By Joe Spear
Free Press Editor
The story of a tragic shooting in Kasota last July was a bit unfinished when the Grand Jury decided against prosecuting Le Sueur County Deputy Todd Waldron for the shooting death of Tyler Heilman.
The two had been involved in a violent confrontation in Kasota that eventually lead Waldron to use his weapon to defend himself, and the Grand Jury last fall ruled his use of force was justified because his life was sufficiently threatened.
But through the many stories published by The Free Press on the incident, some information was not available. That's why when the complete investigative report become public, The Free Press felt a need to review the report, compare the facts to what was decided by the Grand Jury and provide readers more information for them to make their own decisions about the justification for the shooting.
The report was nearly 1,600 pages, and Free Press reporter Dan Nienaber spent hours going over it. What evolved was a four part series telling the story in a chronological way with more details than were previously made public anywhere.
This, we feel, would serve readers by providing them a more clear picture of what transpired that day. Sometimes, you can have one view when you hear a person was shot, but have another completely different view once you know the context of that shooting.
That's what The Free Press series was about - providing readers with context so they could more fully understand the situation.
Some readers may fault the officer more, now that they know more details. Some may find more fault with the victim and his provocations.
But, at it's core, this kind of story needs to be told. The public needs as much information as possible to gain a better understanding of events, especially because someone was killed.
We've had some readers just not want an ugly situation "brought up all over again." Some have said it's "overkill." Some have said if we can't print the "whole story" we should print nothing at all.
I respectfully disagree with all of these ideas. A man was killed. There's more information about that now. It's our obligation to report it.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
Vikings kick off in stadium proposal game
In my meeting with Vikings Vice President Lester Bagley 10 days ago, the team's point man on building a new stadium said he hopes to be having discussions with Legislators in 30 days.
That's a surprising and ambitious timetable, but Bagley said three different owners have been talking stadium for 2001 and expressed some frustration that they are still expected to "wait their turn" and this year might not be a good year. Legislators have committed, he said, to working out some kind of deal.
But Bagley says next year will be a worse year, and though owner Zygi Wilf is not threatening to move the team, Bagley asks somewhat rhetorically, "Why would he want to own the team" with no stadium, loss of revenue.
Vikings have been patient. Gophers and Twins got their stadiums. He notes the situation: The Dome is "most dysfunctional stadium with state's most popular team."
The key sticking point for legislators and maybe the public is: among all the things Minnesotans can't have this year because of budget, schools, health care for the poor etc, why should they fund a stadium?
Bagley's answer: It won't be general fund money. He says Vikings are open to several proposals that include some kind of hospitality tax, maybe even a memorabilia tax, and some lottery money. There also might be some kind of sales tax "TIF" or tax increment financing, where you'd take the extra sales tax brought into the state from the new stadium and use it to pay off bonds sold for the stadium construction.
It's a tactic cities small and big have used for years in Minnesota.
Bagley suggests deals in other cities have coupled new stadiums with funding for public goods. We'd maybe suggest a deal like that possibly including funding for schools or maybe civic centers for towns like the one that hosts the Vikings training camp.
There is a group of Republicans and Democrats, he says, in the Minnesota Legislature, that have a commitment to try to get a deal done "this year." Construction costs are down, interest rates are low and we need the jobs, he notes.
One key supporter would be the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, and so far, Bagley says they have a group discussing the issue.
Pressure is also mounting from the NFL, who, Bagley says, won't agree forever to revenue sharing where small market teams like Green Bay and Kansas City have to pay part of the $15 million to $20 million a year that goes to the Vikings.
Vikings owners would put up 33 percent of the money for a $670 million open air stadium, a figure, Bagley notes, is above the Twins 28 percent contribution to their stadium.
More importantly, because the deal doesn't suggest any general fund spending, Bagley suggests Gov. Tim Pawlenty would be a team player in the deal.
