Daily Glean: Home foreclosure issue: Bachmann vs. Ellison

The Minnesota Independent notes that Rep. Michele Bachmann’s 6th Congressional District has the most home foreclosures of any district in the state, yet “Bachmann’s record in Congress is not one of a representative whose district faces such a crisis. Bachmann hasn’t authored or sponsored any legislation to assist homeowners facing foreclosure, but she has co-sponsored 14 bills to restrict abortions and five to promote Christianity in government.” Rep. Keith Ellison represents the district with the second-highest foreclosure rate. By contrast,  “Ellison’s efforts to address the foreclosure crisis have been noticed on a national scale,” notes reporter Andy Birkey.

The 400 absentee ballots yet to be counted in the Senate election for the ages have all arrived in St. Paul for today’s recount redux, says Patricia Lopez in the Strib. The three judges will watch with eagle legal eyes as 387 are added to the totals (13 already have been counted, they say). Gary Poser, “the soft-spoken director of elections in the secretary of state’s office,” will read off the results in his “best Ben Stein imitation,” says Rachel Stassen-Berger in the Pioneer Press. The judges should rule within days, but it’s clear the loser — who everyone, including his own lawyer, believes will be former Sen. Norm Coleman — will promptly appeal. Live coverage of the vote-opening, scheduled to start at 9:30 a.m., is at The Uptake.

With the recount appeals likely to stretch toward summer, MPR reports that Coleman is using the conservative media to keep his campaign alive. His line on the talk shows: Make sure that the votes are counted fairly and uniformly, and we’ll go to the Minnesota Supreme Court if we have to. Coleman doesn’t risk much backlash from those appearances, because most viewers and listeners already agree with him, Washington University political scientist Steve Smith told the radio network: “So he’s there addressing his natural constituency, and there’s very little harm that he can do if he handles himself properly.”

The big grass fire that endangered some homes in Anoka County may have been started intentionally by a firefighter, WCCO-TV is reporting this morning. A 40-year-old suspect has been arrested. The Pioneer Press print edition hints at arson in the series of grass fires, the largest of which scorched nearly 2,000 acres in the Carlos Avery Wildlife area.

A fond memorial to WCCO-AM icon Steve Cannon today from Neal Justin in the Star Tribune. Cannon, whose legendary drive-time show featured a pantheon of characters, all voiced by him, died Monday of cancer at age 81. Justin interviewed radio stalwarts Dark Star and Tommy Mischke, who rhapsodize about Cannon’s style and longevity. One commenter on the Strib site said: “Farewell Steve, Morgan, Ma and Backlash. Now there’s a local celebrity who will never, ever, be replaced.”

After days of stories about the suspicious history of a gun found at the scene of the 2006 fatal police shooting of Fong Lee in Minneapolis, Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan broke his silence on the matter and said the gun was not planted by officers, says the Star Tribune. But the Pioneer Press notes that inconsistent statements cloud the case. For even though an internal affairs probe called the shooting justified because the teen pointed a gun at the officer, the officer who fired eight shots said the gun was not pointed at him. A civil trial on the matter will start next month.

Both papers and MPR note that the Lower St. Croix River, from Taylors Falls to Prescott, Wis., lands on a list of 10 endangered rivers put out by the American Rivers watch group. The Pioneer Press notes poor zoning decisions and too much development have put pressure on the river and quotes American Rivers President Rebecca Wodder saying: “It’s the equivalent of a death by a thousand cuts.” New Strib columnist Jon Tevlin (how long before we don’t think of him as “new?”) interviews Jim Fitzpatrick of the Carpenter St. Croix Valley Nature Center who uses the phrase “being nibbled to death by ducks.” MPR’s Sea Stachura takes a look at the river through the eyes of a fishing guide, who says nothing about cuts or nibbles but notes: “The rows and rows and rows and miles of housing developments. One right after the other, that has to take a toll on that waterway. It has to.”

And then there were eight. Denny Hecker’s troubles continue with the closing of his Stillwater Cadillac Pontiac GMC dealership. He’s now closed 18 of the 26 dealerships he had at the height of his reign, said the Star Tribune. Workers at Southview Chevrolet fear they’ll be next.

Monday night’s Twins opener was more than a sports story: It was a goodbye to the Dome, a hello to summer (any day now) and a chance to speculate about whether it might snow a year from now when the Twins are scheduled to play outdoors next to the garbage burner. MPR found fans who were looking backward and forward. So did the Star Tribune. “It’s just kind of nice after winter and all, being hopeful and thinking about spring and baseball,” said one fan.

As for the actual game: The Mariners were sailing high Monday night, spoiling the Twins last Metrodome home opener. The Seattle Times is happy. After one day, the Al Central Division is 0-for-April. North Carolina romped in Detroit, beating home-state underdog Michigan State in the NCAA Final Four finals. The Detroit Free Press says the Spartans got hit by a hurricane.