BSU Election night coverage

Valica Boudry's News Reporting Class spent time in the KBXE studios this morning talking about their experiences at the DFL and Republican election night parties.  You can watch their video here! 

BSU students look at Bemidji's recall amendment

In the next couple of week we'll be hearing from Mass Communication students from Valica Boudry's News Reporting Class.  This morning we had updates and information on the proposed constitutionals amendments that you'll see on your ballots as well as Bemidji city recall amendment. Here's info on city of Bemidji's recall amendmendment.  

Recall Amendment

By Danielle Carty

How did this charter come about?

The town of Bemidji is run under a charter, which means we are run under a weak mayor strong management. The people secure the benefits of home rule and affirm the values of representative democracy. There are 8 charter commissioners that are residents of Bemidji that at least have to meet annually, which is in June. The commissioners try to meet the needs of the people. They researched and looked into the recall amendment that rochester has and they believed it would be beneficially to the people.

What is the recall amendment?

The recall amendment provides the recall procedure to remove an elective municipal official for malfeasance or nonfeasance. Which means they are either not doing their job as an official, or they have any unlawful or wrongful conduct that affects, interrupts or interferes with the performance of official duties.

How does the recall amendment work?

Any five registered voters qualified to vote for a successor of the office may form into a committee for the purpose of bringing about the recall of such elective official. The committee shall initiate a petition stating the grounds for removal. The petition, when complete, shall have been signed by registered voters qualified to vote for a successor of the office equal in number to twenty percent of those who voted for the office in the last election. The completed recall petition is then filed with the City Clerk, who thereafter shall determine if the petition is sufficient, the petition shall be submitted to the City Council which shall call for an election of the voters to determine if the alleged actions or omissions constituting malfeasance or nonfeasance is sufficient cause for the elective official's removal from office. If the official is the Mayor, or council member-at-large, the election shall be city-wide. If the official is a ward council-member, it shall be limited to the particular ward.

What happens if the voter doesn’t select yes or no?

The vote is not counted then, it is not like the state amendment where if you leave it blank it counts as no. It does not get counted.

Does this amendment have to do with the Rental Ordinance?

No, this recall amendment has been looked into and thought about by the charter commission for at least three years, this has no correlation to the start of the recall amendment.

How long does it take for the recall to be processed?

The completed recall petition papers hall be filed in the office of the city clerk within thirty days of the filing of the initial recall proposal. Within thirty days of filing of the peition, the city clerk determines if the voters are registered, and valid, and that the petition is legitimate. The petition is sent from the clerk to the council. The council, at it’s next meeting, fixes a date for the holding of a special recall election no less than thirty no more than forty-five days thereafter. The recall election shall be city-wide if the officer is the mayor or council member at large, and shall be limited to a particular ward if the officer is a ward council member. The officer will be removed and the office will be vacant, if a majority of the votes cast on the question be in favor of the recall of said officer, said officer shall be removed and the council shall thereupon declare a vacancy to exist. Unless the officer whose removal is sought shall have resigned within ten days after the receipt by the council of the completed recall petition, the form of the ballot quesiton will read, “Shall ____________be recalled from the office of _______? Then it will be followed with yes or no?

The ordinance will become effective ninety days after its passage and publication according to law.

How long does the official have to be in office in  order to be recalled?

No removal petition shall be filed against any officer until the officer has actually held office for at least six months.

Can an official be put back into office after recall?

No person who has been removed from office by recall, or has resigned from office after the filing of a recall petition, shall be appointed to any office under this Charter within one year after such recall or resignation.

Will there be information on the ballot about the recall amendment?

Yes, there will be a definition of malfeasance and nonfeasance and a short summary of how the recall process works.

 

BSU students look at Voter ID Question

In the next couple of week we'll be hearing from Mass Communication students from Valica Boudry's News Reporting Class.  This morning we had updates and information on the proposed constitutionals amendments that you'll see on your ballots as well as Bemidji city recall amendment. Here's info on the Voter ID amendment. 

