We are in the midst of the campaign for many of our
elected offices. It is necessary for us all to take time to really
examine the positions of the individuals seeking our vote this November.
As we consider the
candidates for our congressional district, it is important to be aware
of just how well our current congressman Tim Walz has done during his
first term in office.
Walz is an outstanding individual. He has
served as a role model for his students as a teacher and a person of
outstanding ethical and moral values. He has demonstrated that he has
the interests of all individuals in our congressional district and will
continue to work for the betterment of our government in all areas.
During his first two years, he has made
himself available to deal with issues and problems in a clear, balanced
manner. As a person who has served only two years, I do not understand
how his opponent can call Walz a career politician.
He is there working for all of us in this district.
His opponent claims Walz has contributed to
“wasteful spending” — but does not provide any examples or support for
such as claim.
Walz is an educator and knows what is
needed to help our education system. He is a family man, and knows what
is needed to strengthen our family values.
He is a man of principles and high ethical standards.
I urge everyone in our district to listen
carefully to Walz. He will work for us and listen to our concerns. He
deserves our support and our vote in November.
Schnoor, a retired prof of Speech Communication at MSU-Mankato, has his own Facebook fan club, I HEART Larry Schnoor Forensics Fan Club, that's 248 members strong. Schnoor is a nationally recognized leader in his field; according to an MSU Reporter article from March:
He has also been the National Forensics Association president since
1995, tournament director of AFA-NIET, executive secretary of the
Interstate Oratorical Association and the 2007 winner of the Wallace A.
Bacon Lifetime Teaching Excellence Award granted by the National
Communication Association.
We'd say that the man is an expert on listening and speaking, and his words should carry some weight, just as yesterday's LTE in the Worthington Globe from Southern Minnesota wind industry pioneer Dan Juhl.
Image: Viva la Schnoor! from his Facebook fan club.
Congressman Tim Walz "Politics and governance are
not synonymous, but there are time when they cross each other's path at
a perfect sweet spot, and that sweet spot was on the rebuilding of this
bridge; showing what we could do when we came together; showing when we
came together for common purpose, not division, what could happen."
Photo: From the AP, Minnesota House Speaker
Margaret Anderson Kelliher recognizes sisters
Randy-Lynn and Mary-Juanita Leonard, who were on the school bus that was
on the Interstate 35W bridge when it collapsed. In the upper right hand corner of the picture, Congressman Walz looks on.
(H/T to the Political Muse) In his floor remarks on the anniversary of the bridge collapse, Walz, a teacher, recalled seeing the school bus the Leonard sisters were in:
On Monday, Congressman Walz will join Governor Pawlenty, Mayor Rybak and the rest of Minnesota's congressional delegation on the news I-35W bridge, according to a press release from the state:
...a press conference is scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on Monday,
Sept.15, to announce details regarding the official opening of the new
I-35W bridge.
Gov. Pawlenty and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak will also unveil the
design and location of a memorial to be built to remember and honor the
victims of the bridge collapse tragedy.
Other participants in the press conference will include Sen. Norm
Coleman, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, Congressman Tim Walz, Congressman John
Kline, Congresswoman Betty McCollum, Congressman Keith Ellison,
Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, and Congressman James Oberstar.
The press conference will take place at the south end of the northbound
lane of the I-35W Bridge. For safety reasons, due to the press
conference taking place on an active construction site, only members of
the media and press conference participants will be permitted at the
location.
Fighting childhood obesity involves multiple strategies- in local
communities, at the state level and nationwide. That is why the
American Heart Association supports the Fitness Integrated with
Teaching Kids Act (FIT Kids Act).
This legislation has been introduced, by Representative Ron Kind (D-WI)
and Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), to help address this urgent need and
ensure a healthier generation of children and adolescents. This summer
Rep. Tim Walz (CD1) joined Rep. Keith Ellison (CD5) and Rep. Collin
Peterson (CD7) as Fit Kids Act co-sponsors, showing their support for
getting our kids active every day.
Democrats were faster out of the gates, at least in Mankato, as the post-primary push toward the Nov. 4 general election began.
At Minnesota State University, several
dozen students and staff gathered around the podium on the campus mall
when Democratic Senate nominee Al Franken started talking about his
plan to provide a $5,000 tax credit for families with a kid in college. . . .
. . .The other post-primary
Democratic event Wednesday involved state Rep. Terry Morrow, DFL-St.
Peter, and Chris Schmitter, campaign manager for Congressman Tim Walz.
The event outside the freshman
congressman’s Riverfront Drive campaign office focused on the comment
last week by Brian Davis, the Republican nominee against Walz, that a
bipartisan energy bill sponsored by Walz was “too complicated.”
“People across southern Minnesota think
it’s the way to go,” Schmitter said, noting that Minnesota’s two most
conservative members of Congress — Rep. Michele Bachmann and Rep. John
Kline — are among the 131 co-sponsors of the bill.
Morrow, a college professor, praised the
plan, which would allow expanded offshore oil drilling and use $1
trillion in projected oil company royalty payments to invest in
renewable energy and conservation. He said he’d be disappointed if his
students rejected something simply because of its complexity. . . .
KTTC covers the Rochester version of the event in this news clip article with video.(Update: a number of readers have complained about the ads that start KTTC news clips, so we'd going to stop embedding them. end update)
Congressman Walz will be a speaker at a Green Jobs Town Hall meeting at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning at the 49ers (Operating Engineers) Hall at
, though he'll have to head to Worthington ( about 2 hours away) in order to make his MC duel with Davis at King Turkey Day at 1 p.m.
. . .more than 30
groups, including Sierra Club North Star Chapter, Steelworkers District
11, MN State AFL-CIO, Clean Water Action, Apollo Alliance, AFSCME
Council 6, SEIU Minnesota State Council, Teamsters Joint Council 32,
Minnesota Building Trades, Environment 2004, Fresh Energy, Izaac Walton
League of America Midwest Office, Institute for a Sustainable Future,
and the League of Rural Voters.
The town hall is definitely worth readers' time. W offer the friendly suggestion that the Blue Green Alliance should put a picture from Minnesota's own wind industry on its fliers--those foothills in the background don't look like any part of the state we've been in.
Photo (top): Walz campaign manager Chris Schmitter speaking in Rochester; photo from KTTC site. Congressman Walz spoke via satellite, since Congress has reconvened.
For those who enjoy positive ads, here's Walz's second once again (help the Walz campaign keep this and others on the air by contributing to the congressman's re-election committee; since a grassroots camapign doesn't run on bread alone, sign up to volunteer here):
When we heard that Brian Davis called H.R. 6709 "too complicated," our immediate thought was that things must have been simpler back during his eight-month career as a nuclear engineer twenty-five years ago when he had just finished college.
Educator-legislator state representative Terry Morrow (left) has taken it upon himself to give Davis a refresher course. Walz campaign manager Chris Schmitter served as teacher's aid.
