Good morning, and welcome to another Monday.
Many places in Minnesota still use names with roots in the Ojibwe language, and MPR’s Dan Kraker reports on an effort to recall many more names: A partnership between the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, the nonprofit Ely Folk School, and several volunteer artists is unveiling a map this week that features more than 100 Ojibwe place names from across the Band’s territory, including names uncovered in diaries stored in the Smithsonian dating back to the 1800s. “This project underscores our voice and our history in the region,” said Bois Forte Tribal Chair Cathy Chavers. “This map will serve as a tribute to all who came before us and to the future generations as well.”
This is the week a committee of the Democratic National Committee is expected to decide the order of 2024 primaries and whether Iowa and New Hampshire will continue to be first in line.The Washington Post had a preview: Michigan and Minnesota are locked in their own behind-the-scenes battle over which Midwestern state is best suited to replace Iowa, a move that top Democratic advisers have indicated they want to do. Democrats in both states won trifecta control of the governor and the state legislatures during the midterm elections — even as Nevada lost its Democratic governor. That will allow state Democratic leaders to set dates for their states if the party chooses to move them up — either by crafting separate dates for Democrats and Republicans, or by forcing Republicans to violate their party’s own primary schedule, leaving unchanged the 2016 order of Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina. “Both states clearly have a path now to get this done,” said Ken Martin, the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party’s chairman. “We are going to have a spirited discussion over the next couple of weeks.” Michigan Democrats, who were seen by some committee members as a front-runner for the Midwestern Iowa replacement before the midterms, remain bullish on their own prospects.
Kindergartners in the St. Cloud school district will soon be able to learn both English and Somali through a dual language immersion program,reports MPR’s Kirsti Marohn. Students in a dual language immersion program will receive instruction half the day in Somali, and half the day in English. In current research, the dual language immersion model is emerging as the best option for students no matter what language they speak at home, said Lori Posch, executive director of learning and teaching. The program will be offered starting next fall at two elementary schools in the district. It’s believed to be the first Somali language immersion program in Minnesota, and possibly in the nation. “We know that being bilingual — trilingual, in some of our students’ cases — really is a huge benefit in terms of brain development,” said Posch.
Legal cannabis is on the agenda for the new DFL majorities at the Minnesota Capitol, and the Star Tribune had a preview of the debate: While marijuana advocates will have a receptive audience at the State Capitol, they'll face pushback from critics trying to convince lawmakers that recreational pot is not right for Minnesota. Several trade groups, social organizations and law enforcement associations have formed a coalition opposing it called Minnesotans Against Marijuana Legalization. Among the coalition groups is Smart Approaches to Marijuana Minnesota. Co-chair Kim Bemis said he's concerned legalization will lead to more cases of impaired driving and adolescents using the drug. "There's a highway safety issue and there's no roadside test for impairment like there is a breathalyzer," Bemis said. "We would certainly rather see decriminalization happen than full commercialization."
The new chair of the Minnesota Senate Agriculture Committee isn’t a farmer. He’s a college professor. The Duluth News Tribune reports Sen. Aric Putnam, a Democrat from St. Cloud, was named to his leadership post just before the Minnesota Farmers Union state convention and went to the event Nov. 19 to be introduced. “The first thing I said was, ‘I don't seem like a clear fit for this,’” Putnam said. “I still think that the committee is a space to do great things for the whole state. So the full title is Agriculture, Rural Development and Broadband, so there's a lot of stuff in that jurisdiction that I think I can help with.” Putman says he’s willing to learn. “My day job is as a scholar, so I've already asked for like 10 books on agriculture,” Putnam said. “I'm going to try to put together a tour of different parts of the state before January, because you get a better idea of how agriculture matters differently in different parts of the state.”
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