Hillary Clinton makes fundraising stop in Minneapolis

Hillary Clinton was in town. The WCCO-TV story says, “The front-runner for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination is visiting Minneapolis Monday. Hillary Rodham Clinton is holding a fundraiser at the home of Ellen Goldberg Luger, wife of Andy Luger, the U.S. Attorney for Minnesota. … Prior to Clinton’s arrival the Republican Party of Minnesota held a news conference at the state office building, and the party isn’t shying away from letting everyone know how they feel about her visit to the Twin Cities. They say she is dishonest and untrustworthy. At the news conference the Republican Party of Minnesota accused Clinton of being shady, secretive and misleading voters.” Did either Ted Cruz, Scott Walker or Donald Trump have anything to add to that?

The Strib editorial board puts on its wonk hats and dissects the deep numbers of the state’s finances. “Total authorized general fund spending for 2016-17 reached $41.8 billion, $706 million more than forecast under previous law. That represents the third-lowest rate of growth, biennium over biennium, since 1960 — a bragging point for the Legislature’s fiscal conservatives. But it’s not the whole story.”

Also in the budget, money for psychosis. Chris Serres of the Strib says, “After years of grass roots lobbying by such advocacy groups as the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), the 2015 Legislature approved funding for an innovative program that offers early detection and treatment of psychosis in young people. The goal is to reach young patients before their mental illness advances to a profound and harder-to-treat stage. While the funding is modest — $1 million through 2019 — the impact could be far-reaching by calling attention to a problem that often goes untreated. State officials estimate that 1,500 youth in ­Minnesota have an initial episode of psychosis each year.”

Wisconsin. For Deadspin, the sports site, Timothy Burke writes, “Cops arrested 22 people at Kenny Chesney’s Saturday concert at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, and dozens others were ejected for misbehaviors police attribute entirely to alcohol. At one point, cops were so overwhelmed by miscreants that they momentarily lost track of exactly how many troublemakers had been booked for unlawful conduct. Medical rooms ‘had lines out the door’ during concert, keeping firefighters hopping. Indeed, so many drunk country music fans were ejected from the Packers’ stadium that Green Bay cops didn’t even bother trying to count the numbers, the Press-Gazette reports. This violent and thuggish behavior— unquestionably provoked by Kenny Chesney’s pro-intoxication repertoire — led to arrest numbers double that of Pittsburgh, where only ten people were arrested at Chesney’s concert a month ago.”

Related: City Pages’ Kara Nesvig explains “bro-country”: “I really like five bro-country songs. Whew, OK. You’re probably wondering what the big deal is. But for a classic-country devotee, admitting this is a big step. ‘Bro country is ruining our beloved genre!’ critics cry. And it totally is. Bro country — that dominant force in country music featuring songs about babes, beers, and trucks — is terrible. At the same time, I grew up in the smallest of small towns, with a population of about 300, and I can’t help but feel nostalgic when I hear bro-country songs. They sound like fooling around with my farmboy boyfriend in his F-150 pickup, or like hanging out at an abandoned farmhouse and drinking Smirnoff Ice as a teenager. Really, I was that girl in a country song.” What? They didn’t have Nickelback where she grew up?

It probably wasn’t a snapper. Pat Evans for KARE-TV says, “Anyone who has seen a reality show knows that some pretty amazing things can happen while the cameras are rolling. A case in point happened recently on NBC’s new reality show, ‘The Island.’ Minnesota Native Benji Lanpher rescued a sea turtle by giving mouth to mouth. Lanpher talked to KARE11 about the amazing ordeal and he filled us in on what it’s like to be on the reality show.” When he does that to a lamprey eel then I’ll be impressed.

Job opening. The PiPress says, “With Minnesota AFL-CIO President Shar Knutson announcing her retirement, Minnesota labor will have a new voice going into the next election. Knutson, who has been at the helm of the 300,000 member union organization since 2009, announced she will retire in October of this year. The statewide labor group’s general board will meet in mid-July to discuss plans to elect a new president.”

Who invited you to dinner last night? Stribber Allison Sherry reports, “Two accomplished Minnesota women were invited guests of President Barack Obama Monday night at the White House Iftar dinner in honor of Ramadan. Munira Khalif of Fridley was accepted to all eight Ivy League schools this year. She finished her senior year in the spring at Mounds Park Academy and is the daughter of two Somali immigrants. Kadra Mohamad of St. Paul was the state’s first Somali-American police officer and works for the Metro Transit Police Department.”

Do I hear $10? John Myers of the Forum News Service says, “The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources is getting ready to hold another auction of state mineral leases — plots of northern Minnesota land mining companies can bid on to explore for copper, nickel, gold and other valuable metals. The DNR plans to offer 199 units across 103,000 acres in St. Louis, Aitkin, Carlton, Itasca, Koochiching, Cass and Kanabec Counties where the state holds the mineral rights. The largest concentration of sites proposed for minerals exploration is about 30 miles north of Duluth, between Island and Whiteface lakes, in the Cloquet Valley State Forest.”

Pop quiz. How many types of bees buzz around Minnesota? At MPR Destanie Martin-Johnson reports, “‘About 500,’ guesses researcher Dan Cariveau. He doesn’t know for sure, but it’s one of many questions drawing him from Rutgers University in New Jersey to the U of M Bee Lab. Cariveau will join other bee researchers in the new Bee and Pollinator research building which breaks ground in August. He’s the first researcher at the U to focus solely on native bees.”

Another $54 million worth of LRT adjacent development. Stribber Jim Buchta says, “With a saltwater swimming pool, a workshop for bicyclists and a cyber cafe, an Indianapolis-based developer hopes to create a one-of-a-kind apartment building on the border of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Flaherty & Collins Properties will break ground Tuesday on 2700 University, a $54 million mixed-use apartment building in an up-and-coming area at the corner of University and Emerald avenues along the Green Line.”

You do wonder what century this guy is living in. At Power Line, your first stop for deep thinking on racial issues, John Hinderaker wades into the debate over removing the Confederate flag from the front of the South Carolina Capitol. “Those who now attack the flag say that it is a symbol of racism and an affront to African-American citizens. This is a relatively new idea, I think. When I was a college student, one of my friends, who was from Alabama, had a Confederate flag hanging over his bed. (‘The South will rise again!’ was his mantra. He turned out to be right about that.) It didn’t occur to us then that the flag had anything to do with race. Of course, race relations were better then.”