WCCO-TV’s Pat Kessler got Gov. Dayton’s reaction to the NFL’s, dare we say, absurd list of demands for the Super Bowl: “They require snow plow priority, summer golf courses and even world-class bowling alleys for an NFL celebrity tournament. ‘It doesn’t look good,’ Dayton said. He still hasn’t seen what the bid committee agreed to, but reluctantly agrees that it’s the price of getting a Super Bowl.” Wait a minute, the governor still hasn’t seen what was agreed to?
Not exactly growlers on Sunday … Sam Black at the Business Journal reports: “Target Corp. will begin selling beer, wine and liquor in its home state for the first time this summer, although the effort is confined to a single store for now. The Otsego, Minn., City Council on Monday approved an application from Minneapolis-based Target … for a liquor store within the SuperTarget at 15800 87th St N.E. in Otsego. The retailer also submitted plans to Otsego’s planning department to add ‘Wine and Spirits’ to the signage on the seven-year-old store.”
Also in Target’s world … . Martin Moylan of MPR tosses in a piece on the anti-board fever likely to be seen and heard at the shareholders meeting starting today in Dallas. “It’s hard to forecast how many shareholders will heed the call to purge the board, but chances are they’ll deliver a strong message. ‘It is a fireworks moment,’ said Michael Useem, director the Wharton Leadership Center at the University of Pennsylvania. He expects shareholders will stop short of voting out board members but will deliver the message to ‘delve more aggressively into making certain there’s no repeat or that other disasters that are lurking out there for virtually any kind of large company don’t come home to roost. ‘ ” The “Moms Against Guns” group will also be protesting … with strollers.
Also in big boxes … Kavita Kumar of the Strib tells us: “As shareholders gathered Tuesday in Richfield for their annual meeting, the man who has been widely lauded for getting the world’s biggest electronics retailer back on track said the first year of the company’s turnaround plan has been strong. Best Buy is, so far, exceeding its goal for cost cutting and finding $860 million in savings. … The retailer’s strong performance drove its decision Tuesday to raise its quarterly dividend by 12 percent, or 2 cents a share.”
Word of the official push for a Major League Soccer franchise got around fast. At the PiPress, Andy Greder writes: “As 32 nations compete on soccer’s biggest stage in the World Cup starting Thursday, two sides in Minnesota are vying for an expansion Major League Soccer franchise on different platforms. The Minnesota Vikings are making their push public, while Minnesota United FC owner Bill McGuire and Minnesota Twins owner Jim Pohlad remain mostly private. The Vikings announced that owner Mark Wilf met with MLS leaders this week ‘as part of an ongoing discussion,’ according to Vikings vice president of public affairs and stadium development Lester Bagley.” Be the first to claim your Personal Seat License.
The state came up $17 million short last month … In the Strib, Baird Helgeson says: “Minnesotans paid more than $1.4 billion in state taxes in May, about $17 million less than state budget officials predicted. Individual income tax collections were $15 million, or 2.3 percent, less than protected. Sales taxes nearly hit their target, coming in at $372 million, just $1 million below estimates. Other forms of revenue beat targets by $22 million, offsetting much of the decline in other areas.” Is there still a line item for e-pulltabs?
Someone needs psychological help … The NorthlandNewsCenter in Duluth reports: “A Minnesota psychologist’s career may be in jeopardy after allegedly getting caught prowling in a campus bathroom. … According to court officials, [Dr. James] Jarmuskewicz was attending a conference at Louisiana State University (LSU) in April, when he allegedly followed a man into a bathroom. He got down on the floor to watch the man use the bathroom in the next stall.”
The president’s pick for ambassador to Norway gets yet another beating, this time from the Strib editorial page: “Why this successful businessman didn’t bother to bone up on Norway before testifying before a congressional panel is a mystery. Although there’s a long tradition in both parties of rewarding big donors with prestigious ambassadorial posts, [George] Tsunis’ nomination marks a new low and is a reminder of what a lousy practice this is. Tsunis should be savvy enough to know that the best thing for his country would be to make a gracious exit.”
Icebergs are still floating around Lake Superior. MPR’s Paul Huttner has photos and says: “The last remnants of the iciest winter in 35 years are still afloat on Lake Superior. … You can see why the ice is in no hurry to melt given water temps still lingering in the frigid 30s on the big lake. … In case you were wondering, our polar vortex-driven winter and cold spring mean absolutely nothing in the context of climate change. As I’ve posted many times before, Minnesota has been the coldest place on the planet so far this year. This is the sixth warmest year on record globally so far.”
NFL GREED on full display
The NFL GREED Factor continues to be on full display for all to see. Have the public build you a stadium that much of the public will never use or can’t afford to use, put a mediocre football team on the field, ask for everything, just for you, to be free. It is why the rich keep getting richer. Unabashed GREED.
“the governor still hasn’t seen what was agreed”
Of course not !! He is a mere cheerleader.
You wouldn’t have the Vikings’ cheerleaders take part in contract negotiations, would you ?
Before we get into the bellyaching…
Does anyone know if the NFL’s demands for Minnesota differed significantly from those made of previous cities? If not, I don’t see an issue here.
A lot of this story sounds like the Star Tribune being proud of itself for obtaining a “secret document.”
Tom, I would see it just the opposite.
If they’re just like the demands made of previous cities, that means those purportedly representing the peoples’ interest knew exactly what forms of tribute they would be coercing us to make.
One of the chief arguments of stadium opponents all along has been that once a community turns the foundation of its economic and social prosperity from its own organic, local, human-scale efforts to the hoped-for mercy of distilled avarice operating from distant palisades of corporatized wealth, the damage will lie not just in the original deal but in the ongoing exploitation of every opportunity that can be conceived by a phalanx of attorneys and factotums to extract yet more of the community’s economic and social surplus. The inevitability is clear in advance, but the experience elsewhere gives due warning for those who don’t think in abstract concepts.
I take it you’re not a football fan
I love professional football and am fairly certain that I can think in abstract concepts. Outside money and “corporatized wealth” are very important — and overwhelmingly positive — parts of our economic ecosystem. To me, you’re getting deep in the weeds when you play this into a cancerous ploy to disenfranchise Minneapolitans like you and like me. Hosting the Super Bowl is a big deal and everyone knows the NFL makes heavy demands of its host cities.
Lessons learned in kindergarten …
A question for Tom Johnson above; does it matter if the NFL’s demands are the same as in other cities?
I’ll bet your Mom said – “If all your friends jumped off the HIgh Bridge should you?”