Notices

How Republican Candidates in the 1st Congressional District’s Special Election are Pitching Themselves to GOP Activists

At the Olmsted County GOP convention, candidates were allowed to give the political equivalent of a “Shark Tank” pitch to the party faithful.

Early voting for the May 24 primary for the special election to replace U.S. Rep. Jim Hagedorn in Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District starts next Friday, and candidates have begun crisscrossing the region to court voters in the furious sprint of a campaign that began for some as recently as mid-March.

One place to reach those voters is at small party conventions around the district, where activists are electing delegates to larger congressional district and statewide conventions. On Saturday, most of the 10 Republican candidates for the 1st District showed up to the Byron Middle School auditorium in the town just west of Rochester for the Olmsted County GOP’s convention. Olmsted is the most populous county in the 1st District.

Each speaker was allowed to give a roughly two minute speech, the political equivalent of a “Shark Tank” pitch that forced new candidates to distill their message while introducing themselves to the party faithful.

The event also serves as a preview of what candidates view as issues important in the Republican primary — and an early snapshot of the race as a whole.

Gas prices and critical race theory

When it comes to policy, three issues were mentioned the most by candidates: high gas prices, school curriculum about race and concerns with the fairness of elections.

Matt Benda, an agricultural law attorney who once chaired the Albert Lea-Freeborn County Chamber of Commerce, told the crowd Congress could “quickly fix energy independence” and said he would promote energy options in the 1st District “whether it’s renewable fuels across the board, solar, wind, nuclear.”

He said parents should have input and knowledge about what’s being taught in schools and should not face restrictions at school board meetings, a reference to local debates over critical race theory, a theory of systemic racism that isn’t part of Minnesota’s statewide curriculum standards but that has ignited conservative opposition.

Benda also said he would fight “dark money” from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, a reference to the Center for Tech and Civic Life, a nonprofit that made grants in 2020 to help officials to staff and run elections that received funding from Zuckerberg and his wife. There is no evidence the cash has been used to improperly influence results.

Jennifer Carnahan of Blue Earth, who chaired the Minnesota Republican Party from 2017 until 2021, said President Joe Biden “cares more about climate change and destroying our energy independence” than other issues like “porous borders,” election integrity and critical race theory.

Marine Corps. veteran and welder Kevin Kocina of Miesville said oil prices are crippling the economy and called for the U.S. to use more in reserves or lean on biodiesel and ethanol to “make farmers rich, not Saudi princes.” On education, he said: “We can’t be teaching our kids about sex education and race and abortion in school, that’s absolutely insane.”

Abortion was also mentioned by a couple candidates. Kocina said he’s “extremely pro life” and former state Rep. Brad Finstad of New Ulm noted he authored bill in 2005 to grant state money to centers that steer women away from abortions and started such a pregnancy center. Some, including Finstad, Munson and Benda also mentioned their background in agriculture or agriculture policy.

Perhaps the most specific policy pledge came from state Rep. Jeremy Munson of Lake Crystal, who co-founded a breakaway conservative caucus at the Legislature to split from House Republicans. Munson said that if he was elected to Congress, he would not vote to raise the debt ceiling.

Experience, accomplishments, insiders and outsiders

Some candidates touted their experience and a track record of political accomplishments while some touted their lack of either.

Munson highlighted his record in office serving on agriculture and health care committees, as well as opposing “omnibus” bills that roll a package of different policy and spending plans into one large bill. He also talked about his support of price transparency in health care and helping to pass a bill that bans state legislators from working for lobbying firms while in office. “I have a proven record as one of the most conservative legislators in the state House,” Munson said

State Rep. Nels Pierson, a Rochester Republican first elected in 2014, said he has “worked in the trenches” for decades on behalf of GOP candidates, including as campaign manager for former Republican U.S. Rep. Gil Gutknecht, who was defeated by Tim Walz in the 2006 1st Congressional District race.

Carnahan highlighted her work to clear party debt and noted she led the state GOP when the party flipped three U.S. House seats. And Finstad touted his three years working for the U.S. Department of Agriculture under President Donald Trump, focusing on rural development, as well as his record at the Legislature and his service on a school board, hospital board and church board. “That has been my life story, living out our conservative principles in the real world and creating actions and results,” Finstad said.

