SARL Members and Alumni News
Hemp farming bill headed to Wyoming governor’s desk
Gillette News Record | Posted on February 28, 2019A bill sponsored by one of Casper’s representatives to create a regulated industrial hemp industry in Wyoming is headed to Gov. Mark Gordon’s desk. Spearheaded by Republican Rep. Bunky Loucks, House Bill 171 breezed through the Wyoming Senate on Monday on its third reading with only two members of the body – Sen. Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, and Sen. Eli Bebout, R-Riverton – voting “no” on the measure. Backed by a bipartisan group of 23 lawmakers, HB171 creates a framework for the state’s growers to capitalize on a provision in the new farm bill that decriminalizes hemp, previously considered a controlled substance under federal law. If signed by the governor, the bill would allow farmers to apply for a state license to begin to grow hemp.
Wisconsin bill would create water pollution credit clearinghouse
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | Posted on February 28, 2019Republican legislators are pushing a bill to streamline Wisconsin’s water pollution credit-trading system, a move that would make it easier for farms and large-scale facilities to trade with one another. The bill’s authors, Sen. Rob Cowles, Sen. Jerry Petrowski and Rep. Joel Kitchens say the measure could save taxpayers the cost of upgrading public facilities to meet new phosphorous standards, and it would provide farmers with a new revenue source.“Third-party trading could save some communities from passing multimillion-dollar wastewater treatment plant upgrade costs onto residents for little water quality improvement, keep small manufacturers and food producers open and operating, and, perhaps, best of all, help to save some of our cherished farmers from hanging a ‘closed for business’ sign on the barn,” the lawmakers said in a memo seeking co-sponsors.Wisconsin law currently divides polluters into two classes: so-called point sources, such as municipal sewage treatment plants that discharge pollutants directly into the environment, and nonpoint sources. The state’s largest dairy farms, with 1,000 or more cattle, also can be point sources. Nonpoint sources include smaller farms that pollute through runoff.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz proposes $1.3 billion in infrastructure projects
Minnesota Star Tribune | Posted on February 27, 2019Minnesota should borrow nearly $1.3 billion to repair college campus buildings, create more affordable housing and fix roads, bridges and other infrastructure, Gov. Tim Walz said. While many pieces of Walz’s plan have widespread appeal, Republicans legislators said this is not the year for a large borrowing package. State lawmakers typically pass a bonding bill in even-numbered years. Walz, a Democrat, argued that with low interest rates and high needs, the state should strike a different path this year.“It is fiscally irresponsible to pretend like our roads, our infrastructure, our prisons, our transportation system, anything that’s out there, is going to magically fix itself without having the courage to talk about how we get there,” Walz said.He wants to use state-backed borrowing to spend about $350 million on transportation and transit and $300 million on higher education, evenly divided between the University of Minnesota and Minnesota State systems. The governor also aims to put $150 million toward housing.
Appetite for indoor urban farms growing in Calgary as way to produce fresh food year-round
Toronto Star | Posted on February 27, 2019Two indoor farms finding commercial success in Calgary are NuLeaf Farms, which produces greens and herbs, and Deepwater Farms. Deepwater’s system, which currently occupies a 10,000-square-foot building in Calgary, combines both hydroponics and aquaculture to grow not just produce, but fish. The solid waste from the water the fish swim in is turned into a kind of liquid compost, which, in turn, nourishes the plants.“How amazing is it to say that you’re serving a fish that is produced a kilometre away from your restaurant? It doesn’t get any more local than that,” said MacLean. “It’s been on our menu since they brought the product out.” MacLean is an advocate for sustainable and restorative food practices, sourcing as many of his ingredients as possible from local producers.
Ohio putting more dollars into reuse of dredged materials, as ban on open-lake disposal looms
CSG-Midwest | Posted on February 27, 2019By July of next year, a practice in Ohio’s commercial harbors will no longer be allowed — the dumping of dredged materials into the open waters of Lake Erie. This ban is the result of a bill passed by the legislature in 2015 (SB 1), and is part of the state’s broader efforts to keep excess nutrients from entering the shallowest of the Great Lakes, causing harmful algal blooms and degrading water quality. The legislative action from four years ago, along with subsequent funding commitments, has led to an unprecedented effort in the state to find beneficial uses of these materials — the rock, sand, gravel, mud and clay removed from the bottom of shipping channels to keep them safe for navigation. Earlier this year, the state announced the awarding of close to $10 million for three Ohio port communities’ dredging-related projects. The city of Lorain, for example, will get $4 million to construct a facility where dredged materials will be sent and then reused for soil at an adjacent brownfield site.
