Late last week, an urgent-seeming tip came over the transom of the Racket Reader Action Desk.

“Don’t know if there is a story in this or not,” it began, “but our kid came home from Howe [Elementary School] today with a pencil bag of pro-corn propaganda and stories of a horrific mascot who performed a gameshow routine alongside skilled hip-hop dancers.”

The tipster provided photographic intel of the alleged “pro-corn propaganda,” pictured below, as well as a screengrab of Maizey, the “horrific mascot,” who you can see above.

Deploying our deductive expertise, we were able to determine the group behind both the corn-themed swag bag and the (allegedly) horrific corn mascot was none other than the Minnesota Corn Growers Association (MCGA), the industry group responsible for advancing corn interests throughout the state. The reader correctly asserted that this webpage, which outlines MCGA’s education outreach program, raises more questions than it answers.

They continued…

How are people getting paid for these performances? Did MPS get a big check for this from the corn lobby? Is there an anti-corn agenda currently in circulation that’s escaped my notice? Is corn actually “cool”? I guess it is better than D.A.R.E., but that’s not saying a whole lot. This all may be beneath your journalistic purview, in which case I do apologize, but I can’t be the only parent blinking in confusion and disbelief at this odd corporate intrusion.

After assuring her that this is well within our journalistic purview, Racket sprang into action. (This being assigned to the very real Racket Reader Action Desk, after all.) We hit up the Minneapolis Public Schools publicist with our newfound concern over the apparent corporate reeducation of our most precious commodity—children, not corn, to be clear.

What are students expected to gain from the in-school corn program? Is money—and if so, how much?—exchanged between MPS and MCGA? And, crucially, is corn in fact “cool”?    

Stonewalled! The school board’s comms team vowed to “look into this,” but that was six full days ago.

That left us with the Minnesota Corn Growers Association but, before reaching out, we needed to better understand this corn-boosting org.

A subsidiary of the National Corn Growers Association, the local arm of the operation tasks itself with advancing four core industry priorities: ethanol, sustainability, trade, and the Farm Bill.

In 2017, according to public data via Open Secrets, MCGA deployed six lobbyists and spent $160,000 in lobbying expenditures to rhapsodize the virtues of their prefered crop to lawmakers. That top issue—ethanol—matters most because almost 30% of corn grown in Minnesota is turned into fuel, per MCGA. (Our state is the nation’s third-biggest corn grower and fourth-biggest ethanol producer.) In recent years, studies have found that ethanol might be actually be worse for the environment than gasoline, complicating the wisdom of awarding the industry with vast government subsidies; producers are now fighting harder than ever for fuel-blend mandates that buoy demand for corn.

Anyway!

Back to topic at hand: How insidious and/or innocuous is advancing the corn agenda in Minneapolis Public Schools? Here’s Barbara Boelk, the prompt and polite spokesperson for MCGA who we bothered last week.

Minnesota Corn is proud to teach young people across the state about corn and corn farming. Using a fun, educational program, students in school districts in the metro and beyond learn about how corn is part of the renewable food, fiber, and fuel they and their families use every day. Schools opt in to the program, in much the same way that they opt in to other programs and assemblies that meet educational standards. Minnesota Corn does not give or receive payment for placement of programs with any school district. Students learn about Minnesota’s tradition of family corn farming, and its importance to local and state economies. In addition to learning how something grown locally impacts a student’s daily life, students can also learn about the vast array of career opportunities associated with corn farming, like on-farm roles, research, and technology to name a few.

The swag bags? They’re meant to instill a “positive memory” of the pro-corn demonstration, Boelk says. And you better believe she has no patience for the besmirchment of her group’s grinning corn-ear mascot. “[Maizey is] a fun-loving and joyful ear of Minnesota corn who loves being part of these types of programs where meeting the kids and participating in the program are highlights of the day,” Boelk concludes. It’s up to parents to balance Maizey’s relentless enthusiasm for corn with the real-world impact, positive and negative, the ag product presents.

As for whether corn is “cool”? Nobody spoke to that, though those rubber bracelets more or less put MCGA on the record. We know how this non-Minnesotan tot feels…

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Above the rushing waters of the Mighty Mississippi, a testament to engineering and ingenuity stands tall.

“It’s a great color and also has a gentler appearance than you would guess with how heavy it is. This curve at the back makes it really special,” said amateur historian Vince Netz.

With its gleaming arches and golden hu, the Stone Arch Bridge has become a symbol of the city it calls home.

But underneath all the rock and mortar, there’s a hidden history with more stories than there are stones on the beloved landmark.

“There’s no reason to be here other than the waterfall and the railway. so the origin story for the city is on this bridge,” said Netz.

In the late 1800s, Minneapolis was a roaring boom town, where the population had more than doubled in less than a decade. The city hired railroad baron James J Hill to build a giant train station to integrate what was then a mess of railway lines into one place. 

“It was bad for flour and lumber shipping. It was worse for passengers. They wanted to make the city’s economic future better by building a railway station. To get there, they had to get across the river,” said Netz.

At first, Hill wanted to build an iron bridge directly over nearby St Anthony Falls but his engineer told him that would destroy the falls. So they started construction just to the south in 1882, with 600 people working around the clock.

Five trains a day carried limestone, granite, and marble quarried in Minnesota, Iowa, and Wisconsin.

“The idea behind the stone is that it could hold a lot of weight and I think James J Hill, his ego was in it too. It’s a big bridge. It’s very much a testament to his power, to his wealth and to his capability. No one was denying James J Hill and his ability once this bridge was constructed,” said MnDOT historian Katie Haun Schuring.

When the project was finished 22 months later, it was considered a modern marvel, with its 23 stone arches, S-shaped structure and six degree curve at the end creating a smooth and scenic path to bring passengers into the heart of Minneapolis.

At its peak, nearly 100 trains a day crossed the bridge and helped Hill expand his empire and conquer The West.

“It was considered a folly at the time. People didn’t really think it was a great idea. Construction was very expensive, but time has told a different tale,” said Haun Schuring.

The Stone Arch remained a railroad bridge until the late 1970s when it was abandoned, as the public began to use the interstate highway system for travel and commerce instead. It sat unused until the 90’s when it was refurbished as a pedestrian and bike bridge with a new deck and decorative railings.

“In the 90s, there was this idea of rails to trails where abandoned rail lines would become trail systems. Here’s this great resource in the middle of Minneapolis that is no longer being used as a rail line so what can we do with it? Turning it into a pedestrian bridge, a trail system made a lot of sense,” said Haun Schuring.

Over the years, two arches were replaced by a steel truss for the lock and dam and two others are now supported by concrete because of a flood. But more work needs to be done, so the bridge is now closed to replace the mortar and some stones to preserve the bridge for the future.

“I think it is one of the most important and interesting bridges in the state. I think it tells the story of one man’s rise to power and fortune. It tells the story of transportation use over time from railroads to trails. I think it is also one of those things that if it weren’t there, there would be a big loss within the community,” said Haun Schuring.

The Stone Arch is the only bridge of its kind on the Mississippi and the second oldest bridge on the river.

It is also on the National Register Of Historic Places, a vital link in the center of the city for more than a century.

“There are more bridges that have more technical complexity to them, but there is only one Stone Arch,” said Netz.