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Hot Dish 4.12.24

Walz wings it to New Hampshire for speech

By Rochelle Olson

The Minnesota Star Tribune

April 12, 2024 at 2:02PM

Wolves, Wesenberg, Westrom and Wagner

By Rochelle Olson

It’s Friday and I am relatively certain the state Senate is done debating wolf hunting. That took up a couple hours Thursday with the result being a net nothing. This despite the extended effort of Sen. Nathan Wesenberg, R-Little Falls, with self-cited credentials as a wolf biologist dating to childhood that included watching TV and reading books.

Wesenberg handed out a packet of blurry black and white photos of wolves gnawing on carcasses of various animals. Among those photos: A stunning Alaskan Malamute relaxing on a porch. (No name provided.) Wesenberg informed that the dog refuses to go outside alone because of wolves. When my dog won’t go out, I call it manipulation. Senators were unpersuaded. Wesenberg’s amendment failed and so did an outright ban. The Forum News Service’s Mark Wasson wrote about it. Don’t miss the modest proposal from Sen. Torrey Westrom, R-Alexandria, about introducing Twin Citians to more wolves.

Was this the best lead item for today’s Hot Dish? Maybe not. But remember: I’m sitting here in my pajamas and I have cornered myself into contrived alliteration in the headline. The pressure is real and also it’s fun to use names in a headline and freak people out. Just ask Michael Brodkorb, who saw his name in bold a few weeks ago and wondered what he’d done. (Nothing more than an amusing Tweet.)

CANNABIS CONUNDRUM: The anticipated launch next year of legal cannabis sales isn’t looking any smoother, Ryan Faircloth and Brooks Johnson report. The state has yet to figure out how to license growers who will provide the product ahead of dispensaries opening. That means a possible shortage of pot. Of the nearly two dozen states that have legalized adult-use cannabis, many have learned the hard way that early demand for legal pot is far greater than supply, the two found. Better chill out and ration those hemp-derived edibles; the Minnesota market may not be robust until 2026.

TENANTS RIGHTS: Help may be coming for renters, according to reporter Josie Albertson-Grove. Efforts to spur construction of more apartments fell short this session so lawmakers focused on providing protections for renters in various ways, including new rights for tenants and new rules for landlords.

RIDESHARE REDUX: DFL Sens. Omar Fateh, of Minneapolis and Matt Klein, of Mendota Heights, both expect a bill in the Senate Commerce Committee on Tuesday, according to Albertson-Grove. Fateh said there is not yet agreement on how much drivers should be paid, but he said the group is considering recommendations in a study by the Department of Labor and Industry, as well as more Minneapolis-specific data.

House Majority Leader Jamie Long, DFL-Minneapolis, said he expects the bill’s next stop on the House side will be the Labor Committee. The GOP is pushing for a bill to pre-empt the Minneapolis ordinance. The Minneapolis council on Thursday delayed the start of its rideshare ordinance until June 1, a move supported by drivers.

ENDORSING OMAR: Endorsement season kicks off with seven mayors backing incumbent U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar for re-election in the Minneapolis-heavy Fifth District. She reports the backing of Fridley’s Scott Lund, Columbia Heights’ Amáda Márquez Simula, Brooklyn Center’s April Graves, Richfield’s Mary Supple, Robbinsdale’s Bill Blonigan, St. Louis Park’s Nadia Mohamed and Hilltop’s Terry Wiggin. And to that I say: Hilltop has a mayor?!

TWEET DU JOUR OF THE DAY: House GOP Exec Director Andrew Wagner posted on X: “Delusional Democrats patting themselves on the back thinking they’re eliminating so-called ‘junk’ fees. Junk fees aren’t going anywhere. Instead, they’re forcing businesses to increase costs & hide realities of Democrat mandates. Truly sociopathic stuff.”

STATE PATROL: Interim Col. Christina Bogojevic is no longer interim; she’s the new colonel of the Minnesota State Patrol, colleague Louis Krauss writes. She’s been with the patrol since 2003 and succeeds Col. A.J. Langer. Among her prior State Patrol jobs, Bogojevic has been captain of the Rochester district, a lieutenant in the Commercial Vehicle section, an investigator and a crash reconstruction specialist.

CAPITOL: A morning of committees today. Find them here.

WHERE’S WALZ:

Nothing on his public schedule because he’s speaking this evening in Nashua, N.H., at a major Democratic fund-raiser. This is part of his duties as chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, but don’t be deterred from speculating about his national aspirations. In preparation, Twitter is popping with New Hampshire Republicans referring to “radical Tim Walz.”

READING LIST

Arizona’s new-old abortion ban has supercharged politics in the key swing state. “Abortion and immigration have been two of this year’s biggest political issues. No battleground state has been affected more directly by both than Arizona,” the AP story said.
Critics in Canada warn Minnesota about legalizing assisted suicide, Reid Forgrave reports.
Walker Orenstein reports the real reason for Xcel’s Prairie Island outage last fall: Workers inadvertently cut power cables while drilling, causing a nuclear reactor to shut down. Comforting, isn’t it?
This story about a Missouri legislator who was a self-described bigot before his transgender daughter was suspended for using the girls’ bathroom at school. Interesting paywall-free story that reminds me of something that has long annoyed me: Whenever a man says, “As a father of daughters, I support (fill in the blank) legislation.” I always wonder: Aren’t you the son of a woman? What of men without daughters?
I flashed back yesterday on my life and times through the prism of the O.J. Simpson saga. Skip this if I bore you.
When I first heard of him: A snowy day in December 1973 when he broke the record. (I was 8 and yes, I have a long and vivid memory. Ask anyone.) When I first found him charming: The Hertz commercial.
How I reacted on the night desk of the AP bureau in Charleston, W.Va., when I saw the first short story on the a-wire about the murder of Simpson’s ex. “Shrug. Ex-wife.” How I reacted when a subsequent short story said blood droplets were found on Simpson’s driveway: “Ohhhhh.”
Where I watched the slow Bronco chase: My colleague’s cinderblock apartment. Where I watched the verdict: The TV department at Montgomery Wards at the Charleston Mall along with dozens of others transfixed.
How I got into a no-media-allowed speech by prosecutor Marcia Clark at the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs: Bolting through the busy prep kitchen to the stage backdoor and hiding in the curtains of the darkened stage wings.
These Andrea Dworkin reflections on Nicole Brown Simpson appeared on my Twitter feed and I read every word. “You won’t ever know the worst that happened to Nicole Brown Simpson in her marriage, because she is dead and cannot tell you. And if she were alive, remember, you wouldn’t believe her. "
Keep us posted at hotdish@startribune.com.