A Bluestem Prairie

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.

Quick post and on the road: education and housing

We're about to go deal with the pleasures of air travel in a snowstorm, so posting after this will be light. The Sunlight Foundation's Transparency Camp was a great experience that brought together activists from across the political spectrum to discuss a common issue. We look forward to working on and writing about these issues as the weeks roll on (we hope a flight home will leave Reagan National within that time...).

Workday Minnesota reports in Despite economy, nation still committed to education, Walz tells teachers:

Despite the nation’s severe economic crisis, lawmakers are poised to make a renewed commitment to education, Congressman Tim Walz told members of Education Minnesota. And he invited educators to take the lead. “The future will be written by you with the next generation,” the 1st District Minnesota Democrat told more than 100 presidents of Education Minnesota locals gathered Feb. 21 for the union’s annual Presidents’ Conference. Walz addressed the members at the conference luncheon, where they were joined by their spouses and children. . . .

Read the rest at Workday Minnesota. The Mankato Free Press writes in First to benefit: public housing:

Money to public housing agencies, including about $400,000 for Mankato, is the first stimulus funding to be allocated to this region.

The stimulus bill, called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, gives $4 billion to housing agencies across the country, Mankato housing programs coordinator Patti Ziegler said. Three-fourths of that is allocated using normal methods, and the rest is competitive.

Ziegler said Mankato’s share of the housing stimulus will be spent on improvements to 80 of the city’s public housing units. That means new roofs as well as repairs and renovation to the units.

The 101-unit Orness Plaza may not get its long-planned repairs from the new cash because the $10 million project is using another source of money.

“We’re thrilled at the opportunity to provide safe, decent and affordable housing for working families in Mankato,” she said. . . .

. . .But it will be at least April 10 before the money is spent, Ziegler said, because local governments have to send their budgets to the federal government for approval.

Much of the stimulus money will go toward remodeling existing housing units.

Read the rest at the Free Press. The article notes that most work in the housing market by local contractors now involves remodeling. Only two new housing starts were reported in Mankato and North Mankato in January.

Sunday digest: airports and farms edition

The Rock County Star Herald reports that Luverne's airport may benefit from Recovery Act funds that could pay for runway expansion. 

In Farmers suddenly find ax poised over their subsidies, the Minneapolis Star Tribune:

It's not just Wall Street moguls who will feel the wrath of President Obama's budget.

Farmers in Minnesota and across the Midwest are headed for a showdown with the Obama administration over subsidy caps intended to limit government payments to the nation's wealthiest farmers.

Obama's first budget, released Thursday, rekindles the debate about millionaire farmers by ending direct payments to farmers with sales revenue greater than $500,000 a year, and limiting all commodity payments to a total of $250,000 per farmer.

Minnesota farmers received $305 million in direct farm payments in 2007, ranking the state sixth in the nation, according to the Environmental Working Group, which has long advocated for tighter limits on large farms that receive the bulk of the subsidies.

But some farm groups -- even those that advocate payment limits -- say that Obama's proposals go substantially beyond the farm reforms Congress enacted last year, and could cut into the earnings of more modest family farms.

"If you're a 1,000-acre corn farmer in western Minnesota, you will certainly hit that $500,000 gross sales limit," said Madison, Minn., farmer Doug Peterson, president of the Minnesota Farmers Union.

In 2007, 6,426 Minnesota farms had sales exceeding that level, according to U.S. Census data.

At current commodity price levels, Peterson said, the new limits could cost farmers as much as $1 a bushel.

"It's a little bit of a shock," said Blue Earth County corn and soybean farmer Kevin Paap, president of the Minnesota Farm Bureau Federation. "These payments are a critical part of the farm safety net.". . .

Minnesotans on the House and Senate Ag Committees react:

"We just passed a fiscally responsible farm bill that made cuts to farm programs, so now is not the time to reopen it," said Minnesota Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson, who shepherded the legislation through Congress as chairman of the House Agriculture Committee.

Peterson, who will be in the spotlight of the debate, is already feeling pressure from some of the nation's largest farm groups, including the American Farm Bureau Federation.

"The recently reformed farm bill substantially reduced commodity spending and tightened eligibility criteria for farmers," said Bob Stallman, the Farm Bureau's president. "We should not be singled out by any proposal."

