Friday, May 24, 2013
For the holiday weekend MnDOT resurfacing project from Clearwater to St. Cloud takes a break.
It still probably won't be clear sailing, but the Minnesota Department of Transportation is taking a pause on I-94 resurfacing work for the 2013 Memorial Day holiday weekend so all four highway lanes are open from Clearwater to St. Cloud. The four lanes will stay open May 24–27, 2013. You can still expect rush-hour "slow or stop-and-go traffic," MnDOT warns. Related:
The FYCC asked the question to the St. Michael City Council at its May 14 meeting.
A request by the Carson & Barnes Circus, hosted by the Family Youth Community Connections (FYCC), to bring the circus to St. Michael July 2 came before the St. Michael City Council at a recent meeting. The circus isn’t a new feature to summer in St. Michael summer. According to council documents, two years ago Daze & Knights Festival hosted the circus as part of their event. The Carson & Barnes Circus could include, according to a memo provided to the council by the FYCC, a two two-hour performances with acrobats, clowns and “exotic” animals “all under the circus big top.” By hosting, the FYCC would receive a portion of the ticket sales. After a brief discussion, St. Michael City Council members Chris Schumm and Nadine Schoen moved to …
Thursday, May 23, 2013
The former state senator representing a district that included part of the St. Michael area had MinnRoast attendees rolling with a killer standup routine.
Former state Sen. Amy Koch, the Buffalo Republican who represented the old Senate District 19 (before redistricting), brought the house down at a recent fundraiser for the news website MinnPost. Koch's wisecracks hit Democrats and Republican rivals alike, with sly references to her fall from power as Senate majority leader. As part of her routine, Koch spun a "DFL Decision Wheel" that ultimately offered only one choice: Tax the Rich. Watch Koch onstage at the April 26, 2013 MinnRoast event in a newly posted YouTube clip here (click on the YouTube video thumbnail in our desktop version) or at YouTube.com. Related at St. Michael Patch:
The $2,500 grant was presented at the May 14 St. Michael City Council meeting.
The St. Michael Fire Department was presented with a $2,500 Community Partnership Grant from CenterPoint Energy at the May 14 St. Michael City Council meeting. The funds will be used to purchase a Lucas chest compression system.
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
What's your take on Minnesota's higher cigarette and income taxes, same-sex marriage law, all-day kindergarten funding, gun control measures, minimum wage and more?
What do you like—or dislike—in what the Minnesota Legislature did or didn't do? Leave a comment below. The Star Tribune posted a handy list of issues the Minnesota Legislature did and didn't tackle in the session that ended Monday at midnight. Love 'em? Hate 'em? Leave a comment below. DID: DIDN'T DO: See the full post at startribune.com. Which actions the Minnesota Legislature took do you support or oppose? Leave a comment below.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Bachmann's challenger paid for the PPP survey showing him leading by 2 points.
The Minnesota Legislature has set the dollar amounts cities can expect to get, and St. Michael and Albertville aren't coming up empty anymore.
Changes to the formula state government uses mean the cities of St. Michael and Albertville are in for some Local Government Aid funds in 2014. That's news because neither city is getting a cent of LGA money in 2013. The omnibus tax bill passed the Minnesota Senate 36-30 just a few minutes before midnight Monday, May 20—the legislative session's legal deadline. According to Session Daily, "the bill would make changes to the distribution of local government aid through a new formula. Counties and townships would also see an increase in state aid—all in an effort to lower property taxes, supporters say." Albertville is in line to get $79,647. For St. Michael, the figure is $239,129. Related at St. Michael Patch:
Early education was a huge focus in the $15.7 billion bill, which received slivers of support from Republicans in both chambers of the state capitol.
A $15.7 billion education package that will "make life easier" for working parents, according to the bill's supporters, now awaits Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton's signature as work begins to wrap up on the 2013 Legislative Session. The omnibus bill, which means one version of the bill was introduced in each chamber, was approved with small support from Republicans over the weekend, picking up five GOP votes in the state house and four more in the senate. Sen. Ann Rest of New Hope was the lone "no" vote from the DFL (Democrat) side of the aisle in the senate, creating the 41-26 margin. In the House, the bill passed on a 78-56 vote. Rep. Connie Bernardy (DFL-Fridley) said the bill creates history with all-day kindergarten and a series of …
Monday, May 20, 2013
Bachmann's challenger paid for the PPP survey showing him leading by 2 points.
Jim Graves, the DFLer who is again challenging U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann in the 2014 election, issued the results of a Public Policy Polling (PPP) survey showing him with a 2 percentage-point lead over Bachmann, 47–45 if the election had been held May 15, 2013, the day of the survey. (Click on the PDF thumbnail to see the questions and results of the survey, which the Graves campaign commissioned.) Bachmann Ad Bachmann's re-election campaign aired its first television ad of the 2014 season in the Twin Cities starting last week, 17 months before Election Day. The campaign is spending about $85,000—"not a huge buy," The Hill reported, "especially considering her past fundraising prowess, but it's exceedingly rare to see House candidates go …
A contingent of day care providers and families with children who use that care protested against Senate File 778. But the Senate and House approved the measure May 20. It is anticipated Gov. Dayton will sign it.
UPDATE: 2:20 p.m. Tuesday, May 21, 2013 After more than ten hours of debate, the daycare unionization measure passed the Minnesota House of Representatives by a 68-66 vote on May 20. It is anticipated Gov. Dayton will sign the bill. Representative David FitzSimmons (R-Albertville) released the following statement May 20 on the passage of the childcare and personal care attendant unionization bill (HF950/ SF778). “Today, Democrats and their big union allies were successful in narrowly passing legislation that would impose the forced unionization of childcare providers in Minnesota. Given the fact this bill passed by a bare majority of votes, any single Democrat could have killed this bill. As a single dad, I’m disgusted that Democrats …
Lisa
10:38 pm on Friday, May 24, 2013
The second "Did" bullet,"Let home child-care providers and personal care assistants unionize" is incorrect. Daycare Providers across the State of MN, prior to this Bill becoming law, had the right to unionize. In fact, there are a few providers, mostly in Northern MN, who belong to a union. This bill, in simple terms, outlines the steps union organizers need to complete to form a union that will … more ›