Harris is not a shoe-in to replace Biden — a big part of the push to oust Biden was also to throw Harris under the bus — Dean Phillips and “Pass the Torch” anyone?

Harris is only a shoe-in if Biden resigns NOW, Harris moves up, and runs as incumbent. What will the “party” do, and how will this convention go? We’ve got a month to sit on the edge of our chairs… but the August 7th fun fest for Ohio, 2 weeks. Gotta sit tight…

What’s Biden willing to do to assure Harris is candidate?

Hot off the press from KAXE:

Minnesota Power ups wastewater spill estimate to 5.5M gallons

Early test results show elevated sulfate levels in water, threatening Blackwater Lake’s abundant wild rice. Minnesota Pollution Control Agency continues to oversee mitigation.

COHASSET — The size of a coal ash wastewater leak at Boswell Energy Center in Cohasset is now estimated to be five times larger than initial reports.

Minnesota Power updated its estimate Friday, July 19, to 5.5 million gallons leaked at its coal power plant situated near lakes and rivers. The company first reported an estimated 1 million gallons spilled Tuesday morning into soils, Blackwater Creek and Blackwater Lake.

A pipe that transfers wastewater from a pond to the power plant is believed to be the likely source of the leak. Minnesota Power reported a loss of pump pressure caused the leak, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency said in a statement Wednesday.

Initial test results show sulfate levels below the drinking water standard but above Minnesota’s wild rice-based standard, the MPCA reported Friday. Preliminary monitoring and sampling also indicate increased levels of boron where the wastewater entered Blackwater Creek.

MPCA said it hired an environmental contractor to conduct independent monitoring and sampling.

Mitigation activities are expected to increase over the weekend, the statement read, and Minnesota Power plans to excavate affected soil to remove contaminants. The area is being assessed for cultural and tribal resources before excavation with the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe.

Bay West, Minnesota Power’s environmental contractor, set up deep-skirted booms and staked a silt curtain to Blackwater’s lakebed Thursday.

Leech Lake Emergency Management Director Duane Oothoudt has been harvesting wild rice on Blackwater Lake for nearly a decade. In an interview Thursday, he expressed concern about how the spill will impact an important cultural resource.

“People rice here, and they eat the rice,” Oothoudt said. “ … This impacts a lot of the local harvesters and foragers and our land rights. It’s pretty close to the reservation border, so it does impact us.”

MPCA said it is focused on “evaluating concentrations and extent of potential pollutants” and the impact on soils, Blackwater Creek and Lake, aquatic life and wild rice beds.

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Hot off the press, an update from Minnesota Power, and CORRECTION, it does include “5.5 million gallons” in its press release:

Mirror image or is it really on the wrong ear?!?!

In this weekend’s bEagle:

Letter: Manifestation of MAGA’s dangerous rhetoric

• Published on Jul 19, 2024

It’s not just lies and criminality. For years, we’ve observed the overt MAGA incitement and triggering of violence. There’s projection of that virulent rhetoric on others, and manifestations of that violence by MAGA adherents. Despite false claims that Biden was behind the recent Donald Trump assassination attempt, have MAGA “masterminds” noticed the irony of the Supreme Court immunity decision and the hypothetical of a president deploying Seal Team 6 to assassinate an opponent that was raised in argument before the court?

Ivan Raiklin and Alex Jones on InfoWars argued that assassination of Trump would mean they’d “respond in kind, and we know who you are because we’ve created the list…” Jones saying, “if they kill him, that’s a best case scenario… From a sick level medium, ‘Oh, please kill him.’ I mean, it’s so good after that.” [here’s the link: https://twitter.com/patriottakes/status/1812460546236518607]

The headlines today say the FBI is searching for motive. A 20 year old registered Republican living with his parents with access to an AR15. Where might he get ideas? We know the power of Jones’ misinformation, defamation, and the lawsuit holding him accountable and bankrupting him.

The repeated themes in Trump and MAGA rhetoric are projection and incitement, searching to ignite and disillusion voters, setting up the 2024 election as fraudulent – an election they can’t legitimately win.

While screaming for “less government” and “don’t take away our freedoms,” MAGA’s Project 2025 and Agenda 47 instead lay out specific plans to increase government control and limit our rights, particularly to disenfranchise voters. Taking away voting rights has been a losing battle in court, but attempts continue.

It’s up to us to preserve our democratic republic. “We the People” must reclaim that opening phrase of the Constitution from extremists and show up to vote. November 5 is soon upon us.

Carol A. Overland, Red Wing

Great, just great. “About” a million gallons of Minnesota Power’s Boswell coal plant’s coal ash wastewater dumped into Blackwater Lake (appropriate name!), a pond connected to the Mississippi River, a pond where the plant’s cooling water is drawn from, and also a pond where people fish!

The good news is that MP didn’t do an Xcel and wait for MONTHS to disclose. It appears that MP got on the horn almost instantly after the spill was discovered and reported it.

There’s supposedly a press release, but it’s not posted on their “Press Release” page, so I asked about it. MP did get back to me and shared its statement — THANK YOU!

From KAXE:

1M gallons of coal ash wastewater spilled at Cohasset coal plant

Here’s what the STrib has to say:

One million gallons of coal ash wastewater spill at Minnesota Power coal plant

The Duluth-based electric utility said an unknown amount of polluted water had reached a nearby lake after a pipe leaked. 

By Walker Orenstein and Chloe Johnson Star Tribune

July 17, 2024 — 9:39am

Minnesota Power said about 1 million gallons of coal ash wastewater spilled at its large coal plant in Cohasset, Minn., pouring out over land with at least some reaching nearby Blackwater Lake.

The Duluth-based electric utility said in a news release that a pipeline leaked on Tuesday at the Boswell Energy Center that transfers wastewater from a pond containing the byproducts of coal combustion to the plant where it is used as process water.

Minnesota Power said the leak has been contained and the company is monitoring for potential impacts to water and wildlife, and also notified the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Environmental Protection Agency.

MPCA is investigating the spill, spokeswoman Andrea Cournoyer said in a statement.

According to a report to the State Duty Officer, the spill was originally discovered at 11:15 a.m. Tuesday. The report was made 15 minutes later, and Minnesota Power said a “loss of pump pressure” caused the spill.

Coal ash contains pollutants including mercury, cadmium and arsenic, which can pollute water and air if not properly managed, according to the EPA.

The 674-acre Blackwater Lake is a reservoir on the Mississippi River, according to the state Department of Natural Resources. Lake levels are controlled by the Pokegama Dam operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

It’s still unclear how far the material may have spread, or how long the pipeline was leaking. Walter Shadley, Cohasset’s public works and utility supervisor, said the town does not draw its drinking water from the Mississippi.

Minnesota Power draws water from the lake to cool its plant and releases heated water. The DNR describes the lake as “essentially a flooded river channel.” A bay where the DNR said the coal plant discharges heated water attracts fish and is popular with anglers, according to the agency.

The Boswell plant is Minnesota Power’s largest electricity source. Its two operating coal-fired units are capable of producing 932 megawatts of electricity. One unit at the plant is scheduled to retire in 2030, and the second is slated to close in 2035 as the utility transitions to carbon-free power to meet its climate goals and state regulations for a carbon-free grid by 2040.

Here we go, Trump getting his payback after appointing the most unqualified judge ever to the federal bench.

The “documents” case is dismissed. Surprise… surprise…