Furst Draft

P-B Dialogues next week in Eyota

We're taking our Post-Bulletin Dialogues show on the road again next week, to excellent Eyota, where we'll talk about economic development, the future of U.S. 14 and the intersection with Minnesota Highway 42, frac sand and other issues.

We'll meet in the auditorium at Dover-Eyota High School, 615 South Ave. S.W. in Eyota, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. As with Dialogues events in Rochester, the program will be as Q & A as possible -- just introductory comments by Managing Editor Jay Furst and a few community leaders, then questions from the audience.

Joining us will be Mayor Tyrel Clark, D-E Schools Superintendent Bruce Klaehn, Post-Bulletin staff and others. Light refreshments will be served, and the event is free.

If you have questions or issues for the agenda, send them to furst@postbulletin.com, or add a comment here.

 

Appeals court rules against Oronoco Township

The Minnesota Court of Appeals has affirmed the state Public Utilities Commission's decision on the CapX power line route through Oronoco Township. The court ruled that, "In sum, the MPUC did not err in permitting members of the public to voice opposition to the Zumbro Dam crossing during the public hearing" and will allow the power line to follow a right roughly along Olmsted County Road 12, or White Bridge Road, through the Lake Zumbro area.

The court also ruled on the Cannon Falls challenges that had been filed. More to follow, and we'll post a story shortly.

 

 

To whet your appetite for Friday's Answer Man

Some items from tomorrow's column -- no extra charge:

I gaze into my crystal ball

Two items that may foretell the future:

Devoted Answer Man reader Daniel Gaz says he heard from a reliable source that Whole Foods Market, which bills itself as "America's Healthiest Grocery Store" chain, continues to investigate possible sites in Rochester, including one near the new Costco store at 19th Street Northwest and West Circle Drive.

I talked to an equally reliable source who says he believes Whole Foods has been looking around Rochester for about four years and that there's no particular focus on the Costco site, but that we remain on the Whole Foods radar.

And observation Number 2: One of my many sources at the Kahler Grand told me this Thursday:

"Something big is going happen to the front of the Kahler that faces the Gonda Building. Building Restoration Corp. has four men measuring the street and measuring the Kahler. Not sure what they are up to? They have three big trucks. One of them says highway technologies. Just thought I'd let you know."

Building Restoration is a well-known Twin Cities contractor and among other things, they specialize in tuckpointing masonry. As any passerby can tell, the Kahler's masonry is in need of some attention, so it could be a fairly routine facelift or something more aggressive. I'm checking with Interstate Hotels and Resorts' communications people to find out.

Traffic issue coming on southbound U.S. 52

Dream come true for those who can't wait for a 65th Street interchange:

Highway 52 lane restrictions in Rochester begin June 5

ROCHESTER, Minn. – Highway 52 southbound will be reduced to one lane between 55th Street Northwest and 75th Street Northwest Wednesday, June 5, and Highway 52 northbound will be reduced to one lane Thursday, June 6.

The closures are necessary as crews install barriers for the construction of auxiliary lanes on Highway 52 as part of the 65th Street interchange project.

Once the barriers are installed, Highway 52 will be reduced to two lanes in both directions between 55th Street Northwest and 75th Street Northwest during the construction of the auxiliary lanes, scheduled to be completed in mid-October, weather permitting.

MnDOT urges motorists to always drive with caution, slow down in work zones and never enter a road blocked with barriers or cones.

Frac sand movie in Winona on June 11

News release from Winona State:

DOCUMENTARY ABOUT FRAC-SAND MINING
TO BE SHOWN JUNE 11 AT WINONA STATE

A documentary film about the impact of frac-sand mining on rural communities in Minnesota and Wisconsin will be shown at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 11, at Winona State University.

?The Price of Sand? was directed by Jim Tittle, who became interested in the subject when an oil company bought land for a sand mine near his mother?s house in rural Goodhue County. Tittle interviewed people who live near frac-sand mines and processing plants. He also filmed meetings of local governmental units where citizens debated the impacts of the industry on the communities where they live.

Showing of the film is co-sponsored by Winona Area Citizens Concerned about Silica Mining (CASM),  the Will Dilg Chapter of the Izaak Walton League, and Minnesota Trout Unlimited. There will be no admission charge, but suggested donations of $5 will be gratefully accepted.

The film will be shown in Room 120 of the Science Laboratory Center, located at the intersection of Johnson and Sanborn streets. The Science Laboratory Center is a block west of Somsen Hall.

