Yesterday, Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton and Lt. Governor Tina Smith released details of the administration's bonding bill, labeled a jobs bill by Dayton and Smith.
Across the state, news media reported on the local angle in the $1.5 billion proposal.
At the St. Peter Herald, Nancy Madsen reports in Local projects included in Dayton's $1.5 billion bonding bill:
St. Peter’s Minnesota Security Hospital once again tops the list for regional projects supported in Gov. Mark Dayton’s bonding bill proposal.
He released his proposal on Wednesday morning. As in 2016, he proposed $70.3 million for a second phase of expansion and renovation at the security hospital. He again proposed $14.5 million for the Minnesota Sex Offender Program to support community preparation services on the DHS campus and $12.4 million for two secure facilities in communities for those who are provisionally discharged.
Dayton reiterated the need for the project funding. . . .
The Department of Human Services campus in St. Peter would see some of the largest allocations of money proposed in the $1.5 billion bonding bill, about $100 million more than he recommended last year. Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Myron Frans said the state has $3 billion in available capacity for 2017-18.
“These projects are vital to the future of Minnesota,” Dayton said. “We have the capacity to do this and it would be just a shame if we fail to seize that opportunity.” . . .
In nearby Mankato, Trey Mewes reports in the Free Press article, Security Hospital, SCC, MSU part of Dayton's $1.5B bonding proposal:
Major south-central Minnesota projects from last year are included in Dayton's proposal, which he said was a combination of projects he championed in 2016 and projects lawmakers brought up during last year's session.
The governor proposes giving $4.4 million to Minnesota State University and $6.4 million to South Central College for renovation projects. That's less money than he previously recommended in 2016 — MSU requested $6.5 million while SCC asked for $8.6 million.
Dayton also reiterated his support for the Minnesota Security Hospital's $70.3 million request to complete the final stage of renovations and improvements to its campus at the St. Peter Regional Treatment Center.
"This is beginning to catch up to what the needs are there," he said.
The governor once again included $14.5 million for a transition program building at the Minnesota Sex Offender Program in St. Peter, and $12.4 million for similar MSOP transition efforts throughout the state. . . .
The bill also includes $98,000 in public infrastructure funding for Madelia to help offset reconstruction costs after a fire destroyed several downtown businesses last February.
Other projects include $3.4 million for Highway 4 reconstruction in St. James, $1.2 million for repairs to the Sakatah Trail in Le Sueur County, and $400,000 for a Department of Natural Resources fish hatchery in Waterville.
The Worthington Globe's Karl Evers-Hillstrom reports in Dayton’s bonding recommendations include water pipeline for Worthington:
The Lewis & Clark Regional Water System connection to Worthington was the first item listed in Gov. Mark Dayton’s $1.5 billion bonding proposal released Wednesday.
The language used by Dayton is nearly identical to the description of the project in last year’s bonding bill. The proposal asks for $11.5 million to finish construction of the pipeline deliver water to Worthington. . . .
Dayton’s recommendations include $1,332,000 in Higher Education Asset Preservation and Renewal (HEAPR) funding for Minnesota West Community and Technical College (MWCTC) in Worthington.
The funding would go toward work on the Library and Academic Resource Center’s roof.
HEAPR is used exclusively for upkeep of higher education buildings. The funding is part of an $80 million package aimed at Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU). . . .
Other projects in the area will resolve issues at the Luverne Veterans Home, Blue Mounds State Park and the Windom MnDOT office.
In Willmar's West Central Tribune, Carolyn Lange reports in Dayton bonding includes youth psychiatric hospital in Willmar:
Money to build a new psychiatric hospital for youth in Willmar is included in Gov. Mark Dayton's proposed bonding bill.
If approved, the $7.5 million allocation would be used to build a new 16-bed facility in Willmar to replace the one currently in operation on the MinnWest Technology Campus.
In the past, Dayton had proposed closing the Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Services program, which is the only one of its kind in the state, and transferring the clients and jobs elsewhere.
In a conference call Wednesday with reporters about his 2018 bonding bill proposal, the Democratic governor said keeping the mental health facility for youth open in Willmar was a "top priority" of Rep. Dave Baker, R-Willmar. . . .
Dayton listed several other Willmar projects in his proposal, including $1 million for facility improvements at Ridgewater College and $800,000 in military affairs asset preservation at the National Guard Armory.
Regional projects include $3.5 million to help fund the final segment of flood prevention levee in Montevideo, $3 million for power generation improvements in Litchfield, $300,000 in facility improvements at Minnesota West Community and Technical College in Canby and $1 million in facility improvements at Ridgewater College in Hutchinson.
Dayton's $1.5 billion proposal is less than half of the $3.7 billion in submitted requests, but it may be much larger than what Republicans are willing to consider given that this is typically not a bonding year.
In the St. Cloud Times, Kristi Marohn reports in Dayton's bonding bill would fund St. Cloud prison fixes:
The governor's proposal would borrow money for infrastructure projects across the state, including railroad safety improvements, repairs to college and university buildings and flood mitigation efforts.
On a conference call with reporters in outstate Minnesota, Dayton said it would be "tragic" to miss the opportunity to invest in projects that will create jobs and benefit Minnesota, especially given the state's $1.87 million budget surplus. . . .
Among the St. Cloud-area projects included in Dayton's proposal:
• $18.5 million for a new intake unit, loading dock and central warehouse at the Minnesota Correctional Facility-St. Cloud.
• $14.1 million to repair the perimeter wall at the St. Cloud prison.
• $1.32 million for asset preservation at the St. Cloud prison.
• $1.55 million for the Department of Natural Resources for repairs to St. Cloud dam.
• $4.7 million in Higher Education Asset Preservation and Renovation funds for St. Cloud State University, which can be used to extend the useful life of buildings through mechanical, plumbing, electrical, roof and other repairs.
• $3.1 million for a railroad/pipeline safety training center at Camp Ripley.
• $750,000 for the DNR for flood mitigation at the Melrose wastewater treatment plant levee.
Zach Richie reports for Duluth's Fox 21 in Local Projects React to Governor’s Bonding Bill Proposal:
Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton has proposed the largest bonding bill in the state’s history. The $1.5 billion bill would fund projects all over the state.
Several projects around the Northland have made the governor’s list. Many of them were on last year’s bonding bill as well. Some are hoping that the 2017 version of the bill passes and that it doesn’t have a similar fate as the 2016 bill.
Kris Eilers of the St. Louis River Alliance is hoping that the bill will pass this session.
“We didn’t come away empty handed last year, that’s why I’m feeling a little more optimistic,” said Eilers.
$25 million is slated to go to cleanup of the St. Louis River which is also a project that triggers a 65% federal match. If the bill doesn’t pass, there’s a chance that the match could be lost and that the state could bear the price.
“Things could change down the road and we could lose that money, so this project does need to get done,” said Eilers.
Over at UMD, they’re hoping the bill brings $28 million for a new chemistry and advanced materials science building. . . .
The bonding bill also would provide: $21 million for the conversion of the Duluth steam plant; $8 million for the Hermantown Regional Wellness Center; $7.4 million for the reconfiguration of the campus at Hibbing Community College; $6.6 million for runway construction at the Duluth International Airport; and $5.6 million for the Duluth Seaway Port Authority; as well as other projects.
In Dayton submits $3.5 million bonding proposal on behalf of Brainerd National Guard armory, Zach Kayser reported at the Brainerd Dispatch:
...During a press conference call Wednesday, the list of Brainerd area projects in Dayton's new proposal he rattled off included $3.5 million to renovate the Guard's Brainerd Readiness Center, known colloquially as the Brainerd Armory.
Staff Sgt. Anthony Housey, a Minnesota National Guard spokesman, said the Brainerd Readiness Center is one of the older armories in the state, having been originally completed in 1989. Housey said the renovation will bring the facility's HVAC system up to code, make the building more energy-efficient, and reflect a gender-integrated Guard by including more facilities for women, such as locker rooms. The building came up on the rotation of National Guard facilities projects to be submitted to elected officials for possible bonding money . . . .
The proposal Dayton released Wednesday also included several area projects that made his 2016 list, including $3.5 million for a Minnesota Department of Natural Resources facility on Mille Lacs Lake to help combat the walleye shortage there, $100,000 for the DNR's fish hatchery in Brainerd, and $3.521 million for a Joint Emergency Response Training Center at the National Guard base at Camp Ripley, to help emergency responders from agencies across the state train to react to a potential oil train derailment. . . .
At WDAY (Fargo/Moorhead), Jordan Schroeer reported in Anticipated Moorhead underpass project in Gov. Dayton's bonding bill:
Moorhead could finally have an underpass for the train if the governors bonding bill goes through.
The bill has $1.5 billion worth of projects including more than $42-million for an underpass. . . .
Moorhead's mayor says she's been pushing for the underpass for years and knows the trains are a massive frustration.
"Really it is a safety factor and that's what we sell it on, but the truth is it's annoying, so people will all feel it and all appreciate it when we get that done," said Del Rae Williams, Moorhead Mayor.
The Rochester Post Bulletin's Heather Carlson reports in Local projects included in governor's $1.5 billion construction plan:
Tucked inside the governor's proposal is $14.5 million to renovate Rochester Community and Technical College, $2.3 million to renovate Rochester International Airport and $1.5 million to expand The Reading Center in Rochester. During a call with reporters, Dayton challenged lawmakers to pass a robust public works bill in the first month of the legislative session. He said it is especially urgent that lawmakers take action after failing to reach agreement on a bonding bill last year. . . .
Dayton's office estimates the governor's proposal would create nearly 23,000 jobs. Including in the package is $140 million for local roads and bridges, $167 million for water infrastructure improvements and $315 million for college and university campuses. Other southeast Minnesota projects funded include $4.5 million to upgrade Red Wing's waterfront and the Sheldon Theatre, $17 million for Winona State University's Education Village and $15 million for a rail grade separation on Sturgeon Lake Road in the Prairie Island Indian Community. The governor indicated he would also like to see a large bonding bill next year as well. . .
At the Winona Daily News, Glen Olson reports in Winona State's Education Village back on table; Dayton jobs bill sets early tone at Legislature:
. . . In Winona, the recommendations include the full funding, $25.3 million, for the main phase of WSU’s Education Village. Work on the project, intended to transform the way teachers are trained in the state, has begun, though the renovations will be limited to the funding provided for the first phase.
The plans have otherwise been put on hold, with Winona State awaiting legislative agreement on the funding. . . .
. . .The budget and bonding recommendations also include $2.28 million for WSU in a package of funding for Minnesota State’s higher education asset preservation and renovation projects. It would also provide $280,000 for the Winona Port in its traditional package of port improvement funding across the state. . . .
We could go on, but it's difficult to pay attention to all these projects in Greater Minnesota while our local Republican state representatives here in West Central howl at the frozen night sky about how little Dayton and Smith care for the wild prairie and how much goes to the Evil Metro areas.
Photo: A rail crossing in Moorhead that's annoying and unsafe. Will the Republican-controlled legislature approve Dayton's jobs bill and help make things better in the whole of the state?
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