Pretty sure this is why Ellison is up for the DNC job. Tim Hains for Real Clear Politics reports on the congressman’s “Face the Nation” appearance. “Rep. Keith Ellison spoke about Donald Trump's promise to ‘Drain the Swamp’ of corruption in Washington D.C., saying that ‘swamp creatures’ will thrive under a Trump administration. ‘Donald Trump has already proven where he's going with this thing,’ Ellison said on CBS's 'Face The Nation' on Sunday. ‘He's not draining the swamp. He's filling it up more and there's going to be more swamp creatures than ever before.’ Trump is ‘clearly not normal,’ he added. ‘His level of abuse of working people is extraordinary.’ He added: ‘Not to mention his racism, misogyny, extraordinary as well. It's hard to normalize that and we can never do it, but I would just say, that it's not about Donald Trump.’"
Speaking of Making America Great again. The AP reports, “A college student from Minnesota is among the 32 Americans who have been chosen as Rhodes Scholars and will pursue post-graduate studies at Oxford University in England. Ahmed M. Ahmed, of Rochester, will pursue a master’s degree in research in organic and medical chemistry at Oxford. The Rhodes Trust announced the scholars-elect for 2017 Sunday. Ahmed is a senior at Cornell University majoring in biology. He has tutored students in organic and general chemistry and volunteered with Habitat for Humanity. He is a first-generation Somali immigrant whose family emigrated to the U.S. from a Kenyan refugee camp.”
No chance of downsizing to a condo in Blaine? Another AP story says, “Minnesota officials are soliciting bids for proposed upgrades at the Governor's Residence in St. Paul, including a renovation of the property's carriage house and a new pavilion for events. Materials posted by the Department of Administration say the estimated $800,000 in work would be paid for through private donations and proceed only if that money is secured. The plan calls for the carriage house's remodel and construction of a 4,000-square foot addition that will include a commercial kitchen, dining area, conference room and some office space.”
Now, think about this one for a minute. William Bornhoft of Woodbury Patch says: “A six-point buck head-butted the owner of a rural Minnesota fur company last week before trashing the shop's warehouse, currently full of deer hides being tanned for hunters. The owner of Johnson Fur, located in rural Willmar, Minnesota, believes the buck was seeking a mate and became confused after smelling the deer hides.”
I know I would not like to get trampled by even one of those guys. For the PiPress, Brian Murphy says, “The Vikings’ defense delivered its first big hit before kickoff Sunday when linemen Brian Robison and Linval Joseph steamrolled an unsuspecting Fox audio technician as they ran onto the field at U.S. Bank Stadium. Bernie Beaudry was late getting to his position on the Cardinals’ sideline when he dashed across the southeast tunnel and was broadsided, sending the soundman and his parabolic microphone tumbling hard to the turf. Video of the collision went viral on the internet. Beaudry dusted himself off and worked the game despite mangled eyeglasses and a bloodied nose.”
Vikings Linval Joseph absolutely destroys Fox sound guy during pregame intros https://t.co/4C3Afhj3tU
— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) November 20, 2016
They’ll be rich again in a couple weeks. Says Dan Kraker for MPR, “[Eveleth Mayor Bob Vlaisavljevich] is a vocal Trump supporter, with a Trump bumper sticker plastered on the front of his desk at Eveleth City Hall. ‘I felt kind of bad, when you grew up with the party, your father, your grandfather, were hard working people, and the party represented them in a very good way,’ he said. ‘Now it's drifting away from the values they set up.’ The small-town mayor made headlines during the campaign when he wrote a letter to the editor of the local paper, urging Iron Rangers to back Trump. For him, he said, it was an economic decision. He believes Democrats are too beholden to environmental groups and have become less supportive of mining.” Besides, it’s gotten way too clean up there.
Yeah, I don’t see t-shirt weather around here anymore. Paul Huttner at MPR says, “Computer models still show a low-pressure system tracking from Kansas to northern Illinois from Tuesday morning through Wednesday. … We could see rain or a rain/snow mix over southern Minnesota Tuesday morning, with snow over central and northern Minnesota. The mix over southern Minnesota would tend to change to snow Tuesday afternoon or Tuesday evening.”
57 rooms in Jordan. Says Natalie Daher for the Strib, “Overnight guests may soon have a hotel room to book in Jordan as the city continues to grow. A developer is planning to build a 57-unit GrandStay Hotel, including an indoor pool, in the Scott County city of 6,150 people, which has seen a 12.5 percent population increase since 2010. On Tuesday, the City Council will review and vote on the developer’s site plan. If the council approves, the developer will apply for a building permit and likely start construction by the end of the year … .” In case you want to set south this winter.
Twelve year-olds. Says Paul Walsh in the Strib, “A historic building that once housed the Rush City Creamery in east-central Minnesota has fallen victim to arson, investigators say. The suspects in the midday fire on Nov. 12 are 12-year-olds, the Chisago County Sheriff's Office said Friday. The case has been forwarded to the county attorney's office for it to weigh what criminal consequences there might be for the youngsters. … Fire crews from throughout the area converged on the brick structure and spent most of the day containing the blaze, fire officials said. Rubber and tires on the premises helped fuel the fire.”
Strib columnist Neal St. Anthony takes a look at financial abuse of seniors. “It’s a growth industry of greedy family members, illicit telemarketers, third-party caregivers, financial advisers and others. Prosecutors, with limited resources, pursue only the strongest cases brought to police and state investigators. … And the incidence of elder financial abuse may be worse than previously thought, according to a 2016 independent survey commissioned by Allianz Life Insurance of North America that was released a few days ago. About 37 percent of family and friends who hold caregiving roles said the elder they care for has experienced financial abuse or exploitation that resulted in a financial loss because of a family member, acquaintance, telephone or computer scam, financial adviser or other source.”
Emily Glazer and Rachel Witkowski of The Wall Street Journal, covering Wells Fargo, are in a target rich environment. “Executives at Wells Fargo & Co. over the weekend were grasping to understand more-stringent management restrictions newly imposed on the bank by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The lender remained in the dark about both the reason for and implications of the banking regulator’s mandate, which was issued in a terse statement late Friday. The agency is now requiring the bank to get approval before making a wide range of business decisions or rewarding departing executives with severance payments.”
“SNL” had Target-related advice for shoppers. Something called justjared.com says, “Host Kristen Wiig didn’t bring back her famous ‘Target Lady’ in tonight’s episode of Saturday Night Live, but the show did return to Target! In a hilarious sketch, SNL cast member Cecily Strong demonstrated a few different ways you can keep yourself entertained at the store to avoid any Turkey Day craziness! The ad suggests using the giant empty parking lot as a place to meditate, or sitting down in the bra section and adding random numbers on your phone’s calculator.” Been there. Done that.
