The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1988-12-28

              State has lax
education standards,
says report
news briefs:
Naytahwaush teen fatally stabbed
in fight behind bar in Phoenix
Phoenix (AP)- A Minnesota teen-ager died Sunday despite his
brothers' frantic efforts to save him after he was stabbed during an early
morning fight behind a bar, police said.
The victim was identified by police as Theodore Taylor Roy, 17, of
Naytahwaush, Minn. ,
Three of his brothers, also involved in the fight with three other men,
crashed their vehicle through the glass doors of the Veterans
Administration Medical Center in their attempt to rush him medical aid
in time to save his life. Paramedics took him to St. Joseph's Hospital
because the VA hospital isn't equipped to handle severe trauma,
officials said.
Another of the brothers. Miles, also suffered stab wounds. No word
was available as to his condition.
Some districts too small to
provide quality education
SL Paul (AP)- Some of Minnesota's smallest school districts should be
phased out because they are too small to provide a first-rate education,
the state's deputy legislative auditor says.
Roger Brooks, answering questions the day after his office issued a
report on high school education, said Thursday that many of the state's
75 districts with fewer than 25 high school students per grade cannot
hope to provide them with the quality of education offered in larger
districts with more resources.
"The constitution says the state must provide a uniform and efficient
system of schools, but the data we looked at showed terrific
imbalances," Brooks said.
Brooks suggested that smaller school districts look at consolidation
with nearby districts and other mechanisms for sharing resources.
Leases awarded for
mineral exploration
St. Paul (AP)- Minnesota's Executive Council has awarded 19
companies with leases to explore for minerals on 100,000 acres of state
land in northern Minnesota.
The leases cover 246 tracts in Aitkin, Beltrami, Itasca, Koochiching,
Lake, Marshall, Norman, Roseau and St. Louis counties. They were
awarded Tuesday on the recommendation of the Minnesota Department
of Natural Resources.
The leases reflect growing interest in mineral exploration in
Minnesota, where recent studies indicate valuable deposits of gold,
platinum and other precious metals may be found, William Brice, DNR
minerals director, said.
Brice said there also is some renewed interest in exploring for "base"
metals such as copper and nickel. Minnesota has long been known to
have extensive, albeit low-grade, deposits of copper and nickel.
Of the land offered for leasing, an area in St. Louis County west of
Cook generated particularly strong interest, because a state survey
disclosed a large number of gold particles in the thin soil that covers
bedrock there, Brice said.
The 50-year leases call for $l-an-acre rent for the next two years,
increased in the following 10 years to $25 an acre. Leases can be
dropped if prospecting fails to unearth valuable mineral deposits, but if
minerals are extracted, the state receives royalties.
Chippewa band postpones
lottery after legal objection
Duluth, Minn. (AP) - The Fond
du Lac Chippewa band has
postponed launching its lotto
game after Minnesota U.S.
Attorney Jerome Arnold said the
game would violate state and
federal laws.
The band had planned to start
selling $1 tickets for the game
Tuesday, but said it would review
legal issues raised by Arnold,
who sent the band formal
notification of his objections.
Lotto is a lottery and, under the
new federal Indian Gaming
Regulatory Act, it is forbidden in
states where lotteries are illegal,
Arnold said last week.
In November, Minnesota voters
approved an amendment to the
state constitution to allow a
lottery. But Arnold said a lottery
won't be legal until it's approved
by the legislature. Lawmakers are
expected to do that in the 1989
Legislature.
The Fond du Lac says its game
is legal in Minnesota because the
state lottery amendment was
approved. It contends that lotto
also is legal under the federal
Indian gaming act.
"I would have hoped people
would be excited about it and lent
their support," Fond du Lac
Chairman Bob Peacock said
Friday. "Why should we be
penalized for taking advantage of
a situation created within the
law? We're in compliance."
Peacock said Monday that band
attorneys are consulting advisers
here and in Washington, D.C, on
the band's legal standing.
Fond du Lac gaming
administrator Joe Marinans said
the gaming computer was hooked
up Friday and remains ready to
go at the reservation in Cloquet.
But he said it's impossible to say
when the game will get begin.
Arnold declined to comment on
the band's decision.