A press release from the Walz campaign:
Rep. Terry
Morrow and Walz Campaign Manager Explain Simplicity of Walz Bipartisan Energy
Plan
Davis Called Bipartisan
Plan “Too Complicated”
(Mankato, MN) – In
response to Brian Davis’ claims last week that the Walz Bipartisan Energy Plan
is “too complicated,” the Tim Walz for U.S. Congress Campaign sent a letter to
the Brian Davis campaign and Representative Terry Morrow and Walz Campaign
Manager Chris Schmitter held a tutorial to show how the Walz plan makes American
energy independent in three simple steps.
Rep. Terry Morrow said, “High energy prices threaten America’s economy
and hurt our families. This three-step national energy plan is as easy to
understand as A-B-C. America’s immediate need for oil is addressed responsibly.
Oil companies will pay reasonable lease payments to our nation. This money will
support America’s transition to energy independence and will encourage
Minnesota’s developing renewable energy industry.”
“More than 130 Democrats and
Republicans in Congress understood this plan and decided to support this
common-sense policy,” Morrow continued. “Yet Brian Davis rejects this bipartisan
national energy proposal by claiming it’s ‘too complicated.’ As a teacher, I
would be disappointed if my students dismissed a well-developed and widely
supported solution to a pressing national problem by simply calling the answer
‘too complicated.’”
The Walz Plan in Three
Simple Steps: 1) Expands domestic
oil drilling in a responsible manner and in partnership with coastal
states. 2) The expanded drilling
generates more than an estimated $2 trillion in royalty payments made to the
taxpayers by big oil companies. 3) A projected $1 trillion of these
royalty payments are used to fast-track the research and development of clean
and affordable fuels to heat our homes and power our
vehicles.
Tim Walz’ bill has
131 cosponsors in the U.S. House -
including Reps. Michele Bachmann and John Kline from
Minnesota The bill has been endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and
the American Truckers Association.
And now, a music lesson for our readers (also easy as 1-2-3) in tonight's video:
The following area students recently enrolled in the U.S. service
academies. The cadets were nominated to attend the academies by
Congressman Tim Walz.
Military Academy: Pam Baker of Rochester, Joshua Miller of Waseca and Jeremy Schuman of Owatonna.
Naval Academy: Ian Cameron of Rochester and Mark Ditlevson of Owatonna.
Air Force Academy: Ann Dally of Owatonna, Seth Danielson of Caledonia and Eric Poland of Rochester.
High
school students interested in applying for admission to an academy
should contact John Pierce in Walz's Rochester office at (507)
206-0643. Applications are due Oct. 31.
Congratulations to them all and a big thanks for their willingness to serve our country.
We've received press releases from the Southeast Minnesota Area Labor Council about today's Turn Around America rally in Rochester, and yesterday's gathering in St. Peter.
Today's rally:
Working
Families Rally
Rochester to Turn Around America
Labor
Movement makes push to seize historic opportunity
On Thursday,
August 28, 2008 at 4:30 pm in East Park (E. Center Street and 15th
Ave. NE) in Rochester, the Southeast MN Area Labor Council, AFL-CIO is
sponsoring a rally to Turn Around America.
All over Minnesota, working families
are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet. Skyrocketing healthc are
costs, stagnating wages, increasing unemployment and attacks on our retirement
security are just a few of the issues we are facing.
Corporate America and its
high priced CEO’s are doing better than ever, but at the expense of
working families. And these problems are happening right here in our own
communities. Truly, America is headed in the wrong direction.
But this fall, the labor movement will be doing something to change it. All
union members and community supporters are invited to join the Southeast MN
Area Labor Council for a presentation on an economy that works for all and rally
about what our community can do to: TURN AROUND AMERICA
Turn Around America
15th Ave. NE
Rochester MN
Thursday,
August 28th, 2008
Time: 4:30
pm.
And from St. Peter yesterday:
Today, the Southeast Minnesota Area Labor Council hosted a Turn AroundAmericaevent
at Minnesota Square Park in St. Peter. Over forty concerned citizens from the area turned out to listen to
distinguished speakers on the urgent need to turn around America.
Jeff Van Wychen, Minnesota 2020 scholar said, “The no new tax
policies that the state has been pursuing over the last five years were
supposed to create an economic boom in Minnesota.” Instead it has created underfunded
schools and crumbling public infrastructure and public services.
To speak about how the community is
suffering first-hand, Audra Waylett – Security Counselor at the St. Peter
Regional Treatment Center shared how difficult it has been with pending layoffs
for her and her co-workers. Waylett said, “We’ve been fighting for our jobs
with everything we have, and the fight isn’t over, and it won’t be for a while
and that’s scary.” She continued, “What really matters and what none of us can
be silent about is making sure that we have public safety and that we have
worker safety. It’s important that we invest in our community by ensuring that
we have good paying jobs right here in our town.”
Validating the fear that America is moving in the wrong direction,
David Wehde, State Director of Minnesota Working America, said that two thirds
of the people they talked to in St. Peter last night signed up to be a Working
America member because they are frustrated with “flat incomes, skyrocketing
personal debt, and out of control health care and energy costs.”
Special guests also included Ruth Johnson, former State Representative
voicing her concern that security counselors at the local treatment center are
not receiving the state’s appreciation for the work that they do.
Thomasin Franken, daughter of US Senate candidate Al Franken and
elementary school teacher, spoke on the importance of revitalizing our
education system. She emphasized the need for re-investment in early childhood
education so that parents are confident that their children are off to a good
start.
. . .Walz said making it easier and affordable for veterans to receive appropriate health care is the government's obligation.
"You were hurt serving the nation; you should not have to pay for
that," Walz told veterans in Austin. "You paid that fee when you raised
your hand and swore yourself into service."
During his first [term] in Congress, Walz has pushed for additional
support for veterans, including the largest funding increase for the
Veterans Administration in its 77-year history. He also advocated for
programming that would help ease soldiers' transitions between active
and veteran status. . . .
U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn. — a former teacher himself — considers teachers and educators to be his most important colleagues.
Like
most educators, Walz favors reforms to the federal No Child Left Behind
law, along with more funding in early childhood education.
“For democracy to move forward, our students must be educated,” he said.
Walz,
who formerly taught geography at Mankato West High School, addressed
educators Monday at Owatonna High School. He is the only teacher
elected to Congress who has taught under No Child Left Behind. The law
ensures that every student in the country be proficient in math,
reading and writing by 2014.
Read the rest at the Owatonna People's Press. The paper also says that Klobuchar and Walz staffers heard suggestions for changing food programs in Voters seek provisions in Farm Bill.
attends funerals for fallen soldiers at the request of the soldiers'
families. It displays flags to comfort families and also hosts
welcome-home celebrations for servicemen and women.
Photo: From the Austin Herald article, veterans listening to Congressman Walz outside the Mower County Courthouse.