Minnesota’s Voter ID Question

By Arne Mostad-Jensen

On Nov. 6 Minnesotans will be asked to vote “Yes” or “No” on the question “Shall the Minnesota Constitution be amended to require all voters to present valid photo identification to vote and to require the state to provide free identification to eligible voters, effective July 1, 2013?” The wording of the amendment itself, included at the end of this article, contains further provisions not indicated in the ballot question.

Opponents of the amendment claim that voter fraud, already against the law in Minnesota, is far too infrequent to warrant a constitutional amendment and suggest that it could actually end up disenfranchising legal voters. Amendment supporters argue that even a few fraudulent votes could decide a close election at any level of government and claim that a voter ID requirement would help to prevent this.

A comprehensive database of voter fraud cases nationwide since 2000 compiled by News21, a cornerstone program of the Carnegie-Knight Initiative on the Future of Journalism Education, reveals only 10 cases of voter impersonation fraud—the type of fraud that voter ID is designed to prevent—nationally in that period. They note that the cases of voter fraud from the 2008 election cited by amendment supporters involved illegally voting felons who would not have been prevented from voting by an ID requirement.

Supporters of the amendment also cite anecdotal evidence to suggest that many cases of voter fraud go unreported and claim that a voter ID requirement would not only help prevent actual fraud but would reduce the public’s perception that the election system is susceptible to fraud.

Opponents argue that expenses associated with obtaining an ID, such as travel costs and having to pay for a birth certificate to establish identity, would inhibit limited-income citizens from voting. They argue that the ID requirement would essentially amount to a poll tax, which is prohibited by the Twenty-fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution.

Citizens for Election Integrity Minnesota, which opposes the amendment, estimates that implementing the amendment would collectively cost individuals without IDs between $16 million and $72 million and would cost state and local governments between $36 million and $78 million. Center of the American Experiment, which supports the amendment, estimates that providing free voter IDs for the first general election after its implementation would cost the state as little as $2.9 million and would decline in cost for subsequent elections.

Opponents further argue that the amendment is unclear regarding what would constitute “valid government-issued photo identification.” They say the amendment does not specify whether military IDs, tribal IDs or college IDs would be accepted as valid forms of identification. Amendment supporters claim that previously existing laws make it impossible to disenfranchise military or Native American voters but say that even state-college-issued IDs might not be accepted.

Amendment supporters say that voters without IDs would still be able to fill out a provisional ballot on Election Day and provide a valid ID afterwards to ensure that their vote would be counted. Opponents say the amendment is unclear on how exactly this would work and suggest it would create a situation ripe for litigation.

Amendment opponents also warn that the amendment is unclear regarding what would constitute “substantially equivalent identity and eligibility verification” for absentee voters. Amendment supporters suggest that absentee voters would simply have to include their ID number on their absentee ballot signature envelope and possibly show their ID to a witness. Opponents say this would not constitute substantially equivalent identity and eligibility verification and would unfairly establish two sets of voting standards.

Finally, opponents note that if the amendment is passed the specifics of how it would be implemented would still have to be finalized by Minnesota’s next legislature, which would likely interpret its requirements quite differently depending on which party emerges as dominant after the election, and that they could end up being decided in the courts.

The proposed amendment outlines the voter ID requirements that it would enact as follows:

All voters voting in person must present valid government-issued photographic identification before receiving a ballot. The state must issue photographic identification at no charge to an eligible voter who does not have a form of identification meeting the requirements of this section. A voter unable to present government-issued photographic identification must be permitted to submit a provisional ballot. A provisional ballot must only be counted if the voter certifies the provisional ballot in the manner provided by law.

All voters, including those not voting in person, must be subject to substantially equivalent identity and eligibility verification prior to a ballot being cast or counted.

