A Bluestem Prairie

Sixteen Southern Minnesota projects funded with signing of appropriations bill

The Washington Post reports in Obama Signs Spending Bill, Calls for Earmark Guidelines:

President Obama today signed what he called an "imperfect" spending bill to keep the government running even though it contains thousands of lawmakers' pet projects, but he called for more rigorous review of future projects, known as earmarks, that are designated by individual legislators for their states or districts. .  .  .

. . .Obama called on Congress to enact a series of guidelines that he said would not eliminate earmarks but would force lawmakers to be more transparent about them and would crack down on those that benefit private companies. He said it "should go without saying that an earmark must never be traded for political favors." The guidelines are aimed at curbing the number of pet projects in appropriations bills, setting up a potential battle with lawmakers who have clung to the spending items.

So far as we can tell, Congressman Walz is already operating as if those rules are in place. He publicly releases free lists of the budget requests he is making, as the Sunlight Foundation notes here and the Mankato Free Press reported here.  None of the earmarks go to private companies.

A press release from the Walz congressional office:

SIXTEEN LOCAL PROJECTS SIGNED INTO LAW

Walz’s appropriations requests signed into law earlier today as part of the Omnibus Appropriations bill

(Washington, D.C.) – Earlier today, President Obama signed the federal funding of sixteen important local projects into law that will help create and save jobs across southern Minnesota. The funds, which were requested by Congressman Tim Walz are included in the FY 2009 Omnibus Appropriations bill. The bill passed the Senate yesterday.

“Projects like Highway 14 are critically important to southern Minnesota’s economic recovery,” said Walz. “These funds will not only create jobs as we expand the existing highway to four lanes, but it will also create economic opportunity for the majority of southern Minnesota’s businesses, who use Highway 14 to ship their goods.”

“These funds will do more than just create jobs,” continued Walz. “These investment dollars strengthen the fabric of our communities. Lewis and Clark Regional Water System, Bolder Options, the Sherriff’s Youth Program, and Winona State’s National Child Protection Training Center will ensure that our children drink clean water, receive invaluable support from caring adult mentors, and be less likely to fall pray to child predators. Investments like these in the future of our country are priceless.”

The FY2009 Omnibus Appropriations bill funding at the request of Congressman Walz for the following projects:

$200,000 for Bolder Options

To expand Bolder Options' youth mentorship program into the Rochester area

$713,625 for the Center for Renewable Energy at Minnesota State University, Mankato

This funding would support on-going research into cellulosic ethanol, biodiesel and other renewable forms of energy.

$290,000 for Crop Disease Research at the University of Minnesota

Research into crop diseases that threaten Minnesota's wheat, oat and barley industries.

$235,000 for the Competitive Farm Benchmarking Program at the University of Minnesota

Funding for a project that helps farmers compare their costs of production and maximize their efficiencies of operation.

$323,000 for Hormel Institute in Austin

Funds would help the Hormel Center develop an International Center of Research Technology to provide cutting edge technology to biomedical researchers from across the country and the world.

$2,375,000 Hwy 14 Waseca-Owatonna

Funds would support the four-lane expansion of Highway 14 from Waseca to I-35 at Owatonna.

$475,000 for 55th Street in Rochester

Funds would provide for final design, right-of-way acquisition and first stage construction of a 1.9 mile extension of 55th Street as a 4-lane expressway.

$27,000,000 for Lewis and Clark Regional Water System

Centered in twenty communities in western Minnesota, northern Iowa, and eastern South Dakota, this pipeline provides treated water from the Missouri River to more than 300,000 people in three states.

Several Members of Congress from three states requested this funding. This area is so desperately short of water that there are restrictions on constructing new small business and residences; the pipeline will be essential to the economic viability of these small towns. Many of the communities involved have pre-paid the local share of the project, in order to keep inflationary costs at a minimum, and are only awaiting the federal share.

$700,000 for the National Child Protection Training Center at Winona State University

The Center trains social workers, teachers, and health care professionals to recognize and report signs of child abuse.

$500,000 for the Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge in Minnesota and Iowa

This project will support land acquisition to add acreage to the refuge.

$181,000 for St. Elizabeth’s Hospital Fresh Start Disease Prevention Program

Funds would support the expansion of a chronic disease management program in Wabasha to help participants reduce their risk of heart disease.

$190,000 for St. Mary’s University’s Teacher Mentorship Program

Funds would help expand the university's educator professional development programs by using technology to allow greater outreach to teachers in MN with impact on thousands of students in critical STEM subjects.

$200,000 for Sheriffs Youth Program in Rochester.

Funding would support the expansion of SYP’s services for at-risk youth.

$712,000 for Transit Operations Center in Rochester

Would fund the construction of a new 60-bus garage facility; as well as a new park-and-ride facility in Rochester.

$8,604,000 for Upper Mississippi River Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program

This multi-state project was requested by several Members of Congress. It will provide for the first phases of construction of new 1,200 foot lock chambers at several locks and dams along the Mississippi, implement small-scale navigation aids; and begin ecosystem restoration projects along the Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway.

$951,000 for Veterans Re-Entry Education Program in St. Paul

Funds would help Minnesota State Colleges and Universities and three state agencies create programs to help returning veterans find employment and educational opportunities.

While most of the federal funding for FY2009 was delayed until now, some funding bills did become law before President Bush left office. In the FY2009 bills that became law last year, Walz also secured the following funding:

$2 million for the Minnesota National Guard Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Program

$704,000 for the National Guard's Minnesota Army National Guard Armory Emergency Response Generators

$1.3 million for the Minnesota Helicopter Civil Band Radio Communication

$2.224 million for Minnesota Satellite Multi-Modal Collaborative Crisis and Training Network

$400,000 for flood mitigation in Owatonna, Minnesota

Photo: Congressman Walz and a constituent in Luverne. Image courtesy of Cornerhouse Comments.

Tuesday digest: from earmarks to energy edition

 The Washington Post reports Congress Passes Huge $410B Spending Bill. The bill includes earmarks for the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System, Upper Mississippi navigation and environmental improvement, flood migration projects, child safety training, cancer research, and other projects in Southern Minnesota.

The Pipestone Star reports in City supports wind energy legislation:

The City Council voted unanimously Monday evening in support of legislation that would make it easier for municipalities to harness the power of wind.

The council vote followed a presentation by Dan Juhl, founder of the publicly-traded Juhl Wind, based in Woodstock. Juhl Wind pioneered community-based wind farms and has completed 11 wind farm projects to date. Juhl’s goal is to keep wind dollars within the communities where the wind is generated.

“It makes absolutely no sense to give away our energy dollars to France and Spain,” he said.

As he told the councilors Monday evening, Minnesota house bill 357 and Senate bill 399 would enhance existing C-BED (community-based energy development) legislation by leveling the playing field among small community wind projects and large international firms.

Juhl is a frequent panelist in discussions of green energy in Southern Minnesota and a pioneer in the region's wind industry.

The Tri-County News is Rushford reports Ehler impressed with events, treatment in D.C. The local public school superintendent attended President Obama's address to Congress. Unfortunately, the Senate removed money for new construction from the recovery bill, as the paper notes in a separate article.

In Waseca, Mayors gathered to talk passenger trains, the Waseca County News reports. Walz staffer Matt Wohlman attended the meeting.

And since there's been such important labor news today, we dedicated this Ruthie Foster cover of a Lucinda Williams' song to everybody who organized to enjoy the fruit of their labors. There's no good YouTube of the original, but Foster is pretty good:

SE MN labor leaders applaud Klobuchar and Walz for co-sponsoring EFCA

 Russell Hess, Political Coordinator for the Laborers District Council of MN & ND, sent us this statement praising Senator Klobuchar and Congressman Walz for supporting the EFCA:

Southeast Minnesota Labor Leaders Applaud co-sponsors of the Employee Free Choice Act Congressman Walz and Senator Klobuchar

Southeast Minnesota labor leaders and union members expressed excitement over the introduction of the Employee Free Choice Act today in the United States Senate and House of Representatives. The legislation would strengthen the middle class by giving workers the right to choose how they form a union. “Corporations and their CEOs have been attacking the retirement security, health care, wages and worksite safety of the middle class for years. Enacting the Employee Free Choice Act will be the first step towards leveling the playing field between the average worker and corporate CEOs,” said Russell Hess, Secretary-Treasurer of the Southeast Minnesota Area Labor Council.

Local unions see the Employee Free Choice Act as an important part of the country’s economic recovery. The latest employment statistics show that union members are fifty-two percent more likely to have employer provided health insurance than non-union workers. They are also nearly three times as likely to have a guaranteed (defined benefit) pension plan. Finally, union workers’ median weekly earnings are twenty-eight percent higher than non-union workers and studies show that union workers are more productive than non-union ones. “The numbers don’t lie,” said Al Stork, who represents nearly 1000 electrical workers in southeast Minnesota, “When workers have a voice in the workplace they do better and the companies they work for do better.”