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat who serves on the Senate Agriculture Committee, said she is open to additional limits on farm payments, but not if it means reopening other parts of the farm bill, the bulk of which provides food and nutrition programs for low-income families.

Obama's farm proposals, taking aim at a swath of rural America that typically votes Republican, provide substantial change from the law that went into effect this year. Farmers currently face a $750,000 cap on adjusted gross farm income to be eligible for farm subsidies. Obama's proposed $500,000 sales revenue cap would represent a much lower threshold.

"That's a big difference, and one that we think could pose a problem," said Rep. Tim Walz, a Democrat who believes the proposed limit could snag many of the dairy farms in his southern Minnesota district.

Former Senator Coleman served on the Senate Ag committee with Klobuchar and supported the bill. Al Franken supported the 2007 Farm Bill and was endorsed by the National Farmers Union's PAC. We doubt either one would whole-heartedly support Obama's proposal when seated in the Senate after the recount court battle is concluded. Franken does support Klobuchar's plan to prevent non-farmers from getting Farm Bill payments and the Dorgan-Grassley proposal to limit payments to any one farmer to $250,000.  

The flashpoint for many farm country reformers is Obama's proposal to base restrictions on sales of products rather than net income.

We're off to the second day of Transparency Camp.

Photo: The Luverne Airport.

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.

Will Pawlenty derail rural shortline upgrade?

The Mankato Free Press's Mark Fischenich reports in Area lawmakers seek funds for Sibley rail:

Improvements would benefit rural communities:

Area lawmakers are seeking $10 million in funding to upgrade the decrepit train tracks that serve as the only rail service through Sibley County.

The chances of getting that much probably aren’t great, but state and federal lawmakers have been chipping away at the $70 million planned upgrade for years and have managed to get portions of the aged track repaired.

“This is a really important project that we’ve been working on for a while now,” said state Sen. Kathy Sheran, DFL-Mankato.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar has joined the effort, getting nearly $1 million into a federal appropriations bill.

And there’s at least some hope the federal economic stimulus bill might result in funding for the 95-mile Minnesota Prairie Line, owned by the Minnesota Valley Rail Authority — a partnership of the counties served by the line. The line is short and fragile enough that train speeds and sizes are strictly limited, but it’s a key to economic growth in the towns between Hanley Falls and the western edge of the metro area.

The short line rail doesn't physically run through the First, but farm cooperatives and businesses in the north central part of the district. Improving the line is projected to create 600 new fulltime jobs. So what's the hitch? Fischnich's article ends:

The difficulty might go beyond persistence because Republican Gov. Tim Pawlenty is insisting that any bonding bill be small. Pawlenty opposes a larger bonding bill this year because the state is already up against the Legislature’s traditional self-imposed maximum for the amount of general fund spending dedicated to debt payments.

Earlier Bluestem Prairie posts about the Minnesota Valley Rail Authority include Media coverage: shortline coalition forms.

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.

Smartest guy in Southern Minnesota thanks Congressman Walz for earmark

The Rochester Post Bulletin reports in Hormel Institute could land $323,000 in appropriations:

The Hormel Institute in Austin will likely receive federal dollars to help develop an International Center of Research, which officials believe will help provide cutting edge technology to biomedical researchers.

The U.S. House of Representatives approved it 245 to 178 Wednesday, with the Senate taking action on the bill in the coming days. If passed, it would be sent on to President Obama for his signature.

The institute would receive $323,000 from the bill, said U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, the DFL congressman from the 1st District who included the item in the bill.

Officials with the Hormel Institute were excited about the news.

"We are deeply indebted to Congressman Walz and the diligent, dedicated effort he makes to secure funding support for the Hormel Institute," said Dr. Zigang Dong, Hormel Institute executive director. "The growth we have achieved -- and the future growth we will continue to strive for -- depends on the important partnerships we share with our community and the support we receive from our leaders, such as Congressman Walz."

At the Hormel Institute, Dr. Dong has assembled an incredible staff of researchers from throughout the world to engage in research aimed at curing and preventing cancer. Expanding the research center's reach is a good thing.

The Congressional appropriation isn't the only federal money going toward the Hormel Institute. Back January, the Post Bulletin (article available here) reported:

A $1 million federal grant is going to the Hormel Institute to study an herbal compound's ability to help prevent prostate cancer.

