Bluestem Prairie: news about Tim Walz (MN-1)

Walz on MPR Midday, immigration raid rallies and more

We were finishing up a lit review for our grad course in Theories of Mass Communication, so we're a bit late with today's post.

MPR Midday: Audio available
Now that we're done writing the unified theory of micro-niche blogging, we're looking forward to listening to Gary Eichten's interviews with Walz, Ellison, and Bachmann. Audio here.

Almanac (12-15-2006)
The three first-term representatives were on Friday's Almanac as well. Video will be posted  (though not yet).  We'll post the link as it becomes available.

ICE raids update
The Worthington Daily Globe reported this morning on a prayer vigil for the detainees and for the reunification of a toddler and his mother:

Tears welled in the eyes of Amy Juarez Sunday night as she stood outside the Prairie Justice Center (PJC) in Worthington clutching a 14-month-old boy in a hooded winter coat and covered in a baby quilt. The boy has been pleading for his mother, Catalina, who has been inside a jail cell at the PJC since last Tuesday’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) action at Swift & Co.

Juarez was among nearly 50 people who gathered in a circle outside the front entrance of the PJC shortly after 6 p.m. Sunday to pray for peace — and to pray that a son will soon be reunited with his mother. . . .

This afternoon, MPR published an Associated Press story that the Mother detained in raid reunited with son.

Meanwhile, the Globe reports that unlike those who purchased ids to work at Swift, those who traffic in stolen ids are still openly plying their wares in the streets of Minneapolis: Fake ID sales continue in Minnesota:

A spot notorious for the sales of fake identifications was open for business this week despite the message immigration enforcers hoped to send with the recent high-profile raid on a Worthington meat packing plant.

Even the New York Times reported last summer on the spot - the parking lot of the Kmart department store on Lake Street - and when a reporter for Minnesota Public Radio went there he found four young men with fake IDs to sell. . . .

The Free Press reprints an editorial about identity theft from the Christian Science Monitor.

The Rochester Post Bulletin reports that Immigration raids prompt dual rallies in Austin:

Main Street separated two groups of people with opposing views on immigration as they demonstrated Sunday in Austin.

More than 100 people marched from Horace Park along Main Street in a show of support for undocumented workers taken into custody by federal authorities recently in Austin, Worthington, Minn., and other places. They carried signs demanding an end to the raids and the need to reform immigration laws.

"The people united will never be divided!" they shouted at one point along the route.

On the other side of the street, with signs stating "Illegal Immigration is a Crime" and "In the Spirit of Giving, Give Us Back Our Town," about 30 people from the Steele County Coalition for Immigration Reduction protested the marchers' cause. Some yelled out, "You can't stay!" to the other marchers, who included children and adults, Latinos and Caucasians. . . .

The Austin Daily Herald provides slightly different crowd figures in Debate hits the streets with double the number of folks protesting the raid, and one-third fewer counter-protestors:

Calling the Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Worthington and Austin “brutal” and demanding a moratorium on deportations until comprehensive immigration reform is enacted, around 200 demonstrators marched through downtown Austin Sunday.

The demonstration was organized by Centro Campesino, a farm workers' organization based in Owatonna.                                     

“The message is we are not criminals. We are the workers,” Centro Campesino founder Victor Contreras said.

Contreras said he believes migrant workers from Mexico and other South American countries come to the United States because the country's financial prosperity creates poverty in their home countries.

“Our country can't compete with that. That's why our people come here,” Contreras said.

The group marched down Main Street, chanting, “Si se puede,” or “Yes, it can be done,” and brandishing signs that called for immigration law reform and an end to all deportations.

Across the street, a group of around 20 anti-illegal immigration demonstrators played patriotic songs over a loudspeaker and held signs saying, “What part of illegal don't you understand?” and “Stop illegals from voting.”