Laura Askelin, President of the Southeast Minnesota Area Labor Council praised Congressman Tim Walz and Senator Amy Klobuchar for being co-sponsoring the Employee Free Choice Act. “By co-sponsoring the Employee Free Choice Act, Senator Klobuchar and Congressman Walz have again demonstrated their commitment to the best interest of working families in southeast Minnesota. We look forward to working with them to make sure it becomes law.”

For more information, go to www.employeefreechoice.org

Photo:  SE MN Labor Council President Laura Askelin (left) and her AFSCME sister Audra Waylett (right) at the Minnesota State Fair. This definitely isn't my father's union movement. Guess Audra got the bill's introduction for an early birthday present.

Congressman Walz is a co-sponsor of the EFCA

The Washington Post reports that The Employee Free Choice Bill Battle Is Joined. According to Tula Connell, Managing Editor of the AFL-CIO, Congressman Walz has signed on as a co-sponsor of the Employee Free Choice Act, thus closing the door on speculation by the president of a local chamber of commerce that Walz might not support the bill again. We had emailed Connell to see if Walz was among the co-sponsors of the bill in the 11th Congress.

Walz was an original co-sponsor of the bill in the 110th Congress and voted for it when the bill came up for a vote in that session. The legislation later stalled in the Senate. The issue raised by Walz's Republican opponent during the 2008 campaign, who received 32.9 percent of the vote in November.

More bout the bill from the House Education and Labor Committee.

Laura Askelin, president of the Southeast Minnesota Labor Council, obtained copies of the letters that the Walz congressional office has been sending out to constituents who contact him both for and against. Read the letters below the fold, from an email we received from Askelin

Employee Free Choice Act to be introduced tomorrow in both houses of Congress

Politico has the story:

Tomorrow, Democrats in both houses of Congress plan to introduce a union-organizing bill that is labor’s top priority for the year, Democratic officials said.

The result could be a high-decibel, high-stakes brawl between business and labor, which strongly supported President Obama. Unions have been getting impatient for attention to the issue, and the push to introduce legislation is a way to ratchet up pressure on Congress.

We look forward to seeing who the bill's sponsors and co-sponsors will be.

Saturday digest: police and vets edition

More recovery act funds are coming to Southern Minnesota. Yesterday, we posted the Walz congressional press release about Byrne Grant funds that were part of the legislation coming to law enforcement in the area. The Austin version of the post Bulletin reports in Stimulus could mean more squads in Austin:

The Austin police department is set to receive more than $54,000 from the federal stimulus package, according to figures released Friday.

The Mower County Sheriff's Office will collect $14,625.

First District Rep. Tim Walz announced that the economic recovery package Congress passed last month will provide $482,000 in funding allocations for southern Minnesota law enforcement and criminal justice assistance, available through the Edward Byrne Justice Assistance Grant Program. . . .

. . .The focus of the money is for multi-jurisdictional drug task forces, anti-gang efforts, specialized prosecutors and other crime-fighting initiatives. . . .

But many police officials at this point aren't entirely certain how the dollars can be doled out.

"It is pretty broad, we don't really have specifics yet," said Rochester Police Chief Roger Peterson. Rochester is set to receive $189,854.

"Of course, anytime somebody's going give you $190,000, it's not bad news," Peterson said.

Peterson said area police departments should have more details by early next week.

The money will be awarded in the form of "Byrne grants," which had suffered widespread cuts in recent years.

The Austin Herald takes note of the grants in Allocation from stimulus to help APD.

A reader writes the Post Bulletin Walz is keeping his promises:

Rep. Tim Walz demonstrates a trait not usually found in a politician: consistency.

When campaigning in 2006 and 2008, Walz promised to put what is best for southern Minnesota ahead of everything else in Washington. This is a promise he has kept.

One has to look no further than his votes on the Wall Street bailout and the recovery package. Both were supported by his party leadership, but Walz opposed the Wall Street bailout and voted for the recovery package.

Why vote for one and not the other? Well, the Wall Street bailout did not benefit southern Minnesota -- it only increased our nation's debt.

Walz voted for the recovery package and it is creating thousands of jobs in southern Minnesota right now.

I am proud to have supported Tim Walz in two elections because it is clear he is fighting to put southern Minnesota first.

Jennifer Harveland

In Legionnaires visit Hill during DC Conference | The American Legion's Our Voice included the following:

Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn. - a Legionnaire, retired National Guard command sergeant major and highly honored high-school teacher - gave a spirited talk that focused on VA's budget.

"The idea that we have been late 22 out of 23 years in delivering the budget for VA is absolutely unacceptable," said Walz, a member of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs. "Your commitment to sufficient and timely budgets for the VA is something I think is exactly right on. If we can't deliver that budget on time, how can we expect to keep faith with our veterans? We can get that budget in on time. We can deliver it forward, and the VA can then plan accordingly. The whole purpose of doing that is something very simple: to provide the best quality of care to those who are willing to give all for this country."

Walz said that most of America shares his views on how to treat veterans. "When members and their families serve us, the rest of the population wants to do what they can do," he said. "They don't see it as giving something away for free. These warriors earned the right to come back and get an education. They've earned the right to come back and make sure they get their jobs back."

Walz also takes the role that he and the Legion share - as watchdogs over VA - seriously. "When Gen. Shinseki came before our committee a few weeks ago, I made sure to tell him to turn around and see who was sitting behind him," Walz said. "It was representatives of the Legion sitting right there. Let him understand we will be the strongest supporters of Gen. Shinseki and VA that there are. But he needs to realize, and everyone needs to realize, that because we are their strongest supporters, we will be their harshest critics. We will be there to make sure they do not make mistakes that will harm our veterans."

The Owatonna People's Press notes in Mayors, DM&E discuss passenger rail in region on Owatonna:

Matt Wohlman of Congressman Tim Walz’s office, said a statewide rail study is needed to see how “it all comes together” with current federal funding. The recovery bill and highway bill are exciting possibilities, Wohlman said.

He advised the city leaders to get in touch with their local House and Senate representatives to ask for a study that looks at the options.

In the netroots,Liberal in the Land of Conservative writes in A Little Late To The Game..:

I noticed an interesting piece in the Star Tribune Politically Connected Section. Titled, GOP Sen. Vitter tries to eliminate automatic pay increases for Congress, I have to wonder if the writer realizes that Senator Vitter is a little late to the game.

Nearly two months ago, Ollie Ox at Bluestem Prairie detailed legislation cosponsored by Representative Walz and others that would do this very same thing.

Silly Muse: the Star Tribune never acknowledges the existence of Bluestem Prairie, perhaps because we're so often completely uncouth as to discuss the paper's reporting about southern Minnesota.

And so we conclude with a song from Joan Jett:

Thursday digest #1: clean congress and recovery request edition

Over a month ago, we posted about Congressman Walz's support for legislation to prevent members of congress and their staff from profiting from "insider" information. The Post Bulletin and other venues picked up on it. The Washington Independent notes that watchdog groups are picking up on the bill in A Congress of Inside Traders?:

You might think that members of Congress and their staffs would be prohibited from using their privileged access to nonpublic information to cash in on Wall Street. But you’d be wrong.

Congressional insider trading is not, in fact, illegal. In a letter to lawmakers today, several watchdogs groups offer explanation:

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) does not have the authority to hold employees of Congress or the Executive Branch liable for using non-public information gained from official proceedings for insider trading. Under current law, ‘insider trading’ is defined as the buying or selling of securities or commodities based on non-public information in violation of confidentiality — either to the issuing company or the source of information. Most federal officials and employees do not owe a duty of confidentiality to the federal government and thus are not liable for insider trading.

The letter — signed by Public Citizen, Democracy 21, Common Cause, U.S. PIRG and the League of Women Voters — was drafted in support of legislation to prohibit congressional and White House insider trading. Introduced in January by Democratic Reps. Brian Baird (Wash.), Louise Slaughter (N.Y.) and Tim Walz (Minn.), the bill would prevent policymakers from profiting from their access to nonpublic information. At the time of the unveiling, Baird pointed to a 2004 Georgia State University study indicating that investments made by members of Congress return 25 percent more than those made by other Americans.

The watchdog groups point out another reason they say Congress should consider the bill quickly: The hundreds of billions of dollars in bailout cash coming out of Washington will provide wonderful investment opportunities for policymakers who know where the money is going before the public does. . . . .

Read the whole article at the Washington Independent. Closer to home, KEYC-TV reports in Walz Office Flooded With Stimulus Requests:

The nearly 800 billion-dollar stimulus plan was laid out in a bill totaling more than one thousand pages.And now Congressman Tim Walz has set up a point person to help decode the massive piece of legislation.News 12's Ryan Gustafson has the story.Meredith Salsbery has been coordinating the numerous requests from city and county administrators for projects ranging from school repair in Rushford to handicap accessible sidewalks in Slayton . . ..

. . .Salsbery wants to encourage Congressman Walz's constituents to call with any questions, because in a thousand page document, it's easy for things to get overlooked.Meredith Salsbery says, "The recovery package also includes a one-time payment of 250 dollars to people who receive social security disability or veterans disability - a lot of them don't know about that."The checks are expected to arrive in May and June. . . .