The National Institutes of Health also is providing another $525,000 for supporting the costs related to the project, according to the Hormel Institute.

Junxuan "Johnny" Lu, a cancer biology professor at the Hormel Institute in Austin, will lead the five-year project to study an herbal compound known as PGG, or 1,2,3,4,6-penta-O-galloyl-beta-D-glucose, which is present in some Asian medicinal herbals, officials at the institute said.

Cell studies indicate the compound might have a strong cancer inhibitory effect, researchers say.

Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer death in American men and was expected to kill about 29,000 people nationwide in 2008, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Work on the project started earlier this month in the institute's labs, Lu said.

"What we hope is to prevent the cancer from ever happening," Lu said during an interview last week in his second-floor office at the institute's newly expanded building.

The researcher probably will want to first target men with high risk, he said, then eventually see if it's good for the general public.

If the research proves PGG is a safe and effective cancer preventive compound in models, the Hormel Institute plans to do further research to plan for human clinical trials, Hormel Institute says. The goal is to benefit both prostate-cancer patients and men's health, in general.

A collaboration between Lu, the grant's principal investigator, and professor Sung Hoon Kim led to the project, officials said. Kim is a visiting professor at the institute from Kyung Hee University in Seoul, South Korea.

The Hormel Institute is a University of Minnesota research unit and a research collaborative partner with Mayo Clinic.

While Dr. Dong and his colleague are thanking Walz, we think we'll thank the researchers themselves for the work they're doing battle this scourge.

Photo: Dr. Zigang Dong of the Hormel Institute. We've listened to him discuss his research several times, so we're not joking about "the smartest guy in Southern Minnesota." For more on the Hormel Institute's work, see our earlier post, Another common sense earmark: Austin's Hormel Institute.

What's missing from the Rothenberg Report rankings

Via the Minnesota Independent and Smart Politics, we visited the Rothenberg Report's 2010 House Rankings, which handicap competitive districts in the 2010 election. Erik Paulsen's MN-03 and Michele Bachmann's MN-06 are on the list as "Republican favored."

Bachmann was on the February 2007 list along with Congressman Walz, the equivalent ranking for the 207-2008 cycle. At this time in 2007, four Republicans were actively discussing plans to seek their party's endorsement, and eventual endorsee Brian Davis would hop in the race a couple of months later.

Walz's 62.5 percent to Davis's 32.9 percent of the vote in November 2008--along with the absence of any public discussion of a Republican opponent to challenge the congressman in 2010?  Probably enough to bump te district off the radar.

And while MN-01 wasn't showing up on anyone's radar in February 2005, Walz's FEC fundraising report for Q1 2005 does show that the teacher and former National Guard member was already in the fight, having received his first large contribution on January 27, 2005 while his statement of organization was filed February 10, 2005. Davis and Demmer still have committees; we'll see in the next set of FEC reports if they're oing much other than trying to eliminate their committees' debts.

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:

Coffee talk, and reflections about researching the recovery bill online

The Albert Lea Tribune offers a good picture of Coffee with a congressman at the local Hyvee on Saturday. Another photo in the online edition demonstrates how slippery the roads were.

Slippery conditions are on our mind of late. We're heading to the Sunlight Foundation's Transparency Camp this weekend in Washington D.C. The ability of citizens to access government information is important to us, and lookng at various stimulus watch sites brings this home to us after friends asked for help in understanding one site in particular.

The friends' questions about that "stimulus watch" site taught another lesson:  the importance for site designers to make the nature of their own sites--and the nature of the data that they contain--perfectly clear to the casual researcher.

All data isn't equal, and potential users--especially those who don't research for a living--need to be able to know what they're mining. They shouldn't have to dig to find that basic information about the database, either.

Our friends' confusion, coupled with headlines like Saturday's WaPo's Obama to Hold Cities Accountable for Stimulus Spending . sent us looking for sites that allow people to learn more about how money is being spent under the newly signed Recovery bill.  Our search provided a look into the fascinating world of websites that re-crunch datasets, what the sites are, and what the casual reader might take take them to be.