Northern Community Radio works with BSU's Mass Communications Department

In the next couple of week we'll be hearing from Mass Communication students from Valica Boudry's News Reporting Class.  This morning we had updates and information on the proposed constitutionals amendments that you'll see on your ballots as well as Bemidji city recall amendment.  Here's Marina Lang's report on the proposed marriage amendment to the MN Constitution.




Minnesotans who visit the polls this November will find themselves with a question regarding limiting marriage to opposite sex couples. It will be something along the lines of:

Recognition of marriage as solely between one man and one woman.

The options are yes or no.

If this amendment passes, it would be added to the Minnesota Constitution and would, for the time being, make it so that only the union of one man and one woman will be recognized as a marriage in Minnesota. This would be semi permanent prevention of same-sex couples from being legally married in the state of Minnesota, until a time when a federal decision was made, one way or another.

This amendment would give a definition to marriage in the State Constitution if it passes. People supporting this amendment hope for reinforcement of recognition of marriage as between opposite-sex couples. Some supporters believe that if marriage were not defined as between one man and one woman, historic meaning and value of marriage may be lost, and marriage may become a “meaningless political gesture, rather than a child-affirming social construct.” (http://www.minnesotaformarriage.com/threat/)

If this amendment fails, same-sex marriage does not become legal. Many people opposed to this amendment hope that marriage will not become defined as between one man and one woman so that there is opportunity to later vote for marriage to become legal between same-sex couples. In the long run, same-sex couples hope for rights that legally are only available to opposite-sex couples at this time, through marriage.(http://mnunited.org/)

There is always a long process before a proposed amendment is seen on a ballot- the Minnesota Legislature introduced bills proposing this same-sex marriage amendment and had it approved by both the Minnesota State Senate and State House.

If the amendment passes, Minnesota will have a definition of marriage in the State Constitution, which would make same-sex marriage impossible for now. If not passed, some believe the sanctity of the marriage institution is at stake. A lot of time went into getting this amendment on the ballot and whatever the results, many Minnesotans will be personally affected.

4 New Ways to Eat Frozen Green Beans

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by Maggie Montgomery
Eating locally—even about 75% locally, as we do now—means that in winter we eat a lot of frozen garden veggies. This week, my husband Dennis came upstairs after a trip to the basement freezer and said, “You know, there are a LOT of beans down there.”

I felt a little guilty. Growing green beans is mostly a “snap,” even in northern Minnesota. I plant several kinds every summer—Italian beans, Tendergreen, Contender, Jade, Blue Lake, Kentucky Wonder and more. There are big, flat beans, yellow wax beans, bush beans and pole beans. Different varieties mature at different times, and I plant rows of the same variety weeks apart to assure an unending supply until frost. Dennis thinks it’s overkill, but I insist, saying “They are all different.”

It’s a pleasure to eat fresh beans in the summer. I also pickle some of the choice, young ones as dilly beans, and some years I put up a couple loads in the pressure canner. But we most often freeze the surplus because it’s easy.

When it’s time to eat the frozen beans, I cook them one way: steam them in salted water and serve them with butter on top. “There you go, Dennis,” I say, “Beans.”

On this Wednesday’s Morning Show on KAXE, I asked for some help with our frozen bean supply, and listeners sympathetically responded with some suggestions. I’m posting the recipes here in case you have plenty of beans too!

RECIPE 1:
Ken and Pam from Brainerd suggested a green bean shepherd’s pie: “We are just finishing up a really nice bean dish that Pam prepared recently. It is basically a Sheppard’s Pie with adzuki beans used instead of meat and a layer of green beans between the adzuki beans and the mashed potatoes. We thought it would be a very nice veggie start to the New Year. And a great way to use green beans!”

RECIPE 2:
Robert from Bemidji said: “Stir fry some beans in about 2 tablespoons of any type of oil that can hold up to high heat, and mix that with about 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil, until they are as tender as you like. Drizzle with Tamari soy sauce, then put the lid on for a few minutes. It’s simple and delicious!”