The paper's editorial board praises both sides for keeping it civil:

It was a scene that had the potential to get ugly: anti-illegal immigration demonstrators and protesters demanding a moratorium on the deportation of illegal immigrants crossed paths on Sunday in downtown Austin - their contradicting signs coming close enough to touch. Both groups were riled up, both equally passionate about their causes.

Thankfully, there were no phyiscal confrontations, no shouting matches - not even words exchanged that would get worse than a PG movie rating.

Let's hope that future demonstrations in Austin on this heated topic remain as civil.

Student loans: the view from Rochester
The Post Bulletin takes a look at the cost of higher education from a local perspective in Debt load burdens students:

When Jared Stene graduates from Winona State University, looming over his future will be something of a black cloud: a staggering student debt of $48,000.

Although the Woodbury native is considering graduate or law school, he said the pressure to begin paying down that debt might short-circuit those plans and force him to find a job immediately.

Students across the state have begun to groan under the weight of their debt load, if a Web page set up by the WSU student leaders is any indication. The page allows students to log the amount of debt they expect to incur by the time they graduate. Numbers range from $4,000 to $120,000. The total amount of accumulated debt so far at WSU: $7.7 million.

"It's really simple: This state has reneged on its commitment" to affordable higher education, said DFL Sen.-elect Ann Lynch, a Rochester legislator who will serve on the Senate Higher Education Policy and Finance division.

The growing debt load of students will be a high-profile issue during the 2007 session, which begins Jan. 3. DFLers blame Gov. Tim Pawlenty for the 50 percent hike in student tuition over the last four years, arguing that his fixation on no-new-taxes came at the expense of students' financial hides.

Pawlenty also threw himself into the debate during the election campaign, proposing free tuition for students in their first two years for students who graduate in the top 25 percent of their high school graduating classes.

Students with the Minnesota State University Student Association are asking legislators for a tuition freeze in the next biennium. But the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system is shooting for something a little less ambitious: Its budget request is seeking a system-wide 4 percent tuition cap.

"It would ultimately be less (of an increase) than what we've been going through," Stene said. "It (will) keep it lower, but ultimately, we would like a freeze."

The Post Bulletin also reports that the cost of higher education has caused enrollment to dip at the local community college in Enrollment drops at RCTC:

The effect of increasing Minnesota higher education costs are being felt close to home.

Rochester Community and Technical College experienced its first enrollment decline since its merger in 1996.

"We believe that economics has somewhat caught up with students and their ability to access higher education," said RCTC spokesman Dave Weber.  . . .

New Ulm Journal on budget forecasts: Get real!
The New Ulm Journal editorial board suggests that the state economic forecasters should tell it like it is:

Sen. Dennis Frederickson has been giving the same answer whenever he is asked what the state should do with the projected $2 billion budget surplus that state revenue forecasters are predicting by the end of the 2007-09.

“Don’t count on it being there,” he says. And the reason for that is that since 2002, the state government has ordered the Finance Department to take inflation into account when it does its revenue forecast, but not when it figures the state’s expenses.

This is like the average wage earner planning to buy that new fishing boat because he figures he’s going to get a four percent raise next year, but he’s assuming that gasoline will cost the same, groceries will cost the same, health insurance premiums will cost the same, and everything else he spends money on will cost the same. He’s going to have a hard time figuring out where all his extra money went when inflation hits the rest of his spending.

This inflation dodge is a bit of political trickery that some politicians have used to make their financial decisions look better than they really are. The Legislature and governor ought knock it off and tell state forecasters to make realistic forecasts based on realistic expectations when they look into the fiscal crystal ball.

DM & E: More scrutiny
Today's Post Bulletin is smokin' with news. In additon to the coverage of immigration rallies and higher education, it takes a look at a new wrinkle in the  DM & E drama: Coalition says DM&E will face tougher scrutiny:

The Rochester Coalition says public documents show that the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad will face scrutiny longer because it has not adequately addressed safety problems, as required by a federal agency.

The Federal Railroad Administration extended the time it will continue to review DM&E's safety record, according to the coalition. . . .

