Undercover video purports to show abuses at Minnesota pork processor

by MinnPost staff 11/11/201511/11/2015

The Glean First we learn bacon causes cancer, now this. In the Washington Post, Roberto A. Ferdman reports on some new information out of Austin, Minnesota: “An undercover video taken at one of the nation’s largest pork producers shows pigs being dragged across the floor, beaten with paddles, and sick to the point of immobility. By law, pigs are supposed to be rendered unconscious before being killed, but many are shown writhing in apparent pain while bleeding out, suggesting that they weren’t properly stunned. ‘That one was definitely alive,’ a worker says. … The video also appears to show pigs with puss-filled abscesses being sent down the line. Others are covered in feces.”

The Gophers have their football coach. MPR’s Tim Nelson and Jon Collins report, “The University of Minnesota announced Wednesday that it has hired Tracy Claeys as head coach of the Gophers football team. … Claeys, who was named interim head coach following Jerry Kill’s resignation last month over health concerns, signed a three-year contract. He called it an honor to follow Kill. … ‘Our kids have done a tremendous job, we’ll continue to build on the same principles,’ including the importance of education and competing for a Big Ten championship, Claeys told reporters Wednesday after the university announced the deal.”

Macy’s needs a makeover. The Star Tribune’s Kristen Leigh Painter writes, “The downtown Minneapolis Macy’s store will likely be saved as the retailer announced Wednesday it is seeking partners to redevelop the mammoth Nicollet Mall building along with several others in its portfolio. … In announcing its third-quarter results, Macy’s executives quelled fears that the company might close the store, as it did its store in St. Paul two years ago and another landmark store in downtown Pittsburgh this summer. … Executives have put Minneapolis in the camp of ‘Macy’s flagship real estate assets’ along with its store locations in Manhattan at Herald Square, San Francisco at Union Square and Chicago on State Street.”

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Also up for a re-do: St. Paul’s Rice Park. Frederick Melo reports in the Pioneer Press, “ The St. Paul Parks Conservancy has teamed with the St. Paul Garden Club and the Rice Park Association to raise $1.35 million in donations to improve the park — an iconic downtown gathering space between the George Latimer Central Library and the Landmark Center. Overall project costs could reach $2.4 million. … ‘We’re looking at a 12- to 18-month campaign to bring that amount of money in,’ said John Bennett, board chair of the St. Paul Parks Conservancy. ‘We’ll tackle this project in stages if we need to. We’ve got ambitious goal because we want to take care of our capital city.’ ”