Furst Draft

The dirt on the silica sand program next week

The Red Wing and Lake City city councils have passed resolutions calling for a one-year moratorium on the mining of silica sand. Hay Creek and Florence townships in Goodhue County have done the same, and the Goodhue County Board will take up the matter on Sept. 6.

What's the concern about silica sand mining? And what exactly is silica sand, the substance that is causing concern in Goodhue County, yet is being mined elsewhere in the area with little controversy?

On Tuesday, the next Post-Bulletin Dialogues community meeting will explore the issue and bring together people from around the area who have questions and answers, led by yours truly and hopefully joined by reporter Brett Boese. The free, informal event is from 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Rochester Public Library, which co-sponsors the Dialogues series.

Got a question and can't attend? Post it here.

'Win the day'

This might be the last "pool" email I get from the Obama bus tour...again, these are the raw notes (generally not in story form) shared by a reporter among the media pool with access to the president's public events. Some good lines in this one, from Chris Kaergard of the Peoria, Ill., Journal Star. Photo courtesy of Galesburg.com.

President Obama bypassed the first exit to Alpha, making an unscheduled stop shortly after 3 p.m. CST Wednesday at Galesburg High School to watch the Silver Streaks practice football.
Immediately after getting off the bus, Obama greeted a group of teen girls by the tennis courts, prompting a round of giggles and expressions of "Oh, my God!"
Practice on the football field continued unabated as Obama approached and began chatting with first-year coach Tim Dougherty. Several minutes went by before the coach urged the team, which finished 4-5 last year, to "take a knee" and listen to the president.
"You guys look good out there," Obama praised them ahead of their first scrimmage Friday and their first game next week. "Everywhere we go, it makes me feel real good to see people working hard, young people who are motivated."
The team laughed when he said he could see how hard they were working and said he offered to the coach that they could use his arrival as "an excuse" to take a breather.
The coach shared with Obama that his mantra for the team is "Win the Day!" -- a chant the team then shared with the president -- who remarked "that's my motto every morning."
He posed for a photo with the team, catching a football partway through the posing tossed to him by the coaching staff. He also urged the students to remember that "football's important, but I hope you guys are hittin' the books too."
Obama was joined at the stop by Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, who drove in to Atkinson this morning to spend the day traveling with Obama in LaHood's home state.
The president later worked a rope line briefly greeting members of the volleyball team and the district's superintendent. He prompted a series of cheers when he offered to take a picture first with the volleyball team and then with others waiting to meet him.
He then reboarded his bus at about 4 p.m. CST while exhorting the athletes to "keep it up! Keep it up!" and then proceeded on to a town hall event in Alpha.

'Paper is full of lies and Obama is an airhead'

That's what the cancellation order was from a reader Tuesday. I'll assume the customer didn't like our coverage of the president's visit.

A few other readers also expressed outrage that we gave the president so much ink.

All I can say is, when the president comes to our area, we think it's a big deal and we flood the zone. Readers also contributed a lot of information and photos, a few of which we used today from a close encounter with Obama in Cannon Falls.

One reader asked how much ink we gave President Coolidge when he visited Cannon Falls in the 1920s compared with Obama coverage this week. That would require a trip to the microfilm library, and let's just say it's an entirely different media world now.

One difference: Rochester in the late '20s was about the size of Cannon Falls today. And the newspaper was probably twice as wide, in terms of page size, as today.

Coolidge, of course, was among the Republican greats of the 20th century, so I'm sure conservative critics will say we ignored his visit to the area, compared with the avalanche of Obama coverage.

'Propagating over and over again...inaccurate statements'

I took a voice mail today from House District 29A Rep. Duane Quam, regarding our coverage of the Rochester Area Chamber of Commerce legislative wrapup Tuesday:

"I was disappointed in reading the Stolle article about the Chamber event and that it continues to lead the reader to think the LGA funding payments to Rochester were cut. They were not. When you get the same money as the previous year, that's a freeze, not a cut.

