The PiPress looks at the hit Southeastern Minnesota's tourism industry is taking as a result of the flooding in Floods take deep toll on tourism:
Tourism is an $11.8 billion industry in Minnesota, according to a 2006 report by Explore Minnesota Tourism and the university's Tourism Center. More specifically, travelers in the southern region of the state spent about $1.9 billion, according to a 2006 report on economic impact.
The Root River State Trail, which connects Houston, Rushford, Peterson, Lanesboro and other communities, has been a boon for southeastern Minnesota as a tourism region.
Everyone in the area feels the consequences of the natural disaster.
"If it impacts our neighbors, it impacts our whole region," said Mark Bishop, owner of Niagara Cave in Harmony.
After the floods, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources closed the Root River trail from Lanesboro to Houston so crews could repair a bridge in Rushford and a 400-foot trail section that washed away near Lanesboro.
The Strib reports that damage estimates have been revised upward in Flood damage tops $67M.
The Austin Daily Herald asks that Congress Fix National Flood Insurance Program, as does the Mankato Free Press in Needed: A flood of reality. Meanwhile residents in Adams supplied clean-up supplies, $400, and 14 volunteers, according to the ADH report, Adams sends relief to flood aftermath.
In the Marshall Independent, farmer and Land Stewardship Project member Paul Sobocinski asks for a competition title in his letter House farm bill falls short on market access:
The House farm bill (H.R. 2419) that passed July 27 took a step forward in support for rural communities by including $15 million a year in mandatory funding for community-based beginning farmer training programs. Congressman Collin Peterson, D-Minn., chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, along with Congressman Tim Walz, D-Minn., successfully secured beginning farmer initiatives in the House bill which also improved access to credit and conservation provisions for new farmers. These initiatives are about creating new opportunities in agriculture for the next generation of farmers.
But one place the House bill falls short is providing assurances that farmers have access to free and competitive markets. As we pass initiatives to support beginning farmers, we also need to enact policies that mean farmers have access to fair and competitive markets. . . .
The rest of the letter spells out specific proposals that should be included in the Senate version of the Farm Bill. Read it all at the Independent.
Gary Wallin of Mantorville isn't happy with Democrats voting for FISA, he writes in We've giving away our freedom, a letter to the editor in the Rochester Post Bulletin. In the comments section, a reader recommends Ron Paul.
In news, the PB reports Record rainfall ripped open hillsides in Hokah. Help is coming in, according to Volunteers roll in to help SE Minnesota flood victims. Another county could be added to the disaster, if a request is honored: Pawlenty requests disaster declaration for Dodge County.
The Winona Daily News picks up th AP story on how Flooding hurts clients of community-supported agriculture. It has much more flood-related news, but the highlight today maybe the unsigned letter reprinted in the editorial Of scoundrels and saviors in time of need.
Finally, we had first read the New York Times' comparison of the 1995 and 2007 Congresses via the Wege:
JUST before Congress adjourned for its August recess, Democrats engaged in a flurry of legislative activity, while Republicans complained about a “do-nothing” Congress’s meager policy accomplishments. Deep partisan differences, narrow majorities and a Republican in the White House have frustrated Democratic ambitions and fueled a toxic atmosphere in both chambers of Congress. The public’s low approval ratings reflect broad discontent with the direction of the country but also displeasure with Congress for failing to reverse course on Iraq and for continuing the bitter partisan warfare.
But has this really been a do-nothing Congress? The circumstances are similar to those in 1995, when a new Republican majority in both houses took office under a Democratic president. So perhaps the best question to ask is, how is this 110th Congress doing compared with the 104th Congress, in 1995?
Both new majorities began by spending more time in session, holding more committee meetings and roll call votes, and passing more substantive measures than the Congress before them had. At the same time, in both cases, the number of bills signed into law by the president from January to August dropped.
Still, the Democratic Congress’s legislative harvest this year has been bountiful compared with that of its Republican counterpart in 1995. Back then, the Republicans’ Contract With America was stymied by opposition from the Senate and the president. The new Congress has enacted a far-reaching lobbying and ethics reform bill, an increase in the minimum wage, recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, foreign investment rules and a competitiveness package, and has embedded a number of major initiatives and new priorities in continuing and supplemental spending bills. Democrats also made headway on energy, children’s health insurance, college student loans, Head Start, drug safety and a farm bill — though much of this awaits action in the Senate or in conference and faces a possible veto.
During the first seven months of 1995, Congressional oversight of the executive branch increased modestly in the Senate but not at all in the House. But this year Congress, especially the House, has intensified its oversight, following years of inattention and deference by its Republican predecessor.
Democratic promises to restore civility and regular parliamentary procedure by allowing the minority party a larger role in deliberations have foundered. The number of restrictive rules for debate has increased, and the conference process has been short-circuited on various occasions.
In the Senate, Republicans have made the filibuster, or the threat of filibuster, routine, setting a 60-vote hurdle for all contested legislative matters. This has led Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, to file many more petitions for cloture than Bob Dole, his counterpart in 1995, did.
The Wege suggests that Congress will be more popular once it curbs the President's war ( not his exact words, but this is a public school and library friendly blog, so you'll have to visit to read them).
Comments