Netroots

Still detoxifying from his recent Santa Claus addiction, the Wege writes some media criticism about the press's coverage of student loans. Excellent work.

Matt at MnPublius looks at a Strib article on DFL 2008 Senate hopefuls.  Tim Walz goes into the newspaper's  "coy" category. Walz seems like a guy who isn't coy about the word "no" (or much else), but we could be wrong.

Spring Grove Herald publisher's notebook: Increase the state's budget reserve

There's little clamor for tax rebate checks in MN-01 small town press.  In the Spring Grove Herald, publisher David Phillips suggests that lawmakers listen to Finance Commissioner Peggy Ingison's concerns about the state's financial future and its reserves:

Minnesota's November forecast revealed a $2 billion surplus - $1 billion adjusted for inflation - in the state's coffers for the next two years. This money will only be available for one-time spending rather than a permanent addition to the state budget.

Although forecasts don't always pan out, that is a substantial increase for the state, even if inflation is as steep as anticipated, making it easier for state lawmakers when they convene in January.

Already, groups are seeking their pieces of the pie, hoping to get their pet projects funded. Educators want more money for schools, advocates want more money for health care and even general taxpayers of the state want tax relief or rebates so more money goes back into the pockets of state residents.

However, local legislators and legislators-to-be remain cautious about going on a spending binge. Both Sen. Dan Sparks in District 29 and Sen.-elect Sharon Ropes in District 31 said they do see potential for dealing with education, health care and property tax relief, all issues voters told them were important.

However, they are also listening to someone else - Finance Commissioner Peggy Ingison, who has expressed serious concern about the state's financial future and encourages lawmakers to increase the state's budget reserve.

Ropes and Sparks have recently stated they would like to see more money put away in a type of rainy-day fund. The state's budget reserve has been at $653 million for a number of years - a number state economist Ingison deems too low.

The state's Council of Economic Advisers agrees that is too low. It has long urged the state to keep 5 percent of the biennial budget in reserves. That would mean increasing the $653 million to $1.7 billion.

Although legislators probably won't go that far, Ingison recommended adding $250 million of the $1 billion surplus to the rainy day fund.

Local governments have often been told of the wisdom of a reserve fund. The main reason is due to the uncertainty of state funding, often in the form of state aid that the Legislature likes to tinker with when it runs into problems.

State government has uncertainty based on the economy. The state's mix of income taxes combine with a sales tax that comes largely from the purchase of durable goods, creating a revenue stream that rises and falls with economic cycles.

Current signs, such as weaker vehicle sales and a downturn in the housing market, point to slower growth in 2007, and there are worries the economy will stall.

Our newly elected legislators are wise to listen to the voters and their concerns, but they are also wise to listen to state experts advocating a safety net for the future of our state.

The column mentions new state senate Sharon Ropes. The Caledonia Argus profiled Ropes' take on her new responsibilities at the capital.  Seems like Senate leadership has changed the way orientation is run:

The three-day orientation at the state capitol marked a significant event for the state, said Ropes. For the first time ever, orientation was bi-partisan and bi-cameral. New senators and new house representatives of both parties went through the paces together.

“The top leadership in both parties wants us to work together,” said Ropes. “I thought it was exciting.” It also meshes with her own leadership style of drawing people together, she said.

“It’s good policy to have many diverse people working together,” she said.

Ropes said she was glad to get to know her Republican counterparts, and believes it will be helpful that all will come away from the experience with the same message.

While most papers in First are calling for prudent spending and long-term property tax relief, there are a few exceptions. The ever-conservative Fairmont Sentinel disagrees with its local Republican state senator Julie Rosen, using its own online to dispute her judgement:

State Sen. Julie Rosen, a Fairmont Republican, believes her colleagues in the Minnesota Senate are not keen on a tax rebate despite a state surplus. This is unfortunate.

Last week’s Sentinel online poll showed 54 percent of respondents favor returning the surplus to taxpayers, with 37 percent preferring the state save the money. Only 9 percent want the state to spend it.