"I would appreciate it if the paper could actually inject a little bit of truth instead of propagating over and over again inaccurate statements.

"Thank you."

Well, "leading to think" is the operative phrase here. This is what we reported:

DFL Rep. Debra Hilstrom, a Brooklyn Center legislator, said that while there weren't income tax increases, people and businesses may end up paying more in property taxes because of cuts to state aid called Local Government Aid.

There's no reference in that paragraph to Rochester, and the comment was made by a Twin Cities-area legislator. I wasn't there, but I'd interpret this as a generalized comment about property taxes and LGA statewide.

Last week we did a story on LGA and reductions in Market Credit Value funding for some area cities. That story indicated that Stewartville, for example, will get about $282,000 less in state aid from those programs. Austin will get about $1.1 million less. Olmsted County stands to lose about $2.5 million due to the Market Credit Value issue and other state cuts and tax shifts, and here's the Rochester story, about the total state funding lost: Roughly $2 million.

I need to double-check whether Local Government Aid, which is a specific funding mechanism versus "local government aid" or funding, for Rochester was held steady with last year, as Duane says. I'll assume he's correct. But we didn't address that in yesterday's story.

 

 

 

 

 

'The president ordered a plate of eggs and toast'

Reporters travelling with President Obama are sharing some material from his journey down the highways and byways of Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois. Here's an example of "pool" coverage shared among media from this morning, by a reporter from the Dubuque Telegraph Herald. This is in story form; material yesterday from one of the pool reporters was more in the form of notes.

None of this made it into our coverage today, I'm sure.

GUTTENBERG, Iowa ­-  The Mississippi River sparkled in the sunlight as the presidential motorcade drove past some of the scenic overlooks – filled with people waiting for a glimpse of the president - and into this small river town this morning.
The buses, vans and ambulance in the procession, about 20 in number, pulled off the main road and up to Rauch Petroleum and Rauch’s Café around 10:15 a.m.
President Obama stopped outside the small café to greet a small group of about 20 people. He asked those gathered how they were enjoying their summers and made his way inside the restaurant.
“I shook hands with the president!” exclaimed John DeMuth, a native of Guttenberg, after the president walked away.
DeMuth, a military veteran, said he was honored to shake the president’s hand.
“I voted for him,” he added.
Inside the café, which was fittingly adorned with a small tree decorated in American flags and red, white and blue lights, the president greeted the diners. A crock pot with soup bubbled near the main counter.
Obama pulled up a chair at a table with a group of six eastern Iowa small business owners to discuss the area economy. The president ordered a plate of eggs and toast.
After the meal, the presidential bus pulled along side the building, standing nearly as tall as the restaurant.
In an interview with members of the press following the president's stop, White House press secretary Jay Carney said the purpose of the president’s trip is to listen and interact with people in the area.
The focus on rural economies is because they are a “vital part of the overall economy,” said Carney, who said some specific proposals on rural job creation will be discussed at the forum in Peosta this afternoon. 
The presidential motorcade went through Dyersville around 11:30 a.m., passing streets lined with people. Some cheered and waved flags, and some held up signs opposing abortion.

Obama's next stop: Rochester, Lanesboro or Harmony?

Today as a rare treat, I'll post the Answer Man column TWO DAYS EARLY so you can check out his speculation on where the president might land next, after his Cannon Falls visit:

Dear Answer Man, if you were doing the advance work for President Obama today and you had about 15 minutes for him to stop in Rochester or somewhere else along the way to Decorah, where would you have him visit? — Blue State Babe

The possibilities are endless, Blue State Babe. I'm guessing the president's bus entourage will leave Cannon Falls at about 1 p.m. today and head south on U.S. 52, and he's due in Decorah about 5:15 p.m. That doesn't leave much margin for error, and he can't get too far away from 52, but here are made-for-TV possibilities:

• At 1:21 p.m., he could exit at Minnesota Highway 58, cross over the highway and pull into the DQ at Zumbrota. A tight fit for buses and the press crew...a more likely stop might be the McDonald's on the west side of the intersection. Even better for a main street shot -- a stop at the Coffee Mill cafe and then a quick photo op at the historic covered bridge.