^
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Indian tribe
continues pursuit of
urban land
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3
^
^
,**'
The Mature
Years
The
ws
Volume 1  Issue 32
Copyright, the Ojibwe News, 1988
December 21,1988
Bemidji, Minnesota 56601
Travel tips
for those
long holiday
journeys
Most people do more traveling
during the holidays than they
normally would. This is
complicated by the weather which
has been uncooperative lately.
In order to avoid delays,
problems and accidents, here are
some helpful hints for holiday
travelers:
1) Be aware of any maintenance
problems on your car or truck.
Sudden changes in oil pressure,
water temperature or amperage
may signal a problem. Cold
weather has a way of exasperating
any vehicle problems.
2) Put some useful items in your
trunk like jumper cables, a shovel,
gas-line anti-freeze, windshield
wiper solution, and some added
weight (50-100 lbs. of salt or sand
can help on icy roads).
3) Call ahead. Make sure someone
knows that you're on the road and
on your way. Plan out your route
according to distance and road
conditions.
4) Dress in appropriate clothing.
Carry an extra pair of boots,
mittens and a blanket.
5) Make sure that everyone,
If you're traveling this holiday season, wear warm clothes and make sure your child has a proper safety restraint.
Illustration by Mark Boswell
especially children have seat belts
or safety restraints.
6) Listen to current weather reports
and keep up to date about any
changes in the weather that may
affect your travel plans.
7)  Don't drink and drive.  Stay
where you are or get a ride home.
These few and simple rules of
thumb can mean the difference
between getting to where you're
headed this holiday season or not
getting there at all.
Have a Happy New Year and
travel safely.
Jourdain's tax trial continued for second time
Red lake Tribal Chairman owes state $81\
By William J. Lawrence
Publisher
According to Minnesota Assistant
Attorney General Tom O' Hearn,
the tax trial of Red Lake Chairman
Roger A. Jourdain has been
continued for 60 days.
Jourdain was to appear in court in
Duluth on Dec. 20.
O' Hearn told the News that the
reason for the continuance was to
allow attorneys for both parties to
further define the scope of the
issues involved in Jourdain's case.
Jourdain is charged with owing
the State of Minnesota $81,000 of
back income taxes, penalties and
interest for failing to file tax returns
for the years 1979 through 1985.
The $81,000 was the amount that
Jourdain owed as of Jan. 9, 1987.
With interest charges that amount
has no doubt increased.    -
Since court documents indicate
that the only issue to be tried before
the tax court is that of Jourdain's
residency, it is not known why a
second continuance is deemed
necessary.
Jourdain's claim is essentially
that his residence is still the Red
Lake reservation despite the fact
that he is living and receiving
homestead credit at his Bemidji
home at 2309 Calihan Ave. since
1979. He also claims that since Red
Lake reservation is not part of the
State of Minnesota, he is exempt
from state income tax.
According to the legal brief filed
by the Minnesota Attorney
General's Office, a ruling in favor
of Jourdain could jeopardize state
aid payments to the Red Lake
school district. General Assistance
payments, in-state status of Red
Lake reservation college students
and other forms of state assistance,
at Red Lake.
Jourdain was to appear in court
on Oct. 11 but because of an
alleged illness, the case was
continued until Dec. 20. The case
has been rescheduled for sometime
in February.
Lottery faces stiff test in Minnesota senate
St. Paul (AP)- Although Minnesota voters have removed the
constitutional prohibition against a
lottery, it appears that legislation
establishing the framework for a
lottery faces a stiff test in the state
Senate, according to a survey.
While 58 percent of the 183
respondents to an Associated Press
questionnaire agreed that
legislation setting up a lottery
should be approved this session, the
survey indicated that a few more
senators may need to be convinced
if so-called lottery-enabling
legislation is to succeed.
Thirty of the 62 Senate
respondents agreed that a lottery
should be established. In the
67-member Senate, 34 votes are
needed for passage of a bill.
Twenty-three Senate respondents
disagreed with the proposition that
lottery-enabling legislation should
be passed and nine said they were
undecided.
The odds, according to the
survey, strongly favor passage of
More than half of lawmaker survey
respondents oppose death penalty
By Mary R Sandok
Associated Press Writer
St. Paul, Minn. (AP) - Minnesota
lawmakers want to impose stiffer
penalties on violent criminals,
according to a survey, but aren't
ready to impose the ultimate
penalty: death.
