City Response to Data Practices Request
October 18th, 2023
“Our” Mayor Wilson is fond of waving around a handful of papers, claiming to have screenshots of Open Meeting Law violations and of Data Breaches by City Council and/or City Commission members.
Received today, “Response” which I don’t think is responsive (and again below):
Check the handwritten comments – I doubt that’s his writing!! Note also, claim hand-written in that Becky Norton is using her private page yet making comments “speaking as Elected Official” — FALSE (Wilson forgets his ex parte letter to judge opening with “As Red Wing’s Mayor...”); a written comment on October 13 that Moderator Laura McDonough is Evan Brown’s wife (I really doubt that she was Moderating last week); that Anna Ostendorf is on Charter Commission (DOH, School Board… perhaps he means Ann Vogel or Anne Robertson?); “posting pics without knowing” (ha ha ha ha ha…) and I guess I shouldn’t say “WTAF.” Well… WTAF!
As you may recall, after that Council meeting, August 28th, 2023, where he TWICE waved around a handful of papers making these claims of violations of Open Meeting Law and Data Breqches, I fired off a Data Practices Act Request. If, that is IF, there are such violations and breaches, let’s see the proof, get it to the City Attorney, and the City must investigate! Amy Mace, City Attorney, did say on the record that the City would be interested in such violations.
That DPA Request was denied, with a claim that Wilson was using a “hypothetical,” which was off, because he was referring to specifics, so I sent a follow up request:
Today, just received a response, though I think that this is only part of the larger handful of screenshots, as these seem to focus mostly on yours truly! If this is really all he has, that’s a long way from Open Meeting Law violations and Data Breaches. And dig the handwritten comments, how petty can you get!
Just WOW… pathetic…
Big picture of transmission in Minnesota
October 11th, 2023
YES!
Can you believe it? A media report listing much of the new transmission proposed for Minnesota. The plans are being noticed!!!
Minnesota Utilities Completing 19 Transmission Line Upgrades
And here’s the list — yes, it’s extensive:
CapX2020 Brookings 2nd 345 kV Circuit 60 Xcel Energy/GRE/OTP/ MRES/CMPAS Lincoln, Lyon
CapX2020 Helena 2nd 345 kV Circuit 39 Xcel Energy/GRE/OTP/ MRES/CMPAS Scott, Dakota
Hoot Lake-Fergus Falls 115 kV 2 OTP/MRES Otter Tail
Morris-Grant County 115 kV 24 MRES Grant, Stevens
Franklin-Ft Ridgely-Swan Lake 115 kV 39 Xcel Energy Nicollet
Swan Lake-Wilmarth 115 kV 16 Xcel Energy Nicollet
Red Rock-Raptor 115 kV 7 Xcel Energy Washington
AAR* – Johnson Jct.-Morris 115 kV 15 GRE/OTP Big Stone, Stevens
Canby-Granite Falls 115 kV 39 OTP Yellow, Medicine
AAR* – Inman-Elmo-Parkers Prairie-Miltona-Alexandria 115 kV 34 GRE/OTP Otter Tail, Douglas
AAR* – Mud Lake-Benton 230 kV 51 GRE/MP Crow Wing, Morrison, Benton
Rogers Lake-High Bridge 115 kV 0.5 Xcel Energy Ramsey, Dakota
Wakefield-St. Cloud 115 kV 18 Xcel Energy Stearns
Pleasant Valley-Byron 161 kV 17 Xcel Energy/GRE/SMMPA Mower, Dodge, Olmsted
Big Stone-Blair 230 kV 33 OTP Grant, Deuel (SD)
Coon Creek-Terminal 345 kV 14 Xcel Energy Anoka, Ramsey
Coon Creek-Kohlman Lake 345 kV 20 Xcel Energy Anoka, Ramsey
AAR* – Forbes-Iron Range 230 kV 34 MP St. Louis, Itasca
AAR* – Blackberry-Riverton 230 kV 67 MP Crow Wing, Aitkin, Itasca
Xmsn Road Show – Northland Reliability Project
October 11th, 2023
The Public Utilities Commission deemed the “Northland Reliability Project” complete, and so we’re off to the races, the permitting process has begun. Minnesota Power and Great River Energy filed both the Certificate of Need application (CN-22-416) and the Routing application (TL-22-415). It’s a long line, and the application is LARGE. Here’s the joint application narrative:
For the rest of the application go HERE TO PUC eDOCKEtS PAGE and click on “Go to eDockets” and search for “year” 22 and “Docket” 415 or 416.
Now, about that road show, errrr, “Public Information and Environmental Assessment Scoping Meetings” to be held over a week around northern Minnesota:
There’s also a Webex meeting on Friday the 27th!
This is the time to let them know your concerns, up close and personal. You can also send comments in writing — keeping in mind that this is the time for comments about the scope of the “Environmental Assessment” and here’s what they want comments on — not that this is ALL you may comment on — but commenting on these issues, framing your concerns into these questions, will increase odds of yuor concerns being considered. Be as specific as possible, and yes, include maps, charts, graphs, circles, and arrows:
Read the “need” section carefully, because I sure can’t find anything specific, and the “Transmission Studies” in Appendix I are “CONFIDENTIAL.” What? And what I’ve found in other transmission dockets is that the need is overstated at best, and usually it’s not needed at all, it’s WANTED. It’s all about money, it’s all about market, after all, the MISO “studies” that they now rely on as demonstrating “need” is for MISO, MISO is a MARKET. It is not a reliability organization like NERC (North American Electric Reliability Corporation). (In case you’re interested, here’s the latest NERC report, the 2022 Long Term Reliability Assessment, with the details.)
MISO is all about delivering benefits (dollars) to its MEMBERS (read all about it HERE):
I digress…
If you have questions, if you have concerns, read the Application-Narrative, look up the docket filings, determine if there are things missing, issues of concern, considerations that they’re NOT considering, put all that into a comment. And look at the questions for which they’re seeking answers, and write up comments specific to those questions. It’s a bit of homework, but that’s what’s required if you want to weigh in, and that’s OUR job, letting them know what we know that they should account for, and what they’re missing or ignoring.
Send comments:
Get to work! It’ll take a while to get familiar with the application, and it will take forever to download the maps and other appendices.
America First again, and again
October 9th, 2023
So many videos of Trump, Green, Gaetz at the “America First” rallies in Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, am I missing any? Trump said said he was pushing “economic nationalism.”
Trump vows to ‘launch a revival of economic nationalism’ at Cedar Rapids rally
At Iowa rally, Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, Matt Gaetz advocate for Trump’s ‘America First’ values
Green supporting “America First” after she “rejects” it:
America First Caucus exposed (& 86’d by Greene) April 17th, 2021
(link in that post: Marjorie Taylor Greene scraps planned launch of controversial ‘America First’ caucus amid blowback from GOP)
The “Put America First” PAC?
Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz’s Big Fundraising PAC Is Nearly Broke
“Put America First” Joint Fundraising Committee – Summary and some details
As I’ve posted here and written about before, “America First” is nothing new:
Iowans heard about ‘America First’ 76 years before Trump
We have “our” own America First state House Rep. Pam Altendorf right here:
What I can’t wrap my brain around is their current support of Israel given America First’s rabid anti-semitism. Is it anything more than supporting Putin and increasing chaos around the world? And no doubt this America First tour is distractivism from the chaos in the U.S. I’m having enough trouble wrapping my head around Hamas attack on Israel and the back and forth carnage, Putin’s involvement, comparison’s with Ukraine, and the timing. Having Trump, Greene, and Gaetz in the mix sure doesn’t help.
What a mess…
