November 12, 2018

Ring in the Cronies! McCaulley Takes Charge of Noem Administration

As expected, the man who will really be running the state under the Noem/Rhoden Adminstration is high-priced lobbyist and lawyer Matt McCaulley. Team Noem announces that McCaulley will run her transition team:

McCaulley was among Noem’s elite fundraisers this year. He led the Redstone legal team that kept us from voting on Initiated Measure 26, a plan to lower prescription drug prices. After griping and moaning about the violations of petition law committed by IM 26 circulators, McCaulley griped and moaned about Secretary of State Shantel Krebs’s enforcement of campaign finance law against Noem’s law-breaking running mate Larry Rhoden.

McCaulley helped write the 2017 Special Session legislation on nonmeandered waters. In his lobbying for the Corn Growers, McCaulley has helped block attempts to fix the ag land assessment system that Senator Al Novstrup says is “broken.”

Read more: http://dakotafreepress.com/2018/11/10/ring-in-the-cronies-mccaulley-takes-charge-of-noem-administration/

November 12, 2018

Who Lost Least Badly Among South Dakota Democrats?

Who’s the most awesome Democrat in South Dakota?

If we can get past the laughter (awesome? in a party that hasn’t moved the needle away from Republican rule since 1992? chortle and guffaw!), and if we allow losers any claim to awesomenimnity, then the obvious answer is Billie Sutton. He won 161,416 votes Tuesday. That’s more votes than there are Democratic voters in South Dakota. If the 62% voter turnout in the gubernatorial race applied equally to all party affiliations, and if every Democrat who turned out voted Dem, Sutton still won over 62,000 votes from independents and Republicans.

Randy Seiler garnered the second most votes of any Democrat in the state, losing the Attorney General’s race with 145,526 voters, or 91.5% of the total registered Democrats in the state. Seiler and Sutton were the only statewide Democratic candidates to break 40%.

Conversely, their opponents, Kristi Noem and Jason Ravnsborg, had markedly lower votes than all other statewide Republican candidates. Noem and Ravnsborg’s vote totals equal less than 70% of the number of registered Republicans in the state. However, in every other statewide race, Republican vote totals equaled a greater percentage of their party base of registered voters than their Democratic opponents managed to win from their base.

Read more: http://dakotafreepress.com/2018/11/11/who-lost-least-badly-among-south-dakota-democrats/

November 12, 2018

Landscaping needs touted for new Governor's Residence

BISMARCK — Organizers are considering a second fundraising campaign to cover landscaping costs at the new Governor’s Residence after closing their initial building campaign $113,000 short of their goal.

When lawmakers decided to OK the construction of the new residence in 2015, they allowed for up to $5 million in spending on the project — $4 million from the Capitol Building Trust Fund and $1 million in private donations.

The Friends of the Governor’s Residence went to work on a capital campaign, beginning in 2015, and raised $887,000, said Treasurer Andrea Nelson. That, together with the $4 million in state money, was enough to cover the building of the new residence and demolition of the former.

“We’re pleased costs came in under budget,” Nelson said, adding the Friends accepted the final donation for the project a couple weeks ago.

Read more: https://www.inforum.com/news/918049-Landscaping-needs-touted-for-new-Governor%E2%80%99s-Residence


The private entrance of the new North Dakota governor's residence is protected by a security fence and faces west on Fourth Street on the grounds of the state Capitol in Bismarck. The residence and the four-stall garage totals 13,700 square feet. Mike Mcleary / Bismarck Tribune

November 12, 2018

St. Paul to vote on $15 minimum wage Wednesday

ST. PAUL — With the goal of achieving a $15-per-hour minimum wage within the next few years, the city of St. Paul will soon mandate that all employers offer a higher base rate than what the state currently requires, followed by annual increases thereafter.

The St. Paul City Council is scheduled to vote on a proposal from City Council member Chris Tolbert and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter’s office on Wednesday, Nov. 14, and the plan — which has been amended by the council over the past few weeks — is expected to win unanimous or near-unanimous support.

Following years of stagnant wage growth, Carter has estimated the city ordinance will lift wages for 56,000 low-income workers.

So what’s in the proposal? With variations based on size, most employers in St. Paul will be expected to pay employees $15 an hour within the next 3 1/2 to 8 1/2 years, with some important exceptions.

Read more: https://www.inforum.com/news/918072-St.-Paul-to-vote-on-15-minimum-wage-Wednesday

November 12, 2018

North Dakota Democrats look forward

BISMARCK — As North Dakota Republicans swept statewide offices in Tuesday’s midterm election, the state Democratic-NPL party points to local wins and a positive outlook for 2020 after losing its only statewide seat.

Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, defeated Tuesday, Nov. 6, by Republican Rep. Kevin Cramer, is the only Democrat holding a statewide elected office in North Dakota. State Democrats did gain a few legislative seats in eastern districts, though Republicans maintain their super majority in the executive and legislative branches.

