St. Cloud passes 2010 budget

St. Cloud passes 2010 budget
By Kari Petrie • kpetrie@stcloudtimes.com • December 22, 2009

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Twitter Next Page1| 2Previous PageAttempts to fully fund a St. Cloud Human Rights Office failed Monday night and the council passed the city budget as initially proposed.




The council passed a $76.5 million 2010 budget, which is a nearly 10 percent cut in spending compared with 2009. They also approved a $23 million property tax levy.
The budget passed with a 6-1 vote, with council member Sonja Berg voting against the budget. Berg had proposed an amendment to the budget that would fully fund the Human Rights Office.
The office was reorganized after its director left and a city hiring freeze prevented officials from hiring a new one. A coordinator working in the City Attorney’s Office now oversees human rights work.
For 45 minutes the council discussed funding the human rights office and listened to testimony supporting the office. The budget discussion was not a public hearing, but Council President Bob Johnson allowed several members of the audience to speak.
Kevin LaNave is a former chairman for the St. Cloud Human Rights Commission. He said funding a human rights office is critical to the city’s safety and livability, evoking a often-cited descriptor of St. Cloud.
He rejected the idea that the city should wait until a regional office can be funded, as city officials have said in the past.
“If full funding of a regional human rights office is an urgent priority ... then so is full funding of the city’s human rights office,” LaNave said.
St. Cloud Area Somali Salvation Organization Executive Director Mohamoud Mohamed said the city is taking a step backward by not funding the office.
Not funding the office is hurting some of the trust between government officials and minority communities, he said.
“It is killing our relationship with you,” he said.
Berg offered an amendment to include fully funding the human rights office and hiring a new director. Fellow council members did not vote for the approval, citing concerns over where that money would be found.
Council member Carolyn Garven offered an amendment to allocate an additional $30,000 to the human rights office. The 2010 budget included $20,000 to pay for the coordinator and $13,400 in nonpayroll funds. That money is included in the City Attorney’s Office budget



Garven also said she would like a stronger human rights commission with representation from the communities and groups that lobbied the city to reform the office Monday.



“I want to put a huge amount of authority in the commission on how to do this,” she said. “I don’t want a director anymore, I really want all of you.”
Johnson suggested that city administration take some money from several different areas of the budget to piece together the $30,000. He used the example of the money used to pay a consultant to run the council’s annual retreat.
“I believe you could parse out a couple thousand here and there to put together (the funds),” Johnson said.
But Mayor Dave Kleis reminded the council that there is still a possibility of cuts to the 2010 budget. He said “the likelihood is high” that the city will face additional reductions in Local Government Aid. The city also is still in negotiations with some of its labor unions.
The 2010 budget that passed Monday includes no wage increases.
If unions don’t accept a contract with no wage increases, Kleis said further cuts will have to be made to the budget.
While those council members who spoke said they support a human rights office, some said they were concerned about finding the resources to fund it.
Council member Dave Masters said he would need to know where all the money was coming from before he could support an amendment adding $30,000 to the budget for human rights work.
Council member George Hontos said he would like to see a plan of action before supporting additional funding. Hontos, a long supporter of a regional human rights office, also bristled at the fact St. Cloud has received so much criticism over the issue.
“We are the only (city) willing to put any money in a human rights office and we are getting most criticism,” he said.
In the end council members approved the budget that was initially put before them, one that keeps in place a hiring freeze and has no wage increases.
“This budget is very well done given the circumstances we face economically,” Johnson said.

Letter: St. Cloud must unite to oppose hate posters

Letter: St. Cloud must unite to oppose hate posters
By Darlene Thyen • Paynesville • December 17, 2009

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Buzz up!Twitter What is St. Cloud and the surrounding area, about 95 percent Christian?




Then I think we should see thousands of letters to the editor bashing the people who hung pornographic pictures of Muslim spiritual leaders at two places in St. Cloud.

Every priest, minister, lay person, Sunday School teacher and person who identifies with any religion should strongly condemn these pornographic caricatures.

This is hate material, and I hope that the perpetrator(s) are brought to justice. Can you imagine the rage if someone dared to hang up pictures of priests or ministers diddling little boys or girls?

Condemn this for the outrage it is, Christians, or you aren't worth your weight in salt!

Bodette column: We need to stand up to hate

Bodette column: We need to stand up to hate
By John Bodette • Times executive editor • December 13, 2009

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Buzz up!Twitter Next Page1| 2Previous PageGood morning, St. Cloud area.





