Mr. Dahle Goes to St. Paul

I received a call today from a man in LeSueur.  I had knocked on his door last weekend, and he told me he was fed up with the “crap” that the Republican Party was shoving in his mailbox and that I had his vote.  He was probably referring to the negative ads citing spending for gorilla cages, polar bears, or sculpture gardens, all part of a recent capital investment bill.  While I am not inclined to acknowledge what my opponents are up to, I will gladly provide some context to this piece of legislation.

The Senate’s version of the Capital Investment Bill is developed following hundreds of meetings that are held around the state.  By the time it is heard on the Senate floor, it is a wide-ranging piece of legislation, which includes investments in public infrastructure throughout Minnesota.  While it is easy to cherry-pick one or two items out of the hundreds included in these investment packages and criticize the vote, a look at the bigger picture reveals an investment in Minnesota while preserving past investments made by our citizens.

One could vote against the Como Zoo, the Ordway Theater and the sculpture garden in Minneapolis. But to do so, one would have to also vote against millions of dollars in investment for education, the environment, health care, our veterans, and the creation of more than 10,000 jobs.  In and near my own district, the bonding bill included money for parks and trails, the Minnesota Valley Regional rail line,  correctional facilities, and the deaf and blind academies.  I staunchly support job creation via projects like these, no matter where in Minnesota they are located.

Among the hundreds of other items included in the capital investment bills were funds for the U of M, our state colleges, flood prevention, financing for infrastructure in rural Minnesota, improvements for roads and bridges, early childhood facilities, RIM (Reinvest in Minnesota), and vital dollars for our veterans homes.  The Como Zoo project alone created more than 1,000 jobs.

When this bill was heard in the full Senate, I was part of a bipartisan landslide (57 ayes, 10 nays) that voted to pass it and send it to the Governor for his approval.  The debt service on the bonds for these projects was well within the limits set to maintain our AAA bond rating as a state.  With construction costs coming in under bid, interest rates at all time lows, this was the right time to invest in Minnesota and get people back to work.

I will continue to run a positive campaign and I will continue to welcome a phone call or two from my constituents who are ready to send me back to St. Paul.  I look forward to working with them and for them.

This past Wednesday I was part of an Ag forum in New Prague to talk about Agriculture issues affecting District 25.  Independent candidate John Grimm and Republican candidate Al DeKruif were also present at the forum sponsored by LeSueur County Farm Bureau, Pork Producers, Corn and Soybean Producers, and the Dairy Industry.

I am proud of the work I have done for district 25 and greater Minnesota.  The Eminent Domain bill I authored in the Senate and eventually signed into law puts landowners and farmers on a much fairer playing field when dealing with the public utilities such as the CapX2020 project and the pipelines a few years ago.  It was a bipartisan effort that involved a lot of local citizens who have been directly affected by the Public Utility exemption in the past.

I was the chief author of the bonding bill that sent $5 million dollars to the Minnesota Prairie Line railroad, a short line rail that is vital to the ag industry on the western side of my district.

On a broader scale, I believe agriculture policies must be enacted to allow farmers to receive a fair price through open markets.  We need to create incentives and programs that encourage young people to become farmers.  It is critical to maintain Minnesota’s family farm system of agriculture.  Minnesota must be proactive in meeting the growing consumer demand for food that is family farm raised, locally grown, and identity preserved.  We need to promote farming that benefits the environment.  And finally, we need strong local communities that depend on strong local control.  We should protect rural democracy. Local governments must maintain the right to put in place and enforce local planning and zoning ordinances.

This past Thursday, after a couple of hours greeting State Fair visitors from the Minnesota Senate booth, I headed south to Savage to step aboard a barge for a trip down the Minnesota and Mississippi River towards St. Paul.  The trip was sponsored by the Highway 169 Corridor Coalition as over 100 members made the 3 hour trip. We often think of the Hwy 169 corridor as roads and rail, but we cannot overlook the importance of the river in making this area a truly inter modal transportation network.

The 3 R’s (road, river, and rail) along Hwy 169 are economically vital for funneling freight into the Minneapolis/St. Paul Metro Region from the Mankato area and southern Minnesota. This area produces almost half of Minnesota’s corn, soybeans and ethanol, which makes Minnesota third in the nation for production among all states. Other major commodities moving along this corridor include aggregates, clay and sand, hogs, manufactured goods and food products.  The corridor connects major producers of ethanol, biodiesel and their byproducts to markets and refiners along ‘ethanol alley,’ the southwest freight corridor formed by Highway 60 and the Union Pacific Railroad.

The Ports of Savage are important for grain exports via the Minnesota and Mississippi River systems, guaranteeing low-cost, competitive transportation to regional and world markets for Minnesota farmers. The corridor is expected to play a future role in expanding access from western Minnesota agricultural producers to the Ports of Savage via routes capable of bypassing Metro congestion.  This is good news for the communities in my district along the corridor as we work to put together a long range plan of maximizing economic development for the area.

Gorman Lake is on the 2010 Impaired Waters list.   Gorman Lake is part of the Cannon River watershed located in the southwest corner of Senate District 25.  A constituent from the area contacted me a few weeks ago to express concerns about the lake and what can be done about it.  I sat down with Beth Kallestad, executive director of the Cannon River Watershed Parnership to talk about Gorman Lake and other rivers, lakes, and streams in the area.

