HometownSource Blogs

The new 35W bridge replacing the old bridge that sadly fell into the Mississippi River has won a national prize, the Minnesota Department of Transportation reports.

The 35W replacement project was awarded the America’s Transportation Awards’ Grand Prize for 2009 — $10,000 was awarded to transportation department to support a charity or academic scholarship.

The American Automobile Association, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce issued the award.

“It is an honor to receive this recognition and a true testament to the value of strong partnerships,” said Khani Sahebjam, deputy commissioner and chief engineer.

“It took the remarkable efforts of many different people to complete this project in a timely manner. It was a triumph over tragedy,” he said.

The new bridge, built in 339 days, features the world’s largest anti-icing system.

Although the six gubernatorial candidates appearing at the Anoka Technical College education forum today (Oct. 29) in general shunned displays of partisanship, a few soft jabs were landed.

Former state senator Steve Kelley, a Democrat from Hopkins who teaches at the Humphrey Institute at the U of M, spoke of teaching a class on government budgeting and perhaps inviting a well known someone to attend.

“I thought about inviting Tim Pawlenty to the class. But I concluded that he didn’t the prerequisites for it. And I really hate to flunk students,” said Kelley.

Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner, another DFLer hoping to become governor, with a touch of irony spoke of how Republican candidate Rep. Marty Seifert, of Marshall, had cut social programs, taken away meals from prisoners, and yet spoke of lowering the cost of attending community college.

“If he becomes governor instead of me, you hold him to that,” she said.

But Seifert, to the amusement of the audience, merely thanked her for the “endorsement.”

“I appreciate that,” he said.

Four Democrats and two Republicans attended the 90-minute forum.

Former Democratic congressman Tim Penny recently indicated that whomever the Independence Party (IP) gubernatorial candidate will be next year, it won’t be him.

Not long ago, the IP sent out a press release on the governor’s race, mentioning Penny’s name and the names of other better known former party candidates.

But Penny allowed his name to be used, he explained, with the understanding that he was not going to run for governor.

Certainly not this election cycle, said Penny.

And maybe never.

“Frankly I’m at a point in my life I can’t imagine an election cycle where I would decide to get back into that arena,” Penny recently said.

Penny did service to the IP as its gubernatorial candidate in 2002, but failed to repeat the success of Jesse Ventura.

Former U.S. senator Mark Dayton, now DFL gubernatorial candidate, made a vow in Chisago County on Saturday night.

Three times his cell phone conversation with American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 5 Director Eliot Seide was disconnected by the cell phone company.

“At which point I made a vow,” said Dayton, speaking today (Oct. 24) at a Capitol press conference announcing Council 5’s endorsement of Dayton for governor, “which I’m glad to state publicly.”

“That if I’m governor, they’ll be cell coverage from border to border as a condition of these companies operating (in Minnesota),” said Dayton.

Greater Minnesota should enjoy the same cell phone coverage as enjoyed in the metro, Dayton explained.

Sen. Sandy Rummel, DFL-White Bear Lake, has endorsed Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner for governor.

“Like her campaign pledge states, what Minnesota needs is a governor who is prepared to do the right thing regardless of the political consequences. I know Susan will be that governor,” said Rummel.

Rummel’s district includes Shoreview, Lexington, Circle Pines, parts of Lino Lakes.

Gaertner’s endorsement press release came shortly after House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher’s gubernatorial campaign released the names of a number of additional House members endorsing her for governor.

House Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher’s gubernatorial campaign released a list of recent endorsements the Minneapolis DFL lawmaker has garnered.

Local DFL lawmakers number among Kelliher for governor supporters: representative Tillberry, of Fridley, Morgan, of Burnsville, Newton, of Coon Rapids, Hortman, of Brooklyn Park, Kalin, of North Branch, Kulick Jackson, of Milaca, and Dittrich, of Champlin.

The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy, a Washington-based group dedicated to advancing energy efficiency, has ranked Minnesota No. 8 among the top ten states in terms of working to improve energy efficiency.

California was ranked No. 1, with states like North Dakota, Mississippi, and Wyoming gracing the bottom of the ranking.

This is the third annual ranking the almost 30-year-old group has made.

“The states continue to be leaders in advancing energy efficiency policies and programs. In fact, this growing and deepening commitment to energy efficiency is so strong that the current recession has not put a dent in the vast majority of state programs. And that is for good reason: Energy efficiency is the only resource that can actually reduce energy consumption while growing the economy – making efficiency the ‘first fuel’ states can use to balance their energy portfolios,” said Steven Nadel of the council.

Sen. Don Betzold, DFL-Fridley, recently underwent knee replacement surgery.

In a kind and bipartisan gesture, Sen. Julie Rosen, R-Fairmont, sent flowers to Betzold, whom she serves with on a committee.

Betzold thanked Rosen for the bouquet — said no one had ever sent him flowers before.

But he wondered what to do with them. Sent them on table? Enjoy the scent?

The flowers ended up brightening the Betzold family kitchen table, but the senator expressed a certain gender inadequacy in enjoying the gift.

“I’m a guy — I don’t do flowers,” he joked, speaking after a hearing today.

It’s a bird… It’s a plane… It’s…. another pathetic reality TV show couple.

I was home sick last week with a nasty virus that had me so fatigued that I couldn’t even lift the remote control.  Literally.  If I could have, I would have turned CNN off and not had to sicken my brain with useless balloon boy information.

