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North Star Stories: Voices from Where We Live is comprised of a weekly 30-minute magazine-style newscast and daily, five-minute headlines segments that shine a spotlight on the stories and perspectives of Minnesota’s diverse communities, including Black, Latine, Asian American, East African individuals, people living with disabilities, LGBTQIA2S+ residents, laborers, veterans, and those from Greater Minnesota.
YOU ARE LISTENING TO NORTH STAR STORIES: VOICES FROM WHERE WE LIVE, A DAILY NEWSCAST ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO LIVE IN MINNESOTA.
XAN HOLSTON: WITH HEADLINES FROM AROUND THE STATE, I’M XAN HOLSTON. COMING UP... LEGISLATION TO HELP DAIRY FARMERS WINS FULL APPROVAL IN A DIVIDED LEGISLATURE...
[REP. PAUL ANDERSON: I LOVE MILK — I THINK WE ALL LOVE MILK. (21:42, 2S)]
XAN HOLSTON: AND... ZEITGEIST SHOWS ‘WHY WE DANCE’...
BUT FIRST... TODAY IS EARTH DAY... CREATED 19-70 INTO RAISE AWARENESS ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT. IN THE NORTHERN MINNESOTA CITY OF ALBERT LEA ... EARTH DAY COMES WITH AN EXPENSIVE REALITY ... THAT SOMETIMES PROTECTING THE ENVIRONMENT REQUIRES REMOVING TREES. STARTING THIS WEEK ... THE FREEBORN COUNTY FAIRGROUNDS WILL REMOVE FORTY OF FOURTY-ONE ASH TREES BECAUSE OF AN EMERALD ASH BORER INFESTATION. ALBERT LEA HAS AROUND 12-THOUSAND ASH TREES ... TREATING AND REMOVING THE TREES WILL COST SOME 800-THOUSAND-DOLLARS OVER THE NEXT 20 YEARS. OFFICIALS SAY YOU CAN IDENTIFY AN ASH TREE BY THE DIAMOND-SHAPED PATTERN ON ITS ROUGH THICK BARK.
[SOT: :23 – 31 “THE OLDER THE TREES THE BIGGER THE DIAMONDS ARE... THE SMALLER YOUNGER BARK HAS A LITTLE BIT OF A DIFFERENT APPEARANCE BUT IT HAS UH MUCH SMALLER DIAMOND SHAPE.]
XAN HOLSTON: ALBERT LEA RESIDENTS CAN DROP OFF ASH WOOD FOR FREE AT THE CITY TRANSFER STATION … BUT OFFICIALS WARN NOT HAUL FIREWOOD ANYWHERE ELSE … BECAUSE THAT CAN SPREAD INFESTATION.
FOR MINNESOTA’S HEMP INDUSTRY ... THE STAKES ARE CHANGING ... AS A FEDERAL BAN SCHEDULED TO TAKE EFFECT IN NOVEMBER THREATENS TO DISRUPT THAT MARKET. THE STATE AND TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS CURRENTLY REGULATE MINNESOTA’S LEGAL MARKET FOR HEMP-DERIVED PRODUCTS, LIKE LOW-DOSE THC DRINKS AND EDIBLES… IN A RARE BIPARTISAN PAIRING, DEMOCRAT AMY KLOBUCHAR AND REPUBLICAN RAND PAUL ARE PROPOSING A BILL THAT WOULD ALLOW STATES AND TRIBES TO KEEP REGULATING HEMP PRODUCTS THEIR OWN WAY ... SAYING A FEDERAL BAN WOULD HURT STATE BUSINESSES AND HEMP FARMERS.
SOME SMALL MINNESOTA DAIRY FARMERS WHO MISSED OUT ON PREVIOUS STATE AID ... SOON COULD GET A SECOND SHOT. LEGISLATION EXPANDING THE FINANCIAL LOAN PROGRAM KNOWN AS ‘DAIRY WITH AN ‘I’ ... IS NOW ON ITS WAY TO THE GOVERNOR’S DESK. THE PROGRAM WAS CREATED IN 2022 … BUT TIED STATE HELP TO ENROLLMENT IN A FEDERAL DAIRY PROGRAM THAT STOPPED RUNNING FOR A COUPLE OF YEARS … LOCKING FARMERS OUT OF THE STATE PROGRAM. BILL AUTHOR REPRESENTATIVE NATHAN NELSON SAYS THIS LEGISLATION FIXES THAT.
[REP. NATHAN NELSON: THIS BILL ENSURES THAT THOSE NEW OPERATIONS ARE ABLE TO ACCESS THE SAME FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE AS OTHER QUALIFYING DAIRY FARMS. (17:35, 7S)]
XAN HOLSTON: THE BILL WOULD LET ABOUT 30 NEWER SMALL- AND MID-SIZED DAIRY FARMS TAP INTO THREE MILLION DOLLARS OF EXISTING STATE FUNDING … NOW IT JUST THE GOVERNOR’S SIGNATURE.
