Speaker-in-waiting Kurt Daudt just released the 2015-2016 House Committee Structure and Chair Appointments, and the twitterati is already wondering what's up with the Mining & Outdoor Recreation Policy committee that will be led by Tom Hackbarth (R-Cedar).
Me trying to understand the purview of the Mining and Outdoor Recreation Committee RT @DJDanielson "Beach volleyball?" - @cttrace
— Cole Trace (@cttrace) November 18, 2014
Bluestem believes that the committee's name is an attempt by the majority caucus to make Representative David Dill (DFL-Crane Lake) feel appreciated for his lifestyle.
Witness Dill's lament in last Wednesday's Bill Hanna article in the Hibbing Daily Tribune, Range House lawmakers to be in minority:
Dill said he believes the House Republican majority will be pro-mining.
And he said metro-centric DFLers, including some who were defeated, have never asked him about going fishing, snowmobiling and ATVing. “They don’t understand us and our lifestyle,” Dill said.
With the advent of the Mining and Outdoor Recreation Committee, Dill may finally have the empathy he claims to have never found from those unnamed "metro-centric DFLers," who maybe shouldn't have gone fishing on lakes and rivers in their own districts.
Range-based blogger Aaron Brown reacted to news of the Dill-appreciating committee name on our editor's Facebook page:
Aaron Brown Ha. Now THAT'S a committee. Almost perfect, if only Mich Golden Light was in the name, too.
Not everyone on social media is reacting with the same generosity as the genial writer:
@cttrace @sallyjos @DJDanielson tourists can now mine their own taconite. #worldsworstvacation
— Celeste (@celestesmarin) November 18, 2014
On our stretch of the prairie, there's Swift County's Appleton Area Recreational Park, where families enjoy ATV and motocross entertainment in a re-purposed gravel mine. We will inquire if facilities exist for a committee field trip.
Photo: David Dill, who will finally be appreciated for his lifestyle, especially if no Range-dedicated funds are raided by his Republican colleagues in the House. Photo via Politics in Minnesota.
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