Author: Data and Research Manager

Study: Northwest heat wave impossible without climate change

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The deadly heat wave that roasted the Pacific Northwest and western Canada was virtually impossible without human-caused climate change that added a few extra degrees to the record-smashing temperatures, a new quick scientific analysis found.

An international team of 27 scientists calculated that climate change increased chances of the extreme heat occurring by at least 150 times, but likely much more. 

The study, not yet peer reviewed, said that before the industrial era, the region’s late June triple-digit heat was the type that would not have happened in human civilization. And even in today’s warming world, it said, the heat was a once-in-a-millennium event. Continue reading.

Sen. Ann Johnson Stewart (SD44) Update: July 9, 2021

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A message from your Senator

Constituents and friends,

The Senate adjourned our special session on Wednesday, ending this year’s legislative session in conjunction with the House, which had already adjourned its own session last week. We in the Senate remained in session for an extra week such that my Republican colleagues could take up consideration of several of Governor Walz’s unconfirmed commissioners. As they unfortunately showed last summer as well, they’re comfortable using the Senate’s advice and consent role as a political cudgel – they’ve allowed all but three of those 24 officials to serve in their roles for years without official Senate confirmation, holding the possibility of swift removal over their heads if they make decisions that Republican leadership doesn’t like.

As a result, Pollution Control Agency Commissioner Laura Bishop resigned her position on Tuesday to pre-empt her guaranteed removal by my Republican colleagues, who have long indicated their strong disagreement with her agency’s move to implement Clean Car rules in Minnesota. Thankfully, no other commissioners were ousted, though several informational hearings were held in which Republicans questioned commissioners’ job performance from a hyper-partisan perspective. Aside from this basic lack of necessity for our remaining in session an extra week, we wasted significant taxpayer funds in doing so: for all 67 Senators, the daily mileage and per diem allotments we receive add up to at least $8,000 per day, on top of salaries and staff expenses. This was nothing more than poor time and fiscal management by the Republican majority.

Continue reading “Sen. Ann Johnson Stewart (SD44) Update: July 9, 2021”

More than 4,005,000 people have died from the coronavirus worldwide

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More than 185 million cases have been reported.

The coronavirus has killed nearly 4 million people since it first emerged in Wuhan, China, in 2019, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

New confirmed cases of covid-19, the disease caused by the virus, remain high, and the world struggles with unequal vaccine rollouts and new threats posed by fast-spreading variants.

“The pandemic is a long way far from over,” World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned in May. “It will not be over anywhere until it’s over everywhere.” Continue reading.

Rep. Steve Elkins (HD49B) Update: July 9, 2021

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Dear Neighbors,

I hope you and your family had a safe and relaxing July 4th! The mild weather we’ve had has been perfect for getting out into our community and exploring all our state has to offer.

Session ends

On July 1st the Minnesota House of Representatives finished approving a new two-year state budget and adjourned for the year. The Minnesota House, controlled by Democrats, and the Minnesota Senate, controlled by Republicans, convened for a special session on June 14th to finalize a bipartisan budget agreement and avoid a state government shutdown on July 1st. 

As the only divided legislature in the nation we had an almost monumental task ahead of us this session. I am pleased that we managed to find a compromise which balances the budget, provides tax relief for the small businesses and workers who were hit hardest by the pandemic; and still invests significantly in education, healthcare, public safety and infrastructure. Our community has a ways to go before it returns completely to normal, but I am confident that we are well on our way with this final budget agreement. I look forward to seeing you all in the interim.

Continue reading “Rep. Steve Elkins (HD49B) Update: July 9, 2021”

‘It sickens me’: Longtime GOP voter disgusted by the ‘corrupt and ridiculous’ Republican antics in Arizona

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The Republican Accountability Project describes itself as an initiative tasked with “defending the accessibility, integrity, and competitiveness of American elections.” This Tuesday, the group uploaded a video to YouTube featuring “Julie” from Prescott, Arizona, who described herself as a former Republican and Army veteran who worked for the federal government for 34 years.

“I love my country. I loved being a Republican. I was a Republican for 40 years. I voted in every election as long as I was stateside during that 40 years,” Julie said. “And I believed and still believe in the principles and the ideals of the Republican Party, which are smaller government and lower taxes, balanced budgets and free trade and all those things.”

“I still believe in those, but as of this day, I am a Democrat because I could not stay in a party that was committed to one person, to his bidding and his appeasement. And I just couldn’t do it. So I left the party because they left me and I am now a Democrat,” she continued.  Continue reading.

Rep. Erin Koegel (HD37A) Update: July 9, 2021

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Dear Neighbors,

I hope you and your family had a safe and relaxing July 4th! The mild weather we’ve had has been perfect for getting out into our community and exploring all our state has to offer.

Session ends

The House finally adjourned for the session early on July 1st. We negotiated until the very end to make sure we could pass the best final budget for all of Minnesota. Due to the nature of our divided legislature we had to make compromises so we weren’t able to get everything through that our communities need. However, the House DFL managed to accomplish a great deal this year while preventing many bad provisions from passing, like cuts to our schools.

Here are brief summaries on what was included in each bill:

Continue reading “Rep. Erin Koegel (HD37A) Update: July 9, 2021”

Trump briefly derails his own press conference as he bizarrely rambles about the word ‘nuclear’

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During a press conference this Wednesday in Bedminster, New Jersey, former President Donald Trump announced that he is filing a class action lawsuit against tech giants Facebook and Twitter, along with their CEOs, Mark Zuckerberg and Jack Dorsey, over being banned from their platforms.

“We’re demanding an end to the shadow banning, a stop to the silencing, a stop to the blacklisting, vanishing and canceling,” Trump said, adding that “we are asking the court to impose punitive damages.”

Trump said the suit points out “so many violations of our Constitution” that were allegedly perpetrated by the tech companies, and referenced the fact that social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook removed posts that questioned the origins of the novel coronavirus, only to later relent when the question became more mainstream. Continue reading.

Scoop: Tucker Carlson sought Putin interview at time of spying claim

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Tucker Carlson was talking to U.S.-based Kremlin intermediaries about setting up an interview with Vladimir Putin shortly before the Fox News host accused the National Security Agency of spying on him, sources familiar with the conversations tell Axios. 

Why it matters: Those sources said U.S. government officials learned about Carlson’s efforts to secure the Putin interview. Carlson learned that the government was aware of his outreach — and that’s the basis of his extraordinary accusation, followed by a rare public denial by the NSA that he had been targeted.

  • Axios has not confirmed whether any communications from Carlson have been intercepted, and if so, why. Continue reading.

Trump golf club agrees to huge fine for overserving alcohol to customer who caused fatal crash

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One of president Donald Trump’s golf courses has agreed to pay a $400,000 fine for overserving alcohol to a customer who later caused a fatal car crash in 2015, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.

However, in a victory for Trump’s company, the state of New Jersey will allow the club in Colts Neck, N.J. — as well as two others owned by the former president in the state — to keep their liquor licenses. 

The club pleaded no contest to administrative charges filed by the state Division of Alcoholic Beverages in 2019, alleging that it served alcohol to customer Andrew Halder when he was already intoxicated. On Aug. 30, 2015, Holder flipped his car four miles from the club, killing his father, who was ejected from the vehicle. Halder later pleaded guilty to vehicle manslaughter and was sentenced to three years of probation. Continue reading.