• At 1:28 p.m., he could visit the work site of the someday-Elk Run biobusiness development. It's not exactly shovel-ready, but there's plenty of earth being moved right now for a highway interchange.

• At 1:33 p.m., he could view what used to be Lake Shady and call for infrastructure improvements at the Oronoco Dam.

• At 1:43 p.m., and my money is on this option: The bus exits at Civic Center Drive and pulls into Cynthia Daube's bakery, 1310 Fifth Place N.W. Alternatively, he exits at Second Street Southwest, heads east toward Mayo Clinic and stops just about anywhere — maybe for a cup of Caribou coffee in front of Saint Marys Hospital? A Chicago-style dog from a street vendor in the Peace Plaza, near the Kahler?

• At 2:05, he could make a stop in Chatfield — he just missed the Western Days whoop-de-doo, but he could grab a Chosen Valley burger from the Old Tyme Cafe, then enjoy a few minutes of shade in City Park.

• He could win points with Hispanic voters by making an easy taco stop at 2:14 p.m. at Los Gables Mexican restaurant, near Fountain.

• In Preston at 2:20 p.m., he could stop for a breath of fresh air by the ethanol plant, in keeping with his alt-fuel agenda, then run up the hill to the Branding Iron for a steak sandwich.

• At 2:25, if his driver has a lead foot, he could make a little side trip into Lanesboro, which should be every president's dream to visit, and get a messy waffle cone at the River Trail Picnic Basket shop, 100 Parkway Ave. N.

• But if he stops south of Rochester and north of the Iowa line, I'm betting it's in Harmony, at about 2:30 p.m. The place name is perfect; his staff can arrange for a few Amish buggies to be trotting through the area, and the triple-berry pie at the Village Square cafe, 51 Main Ave. N., is worth the trip from Washington, D.C.

Keep your eyes peeled, and if you see him, call the newsroom at 285-7700. Better yet, send photos and notes.

This says a lot about Bluestem Prairie

This morning, P-B reporter Edie Grossfield told me that one of her stories was cited on the liberal blog Bluestem Prairie and her name was misspelled.

You may remember that we've had a few run-ins with Bluestem Prairie and proprietor Sally Jo Sorensen. Just recently, she copied a full Post-Bulletin story on her blog -- a copyright violation, as Sorensen knows. I sent her a quick note and she took it down, without incident.

So today, I told Edie to send a note to Bluestem Prairie to point out the misspelling of her name. (Edie wasn't aware of Bluestem Prairie and has had no previous contact with Sorensen.) Here's her note:

Hello.

Just wanted to let you know that you have my name wrong in your rewrite of my Post-Bulletin story about LGA cuts to Minnesota cities:
http://www.bluestemprairie.com/bluestemprairie/2011/08/getting-snippy-cuts-in-lga-and-market-value-homestead-credit-force-rural-budget-trimming.html

My name is Edie Grossfield, not Greenfield.

Thanks.

-Edie

And here's how Sorensen replied, in full:

Are you always so cheery?

Or do you just not understand what a blog is?

 

That was followed a few minutes later by this from Sorensen:

Your name has been completely written out of the post.

And a digest of news from several papers a "rewrite" of your article?

Self-centered much?

That's par for the course for Sorensen and Bluestem Prairie. Note to readers: Don't bother pointing out an error to Bluestem Prairie -- and don't expect any professionalism, either.

Speaking of skepticism...

I remain a skeptic after reading Jon Tevlin's column in the Star Tribune today regarding the eagle photo in Fort Snelling National Cemetery. Jon writes that the photographer "took more than 60 shots of the bird at the cemetery, from different angles and locations. Some are sharp, some are blurry. Some are not very well composed."