Sadly, the Senate's reluctance to include money for school construction has left the Rushford-Peterson district out, the Rochester Post Bulletin reports in No construction funding for Rushford-Peterson included in stimulus bill:

Rushford-Peterson school district won't receive stimulus money to help build a new school.

The school district had hoped to receive some money to build a $25 million replacement for its century-old high school, but the money wasn't included in the final stimulus bill.

Superintendent Chuck Ehler had traveled to Washington, D.C., with 1st District Rep. Tim Walz last week to lobby federal education officials for funding, but no money was set aside for new school construction.

"It's a little disheartening, but we are hopeful that our new school initiative will move forward," Ehler said. "We're not real optimistic about the stimulus funds, but we'll explore other avenues."

Ehler said when the House and Senate met, they had to compromise and the Senate advocated for the removal of new construction funding. . . .

According to the New Ulm Journal, Stimulus funds go to roads, bridges rather than the local short line rail, but Senator Klobuchar and Cognressman Walz are working on securing other federal funds to assist the rail rehab:

On Feb. 26, Minnesota House File 660, authored by Morrow, appropriated $10 million in bond proceeds for a grant to the Minnesota Valley Regional Rail Authority (MVRRA) to rehabilitate track.

He added that a separate pot of money will be available for nationwide rail projects.

Morrow said Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar and Congressman Tim Walz helped appropriate $950,000 in federal railroad improvement funding.

He said his office expects to receive federal guidance on funding criteria and application procedures in the next few months.

The project is already attracting businesses to the area. According to the article, Land O' Lakes will be building an 80,000-square foot distribution facility in Winthrop.

Not all job losses are cuased by cuts; some are triggered by off-shoring work. In Moving to China?, KTTC looks at the corporation's transfer of jobs to other countries:

In the last month, hundreds of high-paying jobs have been slashed at IBM/Rochester. Tonight, how jobs with very similar descriptions are now popping up a half a world away.  In places like China, India, and Brazil.

IBM stands for International Business Machines, and IBM has facilities around the globe.

So it should be no surprise that a world-wide company would come up with something it calls "Project Match."

It's a program that offers those recently laid-off in Rochester and other U.S. sites a chance at jobs opening up in countries that have developing markets. . . .

. . .If you would leave IBM Rochester to go to IBM China, you would be paid at the IBM China rate.

"It's a real concern. We're not opposed to trade but one of the problems we see in this country is that if we have a race to the bottom on wages, we aren't going to beat the Chinese to the bottom. They're going to continue to undercut us," said U.S. Representative Tim Walz.

"It's the job you thought you would retire from but now have lost," said President Barack Obama.

President Barack Obama addressed the issue of offshoring jobs in his address to Congress, promising to restore a sense of fairness and balance to the tax code by ending tax breaks for corporations that ship jobs overseas.

It's certainly not illegal for a company like IBM to bulk up its work force in China or Brazil, but it might seem like the "end of the world" if you've lived and worked at IBM Rochester for decades and then suddenly see your job popping up on the other side of the globe.. . .

Read the whole article at the station's web site. We'll be back later with part two of the news digest.

Walz office announces economic recovery coordinator for Southern Minnesota

From the congressional office:

WALZ ANNOUNCES ECONOMIC RECOVERY COORDINATOR FOR SOUTHERN MINNESOTA

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Congressman Tim Walz announced the appointment of Meredith Salsbery as his office’s southern Minnesota’s Economic Recovery Coordinator, tasked with providing timely answers to southern Minnesota’s questions and concerns about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Salsbery, who currently serves as Walz’s District & Communications Director, will take on the added responsibilities during this economic crisis.

“Southern Minnesota needs one place to go in my office to get information or answers to their questions about how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act can help our community recover from this economic crisis. Meredith will act as an information clearinghouse for individuals and local leaders who are searching for information about how the new recovery law can help.” said Walz.

Salsbery will work with a team of Walz staff with expertise in key economic policy issues, and an understanding of individual casework best practices. The team will help constituents, small business, local governments and schools maximize the benefits of H.R. 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Salsbery and the Walz team will coordinate with federal, state and local entities to ensure the investment dollars provided in the recovery act are being spent wisely, getting to the people who need them the most, and have the most positive impact.

Salsbery can be reached by phone at 507-388-2149, by fax at 507-388-6181 or by email at [email protected].

Tuesday digest: Sunlight and Recovery Act edition

Last weekend's Transparency Camp was all about making data accessible to citizens. Their use of that data can range from playing gotcha to discovering new economic development resources to predicting votes in Congress. A new tool may assist in doing the latter on a coming vote in the House. Update: The Center for Responsible Lending has apparently revised its figures. When we review the revision, we'll update our own post according [end update]

Congress Matters's David Waldman noted noted on Friday that the House will be voting on H.R. 1106 this week, and that many Republicans representing district with higher foreclosure rates are likely to vote against the bill. We have been told that the vote may be delayed.

Waldman wrote:

Forty-one districts have 9,000+ projected foreclosures for the year. Fourteen are represented by Democrats. Twenty-seven of them (66%) are currently represented by Republicans. Discounting districts represented by first or early second term Democrats -- i.e., areas that were previously and traditionally Republican -- the number approaches 75%.

Waldman's analysis is drawn from the Center for Responsible Lending that lists Congressional-District-Foreclosure-Projections.

Top districts for foreclosure in Minnesota, where all districts are lucky even to be under the threshhold that Waldman examined? They're suburban, with the Second leading the way with a projected 7,154 foreclosures in 2009. In the Third, it's 6,614 homes, while the Sixth is third with 5,734.  The least number of foreclosures are predicted in the Seventh (3,470) and the First (3,652).

We suspect that the differences in foreclosure rates in Minnesota districts reflect overall home buying and building patterns within the state, rather than the ideology of their representatives and residents. A mere hypothesis since we haven't looked at this that closely.

However, both the Seventh and the First also still enjoy fairly sound, locally controlled community banks. Late last summer, the president of my bank told me not one of the home buyers who had secured funding through his bank was in foreclosure. Not sure how the subsequent downturn has effected that figure.

The Mankato Free Press reports in Open Door to get $1.3M grant:

On Monday, Open Door officials found out that some of that money was coming to Mankato. Learning the news from a reporter, clinic Administrator Sarah Kruse declined to comment until she could verify that the funding decision was final.

“It was almost a too-good-to-believe kind of thing,” Kruse said.

The $1.3 million will be provided over two years and will result in hiring or contracting with a variety of health care providers including doctors, dentists, nurses, dental hygienists and others, she said. And it will mean the ability to serve countless people in need of care but without the means to pay the entire cost — a population that’s growing as the economy deteriorates.

“We’re already seeing more calls from people who have lost jobs and lost insurance or have lost jobs and can’t afford COBRA,” she said.

Open Door, with a budget of about $1.1 million last year, served about 3,000 people. Some received free care, while most are charged on a sliding-fee scale based on their ability to pay.

The clinic had been seeking the grant funds for years, last applying in December of 2007. Kruse said she learned that the most recent application qualified for funding but there wasn’t enough money appropriated to cover all of the qualifying grants. With the new money provided through the $787 billion economic stimulus bill, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services went through the applications that were well regarded but not funded, according to Meredith Salsbery, communications director for Congressman Tim Walz of Mankato.

. . .While Kruse wasn’t ready to estimate Monday how many jobs would be created, she said there’s no doubt that the funding would have a meaningful effect on the lives of southern Minnesotans. Open Door has rarely marketed its services because word of mouth has kept its paid staff and volunteers fully booked.

The new money will allow the clinic to reach out to those who need health care but are unaware of Open Door. Kruse said it will be a challenge for the clinic staff to deal with a sudden and unexpected increase in Open Door’s budget of more than 50 percent — one they’re thrilled to meet.

KAAL-TV also reported Walz Announces Funds to Open Door Health Center.

In TheHill.com - The Noble Warrior agenda, Indiana Republican Steve Buyer writes:

Finally, I am delighted that soon Rep. Tim Walz (D-Minn.) will join me in introducing a bill to increase Dependency and Indemnity Compensation for surviving spouses of seriously disabled veterans and military personnel who died while on active duty.

The Rochester Post Bulletin Healther Carlson notes the new National Journal vote ranking in her Political Notebook:

Ranking conservatives and liberals

National Journal Magazine is out with its annual rankings of U.S. Senate and House members. The magazine ranks members of Congress on a conservative-to-liberal scale based on 2008 votes. First District Democratic Rep. Tim Walz falls toward the middle of the pack, ranked 175th when it comes to liberal lawmakers in the 435-member House. By comparison, St. Paul Democrat Rep. Betty McCollum tied for first place with 11 other House members for the most liberal spot.

Second District Republican Rep. John Kline ranks among the most conservative members of the House, according to the report. Kline is ranked the 33rd most conservative member of the House.

In the Senate, Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar was in the middle of the pack. Klobuchar was ranked 37th on the liberal scale in the 100-member Senate. The publication also included Norm Coleman, whose recount battle with Democrat Al Franken in the U.S. Senate race continues with news that seems to favor Franken as the eventual winner. Coleman was 39th on the conservative scale.