RECIPE 3:
Julie from Cook suggested a cold or lukewarm green bean salad: Steam some beans. Cool them in water. Add crumbled feta, chopped red onion, chopped fresh (or frozen) dill, and your favorite Italian dressing.

RECIPE 4:
Ross emailed an Indian recipe: Bihari Green Beans Marsala, from Julie Sahni:

2 T oil
2 T sliced almonds
½ c. finely chopped onion
3 large  cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 t ground cumin
1 t ground coriander
1 t sweet paprika
½ t red chili pepper flakes
¾ t kosher salt
¾ cup coconut milk
¾ # green beans in 1” pieces
1 t lime juice
2 T chopped cilantro

1. Heat oil in a saute pan over medium heat. Cook almonds, stirring, until golden. Remove the almonds from the oil and set aside.
2. Add onion, garlic and spices to the saute pan and return to heat. Saute until the onion is tender and begins to fry, about 4 minutes
3. Add coconut milk and beans. Mix well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook, covered, until the beans are tender, about 6 minutes
4. Sprinkle beans with lime juice and toss lightly. Transfer to a warmed serving dish and garnish with almonds and cilantro. Can be serve with rice or roti flatbread if desired.

Wild Things on Tuesdays

We've got a host of wild things this Tuesday to listen to on 91.7 KAXE including John Latimer, Harry Hutchins, Bill Berg and  Marty Jacobson.  John gets Phenology reports from schools including Roosevelt Elementary in Virginia and Hill City Elementary.  Harry talks gray jays for A Talk on the Wild Side at 7:45 and Bill Berg is in to talk wildlife winter survival at 8:10.  Marty Jacobson sits in for Bobbi Kleffman on All Things Equine to talk about horse safety with kids.

What WILD THINGS are you seeing out there?  Send us an email or comment here!  Here's a recent phenology note we received from Aitkin:

While I was in the basement Sat. morning putting duct tape on my gloves before going out to cut some wood,  there came a scream from the kitchen where my wife had been baking “ there’s a bat in here”  she was no longer in the kitchen !! But there was indeed a bat in the kitchen and it was soon caught and placed outside where it froze.

 We have a story and a half home with full basement, fairly warm and cozy for us, but about once a year we have a bat appear that unnerves the Mrs. They must come from the attic but why this time of year?

Cold in the North - Hot in the Sauna by Aaron Hautala

Aaron Hautala is the photographer behind the University of MN Press book "The Opposite of Cold:  The Northwoods Finnish Sauna".  The book was a project with writer Michael Nordskog.  

Aaron recently joined us on the KAXE Morning Show to share his love story of saunas. You can hear his conversation here... and read his essay below. 

During my youth in northern Minnesota, sauna was a Saturday night tradition at many homesteads, including the Hautala family household of Biwabik Township.

My earliest childhood memories center around sauna.
Sitting on the bottom bench in a bucket of water, I remember looking left, up over my shoulder, to where my older brother and father sat atop the highest bench, reveling in pride and accomplishment following every blast of steam.

My father’s voice still echoes in my head, almost singing as he bathed me in the sauna. “Got to get you clean, got to clean between your buns,” he sang. It’s the phrase I now sing with pride to my own son during bath time.

I recall my siblings taking great joy in the introduction of sauna to their babies, just weeks after birth. Rosy cheeks and all smiles, these babes would emerge from the sauna after their baptism with steam. Years later, they would emerge from the sauna naked, running all over the house in post-sauna delight.

I recall being introduced to the eternal concepts of Heaven and Hell in the sauna.
“If you think this is hot, just image what hell would feel like,” I can hear my father say.

After losing 23-0 in a squirt hockey game against Hoyt Lakes, sauna was my counselor. After winning the Minnesota State High School Hockey Championship in Minneapolis, we celebrated with sauna.