Midwest states expand telemedicine, allow dental therapists among steps to open wider access to dental services
CSG-Midwest | Posted on February 27, 2019Often overlooked in the national debates and discussions about health insurance, dental care is having something of a moment in the Midwest as states embrace ways to expand oral health access. The need is great, according to the Pew Charitable Trusts: More than 56.7 million people in the United States live in areas with shortages of dentists, and only about one-third of dentists accept public insurance, which limits access for the 72 million children and adults on Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP).The Midwest has 1,448, or one-quarter, of the nation’s 5,834 designated Health Professional Shortage Areasfor dental care, according to the U.S. Health Resources & Services Administration. Which is why John Grant, project manager of Pew’s Dental Campaign, says the biggest problem “as far as the states go, especially in the Midwest, is expanding the dental workforce.”“Basic dental care is out of reach for most Americans,” Grant says. “Unlike the flu, dental decay doesn’t get better with time; it gets worse. For a lot of people, there’s a quality-of-life issue; people miss work because of pain or can’t get a job because their teeth look bad.”
Wisconsin leads nation in farm bankruptcies again, dairy farm closings hit record high in 2018
The Chippewa Herald | Posted on February 27, 2019Wisconsin farmers showed the effects of continued low prices for their products in 2018 as the state led the nation in farm bankruptcies for the third straight year and dairy farms closed at the highest pace this century.The state had 47 Chapter 12 bankruptcies, a chapter designated almost specifically for family farms last year, according to data from the U.S. Bankruptcy courts. That was 16 more than second-place Nebraska. That was also two more than Wisconsin had in 2017 and seven more than 2016.Nationally, there were 498 Chapter 12 bankruptcies in 2018, three fewer than in 2017, the data shows.
Iowa appeals ag-gag law that a federal judge ruled unconstitutional
Des Moines Register | Posted on February 27, 2019Iowa is appealing a federal court ruling that says the state's ag-gag law is unconstitutional, based on free-speech violations.Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller filed a motion Wednesday to send the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Miller and Gov. Kim Reynolds, among others, were named in the lawsuit.Miller also asked the court to stay its decision to permanently stop Iowa from enforcing the law.The 2012 statute makes it a crime for journalists and advocacy groups to go undercover at meatpacking plants, livestock confinements and other ag operations to investigate working conditions, animal welfare, food safety and environmental hazards.Lawmakers who supported the legislation said they wanted to stop "subversive acts" by "groups that go out and gin up campaigns … to give the agricultural industry a bad name."
NC judge throws out voter ID and income tax constitutional amendments
Charlotte News Observer | Posted on February 27, 2019A judge has just thrown out two amendments to the North Carolina Constitution that voters approved in November. One of the amendments was to implement a voter ID requirement, and the other was a cap on the state income tax rate.The North Carolina General Assembly is so gerrymandered that its members don’t truly represent the people of the state and thus should never have proposed constitutional amendments in the first place, Wake County Superior Court Judge G. Bryan Collins wrote in his ruling.
Washington lawmakers consider bill that would provide the homeless with a free ID card
The Seattle Times | Posted on February 27, 2019People without identification have a harder time renting an apartment, opening or accessing a bank account, using medical insurance, qualifying for federal benefits, like food stamps, or even staying in some homeless shelters. And, of course, getting a job is nearly impossible. Even joining the military, a common outlet from poverty in the past, is also unlikely without identification.A 2006 national survey conducted by the Brennan Center found that as many as 11 percent of Americans, or more than 21 million people, don’t have government-issued photo ID, with elderly, minority populations or low-income individuals being least likely to possess identification. Meanwhile, the $54 fee for a state-issued identification card in Washington is too much for many, particularly those who lack shelter.A measure in the state Legislature, Senate Bill 5664, is aimed at eliminating barriers to identification for homeless people. If passed, the Department of Commerce and the Department of Licensing (DOL) would be required to create a program to provide homeless individuals with a free ID card, also known as an identicard.