Minnesota Independent: News. Politics. Media. » Willmar

One population Willmar can count on

Chris Steller — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 21:32:05 +0000

During a forum on immigrants on Minnesota Public Radio today, Willmar Mayor Lester Heitke said he’d recently learned that the local Somali community had purchased 30 plots in the city’s public cemetery. That lead him to a conclusion:

To me, that’s an indication that they intend to stay.

You Might Have Missed

Sara Reller — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 20:58:09 +0000

In case you’ve been busy, here are a few quick stories from the past week.

Minnesota troops and families were fed and linked up across the world.

Read MoreSt. Paul Fire Chief Doug Holton has been named Milwaukee’s new chief. This move comes after a no-confidence vote from the firefighters union.

Ramsey County Board commissioners gave themselves a 25 percent raise after a study comparing salaries of officials in other counties.

A junior high school in Eagan and a senior high school in Willmar were closed this week along with eight buildings on the University of Minnesota campus after a bomb threat.

Attorney Blames Group, Major Contributors for Dean Johnson’s Loss

Sara Reller — Fri, 16 Feb 2007 21:31:13 +0000

A letter from Willmar attorney John Burns blames Minnesota Citizens in Defense of Marriage for former state Sen. Dean Johnson’s loss in the 2006 election. The letter, published this week in the West Central Tribune, attacked the group and its two major contributors.

Burns writes:

More than half of that [Minnesota Citizens in Defense of Marriage] organization’s funding came from one wealthy man, Robert P. Cummins of Deephaven, who contributed $155,000. When his contribution is combined with the $45,000 from Rodney Huisken of Chandler, Minn., the two provided about 70 percent of MCDM’s funding. MCDM targeted about two-thirds of its statewide independent expenditures against one candidate, Dean Johnson.

Johnson lost to Republican Joe Gimse of Willmar by 553 votes out of nearly 31,891 cast. Johnson, the former Senate majority leader who was from Willmar, was the most-prominent DFL incumbent to lose last year. He was targeted after his remarks to a group of religious leaders were made public about a conversation that he claimed he had with some Minnesota Supreme Court justices about gay marriage in Minnesota.

Burns also was involved in a shouting match during the campaign.