When home from college one frigid winter weekend, I walked outside naked at 46 below zero following sauna. It was bitter cold and cut like a knife, but the memories are warm.

Then one day, my career took me away from the North Woods and into Brainerd’s Lake Country. To my surprise, I made new friends who had never experienced sauna.

Looking back, I knew what sauna was about. But today, my vision has been refined. Sauna is larger than a wood fired outbuilding and deeper than an electric basement hot box.

During my three-year photographic journey with author Michael Nordskog creating The Opposite of Cold, my appreciation of sauna has been, and continues to be, reshaped and deepened. This understanding comes as a result of experiencing countless saunas across the globe, and through the friendship of wonderful people who are keepers of the sauna flame.

At the public steam sauna in Ely, we felt the tradition, the camaraderie, and the legacy of Saturday night saunas taken and enjoyed down through the decades by countless wilderness explorers and weekend warriors.

On the shores of Lake Superior near Grand Marais we were graced by the beauty of God’s creation, and the wonderful placement of a Scandinavian timber-frame sauna, which threatened to rival the setting.

In Makinen, Cokato, Embarrass, and New York Mills, the determination and sisu of our northern European forefathers is visually evident in every swipe the broad axe left on the historic savusauna walls.

In Duluth, overlooking Canal Park, we were greeted by the future of sauna in David Salmela’s architecture. His bright, bold, and clean sauna designs honor the original Finnish outbuilding while exploring modern forms.

In Bemidji, we visited with the fiery Finns of Salolampi at the Concordia Finnish Language Camp. They boldly honor the sauna tradition and annually re-ignite the Finnish language fire, enlightening youth and adults.

In Finland, we were baptized by steam for two weeks straight into the purity of traditional sauna. A time-honored belief grounds all that is sauna: No politics, no business, no religion in the sauna. If you’re going to talk, it must be about you only—personal and real.

I’ve been asked many times why sauna is so essential. And to this I had no adequate response. But now, after years of photography, countless conversations with sauna lovers from around the globe, and the release of this book, the answer has finally hit me.

Sauna isn’t a building,
Sauna isn’t heat.
Sauna isn’t sweat.
Sauna isn’t steam.

Sauna is life.
Sauna is story.
Sauna is family, safety, strength, nobility, and honor. Sauna is warmth mixed with humility and candor.
Sauna is respect and the cherished memories of those who no longer join us in the sauna.
Sauna is a way of life, a right of passage, and part of a rich, a warm history.

This winter season light the Saturday night sauna, stoke the stove, pour the water, and take in the steam whether in your own sauna, or that of a sauna friend.

Video: Scott Hall in High Heels

Morning Show host Scott Hall wore high heels to raise public awareness for the "Walk a Mile In My Shoes" project sponsored by Advocates for Family Peace and the Itasca Alliance Against Sexual Assault.

"I felt like a monster, like Frankenstein or something..." said Hall.

Get more info at kaxe.org.

Video: Pruning Roses with Bonnie the Plant Lady

Here's a video with Bonnie the Plant Lady about how to prune a rose so it blooms more. Every last Thursday of the month, she joins Linda Johnson on the 91.7 KAXE Morning Show to talk about gardens and gardening from 8a-9a, streaming at http://www.kaxe.org. They take questions from listeners and share tips and information for gardeners.

This year's change in deer hunting regulations

by Heidi Holtan

This morning I talked with Perry Loeggering on The Morning Show. He's an Area Wildlife Manager for the DNR.

Perry talked about the significant changes in deer regulations this year and the new boundaries for permit areas.

Perry had this to say,

"Some years we can't have as liberal of a season as we'd like. There's a change in boundaries to better match the land use. It's also that some of these areas - especially in the forested areas - we're reaching our goal of deer numbers and so we're ramping down the harvest level. We're going from a situation where anyone can buy a license and hunt either sex to having to apply for a lottery to get an antlerless permit (for over 18 year old firearm and muzzleloader hunters).