I was watching the three hours of live coverage thinking, what’s the big deal?  OK, so maybe a boy floated away in a balloon.  That sucks, but the sad reality is that it’s just one boy, and his dad shouldn’t have allowed unsupervised access to his grown up meteorological toys.  Then the balloon lands and it was reported he wasn’t in the balloon.  Did he fall out?  I hope not, but if he did, I’m not going to lose sleep over it (honesty can be distasteful).  Then the search begins for the missing boy who, as reported, could not have fallen out of the balloon.  At that point, I was almost as sick of the boy as I was actually sick (and my toilet can tell you of that B-level horror story), but I still cared more about Calie Anthony in the realm of little kids and mysterious disappearances.

But then Larry King came on and Wolf Blitzer was interviewing the reality TV star parents of the now located, perfectly healthy and annoyingly adorable balloon boy.  The boy was asked by the father if he heard his parents calling for him, desperately trying to locate the child that hours earlier could have been fatefully floating to his death.  The boy answers his father, “Um hum,” with a voice inflection that an adult would use to imply, “What a dumb question.”  The father looks up at the boys mother (who we would later find out he happened to meet in acting school) and she looks back with an oddly familiar parental pattern on her face that suggests, “I can’t believe my six year old just said that.”  But the boy didn’t swear, he didn’t say something that sounded dirty, so “What the heck was that look!?!?” I asked myself. Read more »

Former state senator Steve Kelley officially announced his candidacy for governor this morning at Mahtomedi High School.

“We are living the consequences of having no purpose, no direction, and an absentee governor,” said Kelley at the high school, according to his campaign.

Kelley served for eight years in the Senate, losing the DFL endorsement in 2006 to former attorney general Mike Hatch in an earlier run for governor.

Kelley is a teacher and senior fellow at the Humphrey Institute and the director of the Center for Science, Technology, and Public Policy.

House Health Care and Human Services Finance Committee Chairman Tom Huntley, DFL-Duluth, and Senate Health and Human Services Budget Committee Chairwoman Linda Berglin, DFL-Minneapolis, and others just returned from Washington — they serve on a White House working group on health care.

The lawmakers seem upbeat about the prospects of a health care bill landing on the desk of President Obama.

If it does, if it’s signed, it will be the biggest health care reform in more than 40 years, one said.

“That’s the one we’re rooting for,” said Berglin of health care legislation in the U.S. House, legislation with a public option, unlike the U.S. Senate.

The trio of lawmakers, Rep. Erin Murphy, DFL-St. Paul being the third, reported that officials in Washington are trying not to craft legislation that disrupts the health care system currently in Minnesota.

Minnesota, Huntley said, is 20 years ahead of some southern states in shaping its health care system into a more efficient whole.

But it can always get better, he said.

Huntley cautioned that even if federal reform legislation passes, it will not lighten the state’s responsibilities for years as the reform may not fully kick in until 2014.

“So we have an interim problem,” said Huntley.

Taking questions, Berglin restated her doubts about Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s recent health care reform initiative, specifically the proposal of allowing Minnesotans to purchase health care insurance from other states if the out-of-state companies meet certain criteria.

“Selling insurance across state lines will not lower the cost of health care,” she said.

Asked about Republican objections to a Washington-based approach to health care reform — the idea of opting out — Huntley explained that could lose the state some $360 million in federal funding for starters.

If you want to exempt yourself, you’re “kissing that money goodbye,” he said.

Aubrey Immelman, the Republican academic who trudged across the 6th Congressional District last year as part of his primary challenge to Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, hasn’t yet decided whether he’ll attempt to unseat the congresswoman again.

“I expect 2010 to be a Republican year, with the GOP taking back around 20 of the seats they lost to Democrats in 2006 and 2008 — a climate in which Bachmann will do very well if she advances to the general election,” said Immelman in a recent email.

“I’m hanging around the ballpark, so to speak, in case an opportunity opens up for a walk-on,” wrote Immelman in part.

As for the incumbent whom he wishes to replace, Bachmann today renewed her call for an investigation into the activities of ACORN.

In a letter to Sen. Ann Rest, DFL-New Hope, chairwoman of the Minnesota Legislative Audit Commission, and other state officials, Bachmann requests the Minnesota Legislative Auditor launch an investigation into ACORN and affiliates located in Minnesota.

Republicans suggest the group could have engaged in voting registration irregularities in Minnesota.

The determination of whether to pursue such an investigation is made by the Legislative Auditor’s Office.

This week I plan to write about the need to pass school levy referendums in November.

We have a number of them in the Twin Cities area and superintendents are already bemoaning they have to pass them or cut millions of dollars for next year’s kids’ education.

Frankly, I see no need for referendums.   Let the school boards take the hit if they approve spending the money. Read more »

Senate Republicans have sent a letter to Attorney General Lori Swanson that she appoint an independent, special counsel to investigate the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) — an organization Republicans across the country have been attacking for weeks.

The Republican gubernatorial candidates recently sent Swanson a petition about ACORN as well.

Republicans and others have expressed concern that ACORN may have been involved in voting irregularities in Minnesota.

The drums are beating for a new stadium for the Minnesota Vikings. It’s either build a stadium or we’re leaving – and we’re taking Brett Favre with us.

What? No Vikings in Minnesota? Read more »