Last Sunday I wrote about the uplifting experiences ringing the bell for The Salvation Army Red Kettle drive. This Sunday, at a time when people are thinking about peace on Earth and good will toward all, we have to speak out and condemn an awful incident in our community.

Someone spewed hate toward members of our community.

Someone posted vile, anti-Islamic drawings in two locations last week in our city. The carefully chosen locations aimed the offensive drawings directly at Muslim people. One East Side location was near a Somali restaurant, market and store — three local businesses where many customers are Muslim. The second location was in the 300 block of Fifth Avenue South, near the Islamic Center.

The drawings presented the Times news staff with a dilemma because they were so pornographic and vile that you couldn’t show them to readers. To describe them in detail would be just as shocking.

These drawings were about as offensive as you can get. Take the most sacred and loved people or deities in your life and then imagine seeing them defiled in the most vulgar ways.

Yes, the drawings were that bad.

The sick mind behind them had an obsession with bodily functions and bizarre sexual positions, all using sacred images.

We would have made the same decision not to run the images or detailed descriptions if any religious group were attacked — Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, Hindu or others.

We often run into this barrier when covering crime stories in which the details are so horrific you can’t use them without shocking and offending readers and further hurting victims.

After viewing the images in the drawings I can only tell you the community should be outraged.

Too many times people dismiss an incident like this because it is just a mark or a comment. In this case, it was so much more offensive, threatening and sickening.

Some may say it is free speech. I say it is like yelling fire as a prank in a crowded theater. It isn’t protected speech.

My larger call is for the community to answer this threatening action with support and positive actions
(2 of 2)


The business community, led by the Chamber of Commerce, needs to make it clear that these threats apparently against these businesses aren’t tolerated in St. Cloud. Religious leaders need to speak out in services and condemn this action. And regular citizens need to show support to our Muslim neighbors, telling them that this kind of action has no place in the community.




These drawings were meant to strike fear in people of the Muslim faith and tell them they aren’t welcome here. A silent community will not erase those fears.

Take positive actions to show St. Cloud is a welcoming community and hate has no place here. Show that religious freedom is valued and respected in St. Cloud.

Finally, anyone who knows anything about this crime needs to contact St. Cloud police at 251-1200 or Crime Stoppers at 255-1301. Whoever did this crime needs to be held accountable.

Do you have a question about the Times? You can ask St. Cloud Times Executive Editor John Bodette, P.O. Box 768, St. Cloud MN 56302-0768; or call him at 255-8760; or e-mail him at jbodette@stcloudtimes.com.

FBI: Meeting with young Somalis a success

FBI: Meeting with young Somalis a success
The Associated Press • December 14, 2009

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Twitter MINNEAPOLIS — An FBI spokesman is calling the bureau’s meeting with young Somalis in Minneapolis a “big success.”



Ralph Boelter, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Minneapolis office, met with a group of young Somalis on Saturday at the Brian Coyle Center.
Before the meeting, Boelter told the Star Tribune that he intended to listen to the Somalis and to explain “how we operate and what we are all about.”
FBI spokesman E.K. Wilson says the young Somalis did a skit and some poetry to demonstrate their cultural traditions.
The FBI is investigating the disappearance of about 20 young Somalis who left Minnesota. The agency believes the missing Somalis may be fighting with terrorists in their homeland.
Between 50 and 60 people attended Saturday’s meeting, which was closed to news media.

Police say they know who posted anti-Islamic cartoons

Police say they know who posted anti-Islamic cartoons
By Kari Petrie • kpetrie@stcloudtimes.com • December 12, 2009

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Buzz up!Twitter St. Cloud police said Friday evening that they have identified the person responsible for posting obscene anti-Islamic cartoons at two locations this week.



