Askov Finlayson: We want to focus your attention on a climate crisis happening right now and right here in the North. Enbridge, a multinational energy transportation company, is building a new pipeline through the state of Minnesota to transport approximately one million barrels of tar sands oil per day from Alberta, Canada to Superior, Wisconsin. This expansion is not only hazardous to Minnesota’s land and communities, but is also inconsistent with the Paris Climate Agreement. The estimated amount of crude oil that will pass through this line in its 30-year useful life is equivalent in climate impact to building 50 new coal-fired power plants. We need to stop Line 3 and ensure a just transition to renewable energy sources and a sustainable economy.
The pathway of Line 3 cuts across water and land of the Anishinaabe peoples and nations, which actively violates treaty rights. Askov Finlayson wants to thank the Water Protectors and stands in solidarity with the protesters gathering along the Mississippi River in Northern Minnesota to stop construction of this harmful and unnecessary pipeline.We encourage you to join the effort to #StopLine3. Please check out the following resources to learn more, donate to the front lines, join the protests, and make your voice heard.
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For more information and to get involved: stopline3
Call Governor Walz: 651-201-3400
Join the protest: welcomewaterprotectors
To support the effort, consider a donation to one or more of the following organizations.
MN350: mn350
Honor the Earth: honor-the-earth-donation
Giniw Collective (not tax deductible): stoppipeline3
Aerial View of Forest Shadows, Island and Mainland, Fourmile Lake, Superior National Forest
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mprnews:A lot of the raw material that’s used to make holiday decorations — from Christmas wreaths and garlands to potted evergreen arrangements — comes from Minnesota’s north woods, where there’s a thriving cottage industry of harvesters and distributors. But as the market has grown, so has the opportunity for spruce thieves looking to make a quick buck.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officer Shane Zavodnik examines an illegally cut spruce tree while standing in a frozen swamp in late November, on private property near Eveleth. Illegally cut spruce tips have helped grow a booming holiday greenery industry that’s worth more than $20 million in Minnesota.
Shane Zavodnik, a conservation officer with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, has been investigating reports of theft in his district on the Iron Range all season. This year, the COVID-19 pandemic has prevented many suppliers from Canada from selling across the border. So spruce thieves have stepped in to take advantage of that gap.
Derek Montgomery for MPR News
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A few weeks ago, Shane Zavodnik was hopping through a snowy bog, struggling to keep his boots dry, when he spotted the telltale signs of an unusual crime.
Every few feet, the tops of young spruce trees had been lobbed off.
Zavodnik, a conservation officer with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, has been investigating reports of theft in his district on the Iron Range all season.
“We’ve been getting spruce top theft complaints since the middle of September, and it’s just consistent and constant,” he said.
An illegally cut spruce tree on private property near Eveleth.
Derek Montgomery for MPR News
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The footlong evergreen tops of small, immature spruce trees — often just 5 to 8 feet tall themselves — that sprout out of northeastern Minnesota’s boreal forest are all the rage in home holiday decor. When potted up, the spruce tops look like miniature Christmas trees, popular as tabletop centerpieces or on suburban front porches.
Northern Minnesota is home to a thriving cottage industry of harvesters and buyers that supply a growing holiday greenery market — for birch logs, spruce tops and the balsam boughs used to make garlands and wreaths.
But this year, the COVID-19 pandemic has prevented many suppliers from Canada from selling across the border. So spruce thieves have stepped in to take advantage of that gap.
“We’ve had cases from International Falls all the way down to the Twin Cities,” Zavodnik said, “including out-of-state buyers, as well.”
The people illegally cutting the spruce tops, he said, are going to great lengths to avoid detection. They work late at night, and use fluorescent tape to mark their trails into the spruce swamps, so they don’t get lost on the way out.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officer Shane Zavodnik looks at a large pile of confiscated spruce tips at a DNR garage near Eveleth.