Intriguing stuff. Doing a deal this year seems against conventional wisdom, but then, the Wilf family need only point to last year's near Superbowl appearance and Brett Favre's storybook year to show they can often win against conventional wisdom.
That's a surprising and ambitious timetable, but Bagley said three different owners have been talking stadium for 2001 and expressed some frustration that they are still expected to "wait their turn" and this year might not be a good year. Legislators have committed, he said, to working out some kind of deal.
But Bagley says next year will be a worse year, and though owner Zygi Wilf is not threatening to move the team, Bagley asks somewhat rhetorically, "Why would he want to own the team" with no stadium, loss of revenue.
Vikings have been patient. Gophers and Twins got their stadiums. He notes the situation: The Dome is "most dysfunctional stadium with state's most popular team."
The key sticking point for legislators and maybe the public is: among all the things Minnesotans can't have this year because of budget, schools, health care for the poor etc, why should they fund a stadium?
Bagley's answer: It won't be general fund money. He says Vikings are open to several proposals that include some kind of hospitality tax, maybe even a memorabilia tax, and some lottery money. There also might be some kind of sales tax "TIF" or tax increment financing, where you'd take the extra sales tax brought into the state from the new stadium and use it to pay off bonds sold for the stadium construction.
It's a tactic cities small and big have used for years in Minnesota.
Bagley suggests deals in other cities have coupled new stadiums with funding for public goods. We'd maybe suggest a deal like that possibly including funding for schools or maybe civic centers for towns like the one that hosts the Vikings training camp.
There is a group of Republicans and Democrats, he says, in the Minnesota Legislature, that have a commitment to try to get a deal done "this year." Construction costs are down, interest rates are low and we need the jobs, he notes.
One key supporter would be the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, and so far, Bagley says they have a group discussing the issue.
Pressure is also mounting from the NFL, who, Bagley says, won't agree forever to revenue sharing where small market teams like Green Bay and Kansas City have to pay part of the $15 million to $20 million a year that goes to the Vikings.
Vikings owners would put up 33 percent of the money for a $670 million open air stadium, a figure, Bagley notes, is above the Twins 28 percent contribution to their stadium.
More importantly, because the deal doesn't suggest any general fund spending, Bagley suggests Gov. Tim Pawlenty would be a team player in the deal.
Intriguing stuff. Doing a deal this year seems against conventional wisdom, but then, the Wilf family need only point to last year's near Superbowl appearance and Brett Favre's storybook year to show they can often win against conventional wisdom.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Public information: It belongs to taxpayers
In the 20 years I've worked at The Free Press, I have come up against numerous government agencies and public institutions who didn't want to share information the newspaper deemed important to our role as government watchdog.
From state agencies, to local government units, even obscure quasi-government hybrid institutions, governments from time to time resist releasing information they consider "too sensitive."
Of course, sometimes they would stonewall you just to avoid releasing information that would be embarrassing or that would create a public uproar. In other cases, there are nuanced legal issues involved.
It is sometimes no small feat for newspapers to unearth the public information needed to tell important stories, stories that help citizens influence how their governments are run, and how those governments use taxpayer dollars.
So newspapers, and we at The Free Press, have standard operating procedures when government refuses to provide information we deem public by law. We have reference materials that provide us with basic information from various units of government that is "always public," unequivocally under the law.
We send or fax the agency a form letter that requests the specific information we believe is public. We ask the agency to cite the statute they believe keeps that information nonpublic.
Then we can involve our newspaper association attorney who is an expert on such things to decide if they agency has a legitimate argument or not.
In Minnesota, the burden of proof is usually on the government agency to say why information is not public. The media, and the public, should not have to have law degrees to ask for public information. That's as it should be.
But average citizens must know that the media has no more right to public information than the public at large. Anything that we can get, you can get. No questions asked.
Of course, it's easier for government bureaucracies to stonewall average citizens who don't have the ability to publish a story in the newspaper. We know our position gives us a little more leverage in securing this public information, and we're happy to do just that on behalf of the taxpayers and the public.
