Bradbury Township

Mille Lacs News

The Mille Lacs Messenger:

That Other Newspaper...

Tuesday, January 21, 2008

They fear public hearings more than death?

What do you think about all of the Mille Lacs Messenger news stories covering Onamia's city council rewriting city ordinances to enable sex offenders to live next to daycare?

You say you haven't read any? Maybe that's because the Mille Lacs Messenger didn't cover it. Nobody said a word. In fact, no Mess reporter even attended the December 19 zoning public hearing - the one where the No-Nexus-Never Naysayers caught the city council and the city lawyer "messing up"... The city had failed to notify citizens - which Onamia ordinances require (and will until Bully Milton has it rewritten). The city council then went into the back room, along with their lawyer, which is a violation of the Open Meeting Law. That was a violation against Minnesota State Law, folks. As you know, the meeting was postponed until January 9th, giving the council time to revamp and come up with more ways to circumvent the laws and foil the will of the people. The January 9th meeting was also canceled.

WHERE WAS THE MILLE LACS MESSENGER THROUGHOUT ALL OF THE CITY COUNCIL MALFEASANCE AND SHENANIGANS???

They had more important news to report, better stories to write.

But then, what do I know? I'm not a REAL reporter with a REAL newspaper AND - I'm not a guy. Maybe the up/down peeing issue IS more newsworthy than a silly little local city government stripping the constitutional rights away from the American people.

Please try harder!

The Mille Lacs News would like to thank Brett Larson, the new editor of the Mille Lacs Messenger for finally giving us something we have been badly needing for over six months: acknowledgement and a fair shake. It took courage to go against the grain, to write what he did. And write it so beautifully too. Do I smell Pulitzer?  Thank you Brett. Read Brett Larson's editorial

10/18/07

Messenger At It Again!

We had hoped that with a new editor, the Mille Lacs Messenger would report news with an unbiased eye instead of slant things in favor of NEXUS. We also had hoped that with this page on the Mille Lacs News, the Messenger would clean up its act and take care to report the news with more accuracy. We are sorely disappointed.

Last week, the Messenger reported that John Varner, superintendent of the Onamia School District has announced that the school would refuse to give NEXUS tax abatement and would not support their plan for privatization of the school. This week the Messenger reported that NEXUS had not sought tax abatement with the school - as if NEXUS had a benevolent bone in its greedy corporate body.... THIS IS FALSE!!! We have obtained a letter from Jim D'Angelo specifically demanding tax abatement from the city, the county, and the school. Nexus is NOT benevolent. Stop lying to the public!

We are so sick and tired of Kevin Anderson's NEXUS agenda. The Messenger staff should be ashamed of itself. In fact, we're asking Hannabelle to put the Mille Lacs Messenger in her

8/31/07  The Mille Lacs News Responds

A review (including corrections) of the recent Mille Lacs Messenger article about the war between Bradbury Township and the Nexus Sex Offenders.

8/15/07  Messenger Update:

We would like to welcome the new editor of the Mille Lacs Messenger. We anticipate positive changes, including any corrections and/or retractions of previous mistakes (noted on this page).

Using the Media to Control Public Opinion: Abuse of Power of the Press

by Hannabelle

Mille Lacs News staff writer

They say that there are two sides to every story. But with Kevin Anderson, editor of the Mille Lacs Messenger, it seems that only one side gets told; at least in the case of newspaper coverage about the battle between Bradbury Township and the City of Onamia over the building site of the proposed new Nexus juvenile sex offender facility. Such coverage has been so obviously slanted, in fact, that it prompted the creation of the Mille Lacs News to counteract the propaganda.  We are telling the other side of the story, the side unheard.

The Mille Lacs Messenger has censored us, misquoted us, and supported lies, at least by omission. It has continued to mislead the public in a bold effort to control public opinion against the Bradbury residents who oppose the building on the Grosslein/Bye 38 acres.

The Mille Lacs Messenger has printed known lies. For example, it has reported several times that Nexus is property tax exempt. This is not true. The Messenger will not retract or correct this misinformation because it says that it was correctly quoting someone else who was giving the misinformation (i.e. the mayor, Bill Hill, etc.)