While police believe they know who posted the obscene material, no one has been arrested or cited as they wind up their investigation, according to Sgt. Marty Sayre. The suspect's name has therefore not been released.
The police reports will be forwarded to prosecutors for review and possible charges.
Help from witnesses and the public were credited with moving the investigation forward.
Graphic, sexually explicit cartoons were posted on utility poles in the 10 block of Second Avenue Northeast and the 300 block of Fifth Avenue South. They were found Tuesday.
Sayre said prosecutors have told investigators that they will pursue charges in the case. State law prohibits the distribution of obscene material, which is defined as work that the average person would find offensive and serves no literary, artistic, political or scientific purpose.
The incident can be reported as a bias offense. Being reported as such does not mean it will lead to an enhanced sentence, but can be reported for statistical purposes.
St. Cloud Police Department reported nine bias offenses in 2008, according to the FBI Hate Crime Statistics report.
At least two advocacy groups have come forward to condemn the cartoons. The state chapter of the Council on American Islamic Relations spoke out against the cartoons Thursday and asked other religious and political leaders to do the same.
"Our state's political and religious leaders need to speak out strongly against anti-Muslim hate, just as they would speak out against any other form of intolerance," said CAIR-MN Communications Director Jessica Zikri on Thursday.
On Friday the executive director of Jewish Community Relations Council of Minnesota and the Dakotas issued a statement condemning the cartoons. Steve Hunegs called the acts heinous and urged anyone with information to come forward.
"It is tragic that extremists cling to racist, xenophobic, anti-Islamic, and other bigoted ideas," Hunegs said in a statement. "The Muslim community is an integral part of the diverse and democratic society in Minnesota and we stand in solidarity with them."
Anyone with information about the incident can contact police at 251-1200 or Crime Stoppers at 255-1301.
Create CommUNITY offered a $1,000 reward to anyone who gives information that leads to the arrest of the person responsible.

Civil rights group asks leaders to condemn anti-Muslim fliers

Civil rights group asks leaders to condemn anti-Muslim fliers
By Dave Aeikens • daeikens@stcloudtimes.com • December 11, 2009

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Twitter The state chapter of the country’s largest Muslim civil rights group on Thursday asked religious and political leaders to condemn anti-Muslim fliers that were posted on utility poles in St. Cloud.




The request came from The Council on American Islamic Relations.
“We believe there is a direct correlation between anti-Muslim rhetoric and bias incidents targeting American Muslims,” said CAIR-MN Communications Director Jessica Zikri. “Our state’s political and religious leaders need to speak out strongly against anti-Muslim hate, just as they would speak out against any other form of intolerance.”
The fliers were found in northeast St. Cloud and include graphic, sexually explicit cartoons. The posters included hand-drawn and digitally altered photos that are derogatory about Muslims. They included depictions of the prophet Mohammed and a swastika, among other images.
Five pages were posted in front of Mandeeq Shop, a Somali-owned dry goods store on East St. Germain Street.
Police are investigating the case.
CAIR-MN is working with St. Cloud Muslim leaders to offer training on community safety and religious freedom. In June, CAIR-MN offered a “Know Your Rights” workshop at a convention organized by the Islamic Center of St. Cloud.

Cartoons target Muslim population

Cartoons target Muslim population
By Kari Petrie • kpetrie@stcloudtimes.com • December 10, 2009

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Twitter Editor's note: A portion of this story has been updated to reflect more details about how authorities determine whether a hate crime may have occurred.




St. Cloud police are investigating anti-Islamic cartoons found Tuesday in at least two locations in the city.

The graphic, sexually explicit cartoons were posted on utility poles in the 10 block of Second Avenue Northeast and the 300 block of Fifth Avenue South, Sgt. Marty Sayre said.

The posters included hand-drawn and digitally-altered photos that are derogatory toward Muslims. They included depictions of the prophet Mohammed and a swastika, among other images.

Five pages of the images were posted on a pole in front of Mandeeq Shop, 123 East St. Germain St.

Shop manager Deko Farah called the images “awful” and said someone who doesn’t believe in God must have posted them.

Farah said she used to feel safe in the East Side neighborhood, but now the store closes earlier because of safety concerns.

“Right now we’re not feeling safe,” she said.

St. Cloud Area Somali Salvation Organization Executive Director Mohamoud Mohamed said it appears the images were downloaded from the Internet. Some of them were written in multiple languages.

“It’s an insult to our religion,” he said.

Someone spent a lot of time downloading the images and putting them together, Mohamed said. Then that person spent time walking through Tuesday’s snow and cold to post them.

“It’s very scary,” he said.

Mohamed said the community needs to come together and say it will not tolerate such behavior from “a very few bad apples.”

“It’s unacceptable,” he said.

Sayre said police are investigating who posted the cartoons and are talking to local businesses and residents about whether they saw anything suspicious.

Sayre said the city attorney’s office will review the incident to determine whether a crime was committed. If a crime occurred, it can be investigated as a hate crime, he said.

Anyone with information or who found similar images elsewhere can contact police at 251-1200 or Crime Stoppers at 255-1301

Missing Somalis investigation leads to 14 people charged

Missing Somalis investigation leads to 14 people charged
The Associated Press • November 24, 2009

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MINNEAPOLIS — Federal prosecutors unsealed new terrorism-related charges against eight people Monday as part of the long-running investigation of young men who left the United States to fight in Somalia.