STEARNS IS THE NEWEST COUNTY ALLOWING RIFLES FOR DEER HUNTING.... COMMISSIONERS VOTED TO ALLOW HUNTERS TO USE LEGAL RIFLES – AS WELL AS SHOTGUNS – WHICH COINCIDES WITH THE NEW STATE LAW BEGINNING WITH THE 20-26 DEER SEASON. BOARD MEMBERS SAID LANDOWNERS AND HUNTERS SHOULD BE ABLE TO CHOOSE.
[MUSIC TRANSITION :03]
MORE THAN 300 NURSING HOME WORKERS WITH THE SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION — OR SEIU — ARE CURRENTLY ON STRIKE AT FIVE HOMES ACROSS THE METRO AREA. TOGETHER, THE HOMES SERVE ABOUT 470 CERTIFIED BEDS. UNION LEADERS SAY CHRONIC SHORT STAFFING AND LOW PAY ARE PUTTING PRESSURE ON CARE FOR TWIN CITIES SENIORS. S-E-I-U HEALTHCARE SAYS IT HAS NEARLY 50-THOUSAND HEALTHCARE AND LONG-TERM CARE WORKERS ACROSS MINNESOTA AND IOWA. A LAST-MINUTE ATTEMPT TO CHANGE MINNESOTA’S DOXXING LAW FAILED ON THE SENATE FLOOR.
DOXXING IS THE PUBLIC RELEASE OF SOMEONE’S PERSONAL INFORMATION … LIKE A HOME ADDRESS OR PHONE NUMBER … IN A WAY THAT CAN PUT THEM AT RISK. CURRENTLY, THE LAW ONLY PROTECTS LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS AND THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS … THE NEW LANGUAGE WOULD HAVE MADE IT A CRIME TO DOX ‘ANYONE’ IN THE STATE … NOT JUST POLICE … AND INCREASE THE PUNISHMENTS. SUPPORTERS SAY THE THREAT ISN’T LIMITED TO POLICE … AND THE LAW SHOULD PROTECT ANY MINNESOTAN TARGETED ONLINE.
[SEN. MICHAEL HOMSTROM: DOXXING IS ABSOLUTELY A CRIME USED TO INTIMIDATE PEOPLE — INTIMIDATE FAMILIES — SPECIFCIALLY ON THE PURPOSE OF GETTING THEM TO SILENCE THEIR SPEECH. (8:10, 8S)]
XAN HOLSTON: OPPONENTS SAY IT’S AN IMPORTANT CONVERSATION …BUT.. THE PROPOSAL WAS MADE LAST MINUTE … AND THEY CAN TAKE IT UP NEXT LEGISLATIVE SESSION.
[SEN. RON LATZ: THERE ARE TEN OTHER STATES AROUND THE COUNTRY THAT HAVE RECENTLY DONE THIS, BUT I DON’T THINK WE’VE GATHERED INFORMATION AT THIS POINT AS TO WHAT THEIR EXPERIENCES HAVE BEEN. (11:47, 7S)]
XAN HOLSTON: THE ‘DOXXING CHANGES’ FAILED ON PARTY LINES.
[MUSIC TRANSITION :03]
OWATONNA VOTERS WILL GET THE FINAL SAY ON A 65-MILLION DOLLAR PUBLIC SAFETY CENTER. THE CITY APPROVED FUNDING EARLIER THIS YEAR FOR NEW POLICE AND FIRE STATIONS … BUT COMMUNITY MEMBERS FOUGHT BACK … GATHERING NEARLY 25-HUNDRED SIGNATURES … FORCING A PUBLIC VOTE. NOW THE CITY COUNCIL MUST DECIDE WHETHER THAT ELECTION HAPPENS IN AUGUST … OR IN NOVEMBER.
AND FINALLY...
DULUTH’S ZEITGEIST FILM FESTIVAL KICKS OFF TODAY… FEATURING A NEW DOCUMENTARY ON INDIGENOUS DANCE FROM MINNESOTA-BASED FILMMAKER OOGIE PUSH. “WHY WE DANCE” … EXPORES INDIGENOUS DANCE FROM HAWAI’I … TO MEXICO … TO THE TWIN CITIES … IN THE WAKE OF U-S GOVERNMENT ATTEMPTS TO OUTLAW IT IN THE EARLY 19-HUNDREDS. IN AN INTERVIEW WITH AMPERS’ MINNESOTA NATIVE NEWS’ … PUSH CALLS THE FILM 76 MINUTES OF INIDENOUS PEOPLE IN THE AMERICAS SHARING THEIR CULTURES … AND RESILLIENCE.
[OOGIE PUSH: IT’S A WAY THAT WE BRING OUR ANCESTORS WITH US INTO THE PRESENT SO THAT WE HAVE SOMETHING TO SHARE WITH THE FUTURE. (49:46, 7S)]
XAN HOLSTON: “WHY WE DANCE” SHOWS THIS SUNDAY … PUSH WILL BE IN ATTENDANCE.
FOR NORTH STAR STORIES, I’M XAN HOLSTON.
NORTH STAR STORIES IS PRODUCED BY AMPERS, DIVERSE RADIO FOR MINNESOTA'S COMMUNITIES WITH SUPPORT FROM THE MCKNIGHT FOUNDATION AND THE STATE OF MINNESOTA. ONLINE AT AMPERS DOT ORG.