As a statement from Congressman Walz's office noted yesterday, nearly National Guard members who had been deployed to Iraq will be getting "Plus Up" educational benefits. Bottom line in the Strib's report:
The Minnesota congressional delegation, led by Democratic House members
Keith Ellison and Tim Walz, urged Veterans Affairs Secretary James
Peake to fix the problem. In a recent letter to the lawmakers, he
agreed to provide the retroactive benefits to the soldiers who had
sought them.
Great to know that they will be getting what they--and their families' sacrifices during a long deployment--earned.
Maybe it helped that it was an election year, or that Farmfest
wasn't far away. But the people attending an annual DFL fund-raiser on
Tuesday night said the main attraction was the chance to bring voters
and candidates together.
A mix of national and state Democratic
candidates spoke from the front porch of a farmhouse on the Ted Suss
and Janet Marti farm south of Lucan, including U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, U.S.
Senate candidate Al Franken, and Minnesota House candidates Bob
Skillings of New Ulm and Al Kruse of Marshall.
Some of the big issues that emerged in candidates' speeches included health care reform, education, and renewable energy.. . .
Senate District 21 straddles the First and Seventh Congressional Districts.
. . .Common themes emerged in each candidate's answers. Such as the need
for offshore drilling, the image of farmers as stewards of the land,
and a general distaste for the Clean Water Bill.
Walz lauded the
efforts of family farmers trying to "do the right thing but having 16
different organizations" trying to regulate their business. He focused
his answers on finding a common middle ground, saying it is politics
that makes people believe they have to choose a side when really the
sides can work together to produce a mutually beneficial solution. . . .
Go read the rest at the Sentinel. Blueman Hal Kimball has some Farm Fest Ponderings. We weren't at the Senate candidate forum, so we don't have an informed opinion to share about it, but he's close on the Congressional forum. Tinklenberg was terrific when he talked about his background and vision, but he could have mentioned Bachmann's absence once and that would have been enough. Sarvi came off up-beat and personable. Peterson and Walz earned the audience's applause.
Tim Walz and Brian Davis will be guests of Winona's Women in Business, according to this report from Winona Radio:
Four political candidates will be the special guests at this month's meeting of the Winona Women in Business group.
The event will take place at noon on Thursday, August 21st, at Westfield Golf Club.
On
hand will be First District Congressman Tim Walz and his Republican
challenger Brian Davis. Also attending will be Minnesota State
Representative Gene Pelowski and his Republican challenger, Rhett Zenke.
All four will address current campaign issues.
The cost is $12 a person and the reservation deadline is this Monday, August 11th.
For more information contact Tammy Kramer at 689-4552.
Too bad Senator Dick Day can't be there to add some life to the pachyderm party.
In Staff All-Star: Pat Ryan - Education Minnesota, Labor 2008 mistakenly puts activist Pat Ryan and Tim Walz in MN-06 (sorry Political Muse and Blueman). Both Ryan and Walz are based in Blue Earth County. The post highlighting the volunteer notes:
. . . As a Speech teacher,
Pat is naturally good at engaging people in conversation and his sense
of humor is an asset in heated political situations. He admits that
most of all, he enjoys Labor Walks because he gets to be outside walking.
Pat is one of many dedicated Release Staffers for Education Minnesota. He successfully recruits and engages union members on working family issues this year. Pat taught with Tim Walz at West High School and supports Walz’s run in Congressional District 6 [sic]. Pat also pulls for union-endorsed Franken and Obama.
State and national legislative leaders, notably former teacher 1st
District Rep. Tim Walz, have previously called for No Child Left Behind
reform. Still, no changes have been made.
"The kids are fighting it, and the pressures are there," Kelly said. "It's an unbelievable situation."
In a letter, Minnesotans for Immigration Reduction head Paul Westrum argues for reducing legal immigration in Immigration policy needs major reform. Perhaps now the media will quit identifying the group as being only "anti-illegal" immigration. Westrum clearly supports drastic reductions in the number of people who are willing to play by the rules when seeking to live in America.
. . .The first phase of 200-megawatt wind farm is set to begin construction
as early as 2009, and it has the potential to be a 400-megawatt wind
farm. If fully completed, the Bent Tree Wind Farm would be the largest
stand-alone wind farm in Minnesota.. . .
. . .According to Schultz, 400 megawatts is about enough to power 100,000
homes over the course of a year. Schultz said Alliant Energy has not
yet made a decision to build or not build the second 200 megawatts.. . .
. . .According to Dorman, both phases of the project being completed would
add a tax base equal to adding about six malls or about 40 industrial
buildings. . . .
Oh-- and good luck and congratulations to Joe, Liz and baby Bodell; our prayers also go out to Sgt. Zach Juhnke and the 2700 National Guard members from around the country who will be heading to Kuwait and who will begin serving in Iraq in September. Seven hundred of the soldiers are from Minnesota.
Photos: (Top) It will be a great day when our schools get all the money they need and only the House Republicans have to have a golf tournament to fund their campaigns. Actually, Boehner held one of those those golf tournaments while a delegated group of his members whined about Democrats adjourning for "vacation." We haven't seen such genius from Boehner since he came to Minnesota State in 2006 to help Gil Gutknecht as a higher education leader--despite the fact he'd taken all those PAC funds from student lenders and had a voting record like this. (Bottom) NRCC sock puppet alert.
Horse apple fans can head over to the PB and check out the new batch cooked up by the Brian Davis campaign, then wrap up their total meadow muffin experience with an interview at the Fillmore County Journal.
The Political Party blog has posted a press release containing Brian Davis's ag policy statement. We have commented there. With the exception of "Columbia" and "Columbian", the paper graciously left out the parts riddled with typos (how ironic is it to misspell "Heartland" in a press release about ag policy?). Davis himself left out any direct discussion of the Farm Bill, though he does mention returning land that is "not environmentally sensitive" to production as CRP contracts expire.
He may have a fight on his hands from local papers unless he clarifies that position. The Mankato Free Press editorial board says Don't gut, improve CRP. The Red Wing Eagle Republican editorial board says If anything, add CRP acreage, concluding:
. . .More than 9
million acres of CRP contracts expire in the next two years. The 2008
farm bill has a CRP cap, and acreage could drop from the current 39.2
million acres previously authorized to 32 million authorized in the new
bill.
The program is also at risk because cropland rental
rates have spiked because of rising farm commodity prices, thus making
CRP less attractive to farmers. One way to preserve as many CRP acres
as possible would be to raise payments to landowners.
CRP is arguably the most successful, most popular farm/conservation
program in the nation's history. It has accomplished what it was
designed to do: protect marginal land, reduce soil erosion, restore
grasses and other native plants, increase wildlife populations and
provide farmers with a fair price for using their lands for
conservation.
Long-term contracts have been crucial to its
remarkable success. It would be a monumental mistake to diminish CRP by
making it less financially viable for landowners. The program works. If
anything, it should be expanded.
