Up North Progressive
Politics and commentary for Northern MichiganNow ICE Leases TWO Prisons in Michigan
Thursday , 20, February 2020 GEO Group, Punk Prison, Trumpenreich Leave a comment
On February 12, 2020 the Lake County Board of Commissioners approved with unanimous vote to accept a contract from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The contract will allow ICE to move prisoners from North Lake Correctional Facility, owned by GEO Group, to the shuttered Lake County jail annex located in Baldwin.
The annex up until October of 2019 was leased by the Michigan Department of Corrections as part of their Residential Reentry Program. The facility housed parolees, men and women prisoners, and eventually expanded into residential reentry. The facility, which has a capacity of 300 only had 20 residents at the time of its closure. The building is owned by Lake County and the dwindling population provided by MDOC couldn’t justify the cost of keeping the jail open.
The promise of rehiring personnel laid off with the closure of the jail annex persuaded the Lake County Board of Commissioners to unanimously vote in favor of the offer made by ICE. This new ICE facility will work with the Lake County Sheriff Department which currently handles transporting prisoners from NLCF. Undersheriff Wesley Bierling says rehiring corrections staff will take pressure off the County Sheriff for transportation.
Over the last six months, they have had around 200 releases. Every day we would be driving somewhere, picking someone up and dropping them off somewhere else. That would require two corrections officers from our jail.
Not only will the Lake County Sheriff provide transportation for prisoners released from NLCF, they will also work with ICE to transport anywhere within the ICE field office based in Grand Rapids, which services 13 counties in West Michigan.
When the Lake County jail annex closed last year, the County Board of Commissioners was faced with the problem of finding someone who could legally use the facility. Publicly owned facilities cannot be leased to private companies. The fact that an ICE facility will be located on a major Michigan highway, M 37, should also be cause for concern.
ICE is coming to northern Michigan. The Democratic Party winning the election in November becomes more critical every day.
Enjoy an Extra Day of Michigan Free Fishing Weekend with This Cool Trick: Fish Hate It
Monday , 10, February 2020 DNR Leave a comment
The first Michigan Free Fishing Weekend of 2020 will be this Saturday, February 15, through Monday, February 17, 2020. During this weekend, anyone in Michigan can fish without a license. All other fishing regulations still apply. Anyone wanting to use boating access sites at state parks during the Michigan Free Fishing Weekend can do so for free.
This coming weekend is also the time The Michigan Department of Natural Resources will be upgrading their license and permit purchasing system. If you need to buy a permit or license for anything other than fishing, you need to apply for it now or wait until 12:00 PM on Tuesday, February 18, 2020, when the new purchasing system goes live.
And since you can’t buy any fishing licenses until then, the DNR will allow an extra day of Michigan Free Fishing Weekend on Monday, February 17, 2020. State parks will also be free on Monday.
Many state parks have planned events happening during the Michigan Free Fishing Weekend. Winter festivals, ice fishing derbies and other events are already scheduled all over the state. You can check for dates and locations at by clicking this link.
Enjoy an extra day of free fishing this weekend during the DNR’s Michigan Free Fishing Weekend this February 15th through the 17th.
@TruckerRandy and Friends Use “Resolution” to Nullify Common-Sense Gun Laws: It’s Not Very Effective
Monday , 3, February 2020 MAGA, Sad!, Trumpenreich Leave a comment
Have you bothered to read the minutes of your County Board of Commissioners lately? When did you last attend a meeting? Have you ever attended a meeting? True, they like to convene those meetings during the middle of the day when most people are at work. If you’re too busy to be bothered to even read up on what’s happening, keep in mind the people Up North Progressive is going to talk about today definitely are going to meetings, and what they’re up to is alarming.
Red hats, second amendment fetishists, and valknut wearing neo-nazis converged on Richmond, Virginia, on January 20, 2020, to protest the state’s legislature adopting common-sense gun laws to protect Virginians. Most Americans regarded the midlife crisis LARP at the Virginia capital a bad day to find parking in Richmond. For the participants, however, it was a call to bring the crazy back to their home state.