Ninety-five of the 183 lawmakers
who responded to a survey by The
Associated Press, or 52 percent,
said they would not support
legislation that would impose a
death penalty in Minnesota for
certain heinous crimes.
Forty-five lawmakers, or 25
percent of the respondents, said
they would support such legislation
and 41 lawmakers, or 22 percent of
the respondents, said they were
undecided.
Proposals to reinstate capital
punishment, which was abolished
in Minnesota in 1911, have not
been seriously considered by the
Legislature in recent memory. But
such a proposal might have a more
receptive audience during the 1989
legislative session, even though it
appears there would not be enough
votes to pass it.
Since Congress recently approved
the death penalty for certain
drug-related crimes, debate on the
issue has increased in Minnesota.
Stephen Rathke, Crow Wing
county attorney and a member and
former chairman of the Minnesota
Sentencing Guidelines
Commission, has said the death
penalty would be a logical
extension of complaints that
Minnesota is not as safe as it used
to be and that it might be time for
the state to consider imposing
capital punishment for the most
brutal slayings.
House Minority Leader Bill
Schreiber, IR-Brooklyn Park, made
a similar assessment during the
1988 campaign for control of the
state House of Representatives,
drawing a sharp rebuke from House
Speaker Robert Vanasek,
DFL-New Prague.
"The death penalty is no
deterrent," Vanasek said recently.
"It's a simplistic solution and it
doesn't work."
Vanasek's DFL colleagues in the
House and Senate generally oppose
capital punishment, while
Schreiber's    fellow
Independent-Republicans in both
chambers tend to favor it,
according to the survey.
House DFL respondents opposed
the death penalty 49-8, with 14
saying they were undecided and
one not answering the question.
House Republicans favored capital
punishment 20-15, with 14 saying
they were undecided.
In the Senate, DFL respondents
opposed the death penalty 25-6,
with 10 saying they were
undecided and one not answering
the question. But Republicans said
they would support capital
punishment legislation 11-6, with
three saying they were undecided.
such legislation in the 134-member
House of Representatives, where
68 votes will be needed.
Seventy-six of the 121 House
respondents agreed that such
legislation should be passed, 25
disagreed and 20 were undecided.
Given that approval, Minnesota's
201 lawmakers were asked in the
AP survey, conducted from Nov.
15 to Dec. 8, whether legislation
setting up a lottery should be
approved during the 1989 session.
Responses to the survey were
received from 91 percent of the
legislators, including 72 of 81
House DFLers and 49 of 53 House
Independent-Republicans.
Forty-two of the 45 Senate DFlers
and 20 of 22 Senate Republicans
also responded.
House Speaker Robert Vanasek,
DFL-New Prague, said lawmakers
will have some explaining to do if
lottery-enabling legislation fails to
pass.
"You can't dismiss the public's
vote on the constitutional issue,"
Vanasek said. "You can't ignore it
and pretend it didn't happen."
Senate Majority Leader Roger
Moe, DFL-Erskine, said voter
approval ensured that lawmakers
will seriously consider lottery
legislation during the 1989 session,
which convenes Jan. 3.
A Senate committee already has
been briefed on lottery enabling
legislation authored by Sen. Bob
Lessard, DFL-International Falls,
which would establish a
five-member state commission to
oversee a lottery. A separate bill is
expected to be heard in the House.
Meanwhile, Gov. Rudy Perpich has
established a nine-member
commission to recommend how a
lottery should be structured and
operated, including whether it
should be part of an existing state
agency or governed by a new state
agency.
Among the issues Perpich asked
the commission to consider, and
which are expected to be
considered by lawmakers during
their deliberations, are the prize
structure, the extent to which
lottery operations should be
contracted to private operators,
security, advertising, types of
games to be permitted and who
should be allowed to sell lottery
tickets.
Senate Minority Leader Duane
Benson, IR-Lanesboro, said he
thinks the Legislature will set up a
lottery. However, he said, the
legislation could be so restrictive
that the state lottery wouldn't raise
much money.
Under current law, proceeds from
a lottery would be divided between
an environmental and natural
resources trust fund and the Greater
Minnesota Corp., a rural economic
development agency, for the first
five years of lottery operation.