Walz and the two GOP primary contenders will meet for the first time at the congressional forum at Farmfest, August 5, 1:30 p.m.
The Rochester Democrat notes that Tim Walz is out doorknocking today; the Post Bulletin says he'll also be helping to open the Obama office in Rochester.
Here's a worthy cause: Lake City family builds a legacy for son killed in Iraq. The Hebert family has created scholarships for student athletes and a fund for Lake City area children who need medical care. There's a golf tournament tomorrow.
act to help stop the forced repatriation of Hmong
political refugee from Thailand back to the authoritarian regime in
Laos where they face torture, persecution and imprisonment in
reeducation camps.
Twenty-one House members, including Wisconsin Republican Tom Petri and
Democrats Tammy Baldwin, Steve Kagen, Ron Kind and Gwen Moore, sent a
letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice outlining their concerns
about 6,000 Hmong refugees in a Petchabun, Thailand, camp. In June, the
Thai government sent 800 Hmong refugees who fled persecution in Laos
back to their home country.
The lawmakers said it is
"imperative" that the forced removals be stopped and that the Thai
government give the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
access to the Hmong.
They argued that the United States has an
obligation to aid the Hmong who were U.S. allies during the Vietnam
conflict. That assistance earned the minority ethnic group the enmity
of the Communist government now in Laos.
Thousands of Hmong fled Southeast Asia for the United States after the war. Wisconsin has the nation's largest Hmong population.
House
members were not the only ones calling for action Friday. Several human
rights organizations and Laotian and Hmong groups met in Washington and
condemned the Laotian government for its treatment of Laotian
dissidents and Hmong.
The Rothenberg Political Report looks at spending in some House races. After building a field operation, Walz had $1.2 million cash on hand at the end of the Q2 reporting period.
the risks of smoking, including passive smoking, are overstated. In 2001,[24]Newsweek journalist Fred Guterl reported, after an interview with Lindzen
He'll even expound on how weakly lung cancer is linked to cigarette
smoking. He speaks in full, impeccably logical paragraphs, and he
punctuates his measured cadences with thoughtful drags on a cigarette.[24]
We find it fascinating that an oncologist (albeit one who works
most with those afflicted by prostate rather than lung cancer) should have sought out
Lindzen's company.
Journal: When I say George Bush, what does that mean to you? Positive, negative? Good legacy?
Davis: I think we'll leave that to the historians to determine. I think
some of the analogies with Harry Truman being resolute, and sometimes
people even say "inflexible," but there may come a time down the road
when people will look back and he [Bush] will have a stronger public
perception than he does now. . . .
We were curious where Davis got that idea, since he doesn't seem to be to good at having original political thoughts. The principle advocate for the notion--when we traced it back--appears to be George W. Bush himself.
And finally,
for all those revisionists out there who think George Bush has
Truman-esque virtues for playing tough in Iraq in the face of adversity
- to quote the man, himself, "you're drunk."
In honor of Harry Truman and Torgrimson, we proffer up this 1992 YouTube of Uncle Tupelo covering Bob Dylan's Moonshiner.
In a signed editorial, the deeply conservative Fairmont Sentinel disagrees with the picture the NRCC (and its endorsed candidate) have tried to paint of Tim Walz, while applauding his membership in the bipartisan House Energy Working Group.
Our congressman, Tim Walz, came under fire this week for voting to
take a month off instead of staying in Washington to do something about
the nation's energy problems, including high gas prices. The National
Republican Congressional Committee argues that the Democrat-led
Congress is failing citizens by not taking the Republican "all of the
above" approach, which includes increasing exploration and drilling
while promoting energy efficiency and conservation. The Republicans may
have a point about Congress as a whole, but they are wrong about Walz.
. . .We don't know if Walz's plan [see pdf here] will be the
one Congress adopts, but we know this: Walz wants to be part of a
solution. Congressional leaders should follow his lead.
Transportation and energy issues dominate today's congressional news in the First. Federal grants that will assist in the improvement of Highway captured much attention. The Waseca County News reports Walz presents Highway 14 grant:
Funding for the expansion of Highway 14 got a boost Thursday morning
when First District Congressman Tim Walz and members of the Highway 14
Partnership met in Waseca. They stood on the grass across from
Kiesler’s Campground, their backs to the highway they all want to see
converted to a four-lane.
Walz, a Mankato Democrat, was in town
to announce federal grants for two sections of Highway 14. Joining him
were the mayors of Waseca, Owatonna, North Mankato and Courtland and
officials from Waseca and Owatonna.
Walz said the highway is a major artery in the First District, used by 80 percent of the area’s largest employers.
He
said the Federal Highway Administration grant is the result of the
financial commitment the state of Minnesota has made to the finish the
project.
The grant was also made possible, Walz said, because of
the commitment of the partnership members who understood the need to
band together to get a new highway built. The new highway will improve
safety and the economy and infrastructure for the future, he said.
In The Carbon Footprint Trail, Tom Driscoll at the Fillmore County Journal takes a long look at ways in which local power co-ops are trying to reduce CO2 emissions. Both Congressman Walz and Davis were interviewed for the story.
Davis's global warming denial looks to be pretty light-weight in context of the rest of the story, especially when contrasted with Governor Pawlenty's efforts for conservation and energy efficiency. Guess that's what happens when you touts slim credentials (one year of work after receiving his undergraduate degree) from an industry Davis hasn't worked in for nearly 25 years (Davis began working on his mechanical engineering degrees in 1983, after graduating from college in 1982).
The Rochester Post Bulletin writes that GOP leader outlines strategy during speech at Mayo Civic Center. The strategy talk was about how to defeat Walz, not how to devise long-term energy policy. No word in the article as to whom Cole delivered his strategy pep talk. We suppose it's nice that Tom Cole's visit resulted in one or two pieces of earned mainstream media for the Davis campaign.
The Open Enrollment blog at the Winona Daily News' River Valley blogs looks at Walz vs. NCLB.
The Houston County News reports Houston County amongst those declared federal disaster area; the article mentions Congressman Walz's efforts, working with Senators Coleman and Klobuchar and Governor Pawlenty, to help secure the federal disaster declaration by the president.
The Iraq and Afghanistan wars linger on, but they
already are producing a new generation of politicians looking to
represent Minnesota in Congress.
In the 3rd Congressional District, Marine veteran Ashwin
Madia, the surprise Democratic challenger, is seeking the open seat. In
the 2nd District, Steve Sarvi, a National Guard member who served in
Kosovo and Iraq, is taking on a Vietnam veteran. And the 1st District
is represented by Tim Walz, a 24-year National Guard veteran, in his
first term running for re-election.
The three are part of an emerging trend nationally — veterans
of the two wars eager to take their concerns and the lessons they've
learned to Washington. . . .