No doubt, lawmakers feel they owe something to the state’s public schools, given the static funding of the past several years when the state was running a massive deficit. We can understand this sentiment. But lawmakers should understand that the message sent to them this past election had to do with taxes, namely rising property taxes.

While we understand and support what Gov. Tim Pawlenty and others have tried to do in shifting funding decisions from state to local government, others only see the bills and do not like them. And while citizens could put their efforts into local tax revolts (or into prioritizing local spending), they are blaming the state for cutting aid to cities and counties. So with the state now showing a surplus, citizens would like a refund to offset the shifting burden.

We believe the state could do citizens a favor by returning some of the surplus to them. In addition, the state could consider stricter limits on the ability of local governments to raise property taxes. At the same time, the state should review and do something about the unfunded mandates it places on local government. This comprehensive reform would hold out the promise of something for everyone.

Online polls at newspapers are notoriously unscientific.

Just say no to tax rebate checks: Rochester LTE

Earlier, we looked at the response in the First District's press to reports of a budget surplus.  We found little call for rebates.  The most strident was written by Steve Drazkowski, who lost his state senate bid to Steve Murphy.  His letter was published in several area papers.

In today's Rochester Post Bulletin, Charles Abendschein responds in Rebates are irresponsible:

Before Steve Drazkowski starts formulating his next campaign strategy, based on piddly rebates to taxpayers, I suggest that he get in his car and make a little drive west to Kenyon.

On the way, he might observe the deplorable condition of Highway 60 from Zumbrota to Kenyon. Checking Highway 57 and Highway 56 would also be a good idea.

When Drazkowski arrives in Kenyon, he should note the patchwork of the city streets. Then I suggest he talk to the mayor and the council about the lack of state funding for maintaining the city's infrastructure. Talk to city employees about how their standard of living measures up to other workers in town. Talk to the city librarian about what cuts in services she has had to make. Look over the old school with the broken windows and graffiti that can't be torn down because of lack of funds.

Go to the Kenyon-Wanamingo High School. Talk to administrators and the school board about program and position cuts.

Then go back to city hall and start a conversation about property taxes. After that, go to the Grill. See if anyone there thinks their property taxes can be lowered with a rebate from the state.

Before he leaves for home, Drazkowski should come over to my house, and I'll explain to him how the Republicans have irresponsibly cut taxes to satisfy irresponsible campaign promises.

In another letter, Russell B. Hanson of Pine Island doesn't quite get into the spirit of bipartisan Christmas cheer with his letter Republicans in need of rehabilitation:

Gil Gutknecht, an auctioneer and soon-to-be former congressman, is looking for a new job after having been found too Republican for the 1st District.

In an Associated Press  interview, he gives his choice new job as an "optimistic conservative radio show host."

Gutknecht does have the right experience, with 16 years of the auctioneer's obfuscating chant, followed by 24 years of the professional politician's pandering chant.

Optimistic conservatism is what President Bush has practiced with Gutknecht's collusion for the last six years and sounds like "We are winning the war in Iraq."

We need a rehabilitation program for former politicians to teach them how to lead productive lives with real jobs.

Some folks would interpret Mr. Hanson's letter as more evidence that the 2006 election was just an anti-Bush vote. Others suggest that in Minnesota at least, there's more to it, and point to changing sentiments about the role of government--and the need for services so concretely expressed in Mr. Abendschein's letter.

For an interesting discussion of what made Minnesota voters tick in 2006, head on over to this post at minntelect.

 

Sunny prairie Saturday morning new digest: Gutknecht says goodbye again and more

ROCHESTER POST BULLETIN: FROMMER ON GUTKNECHT'S GOOD-BYE
The Post-Bulletin runs Frederick Frommer's AP article Gutknecht contemplates life after Congress.  Gutknecht opens with an analogy:

Ask Rep. Gil Gutknecht if he'll ever mount another run for Congress, and the colorful lawmaker has a quick rejoinder.

