedies provided by law for the unauthorized practice of law in the State of Minnesota.”

Did Bachmann simply ignore the rule requiring immediate notification of any change of address? Or did she knowingly continue to file under a false address since she moved from the City of Stillwater to West Lakeland Township in 2008?

This is only the latest in a long history of sloppy record-keeping, tardy legal filings and questionable campaign reports that litter Bachmann’s political career. Will anyone care enough to enforce the law this time?

Ripple in Stillwater files Campaign Finance Board complaint over Stillwater lobbyist who's not a lobbyist

2011-07-27T08:07:00.002-05:00

Stillwater Mayor Ken Harycki: 'Really, he doesn't do any lobbying.'

Ripple in Stillwater author Karl Bremer has filed a formal complaint with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board (CFB) over the alleged lobbying of unregistered lobbyist Mike Campbell on behalf of the City of Stillwater.

On April 19, Stillwater entered into an agreement with Michael Campbell of the Conach Group in Stillwater for “Legislative support for the St Croix River Crossing extension of the State Trail system, support for the New Armory Project and Phase III of the Levee Wall project.”

According to the contract with the City, the Conach Group is “To secure the required support of the Federal Government State of Minnesota and any administrative Department of either entity for the approval and funding of the pending St. Croix River Crossing at Stillwater” and “To secure Minnesota Legislative funding for the State purchase of the MN Zephyr Railroad Right of Way as an extension of the State Trail system, support for the New Armory Project and Phase III of the Levy Wall Project." According to the contract, “Consultant services will be rendered largely at the Consultant office and the State of Minnesota Capitol.”

But neither the lobbyist, Mike Campbell, nor anyone else with his firm, the Conach Group, are registered with the Minnesota Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board (CFB) or with the U.S. Senate or Congress. In fact, there are no lobbyists representing the City of Stillwater registered with the state at this time.

However, Stillwater Mayor Ken Harycki continues to insist that Campbell is not a lobbyist at all, even though he told the Stillwater Gazette: “Campbell is a well-connected person and has helped get two bills passed at the legislature, he is getting results.”

"Really, he doesn't do any lobbying," Harycki told the St. Paul Pioneer Press, apparently with a straight face. "He doesn't make calls to legislators for us. He tells us what the status of bills are, what some of the pitfalls are that are facing us and who we should call to address those pitfalls or to make that final push."

Although the city's contract states that Campbell's work will be "rendered largely at the Consultant office and at the State of Minnesota Capitol," Harycki told the Pioneer Press: "Usually, a lobbyist will go to the Legislature on your behalf and talk to them--he doesn't do that."

What exactly Campbell is doing for his $1,500 a month in taxpayer "legislative consulting" fees is unclear. Harycki and the Stillwater City Council rejected an attempt to require him to file monthly progress reports with the Council.

According to Council minutes, “Mayor Harycki suggested that any published reporting may impede some of the ongoing discussions.” The contract states only that “The City will rely upon the Consultant to put forth such effort as is reasonably necessary to fulfill the spirit and purpose of the Contract” and that “the nature of the work done by consultant will be reviewed at least quarterly to determine whether work should be deleted or added based upon changed circumstances.”

If Campbell were legally registered as a lobbyist, as it appears he should be, he would be required to keep detailed records of expenditures and file reports with the CFB. According to the CFB Lobbyist Handbook:

Records must be kept separately for administrative lobbying, legislative lobbying or the lobbying of a metropolitan governmental unit in the following categories:
Disbursements for:

preparing and distributing lobbying materials;
media advertising;
telephone and all other communication services;
postage and distribution costs associated with lobbying activities;
fees, allowances, public relations campaigns including consulting and other expenses related with those services;
entertainment;
food and beverages;
travel and lodging;
administrative costs and salary of support staff attributable to lobbying; and
all other disbursements including general administration and overhead and any other lobbyist disbursements not reported in other categories,
gifts or benefits paid or given to officials, and
other sources of funds of more than $500 in a calendar year given for purposes of lobbying, including fees or salary paid to a lobbyist as compensation.

Records must be kept for four years.

As it stands, whatever the public wants to know about what Campbell is doing for $1,500 a month or how he's spending taxpayers' money must be gleaned from his quarterly report filed with the City Council.

For his part, Campbell, a business agent for Cambria. told the Pioneer Press he was perplexed about the CFB complaint.

"It makes it seem as if something dastardly is going on. If I was going to the Capitol and lobbying, I would simply register as a lobbyist. I don't want to register as a lobbyist."

After reviewing the complaint, the CFB will determine whether to proceed with an investigation of the matter. According to the CFB, within 30 days, the board will make a public finding of whether or not there is probable cause to believe a violation has occurred.