By Bobby King, Land Stewardship Project Last week the bill weakening local control, Senate File 270, came up on the Senate floor, met with strong opposition, and failed to pass. This is significant for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that the bill was given the thumbs down even after key… Read more »
Posts Tagged: factory farms
The Fight for Local Control Goes Local; Anti-Local Control Bill Passes off MN House Floor
By Bobby King, Land Stewardship Project Some lawmakers in St. Paul are turning a deaf ear to an important fact: local control is a key tool for Minnesota cities, townships and counties seeking to create a positive future for their communities. That’s why local officials are cranking up the volume a bit by signing letters,… Read more »
Anti-Local Control Bill Goes to House Floor Vote This Afternoon—Call Reps. Now
Surprise and intimidation can be powerful tools when backers of major development seek to build a large facility in a small, rural township. For a town board used to dealing with mundane issues like gravel road maintenance and ditch mowing, to be suddenly confronted with a proposal for a large-scale industrialized livestock operation, garbage burner… Read more »
Local Control & the Capitol’s Dangerous Double Standard
Nice irony: when a key committee passed House File 389 last Wednesday, it was by a 9 to 5 vote, which is less than the two-thirds majority the bill imposes on local governments that want to enact a temporary freeze on major development—the kind of development that can change a community forever. Apparently, some legislators… Read more »
First on the Agenda Thursday: Weaken Local Control
Well, that didn’t take long. Tomorrow, at the very first meeting of the Minnesota House Government Operations and Elections Committee, lawmakers will take up House File 389, which weakens township, county and city local control. This legislation needs to be stopped before it even gets out of the starting gate. For details on how to… Read more »
Weakening Factory Farm Rules in the Midnight Hour
What’s a sure sign that legislators are not carrying out the wishes of the general public? Answer: when their actions have to be carried out in secret, behind closed doors, in the dark of night. That’s literally what happened Tuesday night-Wednesday morning when the Minnesota Legislature passed the Environment Finance Bill. As part of the… Read more »
People Power Keeps Local Control Strong
By Bobby King, Land Stewardship Project The 2011 Minnesota legislative session ended at midnight on May 23 with township rights and local control strong in Minnesota—a testament to how seriously this state’s farmers and other rural citizens value their right to determine the future of the communities they live in. Recommend on Facebook Share on… Read more »
Time to Drive a Stake Through Anti-Local Control Bill
Like a monster in a B movie, this is the bill that just won’t die. Despite strong public opposition, Senate File 270, which weakens township local control of factory farms and other large scale developments, passed the Minnesota Senate Local Government Committee late in the evening of April 27. With all the last-minute, behind-the-scenes shenanigans… Read more »
Factory Farming’s 2 Least Favorite Words
A major reason factory farming hasn’t run completely roughshod over the Minnesota countryside can be summed up in two words: “local control.” That’s why corporate interests aren’t wasting any time this legislative session trying to make this critical tool go away. For example, the Senate Committee on Local Government and Elections was planning on taking… Read more »
The Environmental Review Express
In the Legislature’s rush to “streamline” environmental review with proposals like House File 1, there’s a lot of talk about how such a measure would benefit “constituents” around the state. But one key constituent seems to have been pushed aside by all the feel-good rhetoric about creating jobs: the farmers and other rural residents who… Read more »