Randy Bishop aka “Trucker Randy” attended the Type 2 Diabeetus gathering for 2A rally. Now he’s back in Michigan using his radio show and social media for his Second Amendment resolution campaign. This is how it works:
- Download this blank resolution document, edit out (YOUR COUNTY’S NAME) and replace it with your county’s name.
- Take it to your County Board of Commissioners meeting and demand they put it on their agenda and bring it to a vote.
- Call up all of your 2A loving friends and have them show up at the meeting so it looks like lots of people support it.
- …
- PROFIT!
According to Trucker Randy and everyone else involved in this project, this magic document will nullify any common-sense gun law they don’t like. The magic 2A sanctuary county resolution empowers the County Sheriff to ignore state and federal government laws involving guns.
What Randy Bishop and his gun-loving friends don’t understand is that resolutions at the county level deal with policies for how the county government will function. These policies affect the budget, personnel, the various agencies and so on. There are limits to a County government’s legislative powers. All resolutions and ordinances passed by the local government require permission from the Governor. Any policy or ordinance that conflicts with laws at the state level is not enforceable.
The red flag law Trucker Randy and the rest of the 2A gun fetishists are worried about was introduced last year to the Michigan Legislature but hasn’t been assigned to a committee. These people are so terrified of their guns being taken away they think they need this resolution in place before a law exists. Protection to do things like this.
Or this.
Or this.
Or this.
Their agenda is to intimidate every County Board of Commissioners into passing this resolution. Five counties have approved it so far, and there will be more in a matter of days. Now would be a good time to take the time to check in on what’s happening. These people will be there demanding their 2A protection resolution in your county as soon as possible.
Want to Vote Early in the March 10 Michigan Presidential Primary? Here’s How!
Friday , 24, January 2020 Election 2020, Presidential Primary 2020 Leave a comment
Apply for a no-reason absentee ballot and you will receive your ballot in the mail. You have from now until March 10, 2020, to vote in the Michigan presidential primary. Want to be a permanent voter by mail? Contact your local Democratic Party and they can assist you with making your absentee ballot application permanent.
The State of Michigan Water 2020: Nestle Enbridge and now Michigan Potash LLC
Wednesday , 22, January 2020 Enbridge Line 5, Environment, Flint Water, Michigan Potash LLC, Michigan Water, Nestlé Leave a comment
2020 is a big year for the state of Michigan’s water. Nestlé Waters looks forward to pumping 400 gallons of fresh water out of Osceola County every minute. Enbridge makes plans to begin building their tunnel under the Straits of Mackinac. PFA testing and cleanup continue across the state. It couldn’t possibly get worse. In Osceola County, a geologist from Colorado wants to pump 1200 gallons of water every minute to extract potash, endangering groundwater and vulnerable wetlands. This is the year he might get started.
Since 2013, Ted Pagano struggled to become a Michigan potash tycoon after seeing core mineral samples at Western Michigan University. Around the same time, Mosaic ceased extracting potash from the ground in Evart, Michigan. Mosaic closed shop because the bottom fell out of the world potash market in 2013, and the market has not recovered.
.
The three main potash producers globally are Russia, Belarus, and Canada. Russian and Belarusian potash producers controlled the potash price through their cartel until 2013, when the cartel fell apart over fighting between the two countries’ potash producers. The potash price has made sluggish gains since then but nowhere near the cartel-controlled price levels of 2013. Despite the abandoned building and rusting equipment of Mosaic Salt littering the landscape outside Evart, Pagano insists that 65 Billion dollars of a mineral that’s already in surplus worldwide will bring jobs and prosperity to the northwest lower peninsula. Like Nestle Waters, GEO Group, Chesapeake Energy, and every other billion-dollar corporation trying to exploit this region of the state starved for jobs and revenue has claimed and failed.
The sluggish market isn’t the only problem with Pagano’s potash fever dream. How will Michigan Potash transport minerals? The railroad that once ran through this area pulled up tracks decades ago. Will Pagano tear up our crumbling roads hauling potash with trucks? Transporting the potash is the least of many concerns Pagano’s vague plans will have on the region’s water and wildlife.
