Even if you are not in the crosshairs of the healthcare crisis yourself, you have surely heard the stories. Premiums have doubled for some Minnesotans, and high deductibles have many of us deciding not to go to the doctor — if our doctors are even covered by narrow-network insurance plans. Governor Mark Dayton has proposed… Read More →
How to improve our health insurance system is an urgent matter for nearly everyone in Minnesota. It’s a top issue for farmers across Minnesota, and one of the most frequent concerns heard by clergy. For months, policymakers in St. Paul worked on details for how to provide immediate assistance to people who buy health insurance… Read More →
NOTE: At the Land Stewardship Project’s event celebrating the passage of the Winona County frac sand ban in southeastern Minnesota, LSP Winona County Organizing Committee members reflected on their involvement and the work that went into organizing the successful campaign for a ban. Committee member Cathy Groebner of St. Charles, Minn., gave these remarks at… Read More →
“Upon this handful of soil our survival depends. Husband it and it will grow our food, our fuel, our shelter, and surround us with beauty. Abuse it and the soil will collapse and die, taking humanity with it.” This quote was taken from the Vedas Sanskrit Scriptures, which date back to 1500 BC. For a… Read More →
The telephone rang late one afternoon in early October. It was a call from a jubilant, if exhausted, dairy farmer who said he’d planted 20 acres of rye the previous night. He said he’d been attending Land Stewardship Project cover crop/soil health events and that despite the pitfalls of harvest, machinery and too much rain,… Read More →
The 2016 Minnesota legislative session ended at midnight on May 22 with the Land Stewardship Project engaged right until the end. Here is a summary of how the issues LSP was most engaged in fared during the session: ðŸ‘Legislation weakening local control is defeated (HF 2585/ SF 2694). For decades, LSP has fended off efforts… Read More →
Restore the MPCA Citizens’ Board It was unbelievable. A democratic Minnesota institution established in 1968 was abolished literally in the dark of night during the final hours of the 2015 state legislative session. The Citizens’ Board of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency had served as a testament to our Minnesota value that people deserve a… Read More →
CHATFIELD, Minn. — Farmers and landowners gearing up for cover crops this year are invited to learn from innovative area farmers at a free Land Stewardship Project (LSP) “Spring Prep!” program Thursday, March 3, in Chatfield. The program will be held at the United Methodist Church (124 Winona St. SE) from 1 p.m. to 3:30… Read More →
The Minnesota HealthCare Financing Task Force is meeting today to vote on recommendations by the work groups, which will then be sent on to the state Legislature. I am especially concerned about the much-needed recommendation to increase MinnesotaCare eligibility from 200 percent (current level) to 275 percent of the federal poverty level, which is the… Read More →
“Be joyful though you have considered all the facts.” — Wendell Berry The line above from Wendell Berry’s poem, “Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front,” has stuck with me since I heard it many years ago. For me, its staying power comes from Berry’s ability to both reassure and challenge us in a single simple… Read More →
