Bipartisan bill aims to aid economy with hemp production

A bipartisan slate of 30 legislators — from liberal Minneapolis Rep. Phyllis Kahn to conservative Rep. Mark Buesgens of Jordan — are proposing legislation to allow Minnesota farmers to grow industrial hemp. The Industrial Hemp Development Act would legalize hemp plants while maintaining strong restrictions on marijuana possession. The bill even includes the collection of fees from farmers as revenue to run the program; during time of budget deficits, it won’t cost the state anything.

Obamnivore’s Dilemma: Foodies champion Ritchie as ‘sustainable’ ag secretary

Eighty-eight big name environmental and food activists — including Omnivore’s Dilemma author Michael Pollan, famed restaurant owner Alice Waters and Minnesotan Winona LaDuke — have written to President-elect Barack Obama urging him to appoint America’s first “sustainability Secretary of Agriculture.” And among their list of six candidates they include Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie, a former employee of Minnesota’s ag department and co-founder of the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.

Pawlenty to Request Drought Aid

Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty will ask for federal aid for farmers facing a loss of crops due to drought, according to a release from the governor’s office.

Pawlenty, a Republican, made the statement after visiting Morrison county…

Gutknecht-Walz debate: A rare occurrence?

The Gutknecht-Walz debate in Owatonna on Saturday was well covered by Bluestem Prairie, who observed it firsthand. Among newspapers, it seems only the Owatonna Peoples Press wrote it up, though it may yet come up in the