This implies Jon eyeballed them, though I'm guessing he didn't by the way it's phrased. (He does refer to one other image that was examined by Strib photographers.) I'll check.

The column does note, as his first column on the subject didn't, that questioning the authenticity of the pic is reasonable:

Not surprisingly, there were a few readers who insisted that the photo was a fake. The bird was too big, they said. There's an aura of light on one side that reflects the use of Photoshop, said others.

"It's not Photoshopped," said Glick. "I did crop it [as did the newspaper]. If I had Photoshopped it, I wouldn't have the eagle's tail covering the name."

He also may have put the eagle on a different headstone to make the composition perfect, he said. "It's a good picture, but it could have been a much greater picture."

Glick took the photo with an older Nikon camera and a multi-purpose lens...

Star Tribune photographers studied the original that Glick sent me and said there's nothing conclusive to say whether it is faked. They also looked at a photo of the bird from the front and said it seemed legitimate, and consistent with the other photo.

Why does this matter? See the previous post.

And I'm not posting the pic to avoid copyright issues.

Liebling: 'Returning to the source of a thing'

 
At Tuesday's late news huddle, I was glancing at the list of obituaries on the front page and noticed Jerome Liebling's name. "Is that Jerome Liebling the photographer?," I asked, and others said yes, and that he was state Rep. Tina Liebling's father.

That was news to me. Liebling was one of Minnesota's most important and influential artists for years, a notable mid-20th century photographer whose work is in all the major U.S. museums and who was widely published. I didn't know he was still living, honestly, or that he was Tina's father.

He died July 27 at age 87 in Amherst, Mass.

As the obituary says, in 1949 he established the film and photography department at the University of Minnesota, and "he inspired generations of students with his humanitarian vision expressed through the media of photography and film."

Liebling was part of the Photo League documentary movement in New York in the '40s and he brought that straight-forward, unflinching approach to his photo work in Minnesota. His images of working-class people and places in Minneapolis and around the state remain some of Minnesota's defining images.

"Throughout his life Liebling had a deep concern for social justice and human rights," the obituary says. That's evident in all his best work. This Liebling quote posted on the Minneapolis Institute of Arts website sums up his approach to photography and documentary filmmaking:

"These days it seems that physical 'truth' can easily be rearranged, rethought, or re-created outright. Any image can be made pristine, all the warts can be removed. But returning to the source of a thing -- the real source -- means the photographer has to watch, dig, listen for voices, sniff the smells, and have many doubts.

"My life in photography has been lived as a skeptic."

That's a perfect expression of what it means to be a photographer and journalist. Based on what I know of his art, Jerome Liebling was both, and a lot more.

 

 

How was the wind film?

Here's the story from Brett Boese regarding the screening of "Windfall" last night in Zumbrota. Like the earlier event in Goodhue, it drew a lot of people.

You might think this is funny and you might not, but our online headline for this story initially was, "Goodhue crowd turns out for anti-wind film." A copy editor arrived at that headline on her own, based on the story, and I think most readers of that story would say, "Yes, that film expresses a dark view of the wind power business."

In any case, we changed the headline to just call it a documentary...

If you saw the film, what did you think? Was it powerful? Fair? Relevant to the whole Goodhue County experience at this point? Was it inappropriate to describe it as "anti-wind power"?

FYI, the story mentions that the presenters are thinking about showing the movie in Rochester. We have the Rochester Public Library auditorium reserved for our next Post-Bulletin Dialogues event on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 6:30 p.m. to 8 p.m...just long enough for the film's running time, as I understand it.

We might be able to arrange to show it during that time, though the room's capacity is only about 75 people. Or we might simply have another Dialogues discussion that night on wind power and where the Goodhue Wind project stands. We did that last year, with Steve Groth of Goodhue Wind Truth and Chuck Burdick of AWA Goodhue, among others.

Interested?

Here's the link to my blog post on that Dialogues event in April 2010 -- one example of how much time and effort I personally and we as a newspaper have put into covering this issue and providing a platform for people of various opinions.