I'm always kind of amazed that public officials seem to forget just who owns the information they are keeping secret. It's not their information. It's the taxpayer's information.
From state agencies, to local government units, even obscure quasi-government hybrid institutions, governments from time to time resist releasing information they consider "too sensitive."
Of course, sometimes they would stonewall you just to avoid releasing information that would be embarrassing or that would create a public uproar. In other cases, there are nuanced legal issues involved.
It is sometimes no small feat for newspapers to unearth the public information needed to tell important stories, stories that help citizens influence how their governments are run, and how those governments use taxpayer dollars.
So newspapers, and we at The Free Press, have standard operating procedures when government refuses to provide information we deem public by law. We have reference materials that provide us with basic information from various units of government that is "always public," unequivocally under the law.
We send or fax the agency a form letter that requests the specific information we believe is public. We ask the agency to cite the statute they believe keeps that information nonpublic.
Then we can involve our newspaper association attorney who is an expert on such things to decide if they agency has a legitimate argument or not.
In Minnesota, the burden of proof is usually on the government agency to say why information is not public. The media, and the public, should not have to have law degrees to ask for public information. That's as it should be.
But average citizens must know that the media has no more right to public information than the public at large. Anything that we can get, you can get. No questions asked.
Of course, it's easier for government bureaucracies to stonewall average citizens who don't have the ability to publish a story in the newspaper. We know our position gives us a little more leverage in securing this public information, and we're happy to do just that on behalf of the taxpayers and the public.
I'm always kind of amazed that public officials seem to forget just who owns the information they are keeping secret. It's not their information. It's the taxpayer's information.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Social media contributors
Speaking of reader-submitted photos, we were assisted in our reporting of last week's biggest news story: the "Door-busting of Wal-Mart" Mankato.
A high-speech chased ended with police arresting a man after he drove through the doors of the Mankato Wal-Mart and ended up "parking" his car near the frozen foods.
Free Press facebook fan Renee Fick Grams volunteered a picture she had that showed police surrounding the car in the aisles of Wal-Mart at 6:30 a.m. or so in the morning.
We had other facebook fans send photos as well that we posted with the story on our web site. Angela Possin Sorensen also provided a good pic.
It's great help to all readers when our "I-report" readers are helping us.
Thanks Renee! and Angela!
A high-speech chased ended with police arresting a man after he drove through the doors of the Mankato Wal-Mart and ended up "parking" his car near the frozen foods.
Free Press facebook fan Renee Fick Grams volunteered a picture she had that showed police surrounding the car in the aisles of Wal-Mart at 6:30 a.m. or so in the morning.
We had other facebook fans send photos as well that we posted with the story on our web site. Angela Possin Sorensen also provided a good pic.
It's great help to all readers when our "I-report" readers are helping us.
Thanks Renee! and Angela!
Great photos, lots of news
It's been a busy week at The Free Press.
I'm very impressed with the quality and quantity of reader-submitted photos we are getting for our new web feature "My Perspective."
If you haven't checked it out yet, go to our homepage. Look for the rotating widget. Usually it will go through about 20 photos and continually update with fresh photos.
We received a lot of worthwhile photos of the recent flooding including this one from Donahue Sarff.
Following the flood stories is always interesting. Luckily, there were no major disasters and property damage issues, but it is amazing how many people just go "flood watching" to see just how high the river is getting.
I made my way down to the new Riverfront Park in Mankato and was kind of amazed how high the water was getting. Seems like we will have a flooded park, if we get within four or five feet of the top of the flood wall.
The park is a beauty however, and if you haven't checked it out, it's worth doing.
On the national news front, of course, passage of the health care reform bill was a major happening this weekend. That will be an interesting story to watch unfold when all the details start to be made clear.
It's also likely to be hotly debated in this year's congressional elections.
That will likely keep us busy and in the news business.
Oh yeah, and Twins got some coverage this weekend too with the signing of Joe Mauer to a 8-year, $184 million contract. The commentary was: He could have done better in the free agent market, but he likes Minnesota so well.