The Obama administration has set up http://www.recovery.gov with the intent of allowing citizens to see how their tax dollars are being spent. The self description:

Recovery.gov is a website that lets you, the taxpayer, figure out where the money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is going. There are going to be a few different ways to search for information. The money is being distributed by Federal agencies, and soon you'll be able to see where it's going -- to which states, to which congressional districts, even to which Federal contractors. As soon as we are able to, we'll display that information visually in maps, charts, and graphics.

The site features a timeline, which suggests when information about projects and spending with become available. However, since the project themselves in the 50 states haven't been selected yet, there's still not much to look at. That situation should change quickly in the coming weeks.

Again: recovery.gov is the official site.  Given the enormity of the database management issues involved, it's not surprising some kinks need to be worked out. Watchdogs are keeping an eye on the Big Dog at recovery.gov.  More on this development in a moment.

When using the limited, non governmental stimulus watch sites that have been set up, users should look carefully at the way those private sites' designers used what are at this point essentially wish lists   We're hoping that users stop to consider the critical thinking tools they need to evaluate watch sites themselves. A look at the site that brought friends to us for help in a bit.

First, the watchdogs taking a close look at the government site.

The challenges of integrating different sets of data from state and local governments are detailed in Transparency of Recovery.gov under scrutiny at the Federal Computer Week site:

Some of the state and local government databases and networks expected to send data into Recovery.gov are not as advanced as the federal site. They are not all compatible with one another or federal formats, according to several watchdog groups involved in oversight of the stimulus. Experts say fixing the problem could prove challenging at a time when the goal is to speed stimulus money into the economy as rapidly as possible.

“When the federal authorities give money to states, that tracking is kind of opaque,” said Craig Jennings, federal fiscal policy analyst with OMB Watch, which recently helped form the Coalition for an Accountable Recovery with 32 organizations. “The federal government gives money to states, states give it to cities, and it gets convoluted.”

The watchdog groups urged the Obama administration and the states to quickly standardize those data formats and transmissions to maintain the most up-to-date and accurate stimulus spending totals.

The database challenges with tracking federal spending are not all new. Some issues surfaced in the development of USASpending.gov, which has been operating since December 2007. While the Web site has received high marks for transparency in general, it has a mixed record on subcontracts and grants.

Administration officials have pledged that Recovery.gov will allow visitors to track the stimulus spending. That database will contain data flowing into it from federal, state and local agencies and possibly contractors. About half the stimulus money is expected to flow through state and local governments.

On May 20, federal agencies are to begin reporting their competitive grants and contracts, according to Recovery.gov. On July 15, the recipients of grants and contracts, which include state and local governments and businesses, will report on their performance.

OMB Watch lists the membership of the Coalition for an Accountable Recovery:

The coalition members are (alphabetically):

21st Century School Fund Building Educational Success together (BEST) Center for Cities and Schools Center for Community Change Center for Economic and Policy Research Center for Fiscal Accountability Center for Responsive Politics Center on Policy Initiatives Common Cause Consumers Union Economic Policy Institute Good Jobs First Moms Rising National Institute for Money in State Politics National Training and Information Center

OMB Watch Open Technology Initiative/New America Foundation OpenTheGovernment.org Partnership for Working Families PICO National Network Progressive States Network Project on Government Oversight Public Citizen Public Knowledge Smart Growth America Sunlight Foundation Taxpayers for Common Sense Transportation Equity Network United States Public Interest Research Group (U.S. PIRG) WashingtonWatch.com

Go take a look at what the umbrella recovery transparency watchdog group is up to. We've bookmarked the site for our own reference.

Now, the look at one the most heavily promoted private sites set up to let citizens monitor recovery project. Unfortunately, the limited scope of this site doesn't offer any local projects for Southern Minnesotans to follow. Friends report their consternation after using one site in particular, though their reactions are the result of a simple omission of prefatory information than from some darker to design to exclude them.

The Sunlight Foundation blogged about the launch of Stimulus Watch, a  private site some acquaintances took to be the official site--despite the site's own disclaimers to the contrary:

StimulusWatch.org was built to help the new administration keep its pledge to invest stimulus money smartly, and to hold public officials to account for the taxpayer money they spend. We do this by allowing you, citizens around the country with local knowledge about the proposed "shovel-ready" projects in your city, to find, discuss and rate those projects. These projects are not part of the stimulus bill. They are candidates for funding by federal grant programs once the bill passes.  [emphasis added by BSP] Learn more by reading the FAQs.