It's important to note that Tim Walz served in a support operation in Italy for Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) but is not a combat veteran of OEF. Both Madia and Sarvi served in country in Iraq. Here's the new chart on competitive races from the Cook Political Report.
We had posted yesterday how MN-02, once considered completely safe for John Kline, was moved into the more competitive "likely Republican" from "solid Republican." Those pesks at IDHA note that Sarvi, Madia and Tinklenberg have just been endorsed by the Minnesota Nurses Association. Looks like the Republican Party of Minnesota will be playing defense in all three of its remaining congressional seats.
In Welcome Home for Minnesota Soldiers,KAAL TV reports that 400 Minnesota National Guard members from Mankato-based 2nd Battalion who had been serving in Kosovo will return to the USA by the end of next weekend. The Albert Lea Tribune says they're coming back between July 10 and 14 in Albert Lea troops returning from Kosovo.
Happy Birthday, America!
Fanfare for the Common Man Update: We spoke too soon about earned media for Brian Davis's campaign; the Grand Forks Herald has published an AP reports about Brian Davis's self-funding of his campaign. In 1st District candidate says spending won't change, we learn:
A doctor running for Congress in southern Minnesota says he won't
increase spending of his own money despite the new freedom he got with
a recent Supreme Court ruling.
The high court ruled against
campaign finance laws that allowed higher contribution limits for
opponents of candidates using more than $350,000 of their own money.
But Dr. Brian Davis, who is running for Congress in the First District,
says he never planned to hit that limit anyway. He has loaned or
contributed nearly $200,000 to his campaign so far.
Davis says he does agree with the decision.
He's
running in the Republican primary against longtime state Senator Dick
Day. The winner of that primary will run against first-term Democratic
Representative Tim Walz.
That $200,000 figure is quite interesting. At the end of Q1, Davis had contributed $58543.76 to his campaign and loaned his committee $24,000, for a total of $82,543.76. If the amount has escalated up to nearly $200,000, he tapped into his own reserves at a greater pace in the quarter that just ended--perhaps to the tune of $100,000 or more.
Like most graduates of St. Peter High School of a certain age, we took freshman English from William Harvey, or Mr. Harvey as we all called the formally attired bachelor schoolteacher. In his class, we learned about mythology, read "Tale of Two Cities" and other classics, and best of all, learned to memorize poetry.
Or else: Poets' Corner temporarily awaited any of us who failed to recite Frost, Yeats or Housman correctly. This early training prepared me for the more brutal recitations of poesy at the Ozarks Famous Writers School under the bellowing watch of the late Jim Whitehead (actually a pussy cat for all his southern bluster).
Congress recently passed legislation that included the 21st Century G.I. Bill. The Herald explains how Mr. Harvey (and St. Peter) benefited from the original bill:
Mr. Harvey grew
up on a farm in the Spencer, Iowa, area and after completing his own
high school studies in 1942 he went into the Merchant Marine and U.S.
Army where he served in World War II in such places as North Africa,
Sicily, New Guinea, the Marshall Islands and through the Panama Canal
six times.
He was then discharged in 1946 and began farming with
his brother Jim but was eventually recalled to serve in the Korean War
with the Army.
"When I got out of the service for good at age
31, I was urged by the VA (Veteran's Administration) not to return to
farming," Harvey said. "Instead, they said I should take advantage of
the GI Bill and go to college."
That career advice by the VA turned out to be a blessing for students here in St. Peter.
Harvey
began attending Augustana College in Sioux Falls, S.D., in 1955 and
graduated with a degree in English and a minor in history. It was
through that school's placement office that he learned of the opening
at St. Peter and through a friend who also interviewed here, he decided
to pursue the position.
It was great to have a role model like that in a small town--a war veteran and Golden Gloves winner who stood up for literature, especially poesy, and proper grammar. We still remember the thrill of learning about ancient Greece when we were assigned Theseus for our research paper in the mythology unit. Minotaurs! Labyrinths! Great stuff.
The article mentions that Mr. Harvey, who retired in 1993, still enjoys his cabin up near Chisholm. And that recalled a poem we'd memorized (then sought out and learned to love the music of the poet's other works). And here it is, as lovely now as when we were in ninth-grade:
The Lake Isle of Innisfree by William Butler Yeats
I will arise and go now, and go to Innisfree, And a small cabin build there, of clay and wattles made: Nine bean-rows will I have there, a hive for the honey-bee, And live alone in the bee-loud glade.
And I shall have some peace there, for peace comes dropping slow, Dropping from the veils of the morning to where the cricket sings; There midnight's all a glimmer, and noon a purple glow, And evening full of the linnet's wings.
I will arise and go now, for always night and day I hear lake water lapping with low sounds by the shore; While I stand on the roadway, or on the pavements grey, I hear it in the deep heart's core.
President Bush has signed the legislation that includes the 21st Century G.I. Bill. From a Walz congressional office press release:
Today, Congressman Tim Walz lauded the enactment of legislation that includes a landmark expansion of the GI Bill of Rights for our nation's veterans. President Bush signed the bill into law today.
"Today, we make clear, not just in words but in deeds our commitment to the brave veterans who have served our nation by giving them the chance to attend college and succeed when they return home," said Walz. "This is a significant expansion of educational benefits for our veterans -the 21st Century GI Bill restores educational benefits used by pervious generations of veterans and is designed to keep pace with the real-world costs of a higher education."
Josh Howe, Southeastern Regional Coordinator for Higher Education Programs at the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs said, "I'd like to thank Congressman Walz, the President and others for the bi-partisan support that made this bill a reality. But most of all, to the veterans and servicemembers of past wars and the current operations in Afghanistan and Iraq, I say thank you for your service. Our future and that of our families is a little brighter on this historic day."
More than 20,000 service members from Minnesota have been deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. Unfortunately, current benefits pay only about 70 percent of a public college education and 30 percent of a private college education for these veterans when they return home. The expanded GI Bill will restore full, four-year college scholarships for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars to help make them part of an economic recovery like the veterans of World War II. The legislation will also allow veterans to transfer those benefits to family members.
"When President Roosevelt signed the original GI Bill in 1944, he observed that it 'gives emphatic notice to the men and women in our Armed Forces that the American people do not intend to let them down," said Walz. "Today we are renewing our commitment to stand with the members of our Armed Forces when they return home."
Veterans struggling with GI Bill benefits or other benefits earned as a result of their service should contact Congressman Walz's Rochester office at 507-206-0643 for assistance.
We've had a busy day, but will post a look at some of the delightful reading in today's district newspapers sometime tonight.
While you wait, go over to the Walz campaign site and contribute; today is the last day of the Q2 fundraising quarter. It's important to keep Walz working for veterans in the district! And if you have any more spare change, help elect more good Democrats by giving to the Red2Blue MN Act Blue campaign. It has achieved its modest goal--and every little bit helps.