Walz's 2005 participation on Camp Wellstone gets a mention in Chhis Steller's article in the Minnesota Independent. We took part in the citizen activist training track of Camp Wellstone in 2005 and recommend it to everyone, regardless of political stripe. Knowing effective methods of persuading elected officials is a useful skill for citizens. The Farm Policy blog mentions Walz's reaction to Obama's proposed changes to the Farm Bill.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's School Beat mentions the re-introduction of the Teaching Geography is Fundamental Act. Walz is one of three original co-sponsors; the bill is supported by the National Geographic Society. Last year, Walz was given the 2008 Geography Legislator of the Year Award by the group's Education Foundation.

The Zumbrota News Record notes that Walz stopped at the Pine Island Economic Development Authority to hear updates about biobusiness.

In today's video, Alberta Hunter dispenses a little advice:

Mankato's Open Door Health Center to receive $1.3 million from Recovery Act funds

A press release from Congressman Walz's office just came our way:

WALZ ANNOUNCES $1.3 MILLION IN FEDERAL STIMULUS FUNDS FOR OPEN DOOR CLINIC IN MANKATO

Funds to be used provide health care for families struggling to make ends meeting during challenging economic times

WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Tim Walz is pleased to announce that Open Door Health Center has been awarded $1.3 million in funds from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The funds are part of a $2 billion national program to boost health care programs for the rising number of families that are struggling in these difficult economic times.

“This funding will go a long way in the Mankato area,” said Walz. “Today, one in every nineteen Americans gets their health care from federally supported health centers like the Open Door Health Center. Not only will the $1.3 million help keep our community in good health even as some individuals and families lose their health insurance due to layoffs and cutbacks, but it will also create direct and indirect economic activity and local jobs.”

Nationwide, grants totaling $155 million will assist 126 health centers and help provide health care to an estimated 750,000 low-income people across the country. The grants, which are administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), are expected to create 5,500 jobs at the new health centers across the country.

HRSA’s network of 1,100 health center grantees across the nation provide health care at more than 7,000 sites, ranging from large medical facilities to clinics and mobile vans. In 2007, health centers served 16.1 million patients, regardless of their ability to pay. Charges for services are set according to income, and only nominal fees are collected from the poorest patients. Nationally, about 39 percent of health center patients have no health insurance.

Photo: the Open Door Health Center.

Saturday afternoon digest: recovery, Hmong, and housing edition

The Albert Lea Tribune reports in Tax credits will impact workers and businesses:

Money for workers in the $787 billion federal economic stimulus package isn’t set up the same way it was in last year’s $700 billion measure.

Many people used their stimulus checks last year for big-ticket items or for battling debts, rather than everyday spending.

This time, the dollars are coming in the form of a tax break. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act calls for fewer tax dollars being taken out of paychecks of 95 percent of Americans.

“The total cumulative effect of the measure makes it the largest tax cut for the middle class ever,” said 1st District Congressman Tim Walz.

The Making Work Pay credit starts April 1. The math works out to be on average of $13 a week more in your wallet if you have FICA taxes taken out of your paycheck. It lasts two years, so in January, the average amount will be $9.

Read the rest at the Tribune. The paper also reports School leaders hoping act will save teacher jobs and City awaits word on airport assistance. From the latter:

Albert Lea city staff will find out this week whether the economic stimulus funds they applied for through the Federal Aviation Administration have been approved.

If obtained, the money would be used for the runway project at the Albert Lea Airport.

City Engineer Steven Jahnke said the city already has $2.1 million of federal funds for the project and has applied for $5.15 million more through economic stimulus funds.

In the Winona Daily News, we read the article Walz, Kind, other lawmakers call for protecting Hmong in Thailand.  The LaCrosse-Winona area is home to many Hmong people. The gist:

U.S. Reps. Tim Walz, Ron Kind and 17 other members of Congress have written to the State Department on behalf of 5,700 Hmong refugees in Thailand who fear they will be forced to return to Laos.

Many of the refugees have been in Thailand since the 1970s, after unsuccessfully fighting against the communist movement that became the government of Laos. 

“Many Hmong people fought alongside us in Vietnam and sacrificed a lot for our country,” Kind, D-La Crosse, Wis., said in a statement. “Reports coming from a number of my constituents who have friends and family in Laos indicate there is still discrimination and persecution towards Laos’ Hmong population.”

Kind discussed the issue Wednesday with Damrong Kraikruan, Thailand’s acting ambassador to the U.S.

Walz, D-Mankato, and the other 18 members of Congress want the United Nations High Commission on Refugees to be allowed to screen the detainees to determine their refugee status.

The Austin Herald reports HRA to get stimulus funding and the Jackson County Pilot reports in Public housing gets $124K in stimulus:

The first economic stimulus funds allocated from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will put $124,617 into the hands of the Jackson Housing and Redevelopment Authority's board of directors, according to an announcement Friday by U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, DFL-Minn.

"We're very excited about the AARA," said DeeAnna Bakken, executive director of the Jackson HRA. "... We were hoping so and talking to our legislators about this because they keep cutting our capital fund. We're very relieved to see it in there and that it didn't get cut out."

Bakken said the local HRA board will meet next Friday, March 6, to approve a plan for how that money will be spent.

Stricter regulations for the one-time allocation require projects to be completed within a year, she said, so spending is likely to go toward projects already on the agency's five-year plan.

The Jackson HRA will still get its annual appropriation of approximately $85,000 in October, as well.

"We appreciate our legislators at the federal level who have been going to bat for us and encouraging others to approve the inclusion," Bakken said.

HRAs across southern Minnesota were the recipients of $4.5 million to modernize and develop public housing.

“I am thrilled that just two weeks after I voted for the economic recovery package we are beginning to see funds flow directly to local communities,” Walz said. “This funding will create and save jobs by investing in improvements and expansions to public housing across Minnesota.”

Back to the geekfest.

HUD recovery bill funds to makeover Southern Minnesota HRA projects

Catching a plane in Minneapolis yesterday, one of our fellow passengers remarked that he's never visited a place with so many small towns, and had I ever heard of a place called Sleepy Eye.

We trumped that with our knowledge of Good Thunder.

One of the lesser known issues those small towns face is affordable housing. Sleepy Eye's HRA is getting a boost from the recovery bill, a share of the $4,520,113 from HUD.

The Austin edition of the Post Bulletin reports in Walz: Austin will get public-housing funds:

Austin is targeted to get nearly $750,000 in federal-stimulus funds for improvements to the city's public housing.

Most of the $745,479 allocation likely will be used this year for capital improvements to the Twin Towers and Pickett Place facilities, said Jim Hurm, the city administrator who also heads the city's Housing and Redevelopment Authority. Other funds, Hurm said, could go toward improving the HRA's 56 family housing units scattered throughout the city.

On Friday, U.S. Rep. Tim Walz announced that $4.5 million overall is being allocated from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to southern Minnesota.

Those funds are the first to be allocated from the recent American Recovery and Reinvestment Act passed by Congress, according to a Walz news release. They will be distributed to local housing and redevelopment authorities for modernizing and developing public housing.

"This funding will create and save jobs by investing in improvements and expansions to public housing across Minnesota," Walz said.

Austin's money will be in addition to the estimated $580,000 already expected for this year from the federal HUD agency, Hurm said.

The HRA allocation for Austin is the highest out of the 26 agencies in the region listed by Walz. Winona's HRA gets the second-highest amount at $690,701.

And in New Ulm, the Journal reports in Stimulus funds spark makeover:

New Ulm's Economic Development Authority (EDA) is receiving $89,455 as its share of the funds. Assistant City Manager Tom MacAulay said the money will be used for upgrades on the individual apartments in the Broadway Haus Apartments.

"Over the last few years we have been doing upgrades in our public housing," said MacAulay. "We've gotten just about everything done on the outsides of the buildings, and on the public, community spaces. Now we'll be focusing on the units themselves."

MacAulay said the city has 40 units of apartments at Broadway Haus, and 10 units scattered about the city in individual houses and duplexes. The 10 units have been just about completed, said MacAulay, so the focus now is on Broadway Haus, where exterior wall siding is being replaced in a mold abatement project.

The new upgrades will focus on the kitchens and bathrooms, replacing fixtures, flooring and counters as needed.

"This money will really speed that up," said MacAulay.

The Walz congressional office press release:

Congressman Walz Announces First Allocation of Recovery Funding

(Washington, DC) – Today, Congressman Tim Walz announced that $4,520,113 will be allocated from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to southern Minnesota. The funds, the first to be allocated from the recently-passed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, were distributed to local housing and redevelopment authorities and will be used to modernize and develop public housing.

“I am thrilled that just two weeks after I voted for the economic recovery package we are beginning to see funds flow directly to local communities,” said Walz. “This funding will create and save jobs by investing in improvements and expansions to public housing across Minnesota.”