As many as 20 young Somali men have left Minnesota in the past two years and are believed to have joined the Somali terrorist group al-Shabab. At least three have died.
The charges announced Monday include accusations that the men provided financial support to those who traveled to the East Africa country to fight on behalf of al-Shabab and also fought on behalf of the group, which the U.S. has designated a terrorist organization.
Court records indicate that between September 2007 and October 2009, about 20 young men left Minnesota for Somalia, where they are accused of training with al-Shabab to fight against Ethiopian forces. Prosecutors claim that while in Somalia, the young men were trained to use military weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades, and tactics.
A total of 14 people — including the eight announced Monday — have been charged in the investigation. Four have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. Seven are not in custody and are believed to be outside the United States.
FBI Director Robert Mueller has said the case is worrisome because it shows young men raised in the United States can be recruited by terrorists overseas, trained to conduct attacks and in some cases killed in the fighting there.
“The sad reality is that the vibrant Somali community here in Minneapolis has lost many of its sons to fighting in Somalia,” U.S. Attorney for Minnesota B. Todd Jones said in a statement.
One of the eight named Monday was Mohamud Said Omar, who was arrested earlier this month in the Netherlands. In the charges unsealed Monday, prosecutors accuse Omar, a Somali citizen and U.S. permanent resident, of helping young men travel from Minneapolis to Somalia and providing hundreds of dollars to fund the purchase of AK-47 rifles for the men.
Two of Omar’s brothers who live in Minnesota have said they believe their sibling is innocent, was not an extremist and was so poor that he couldn’t afford to bring his new wife from Somalia to the U.S.
Somalia has not had a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew a socialist dictator and then turned on each other, causing chaos in the African nation of 7 million.

Web-based program aids translation at Melrose, Long Prairie clinics

Web-based program aids translation at Melrose, Long Prairie clinics
By Frank Lee • fclee@stcloudtimes.com • November 19, 2009

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Twitter Health care reform is a complicated issue, but providing health care to people whose native language is not English just got a little easier.




CentraCare recently announced the use of a Web-based program at its Melrose and Long Prairie clinics “to provide linguistically and culturally competent care” to patients with limited English.
“We have significant Spanish-speaking populations in both Melrose and Long Prairie,” said Toni Tebben, site coordinator at CentraCare Clinic-Long Prairie.
The software application ProLingua helps the clinics’ staff to speak directly to patients in their primary language, from admission to discharge.
“ProLingua allows each member of our staff to focus on the care provided, rather than communication concerns,” said Julia Draxten, site coordinator at CentraCare Clinic-Melrose.
The software displays questions the health care provider wants to ask in English and in the patient’s native language on a monitor. It also uses pictures to help bridge the cultural gap.
“The way it’s designed is that it asks a series of questions in a way to get at essential information that we need, such as name, date of birth — basic information that we take for granted,” she said.
ProLingua currently supports Spanish, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Russian and Korean, with Somali, Arabic and Haitian-Creole in development.
“We’ve always used telephone interpretation services as well as in-person interpretation services, and we have a lot of our documents already translated into other languages, but what ProLingua does is allow us to have a lot of the information at our fingertips,” she said.
ProLingua also will say aloud the question that is being asked of the patient in the patient’s native language, according to Draxten.
“We can also print and send home patient instructions in, say, Spanish, so if they were there for an ear infection, we can tell them how to care for themselves in their own language,” she said.
Basic information such as the correct spelling of a patient’s name is important in order to look up a patient’s medical history if the patient has been previously seen at CentraCare.
“... We are committed to providing the highest quality of care to all patients, regardless of the language they speak,” Draxten said.

Organization brings community to African, African-American women

Organization brings community to African, African-American women
By TaLeiza Calloway • tcalloway@stcloudtimes.com • October 5, 2009



