2024 in Commentary • Minnesota Reformer

The Reformer continued to publish powerful commentary about Minnesota in 2024 — often leading conversations about key issues that aren’t getting enough airplay.

Our the most read comment of the year was by Kayseh Magan, a Somali-American who worked as a fraud investigator, including in the Minnesota Attorney General’s office.

“We have to wrestle with something that is uncomfortable and true: almost all of the defendants in the cases I’ve listed are from my community. The Somali community,” Magan wrote, stating what is commonly talked about, though rarely publicly.

Magan was insightful and empathetic as he tried to explain why and how this happens in an article that has become even more relevant this month as federal investigators. served search warrants on two autism providers. Indeed, we ended the year in comments with a three part series from Chuck Johnson, former deputy commissioner of the Department of Human Services, on fraud in state programs and how to stop it.

Native economist and author Winona LaDuke lamented the impact of industrial agriculture on the indigenous people of Pine Point in northern Minnesota: “Every spring, a huge influx of heavy equipment inundates the prairie with toxic chemicals, which then travel into the water and into the homes of Pine Point residents. The county roads look like a war zone, full of planes, helicopters and industrial sprayers passing through the fields. Mutant insect-like tractors crawl across the fields and the air smells of pesticides.”

Also on the subject of agribusiness, we published a fragment from Austin Frerick’s “Barons, Power, and Corruption of America’s Food Industry,” about Cargill’s emergence as a powerful force after World War I. “Cargill’s rapid growth has allowed it to consolidate its power in the industry and it has begun to show some level. ruthlessness in extracting profits. In 1938, the company and three of its officials, including John MacMillan Jr., were expelled from the Chicago Board of Trade after being found guilty of manipulating corn prices.”

We tried to amplify the voices of workers whose livelihoods are affected by government policy. Nancy Poll, a former nursing home programmer in Belgrade, Minnesota, he wrote about the lack of workers in her industry, driven by low wages and a lack of benefits: “Staffing at a nursing home is like solving a puzzle with missing pieces. I was the scheduler for years and struggled every day to find enough qualified people to fill the shifts and make sure we had enough staff to meet the needs of our residents.” The solution, she wrote, could be found in the Nursing Home Workforce Standards Board, which raising wages throughout the industry.

Kailee Schminkey, commercial painter and journeyman at IUPAT District Council 82, wrote about the role of the Upper Midwest Institute of Finishing Trades in reducing wage gaps. “Only 3 percent of Minnesota’s median wage construction workers are women, but nearly half of FTIUM graduates are women and people of color.”

Shawntel Gruba, owner of a child care center in Mountain Iron, wrote about the importance of MinnesotaCare — public health insurance program for the working poor. She urged the Legislature to expand the program so she and her workers could make more money but still have peace of mind that they would have health coverage. Unfortunately, the Legislature did not extend the programand many workers who receive raises continue to lose affordable health coverage.

The problems of local governments controlled by the Democrat-Farmer-Labor have become a concern for their residents in recent years. Arianna Anderson and Brianna Lofton wrote about life as a mother in north Minneapolis which could not get the city to enforce housing codes. Steve Subera lamented a developer’s special offer in St. Paul, which seemed to illustrate the problems with the city’s rent control ordinance. And Nick Magrino, fed up with government dysfunction, argued against the choice Metropolitan Council: “DFL maintains slim majority based largely on screenshots of non-stop Facebook posts by GOP state legislators, and more and more money is being shoveled into the government/nonprofit/advocacy/social services/academia blob, in while conditions stagnate or in some cases worsen.”

On the other end of the spectrum, Pam Dowell alerted us to a violation of the Establishment Clause of the US Constitution with her reporting on a huge display of the 10 Commandments at the new Itasca County Jail and Government Complex.

This year we welcomed a new regular columnist, Eric Harris Bernstein, who writes our Tax & Spend column. Here is his introductory song. Eric provided insightful opinion and analysis, usually in defense of Minnesota values ​​and strengthening the state’s capacity in the face of its steady erosion. Eric wrote about how the NBA Timberwolves playoffs are going illustrated Minnesota’s strengths. And reflected on the dangers of privatization.

Unfortunately, we lost the steady presence of Iron Range writer Aaron Brown, who left to become a regular columnist at Star Tribune. Since our launch in 2020, Aaron has provided countless perspectives on the Iron Range history, economics, politics and people, always in a mellifluous voice. We already miss him.

I hope you’ve noticed that many of our commenters are not professional writers. I’m from Minnesota with something important to say. And we hope you’ll consider adding voice. Why scream into the wind when you can scream on the internet? Here is ours guest comment guidelines. Send your message or submission questions to (email protected).