Dennis McCoy with Blue Earth County EDA applauded Congressman Walz’s support of the recovery package saying, “I want to thank Congressman Walz for supporting the recovery package. The quick distribution of these funds will allow our county to begin construction of a sixteen unit public housing building in Eagle Lake. This will create construction jobs in the immediate future.”

Congressman Walz plans to continue working with local government officials to ensure that this economic recovery funding gets to southern Minnesota so jobs can be created as soon as possible.

Earlier this week, the Obama Administration announced that by April 1st, 95% of Americans will see their paychecks increase because of the tax cuts included in the recovery package. In addition, just 10 days after the bill was signed, $15 billion to help with health care for children and seniors was already on the way to states.

The following agencies in Minnesota’s 1st Congressional District are receiving funds through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to use towards capital and management activities of public housing, including modernization projects.

HRA of Winona, Minnesota $690,701

North Mankato Housing and Redevelopment Authority $98,235

HRA of the City of Blue Earth, Minnesota $77,198

HRA of St. James, Minnesota $111,383

HRA of Worthington, Minnesota $222,012

HRA of St. Peter, Minnesota $89,461

HRA of Luverne, Minnesota $92,287

HRA of Pipestone, Minnesota $149,300

HRA of Fairmont, Minnesota $177,922

HRA of Mountain Lake, Minnesota $58,952

HRA of Sleepy Eye, Minnesota $68,340

Mankato EDA $401,365

HRA in and for the City of Albert Lea $304,578

HRA of Windom, Minnesota $118,396

Housing and Redevelopment Authority of Austin $745,479

HRA of Waseca, Minnesota $86,394

HRA of Jackson, Minnesota $124,617

HRA of New Richland, Minnesota $42,603

HRA of Cottonwood, Minnesota $61,244

New Ulm EDA $89,455

Olmsted County HRA $221,120

Blue Earth County EDA $160,370

Mower County HRA $42,198

Southeast MN Multi-County HRA $178,961

Housing and Redevelopment Authority of Dodge $52,810

Housing and Redevelopment Authority of Janesville $54,732

Photo: Broadway Haus apartments in New Ulm.

Friday digest: transportation edition

Will state transportation funds freed by federal recovery dollars be used to speed the upgrade of Highway 14, one of the most dangerous raods in Minnesota? Maybe not, the Owatonna People's Press in Freed state funding may not be used for Highway 14:

When Minnesota congressmen announced federal funds would be earmarked for U.S. Highway 14 in the 2009 appropriations bill, it sounded like great news. But, the nearly $2.4 million may not actually help the project.

The $52 million project — expanding Highway 14 from two lanes to four from Owatonna to Waseca — already had state and federal funding set aside for construction to begin in 2009.

The hope of congressmen and Minnesota Department of Transportation representatives is that this new $2.375 million would free up state matching funds that could be put toward another section of Highway 14.

However, those freed state funds would not necessarily be put toward a Highway 14 project.

“If the money gets freed up, it goes back to the Statewide Corridor Project. So it wouldn’t go for necessarily a Highway 14 project,” said Kristine Hernandez, a representative for MnDOT District Seven. “It could go anywhere in the state.”

In 2008, the Minnesota Department of Transportation applied for more federal funding to expand that section of Highway 14. However, the 2009 appropriations bill was not passed in 2008. Instead, it passed the U.S. House of Representatives Tuesday and is expected to pass the Senate yet this week.

“Normally, the appropriations bills get done in the fall, but because of a disagreement with President Bush it didn’t pass,” said Meredith Salsbery, director of communications for Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn. “We’re discussing with MnDOT how we can work together to use that money. Our hope is that they can use it in substitute for some of the state allocated funds. At this point, we can’t change that earmark.”

The funding for Highway 14 is distributed by the state corridor system, this includes federal earmarks and funds from the state. Bids for the Owatonna-to-Waseca project were let out in January, with the funding to be paid for in the 2010 fiscal year which starts July 1.

“The problem was the bill came after we let the project,” Hernandez said. “Luckily, the project is what we call an ELLA, an Early Let Late Award project. If it is not an ELLA, we would award it within 30 days of the letting and this money would have been too late.”

Hernandez said MnDOT District Seven has applied for funding of the Highway 14 portion from Owatonna to Dodge Center in 2010 and hopes this new money can be used in that direction.

An environmental impact study was completed in 2008 and a design decision has been made. However, no money has been granted for right-of-way acquisition or construction.

“We will continue to look at trying to find some additional money in the 2010 package. I think that project should be complete and ready for bids in 2010, and hopefully with the federal government’s help and some assistance from the state we can move that project instead of seeing it go into 2015,” said Owatonna Mayor Tom Kuntz.

Salsbery said Walz also hopes the freed state money will be re-allocated to another portion of Highway 14.

“People are eager to see those improvements,” she said. “We’ll do everything we can to make sure they can use the money.”

The Mankato Free Press said that St. Peter benefits from stimulus money:

The Highway 169 reconstruction project through St. Peter was the big benefactor in the area from federal stimulus money.

The project will get $11 million and construction will begin this spring.

It is one of 60 transportation projects in greater Minnesota that will get funding from the federal stimulus package. Gov. Tim Pawlenty stopped at the Mankato airport Wednesday as he traveled around the outstate to announce the projects. . . .

The paper has posted a searchable list of MNDOT projects funded by the recovery bill. The article notes that Highway 14 isn't among the projects toward which Pawlenty is directing recovery money:

The ongoing construction of Highway 14 into a four-lane was not given added funding through the stimulus bill. MnDOT officials said the stimulus money needs to go to projects that are “shovel ready” and the next phase of the Highway 14 project — from Owatonna to Dodge Center — isn’t ready to go this spring.

“That project from Owatonna to Dodge Center will get done,” Pawlenty said. “It just didn’t fit here.”

Still, the recovery bill bumped up available federal funding:

Greg Ous, assistant district engineer for MnDOT, said the $19 million for the Mankato district is significant. “It almost doubles the amount we’d get from the federal government normally over two years.

“It’s quite a boost.”

Funding for area roads is also coming via earmarks in the House spending bill. The Free Press also reports in Area projects secure in spending bill:

A federal appropriations bill that will bring nearly $4 million in earmarks for south-central Minnesota is long delayed but moving much faster than normal through the U.S. House and Senate budget-setting process.

The omnibus appropriations bill is for the current fiscal year, meaning it was supposed to be enacted last year. Disagreements with then-Pres. George W. Bush prompted Democratic congressional leaders to put off passage of parts of the bill where agreement couldn’t be reached.

Now, with a Democratic president in place, the bill is moving quickly. It passed the House on a heavily partisan vote Wednesday. And the Senate version of the bill is basically identical to the House version, meaning a long conference committee to work out a compromise shouldn’t be necessary, said Meredith Salsbery, communications director for Congressman Tim Walz.

“Once it goes through the Senate, it’s pretty much headed to the president,” Salsbery said.

Read more about the Mankato area projects in the Free Press. The Rochester Post Bulletin notes in Transit center in line for federal funding:

A transit operations center in Rochester is one of 10 southeastern Minnesota projects that will receive federal funding through the 2009 Omnibus Appropriations bill.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved it 245-178 Wednesday. The Senate will act on it in the coming days. If passed, it will be sent to President Obama for his signature.

The $712,000 apportioned for the operations center would help pay for the multi-million dollar facility, which will include a 60-bus garage and a park-and-ride facility for Rochester.

"Any type of funding is welcome," Rochester transportation director Tony Knauer said Wednesday. "We're still waiting for the stimulus."

In Winona, the Daily News reports WSU child protection center may get earmarks

The Winona State University-housed National Child Protection Training Center may be on firm financial footing after years of scrambling for the funding just to stay open.

The 2009 omnibus budget passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday contains two earmarks that devote $1.2 million to the center. The funding should give the center financial stability for the next 24 months, director Victor Vieth said.

Founded in 2003, the center provides training to law enforcement and child protection professionals who handle child abuse cases.

“We’ve never had a moment before where I could say we look solid for two years,” Vieth said. “That’s really encouraging.”

Minnesota’s Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Rep. Tim Walz requested $700,000 for the center’s main office at WSU. If approved by the Senate and signed by President Barack Obama, the funding would build on the $1.22 million appropriated to the center in 2008.

“These funds will do more than just create jobs,” Walz said in a press release. “These dollars strengthen the fabric of our communities.”

Despite the funding, the center nearly closed its doors last year because bureaucratic delays held up the money for months. This new appropriation should eliminate cash flow problems at the center for the foreseeable future, Vieth said.

Another earmark in the bill includes training for teachers in science and other disciplines (STEM) according to the WDN article Earmark may help SMU teacher training:

In some rural districts, science teachers may be forced to handle disciplines for which they were not trained. Continued teacher education can help someone certified in chemistry instruction also teach biology courses, but not every district can afford that training.

“School districts can only provide so much,” said Rebecca Hopkins, SMU graduate school of education dean.

SMU has for years provided training and certification programs to teachers, but it can be hard for teachers to drive to Winona from western Minnesota for a workshop. The program expansion would attempt to bring the workshops to teachers through video and online systems, Hopkins said.

