In the final days of the Minnesota state legislative session, important decisions are being made behind closed doors and away from public input. Lawmakers have until midnight on Monday, May 22, to decide on a budget for Minnesota. As of today, no budgets have been passed. Who will be prioritized and who will be hurt… Read More →
“The reinsurance bill passed today by the Minnesota House and Senate gives $542 million of public money to insurance companies, but it does not give certainty or stability to rural Minnesotans who need affordable health care,” said Mark Schultz, Executive Director of the Land Stewardship Project. “The farmers and other rural members of the Land… Read More →
Citizen Testimony Documents that Proposed Factory Hog Farm Violates Goodhue County Ordinance REDWING, Minn. — Neighbors to a controversial factory hog farm proposed in Goodhue County’s Zumbrota Township were shocked when the Goodhue Planning Commission Monday night recommended approval of a Conditional Use Permit for the project based on documents produced at the hearing and… 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 →
On Aug. 7, I attended the first meeting of the Health Care Financing Task Force as a member of the Land Stewardship Project Healthcare Steering Committee. There were two other LSP members in attendance, along with many members from Take Action Minnesota and its partner organizations, including ISAIAH and the Minnesota Nurses Association. Although there… Read More →
To anyone driving through rural Minnesota the past few weeks, the images featured in the slideshow below will look familiar. In a sense, the black and white swirls of “snirt”—a mash-up of the words “snow” and “dirt”—have the look of beautiful impressionistic paintings wrought by a wind-borne hand. But these photos, which, with the exception… Read More →
The USDA announced last week the availability of $19.2 million in funds for groups that assist beginning farmers through training and other support initiatives. This is the first grant cycle of the newly reauthorized Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP), which is part of the 2014 Farm Bill signed into law in February. In… Read More →
The local frac sand industry is part of Big Oil’s continued efforts to monopolize the profits from natural resources that belong to everyone. Who really owns the earth, the oil, air and water? Big Oil’s frac-sand process uses huge amounts of water from our limited-supply aquifers. We can live without oil, but we can’t live… Read More →
Brit is seeking 50 acres (pasture, forest, other) in Minnesota. Brit’s multigenerational family is preparing to relocate from Virginia to rural Minnesota this fall and is looking for 50+ acres to homestead and develop into a small very rustic spiritual retreat and homeschool co-op gathering place. They are looking for mostly wooded, usable acreage with… Read More →
In the Corn Belt, water quality is not improving at a rate that is leading to meaningful landscape level change, and these poster boys for conservation farming say it’s time for the ag industry, commodity groups, and government to step up and take responsibility. (1 of 2 parts; part 2 is here) More Information •… Read More →
