Camping at Camden State Park, etc.!
June 17th, 2018
Back from camping with a friend this week. Last fall, a friend from Northfield mentioned that she’d like to visit Pipestone National Monument, it was on her bucket list, but there’s no campground at Pipestone, just an RV park (UGH!) nearby, sooooo, have pop-up, will travel, and we booked it in October! Alan and I have the routine down, and it’s very different with a friend who hasn’t been camping in decades, and never in a pop-up!
Getting there… CapX 2020 and other transmission was EVERYWHERE!
The weather was bizarre. Got set up, but had to do it quickly, as it dribbled a bit of rain not long after (whew, good timing). But the WIND! WHEW! It was SO windy. Tied down the awning right away, and ultimately had to use an emergency blanked clamped to the awning as a windscreen to be able to cook! Put the camper’s stove on the table, set up as another wind screen, and propped up the Coleman in that, kinda precarious, but needed the shelter. It rained all day and all night and the next day too, and most of the next night!!! Waterlogged, for sure!
Hard to keep everything under the awning, and very hard to keep that emergency blanket “rain fly” in one place. On the stove there is the makings of wild rice (and sweet peppers, corn, green onions, mushrooms, and a dash of cream!), to go with the turkey (so easy when we have electricity, the hardest part is fitting it in the convection oven). Got the hang of this now, first one was Thanksgiving in Arkansas, and this was worry free, no way the wind could blow away that oven.
The next day, we hit Pipestone National Monument, which was cool, actually hot but windy to make it OK, and there was a class meeting in the grass near the building when we arrived, and the next day, we learned that the Minnesota Historical Society had a group that had been there the day before, I think it was part of the American Indian Museum Fellowship program. Pipestone National Monument is a sacred site,and in many places, there are remnants of prayers and offerings.
There are active quarries, and inside, three stations for pipestone carvers. The carver I talked with had been wanting a spot there for over a decade, and it’s a long-term family thing, with ties going back generations, with the next generation waiting for someone to retire before they can take a place there as a carver. Throughout, I thought of Robert Rosebear — I’d commissioned a piece decades ago, and he put a lot more into it than I’d bargained for, much more, the detail was amazing, priceless. How he planned and pieced that together was amazing. Rosebear had mined the pipestone for his carvings from the quarries here. It struck me that natives have to go through a permitting process to mine pipestone, but how does that work? How is it that the Pipestone National Monument got into the hands of the feds, and the feds are in charge of determining who gets to mine at this sacred site? Seems a bit off…
But this… GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
The following day, we went over to the Jeffers Petroglyphs:
It was impossible to get reasonable photos because it was at early afternoon, and the sun disappeared the petroglyphs, but staff tricks with boards and mirrors, and an occasional squirt bottle revealed them. Here’s a depiction:
Thursday, it was off to Albert Lea for some pretty monumentous real estate closings — the Bent Tree buyouts are DONE! What an intense day! And over 300 miles!
It’s good to be home!!
Yes, wind developers and promoters are ALARMED!
June 13th, 2018
The Star Tribune gets it — what will it take for developers and promoters to get it, and to get to work and help fix the wind siting rules, practices, and procedures? What is it going to take for developers and promoters get that they need to deal with the demonstrated problems with siting, rather than distract and divert? We need wind siting rules, standards, and procedures people can live with. This is 20+ years overdue. It is no coincidence that with the first siting docket to utilize the proper siting criteria, the first siting docket to hold a contested case, we get that result. Wind has been sited improperly for 20+ years now. Let’s deal with this going forward, have a wind siting rulemaking, develop appropriate wind siting standards (not like the bogus 2008 attempt), and looking back, develop a workable complaint process and address problems with operating projects. Just quit the dodging and weaving… They’re terrified, yet dig in their heels and flail rather than deal with it… (I mean really, all the cut and paste comments, good grief, is that the best they can do?)
Judge’s ruling against Minnesota wind farm causes alarm for advocates
They say judge’s opposition to proposal could threaten future of the industry.
Muller files for Red Wing City Council
June 9th, 2018
click for larger version
Exceptions to ALJ’s Freeborn Recommendation
June 9th, 2018
Here’s the Recommendation of the Administrative Law Judge.
In short:
Exceptions of parties to the Freeborn Wind siting permit proceeding:
Freeborn_Exceptions_20186-143678-02
Exceptions of “affected parties”
Cookie cutter cut and paste form letters with minor modifications:
Here’s a late filed one, another form letter:
Bent Tree Order filed by PUC
June 5th, 2018
The settlement agreements for Minnesota’s first landowner buyouts were approved by the Public Utilities Commission at its agenda meeting on May 17, 2018. Today, it’s REAL, the written order has been filed.
Thanks to Alliant/Wisconsin Power & Light for their work in getting this done. Now, time for a couple of closings!
And at the same time, let’s whip this wind siting process into shape!