This site has gotten a lot of attention, but what impressed us as we dug into the FAQ was the very limited scope of the data. If the projects are NOT part of the stimulus bill, what are they?

We had to  go off the site itself to find out.urns out that the projects are drawn from a report--itself complied from four surveys--by the U.S.  Conference of Mayors, which draws its membership from leaders of cities of 30,000 or more. In Minnesota's First Congressional District, that means Rochester and Mankato.

And yet when we dig into the USCM's report from 779 cities, we find that neither community was part of the four surveys. We also had to go the the USCM site, and dig into the pdf of the report to find out in one place the number of cities included; on page 3 in the pdf, we learn:

Today we are reporting that, in 779 cities of all sizes in all regions of the country, a total of 18,750 local infrastructure projects are “ready to go.”

The USCM site provides a number of ways to review the data. What the Stimulus Watch site provides, then, isn't so much accessible data (since that is searchable from a number of ways at the USCM site) but a forum for citizen watchdogging and commentary.

For the moment, it has nothing local for Southern Minnesotans to watchdog, though some of them were eager to chart the progress of the $625 million in local project requests they'd heard or read Congressman Walz forwarded to the Pawlenty administration. That's what brought this site and the larger questions raised about all citizen monitoring sites  for the recovery to our attention.

As the comments on Stimulus Watch's own post about a recent KSTP report that mentioned the project reveal, our friends aren't the only ones going to Stimulus Watch and drawing hasty conclusions.  The difference between projects in the USCM wish list that was used to construct the site's database--and the yet-to-be determined projects that will actually be funded-- could be clarified with a single sentence.

That sentence, on the front page of Stimulus Watch could simply state that it database only includes projects from the 779 cities included in the United State Conference of Mayors' report. We don't think the project's creator wanted to mislead anyone--we think they just didn't give enough thought to the casual researcher who isn't familiar with site and database evaluation.

In short, most of the country. Figuring out the limits of the database needn't be that hard. Transparency advocates should create tools that don't require a grad school bakground in research methods to use.

Photo: from the Albert Lea Tribune's  Scott Schmeltzer.  Rep. Tim Walz on Saturday morning at Hy-Vee in Albert Lea.

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:

Attention shoppers! Albert Lea Saturday store stop is first for 2009

This has been a busy district work week for Congressman Walz an his staff. Still there's time for a store stop during which constituents can meet with their U.S. Representative and some of his staff.

The details:

Today, Congressman Walz announced that he will resume his tradition of Saturday Store Stops this Saturday, February 21 in Albert Lea.

By visiting local grocery stores during peak shopping hours, Walz hopes to hear from constituents who might not otherwise request a meeting or submit their opinion on policy topics.

"I hope that people will take a few minutes Saturday morning to stop by and express their thoughts and concerns. I feel it is important to give everyone a voice during this time of economic trouble," said Walz.

Saturday Store Stop
Saturday, February 21
9:30 – 11:00 a.m.
Hy-Vee Food Store
2708 Bridge Ave
Albert Lea, MN 56007

Constituents can find Rep. Walz and his staff at a table near the Hy-Vee dining area.

This will be the first store stop of 2009 for Walz. During his first term in Congress, Walz conducted hundreds of meetings with individual constituents and representative organizations around southern Minnesota and in his Washington, D.C. office. Constituents can also contact Congressman Walz through his website at www.house.gov/walz or by calling 1-877-TIM-WALZ.

Photo: Walz meeting with constituents in a grocery store in 2008.

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.

Rushford-Peterson Superintendent Ehler to join Walz during Obama's address to Congress

Update:  Walz, area schools, and the recovery bill

There's a lot of back story behind Congressman Walz's invitation to Rushford-Peterson Schools Superintendent Ehler to watch President Obama's address to Congress and to meet with leaders while in DC. It's documented in the press release below.

Rushford residents initially took shelter in their high school, but it too flooded and the Red Cross set up a shelter in the empty TRW building.

In a story no long publicly accessible to non-subscribers (but preserved in part in a BSP post), the Post Bulletin noted that Congressman Walz had plans to travel to Iraq the day after the downpour that triggered  the flooding, but canceled his trip in order to visit the flood stricken area. From the PB:

U.S. Rep. Tim Walz got up early on Sunday, Aug. 19. He was heading to Iraq and wanted to finish packing for the trip.

But those plans would soon be disrupted by news of the massive flooding in southeast Minnesota.

Within hours, Walz was heading east toward flood-stricken areas, his trip to Iraq canceled. His first sight of the scope of the devastation came when he reached Rushford, a city of 1,700. There, he found a city underwater -- except for a small, dry bit of land.

"It was pretty dramatic," Walz said. "There was a small island with one church, a part of the school and a city building that was dry, and 15 feet away there were probably half a dozen boats docked, picking people up and shuttling them in and out."

. . .Since the flooding, Walz has made virtually daily visits to the flood zone -- at least six visits in the first week alone. Along with the state's two senators, Walz lobbied for an expedited disaster declaration, so that federal dollars could start flowing to flood victims.

When Rushford was in need of a fire truck because all its trucks were damaged by flooding, Walz's staff called around and arranged to have a tanker delivered from Esko, Minn.

As the flood waters receded, the town worked to get the school ready for opening day.  For Ehler, it was an unexpected twist for a job he had begun less than two week before the water rushed into the building. The Strib reported:

It wasn't the way new Superintendent Chuck Ehler expected to begin his tenure with the district, which enrolls 685 students at Rushford's elementary and high schools and the middle school in nearby Peterson.

But Ehler was philosophical. "In some respects, it's been invigorating from the standpoint that it does test your abilities," he said in his office Friday. "You go into overdrive and try to make the best decisions."

With the lower level of its main school complex swathed in sewage and mud, its school buses swamped by rising water and scores of families suddenly homeless, Rushford-Peterson was perhaps the school district hardest hit by the flash flooding that struck the region without warning.

The Star Tribune noted that the schools opened on schedule in School begins for Rushford's kids amid flood debris

As students reported for the first day of class in the Rushford-Peterson schools on Tuesday, plastic sheeting sealed off the high school building's lower level. Powder that attacks mold and mildew coated the choir room in ghostly white as the flood's dank stench hung in an unusable classroom.

Upstairs, the bathroom sinks and drinking fountains were wrapped in plastic, because the tapwater still was unfit to drink.

But with so much of life disrupted by the devastating floods that struck southeastern Minnesota last month, the school's leaders were determined to open classes on schedule.

Walz returned to Rushford in Oct 2007 and got an earful from the superintendent, according to the Tri County News:

WaIz seemed firmly in Ehler's corner [about the school's needs].

"These are not 'nice to have' things," WaIz said, "these are necessities. If you're going to replace computers or books for this year's classes, they have to be done.

"This is where we can play a role in this and get some answers," he added.

In some ways, the flood has been a test of leadership for both Walz and Ehler.

Flood damage wasn't the only issue for the district; its building is nearly 100 years old. The Rushford school district looked to Walz when the recovery bill began to be crafted,as the TriCounty News reported in Could Obama economic stimulus plan help R-P district schools? The Winona Daily News picked up the story in Rushford-Peterson hoping for federal funding for new school.

Walz fought to keep education in the recovery bill, as we noted in the post Walz takes lead on restoring education cuts in stimulus bill,

During this district work break, Walz toured another one of the First District's school in need of an upgrade.The Mankato Free Press reported in Walz tours USC school:

The United South Central School Board asked area property owners to approve a referendum to replace the district’s crumbling 76-year-old school and was turned down three times in three years.

The school district’s representative in the state House, Rep. Tony Cornish, asked lawmakers twice to cover half of the $25 million cost of a new K-12 school in Wells and was refused twice.

Hoping the sixth time, and the federal government, will be the charm, USC is now hoping a solution to their building problem will come from the federal economic stimulus bill to be signed today by President Barack Obama.

With the cost of the school project now expected to be at least $28 million, School Board Chairwoman Christie Wetzel would love to see $20 million or more in federal stimulus funding come to the district. But even $14 million would eliminate half the burden on taxpayers, possibly making it realistic that they’d see a bond referendum as affordable.

“It’s so hard right now to predict with the economy,” Wetzel said. “... I’d have to say we’d need half the money.”

Congressman Tim Walz toured the school Monday, agreed that the need for a new building was undeniable, but couldn’t offer anything close to a guarantee the school will receive that sort of a contribution from the stimulus bill. Walz, a former teacher at Mankato West High School, played a role, however, in guaranteeing that the district will at least have a shot at some money.

The House bill contained $20 billion for school construction projects. The Senate version had none. Walz helped line up a total of 46 House Democrats who sent a letter to congressional leaders saying school funding needed to be restored to the compromise bill, and $6 billion was put in the final $787 billion bill. . . .

The Star Tribune has posted an article about the Ehler trip to DC, and the comment section is ripping on the Rushford school's need for resources. Too bad they didn't listen to conservative state legislator Tony Cornish, who gets it about schools in the Free Press article:

But after touring the school in Wells, [Walz] thinks it would be an excellent use of the federal funds to get a new school built. Not only is it needed, it would create a substantial number of construction jobs and provide lasting economic development benefits by improving the educational opportunities of students there.

“We think this is exactly the type of project that fits the bill,” Walz said.

Cornish, R-Good Thunder, agreed.

“I can’t think of a better place to spend these dollars than education — a core function of government,” Cornish said. [emphasis added]

We hope Ehler speaks up in DC for all rural schools--and that people listen.

More on the UCS story from KEYC-TV in Walz: Stimulus Bill Could Help Revive Area School. [end update]

The press release from Walz's office:

strong>WALZ TO BE JOINED BY RUSHFORD-PETERSON SUPERINTENDENT WHEN OBAMA ADDRESSES JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS

Rushford-Peterson school in dire need of recovery funds to create and save jobs through school reconstruction

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Congressman Tim Walz announced he has invited Rushford-Peterson Schools Superintendent Chuck Ehler to hear President Obama address the Joint Session of Congress to be held on February 24, 2009. Rushford is located in northeastern Fillmore County.

Walz, who like all Members of Congress received only one additional ticket to the Joint Session said, “I chose to invite Superintendent 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.”

Walz toured the Rushford-Peterson High School shortly after the 2007 flooding which damaged the already crumbling 1906 structure. In December alone, the district spent more than $17,000 to heat the aging, inefficient building. Because of the flood, the small community of Rushford lost part of its property tax base and the community continues to be unable to support a bonding referendum to rebuild the school.

Superintendent Chuck Ehler said, “We have the tremendous task of providing a quality education for all students during these difficult economic times. Our children are one of our greatest resources, and it is our duty and responsibility to provide them with an education that will prepare them for an ever-changing global economy and world.”

“Schools across the State of Minnesota and the nation need financial resources to continue providing education for our future,” continued Ehler. “In our situation, we also desperately need a modern facility that assists us in supporting our educational mission, rather than diverting precious resources from the task of educating our children.”

Dr. Charlie Kyte, Executive Director of the Minnesota Association of School Administrators observed, "You cannot cut your way to success. To have a strong future economy, the current generation of children must be able to compete in a global economy. Funding for education in the American Recovery Act will help preserve the jobs of our excellent teachers and will create new jobs as we retrofit school buildings to be more energy efficient."

The Walz office will be arranging an opportunity for Superintendent Ehler to meet with federal Department of Education officials to discuss ways the Rushford-Peterson school might get funding for the reconstruction of the school while he is in Washington DC next week.

“Imagine how many jobs we could save if the Rushford-Peterson heating bill was cut in half every month,” continued Walz. “Making this school more energy efficient would not only create short-term construction jobs, but also save enough money long term to keep more teachers teaching in their classrooms.”

President Obama will address the Congress on the 24th of February in a State of the Union-style address. Obama’s first official State of the Union will happen in early 2010.

Congressman Walz and Superintendent Ehler will be available via conference call immediately after the speech to share their reaction to the address. Details TBA. For interview requests prior to February 24, please use the contact information listed above.

Video of the Rushford-Peterson High School is available here (click “A Case for Change”): http://www.r-pschools.com/rp/newschool

Photo: Rushford's high school, as flood waters recede in August 2007. Credit: Star Tribune.

Our own posts under the tag "Minnesota August 2007 floods" begin right here. A worthy chronicle offlood and recovery news since August 20, 2007.