The emphasis on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) is a priority for the Pawlenty administration, business, and education leaders. We can't wait to hear the Republicans whine about this earmark.

We find welcome news for rural vets in an AP story, Obama proposes expansion of VA health care:

Obama would provide extra funding for programs targeting homeless veterans and those in rural areas. And it would pay for upgrades to the VA's technology system to help eliminate the average six-month wait to have a disability claim processed.

Overall, it would increase the agency's discretionary spending by 10 percent to $53 billion.

The Army Times quotes Walz in Veterans optimistic about progress on VA ills:

But Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., noted that the Defense Department, which also is dealing with a suicide epidemic, problems with TBI and PTSD, and a disability case backlog, needs to pick up the pace on the front end, rather than passing all problems to VA.

“DoD simply can’t see the warriors as another piece of equipment that, when its shelf life is over, is handed to someone else,” Walz said.

Via Polinaut, we learn that the National Journal's House vote rankings are out for 2008. Walz had the 175th most liberal voting record; go to the National Journal site to figure out what that means.

We're traveling most of the day. Drive carefully and enjoy the sun.

Omnibus bill: Highway 14, renewable energy--and block on congressional pay raise

The House passed the omnibus funding bill yesterday; MinnPost's Cynthia Dizikes summarizes statements by Minnesota's delegation in Peterson joins Republicans and votes against 'omnibus' spending bill.

KEYC-TV reports in Area Projects Benefit From Stimulus Money:

An important vote in the U - S House means extra funding may be on the way for projects in our area...Representative Tim Walz announcing the House approved federal funding today for sixteen projects in southern Minnesota... Projects that will help keep and create jobs in our area.Rep. Tim Walz says, "What these things will do is create jobs in ,pthe short term... like what President Obama said last night... we need to focus on education, jobs, research and health care."Two major projects in our area include over 700 thousand dollars for the Center for Renewable Energy at MSU and nearly 2 point 5 million dollars to support the four - lane expansion of Highway 14 from Waseca to Owatonna.Mayor Gary Zellmer says, "If we can continue to get little bits at a time it's always encouraging... it's been a long struggle so just getting something is really key."The funding is in addition to dollars already set for these projects through the regular state budget and the Recovery Bill...The Senate is expected to take action on the bill this week.

The money for MSUM's project should give more of those young engineering students at last Friday Repower America Town Hall Forum an opportunity to learn more about green energy and jobs.  And more for improving Highway 14?  Simply a life saver.

The bill also ncludes a provision to block the COLA increase for members.  Walz was an original co-sponsor of a separate provision to do so, H.R. 156. Peterson and Kline signed on later. Insert our own snark about Paulsen and Bachmann being for pay raises for themselves buy voting against the omnibus bill and failing to co-sponsor the separate item (H.R. 156).

Walz's congressional office issued a press release about funding in the bill for Southern Minnesota. Other familiar items on the list include funding for the Lewis & Clark Regional Water System, Upper Mississippi River navigation and ecosystem projects, the Child Protection Training Center at Winona State University, flood mitigation in Owatonna and other requests from the lists of earmarks (2007 and 2008) that Walz has published earlier in order to help make the process more tranparent for his constituents.

While some political observers like to kvetch about earmarks in the abstract, Walz's specific requests have largely met with approval in the district press.  The Owatonna People's Press pointed out in An Earmark That Makes Sense, an editorial last year about the flood migitation project:

". . .there are times when the projects are worthwhile. The earmark that Mr. Walz has proposed for Owatonna is one such case. What makes it important is that it is not a bridge to nowhere, but funds which will help a community prevent flooding and help residents keep their homes from being damaged. Keeping people and their property safe from the ravages of Mother Nature seems a worthwhile goal for the government."

A day later, we made the case for funding the work of the Hormel Institute in a post Another common sense earmark: Austin's Hormel Institute. The biomedical at the Institute is largely directed at finding cures for cancer.

Yesterday's release:

WALZ ANNOUNCES FUNDS FOR KEY LOCAL PROJECTS, KEEPING JOBS IN SOUTHERN MINNESOTA

Appropriations requests clear major hurdle, likely to become law in March

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Congressman Tim Walz announced that Congress is likely to approve federal funding this week to sixteen important local projects that will help create and save jobs across southern Minnesota.

Walz said the funds are included in the FY 2009 Omnibus Appropriations bill, which is expected to pass the House of Representatives later today. The Senate is expected to take action on the bill in the coming days before sending it to President Obama for his signature.

“Projects like Highway 14 are critically important to southern Minnesota’s economic recovery,” said Walz. “These funds will not only create jobs as we expand the existing highway to four lanes, but it will also create economic opportunity for the majority of southern Minnesota’s businesses, who use Highway 14 to ship their goods.”

The funding in the FY2009 Omnibus Appropriations bill is in addition to dollars already targeted for these projects through the regular state budget and through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which was enacted earlier this month.

“These funds will do more than just create jobs,” continued Walz. “These dollars strengthen the fabric of our communities. Because of projects like the Lewis and Clark Regional Water System, Bolder Options, the Sherriff’s Youth Program, and Winona State’s National Child Protection Training Center, our children will drink clean water, receive invaluable support from caring adult mentors, and be less likely to fall pray to child predators. Investments like these in the future of our country are priceless.”

“Finally, these funds support the ongoing investment in renewable energy production, medical research, and education that President Obama called for last night in his address to Congress. The alignment between southern Minnesota’s priorities and the President’s goals could not be more apparent than in this list of projects I requested on behalf of the community leaders and citizens of southern Minnesota,” concluded Walz.

The FY2009 Omnibus Appropriations bill funding at the request of Congressman Walz for the following projects:

$200,000 for Bolder Options

To expand Bolder Options' youth mentorship program into the Rochester area

$713,625 for the Center for Renewable Energy at Minnesota State University, Mankato

This funding would support on-going research into cellulosic ethanol, biodiesel and other renewable forms of energy.

$290,000 for Crop Disease Research at the University of Minnesota

Research into crop diseases that threaten Minnesota's wheat, oat and barley industries.

$235,000 for the Competitive Farm Benchmarking Program at the University of Minnesota Funding for a project that helps farmers compare their costs of production and maximize their efficiencies of operation.

$323,000 for Hormel Institute in Austin Funds would help the Hormel Center develop an International Center of Research Technology to provide cutting edge technology to biomedical researchers from across the country and the world.

$2,375,000 Hwy 14 Waseca-Owatonna

Funds would support the four-lane expansion of Highway 14 from Waseca to I-35 at Owatonna.

$475,000 for 55th Street in Rochester

Funds would provide for final design, right-of-way acquisition and first stage construction of a 1.9 mile extension of 55th Street as a 4-lane expressway.

$27,000,000 for Lewis and Clark Regional Water System Centered in twenty communities in western Minnesota, northern Iowa, and eastern South Dakota, this pipeline provides treated water from the Missouri River to more than 300,000 people in three states.

Several Members of Congress from three states requested this funding. This area is so desperately short of water that there are restrictions on constructing new small business and residences; the pipeline will be essential to the economic viability of these small towns. Many of the communities involved have pre-paid the local share of the project, in order to keep inflationary costs at a minimum, and are only awaiting the federal share.

$700,000 for the National Child Protection Training Center at Winona State University

The Center trains social workers, teachers, and health care professionals to recognize and report signs of child abuse.

$500,000 for the Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife Refuge in Minnesota and Iowa

This project will support land acquisition to add acreage to the refuge.

$181,000 for St. Elizabeth’s Hospital Fresh Start Disease Prevention Program

Funds would support the expansion of a chronic disease management program in Wabasha to help participants reduce their risk of heart disease.

$190,000 for St. Mary’s University’s Teacher Mentorship Program

Funds would help expand the university's educator professional development programs by using technology to allow greater outreach to teachers in MN with impact on thousands of students in critical STEM subjects.

$200,000 for Sheriffs Youth Program in Rochester.

Funding would support the expansion of SYP’s services for at-risk youth.

$712,000 for Transit Operations Center in Rochester

Would fund the construction of a new 60-bus garage facility; as well as a new park-and-ride facility in Rochester.

$8,604,000 for Upper Mississippi River Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program

This multi-state project was requested by several Members of Congress. It will provide for the first phases of construction of new 1,200 foot lock chambers at several locks and dams along the Mississippi, implement small-scale navigation aids; and begin ecosystem restoration projects along the Mississippi River and Illinois Waterway.

$951,000 for Veterans Re-Entry Education Program in St. Paul

Funds would help Minnesota State Colleges and Universities and three state agencies create programs to help returning veterans find employment and educational opportunities.