A lot of these areas - like up in Marcell - have been open to either sex deer hunting for about 7 or 8 years - and now we've got a lottery. Hunters need to take a look at regulations to see where they hunt to see if they are in a managed area. If you buy just a standard firearms license you can hunt across these lines and you can always hunt for a buck deer anywhere in the state."

You can pick up a regulation guide when you buy a license or see the regulations here.

Mino-giizhigad! (It’s a good day!)

Ojibwe author, Chelsea Annette, joins Maggie Montgomery and Scott Hall to talk about her first in her series of books for learning the Ojibwe language and preserving the Ojibwe culture Weds morning at 8:10 on KAXE. This book, “Discovering The Little Brothers”, is the story “about a little song bird, Naagamowin-bineshiinh, who wants nothing more than to make a nest.” On his journey, we meet a lot of animals and learn a lot of Ojibwe.

Freaky Fundraisers Hard at Work

There is a LOT going on in this picture - can you see the gong? And where's mallet? How many coffee mugs do you see? And is there a bird in the feeder? :)

It's the first morning of our Come To Your Senses Fundraiser. Listener support is our single largest source of funding - people just like you who pledge now!

On this first day we're celebrating the sense of hearing - when you pledge you can go on-air and we'll play a mystery-sound for you - if you get it right (and Sound Master Guido has been offering clues) you get a free CD!

On an entirely unrelated subject - a nice young man was found wandering our amphitheater - turns out he can't remember anything, so we lovingly nicknamed him Amneesia Manne and asked him to report about our fundraiser, check it out:
Amneesia Manne Ep 1

The important thing is that you look at your budget and see what you can afford, then give us a call! 800-662-5799 or pledge online at www.kaxe.org.

Have you ALWAYS wanted to ask Fred Friedman a sports question?

by Heidi Holtan

To be quite honest, I haven't always wanted to ask Fred a sports question. But for some reason, this book-loving non-athletic gal, enjoys listening to Fred Friedman every Thursday morning on The Sports Page on KAXE's Morning Show.

Scott Hall is away this week and I'll be filling in for him and hanging out with Chad Haadvedt, so I'm relying on the generosity of sports-loving KAXE listeners to make it a good show - and call in or post your questions here. Otherwise I'll start picking Fred's brain about what he's been reading lately. Yes, that's a threat!!!!

Also tune in for a talk about sustainability at 8:10 with Chemistry instructors from Itasca Community College and Hibbing Community College... as well as a cooking segment in the kitchen with the chef from Timberlake Lodge in Grand Rapids, Andy. Rumor is we'll be eating DUCK for breakfast!

Bauer in the Morning

by Doug MacRostie

"Why is John Bauer wearing a skull cap?" I asked myself when I arrived at KAXE this morning. "Did his wife shave his head?" "Maybe he was just excited to find one big enough to fit...". I was wrong. Between debates about turning the lights on in the morning and proper healthy living on The Morning Show, Bauer was battling a bad hair day. No wonder he's so grumpy!

Green Smoothie Challenge

Today on the Morning Show the topic was health. It went from exercise to wellness to making livable communities to green smoothies.

Geri stopped by and talked about her 40 day Green Smoothie Challenge - along with Jamie ... the most hard core green smoothie drinker around!

What's in a green smoothie you ask? ANYTHING you like. I made one today that had swiss chard, carrot tops, raspberries, banana and yogurt in it. Packed full of vitamins and nutrients. Plus I had to trudge to the garden for most of the ingredients (the banana tree is not in bloom yet) so I got some exercise to boot.

Here's a green smoothie recipe to try from Geri's blog:

1 cup spring salad mix
1 cup green tea
3 very ripe peaches
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup ground pecans
2 cups pure juice (I made this in my juicer: 2 apples, 2 pears, 2 kiwi)

If you do not have a juicer, any 100% juice is a good choice.