Meanwhile, Benda said he isn’t a politician but that his experience as an attorney makes him the best candidate. Kocina said he’s the only veteran in the race and is “sick and tired of politicians and lawyers getting into office and not representing the people of Minnesota.”

Focus not on Trump — or Biden

Former president Donald Trump wasn’t front and center in most candidate speeches or in political paraphernalia at the convention Saturday, and neither was current president Joe Biden.

But their names were invoked. Finstad, who worked at the USDA under Trump, said “it was an honor to work with just an amazing president.”

Carnahan referenced Trump’s “America First” slogan by saying she would “always fight to put America first.” Carnahan was also the only candidate to mention Biden explicitly, saying the Democrat has “led from behind,” emboldening adversaries and letting down allies.

One notable moment came when Bob “Again” Carney Jr. — a frequent candidate who is currently running for governor and the 1st District special election after running for mayor of Minneapolis last year — criticized Trump. Carney called for Republicans to move on from the former president and support an alternative in the 2024 election.

Carney then called for “a criminal original jurisdiction trial in the Supreme Court of Donald Trump for insurrection,” a reference to the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters that led to the president’s second impeachment in the U.S. House. Carney tried to keep talking, but was drowned out by a loud chorus of boos, and left the stage.

(MinnPost)

WATCH: Details from DEED on Recouping UI Payroll Taxes; DLI On Frontline Worker Bonuses

https://register.gotowebinar.com/recording/4668151861012439043

VIEW WEBINAR

A UI Trust Fund fix was recently enacted and the new law impacts every employer in the state. Unfortunately, this change happened after employers were billed under the old tax rates and many businesses have already paid these higher taxes. Earlier today, the Chamber hosted a webinar featuring DEED Commissioner Steve Grove on employers’ UI tax bills, as well as Commissioner Roslyn Robertson of the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry on frontline worker bonuses.

Per DEED on unemployment insurance tax changes:

On Saturday, May 7, DEED recalculated the amount of first quarter 2022 taxes for about 113,000 employers.
Because most employers had already reported their wage detail and made their first quarter 2022 tax payments, the recalculation created credits on their UI accounts.
Credits can be left on your UI account or you can request a refund. Refunds will take at least a couple months to fully process.

Visit https://uimn.org/employers/index.jsp to log in and view your credit and click here for FAQ on the UI tax changes.

Per DLI on frontline worker bonuses:

Within 15 days after the application period is opened, employers in the 15 identified sectors must provide notice to all current workers who may be eligible for payments of the assistance available to them and how to apply for payments.
More specificity regarding eligibility details for covered jobs will be provided during the application process.
DLI is currently developing a form that can be used by employers to meet the notice obligation and it will be available via their frontline worker page when it is complete.

Visit https://frontlinepay.mn.gov for more details and to sign up for email notifications once further details and timelines as well as the employer notice form are released.

Stopping the UI payroll tax increases was a major victory, but with a record budget surplus, are more tax cuts on the horizon?

The Senate unveiled their full omnibus tax bill on Sunday containing $3.4 billion in tax relief in FY 2023 and $5.2 billion in FY 24/25 biennium. This bill includes the social security income tax full exclusion and bottom tier income tax rate reduction from 5.35% to 2.8% that the Senate passed earlier. This bill also includes other important provisions to help improve Minnesota’s business competitiveness including full phase out of state business property tax levy (over 10 years), an increase in the research and development tax credit from 4% to 4.25%, an increase in the angel tax credit, new paid leave tax credit for small employers (under 50 employees) up to $3,000 per employee, fixes to pass-through entity election and federal conformity updates.

Click here to watch the Chamber’s Beth Kadoun testify in favor of phasing out the state business property tax levy.

The Senate is planning a vote on May 11 on the Senate floor and then the tax bills will go to conference committee for final negotiations. The final amount of tax relief including how much will be one-time versus permanent will all be part of the global end-of-session negotiations with Governor Walz, House DFL leadership and Senate Republican leadership.

REGISTER

Minnesota Leaders Start Planning for COVID’s Next Phase…

The University of Minnesota, Mayo Clinic and the Minnesota Department of Health are among those collaborating on endemic planning this week.

The threat posed by COVID-19 in Minnesota continues to fall, and leaders in health care are using this time to begin thinking about an end game, or at least endemic planning.