Derek Montgomery for MPR News
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It’s hard, wet, cold work, but can be lucrative. Zavodnik said the tops can sell for as much as a dollar apiece to unlicensed buyers.
“On any given night, two people in a 7- to 8-hour period can cut roughly 1,000 tops,” he said.
So far this season, conservation officers in Minnesota have seized well over 15,000 spruce tops. That’s the most they’ve ever confiscated in a year. Still, it’s a tiny fraction of the overall, legal market.
Booming seasonal industry
In 2005, the state DNR reported that holiday greenery made up a $23 million industry in Minnesota. But as the popularity of decorative products like centerpiece Christmas trees and greenery arrangements has surged in recent years, that figure is likely much greater.
“What we’re doing in terms of volume versus what you may read in the paper [about seizures of illegally cut tops] … it’s a rounding error, it doesn’t even register,” said Sean Timonen, whose family business, Black Spruce Holdings, harvests spruce tops every season.
The harvest of spruce tips have grown immensely in recent years as arrangements, like this one at Black Spruce Holdings, have become increasingly popular across the country.
Derek Montgomery for MPR News
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This year, Timonen and his dad, his brother David, and a few dozen crew members cut 1.1 million spruce tops. That’s enough to fill about 50 big refrigerated trucks. Their company is one of the biggest legitimate players in the local industry. They buy permits to remove spruce tops from state and federal landowners, or pay private landowners for access to their trees.
They’ve even designed and fabricated their own fleet of specialized vehicles: Instead of wheels, the machines run on tracks that help spread out their weight, to prevent damage to sensitive spruce bogs.
“They definitely garner some looks when we’re driving through an area, because they look like mini tanks,” Sean Timonen said.
The business they started as a side hustle 20 years ago now sells to commercial greenhouses, which use the spruce tops to make decorative holiday pots that are then sold nationwide.
Sean Timonen, owner of Black Spruce Holdings, talks about the growth of the spruce tip industry in front of a large pile of spruce tips awaiting pickup from the property of his brother’s company, Timonen Forest Products, near Barnum.
Derek Montgomery for MPR News
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“Our largest account took over 400,000 tops,” Sean Timonen said. “That’s many, many pots that are being made [and sold] to retail chains across the country.”
The DIY market is also booming, spurred on by inspiration on places like Pinterest and Instagram.
“Some of the small nurseries are also driving the business,” said Dave Timonen. “They’re even putting on pot-building seminars where people pay $20 and get the end product when they’re done with it.”
State data reflects the popularity. This year, the DNR sold enough permits for more than 1.2 million spruce tops to be harvested statewide. That’s more than double the permits the agency sold last year, and four times that of 2017.
The DNR also sold about twice as many buyer’s licenses this year as it did last year. In 2019, in an effort to crack down on the illegal trade, the state legislature passed a law that for the first time required buyers to obtain licenses, and to check with harvesters they purchase from to ensure they’re following the law when cutting spruce tops and other material.
A small stand of untouched spruce trees reside in an area near Eveleth where people had trespassed onto private property to harvest spruce tips illegally.
Derek Montgomery for MPR News
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DNR officials argue that illegal harvesting means that private and public landowners aren’t fairly compensated for resources taken off their land. They argue that it’s also unfair to others in the industry who harvest the spruce tops within the bounds of the law. And if it’s not done correctly, it can damage the trees.
But when the tips are removed properly, trees respond by “throwing up a new leader of growth,” said Kristen Bergstrand, a marketing consultant with the DNR’s forestry division.
“It can make the tree not have as good a form,” she said, but it doesn’t kill or damage it.
In fact, after five to 10 years, people can harvest the tops again.
“It’s a pretty big industry, and it’s a sustainable industry,” said Shelly Patten, who oversees enforcement for the Minnesota DNR in northeastern Minnesota. “As long as everybody does it legally.”
In fact, after five to 10 years, people can harvest the tops again.
