Fraud, pesticides and government dysfunction: 2024 in commentary

The Reformer continued to publish hard-hitting commentaries about Minnesota in 2024 — often driving conversation about key issues that don’t get enough airing.

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

“We must grapple with something that is uncomfortable and true: Nearly all of the defendants in the cases I’ve listed are from my community. The Somali community,” Magan wrote, stating what’s commonly spoken of, though rarely publicly. 

Magan was insightful and empathetic as he tried to explain why and how this is happening in a piece that became even more relevant this month as federal investigators served search warrants on two autism providers. Indeed, we ended the year in commentary 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. 

The Native economist and writer Winona LaDuke lamented the impact of industrial agriculture on the Indigenous people of Pine Point of northern Minnesota: “Each spring, a huge influx of heavy equipment drowns the prairie with toxic chemicals, which then drift into the water and homes of Pine Point residents. The county roads look like a war zone, filled with planes, helicopters, and industrial sprayers careening through the fields. Tractors resembling mutant insects crawl out into fields and the air reeks of pesticides.” 

Also on the subject of agribusiness, we published an excerpt from Austin Frerick’s “Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America’s Food Industry” about Cargill’s emergence as a powerful force after World War I. “Cargill’s rapid growth allowed it to consolidate power within the industry, and it began to display a certain 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 working people whose livelihoods are affected by government policy. Nancy Poll, a former nursing home scheduler from Belgrade, Minnesota, wrote about the worker shortage in her industry, driven by low wages and lack of benefits: “Staffing a nursing home is like solving a puzzle with missing pieces. I was the scheduler for years, and I grappled every day with finding enough qualified people to fill the shifts and ensure that 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 is raising wages across the industry. 

Kailee Schminkey, a commercial painter and journeyperson with IUPAT District Council 82, wrote about role of the Finishing Trades Institute of the Upper Midwest in closing wage gaps. “Just 3% of Minnesota middle-wage construction workers are women, but nearly half of FTIUM grads are women and people of color.” 

Shawntel Gruba, owner of a child care center in Mountain Iron, wrote about the importance of MinnesotaCare — the state’s public health insurance program for the working poor. She urged the Legislature to expand the program so that she and her workers could earn more money but still rest easy that they’d have health coverage. Alas, the Legislature didn’t expand the program, and many workers who receive wage increases continue to lose affordable health coverage. 

The problems of Democratic-Farmer-Labor-controlled local governments have become a concern for their residents in recent years. Arianna Anderson and Brianna Lofton wrote about life as north Minneapolis moms who couldn’t get the city to enforce housing codes. Steve Subera bemoaned a developer’s special deal 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 electing the Metropolitan Council: “The DFL maintains a slim majority largely based on screenshots of GOP state legislators’ unhinged Facebook posts, and ever more money is shoveled into the government/nonprofit/advocacy/social services/academia blob, while conditions stagnate, or in some cases get worse.” 

On the other end of the spectrum, Pam Dowell alerted us to a violation of the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution with her reporting on a giant 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 cheekily named Tax & Spend column. Here’s his introductory piece. Eric offered up trenchant opinion and analysis, usually in defense of Minnesota values and strengthening state capacity in the face of its constant erosion. Eric wrote about how the Timberwolves NBA playoff run illustrated Minnesota’s strengths. And he reflected on the perils of privatization. 

Sadly, we lost the consistent presence of Iron Range writer Aaron Brown, who decamped to become a regular columnist at the Star Tribune. Since our 2020 launch, Aaron offered innumerable insights on Iron Range history, economics, politics and people, always with a mellifluous voice. We miss him already. 

Hopefully you noticed that many of our commentators aren’t professional writers. They are Minnesotans with something important to say. And we hope you’ll consider adding your voice. Why scream into the wind when you can scream into internet? Here’s our guest commentary guidelines. Send your submission or questions about submitting to [email protected].