Olson’s Cheers & Jeers: Former Walz rival fights for service dogs

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Cheers to two-time Republican GOP gubernatorial candidate, former legislator and Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson, who continues to engage in important work after leaving public office. Since 2020, Johnson’s been executive director of Can Do Canines, which trains and provides free assistance dogs to the disabled. At the Capitol this year, Johnson successfully shepherded a bill to passage requiring homeowners’ associations (HOAs) to allow dogs-in-training to live with residents free of charge. The bill was on its way to the office of Gov. Tim Walz, who defeated Johnson in the 2018 governor’s race. That could be a fun signing ceremony with former rivals and a photogenic Labrador retriever.

Jeers to former Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson, whose behavior has become an utterly indefensible threat to public safety. In town for the NFL team’s draft party last week, Peterson was arrested for allegedly driving 83 mph in a 55 mph zone on a Richfield freeway with a blood alcohol level of 0.14%. Grow up, get help and stop endangering the rest of us. Peterson’s physical gifts enabled him to dazzle on the football field and earn millions over his NFL career. Vikings fans even celebrated him through his personal travails in his playing days. There’s nothing to cheer anymore. His dangerous driving could quickly have turned deadly. If Peterson can’t keep from messing up, he’s welcome to stay home in Texas.

Cheers to the bipartisan group of senators who came into session with a plan to close the legislative revolving door by imposing a two-year waiting period on the transition from lawmaker to lobbyist. Lead sponsor Sen. Matt Klein, DFL-Mendota Heights, called it a good governance proposal. Sen. John Marty, DFL-Roseville, also offered a bill. Both learned, however, that a recent ruling from the Eighth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declared a similar ban in Missouri unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds. The court ruling suggested that a shorter ban, of six months or a year, might withstand constitutional scrutiny, or it might not. Either way, the court decision iced out consideration of a ban this session and limited future options.

Jeers to the senators who didn’t let a bad idea from their House Republican colleagues go to waste. Five Senate Republicans on Monday introduced their own bill designating mRNA vaccines as “weapons of mass destruction.” More like weapons of mass salvation, as the vaccines are credited with saving millions of lives from COVID-19. The Republican senators joining the fight against science are: Eric Lucero of St. Michael; Bill Lieske of Lonsdale; Glenn Gruenhagen of Glencoe; Steve Green of Fosston and Nathan Wesenberg of Little Falls.

Cheers to state Sen. Karin Housley, R-Stillwater, for consistently seeking to end the scourge of 3.2% beer, known to most of us as beer-flavored water. On the Senate floor Monday, Housley lamented that another legislative session would pass with 3.2 beer still available in Minnesota even though no other state sells the low-alcohol swill anymore. In dramatic fashion, Housley declared that even “Utah. Utah!” had done away with 3.2 beer in 2019. Maybe next year, she said. I’d raise a Bent Paddle Retro Haze and a Surly Furious to that.

Cheers to newly elected Sen. Keri Heintzeman, of Nisswa, the Republican who won a special election to replace Sen. Justin Eichorn. Heintzeman’s arrival will bring to four the number of women in the 33-member GOP minority caucus. The former district director for Trump is married to a House member, a mother of six, a home-schooler and an anti-condom crusader. We hope she’s learned a thing or two and has abandoned her campaign against prophylactics. Back in 2017, she spoke against distribution of condoms in Crow Wing County. “The most reliable way to avoid the transmission of STDs are to abstain from sexual activity or be in a long-term mutually monogamous relationship with an uninfected partner,” she said. In an ideal world, that would be true, but Heintzeman’s equally sanctimonious predecessor, a married father of four, resigned after he was arrested in an underage prostitution sting.

Jeers to Walz’s kinda sorta announcement that he’s likely to run for a third four-year term. Our current state of political affairs cries out for enthusiastic, strategic DFL leadership to counter the Republicans in Washington, D.C. That means showing some passion, engagement, a clear agenda and direction. Instead, Walz has been giving off the vibe of a guy waiting in line at the post office. Inspire us, governor.

Cheers to the Senate for voting unanimously to rename the 10th Avenue Bridge connecting the University of Minnesota to downtown in honor of the late Senate Majority Leader Kari Dziedzic. The Minneapolis DFLer died late last year of ovarian cancer at 62. It‘s a fitting tribute, given Dziedzic’s lifelong connection to northeast Minneapolis and the University of Minnesota. Senate Minority Leader Mark Johnson, R-East Grand Forks, also noted the symbolism of the structure given “the bridges that she built with me and the caucus that I represent here.” The sponsor of the provision, Sen. Zaynab Mohamed, DFL-Minneapolis, said Dziedzic would have hated the fuss over her. But one can imagine she might have grudgingly accepted the honor given the humble, functional and utilitarian nature of the structure.