Category Archives: Politics

‘Buttcrack’ billboard concerns Duluth couple

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A billboard from the Minnesota Department of Health, encouraging passersby to get a colonoscopy, is seen Thursday, June 13, 2013, on Arrowhead Road in Duluth. (Jimmy Bellamy / jbellamy@duluthnews.com)

A Duluth couple wrote an e-mail to Mayor Don Ness and the City Council on Wednesday, urging them to create an ordinance that would ban “indecent” billboards like the one along Arrowhead Road between Swan Lake Road and Arlington Avenue.

In the e-mail with the subject line “Offensive ‘buttcrack’ billboard needs to be removed,” Dennis P. and Rosemarie Mitchell — who have authored a number of letters to the editor on the News Tribune and Duluth Budgeteer News opinion pages, including the Internet-famous “Olympics showed too much flesh” in August 2012 — call for the removal of a Minnesota Department of Health billboard showing a person’s rear peeking through jeans and a T-shirt and the words “Cover your butt! Get a colonoscopy.” The Mitchells go on to write that the billboard’s message further adds to the deterioration “of our morals and modesty.”

In an e-mail reply, Mayor Ness said: “The City does not have those sort of censorship powers. I would encourage you to contact the billboard company with your concerns. Thank you.”

Drivers and passengers still can see the rear-view sign through the windshield — or rear-view mirror.

Hot Dish-Off winner declared in D.C.

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U.S. Rep. Tim Walz’s “Hermann the German Hotdish” took first place in the third annual Hot Dish-Off among Minnesota’s congressional delegation.

Walz, a Democrat from Mankato, topped event sponsor Al Franken and other Minnesota lawmakers in the third annual event, designed to promote Minnesota cuisine and nonpartisan cooperation.

“It’s a great day when the Minnesota delegation is able to put our differences aside and focus on what really matters: hotdish,” Franken said.

U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan of Northeastern Minnesota’s 8th District vowed to come back in 2014 to win with a walleye hotdish.

Franken holds 3rd annual Hot Dish-Off

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U.S. Sen. Al Franken, the Minnesota Democrat and former comedian, will host his third annual Capitol casserole contest today in (appropriately) the Senate Agricultural Committee Hearing Room in Washington.

Franken will be joined by Democrats Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Reps. Rick Nolan, Collin Peterson, Betty McCollum, Keith Ellison and Tim Walz and Republicans Eric Paulsen and Michele Bachmann.

Franken started the friendly competition in 2011 as a way to bring the delegation together to put partisanship aside and celebrate a Minnesota culinary tradition. This year’s event will be judged by former Minnesota congressmen Vin Weber and Gerry Sikorski.

Last year, Franken’s “Mom’s Mahnomin Madness Hotdish” and former Rep. Chip Cravaack’s “Minnesota Wild Strata Hotdish” tied for first place.

Recipes will be posted at franken.senate.gov.

Art and politics

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How arty are the teens in Minnesota’s 8th Congressional District? Let’s find out.

The annual Congressional Art Competition is open to high school-aged artists from around the country. A winner from each district will get to show their work at the U.S. Capitol.

Interested artists should submit an entry to U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan’s office, where a panel of artists will select the 10 Best in District. One of the 10 will be named Best in Show and displayed in the U.S. Capitol for a year. The artist will be flown to Washington for an unveiling.

For more information, go to nolan.house.gov or call Nolan’s Duluth office at (218) 464-5095 or the Duluth Art Institute at (218) 733-7560.

Poetry contest for military family members

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April is both the Month of the Military Child and National Poetry Month, and U.S. Sen. Al

Franken is hosting the poetry contest. (2012 file, Bob King / News Tribune)

Franken is hosting a poetry contest that merges the two events.

The contest is open to kids in grades K-12 who have parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts or uncles who are veterans or in the active military.

Submissions of 250 words or fewer can be sent to poetry@franken.senate.gov or by mail to Office of Sen. Al Franken, c/o Poetry Contest, 60 Plato Blvd. E., Suite 220, St. Paul, MN 55107. One submission per writer is allowed.

There are three age categories: grades K-6, 7-9 and 10-12. The winner in each group will be invited to a reception at Sen. Franken’s office in St. Paul.

Marriage bill event in downtown Duluth

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This is not an endorsement, but we were asked to mention that Minnesota United in Duluth is hosting a fundraiser Saturday to help build momentum to pass the Freedom to Marry bill into law.

Chester Creek Café, Duluth Grill, Lake Avenue Restaurant & Bar, New Scenic Café and Savories Catering will provide finger food, and local artists have donated work for a silent auction.

The free and public event is 7-9:30 p.m. at Zeitgeist Arts Café, 222 E. Superior St.

Ness to address political zoo

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Duluth Mayor Don Ness will return to his alma mater Tuesday night to reflect on the sorry state of American politics.

“I’ll talk about the brokenness of American politics today and what I see as some potential steps we could take to improve the situation,” he said.

The mayor concedes there’s no simple solution, but he’s encouraged to note that many like-minded voters seem fed up with partisan politics-as-usual and the toxic atmosphere they’ve produced.

“We need to focus on solving problems, rather than the zoo-like political atmosphere that continues to consume all our energies in Washington,” he said.

Ness will share his thoughts on politics and effective governing from 7-9 p.m. today at UMD’s Montague Hall, Room 80. He will appear as a guest of UMD’s Center for Ethics and Public Policy. The event is free and open to the public.

Catch a lift with a Duluth city councilor

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Here’s another unconventional way to mark Valentine’s Day: by taking a ride on a ski lift with a Duluth City Council member.

Councilors Emily Larson and Patrick Boyle will be going round and round on the chair lift at Chester Bowl from 5:30-6:15 p.m. During that time you can hop on with one of them and bend their ear without any danger of them walking away. Then you can ski or snowboard back down feeling good about your civic engagement.

Larson has the Parks and Recreation portfolio on the City Council, and Boyle represents the district that includes Chester Bowl.

If you don’t feel like skiing, Larson and Boyle will go from riding the lift at 6:15 to serving cocoa and other goodies until 8:30 p.m. in the chalet.

Are things THAT bad at the state Capitol?

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The state flag outside of the Capitol flies upside down Tuesday in St. Paul. (Photo courtesy of Jeff Papas)

Eh? knows that Minnesota faces a budget deficit, but are things really that bad?

The state flag flying outside of the Capitol in St. Paul on Tuesday was upside down. A flag flown upside down can be interpreted as a sign of distress.

Northland jack of all trades Jeff Papas, while visiting the Capitol, snapped a photo and brought it to the attention of the Eh? desk.

While things might not exactly be golden in the Minnesota Legislature, we think it’s more likely an oversight than a cry for help.