“It’s a pretty big industry, and it’s a sustainable industry,” said Shelly Patten, who oversees enforcement for the Minnesota DNR in northeastern Minnesota. “As long as everybody does it legally.”
The Ideal Diner in Northeast Minneapolis has been around for more than 70 years. It’s a neighborhood staple known for its bright yellow, retro exterior and classic diner dishes.
New restrictions announced by Gov. Walz prohibit indoor service at bars and restaurants in Minnesota, forcing businesses to rely entirely on takeout orders for the next four weeks.
“Having the faces at the counter is half the diner,” cook Chris Wick said.
Those faces, mostly regulars, haven’t been able to visit Ideal since the first state shutdown in March. Part of the diner’s charm is its counter overlooking the grill. Seating is limited to only about 20 stools, so with ongoing occupancy limits, sitting inside has been prohibited.
“This diner has been through a lot, but this is the biggest challenge it’s had,” owner Kim Robinson said.
Robinson’s mother worked the grill at Ideal for 50 years. Running the diner is something that runs in her blood. But this year, she’s had to get creative to keep the business afloat.
The Ideal Diner in north Minneapolis.(FOX 9)
“We have the takeout window. Who would have ever thought the Ideal Diner [would have] the takeout orders and now I just signed up for Bite Squad and Door Dash,” Robinson said.
This year, Robinson’s mother passed away at the age of 90. She’s also been battling breast cancer, all while navigating the challenges of owning a business during the pandemic.
“We get up every day and say a prayer and go to work, and I make what I can that day,” Robinson said.
She says her regulars are what is keeping the classic diner alive.
“I come every weekend. I’m just sad I can’t sit here and eat with them I miss that a lot,” said a regular who calls himself ‘Stew from Cali.’
“In Minneapolis, we have a really strong pride for our local business – and especially as Northeastern. Nobody loves, especially Ideal, more than Nordeasters,” customer Robb Lauer said.
Robinson says she’ll keep trying to survive off of takeout as long as she can, but after running out of money to pay employees from the Paycheck Protection Program loans issued earlier this year, she’s not sure how much longer this piece of history will last.
“I’m going to do whatever it takes to get this over with and get back to normal whatever normal is going to be after this,” Robinson said.
They are the stories of her family. Kate Beane is a public historian who holds a doctoral degree in American Studies. She and her twin sister, Carly Bad Heart Bull, didn’t grow up in Minnesota but moved back with their family to have the opportunity to study the Dakota language. Beane can trace their ancestry back to Ḣeyate Otuŋwe or Village to The Side, a community along the shore of Bde Maka Ska.
In discovering this history of her family, she also learned not to take no for an answer. Along with her sister and father, they created a path to restoring the lake to its original Dakota name despite community backlash and legal challenges.
“We were told there was no process. We were told that it was something that couldn’t be done,” Beane said. “When we started looking at this space, in particular, we realized that this is the place that made us successful — because we, as young Native women, took control of our own narrative of our own story and our own education. And we were empowered by the stories of our grandparents here.”
Throughout November, MPR News is featuring Indigenous Minnesotans making history to celebrate Native American Heritage Month.
Learn more about Kate Beane and other Changemakers at mprnews.org.
An association representing Hmong farmers is planning to buy 155 acres in Dakota County, a monumental land purchase for a group that wants to ensure the metro area’s pioneering small farmers have a place to grow fruits and vegetables for years to come.
The Hmong American Farmers Association (HAFA) has been leasing the land in Vermillion Township for more than six years, allowing 100 farmers to grow fruit and vegetables just 15 minutes south of St. Paul. But leasing left the farmers with a sense of uncertainty, especially since suitable farmland near Minneapolis and St. Paul is increasingly scarce.
Now, HAFA is able to purchase the land with $2 million included in Minnesota’s $1.9 billion infrastructure borrowing package — funding that came out of $30 million specifically set aside for projects to benefit communities of color. HAFA must come up with $500,000 to complete the purchase.