Cartoon: The new legislation deals mostly with education benefits, but the cartoon reflects what a number of returning vets have told us about the struggle to maintain adequate health care.
Our friend McPherson Hall of Minnesota Central gently chided us for neglecting to discussion the inclusion of the new G.I. Bill as an amendment to the war supplemental:
With all the hub-bub last week about the
FISA bill, there was another notable bill that the House passed.
Since your column has addressed veterans issues, you might be interested to know that by a vote of 416 to 12 Roll Call 432
was approved.
He is correct. Fortunately, Congressman Walz's office just came out with a statement about the passage:
WALZ RECOGNIZES GI BILL ANNIVERSARY AND PRAISES PASSAGE OF 21ST CENTURY GI BILL
(Washington, D.C.) - Today, Congressman Tim Walz marked the anniversary of the original GI Bill and lauded the passage of the 21st Century GI Bill:
"This past Sunday marked the 64th anniversary of the historic GI Bill that President Franklin Roosevelt signed into law on June 22, 1944. On that day, President Roosevelt observed that the GI Bill 'gives emphatic notice to the men and women in our Armed Forces that the American people do not intend to let them down.' I am very pleased that last week the House of Representatives renewed that commitment to our nation's Armed Forces by passing a new GI Bill for the 21st Century.
"The new GI Bill significantly expands the educational benefits our country offers to the men and women who have served so courageously since the attacks of September 11, 2001. It is designed to restore the promise of the original GI Bill, offering support for a full higher education for our veterans, a pathway to prosperity to them, and the foundation of a post-war economic recovery.
"I was proud to vote for this bill, and I am hopeful that the Senate will pass the legislation soon and the President will sign it into law.
We have a moral obligation and a national security interest to stand with our veterans, not just on the battlefield, but also when they return. This bill demonstrates our commitment to our young men and women.
"Under the bill, increased educational benefits would be available to members of the military - including activated reservists and National Guard - who have served at least three months on active duty since September 11, 2001. The amount of educational assistance veterans receive is linked to the amount of time they've served on active duty since September 11, 2001, up to three years.
"For those who have served three years, they will get support that would cover full tuition and associated costs at the most expensive public university in their state, though they can use their educational assistance essentially at any institution of higher education. The bill also provides for the federal government to match dollar-for-dollar any private assistance veterans receive at more expensive institutions as well. There is also provision for school costs like books, and a housing stipend appropriate for where the veteran is going to school.
"In short, this is a significant expansion of the benefit that is designed to keep pace with the real-life costs of education in the 21st century.
"Finally, a new provision has been added to the bill that would allow veterans who have served six years and who sign up for another four to transfer their educational benefits to their spouses and dependents.
"The original GI Bill was one of the greatest achievements of the 20th Century in America. I believe this new GI Bill can be an equally great achievement of this Century."
Like the final passage of the increase in the federal minimum wage, final approval of the New G. I. Bill came--eventually--at the cost of continuing to fund the war in Iraq. Those who feel that Congress should quit funding the war and pull out immediately will be disappointed with Walz's vote for another amendment to the bill that continued money for the war in Iraq.
Yesterday in Rochester, Congressman Walz, teachers, parents, school board members, Rochester Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Romain Dallemand, Blandin Foundation board member George Thompson and Rochester Educators Association President Lynette Lenoch-Craft gathered to note the congressman's co-authorship of H.R. 6239, the "NCLB Recess Until Reauthorization Act."
Lawmakers are proposing changes to the highly criticized "No Child Left Behind Law."
Congressman Tim Walz introduced new legislation that will put the law on a hold until they can fix it.
Recent high school graduate Lauren Koster thinks the current “No
Child Left Behind Law” is flawed because it punishes schools that don't
make the grade, even if students are improving.
"No Child Left Behind needs to be in place to lend accountability, but it certainly needs to be revised," said Lauren Koster.
That may soon change because Congressman Tim Walz is co-authoring a
bi-partisan bill that will put No Child Left Behind on "time out."
"The problem has been the implementation and the lack of accountability," said Walz.
Schools
are currently penalized if they don't reach a certain benchmark. This
bill will freeze those penalties while educators work up a plan that
accounts for schools that do improve, even if it's slightly below the
standard benchmark. . . .
There's video at the link as well.
Here's Walz's statement:
Today, I’m here to announce that I’ve
introduced legislation with my Republican colleague, Sam Graves of
Missouri, that will give schools and teachers a ‘time out’ from
ill-conceived sanctions imposed by the No Child Left Behind law.
I’m disappointed that this bill is even
necessary, because Congress was supposed to take time this year to work
with the President to fully fund No Child Left Behind and to fix what
isn’t working with the law.
Unfortunately, Congress didn’t do its
job this year. And as a result, children, parents, teachers and
schools all across the country must continue to operate under a law
that nearly everyone agrees should be fixed.
Well, if Congress and the President
can’t or won’t take action this year, then I will work across party
lines to protect students and schools from being penalized by bad
policy for yet another year. I believe that it’s time that Members of
Congress hold themselves as accountable as we hold our students and
schools.
Many of you remember when No Child Left
Behind became law in 2002. Since that time, much has changed for
educators and students in America.
Teachers have provided more information
than ever before to parents about the educational progress of our
children and students are working harder than ever before to master new
skills.
The intent of this law was to make
schools accountable for providing a first class education to our
children, but the unfunded, cumbersome mandates of the law have
resulted in frustration and diverted attention away from the best
practices that we know are beneficial to our children.
As a longtime public school teacher,
let me state clearly that I fully support accountability in education
and I know that most teachers share my desire to do whatever it takes
to see our kids succeed. But the same law that triggered these
positive changes also penalizes schools that, while making progress,
don’t meet an arbitrary bar set by the Bush Administration.
Everywhere I go in southern Minnesota,
I hear from constituents like those here with me today about the
problems with No Child Left Behind. As the only teacher in Congress
with experience teaching under the unfunded mandates of No Child Left
Behind, I believe I have a unique perspective on this law – I celebrate
its achievements, but I cannot sit idly by and allow our children to be
penalized while we wait for a new President to work with the Congress
to fix what is broken.
This bill freezes in place the
penalties imposed by NCLB. That means that schools who are about to be
sanctioned for not reaching the arbitrary benchmark will have another
year to improve their scores, while schools already being sanctioned
will not receive additional penalties. However, schools that are
already taking corrective action to improve their performance will
continue with that plan – students will still receive extra tutoring,
teachers will still receive extra professional training and other
efforts to improve schools in American will not cease.
My bill simply puts a hold on
additional penalties until Congress and the new President can fix and
fund NCLB, or until the conclusion of the 2008-2009 school year.
Congress should have fixed NCLB this
year, but this President stands in the way of real reform. But just
because it didn’t get done doesn’t mean that our kids and our schools
should have to suffer through more bad federal education policy for
another year. That’s why it is only fair to take a time-out from these
penalties until Congress can provide parents, teachers and students a
better plan to improve America’s schools – a plan that truly sets high
expectations for all students and rewards results in the classroom.