For more information contact Steve Schild at 507-454-7042 or 507-450-8753.

Who pays for your news?

There's an interesting piece on Slate regarding Hormel Foods Corp. and its business practices, including its treatment of animals -- not exactly a mainstream news story, but more like a can of Spam, full of interesting and tasty tidbits held together by...what, I'm not sure.

Then you get the tagline and logo at the end of the story:

"Slate's coverage of food systems is made possible in part by W.K. Kellogg Foundation."

So the story you've just read, when you get to the end, is paid for by a foundation that obviously has an agenda of some kind. Foundations don't just give money to anyone -- they give it to promote an agenda. In this case, the foundation's mission is to "support vulnerable children in the areas of educated kids, healthy kids, secure families, racial equity and civic engagement."

The Kellogg is, as you may have guessed, the Kellogg company of snap, crackle, pop fame.

Slate and other magazine-like websites have their own way of operating. Print magazines have different rules for news ethics from newspapers, as do TV news operations, though I'm not sure most readers or viewers are aware of all the different rulebooks.

Newspapers have been "made possible in part" by advertising from the beginning, but that's just part of the mix, and we don't run news stories that are explicitly linked to an advertiser or donor. That goes to the heart of our credibility. We report the news as we find it, straight up, impartially, without any favoritism or bias, and we do everything we can to avoid any perception our news is affected by advertisers, our own business interests, political pressure or any other outside pressure.

Having to run a tagline that says, "We couldn't afford to have a reporter cover the 'food systems' beat, so we accept money or content from a foundation that clearly has an agenda regarding this issue," is not the way we intend to go.

Some health care foundations are now underwriting stories that are provided free to media. We used one a while back from the Kaiser Family Foundation, with the appropriate tagline, but we won't repeat that. There's no need for it. There's plenty of good health-related content available from our own reporters, freelance reporters we hire (and can vouch for), and wire services.

We do run occasional feature stories on local military personnel that are provided by the U.S. military, with a byline and a tagline to explain how we got the stories. You might argue that's the same type of "sponsored" coverage, but we regard them as news releases, basically, that we run with absolutely crystal clear attribution.

The trend toward "underwritten" or "sponsored" news content on public radio, network news, local TV, web and elsewhere can only erode the most precious things news organizations have: credibility, integrity and authenticity.

 

Extra fire crews to Dodge Center for MTM fire

We're headed out to cover a fire in Dodge Center, McNeilus Truck and Manufacturing building 9, dispatchers are calling for additional fire crews and EMS support.

 

Power's out at K-M Elementary, no K-4 school Monday

On the K-M website:

Good afternoon, K-M Parents, Students, and staff!
This is Karlyn Brewington, superintendent's secretary, informing you that due to continued loss of power in the elementary and community ed buildings, we unfortunately will have to cancel school for grades Kindergarten through 4th grade, on Monday, June 3. All students grades 5-12 will still need to report to school. The city anticipates a new transformer to arrive Monday morning, and they are working diligently to get this up and running, so the students can get back to school Tuesday morning. Please note: All Elementary Staff should report to the Elementary School on Monday morning. Project kids will be available from 6:15 am to 6 pm, but will be moved to the Middle School tomorrow, Monday, June 3. Parents of project kids should drop their children off at the Middle School. Please keep in mind that phones are down at the elementary and community ed buildings, so if you have any questions, feel free to contact the district office at 507-634-1100. This message can also be found on our website. Thank you!

Richie Valens' sister in Albert Lea

News release:

We would like to announce an upcoming event.  This Rock n Roll Show will be featuring Connie Valens, sister of the famous Ritchie Valens, and Denny and the DC Drifters, directly from the Surf Ballroom in Clear Lake, Iowa.  This show will include Ritchie Valens' songs and history from the movie Labamba.  It will also include hits from Buddy Holly and the Big Bopper.  Because Albert Lea will be celebrating Eddie Cochran Days at this time, this show will also have the big hits that Eddie Cochran sang!  There will also be a classic car show to enjoy.  This Rock and Roll show will be on June 8th at 7:30 pm at the Marion Ross Theatre in Albert Lea, MN.  For more information look online at actonbroadway.com or call 1-877-730-3144 or 507-4376968.

 

Storm pics from Simpson

Two dramatic pics from a P-B reader, from Thursday night as he was leaving the Root River park south of Simpson. Might run one or both in print tomorrow with more details.