Righting a wrong. Maya Rao at the Star Tribune has a report on Congress returning land to the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe: “The measure reverses a land seizure by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) that began in the late 1940s, when the agency authorized the sale of tribal land allotments to the U.S. Forest Service without the owners’ consent. Sen. Tina Smith, a sponsor, has said that the bill would restore land ‘that was wrongfully taken from’ the Ojibwe… The measure passed the U.S. Senate, but awaits action in the U.S. House, where Democratic U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan has led the effort. The lower chamber has until the end of the year to act.”
A worthy cause. KSTP has a segment on the National Alliance on Mental Illness lobbying Gov.-elect Tim Walz on behalf of the Competency Restoration Program: “A mental health advocacy organization is asking Minnesota’s governor-elect to repeal a recent bulletin from the Department of Human Services ending treatment for mentally ill defendants found incompetent to stand trial in felony and gross misdemeanor cases. DHS announced Tuesday it would end the Competency Restoration Program, which has been in operation since 2006. The program was designed to educate mentally ill defendants who have been civilly committed to a state-run facility to be able to assist in their own defense.”
Yay, nature. Bring Me the News warns a new tick may cross the border into Minnesota next year: “Introducing, for the first time in the U.S., the Asian longhorned tick, and it’s just as anxious as you are for warmer weather, because that’s when it can jump onto humans and animals and begin spreading diseases. According to the Centers for Disease Control, this tick species is an incredibly efficient, asexual creature, laying up to 2,000 eggs at a time. The CDC adds that ‘hundreds to thousands of ticks can be found on a single animal, person, or in the environment.’ “
Weird timing. Kristen Leigh Painter at the Star Tribune writes about Cargill exiting the malting business after 40 years: “Pending regulatory approvals, Cargill will sell the business in the second half of 2019 to Boortmalt, a subsidiary of France-based Axéréal, a cereal grains cooperative. Cargill’s malt business has 15 plants across the globe, including in Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and the United States. Its core function is to source malting barley and turn that crop into malt that’s used to make beer.”
In other grain-based news … The Associated Press reports General Mills beat second quarter expectations: “The company said it had net income of 57 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for asset impairment costs and costs related to mergers and acquisitions, were 85 cents per share. The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of eight analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 81 cents per share.”
In other news …
Walz and Ellison make the list: “Here Are the House Members Who Have Skipped Votes This Lame-Duck Session” [Roll Call]
Check this out: “The Minnesota Wild Blind Hockey Program is a huge hit” [KSTP]
Green Light: “John Legend’s Grammy-destroying nephew Mike Brown-Stephens commits to Minnesota Gophers football” [City Pages]
Deck the halls, dammit: “Minnesota mayor asks residents to display more Nativity scenes” [Duluth News Tribune]
Fly-by night: “VIDEO: Possible ‘Meteor Flash’ Seen In Minnesota Skies Overnight” [WCCO]
Yippi-ki-yay: “‘Die Hard’ Christmas ornaments are a hit on Etsy” [St. Cloud Times]