Glad, he likes us. Would like to see what the cost would be if he didn't like us.
Watch Ed Thoma's Baseball Outsider blog, I'm sure he'll be weighing in often on this topic. Here's one of his takes.
I'm very impressed with the quality and quantity of reader-submitted photos we are getting for our new web feature "My Perspective."
If you haven't checked it out yet, go to our homepage. Look for the rotating widget. Usually it will go through about 20 photos and continually update with fresh photos.
We received a lot of worthwhile photos of the recent flooding including this one from Donahue Sarff.
Following the flood stories is always interesting. Luckily, there were no major disasters and property damage issues, but it is amazing how many people just go "flood watching" to see just how high the river is getting.
I made my way down to the new Riverfront Park in Mankato and was kind of amazed how high the water was getting. Seems like we will have a flooded park, if we get within four or five feet of the top of the flood wall.
The park is a beauty however, and if you haven't checked it out, it's worth doing.
On the national news front, of course, passage of the health care reform bill was a major happening this weekend. That will be an interesting story to watch unfold when all the details start to be made clear.
It's also likely to be hotly debated in this year's congressional elections.
That will likely keep us busy and in the news business.
Oh yeah, and Twins got some coverage this weekend too with the signing of Joe Mauer to a 8-year, $184 million contract. The commentary was: He could have done better in the free agent market, but he likes Minnesota so well.
Glad, he likes us. Would like to see what the cost would be if he didn't like us.
Watch Ed Thoma's Baseball Outsider blog, I'm sure he'll be weighing in often on this topic. Here's one of his takes.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Send us flood photos
It's that time of year again. The risk of spring flooding is upon us.
The Free Press news team is gearing up to cover what appears to be more serious flooding in this area than in years past, maybe not catastrophic by any means, but so far we've been surprised by a few things.
The Minnesota River in New Ulm, Mankato, St. Peter, Henderson and Jordan appears to already be above the peak levels predicted for the end of this week.
See The Free Press Web site under "Local News" for links to up to the minute flood forecasts, river levels and predicted peaks.
If you have taken flooding photos, we'd like to take a look at them and possibly use them on our Web site and in the print edition.
Help us report the story too by leaving your name and phone number so we can get your flood story.
We'll be waking every day to monitor the situation.
Send photos to readerphotos@mankatofreepress.com
The Free Press news team is gearing up to cover what appears to be more serious flooding in this area than in years past, maybe not catastrophic by any means, but so far we've been surprised by a few things.
The Minnesota River in New Ulm, Mankato, St. Peter, Henderson and Jordan appears to already be above the peak levels predicted for the end of this week.
See The Free Press Web site under "Local News" for links to up to the minute flood forecasts, river levels and predicted peaks.
If you have taken flooding photos, we'd like to take a look at them and possibly use them on our Web site and in the print edition.
Help us report the story too by leaving your name and phone number so we can get your flood story.
We'll be waking every day to monitor the situation.
Send photos to readerphotos@mankatofreepress.com
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Send us your photos
By Joe Spear
Free Press Editor
The Free Press has kicked off a new feature that feeds off photos taken by readers.
Our "My Perspective" photo "widget" is now on the homepage of our Web site at mankatofreepress.com
Actually, quite a few readers have already contributed and it's clear we have some pretty talented photographers out there.
Send your photos to readerphotos@mankatofreepress.com. We try to get them posted within a day or two. We also use some photos we run in Mankato Magazine of community events taken by the staff at SportPix.
We've also put some of those photos in print into a new Free Press "Photo News" section that is distributed on Saturdays to non-subscribers.
Free Press Editor
The Free Press has kicked off a new feature that feeds off photos taken by readers.
Our "My Perspective" photo "widget" is now on the homepage of our Web site at mankatofreepress.com
Actually, quite a few readers have already contributed and it's clear we have some pretty talented photographers out there.