While most of the federal funding for FY2009 was delayed until now, some funding bills did become law before President Bush left office. In the FY2009 bills that became law last year, Walz also secured the following funding:

$2 million for the Minnesota National Guard Beyond the Yellow Ribbon Program

$704,000 for the National Guard's Minnesota Army National Guard Armory Emergency Response Generators

$1.3 million for the Minnesota Helicopter Civil Band Radio Communication $2.224 million for Minnesota Satellite Multi-Modal Collaborative Crisis and Training Network $400,000 for flood mitigation in Owatonna, Minnesota

Wednesday quick digest: always late edition

We're off to a meeting in the Cities, so a few quick hits for now. The district media is filled with Congressman Walz's response to Obama's speech to the congress last night. The Albert Lea Tribune reports Tim Walz says he was ‘very pleased’.

 “I was very pleased,” Walz said, during a Tuesday night conference call with Minnesota media. “I think he hit on everything we wanted to hear and the people of Southern Minnesota wanted to hear.”

 Walz said Obama touched on several key areas that southern Minnesota is well-positioned to succeed in, including the need to reinvest in renewable energy and healthcare reform.   

 Walz cited the region’s wind farms as an example of the region’s commitment to renewable energy and cited the Mayo Clinic and the Hormel Institute as the region’s commitment to health care and cancer research.

Walz also said he agreed with the president’s comments on aiming to have the largest number of college graduates in the world by 2020.

 “We’ve got work to do, but we have a very clear path ahead of us,” he said.

 Walz was joined at Tuesday night’s speech by Rushford-Peterson Schools Superintendent Chuck Ehler. Walz stated he chose to invite Ehler to highlight not only the jobs that will be saved in the Rushford-Peterson schools because of the Title I  and special education recovery funds coming their way, but also because of the potential to create jobs by reconstructing a school that is in a dire state of disrepair. . . .

KEYC-TV reported Walz Discusses Obama's Speech, the MinnPost, Minnesota's members of Congress analyze Obama speech and the Post Bulletin says in Obama plan to rebuild gives hope:

Rushford-Peterson Superintendent Chuck Ehler, who attended Obama's speech as a guest of First District Democratic Rep. Tim Walz, said he was encouraged by the president's emphasis on education including early-childhood education.

Obama's speech gave Ehler hope that the deteriorating Rushford school may also get some federal help to rebuild. He will be meeting with federal education officials this morning with Walz to see if federal stimulus dollars might be available to help rebuild the 103-year-old school.

"Why not Southeastern Minnesota? If those dollars are going to be available, I feel our school has as great a need as any school in the nation," Ehler said.

Walz said he liked Obama's emphasis on renewable energy, considering the local wind farms and biofuel research.

"Nobody anywhere in this country is better positioned than in southern Minnesota from the infrastructure that is there," he said.

The MSU Reporter covers Friday's Town Hall meeting in Clean and green.

We hear from a friend that Congresswoman Bachmann was economizing by reading 12 day old issues of the WSJ on a recent flight to Washington, D.C. No doubt about it, she feels your pain.

From the Rochester airport, a buddy tweeted our cheatin' governor's press conference about recovery bill road projects.  Since the plane was late and Pawlenty was in bash and spend mode, we thought that Merle Haggard's cover of a great old cheating song, "Always Late", would be ideal for a sunny day before the storm:

Photo: Congressman Walz and Superintendent Ehler.

Walz statement of the president's address: the right focus

From the congressional office:

Walz says President Obama's speech focuses on the right priorities
Rescuing the economy, creating jobs and fiscal responsibility are the right priorities says Walz

(Washington, D.C.) - Congressman Tim Walz, a public school teacher and retired National Guard Command Sgt. Major, released the following statement regarding President Obama's address to the Joint Session of Congress.

"President Obama's speech tonight focused on the right priorities: creating jobs, getting our economy back on track and fiscal responsibility.
  
"President Obama was honest about the terrible economic mess we've inherited and how difficult it is going to be to get out of it. But he also showed confidence that we can get out of this mess and that our best days lie ahead of us.

"The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act he just signed into law was our first step in the right direction. It will create and save millions of jobs and get money flowing through the economy quickly again.

"One way it will do that is with crucial investments in economic priorities such as education. That's why I am very pleased that Rushford-Peterson Schools Superintendent Chuck Ehler was able to be my guest at the President's address this evening. He understands why this is such an important first step.

"I was especially impressed by President Obama's commitment to cutting the deficit in half by the end of his first term. It is a serious commitment and he has a real plan to do it. I look forward to getting his budget outline later this week.

"I was also pleased that President Obama put us on a path to long-term growth by addressing the serious need for health care reform, committing to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and recognizing the importance of modern schools that will help our children can compete in the global economy.

"All of this is going to require hard choices and shared sacrifice.  But I know that we are capable of it.  And I share President Obama's confidence that we will come out of this stronger than ever."

Photo: Congressman Walz and Superintendent Ehler.

Tuesday digest: finding what we find edition

An member chapter reports that the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce organized meetings of business leaders and Congressman Walz so that they could tell him about their opposition to the Employee Free Choice Act:

FEDERAL ‘CARD CHECK’The Minnesota Chamber is leading an effort to oppose the Employee Free Choice Act, otherwise known as “Card Check,” at the federal level. While we are working with our national partners like the U.S. Chamber and the National Association of Manufacturers, our members feel very strongly that this legislation undermines the principles of workplace democracy. Last week, we coordinated meetings with Congressman Collin Peterson and with Congressman Tim Walz attracting more than 100 business leaders in total. We also are trying to meet with Senator Amy Klobuchar.

We hope Congressman Walz sticks with his support of the bill. Here's why.

The Post Bulletin reoprts in Elk Run may get $1 billion boost:

The proposed Elk Run biobusiness park could get a huge capital boost this week, although all parties involved have been mum.

Published reports say that California-based developer Tower Investments is close to a deal with a major investor in California to create a $1 billion venture capital fund to help bring biotechnology startups to the state.

Tower Investments has proposed a 2,325-acre bioscience and residential campus along U.S. 52 near Pine Island.

According to a Star Tribune  report, San Francisco-based Burrill & Company CEO G. Steven Burrill will be the lead investor in the venture fund that will offer money to as many as 30 companies that agree to move to the Elk Run facility. . . .

. . .Brase said there has been ongoing dialogue between Mayo and Elk Run developers for a few years. The clinic has been part of a focus group and one of its employees, Larry Pease, has been on Elk Run's nonprofit advisory board.

"Mayo Clinic is really supportive of any effort to increase bioscience in Minnesota, especially in southeast Minnesota," Brase told the Post-Bulletin.

One project on a list sent to 1st District Rep. Tim Walz for federal stimulus money includes a $50 million project to improve highway access to the development site. Pine Island City Administrator Abraham Algadi said there has been discussion with the Minnesota Department of Transportation about a possible interchange near the site. 

In MinnPost's Obama's speech tonight: Watch for specifics and tone, Walz says:

Minnesota's representatives, most having just returned to Washington after a week spent in their districts, said that questions abounded over the specifics of the stimulus and bailout plans.

"I hope he [Obama] hits on the things that people are talking about," said Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn. "They want a sense that there is a plan. They want confidence again."

While traveling through his district in southern Minnesota, Walz said that he continually heard questions about the U.S. banks.

"They wanted to know, and not in talking points, what does it mean if the government takes over control of the banks?" said Walz. "What does nationalization mean?"

Good question.

This afternoon's song is from Idlewild, and goes out to all those who research, and find what they find:

Sunday digest: lucky Bockfest yes-we-can edition

The Star Tribune reports on The Great Stimulus Scramble. Walz bit:

Members of Minnesota's congressional delegation have been traveling around the state to help constituents make sense of the 1,703-page bill, and in some cases to help tout local companies. Last week, Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., visited the Miller Felpax Corp. in Winona, a maker of railroad equipment, which could see a bump in business from the Obama administration's new emphasis on high-speed rail.

We've been looking at some online tools for learning about projects submitted for possible funding under the Recovery Act and will be posting about these web sites later this evening or tomorrow morning.

The Mankato Free Press reports about the Energy Town Hall in Ethanol a 'step' to next stage:

. . . The Democrat from Mankato said that cellulosic technology shouldn’t include giant refineries such as corn ethanol plants but instead include more small operations.

Creating a new clean energy economy was the topic of the forum Friday at Minnesota State University.

Walz and other panelists, including former congressman Tim Penny, said the financial crisis and the stimulus package offer an unprecedented opportunity to change the course of the nation’s economy. “We have to get it right,” Walz said.

Dan Juhl, a wind energy business owner, said it’s vital to keep the new energy dollars local. Because of current tax credit laws, some 80 percent of the tax credits aimed at promoting wind farms goes to overseas conglomerates.

“We can keep our energy dollars in our communities and create jobs,” Juhl said.

Walz, who represents the 1st District, said Congress is working on rewriting the tax credit to get it to local wind cooperatives and businesses.

J. Drake Hamilton, of the group Fresh Energy, said the stimulus package can do what few imagined. “We got a big, huge kick-start from the economic recovery bill.” . . .

KEYC-TV has video from the town hall in More Green Jobs Coming.  The Fillmore County Journal has the local slant on the story of  Superintendent Ehler invited to attend Obama address to Congress by Congressman Walz.

The Campaign Diaries blog notes:

After voting for George W. Bush in both 2000 and 2004, MN-01 swung to the Democratic column by 8% to give Barack Obama a 51% to 47% victory. That makes Democratic Rep. Tim Walz look less vulnerable than he did since his upset victory in the 2006 midterms.

The absence of any public discussion of a Republican seeking endorsement for 2010 might also be a factor.

The New Ulm Journal reports that Schell's brewery got into the spirit of the times in Bockfest 2009: ‘Yes, we can!’

Bockfest 2009 must have put Schell's President and Brewmaster Ted Marti in a presidential mood Saturday afternoon.

When the Bockfest Boys took a short break from their performance, Marti spoke briefly to the crowd. His remarks echoed one of President Obama's now-famous speeches.

"They said we couldn't have an outdoor beer-drinking festival. Well yes we can!," Marti proclaimed. "They said we could have  a band that plays 'Ring Of Fire' 13 times?...Well, yes we can!"

The paper says 6000 people attended; the Journal's office was invaded:

THUMBS UP: The Journal was invaded by suspicious looking masked characters Friday afternoon. The Narren had once again kidnapped Mayor Joel Albrecht and were parading him around town, declaring that everyone was to take the day off and start celebrating Fasching.

We ignored their directive. After all, if Congress can make no law abridging freedom of the press, neither can the Narren. Besides, who would put their picture in the paper if we all took the day off?

We hope the city will take a sterner stance with the Narren than in the past. The City Council should refuse to negotiate with kidnappers of public officials. Whatever ransom the Narren demand for the mayor should be denied. They've got him, and they can keep him.

In the mean time, happy Fasching and Bock Fest to all.

The Albert Lea Tribune reports People come out to make their voices heard by the state legislature. Doesn't sound like most of the 200 people were too happy with Governor Pawlenty's proposed cuts. Maybe they need a beer, or perhaps the Narren should kidnap Pawlenty.

The Owatonna People's Press reports that the actor who plays the head bad guy in "Gran Torino" attended the local high school before moving to St. Paul. He wasn't typecast.

This evening's hymn is from The National, and is dedicated to all those who ever thought they were being followed by a guy with a talking dog:

Friday digest: repowered catch-up edition

A local energy group notes in Southeast CERTs News: Town Hall Clean Energy Forum in Mankato that the event at MSUM starts at 11 a.m. in the Student Union. The MSUM Reporter also noted the forum in Going green - Campus News.

Yesterday, the Winona Daily News looked at a visit to a local business in Walz says stimulus will create jobs in region:

Steve Blue is like other CEOs in America today — he’s not inclined to spend until he knows when the hard times will end.

Blue, CEO of Winona-based Miller Felpax, said Wednesday he had to lay off two employees in recent months as the company’s sales dropped 18 percent. . . .

. . .Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., toured Miller Felpax, which designs and makes locomotive parts, and said during a tour Wednesday it could benefit from tax credits in the new federal stimulus bill that encourage businesses to make capital investments. Walz touted his support for the stimulus bill but acknowledged Congress must do more to aid homeowners facing foreclosure and to address the causes of America’s economic collapse.

“We need a short-term fix to quit bleeding jobs,” Walz said.

President Barack Obama and Democratic supporters project the $787 billion stimulus package will create 3.5 million new jobs nationwide, and 7,800 jobs in the Minnesota First Congressional District that Walz represents. Opponents of the bill, primarily Congressional Republicans, have called it a pork-laden spending spree that doesn’t contain enough of the provisions — like tax cuts — that would have more effectively stimulated economic growth.

Walz acknowledges the bill isn’t perfect. He wanted more money to balance state budgets and more discussion of how to pay for one of the largest economic recovery packages since the New Deal. Reforms to entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security “need to be talked about” in the coming months to make the federal budget solvent, Walz said.

During Wednesday’s tour of Miller Felpax, Walz praised the company as a model of how small businesses can compete in today’s global economy. For example, Blue said the company recently sold parts to the Japanese firm Toshiba to install on locomotives in South Africa.

KTTC-TV also covered the visit. Walz spoke to Winona Radio:

Representative Tim Walz is predicting the federal economic stimulus package signed into law by President Barack Obama this week will have a positive impact on his First District, including the Winona area.

Walz told Winona Radio News the package will create or protect over 7000 jobs in southern Minnesota. Walz also said there will be some direct benefits to families, education and infrastructure in his district.

While Walz forwarded a wish list of $625 million in projects to be funded by the stimulus package to Governor Tim Pawlenty, Walz said he is not sure how many will actually get the funding.

MnIndy's Capitol Catchall and Minnpost's Daily Glean picked up on the fact-checking of the thanks-for-SCHIP ads running in support of Walz and Paulsen. As the latter says:

Wow — the "Truth Test" season for political ads has begun already? KSTP's Tom Hauser examines a couple of "thank you" ads from a pharmaceutical-labor-funded group aimed at Congressmen Erik Paulsen and Tim Walz, who voted for kids' health insurance. Turns out the valentines are true!

MPR reports in $1 billion bioscience center [is] planned for Rochester area:

A San Francisco-based venture capitalist who manages hundreds of millions of dollars in biotech investments has joined an effort to turn a little-known development in tiny Pine Island, Minn., into a biotech research powerhouse.

The site is known as Elk Run, and these days, it isn't much to look at. It's a fenced stretch of vacant land along Highway 52, about 10 minutes north of Rochester. . . .

. . .Several legislators say MnDOT is also weighing a $50 million project to improve highway access to the site.

U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, who represents the area, told MPR he met with developers this week to talk about the highway project, including the potential for using federal stimulus funds for highway access.

The Mankato Free Press reported Required levee certification could be costly and so local leaders vow they'll be taking their case against the FEMA regs to Congressman Walz and Senator Klobuchar.  The Jackson County Pilot says that local leaders will be exploring federal funding with help from Walz's office in New avenues for resource center.

The Pipress's column by Ruben Rosario: Stalled suicide report could've saved lives mentioned the DOJ's cronyism in awarding youth program grants and the subsequent investigation that followed Tim Walz's inquiries.

The true valentine mentioned by the Daily Glean suggests an old jazz standard. Here's Chet Baker's take:

Coalition thanks Walz for supporting recovery bill

 A friend forwarded us this press released released by Jobs and Economic Recovery:

Coalition of Major MN Organizatons Gathers to Celebrate Passage of President Obama's Jobs and Economic Recovery Plan, Turning the Page on Failed Economic Policies of the Past Eight Years

Hope and 3.5 Million Jobs Are on the Way as Rep. Tim Walz and Congress Pass Most Important Legislation on the Economy since the New Deal

Rochester, MN – A large and diverse coalition of MN organizations gathered today at the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers to celebrate the signing into law of President Barack Obama's 'American Recovery and Reinvestment Act" as a historic and politically transformational achievement. Passage of the Obama jobs plan will create 3.5 million jobs and jump start the economy in the near and long term by making investments in education, transportation, health care and renewable sources of energy in addition to providing tax relief to 95 percent of Americans.

Congressman Tin Walz (MN-01) was repeatedly commended for his leadership in Congress on his work to pass this bill and save and create over 7,500 jobs in Southern MN, according to White House estimates.[pdf here here]

Groups gathering today to applaud the work of Rep. Tim Walz included ACORN, AFSCME Council 5, Alliance for a Better MN, Americans United for Change, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, SEIU MN State Council, SE MN Area Labor Council, SE MN Building Trades, TakeAction MN and USAction.

"Passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is a major victory for the American people who are seeking relief from the worst economic crisis in a generation," said Wes Urevig, President of the Southeastern MN Building and Construction Trades. "Americans voted for a change of direction in November, rather than more of the same failed economic policies that ran our economy into the ditch in the first place, and President Obama and Congressional Leaders have already begun to deliver. The Obama jobs plan – which will save or create 3.5 million jobs – makes the investments in transportation, health care, education and renewable energy necessary to jump start the economy and create jobs in the near and long term – while also providing tax relief to 95 percent of Americans.

Southeast Area labor Council President Laura Askelin added "Passage of the Obama jobs plan will not only play a critical role in turning our economy around and getting people back to work, it represents a transformational and historic moment for our country. This achievement represents a dramatic shift away from the failed trickle down economic policies of the past to a new progressive approach that builds our economy from the bottom up by investing in people and communities."

"We're also extremely grateful to Rep. Walz for supporting President Obama's recovery plan that's going to put millions of people back to work and get the economy back on track. He stood up to the attacks from right-wing radio and the Republicans in Washington that would rather do nothing in the face of the worst recession since the Great Depression," said Donald McFarland, MN Spokesperson for Americans United for Change.

Congressman Tim Walz's Deputy District Director Francy Hall delivered these remarks for Rep. Walz, " …this bill could not be passed without the tireless work of the union and advocacy organizations right here in MN. While our economy is on shaky ground, who better to rebuild its' foundation than our unions and their members."

Photo: local labor and progressive leaders gathering in Rochester to celebrate President Obama's signing of the Recovery Bill.

Update: Dusty Trice, a guy who owns a great dog, sent us the YouTube clip. Thanks.