Mindy Greiling, Please Pick Up the White Courtesy Phone

Speaking of high dudgeon, there's the matter of Representative Mindy Greiling, who represents my neighbors in St. Anthony and Roseville.

Representative Greiling recently called on the Star Tribune to dismiss metro columnist Katherine Kersten for a piece she wrote about about the Tarik ibn Zayad Academy TiZA), an Inver Grove Heights charter school. Kersten used her column to report on activities at the school that were explicitly religious in nature and included an eyewitness account from a substitute teacher. Rep. Greiling's response:

Kersten’s reckless journalistic standards have diminished this paper’s
credibility. Worse, they have threatened the safety of the children and staff at
the school, which has been forced to take extra security measures in the wake of
recent death threats. While I value a broad range of opinions from a variety of
perspectives, I value the facts even more. Kersten’s gross distortion of the
facts in this case should compel Star Tribune management to ask for her
resignation.

In other words, shut up, she explained.

So far, Kersten's job is safe. Meanwhile, the story continues and KSTP-TV kept digging on the story. And today it got really interesting.

First, the Department of Education ordered changes at TiZA because it was offering religious instruction, which is a no-no for charter schools. This is what Kersten's column said. So, apparently, Kersten didn't grossly distort the facts after all.

Then, something even more important happened. A KSTP crew went to the school looking for a response to the ruling from the Department of Education. And the cameraman was attacked.

I was planning to light Rep. Greiling up for abusing her authority. No need to do that any more. The dude who knocked the KSTP cameraman to the ground makes my case more eloquently than I could. Congratulations, Representative Greiling. You may slink away now.