Send your photos to readerphotos@mankatofreepress.com. We try to get them posted within a day or two. We also use some photos we run in Mankato Magazine of community events taken by the staff at SportPix.
We've also put some of those photos in print into a new Free Press "Photo News" section that is distributed on Saturdays to non-subscribers.
Friday, March 5, 2010
A senator with a solution
By Joe Spear
Free Press Editor
I spoke with Minnesota Senate Tax Committee Chairman Tom Bakk Thursday morning about the state tax system and his unique plan for solving the state budget deficit.
To me, the plan is not only sound economically but also quite possible politically, if he gets the right kind of support.
His plan fills part of the budget hole, pays schools back the money the state is "borrowing" from them and lowers the overall sales tax rate in Minnesota. In the process, the plan actually reduces the tax burden on businesses.
The heart of his plan calls for initially expanding the state sales tax to clothing, to provide about $257 million help reduce the current $1 billion deficit. Then, starting in July 2011, $120 million a year would go to pay back schools the $1.2 billion in funding unalloted from last year.
At the same time, the other $120 million would help pay for a lower overall sales tax rate.
He reasons that businesses will see their tax bill go down as a result. Businesses pay about 45 percent of all sales tax in Minnesota, according to the Department of Revenue.
Lowering the sales tax rate and broadening the base has been recommended since 1984 by bipartisan tax study commissions in Minnesota. Even Gov. Pawlenty's 21st Century commission recommended the idea.
Republican Sen. Debbie Johnson of Ham Lake has signed on as a co-author of the bill.
This stands as a really great chance to improve Minnesota's tax climate and solve the budget deficit with minimal amounts of pain.
The sales tax will not be as onerous on hurting consumers because it is a tax of choice. If you don't want to pay the tax, you don't have to buy the product.
Bakk's research also shows that sales tax falls more on upper income individuals who maybe buy fancy suits versus those who may use thrift stores and discount stores.
This proposal is one of the best solutions for our current dilemma and has the added advantage of sound structural reform for Minnesota's tax system.
Bakk, the Iron Rangers who is also running for governor, now just has to be as good as garnering support as he is about coming up with good ideas.
Free Press Editor
I spoke with Minnesota Senate Tax Committee Chairman Tom Bakk Thursday morning about the state tax system and his unique plan for solving the state budget deficit.
To me, the plan is not only sound economically but also quite possible politically, if he gets the right kind of support.
His plan fills part of the budget hole, pays schools back the money the state is "borrowing" from them and lowers the overall sales tax rate in Minnesota. In the process, the plan actually reduces the tax burden on businesses.
The heart of his plan calls for initially expanding the state sales tax to clothing, to provide about $257 million help reduce the current $1 billion deficit. Then, starting in July 2011, $120 million a year would go to pay back schools the $1.2 billion in funding unalloted from last year.
At the same time, the other $120 million would help pay for a lower overall sales tax rate.
He reasons that businesses will see their tax bill go down as a result. Businesses pay about 45 percent of all sales tax in Minnesota, according to the Department of Revenue.
Lowering the sales tax rate and broadening the base has been recommended since 1984 by bipartisan tax study commissions in Minnesota. Even Gov. Pawlenty's 21st Century commission recommended the idea.
Republican Sen. Debbie Johnson of Ham Lake has signed on as a co-author of the bill.
This stands as a really great chance to improve Minnesota's tax climate and solve the budget deficit with minimal amounts of pain.
The sales tax will not be as onerous on hurting consumers because it is a tax of choice. If you don't want to pay the tax, you don't have to buy the product.
Bakk's research also shows that sales tax falls more on upper income individuals who maybe buy fancy suits versus those who may use thrift stores and discount stores.
This proposal is one of the best solutions for our current dilemma and has the added advantage of sound structural reform for Minnesota's tax system.
Bakk, the Iron Rangers who is also running for governor, now just has to be as good as garnering support as he is about coming up with good ideas.
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