Legalectric

At Monday’s meeting of the Red Wing City Council, Mike Johnson, Chair of the Sustainability Commission, presented this year’s Jay McCleary Sustainability Award to… MOI!

My experience working on issues in Red Wing has been “interesting,” though I’ve yet to sue the City!! From helping on frac sand issues and ejecting our conflicted ex-Mayor Egan, to representing affected landowners on the “ash mining” fiasco and intrusion on the “Water Tank Mounds,” pushing for restoration of the nuclear waste utility personal property tax going way, way back, to working on/with the MPCA about the Xcel Energy garbage burner with the long expired (since 2009) air emissions permit… what all am I forgetting… but local issues are such a small part of my work, and I get the feeling that most of the members of the City Council have no clue what all I’ve been doing for the last 29 years!

It’s so encouraging to have this work recognized by the Sustainability Commission in this town!

Then again, before the presentation there was a reminder of past days in Red Wing when a certain public official tried to stop this 2024 Jay McCleary Sustainability Award from happening, and said (close but not absolute quotes),:

“I don’t want you giving Carol the plaque tonight.” And “This is not a night for presentations.” When the response was asserting that the public gets 3 minutes, that public official said, ” You get your 3 minutes, but not to give a presentation.” And then, a strongly worded “I WANT YOU TO PROMISE ME THAT YOU WON’T GIVE HER THAT AWARD.”

And then when it was time, that public official left the room until the 3 minute presentation was over.

Wish it would have been recorded… Oh well, on with the presentation.

A hearty thank you from me to the Sustainability Commission.