Bonnie Anderson of Wells was one of the Minnesota Patriots 4 America who spoke about illegal immigration at last week’s County Commission meeting.
The issue of immigration, or more specifically illegal immigration, was at the center of the Oct. 15 Faribault County Commission meeting.
A group of Faribault County residents who are members of Minnesota Patriots 4 America came to the meeting and asked commissioners to consider passing a resolution opposing the proposed North Star Act.
As currently written, it would prohibit state and local law enforcement agencies from using state resources for civilian immigration enforcement, according to a website promoting the North Star Act’s passage. . This includes sharing or accepting federal funds that require such cooperation. This does not prohibit cooperation based on the investigation of criminal acts.
Minnesota Patriots 4 USA spokeswoman Brenda Baldwin said in a prepared statement: “This bill would make Minnesota a sanctuary state for illegal aliens, immigrants, refugees, illegal aliens, or any label affixed to any document.” Given the date. ”
Baldwin shared that the resolution they are proposing is based on similar resolutions passed by McLeod and Wright counties in opposition to the North Star Act.
The group submitted a document with the signatures of 1,087 Faribault County residents supporting the resolution it presented.
County Commission Chairman Bill Grosskreutz said he wanted more time to meet with the sheriff’s department and county attorney before acting on the resolution.
“I would like some more information,” Grosskreutz said.
But Commissioner Tom Raoul said he was ready to take action. “I am prepared to move a motion to adopt the resolution.”
Board member Greg Young introduced a second motion to allow commissioners to begin discussion on the issue.
“This bill (the North Star Act) failed in the last Congress because the sponsoring party did not support it,” Young commented.
“Our concern is that if we don’t act proactively, we’re going to have to react reactively,” Baldwin said.
Mr. Raoul also considered his thoughts.
“Are we passive or are we taking a stand?” he asked. “Now is the time to start expressing the principles of our republic. If we don’t speak, we won’t be heard.”
Commissioners Bruce Anderson and John Roper also shared their thoughts on the issue.
“I know how you feel, and my personal feelings are the same,” Anderson said. “My concern is what the state will do in retaliation in terms of withholding funding from counties.”
“I support this, but I want to make sure we have all the information,” Roper added.
Mr. Raoul addressed the issue of government retaliation.
“If you can’t say you’re against this (North Star Act) because you’re afraid of the government, that’s where you’re at,” Raoul said.
Grosskreutz reiterated that he would like to gather more information before calling for a vote on the resolution at the next meeting.
The resolution passed 4-1, with Grosskreutz the only vote against it.
U.S. Rep. Bjorn Olson also attended the early morning meeting and brought up the topic of illegal immigration during his visit to the County Commission.
“I’m not in favor of making Minnesota a sanctuary for illegal immigrants,” Olson said. “Now, legal immigrants, I’m all for it. We do need immigration reform.
Olson said he was able to help secure about $35 million for his district, which includes parts of Faribault County including the cities of Blue Earth and Winnebago.
“That money went to roads, bridges and many other projects,” he said. “That’s part of the reason I’m here to talk to you. Who knows what Faribault County needs more than the commissioner? If we don’t know, we can’t do anything. I encourage the board to let us know of any future needs in the county so we can get state funding and help Faribault County taxpayers. You can see what you can do.”
“I’m glad you came today,” Loveall said. “It’s important to have this type of communication and I want to thank you for fighting for our county.”
Olson also touched on another issue he felt needed state attention.
“Minnesota is one of only two states that does not provide for provisional voting,” Olson commented.
Provisional ballots are cast by voters who cannot prove their eligibility to vote at a polling place on Election Day. After the election, if an administrator determines that a voter who cast a provisional ballot is eligible to vote, that vote will be counted as a regular vote. Federal law requires most states to provide for a provisional voting process (states with same-day voter registration processes in 1993 were exempt from this requirement).
“You should be able to vote anytime and register the same day,” Olson said. “But we need to do it the right way. They say they only caught two people voting illegally last year, but they weren’t looking.”
Mr. Grosskreutz brought up the situation on Highway 22 from Wells to Keister and asked if the highway reconstruction schedule could be moved up.
“I can’t say that. The Minnesota Department of Transportation monitors road conditions every year. It remains to be seen whether things will change,” Olson responded. “But this raises another problem, and that is getting more funding for out-of-state highways. As an example, Metro officials say 40 projects are done out-of-state, and 40 We like to point out that the situations were comparable because the cases were within the metro, but the 40 metro projects totaled $45 million and the 40 out-of-state projects totaled $5 million.
Public Works Director April Wellman also attended the meeting to update commissioners on construction progress and continue discussion about the road.
“Full-depth reclamation of County Road 35 northeast of Wells has been completed,” Wellman reported. “That road will remain a gravel road until it is paved next year. Work began last week on two box culverts on CR 17 south of Frost. It is expected to be completed and paved by the end of next week. This year. Another box culvert will be installed, located in the southeastern part of the county, and construction is not expected to begin until mid-November.
Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Planner Caroline McCourt also attended the meeting and received approval for three applications for the use of Opioid Settlement Funds. All three applications were for $24,000.
“As you may recall, the decision was made to target the funds in two different ways, with two-thirds of the funds going to treatment and one-third going to prevention,” McCourt said. commented. “FariCARES has been active in the Unified South Central School District and will also be involved in schools in the Blue Earth area. They are active in the prevention area by funding local anti-drug coalitions.”
Two other organizations seeking funding are Healing Hearts LLC and Faribault and Martin County Human Services (FMCHS).
“Healing Hearts operates here on the west side, but is looking to expand into Faribault County. We serve people,” McCourt explained. “FMCHS offers three priority treatments.”
The board approved all three applications totaling $72,000, with the remaining $106,000 to be rolled over into the future.
“Remember,” McCourt added. “Faribault County will receive more funding in the future as part of the settlement.”
Director of Human Resources Amanda Schoff was also at the meeting to address board staffing issues.
“The person we hired as a full-time auditor and assistant treasurer experienced unexpected health issues during his first week on the job, which led to his resignation,” Shoff said. “Due to the short term, we were able to continue the hiring process with the first applicant. We made an offer to the second candidate, internal applicant Darrell Bockman, who accepted the position. I accepted it.”
The Board of Directors approved the hiring of Mr. Beckman and also approved the hiring of a temporary employee to provide administrative support to the Auditor/Treasurer’s Office during a critical period at the end of the year.
The Board also:
• Budget work session scheduled for November 22 at 11 a.m.
• Set the Truth in Tax meeting time for December 17th at 6:00 p.m.
• Changed the start time of the December 17th Board of Directors meeting to 3:00 p.m.
• Approved Sheriff’s Office Erin Bethke’s request to attend the Critical Issues Workshop.
• Approved a three-year renewal of the security camera/badge access software contract with the Sheriff’s Department for $18,158.
• Approved gaming permit for Minn-Iowa Golf Club to hold drawing on Nov. 30.