"That's a little like asking a woman who's just come out of a 38-hour labor and delivered a 12-pound baby, 'Well, don't you want to get pregnant again?"' he said. "Not today."

But Gutknecht and his fellow Minnesota GOP House member, Mark Kennedy, don't rule out future runs for office. They're just focused on the more immediate right now: life after Congress.

Gutknecht, a 12-year House veteran, lost his re-election campaign to Democrat Tim Walz. Kennedy, after six years in the House, tried to jump to the Senate, but he lost to Democrat Amy Klobuchar.

"The honest truth is the political virus seldom leaves the bloodstream," Gutknecht, 55, said in a telephone interview this week, but added, "I've been here, done that."

A virus and going through labor: Gutknecht's metaphors tend to discuss the electoral process as medical events.   Not fun.

Gutknecht's future plans:

Gutknecht said he's interested in business opportunities in renewable energy, new technologies, and international trade. But his true dream seems to be landing a gig hosting a radio show.

"I'd like to start with 35 stations, and build to 100. Eventually, I'd like to take it national," said Gutknecht, who has hosted a weekly radio show in Minnesota called "Conversations with the Congressman."

He said he'd offer a "conservative viewpoint with an optimistic tone," saying there was a void for that. And Gutknecht said he might do some auctioneering again.

Neither lawmaker expressed an interest in working as a lobbyist, although Gutknecht wouldn't close the door on it.

"I don't really want to do it, but if they dangle enough money in front of me, I may not have any choice," he said with a laugh.

Uh-huh.  Nice to know in case Gutknecht ever runs for office again.   On his loss:

Both lawmakers said their losses were part of a wave that swept Democrats into control.

"It was not a good year for those with 'R' beside their name," said Kennedy, citing the Iraq war as a particular drag for Republicans. Gutknecht agreed.

"It was the war more than anything else," he said.

Kennedy said he was proud of his work to expand ethanol and cut taxes. Gutknecht said he was proud to be "my own man" on issues, such as legislation to allow people to import prescription drugs from Canada, which he pushed over the objections of the Bush administration.

Gutknecht said he was leaving Congress with mixed emotions.

"In some respects, it's sad," he said. "In some respects, it's kind of exciting. Life is interesting to interesting people. I have to believe the next chapter will be as exciting."

FAIRMONT SENTINEL: ROSEN EAGER TO GET BACK TO WORK
More excitement in Senate District 24, where senator Julie Rosen (R-Fairmont) tells the local paper she has no qualms about working with Senate Majority Leader Larry Pogemiller. In fact, they get along "very well" in

Rosen looking forward to session:

Despite a larger Democratic party majority in the Minnesota Senate this year, Fairmont Republican Julie Rosen is looking forward to the upcoming legislative session.

“I’m really excited for this session; to get back to work,” Rosen said. “Not just because I have an aggressive agenda, but to work with Sen. Pogemiller and the team he has set up. I am looking forward to working with Pogemiller, I get along very well with him.”

Later in the article, the reporter takes some of that good will back:

Her anticipation of getting back into the legislative swing not withstanding, Rosen is concerned about the makeup of the DFL majority’s leadership. In the past, Senate leaders have included members representing rural areas, but now the leadership consists of a strictly metro-area bunch.

Now, since that's not a direct quote from Rosen, so we don't want readers attributing the "strictly metro-area bunch" description of DFL senate majority leadership to her. It could just be the way the  Sentinel reporter chose to paraphrase something Rosen said.

We're curious if folks in St. Cloud who are represented state by senator Tarryl Clark consider themselves part of "a strictly metro-bunch."  We're guessing not; nor is St. Cloud included in any standard definition of the metro area.  Clark is the new Assistant Majority Leader.

Here's St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis's take on Clark, who challeged him twice while he was the state senator for the district, from a recent St. Cloud Times article:

. . . St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis said Clark's new status is the best bet the area has for getting things such as increased state aid to local governments.