Another example is the questionable reporting of the number of persons employed by Mille Lacs Academy and where these employees reside. There has been a lot of confusion about the jobs issue. The fact is, very few employees actually live in Onamia. Exact numbers have been misreported.

Quotations have also been taken out of context, or selectively edited. For example, when one citizen cited at a Onamia City Council meeting that since Nexus CEO James D'Angelo stated that the Mille Lacs Academy would leave the county should property tax exempt status be denied, and what would then happen to the property, the Messenger

The Mille Lacs Messenger has reported that those who oppose Nexus are fearful and ignorant. This is also not true. If it were, you would not be reading this. The Mille Lacs Messenger has not been a helpful source of the truth. They have in essence, tried to make us look bad, while protecting Mayor Milton.

To be fair (and we try hard to be), the Mille Lacs Messenger often just reports bad information. There's a ton of it being dished out by the Onamia Mayor, the city council members, as well as those connected with Nexus. But the Messenger seems to accept what they say at face value, never probing into the validity of what, say for example, Larry Milton is telling them. On the other hand, the Messenger seems quite opinionated about the Bradbury residents opposing the Nexus project. The problem is, unless one is aware of the truth, it is difficult to tell what is bogus in the Messenger.  It might be better if everyone reading the Messenger assumes the worst - that you can't believe a word they print.

We invite you to read for yourself what the folks over at the Messenger are saying about us. Remember - don't believe everything you read in the newspaper.

Notice the difference in the above articles and those below. Things certainly seem to heat up when suddenly there is opposition to the Nexus proposal.

The following articles were written over a year ago. You might note a difference in tone.

Kevin Anderson Quotes:

"By the way, I have oft been challenged by those who say an editor/publisher should not have an opinion - that I must stay neutral."

"we must track down all the rumors, half-truths, misquotes and misinformation that seems to follow stories like this one."

"It is said that public speaking is a fear that is difficult to overcome. In fact, many fear it more than death itself.
So it may explain why, when Onamia Mayor Larry Milton asked a crowd assembled at a recent Onamia City Council meeting to "voice' their opinion - in other words, speak their minds about the relocation of the Mille Lacs Academy, the audience fell silent."
 

Dear Readers,

The Mille Lacs Messenger isn't worth the paper its printed on. We have lost hope that they will "grow up" and provide the professional journalism the Mille Lacs Area needs.

They don't call it "The Mess" for nothing...

Didn't Happen

"I look at this list of questions and listen to what you are saying," Mayor Larry Milton said. "And it all comes down to you don't want it here. You are not willing to listen to anything we have to say. No matter what we say, you are not going to like it. You have made up your minds. Nobody has asked to work with us to find solutions as you fire off accusations of this and that."

Propaganda

D'Angelo stated that he would not debate the issue with Swift publicly. He feels the plan for the academy is in the best interest of the largest majority of people and sees no reason for the plan to be derailed if a handful of people are unhappy.

Propaganda

The audience applauded when D'Angelo said, "The Bye family has thought of the potential for this project. These are people of great courage who believe in the betterment for the greater good. They should be applauded. They are investing in the future of this community."

Fiction

Misquote

Swift continued. "We don't want it there. Why should we talk to anyone?"

"I have heard a lot of mean comments tonight - prejudice against these kids that is based on fear and ignorance," Varner said. "Fear and ignorance. We have fought this fear and ignorance from time immemorial."

Six pages of questions, statements, personal attacks and innuendoes were prepared and asked of the council and individuals. Many statements and questions refer to the Mille Lacs Academy kids as sex offenders whom Bradbury Township residents admitted they fear.

Didn't Happen.

"The words done deal are your words J.J., not mine," Milton said. "We are giving you a chance to speak tonight."
 

Misquote

"What is going to happen to my kids? Who is going to protect us?" Kathy Leaf asked.

Kathy Leaf said, "I run a day-care. What's going to happen to my kids?" She said nothing about protection.

Kathy's business has never been mentioned in the Mille Lacs Messenger, and there has been nothing about the impact on her business or the other two daycares in the immediate vicinity.