The bill is supported by the American Association of School Administrators, the National School Boards Association, the American Federation of Teachers, and the National Education Association.
Walz's office released supporting documents (including letters from the AASA, NSBA, AFT and NEA) with the statement. Readers can download a one-page fact sheet here on H.R. 6239, or the full eight-page pdf here.
We're going to be running a bunch of routine diagnostics on our computer, though there's a lot of interesting news coming out of the First this morning. We'll have something more analytical later today (especially about some cameo appearances by dubious claims from Brian Davis) , but for now here are some quick links to the major stories.
In Walz brings DOJ grant process to Waxman's attention, posted back in May, we wrote about how the WSU-based National Child Protection Training
Center was denied grants by the DOJ, despite the program's grant application received a high score for grant evaluators. Instead, grants went to youth golf programs and other projects--often run by administration cronies.
The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is holding a hearing
titled, “Examining Grantmaking Practices at the Department of Justice”
on Thursday, June 19, 2008, in 2154 Rayburn House Office Building.
Watch video of the hearing that's taking place right now.
At today’s hearing, the Oversight Committee will examine the process
used by the Justice Department to award millions of dollars in grants
to organizations that address national juvenile justice initiatives.
These grant awards were made by the Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention, which is headed by Administrator J. Robert
Flores. Mr. Flores is here today, and I thank him for testifying and
for his cooperation in our inquiry.
This Committee has held many hearings on waste, fraud, and abuse in
federal contracting. We’ve also held hearings on waste, fraud, and
abuse in other types of programs, such as crop insurance and workers’
compensation insurance.
But we have held few hearings on abuses in federal grants. In 2006,
the federal government spent $419 billion on federal contracts. It
spent even more — $488 billion — on federal grants. So examination of
waste, fraud, and abuse in grant programs is a high priority.
My staff has prepared a supplemental memorandum for members
summarizing what we have learned from our investigation. I ask that the
memo and the documents and transcripts it cites be made part of the
hearing record.
Last year, the Justice Department held a competition to select
worthy grants for funding juvenile justice programs. Over 100
applicants submitted proposals. Career staff at the Justice Department
then conducted a peer review of these applications, grading them
against criteria in the Department’s public solicitation and ranking
them according to their numerical scores.
Of the 104 proposals, the career staff ranked 18 as the best
qualified for funding. Mr. Flores largely ignored these
recommendations. He did not fund the top-ranked program; he did not
fund the second highest-ranked program. In fact, he did not fund any of
the top five programs. Of the 18 organizations recommended for funding
by the career staff, only five were awarded funds.
Instead, Mr. Flores chose to give the majority of the grant funding
to five programs that his staff had not recommended for funding. One
was an abstinence-only program. Two were faith-based programs. Another
was a golf program. What’s more, they appeared to have special access
to Mr. Flores that other applicants were denied.
Mr. Flores awarded a $1.1 million grant to the Best Friends
Foundation, an abstinence-only organization, that ranked 53 out of 104
applications. The career staff who reviewed this application said it
was “poorly written,” “had no focus,” “was illogical,” and “made no
sense.” Documents provided to the Committee show that while the grant
was being developed and competed, Mr. Flores had multiple contacts with
Elayne Bennett, the founder and chairman of Best Friends and the wife
of Bill Bennett, who worked in the Reagan and Bush Administrations.
Mr. Flores also awarded a half-million dollar grant to the World
Golf Foundation that ranked 47 out of 104. Mr. Flores says that despite
the application’s low ranking, the grant was awarded on the merits. But
the record before the Committee raises questions that need to be
addressed. We know that Mr. Flores traveled to Florida in 2006 to visit
foundation officials and play golf. We know that Mr. Flores directed
his staff to help the group with its proposal. And we know that before
the peer review process even began, a senior career official wrote that
he was “certain” the group would be funded because Mr. Flores’s chief
of staff “has said as much.”
And Mr. Flores awarded a $1.2 million grant to Urban Strategies LLC,
a consulting firm, and Victory Outreach, a “church-oriented Christian
ministry called to the task of evangelizing.” This grant application
also received a low ranking: 44 out of 104 applications. But the head
of Urban Strategies was Lisa Cummins, who formerly worked in the White
House Office of Faith Based Initiatives. Documents provided to the
Committee show that Ms. Cummins had several high-level meetings with
Mr. Flores and other Justice Department officials before and after
receiving the grant.
On the other hand, the Justice Research and Statistics Association
was the top scoring group out of the 104 applicants. It scored a 98 and
was universally praised by career employees for its effectiveness and
good work. It provides training and technical assistance to state
juvenile corrections workers. But it was not selected or funded.
There is no question that Mr. Flores had discretion to award grants.
He is entitled to use his experience and judgment in determining which
grant applications to fund. But he has an obligation to make these
decisions based on merit, facts, and fairness. And the reasoning for
his decision must be transparent and available to the public.
Nearly every official the Committee spoke with, including the
Justice Department peer reviewers, the civil service program managers,
and the career official in charge of the solicitation, told us that Mr.
Flores’s approach was neither fair nor transparent. Mr. Flores’s
superior, the Assistant Attorney General, told the Committee: “I am for
candor and clarity, especially when dealing with the people’s money.
And that did not happen. And I am upset that it did not happen.”
The only exceptions to this view are Mr. Flores himself and Mr.
Flores’s chief of staff, who has now asserted her Fifth Amendment
privilege against self-incrimination.
Yesterday I received a letter from the nation’s oldest organization
devoted to fighting juvenile delinquency: the National Council of Crime
and Delinquency. The Council wrote:
We … have grave
concerns about recent decisions on grant proposals and how these have
hurt the credibility of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention. … [We] expended substantial time and resources in good
faith to prepare … proposals. Now it seems the review process was far
from fair.
I hope today’s hearing can answer the question being raised by the
Council and other groups. Ultimately, the issue before the Committee is
whether the grant solicitation was a rigged game and whether it has
best served children across our country. Today’s hearing will give
members a chance to examine this important question.
At Harpers "No Comment" Scott Horton picks up on the "brazen
politicization" of the Office of Juvenile Justice grant making process
at the Justice department in More Corruption at Mukasey’s Justice Department?.
As we noted this morning, WSU's National Child Protection Training Center,
which teaches law enforcement, teachers, social workers, prosecutors
and others the best techniques for recognizing, reducing and preventing
child sexual abuse. The center has received funding this year only because of earmarks
requested by Senators Coleman and Klobuchar, as well as by Congressman Walz.
So what's the problem? Horton writes:
A Congressional probe has been launched by Henry Waxman’s House
Oversight Committee into how Flores “bypassed the top-scoring bidders
for National Juvenile Justice program grants, giving money instead to
bidders that its staff ranked far lower,” Youth Today reports.
