Capitol Retort: Saving Jordan, Appleton on ICE, Get-Together!

Staff photo: Kevin Featherly / U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, DFL-Minnesota (right), speaks to U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., on Aug. 19, during a rare local press conference for the Minnesota congresswoman. Omar spoke exclusively about Israel and took just three questions.

Editor’s note: Welcome to a special edition of Capitol Retort, our weekly review of issues in state and national news—this week featuring folks who were attending the Minnesota State Fair on Aug. 23. Answers are edited for length and clarity. Any instances of agreement are accidental.

By Kevin Featherly
kfeatherly@minnlawyer.com

Question 1: U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar, 5th District DFLer, last week gave a rare Minnesota press conference and took just three questions, all focusing on Israel. New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman, a Minnesota native, recently posed this question: Why is the congresswoman spending so much time dealing with the West Bank of the Jordan and so little dealing with West Bank of the Mississippi? Fair thing to ask?

Steve Kelley, commerce commissioner, former DFL state senator: Pundits like Thomas Friedman get to ask any kind of question they want as a way of making their point. I think Representative Omar is listening to the people in her district and the concerns that they have, and it’s up to her to make the judgment about what best represents them.

Jennifer Carnahan, state GOP chair: That is a fair question. She was elected to represent Minnesota out in Washington, D.C., and to look out for the best interests of the constituents in the district that voted for her, but also even those that didn’t vote for her and all Minnesotans across the state. So it is very interesting that she is continuously focused on other parts of the world instead of being focused on our country and our citizens.

Karla Bigham, DFL state senator: I think the media can ask any question they want, yeah. I mean, I do believe that she is focused on [local] environmental policies. But that [Israel] is a federal question, but not a state question.

[Editor’s note: For example, in July, Rep. Omar introduced the Zero Waste Act to create federal grants for local cities in Minnesota and elsewhere find alternatives to trash landfills and incinerators.]

Rick Hansen, DFL House member: I think it’s a fair question. I’ve kind of been out in the field working on stuff and I’ve been getting ready for the State Fair, so I haven’t been paying too much attention to that. But I have constituents asking me, “What are you doing in your district?” It’s a little different in Congress. We are state representatives, so we have our district and then we have statewide issues. When you are a federal representative you have your district, but then you have federal and international issues. But it’s a fair question.

Joe Remley, Hugo resident, conservative State Fair attendee: It’s an exceedingly fair question. The only thing I can say is that she must think that is a vote-getting position. She must think that’s a way for her to get votes — by getting support across the nation from people who may not believe in Israel’s right to exist.

Question 2: For years, local politicians have tried unsuccessfully to convince the Legislature to reopen Appleton’s private prison. Now owner CoreCivic has an idea — turn the empty facility into a federal ICE immigrant detention center. MPR reports the idea has divided the town. What do you think about it?

Kelley: There again, I think it’s important that the local community has a say in those types of things.
Carnahan: I’m not as familiar with the local [controversy] on that issue, but I know that people have concern about immigration in our country. We do need to look at a broader system for how we are going to address it. I think that is certainly an opportunity to always be exploring options, but to do so in a way that doesn’t divide people.

Bigham: I do not support privatizing corrections. I do not support privatizing any core function of government, including prisons.
Hansen: I have voted against using it for a prison and I certainly wouldn’t use it for an immigrant detention facility. No.

Remley: My question is why Minnesota? Who is going to pay for these people getting here? I’d have to think long and hard about that. Why Minnesota versus some state that is closer? Why a detention center? That prison was built to hold people for years and years and years, versus someone coming in for a week, in and out. It sounds like an impractical position to me, when that [a detention center] is supposed to be a transient facility.

AP photo: Jim Mone / Thousands packed the fairgrounds as the 12-day Minnesota State Fair got underway Thursday, Aug. 22, in Falcon Heights. 

Question 3: There are a bunch of cool new things at the Minnesota State Fair this year—the Angry Birds Universe exhibit, the Minnesota Corn Fairstalk and an indigenous food lab among them. What fun stuff are you planning—or have you already done—at the Great Minnesota Get-Together?

Kelley: This morning we were up at the Eco Experience building with the lieutenant governor and had a chance to check out the ice block — an exhibit related to the effect of warming on the planet. And also the Climate Jeopardy exhibit in the energy section that the Department of Commerce is sponsoring. So there are lots of great things to do at the fair.

Carnahan: I haven’t had time yet to scope out everything new. But I always go to the animal barns. I always ride down the Giant Slide. I always eat a baked potato and a deep-fried Snickers bar. And I always play games in the Midway.

Bigham: I toured the dairy barn and the pork barn. The Dairy Association and the Pork Producers invited us on what the call a “Ham and Cheese Tour.” So that was phenomenal. I got see cows being milked and I got to see the new piglets. It was great! And it was a good learning experience about dairy farmers.

Hansen: I’ve already had my Pappa Pup. But I have not yet had the apple. They always have the new apples at the Horticulture Building so I always get an apple. But the line is so long for that First Kiss apple, I had to blow past it. But I have already had my mini-donuts, too. So I have had two out of the three things. But I also have picked up the Rusty Patched Bumble Bee hat at the Ag Building — because it’s the new state bee. And, you know, I authored that. So that’s a cool new thing.

Remley: I have not concentrated on any of the new items. Our tradition is to see the new art, to see the pigs and the cows and the horses and the turkeys. [Pause.] I almost added something when I mentioned turkeys: “… but I haven’t been to the DFL booth.” But I am not going to say that. That would be less than gracious.