Lawsuits from groups like Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation struggle to make it through Michigan’s courts. The next time MCWC can file briefs fighting Michigan Potash is March 20, 2020. A November hearing with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (Formerly MDEQ) left the issue undecided. Earlier in 2019, a judge refused to rule on the case claiming the court had no jurisdiction.
However, the next environmental threat to Michigan’s water doesn’t come from extracting potash from the ground but from what happens with the waste and how Michigan Potash LLC disposes of it.
Let the Beauty of Michigan’s Porcupine Mountains Inspire You as an Artist In Residence
Monday , 6, January 2020 Upper Peninsula Leave a comment
The Porcupine Mountains Artist-in-Residence Program for Spring, Summer, and Fall, 2020, and Winter, 2021, residencies are accepting applications until February 14, 2020, for any artist interested in a chance to create art while living in the pristine forest of the Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park; Michigan’s largest state park
For two weeks, artists have the opportunity to live in the park where rivers, waterfalls, wooded mountain peaks, the Lake Superior shoreline are there to inspire and enchant any artist’s creative spirit. The virgin forest hosts numerous wildlife plant life for writers, artists, composers, and performing artists to experience the beauty of the park.
The artist will have a cabin located on the Little Union River to stay during the residency, and the opportunity for a three-night backcountry trip to explore more of the park. During the residency, artists will share their experiences with the public through demonstrations and lectures.
The final selection of residencies will be based on the artist’s ability to live in a rustic wilderness, the willingness to donate a finished piece inspired by their stay at the park, and their ability to interpret the park through their art. All forms of art will be considered except those that are considered inconsistent with the park’s mission.
The deadline to apply for any of the residency periods offered is February 14, 2020. For more information and to apply, go to the Friends of the Porkies website.
Good luck to all the applicants!
Nestlé’s Loss to Osceola Township Won’t Fix the Real Problem with Michigan’s Environmental Protection Laws
Thursday , 5, December 2019 Environment, Flint Water, Nestlé 1 Comment
Water is, of course, the most important raw material we have today in the world. It’s a question of whether we should privatize the normal water supply for the population. And there are two different opinions on the matter. The one opinion, which I think is extreme, is represented by the NGOs, who bang on about declaring water a public right. That means that as a human being you should have a right to water. That’s an extreme solution. The other view says that water is a foodstuff like any other, and like any other foodstuff it should have a market value. Personally, I believe it’s better to give a foodstuff a value so that we’re all aware it has its price, and then that one should take specific measures for the part of the population that has no access to this water, and there are many different possibilities there. – Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, former CEO of Nestlé 2005 We Feed the World
Tuesday’s victory in the Michigan Court of Appeals for Osceola Township put another necessary roadblock up for Nestlé’s plan to build a booster station in Evart, Michigan, and pump 400 gallons of free water every minute out of the ground and sell it for profit. The 13-page ruling from the three-judge panel thoroughly covered every possible point in the case to make it clear what is considered a public good, and what a body of government can legally do to protect the interests of the people they represent.
In January of 2018, Judge Susan Sniegkowski ruled against Osceola Township, siding with Nestlé’s claim that their bottled water is an essential public service. Water is essential for life to exist, but not water drawn from the ground faster than it can be replenished and sealed into a plastic bottle with a price tag on it According to the ruling of the Michigan Court of Appeals. The court also stated concerns to the impact the pumping station would have on local agriculture in their decision, and that Nestlé’s claim that Osceola Township’s ordinance is illegal unfounded.
Nestlé came to Michigan in 2002 and set up shop in Evart, Michigan, to exploit the abundant water resources in Mecosta and Osceola Counties. The lack of laws protecting the extraction of large volumes of water coupled with the ridiculously cheap filing fee of $200 per year meant Nestlé could sell water with no real overhead. In 2003 The Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation filed suit to stop Nestlé and won, which ruled Nestlé must stop pumping water by December 17, 2003. On December 12, 2003, Nestlé filed for a stay, was ruled against, then filed an emergency stay, insisting closing them down would force them to lay off all of their employees. The court granted the stay, and Nestlé has profited from that ruling from then until now.