The
probe was requested by Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minn.), who was approached by
administrators at Winona State University after the Youth Today story
was published. The university’s proposal for its National Child
Protection Training Center was ranked fourth by OJJDP staff, with an
average score of 96.5, but it didn’t win a grant. The university is in
Walz’s district, and he helped get the center $1.2 million in earmarks
in the 2008 Justice Department budget, including $446,000 from OJJDP.
So the highly qualified, well-scored contenders didn’t get the grants. But who did? The Juvienation blog reports:
Meanwhile,
Flores handed the bulk of the cash to lower-scoring organizations he
deemed his favorites. Word has gotten out among organizations that
scored high but didn’t win; some of them are furious and want OJJDP or
Congress to explain the process. “We all play by the rules,” said Earl
Dunlap, CEO of the National Partnership for Juvenile Services, whose
losing bid ranked second out of 129. “The rules for Flores are pretty
much whatever he decides when he gets out of bed in the morning.”
Flores,
Boyle wrote, “has repeatedly pushed to get agency money to
organizations that fit his priorities, which include faith-based
programs and those that combat child sexual victimization.” Thus the
low-scoring Best Friends Foundation (79.5), headed by the wife of
right-wing moral crusader (and gambling addict!) Bill Bennett, won more
than $1 million for its abstinence-only/anti-drug curriculum. Enough Is
Enough, which combats sexual predation online–admittedly a worthy
cause, but not quite in line with the historical mission of the
OJJDP–took $750,000. The faith-based Victory Outreach Special Services
got a windfall of $1.2 million but had to turn down the grant because,
Boyle noted, “it doesn’t have the organizational capacity to carry it
out.”
The Flores contract awards help us understand once more exactly how the
Justice Department defines “public integrity.” Doling out public funds
to your political retainers and friends and circumventing a legally
mandated public competition system is how the Republican Party and its
minions understand the political game is to be played. It would be
“corrupt” if Democrats played by these rules, of course, but the rules
are suspended for the G.O.P. And what better venue to use to dole out
contracts to political friends and retainers than the Department of
Justice itself?
State officials converged on Austin over the weekend, with U.S. Rep.
Tim Walz on Friday, U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman on Saturday and Gov. Tim
Pawlenty on Sunday.
The three met with Mayor Tom Stiehm, city engineer Jon Erichson,
Rep. Jeanne Poppe, Sen. Dan Sparks and others to discuss the 2008
flood, and what prevention has been implemented and what is planned for
the future.
Officials commended Austin for remaining in the forefront of flood
mitigation and being proactive since floods in 1978 and 2004 devastated
the city.
Though the community is grateful for their visits and apparent
concern for Austin’s situation, we hope these officials follow through
with their promises to secure both state and federal funding.
Austin’s half-cent sales tax will offset some expenses — flood
mitigation is very expensive — and the city has made this their No. 1
priority.
A collapsed culvert in Oakland Township that took the life of one
flood victim will likely not receive Federal Emergency Management
Agency (FEMA) funding because it doesn’t qualify, and Freeborn County
will be hit with an unexpected $200,000 to fix the ongoing problem. It
may take some time for FEMA to assess damaged areas in Austin.
Federal and state funding will help accelerate mitigation.
In other news, the Walzes have learned is that the cost of credit cards charges is a bear. No wonder he's such a big supporter of PAYGO. WCCO reports:
The freshman Minnesota Democrat and his wife report owing between
$75,000 and $165,000 on three credit cards. Those figures are on Walz'
latest congressional financial disclosure form, which requires
lawmakers to list figures only in broad ranges.
They also owe
between $100,000 and $250,000 on a mortgage, and between $50,000 to
$100,000 on a line of credit, for a rental unit in Mankato. The rental
unit is valued at between $250,000 and $500,000.
Walz'
spokeswoman Meredith Salsbery says that the Walzes are not wealthy
people. She also notes that Walz did not draw a salary for most of
2006, when he took a leave of absence from his teaching job to run for
Congress.
The home mortgage is smaller, but the credit card debt is up from last year's report, summarized in a Minnesota Independent story last month:
Among Walz's liabilities: a home mortgage valued at between $250,000
and $500,000, a home equity loan estimated at $50,000 to $100,000, and
three different credit card debts running between $10,000 and $50,000.
District 1 (S-Factor 0.5 GOP): When Gil Gutknecht
ran in 1994, he promised voters in this southern Minnesota district
(Rochester, Mankato, and the Mayo Clinic) he would serve no more than
six terms. Gutknecht chose to run for a seventh, and his ploy backfired
in his 2006 defeat to Tim Walz,
a teacher, coach and retired member of the National Guard from Mankato.
Since then, well over half-a-million has been raised by Walz, the more
moderate of the 2007 newcomers from Minnesota. Republicans (and the
NRCC) have coalesced around Mayo Clinic physician Brian Davis, but State Senator Dick Day will march on to the primary. Wonder if this will make things a little dicey for the GOP. Prediction: Favor DFL.
Walz has raised over $1.5 million in the cycle, and had $1 milion cash on hand at the close of the fist quarter. Davis, on the other hand, had $50,000 COH (and $10,000 in debts to venders), while Day closed the quarter with $72,000. That more complete picture paints a somewhat different story.
We're looking forward to the June 20 monthly reports from parties and some PACS, as well as the July 15 quarterly reports from candidate committees.
Farm Policy picks up on the Worthington Globe article about last week's Farm Bill Forum.
Rep. Timothy J. Walz, D-Minn., a freshman and former teacher who won his seat in an upset victory in 2006, is co-sponsoring a bill that would suspend the accountability provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act, according to my colleague, David Hoff, over at NCLB Act II.
If that sounds like a bold move for someone facing a potentially
tough re-election battle ... it actually, well, isn't. At least two of
the three Republicans vying to take on Walz in the general election
have said they would scrap the NCLB law, according to this news report.
Still, it's telling that, at least in this contested congressional
district in a swing state, the candidates seem to have a similar take
on the NCLB law. Namely, that it's not working.
I'm not sure yet if that sentiment is unique to Minnesota--nearly
every member of the state's congressional delegation opposed the law
even back in 2001--or if it's a trend that will play out in tough races
nationwide.
We don't think this will be a "tough" race. As for Minnesota not liking NCLB, we think that's dislike is in part a consequence of the state's long tradition of local control of schools, as well as the bad taste left by the "profiles of learning" debacle.
In Walz Digs Graves (Sam Graves, the Republican author), the Swift and Able independent NCLB blog reports that the Hispanic caucus isn't pleased with the bill.
Not political news, but the Blueman has a great storm photo and video up in A Stormy Weekend. We didn't get hit by the storms, but were bothered by some rather annoying skeeters and other pests. Such is a Minnesota summer.
In a letter to the Mankato Free Press, Larry Schnoor writes Walz interested in all constituents:
