Legalectric

Photo by David Kamis, taken after Stephanie’s ducks were assassinated

Tomorrow is the Memorial Service for Stephanie Henricksen.  It’s at the UCC in Northfield, gathering at 10 a.m. and service is at 11 a.m. with lunch following.

Photo by Kathleen Doran-Norton, of Stephanie, and there’s Dave & Flo Minar in the background

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It’s here — the report I’ve been waiting for (well, it’s been around for a while, but it just popped up on the screen)!!!

SQUIRREL ATTACKS ON THE ELECTRIC GRID

From the CyberSquirrel1 site:

“I don’t think paralysis [of the electrical grid] is more likely by cyberattack than by natural disaster. And frankly the number-one threat experienced to date by the US electrical grid is squirrels.”

    – John C. Inglis, Former Deputy Director, National Security Agency 2015.07.09

Ain’t technology grand??

Yeah, Chucky’s baaaaaack!  And if it walks like a duck, talks like a duck…

Chuck Michael is back and he has been for a while on this Zip Rail project.  And it’s a small world, particularly in this public policy and infrastructure area.

Turns out it’s much smaller, he’s been working a couple of sides of this project, Olmsted County and apparently the North American High Speed Rail Group, meeting with officials in “other states.”  And they’ve been to Washington, together, and have been lobbying hard in Minnesota, both Olmsted County and NAHSR:

Zip Rail backers make their case in Washington, D.C.

And look how he’s represented for the conference, Twin Cities HSR Passenger Corridor, on which that article above was based, where an Olmsted County representative and a NAHSR rep are also on the bill:

U.S. High Speed Rail Conference

Hear about the new private high speed rail project advancing in Minnesota being developed by Zip Rail and North American High Speed Rail Group, a Minnesota company set up to develop, construct, own and operate electric high speed rail systems in the USA.
 
-Ken Brown, Olmsted County
-Chuck Michael, Twin Cities HSR Passenger Corridor

-Wendy Meadley, NAHSR

A project from Las Vegas to LA was waved around as competition to this Metro – Rochester Zip Rail, as in a threat of “build Zip Rail and if not we’ll go to Vegas,” and if so, doesn’t that “competition” mean it’s a conflict, and not working in the interests of Olmsted County?  Or is it that Michael went “out of state” as in to Washington?  It doesn’t say what project he was working on “out of state,” whether it was Zip Rail or something else.  That should be disclosed.

But big picture, I don’t see this as much as a “conflict” as an “reporting” issue, because based on the conference presentation above, their lobbying together, because I’d guess the parties’ interests regarding Zip Rail, the positions/interests of Olmsted County and NAHSR are pretty much the same, though Olmsted County should have more of a sense of working in the public interest.  THAT is a problem, and it’s Olmsted County’s problem and the voters there should address this!

More of an issue is declaration of those interests and where and how much money is devoted to pushing those interests.  Who’s registered with Campaign Finance Board?  Chuck Michael is not registered as a lobbyist under any entity.  Nada…   The essence of his job is lobbying, in Minnesota and nationally, and he’s not listed with the Campaign Finance Board.  Not Olmsted County, and not North American High Speed Rail.   I think it’s time Chuck Michael and the associations he’s working for on this project register and disclose.

Anyone that had anything to do with Excelsior Energy’s Mesaba Project, as Chuck Michael did, needs high scrutiny.

The Wabash Valley IGCC (coal gasification) generating plant was built as a demonstration project, and oh what a miserable failure that was.  Such a failure that they’re now shutting down the coal gasification part and will be running only on natural gas.

After it was “finished” it took years of work, with at times 22 engineering contractors, to cobble it together and make it run.  It rarely ran at capacity, and often didn’t run at all.  Operating costs were through the roof.  It also exploded and killed two workers, which made headlines just as our opposition to the Mesaba Project was getting into full swing, yet that explosion was just the tip of the iceberg in the many problems with this project.

Wabash River IGCC plant explodes, two workers killed

More on coal gasification plant explosion

Coal gasification explosion: metal fitting broke, released gas

Wabash River Final Technical Report(it was “routinely” in violation of its water permit for selenium, cyanide and arsenic)

And here’s the good news — IT’S SHUTTING DOWN FOR GOOD!

47 employees will be laid off. Wabash Valley Power Association to cease operations at sgSOLUTIONS

And:

In the Northfield News today:

By Carol A. Overland and Alan Muller, Special to the News

Stephanie Henriksen will be missed

Stephanie Henriksen’s death last month leaves a big gap in this part of the world.

She was a complex person, not easily described in a few words. Did you know she was a serious saxophone player? Animals in need would show up at her farm, and she’d take them in. Her life’s artwork filled the Northfield Arts Guild in “Retrospective” showing, and she organized the “Farm Art” show tour years ago.

And as most of us know, she was a devoted and driven activist and tireless advocate, working on her own and with others on farm, water, clean air and land-use issues for decades.

For some, Stephanie was an acquired taste, or, to be more blunt, a pain in the rear. Her adversaries and allies alike knew she was usually on target, and she could be counted on to show up.

Her activism and advocacy put her on the front lines, with her many successes coming at a high personal cost, such as stress, assassinated ducks, animal parts strewn on her mailbox, and impacts on her health.

Just before she died, she was worked up about another ill-advised scheme in the community, ready to launch into action. That’s the essence of Stephanie Henriksen.