"Especially on local issues, there's an ability to influence your peers because they elected you to your position in the first place, so you have their respect," said Kleis, who served as assistant minority leader during his Republican Senate career. "Plus, the Minneapolis DFL leadership will be eager to show that they're not just looking out for the Twin Cities."

It looks as if that "Minneapolis DFL leadership"  boils down to Pogemiller and Kelliher, neither of whom have chosen to concentrate deputy leadership posts or committee chairs within the Minneapolis city limits. 

Back to the article. Rosen doesn't see much call for a tax rebate:

As for a tax rebate, she does not see much hope for one.

“Seriously, I have not talked to anyone for it,” she noted. “I think that it will be interesting to see if anyone wants a rebate.”

Ask Marty Seifert and Tim Pawlenty.

DM & E AND THE WINONA STUDENT SENATE: WE AT WSU, OPPOSE DM& E
Jason at I Don't Hate America blogs more about the Winona Student Senate in We at WSU, Oppose DM&E. A good round-up of coverage of the student resolution, though Bluestem Prairie is just another grassroots hick blog, not a news network.

STRIB: PRAIRIE GRASSES BEAT CORN
Speaking of grassroots, we're pretty partial to native prairie grasses, as our name attests, and a friend who is a policy wonk on renewable fuels told us in September that the energy potential in bluestem is quite high.

We knew that.

But now a study is out that suggests that a mix of native prairie grasses grown on marginal land beats corn as a feedstock for making ethanol.  We didn't know that, having only read about the potential of switchgrass--which, like corn, demands high-quality soil and intensive cultivation.

The Strib reports:

World demand for fuel and food is projected to double in the next 50 years. Now, researchers at the University of Minnesota have concluded that corn may not be up to the task of filling both stomachs and gas tanks.

"Unless we produce food and biofuel in an efficient manner, they will be directly competing with each other," said David Tilman, regents professor of ecology at the University of Minnesota. "We will have high prices for both."

University researchers, led by Tilman, think they've found a solution -- supply the facilities that make ethanol with a diverse mixture of prairie grasses instead of corn. The grasses not only can produce more net energy per acre than corn but they also act as a sponge for greenhouse gases before being harvested, soaking them out of the air and into their roots and surrounding soil, the researchers found.

The last trait could prove an economic bonus for farmers if businesses one day are able to cash in "credits" for removing greenhouse gases from the air, as many predict. Clean air credits already are traded in Europe.

Nearly 100 ethanol plants consuming corn have sprung up across the country. A director of the Minnesota Corn Growers Association has warned that supplanting corn with grasses would be a complex, costly task that could take years.

But in an interview, Tilman contended that prairie grasses could represent a new cheap-to-produce cash crop that would be more of an opportunity than threat to farmers.

In a cover story published today in Science magazine, the researchers reported that a field planted with a medley of prairie grasses and flowering plants packed more than triple the energy of single-variety grasses. The study also estimated that mixed prairie grasses grown on marginal farmland would yield 51 percent more energy per acre than corn cultivated on fertile land.

The prairie grasses were grown on depleted land without fertilizers and pesticides commonly used for corn. The grasses require almost no maintenance, so less gasoline and diesel fuel would be burned tending to fields.

Harvesting and processing a hectare (about 2.5 acres) of grasslands produces about three-tenths of a metric ton of carbon dioxide, the researchers calculated. But in the first 10 years, the grasses absorb 4.4 metric tons of carbon dioxide. In other words, the prairie grasses absorb about 14 times more greenhouse gas than is released in producing grass-based fuel.

Tilman led researchers studying grass crops planted at the Cedar Creek Natural History Area in central Minnesota.

President Bush has touted research into making ethanol from switchgrass. But the researchers found that a single species of grass is far less promising as material for ethanol production than is a blend of prairie grasses. They studied 16 varieties.