Scott McNeil, executive director of the Democratic-NPL, touted party victories in longtime House Majority Leader Al Carlson's defeat, Bismarck Sen. Erin Oban's re-election and Ruth Buffalo's win in District 27 in Fargo for a state House seat. Dem-NPL chairman Warren Larson said Buffalo will be the first indigenous woman in the state Legislature.

"We know that Heidi's loss was a difficult pill to swallow, but we're always forward-thinking, and that's what we're doing today, we're working toward 2020," Larson said.

Read more: https://www.inforum.com/news/917760-North-Dakota-Democrats-look-forward

November 12, 2018

Heitikamp campaign picking up all costs for Biden visit

FARGO — The city of Fargo will be paid for providing security for former Vice President Joe Biden’s Nov. 1 visit to Fargo to stump for Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, Mayor Tim Mahoney and a Heitkamp campaign spokeswoman said.

Four officers provided traffic control for the rally at the Fargo Air Museum, and a fifth officer helped provide security inside the building, according to a Fargo Police Department spokeswoman.

The traffic control officers worked five hours apiece, billed to the Fargo Air Museum at the special detail rate of $51 per hour, for a total of $1,020, Officer Jessica Schindeldecker said.

The officer working inside the event venue worked four and a half hours at $51 per hour, for a total cost of $229.50, which was billed to the “Heidi for North Dakota” campaign organization, Schindeldecker said.

Read more: https://www.inforum.com/news/914712-Heitikamp-campaign-picking-up-all-costs-for-Biden-visit

November 11, 2018

U.S. Rep. Swalwell makes another visit to Iowa

U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-California, has not made an official announcement about running for president in 2020.

Right now, the Iowa native said it’s just a thought. There is still time to make a decision.

Swalwell was in Davenport on Saturday night to attend the “Win Congress, Change America” event at the River Music Experience. The event was sponsored by the Scott County Democrats.

“I’m here because I want to thank Iowans for sending us two new House members, the first women elected to the House of Representatives from Iowa and helping us win the House,” Swalwell said before the event began.

Read more: https://qctimes.com/news/local/u-s-rep-swalwell-makes-another-visit-to-iowa/article_e1100796-c3b3-5740-a056-230ad91c33a8.html

November 11, 2018

Depressed milk prices forcing more farmers out of operation

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — High production costs and falling commodity prices over the past four years are forcing more and more dairy farmers out of business in Iowa and other dairy states, according to agribusiness experts and farm groups.

"We're seeing a significant loss of dairy farms," said Larry Shover, president of the Iowa State Dairy Association board. "They don't see a light at the end of the tunnel."

Iowa is the nation's 10th-largest milk producer, with 1,150 dairy farms, and it's lost about 80 dairy operations this year — nearly 7 percent. Wisconsin Agricultural Statistics Service data show the state had 8,304 licensed dairy herds in October — 634 fewer than a year ago.

The global flood of milk has depressed prices to about half what they were in 2014, and they still haven't hit all-time lows, The Des Moines Register reported . But U.S. production has continued to increase despite the large number of dairy cows being culled from herds, said University of Wisconsin-Madison dairy policy analyst Mark Stephenson.

Read more: https://qconline.com/news/state-and-regional/iowa/depressed-milk-prices-forcing-more-farmers-out-of-operation/article_68e7eda7-1034-50c0-8bf1-2a77de6721cd.html

November 11, 2018

Toxin in corn poses latest headache for farmers; rain damage to soybeans

CHICAGO — Farmers in Iowa and elsewhere in North America are finding increased levels of a plant toxin known as vomitoxin in this year’s corn harvest.

That’s adding insult to injury for growers already suffering as the U.S.-China trade war hurts soybean exports and crop prices.

Vomitoxin sickens livestock and also can make humans and pets fall ill, and grain buyers can reject cargoes or even fine farmers for shipments that contain it.

More cases than normal are likely in the corn crop because wet weather this autumn caused the fungus to develop while delaying harvests, Iowa State University grain quality expert Charles Hurburgh said.

Read more: https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/business/corn-toxin-vomitoxin-livestock-sick-farmers-20181111

November 11, 2018

Urban-rural divide: A tale of two voting Iowas Increasingly, Iowa Democrats win only in cities and

Urban-rural divide: A tale of two voting Iowas Increasingly, Iowa Democrats win only in cities and suburbs


DES MOINES — The last time Iowa had a race for governor without an elected incumbent, the Democratic candidate won 62 counties, dotting the map with blue counties from river to river.

In last week’s midterm elections, even though the Democratic candidate lost by just 3 points, only 11 of Iowa’s 99 counties were blue — and they were all in Central or Eastern Iowa.

The divide between rural and urban voters in Iowa continues to sharpen. Democrats dominate in the state’s biggest cities, while Republicans own the rural areas. It’s existed for more than a few election cycles, but the contrast has grown increasingly stark.

In the past six gubernatorial elections, starting with Democrat Tom Vilsack’s first victory in 1998, Democrats won 49, 68, 62, 9, 1 and 11 counties.

Read more: https://www.thegazette.com/subject/news/government/urban-rural-divide-iowa-2018-midterm-elections-20181110