Pohlman hired by Lakefield!
March 10th, 2021
![](https://legalectric.org/f/2021/03/image-5.png)
UPDATE: Were the ~250 who “signed” the Pohlman “Petition” notified that he was seeking a new job, appeared before and was offered position by Lakefield City Council on March 1, and his acceptance was announced by the Council March 8? That “Petition” was demanding “that Chief Pohman be immediately reinstated…” (I have this in quotes because there are no signatures, just typed names).
A little birdie told me that Red Wing’s fired ex-Police Chief Roger Pohlman was lining up a new job in Lakefield, MN, a town I know of from transmission lines, the Split-Rock-Lakefield Jct., and ITC’s Line 4:
![](https://nocapx2020.info/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/MVP3-4_Cropped.jpg)
It’s a tiny town, 1,753 people. Add two more soon, as sure enough, Roger Pohlman has been hired as their new Chief of Police, a position open for over 8 months! Here’s the solicitation, still on the City site (Police_Chief_(1).doc):
![](https://legalectric.org/f/2021/03/image-9-1024x301.png)
Note this tidbit, in the 2nd article below, where Council offered him the job:
Pohlman said he wants to come to Lakefield to finish his career on a strong note and serve a tight-knit community close to home that shares his values.
Here are the two articles I could find, each following a Council meeting:
And the report from the Council meeting the week before, where they offered him the job (I wonder if he applied before, or after, he was fired):
Now that all the folks who got all worked up wanting to do a recall of SIX City Council members over Pohlman’s firing will learn he’s off to Lakefield, what will they do with all that sturm and drang? Here’s the “Petition” that was filed, with some wild “Whereas” clauses and a typed list of names, NO SIGNATURES! Here it is, in a prior post:
Pohlman support “petition”
March 9th, 2021
Pohlman support “petition”
March 9th, 2021
This Petition was made public February 19,2021 at 10:43 a.m., just hours before Red Wing’s Police Chief Roger Pohlman was fired, by Janie Farrar on our Red Wing Convo page. At the time, because personnel matters are confidential, I wondered what information they were basing this Petition on, and really, what would it accomplish? He wasn’t even fired yet, and nothing was public. Who was leaking, and who was spreading false information, and how would anyone be able to discern truth from lie?
Although the Petition was posted on a community fb page, the signature pages were not, and so I filed a Data Practices Act request, and check this out — there aren’t signatures! Committee to Recall City Hall? We’ll see how this goes. If this is how they do a “petition,” oh, my…
The charter says that they’d need 20% of the registered voters in a ward, or combination of wards, or in the City, depending on representation of the council member they want to recall. As of November 3, 2020, there were 9,905 registered voters in the City of Red Wing, Wards 1-4. What does 20% look like?
- Ward 1 – 2,674 registered voters = 534
- Ward 2 – 2,575 registered voters = 515
- Ward 3 – 2,617 registered voters = 523
- Ward 4 – 2,424 registered voters = 484
Let’s do the math… if they want to recall all but Beise.. SNORT! How many registered voters in that councilor’s ward(s) are needed?
- Hove – Wards 1 & 2 = 5,249, 20% = 1,049
- Klitzke – Ward 2 = 2,575, 20% = 515
- Norton – Ward 3 = 2,617, 20% – 523
- Buss – Ward 4 = 2,424, 20% = 484
- Brown – Wards 3 & 4, 20% = 5,041
- Stinson – At Large – All Wards 9,905, 20% = 1,981
The City Council did their job and fired Pohlman. If it were up to me, I’d have taken Pohlman to the woodshed over “Ordinance 115.” Thankfully that was tabled over 2 years ago and hasn’t returned — info here:
Ordinance #115 LTE in Republican Eagle December 8th, 2017
Anyway, here’s the Petition,and note the language, particularly in that first “Whereas” clause, and the part about “anti-police protesters.”
![](https://legalectric.org/f/2021/03/image-1.png)
![](https://legalectric.org/f/2021/03/image-2.png)
![](https://legalectric.org/f/2021/03/image-3.png)
![](https://legalectric.org/f/2021/03/image-4.png)
![](https://media.tenor.com/images/5cfafa653a22d945d95c417f039a8f35/tenor.gif)
Grant County Intervenors’ Briefs
March 8th, 2021
![](https://legalectric.org/f/2011/03/pilesofiles.jpg)
Whew, time to take a breather. We had two briefs due at 1:30 p.m. today, and got them filed with 1/2 hour to spare! Let’s hear it for the power of Doritos! (Only way I got through Contracts and Corporations in law school was a two-fisted supply of Doritos and Haagen Dazs)
![](https://legalectric.org/f/2021/03/20210307_1737311-2-768x1024.jpg)
Here are our Grant County Intervenor briefs. Here’s the one for the Grant County Solar docket focusing on the CPCN application for that one project, followed by Applicant-Grant County Solar/NextEra:
And our non-party brief in the WP&L acquisition docket for SIX solar projects covering over 5,400 acres, followed by the others:
ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Xcel demand remains down
February 17th, 2021
![](https://legalectric.org/f/2013/06/elevatordown.jpg)
Xcel Energy’s 10-K for 2020 is out:
Peak demand remains under 9,000MW:
![](https://legalectric.org/f/2021/02/image-17.png)
Note the peak was 2006, we got close in 2011, but not above that 2006 peak. Right now, we’re 1,200MW below that 2006 peak, essentially the equivalent of Prairie Island nuclear plant’s two reactors.
We’ve got the surplus generation to make some choices, folks…
Surrebuttal Testimony in Grant County Solar docket
February 3rd, 2021
![](https://legalectric.org/f/2021/02/image-7-1024x653.png)
And from NextEra/Grant County Solar, LLC:
![](https://legalectric.org/f/2021/02/ThatsAllFolks-1-851x1024.jpg)