"Switchgrass is very productive when it's grown like corn, in fertile soil with lots of fertilizer, pesticide and energy inputs, but this approach doesn't yield as much energy gain as mixed species in poor soil, nor does it have the same environmental effects," Jason Hill, a post-doctoral researcher who worked with Tilman, said in a statement.

Only the abstract of the Science article and the study's supporting materials are available free online.  We'll see if we can dig up a full-text copy of the article.

The Strib reports on the reaction of corn growers to the study. It's mixed, especialy since those marginal lands are heavily committed to conservation efforts:

Ron Obermoller, a corn and soybean grower in Brewster, Minn., said he believes corn will remain king in ethanol production. He owns shares of two Minnesota ethanol plants and is a director of the Minnesota Corn Growers Association. He doubts the government ever will free farmland set aside for conservation in order to grow prairie grasses for harvest.

"I'm not sure we've got idle land," he said. Conservation land is home to ducks and pheasants and provides hunting grounds and extra revenue for farmers, Obermoller said.

On the other hand, if the economics are favorable, he sees benefits in grass cultivation -- even for farmers who now grow corn. While the price of corn is high enough to justify the cost of shipping it great distances, the market prices of prairie grasses are likely to be much lower, dictating clustering of ethanol production plants near the grass fields, he said.

"Instead of having big plants, we will have hundreds of smaller plants," he said. "That gives the farmers the chance to invest locally."

That's an interesting model for local rural development.  Can a balance between biofuels and pheasant habitat be reached? Stay tuned.

 

MN-01 digest: state budget surplus edition

While  the media chatter in the Twin Cities has centered on chatter about rebate checks and cute sound bites, discussions of the surplus in MN-01's local papers have tended to be more serious.

The Austin Daily Herald implies support for both a property tax rebate and  long-term property tax relief:

Next year's average projected local property tax increase of 8.2 percent is smaller than the 9.2 percent that Minnesotans endured this year, but is still too much, especially for those on fixed or low incomes. If we want the state to continue to flourish economically and socially, we need to ensure that its residents aren't encumbered by the taxes they pay.

Legislators might also restore some cuts to social services, the editors suggest.

In Mankato, the Free Press recommends being tight with a buck, suggesting that even calling the projections a surplus can lead to careless spending:

The good news: The state of Minnesota may have as much as a $2 billion projected budget surplus.

The bad news: The state of the economy is more fraught with risk than almost any other time in history.

The challenge for legislators will be to impose upon themselves a kind of uncomfortable prudence. In fact, it might be worthwhile to adopt a state of mind that there is no surplus. State Commissioner of Finance Peggy Ingison notes in a press release that “The 2008-09 forecast makes no allowance for the effects of general inflation on spending. Adjusting for inflation alone could use up about a billion dollars of this balance.”

So we’re back down to a $1 billion surplus. But even longtime Republican budget hawk and former finance commissioner Dan McElroy offers words of caution.

He told The Associated Press that the forecast doesn’t take into account the expected inflation in state programs due for reauthorization, and he even avoided using the word “surplus.”

“Surplus implies psychologically that it’s ‘extra money’ — money that the government doesn’t need, money that should go for tax rebates or tax cuts,” he said, adding, “The money on the bottom line isn’t extra or frivolous dollars. It’s money that in the past would have been baked into the forecast for inflation.”

The current budget also leaves less of a cushion in a rainy day fund than in years past.

The recent forecast noted that the budget reserve, which if we include what’s called the cash flow account, was 4 percent of the two-year spending budget in 2000-01. It is now just 3.1 percent.

In fact, the Minnesota Council of Economic Advisors says it would be prudent to increase the budget reserve account. At one time, in the 1990s, the budget reserve was mandated in law by a more prudent Legislature at 5 percent of spending. That would require about $600 million more, thus cutting our so-called surplus to $400 million or so, or about 1 to 2 percent of project revenue. If the projections are off 5 percent, we’re facing another deficit.