Launched in November, Omeka! aims to build relationships between African and African-American women in the St. Cloud community. The monthly gatherings offer food, fellowship, a listening heart and more. And the organization is looking ahead to its second year and the needs of its growing membership.
Debra Leigh, an Omeka! organizer and professor at St. Cloud State University, has seen growth among the women and the connections that have formed since the group’s founding.
Leigh remembers during an early circle-share-in, one Somali woman spoke for all of the Somali women in attendance. Ten months later, all those in attendance share what they are feeling, she said.
“It was really powerful,” Leigh said. “We realized that each of them had found their voice.”
“Omeka!” is a Swahili word meaning to display; to speak out; to spread out. This is accomplished each time through the sharing of journeys, cultures and ideas; they’re always learning from one another, according to organizers.
From education and health care, to family life and housing, each meeting has a theme. Women are not the only benefactors. Child care is always offered, complete with an activity for children.
Looking ahead
Possible changes ahead include focusing more meetings to a particular topic, hosting a two-day educational summit, creating a space just for the meetings as well as helping other diverse groups, Leigh said.
As organizers for Omeka! look ahead, they are confident the organization will continue to reach women and improve its outreach. They will meet in November for an overall evaluation of the program, said Hedy Tripp, coordinator for Create CommUNITY.
Omeka! is one of the programs under Create CommUNITY’s umbrella. It is funded through a grant from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation.
“Omeka is an experiment,” Leigh said with a smile. “We learn as we go.”
Sister Chrispina Lekule, who worked with helping form Omeka! believes the mission is being fulfilled. Lekule is a graduate student at St. Cloud State.

Lefse: A Scandinavian tradition

Lefse: A Scandinavian tradition
By Amy Bowen • abowen@stcloudtimes.com • October 14, 2009

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Del.icio.usFacebookDiggRedditNewsvineBuzz up!TwitterFOLEY — With the precision of a master baker, Mike Romslo ever so gently rolled out a paper-thin piece of lefse Tuesday night at Henry’s Banquet Center.


Romslo lives in International Falls, and drove down to visit his daughter Lisa Wruck, who lives in Foley. Wruck, asked him to help make lefse for the Gustavus Adolphus Lutheran Church’s annual fall dinner Oct. 21.
Romslo, who proudly claims he’s 100 percent Norwegian, happily made the trip, and joined about 12 volunteers who made 100 dozen lefse rounds Monday and Tuesday night.
Romslo knows lefse. He grew up on it. Christmas isn’t Christmas without lefse, he said.
His sentiment is shared by the other church members and family members who took part in the lefse-making project.
The Foley church’s dinner and bake sale, both offering homemade lefse, is the church’s only fundraiser, said Connie Henry, who served as one of the head lefse makers. The church has made the lefse for at least 35 years, she said.
For those who aren’t Scandinavian, lefse is like a potato crepe. Church lefse makers peeled potatoes, boiled and mashed them. They then added a little salt, white pepper and sugar and “lots of butter and whipping cream,” said fellow lefse maker and owner of Henry’s Banquet Center Sharon Henry. She is not related to Connie Henry.
“That’s Norwegian,” Sharon Henry said. “You need butter on everything.”
The dough is chilled until workers are ready to use an ice cream scoop to make balls.
That was Alvin Henry’s job Tuesday night. Connie Henry is his wife. He laughed and chatted with fellow bakers as he made the dough balls. The community really looks forward to the lefse, he said.
It doesn’t matter if they’re Scandinavian, he said with a chuckle.
“We spoil people,” he said.
Marilyn Hovde, one of the lefse rollers, has been spoiled for almost 40 years. She’s Dutch and Swedish. Her husband is 100 percent Norwegian, she said.
“I didn’t know what lefse was until I married (him), and now I love it,” she said as she rolled the dough balls into thin disks.
The lefse is then carefully transferred to a hot lefse pan and cooked until just browned and bubbly. Romslo carefully watched his lefse puff up ever so slightly before he removed it.
“You just get the feeling,” he said of knowing when to take it off the heat.
The lefse is then cooled under blue towels to keep it from drying out. Blue just happens to be one of the colors featured on the Norwegian flag.
After the lefse is cooled, workers packaged it in plastic bags for use later.
How people enjoy the finished lefse is up to them. Some like white sugar. Others swear by brown sugar. Everyone loves butter.
Romslo sprinkles brown sugar on his and rolls it up.
“And sometimes (I add) butter,” he said. “But I’m staying away from that.”

St. Cloud man is jailed after khat shipment

St. Cloud man is jailed after khat shipment
Times staff report • October 9, 2009

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. Cloud police arrested a 25-year-old St. Cloud man after intercepting a package that held 21 pounds of the drug khat, also known as graba.


Adil M. Ali was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of fifth-degree possession of a controlled substance with the intent to distribute. He was taken to Stearns County Jail.
Khat, a leaf that is chewed, is a legal stimulant in many countries, but it is illegal in the United States.
Investigators with the St. Cloud Drug Unit learned that a shipment of khat was headed to St. Cloud from Kenya on Oct. 1. Officers headed off the shipment and then determined Ali was the intended recipient, according to police.
Police are still investigating and expect to make more arrests