Despite the continued spread of the “stealth” variant, BA.2, in Europe and several other areas around the world, Dr. Tim Schacker, vice dean of research for the University of Minnesota Medical School, says cases, hospitalizations, deaths and even wastewater surveillance have all fallen to levels we haven’t seen in Minnesota since last July.

“We don’t have any signals right now — in the Twin Cities or in Minnesota — that something is going to happen (with the stealth variant),” Dr. Schacker said. “But I think that we’re all on alert that that is a possibility.”

But even if cases do start climbing again, Dr. Schacker says the next few months are less likely to resemble the constant roller coaster ride we’ve grown used to in the last couple of years.

Dr. Schacker: “Is this time different? Yeah, I think it is. I think if we do get a surge, we’ll see the rate of new infection maybe isn’t as high as it’s been in the past. We’ll see fewer hospitalizations, we’ll see fewer people dying. Hopefully, we’re just making a switch to it being an endemic infection that we’ll have to manage when there are these occasional outbreaks.”

Kent: “We’ve seen this before and talked about the possibility of an endemic for months. Why are we maybe at that point now, and we weren’t the last time (cases) dipped?”

Dr. Schacker: “Now, we have more people who have been vaccinated, more people who have had the infection, and I think that’s when you start to see the switch.”

But he says getting there isn’t as simple as flipping a switch. That’s why he says he and other experts with the University of Minnesota, Mayo Clinic, Minnesota Department of Health, and others will meet to discuss an endemic plan later this week.

“We’ll be taking advantage of this lull — that hopefully is going to stay a lull — to determine next steps if cases start to go up,” Dr. Schacker said. “We know we have to be ready. We know we have to be able to deploy these tests rapidly, deploy the antivirals if we need them, we’ve just got to be ready for that.”

He says the first key to that readiness isn’t statewide testing sites, it’s Minnesota’s statewide sewage monitoring system.

“We know we’re going to have an early warning; we know the wastewater gives us that,” Dr. Schacker said. “It’s about being prepared, and I think we are. I think, increasingly, we’re learning how to do this.”

And while that endemic planning begins, he says the university is also preparing to launch a new Institute for Infectious Disease, to build on the interdisciplinary collaboration fostered during the pandemic, to help prepare for whatever might come after COVID.

“We’re already increasing our sensitivity for detection in wastewater, we’re already finding that we can find other pathogens of interest and concern in wastewater,” Dr. Schacker said. “So it’s taking everything we’ve learned and organizing ourselves so that we’re better prepared for the future.”

(KARE 11)

MPCA Construction Stormwater: Common Plan of Development/Subdivision Informational Video

McKenna Rodine and myself, Josh Norman, work for the Construction Stormwater Unit at the MPCA in the Municipal Division. Our duties include inspecting construction sites to ensure compliance with the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System/State Disposal System (NPDES/SDS) permit.

In recent years, our unit has witnessed increased noncompliance for common plan of development/subdivision projects. These projects, typically new single-family home subdivisions, are required to submit subdivision registration forms for each lot. This requirement is often overlooked, leading to enforcement cases against the developers, builders, and even the homeowners themselves.

For the past three years, our unit has worked toward increasing compliance with this permit requirement through the development of educational materials, holding trainings, and other forms of direct outreach. Recently, McKenna and I have created a short video slideshow that breaks down the subdivision requirements for permittees. It is our hope that this video could be included in a newsletter or notice that BAMN sends out to its members.

We understand that there is confusion about permit requirements as they pertain to subdivisions, and believe that this video could answer many questions in a succinct fashion. The MPCA would greatly appreciate if this video could be included in a newsletter or in some other type of regular communication channel that BAMN utilizes to engage with its members. If this is not feasible, please let McKenna and I know if the video could be utilized elsewhere, or if there are other opportunities for us to provide guidance on the MPCA’s subdivision permit requirements, such as holding a training session.

The link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6x3DUuo0m74

If you have any questions, please contact either McKenna or myself.

Thank you,

Josh Norman

Environmental Specialist

Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)

Municipal Division | Construction Stormwater

520 Lafayette Rd, St. Paul, MN 55155

Josh.Norman@state.mn.us

O: (651)-757-2389 | C: (651)-703-8489