While Nestlé plans its next legal move, another court case will be decided in 2020 over whether the bottling plant can begin pumping 400 gallons per minute. In 2018, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality granted Nestlé’s request to double output despite the overwhelming response from local residents, organizations such as MCWC, Water Protector groups, and even residents of Flint, Michigan, where the human right to clean water is still not recognized by the state. It’s likely both cases could end up in the Michigan Supreme Court.
But even after the state’s system of courts is exhausted, will there be a final answer with how to handle large corporations like Nestlé who exploit the lack of clear law in states like Michigan to turn a natural resource into a commodity with a price tag just like former CEO Peter Brabeck-Letmathe said 15 years ago? Michigan’s Constitution is clear that the state legislature must protect the natural resources of the state, but thanks to Engler’s legacy with the Michigan Supreme Court making it more difficult for the people of the state to sue corporations who threaten our natural resources; and it was the original Nestlé case where this obstacle was tested, stopping corporate polluters is painfully troublesome for Michigan citizens.
Water will continue to be the battleground resource for the future, and the people of Michigan have the right to protect it. It’s clear that the state of Michigan needs to remove legal hurdles imposed in the past to favor profits over people and restore full jurisdiction to the Michigan Environmental Protection Act, or the courts will be swamped with more frivolous lawsuits demanding local ordinances be ignored when it’s inconvenient for big business to exploit our natural resources for profit.
Attorneys General of Three States File Brief Supporting the Shutdown of Enbridge Line 5
Wednesday , 13, November 2019 Enbridge Line 5 Leave a comment
The Attorneys General of California, Minnesota, and Wisconsin filed an amicus brief supporting Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s suit that the State of Michigan has the authority to protect the waters of the Great Lakes as a public right. The brief was to support Nessel’s response to filing a lawsuit against Enbridge. The response addresses Enbridge’s motion for summary disposition.
In September, 2019, both Attorney General Nessel and Enbridge filed motions for summary disposition. Both parties filed their responses on November 12, 2019 in Ingham County Circuit Court. Nessel appreciated the support of the Attorneys General for filing their brief supporting the will of the people of Michigan in decommissioning Enbridge Line 5.
“It is rare to have the amicus support of other state attorneys general in a state case but the attorneys general for two of our fellow Great Lakes states and the state with one of the longest coastlines in the country clearly recognize the severity and the magnitude of this issue and the important role states play in protecting the public trust. We are grateful that the Minnesota, Wisconsin, and California Attorneys General have joined forces with us to put the protection of our freshwater lakes over corporate profit.”
California, Minnesota, and Wisconsin highlighted the public trust doctrine from their perspective. Minnesota and Wisconsin are also Great Lakes states. California has the longest coastline in the United States. Wisconsin’s shoreline would also be impacted by an oil spill from Enbridge Line 5.
While the Attorney General battles Enbridge at the state level, the energy company earlier in the year went to Michigan’s counties asking the County Boards of Commissioners to vote on variations of a resolution supporting a tunnel Enbridge wants built in the Straits of Mackinac to house the two pipelines currently resting at the bottom. Enbridge went so far as to sponsor the 2019 Michigan Association of Counties conference in order to interact with commissioners and get support for 2018 PA 359, the lame-duck law passed through last December in a last-ditch effort to circumvent the will of the people of the state. The law requires a new Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority to authorize building of the tunnel. Attorney General Nessel’s response explains that law has no bearing on her lawsuit.
The next date in the ongoing lawsuits is December 10, 2019. Both Enbridge and the Attorney General’s office will file briefs and await Judge James Jamo of the Circuit Court’s decision on how the lawsuits will proceed. Thanks to the Attorneys general of California, Minnesota, and Wisconsin for supporting the will of the people of Michigan.