Access to land is a huge challenge for small farmers, said Rep. Samantha Vang, DFL-Brooklyn Center, chief sponsor of the purchase proposal. Finding and buying affordable land is especially difficult for Hmong farmers, who face financial and language barriers, Vang said.
Allowing the farmers to own the land not only supports their livelihood, but provides consumers in the metro area with fresh, healthy food. Half the produce sold at local farmers markets is grown by Hmong farmers.
“It’s a smart state investment,” she said. “I know for sure that we’re changing lives.”
Larry Lang proudly displays a plate of onion rings made using his parents’ recipe from 1949. Image: Jesse Trelstad/Daily Globe
The Ringmaster starts out simply enough before it bends and folds in on itself, impossible to untangle—not wholly unlike the onion rings that were ostensibly the focus of the documentary at its outset.
When the film opens, we find recovering gambling addict Zach Capp has left his job running Las Vegas’s largest nanny and housekeeping business. For three years, he’s been pursuing his dream of proving himself a filmmaker.
His subject? The maker of the world’s greatest onion rings—as dubbed once, a long time ago, by the Washington Post’s Tom Sietsema—which just so happen to hail from Nobles County, Minnesota. They’re made by a humble, attention-averse, aging man named Larry Lang.
For once, we’re not just #localangle-ing coverage of The Ringmaster, folks. Capp funds his project with an inheritance from his deceased maternal grandfather, a St. Paul philanthroper, and traipses all over the Upper Midwest breaking every cardinal rule of documentary filmmaking to tell the story of these onion rings—proustian relics from his childhood.
You know things aren’t going to end well when, early in the film, Capp says that Lang was hesitant to be involved in the project but, “He needs people to tell him what’s best for him sometimes.”
Zach Capp and Larry Lang… close.Courtesy ‘The Ringmaster’
At one point, after throwing Lang a birthday party that didn’t pack enough of a wow factor to be his film’s ending, Capp admits that he “wasn’t going to stop until I achieved the most spectacular onion ring moment in the history of the world.”
After his crew mutinies and turns the cameras on Capp, directors Molly Dworsky and Dave Newberg swoop in to give an ending to the heretofore unfinishable work, and… find out what might become of Lang and his inimitable onion rings.
Settling in to watch The Ringmaster, you might expect something like an oddball, kinda sentimental documentary that wanders into modernist territory as the storyteller becomes the subject. Nice little deep-fried quilt to wrap yourself up in during election season, right?
The documentary is actually more akin to a Midwest version of Uncut Gems, where the hustle isn’t bling and opals but onion rings and franchise deals, and the famous people are Kiss in place of KG and the Weeknd.
Larry Lang feeds his signature onion rings to Paul Stanley during a scene in ‘The Ringmaster.’
Watching bad decisions pile up at such a frantic pace, made by so many “good” people, is quite a mood. On the other hand, watching crew members quit over these same choices and bicker over production company ball caps called “Capp’s caps” feels pretty cathartic, too?
Like Sandler, Capp just. keeps. going. when anyone else would’ve tapped out long ago—and watching those consequences play out on screen is cringeworthy. When they’re not enabling and taking advantage of his addictive behavior, the professionals Capp is wealthy enough to hire are unflinchingly capturing his every (wrong) turn. They also know well before Capp that Larry Lang is the subject of our compassion, not The Ringmaster’s leading man, which makes for an almost unbearable tension.
Dworsky and Newberg have made something that’s often hard to watch, even as it treats all its subjects with deep empathy, including Capp.
Come for a history lesson about Minnesota’s finest onion rings. Stay to watch a lot of filmmakers learn about boundaries, enabling, and addiction—harder to palate lessons that come in handy off screen.
The Ringmaster (88 min., released by 1091 Pictures) is available on Digital On Demand starting today, October 6. A portion of all proceeds from the film will benefit Alzheimer’s research, which plays an integral role in Larry Lang’s life.
