Star Tribune
James Ulland, a former Republican lawmaker from Duluth, dies at 82
DULUTH – In the late 1960s, James Ulland was a commercial tree farmer with 660 acres of tax-forfeited land he had acquired between French River and Alborn, in northern Minnesota. He had started with 10,000 trees and quickly expanded to 140,000 — with plans to add 60,000 red pine and white spruce seedlings in the spring.
This rated as a superlative: In the previous two years, Ulland had planted more trees in St. Louis County than any other private individual. He told a reporter from the Duluth News Tribune at the time that the red pines wouldn’t hit maturity until he was 109 years old.
In 1968, Ulland’s occupation was listed as economist/tree farmer when was elected to the Minnesota House and later to the Minnesota Senate from traditionally Democratic-leaning Duluth. He spent 15 years in state politics and was later appointed by Gov. Arne Carlson to be the commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Commerce. In 1997, he founded Ulland Investment Advisors, a boutique Minneapolis firm where he spent the rest of his career.
“It didn’t matter whether it was politics or business or family and friends — he was very funny, very smart with a quick wit, and very active,” said Ann Glumac, who is married to Ulland’s brother Bill Ulland.
Former Gov. Arne Carlson remembered Ulland as bright with a good sense of humor and a delight to work alongside. He is remembered as a strong environmentalist with a message about the hole in the ozone layer and its impact on mankind, Carlson said.
“He was the first [layperson] to grasp the early stages of what we now call climate change,” Carlson said. “He began to realize over time that we had to develop policies that had a long-term impact and to recognize that the earth’s climate was changing and it was harmful to man’s ability to survive.”
Mike Jaros, who served in the Minnesota House about the same time as Ulland and represented neighboring areas, said he always admired Ulland. They came from different parties, but DFLer Jaros said he enjoyed working with Ulland.
Minnesota National Guard personnel in active duty status still have to report to work to maintain military operations, but part-time members and their units will not conduct previously scheduled training, drills or exercises during the shutdown.
More than 300 corrections officers at four federal prisons across Minnesota will be working without pay. Minnesota’s four federal district court offices would also operate as usual.
While most government benefits will continue, things like benefit verification letters, updates to earnings records and replacement of Medicare cards will have to wait until the government reopens.
The state’s one national park — Voyageurs in northern Minnesota — along with several national monuments and other sites could temporarily lose staff, but closures are decided on a case-by-case basis. The same applies to national forests, including the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, as well as other federal lands, including national wildlife refuges.
About a year ago, Congress narrowly averted a shutdown during a spending standoff in the House. The last time government spending lapsed and there was a partial shutdown was in December 2018 over disagreements about funding Trump’s wall on the border with Mexico.
That partial shutdown last 34 days, the longest on record, but it didn’t affect the entire government because Congress had already passed some spending bills.
Star Tribune
Trump’s words of opposition stop a bipartisan budget deal in its tracks with Musk’s help
“Any member of the House or Senate who votes for this outrageous spending bill deserves to be voted out in 2 years!” he wrote. He also called it ‘’one of the worst bills ever written.‘’
Sometimes Musk amplified false claims, such as the idea that the legislation included $3 billion for a new football stadium in Washington. In reality, the legislation would transfer ownership of the land from the federal government to the city, paving the way for eventual development.
Musk appeared emboldened by the experience.
‘‘The voice of the people was heard,‘’ Musk wrote. ‘’This was a good day for America.”
Democratic House leader Hakeem Jeffries said the fallout would be Republicans’ fault.
‘‘You break the bipartisan agreement, you own the consequences that follow,” he wrote on X.
A man arrested in Dakota County who exhibited “seizure-like symptoms” during jail intake died days later, according to court records and the Sheriff’s Office.
Kingsley Fifi Bimpong, 50, of Cottage Grove, was taken to the jail in Hastings on Nov. 19 on suspicision of drunken driving in Eagan, a search warrant affidavit made public Wednesday disclosed.
Sheriff Joe Leko said Thursday that Bimpong “was incoherent, and his condition deteriorated. … We rushed him to the hospital as soon as we could see that it wasn’t good.”
Leko suggested that Bimpong might have actually been affected more by whatever medical difficulty he was having at the time, rather than being intoxicated.
The sheriff said Bimpong died a few days later, and “we’re waiting on the medical examiner’s report” for a determination of what led to the death.
An affidavit was filed by Washington County Sheriff’s Office seeking permission to collect Bimpong’s medical records that might shed light on his death. The neighboring Sheriff’s Office is heading the investigation in order to avoid a conflict of interest, Leko said.
According to the affidavit:
At the jail, Bimpong was unable to complete the booking process and “was eventually noticed by correction officers as having seizure-like symptoms while in the intake waiting area.”
Capybaras are the “it” animal inspiration for toys, slippers and T-shirts this holiday season
Government shutdown looking more likely after spending bill tanked
Trump shakes up spending talks with call on Congress to eliminate debt ceiling
Capybaras are the “it” animal inspiration for toys, slippers and T-shirts this holiday season
Government shutdown looking more likely after spending bill tanked