While we have less reserve, the forecast is by no means a sure thing. In fact, forecasters estimate that there is only a 60 percent chance the forecast will become reality when 2009 budget year ends. There is a 20 percent chance it will be better, but also a 20 percent chance it will be worse.

Legislators of both parties seem to be suggesting prudence with this new budget surplus. It will be difficult to keep that tone with lots of groups and people knocking at the door of the state to increase funding. And many of them may be justified given the starvation diet some have been put on over the last few years.

Above all, legislators must remember, a projection is a projection and we have a lower budget reserve now than we did in days before a Sept. 11 economy.

In its news coverage, the Free Press reported that the area's newly elected DFL legislators are inclined to be prudent in Local lawmakers cautious about projected surplus. Cautious indeed:

. . .Morrow said the surplus is likely to benefit some of the key pieces of the state budget that were consistently a focus of candidates statewide in the fall campaign. They include spending for education, health care and tuition assistance.

“At the same time, I don’t think this means a spending free-for-all,” said Morrow, who predicts that property tax relief is a very likely target for much of the surplus.

Rep.-elect Kathy Brynaert, DFL-Mankato, cautioned lawmakers and Minnesotans in general to not let their expectations get out of hand.

“In the campaigns, a lot of people had spent that surplus 10 times over,” Brynaert said.

[snip]

Sen.-elect Kathy Sheran, DFL-Mankato, had similar words of caution. Just as the transportation amendment might leave people thinking the state’s road problems are solved, news of a surplus might give the inaccurate perception that difficult choices won’t be needed.

“While a surplus is always better news than a deficit, it has the potential to create a false perception,” Sheran said.

She listed similar priorities as Morrow and Brynaert for any available money, and agreed with them that a good chunk of the surplus is likely to be aimed at property tax relief.

“That was huge in rural Minnesota elections, the shifts that were made to property taxes in K-12 education,” Sheran said.

A local Republican gets partisan:

Rep. Tony Cornish, R-Vernon Center, promised that Republicans in the Legislature — who had a difficult election and are now in the minority in the House and Senate — will be watching the Democrats closely.

[snip]
Like the Democrats, Cornish sees property tax relief as a crucial need. But he would be more likely to support direct relief to taxpayers rather than giving more funding to schools, cities and counties as a way to help them to reduce property taxes.

Just over the border in the 7th CD, the Marshall Independent notes that Surplus makes life easier at Capitol.  Editor Yost spoke to moderate Republican state senator Denny Frederickson, whose district is partially in MN-01 (Brown and parts of  Watonwan County):

He said the hard budget times of recent years forced the Legislature to not only cut the easy fat from the budget, but cut deeply into programs with wide popular support. It was tough for lawmakers to make such decisions, so he welcomed this week’s news.

“It is welcome, good news on the state budget,” Frederickson said.

Lawmakers and supporters of groups that get state funding are already lining up ideas on how to spend the surplus. Frederickson has his own list of priorities, too, but urged caution, as well.

Lawmakers and supporters of groups that get state funding are already lining up ideas on how to spend the surplus. Frederickson has his own list of priorities, too, but urged caution, as well.

“About half the money is going to be there at the end of this biennium, this fiscal year,” Frederickson said. “We need to be careful with what we do with that money. It’s one-time money, and we should not use it to expand ongoing programs.”

About $1.2 billion in the surplus is forecast for the next biennium.

Frederickson said lawmakers should make these three issues their funding priorities — pre-K12 education, nursing homes, and college tuitions.

“We didn’t actually cut K-12, but funding didn’t keep up with inflation,”  he said of recent years.

He said college tuition increases have “crept up too high,” and something should be allocated to ease the burden on students.

Frederickson also cautioned the forecast isn’t as rosy as it appears because it doesn’t include inflationary increases in most programs. By law, inflation isn’t factored into the forecasts.

7th CD state legislator Aaron Peterson hoped that the projection would allow both sides of the aisleto work together.  Like cornish, new House minority leader Marty Seifert got partisan: