Mr. Dahle Goes to St. Paul

The neighbor girl brought her new boyfriend home to meet her parents and they were horrified by his greasy hair, tattoos, dirty language, and air of hostility.  As he left, the mother said, “Dear, he doesn’t seem like a very nice person.”  And the daughter said, “Mother, if he wasn’t a nice person, why would he be doing 500 hours of community service?”

This past Saturday I addressed the statewide Fall Conference of the Sertoma Club at the Academy for the Deaf in Faribault.  Sertoma stands for Service to Mankind.  They sponsor a different type of community service: community projects to promote freedom and democracy, to assist youth with hearing loss, and a fill a variety of other local community needs.

The idea that a service organization promotes freedom and democracy is especially important to me.  As a Civics teacher I promote civic responsibility with my students.  We talk about the important qualities of a citizen essential in any democracy:

• • a responsible family member
  • Respects and obeys laws
  • Respects rights and property of others
  • loyal to the nation and proud of it
  • Uses natural resources wisely
  • Stays informed on important issues
  • Takes an active part in government
  • Believes in equal opportunity for all
  • respects individual differences and ways of life different from their own.
  • Takes part in and improves the life of their community

If there were more service organizations like Sertoma, there would be less of a need for the government to take up social issues of poverty, welfare, health and human service shortfalls.

The Sertomans also support hearing health and assist students with hearing loss by making their dream of an education a reality. They support advanced education to improve the lives of people with communicative disorders and support professionals through education grants so they may help those in need.

Local service clubs attract  the very best of our citizens.  Through clubs like the Lions, Jaycees, Rotary, Sertoma, and others,  there are so many opportunities to better our communities and impact lives.  Thanks for the Saturday, Sertoma!  Thanks for believing in citizenship, and the ideals of democracy and freedom we cherish.

The Friends of the Mill Towns Trail are excited about projects that may come to fruition by this time next year. I attended a meeting last night in Dundas with some of the Trails faithful describing what’s next for the trail.

There are 3 projects on the horizon. A bridge will be erected across the Cannon River in Northfield near Walgreen’s connecting to an underpass of Hwy 3. Some additional trail will be built west of Cannon Falls and another bridge will be built in Faribault which will include underpass access for both Hwys. 21 and Hwy 3 north of town. This is exciting stuff for trail enthusiasts. They have worked tirelessly to raise money to complete a trail providing the missing link between Mankato and Red Wing.

Money has come from several sources. The Northfield Bike tour this past weekend, as part of the Defeat of Jesse James Day celebration, netted nearly $16,000, two thirds of which will go to the Mill Towns trail.   Over 1300 riders took part.  Hats off to the Northfield Rotary club for organizing the event and for their generous donations over the years to the trail group. Local initiatives and cooperation are very effective in leveraging federal dollars and grant money. The trail received a federal grant several years ago. State money from the capital bonding bill brought in about $650,000 from the last session. And the DNR, an advocate for completion of the trail, has recently come through with lottery money for the trail.

There is still much to be done. Accessing right of ways, purchasing abandoned rail, completing trail heads and facilities, and maintaining existing trail is costly and involves long term commitment. The economic and recreational benefits for towns like Dundas and Northfield are worth the effort. We should all get behind these types of partnerships.

For more info about the trail: http://www.milltownstrail.org/

Across Minnesota today, the school day began with excitement and optimism. Students and teachers were in good spirits as they set their sights on another school year. I also settled into my classroom, this, my 25^th year of teaching, business as usual. However, my perspective has changed. While I look at my own classrooms and the climate around me, I am aware of a much bigger challenge we face as a State. The next legislative session will face the task of producing an education funding bill for the next two years during a time of economic uncertainty. And many school districts will look to the legislature to shore up some real funding issues that have surfaced over the past 5-8 years.

• Reliability Schools want a funding formula that is predictable. Districts have to prepare budgets years in advance. Declining enrollment, voter approved levies (or not), and unfunded mandates put serious strain on a district’s resources
• Stability While a district’s revenue source should be reliable, it should also be stable over time. Long range planning is essential for a district to meet its educational goals and its capital needs.
• Equity There has been a lot of discussion around the state about the funding inequity between metro and out-state schools. This is one part of the funding formula that needs serious scrutiny. We cannot have an education culture of haves and have-nots. Our students and staff need every resource available and an equal opportunity to tap into those resources.

In a few weeks I will be attending an E-12 Finance Committee retreat to take a serious look at the funding formula for our schools. While the Legislature will not officially tackle this issue until January, we are doing the legwork now to make sure we hit the ground running in 2009.

In the meantime I look forward to teaching Civics to a new batch of eager 9^th grade students. And this semester, I may spend an extra few days on state and local government. I seem to have some new insight on the topic, even after 24 years.

Let’s visualize a bipartisan project, bringing together local, state, and federal stakeholders intent on developing a strong plan with a specific timeline for success.  The Minnesota Valley Regional Rail (MVRR) Coalition is “on track” to achieve that success by 2011.  The MVRR Authority owns a short line railroad consisting of 94 miles of track between Norwood and Hanley Falls, Minnesota.  This rail serves some of the most productive agriculture counties in the state including parts of Sibley County and the towns of Arlington and Green Isle.  The rail handles commodities such as corn, fertilizer, biodiesel, ethanol, soybeans, lumber, and canned vegetables.

On Wednesday, August 20, I attended a meeting of over 100 people in Winthrop, to discuss how a coalition might strengthen support for additional funding at the state and federal level.  Also in attendance were State Senators Sheran and Kubly, State Representatives Morrow, Beard, Koenen, and Seifert, and U.S. Congressman Tim Walz.

The rail line’s restoration started in April 2002.  Rail traffic has been increasing consistently since service has been restored.  The revitalization of the line has sparked additional economic development in the area, including a proposed state of the art waste-to-energy gasification plant in Redwood Falls, creating hi-tech bioengineering jobs and additional economic growth to the region.  Heartland Corn Products expanded their ethanol production in Winthrop.  This rail can be a link to our smaller communities to keep them economically viable and:

• Keep pressure off our roads, specifically Hwys 19, 14, and 212
• Help keep food products and other goods affordable
• Promote environmentally friendly modes of transportation

While there is growing demand for use of the “Prairie Line” as it is called, the track needs some serious upgrades.  Much of the track is made up of 80 pound rail (from the 1880’s) which means the trains can achieve a maximum speed of 7 to 10 mph.  To increase the speed to 25 mph, the rails need upgrading and timber trestle bridges will have to  be eventually replaced, this at a  cost of approximately a half million dollars per mile.  Our small town and communities are a vital link to our larger regional centers.  They provide jobs and economic support which propels our state as a whole.  Reviving the Minnesota Prairie Line is a great example of how we can bring public and private coalitions together for community building, economic development, and rural sustainability.

On Thursday August 12, I attended a Legislative Town Hall Meeting at the Buckham Memorial Library in Faribault.  The issue:  public policy that impact people with disabilities. Several other legislators were in attendance, including Senate Minority Leader Dave Senjem, Representatives David Bly, Patti Fritz, Connie Ruth, Randy Demmer, And Jeanne Poppe.  The event was sponsored by Arc Southeastern Minnesota, Arc Mower County, Arc Freeborn County, MN Region 10 Quality Assurance and Self Advocacy Minnesota.

Clients, parents, workers, and advocates of people with developmental disabilities shared their issues and concerns.  Poignant stories about parents of children with mental health issues facing inadequate hospital facilities unable to cope with mental health crises: lack of coordination with social service providers, the need for a continuum of care, lack of trained personnel, and a shortage of trained personnel at so many levels.

Many of those in attendance received training prior to the town hall meeting which focused on self advocacy.  It is so important to give those with disabilities a voice to speak out, to register and vote, and even testify before the legislature.  Some of the other issues discussed include:

• Support workers and a living wage. Many workers are leaving the field because of the lack of realistic wages above the poverty level. Health insurance is not always guaranteed. The role of the caregiver must be valued to ensure the best care for the clients they serve.
• Maintaining a consistent and stable source of funding. In Rice County alone, there is a waiting list of over 50 individuals for home and community based services. Funding should fit individual needs. Funding for both services and housing should come from one funding source. We need to address increased transportation costs that affect many of the essential support services.
• The need for a single person directed plan and budget. People in the field (and their circles) should decide their plan and how best to allocate resources. Individuals with disabilities should have decision making control over their budgets. The funding should be community, neighborly, family focused, and not institutionalized. We need to address crisis needs. And we can’t put people in a position of accepting more services than they need to fit into the system.

There has been some progress in recent years with community and statewide mental health initiatives.  These programs need to include developmental disability.  We need a plan for better regionalization to ensure assistance is given to those in need.

As a state, we should continue to work to enhance the quality of life for persons with developmental disabilities, promoting basic assistance, relationships, inclusion, safety, dignity, and choice.  As one of the parents in attendance said to me, “I don’t want a handout… I just want to make sure my child will be taken care of should I die tomorrow.”  No parent should have those concerns.

Over 150 years ago, Minnesota received several land grants from the federal government to be held in trust for specific purposes, such as schools. On Wednesday of last week, I attended a joint hearing of the Environment, Energy, Natural Resources and the E-12 Education Budget committee regarding Minnesota’s school trust lands.

Today the state holds about 2.5 million acres of school trust land and about 1 million acres of land with mineral rights. In the past, money generated from these lands has been allocated to school districts, with a general fund subtraction. In other words, if a school district receives $1 from the land trust it would lose $1 from their general fund. In 2008, the legislature permanently eliminated that subtraction. This amounted to additional revenue per pupil. Belle Plaine received $34.2 per pupil unit, Northfield $32.5, and Cleveland received $30.3. Other senate district 25 school districts fell somewhere between that 30 and 35 dollar increase.

Although the future of mineral mining in Minnesota is uncertain, the potential is apparent. For example, three mineral deposits in the Duluth area alone contain resources that could generate royalties of $1.4 billion at today’s metal prices if mined over a period of 20-25 years. There is a dramatic growth in world demand for metals, spurred mostly by growth in Asia and emerging markets.

In state statute: The goal of the Permanent school fund is to secure long term economic returns consistent with Minnesota constitutional fiduciary responsibilities, with sound natural resource conservation management principles.

This committee and others will continue to look for ways to maximize this potential source of income. We will continue to look for ways to provide badly needed revenue and relief for school district budgets across the state of Minnesota. I am excited about the possibilities.

“At the next intersection, I want you to make a right turn. Don’t forget to signal.”

I had the pleasure of addressing the Northfield School Board last week and we talked about the recent legislative session and concerns about education funding for next session.  In addition, I fielded a question about the GDL (graduated driver licensing) bill that passed both the House and Senate this past session.  We often talk about education but driver education rarely is part of that discussion.  I have been a driver education instructor since 1982 and it is a topic that I am very familiar with.   I still teach driver education every summer and during the school year when I am not in session.

“When parked uphill with a curb, turn your wheels left.”  Let’s try to get within 12 inches of the curb.”

The GDL bill passed into law this past year will save the lives of teenagers in every corner of Minnesota. By putting this standard in law, we can give our young drivers six more months to attain the skills necessary to become more mature drivers, capable of driving responsibly. Specifically, the bill would require the following:

• For the first six months, only one passenger under the age of 20 (who is not a family member) would be allowed in the vehicle;
• For the second six months, up to three nonfamily passengers would be allowed in the vehicle;
• Hours of driving for provisional license holders (basically anyone under 18) would be restricted between midnight and 5 a.m., except to drive to work, school, or with a licensed driver over the age of 25.

“Watch out for the pedestrian up ahead!  Next time, let’s brake a little sooner.”

This is welcome legislation.  Traffic accidents are the leading cause of death for Minnesota teens.  Drivers aged 16-17 with two or more passengers are twice as likely to be involved in a fatal crash.  Sixty-two percent of teenage passenger deaths in the United States in 2006 occurred in vehicles driven by another teenager. Among deaths of passengers of all ages, 20 percent occurred when a teenager was driving.  These grim statistics are never ending

I am always encouraging our young adults to get as much practice on the road as possible.  I always find it interesting that parents will encourage and set aside hours of time for a child’s piano or violin lessons, or hundreds of hours to hockey and soccer practice, but very few hours with a child behind the wheel.  Parents can all do a better job of practicing the most important skill a child can learn in the teenage years: driving on our streets and highways.

“Keep your eyes moving.  Prepare for the unexpected.”

New laws will help keep our teens safer as they gain the necessary experience in those formative years and I will be out there driving your son or daughter this summer.  Be patient with us.   Obviously, legislatures and driver ed instructors can’t do it alone.

I was talking with my 8 year old daughter, Kally, a few days ago and she had a few questions about my job as a Senator.  We were talking voting and she asked me “if I had to put my head down when I vote?”  Now there’s an interesting concept.  What a sight that would be…67 Senators with their heads down on their desk voting on an education finance bill.  No peeking!  It reminded me of a question she asked during my election.  “Did you vote for yourself?”  If only we could keep things so simple?

Last month I ran into Marty Seifert, House Minority Leader, at the 60^th anniversary celebration of American Legion Boys State.  Marty is a current Boys State counselor.  I suggested to Marty that we designate party affiliation the same way we assign the participants at Boys State.  If you get a red sticker on your name tag you are a Federalist.  If you receive a blue sticker you are a Nationalist.  The first few days of the boys’ week there are no party designations.  Boys are divided up into cities and counties and begin the process of establishing their “local governments.”  That division alone creates an interesting competition among the young men.  But the real division begins after the boys are divided up into two parties.  Allegiance to city and county soon disappear as the young politicians begin the process of selecting a Boys State Governor.  They then spend the last few days of the week in a frantic campaign in a race for the Governorship.  It is an interesting process to say the least.

One of the lessons I teach in my Social Psychology class discusses the power of group influence.  Simply having the class number off into twos can create an “us vs. them” mentality.  “Teams” less than 10 minutes old do whatever they can to beat the other side in simple activities or games involving vocabulary or current events.

Do political labels lead us to pursue public policy for the sake of a particular ideology?  Why do politics have to be “us vs. them?”  Do politicians worry more about how people will view a particular vote rather than carefully think about the ramifications of the vote for the constituents in a House or Senate district or the citizens of Minnesota?  Wearing the Democrat or Republican label certainly carries with it a certain philosophy of government, but we should never lose sight of the reason we are in office.  While I don’t advocate passing out red or blue stickers on the first day of the session, I think we need to continue to do our best to work in a bipartisan way to make the state of Minnesota the best it can be for its citizens.

After I won my election my daughter asked, “Does the governor still like you?”  I am sure he does, Kally, I am sure he does.  Regardless of the of color sticker he is wearing.

Over my 24 years in the classroom, I have had numerous students in my Civics class, and many of those students were children with special needs. I have had children with autism, Tourette syndrome, Down syndrome, Asperger syndrome, attention deficit disorders, mental illness, and many more with a myriad of learning disabilities. My brother was born with Down Syndrome… and as a classroom teacher or a family member we sometime struggle to find the best path to meet the needs of our children.

Last week about 30 parents of children with special needs met at the Northfield Public Library for a town hall meeting with myself, Representative David Bly, and Representative Shelley Madore from Apple Valley. It was an important and worthwhile discussion about what we can do to meet the needs of both family members and students and how best to help them find success in and out of school.

Specific concerns focused on the lack of resources for children with mental health needs, funding cuts that are affecting educational and county services, lack of communication between programs and service agencies, limited choices for children with high needs, reimbursement rates, and accountability of service providers and county administration.

Legislative efforts are underway to dramatically reform the state’s school funding formula in the 2009 legislative session . A major funding reform bill (HF 4178) was offered this session, and will hopefully serve as the driving force for the significant state education reform we need, including fully funding state special education mandates.

But the legislature can’t do it alone. The stories shared at the town meeting reminded all of us of the importance of community to help our families and children with special needs. Schools, medical facilities, county services, support services, employers and others must work together to facilitate productive outcomes for the children and young adults who desperately want a chance. A chance at success.

Today’s article in the StarTribune regarding the Minnesota courts prompted me to write about my experience as an observer (ride-along) last month in the courtroom of the Sibley County Courthouse. At the invite of court adminstrator Karen Messner and Judge Thomas McCarthy, I was able to see firsthand how the court works and more importantly, get a sense of the workload of our public defenders and the effects of budget cuts over the past several years.

Today’s Strib article described how overworked public defenders face the daunting task of trying to provide quality legal advice to the accused who work with these defenders. The Judiciary took cuts of $26.5 million in FY 04-05, which required our courts to implement several changes, including scaling back the number of public defenders. The Judiciary faces a current shortfall of $13 million for FY 08-09 forcing leaves without pay, closing public counters, closing satellite courts, delaying conciliation court calendars, and terminating arbitration services in some districts.

This year the legislature made cuts to the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeals, Civil Legal Services, and the Board of Public Defense totaling $5.5 million. A recent Legislative Auditor’s report stated the judiciary in Minnesota runs “a tight ship” and is extremely efficient. Can we afford to make more cuts when crime, foreclosures, sexual offenses, civil disputes, and drug use are as prevalent as ever? How long should we wait to resolve traffic and parking citations, process arrest warrants, enforce money judgments, or process adoption and child custody cases?

The Minnesota Court system is a core function of government provided for in the Constitution. The Judiciary is necessary to guarantee public safety and rule of law to the citizens of Minnesota. The 2009 Legislature will need to take a good look at what is happening to, one could argue, the most important of our three branches of government.