The Cannon River Watershed Partnership celebrates its 20^th anniversary this month.  It’s a great organization with dedicated workers and volunteers. The organization’s goal is to make the watershed that spans six counties from Dakota to Rice to Steel counties, “drinkable, fishable, and swimmable for everyone.”  Gorman Lake experienced a manure spill in 2006 and the CRWP started monitoring the lake in 2007. The Minnesota Pollution Control agency and the DNR have also been studying the lake over the last several years, assessments being the first step, followed by a plan for implementation.  Funding is always an issue.   Clean Water Funds do not go directly to non-profits such as the CRWP.  The organization must rely on government entities such as the Soil and Water Conservation district boards to apply for funds to be distributed at the local level. The CRWP works to bring together these and other agencies to use grant money to monitor waterways and implement best management practices.

Ultimately, we all need to take an interest in protecting and improving the water quality and natural systems of Minnesota’s lakes and rivers.  Passing the Legacy Amendment in 2008 showed that Minnesotan’s do have an interest in preserving our most precious resource, our water.  Gorman Lake is just one of those lakes. We should all be interested in its success or failure.

The past few weeks allowed me a chance to visit with several groups about a range of issues.  The University of Minnesota College of Education and  and Human Development held a forum in Northfield a few weeks ago with several educational leaders from the area in attendance.  The discussion focused on quality teaching and how higher education must work diligently and directly with school districts to make sure high quality educators are the norm and not the exception.  The college has a long range plan to improve teacher effectiveness by connecting ongoing research to teacher programs.  The programs will focus on improving teacher support, strengthening curriculum, diversifying the teacher workforce, adaptive teaching, enhanced student teaching experiences, while measuring student progress.  It seems like the right approach to “education reform” in an area that has received a lot of attention recently.

Last week I attended the Northfield Rotary Club meeting luncheon.  Representative Bly talked about the recent legislative session and provided our thoughts on some of the budget issues that the state will face in the next biennium.  It was a great meeting with a super bunch of local individuals who have our community’s best interests at heart.

This Saturday I will be attending a meeting in Waterville with the Waterville Lakes Association.  They have some concerns about the DNR’s plans to possibly designate Lake Tetonka as a Muskie  lake.  The State DNR is considering several sites and are gathering feedback from local citizens about future plans.  The Sportsmen’s Clubs, Darkhouse and Angling groups are also weighing in on the issue.  The DNR will not make any final decisions until later this year, but are wanting to get the dialogue going this summer.

It has been a busy stretch here the last few days. Yesterday morning I was on the road by 5:30am headed to Arlington for the Town and Country Farm Breakfast. Brad and Jackie Odenthal hosted a great event, serving eggs, sausage, fruit and pancakes. It was a pleasure to visit with the folks of the Arlington area. I didn’t have time to hear the polka band which was just beginning to warm up as I was on the road again by 7:30am headed for Marshall, Minnesota.
The American Legion Boys State is held in Marshall for the 4th straight year and I had the pleasure to speak to the 360 young men in attendance. Representative Ron Shimanski and I spoke about Minnesota Political parties and state government. I gave them my Civics lesson on the importance and responsibility of citizenship and fielded some great questions on several issues from these young leaders. It was exciting to once again be a part of Boys State having served as a Boys State Counselor for 10 years. It is a great program and I was honored to speak to the group. Director Mike Bredeck, the staff, and counselors do a great job with this program each and every year. Boys State recently celebrated 60 years in Minnesota.
Today I door knocked in Waterville. I enjoyed visiting with constituents on numerous issues including education, funding for nursing homes, and even the Minnesota Nurses Association strike. Tonight I will be headed to Cleveland for the Cherry Creek Days celebration parade beginning at 5:30pm.

This past Thursday I attended a meeting of the Highway 169 Corridor Coalition held in Belle Plaine. The mission of the group, which started a couple of years ago, is to bring attention to the needs of the corridor from Mankato in Blue Earth County to Bloomington and Edina in Hennepin County. In the spring of 2009, the U.S. Highway 169 Corridor Coalition was officially established to advocate for the corridor.
US-169 is a robust, multi-modal transportation corridor that is important to the state and the communities along the corridor. Challenges to its ongoing success include relieving congestion, especially near I-494, identifying US-169 as an important regional transit corridor, enhancements to important connections between rail, road, and transit within the corridor, safety, economic development along the route, and connecting the metro area to important SE Minnesota markets and businesses.
The coalition includes members from nearly all of the communities along the corridor and meetings include mayors, city council members, county engineers, county commissioners and administrators, Region 9 Development Commission representatives, and others with a vested interest in the corridor. On this particular evening, Senator Claire Robling, Representative Mike Beard, and I took questions about how we can cooperate in finding ways to move Hwy 169 projects and priorities forward. As legislators, we can assist with efforts to secure funding through federal dollars, the state general fund and bonding, county and city funding, and cooperative efforts between private and public entities at all levels.
There is great interest in the communities along the corridor to see projects completed. These projects include interchanges, bypasses, and reconfiguring of access and frontage roads. Cities like LeSueur see new upgrades such as the LeSueur Hill interchange as a way to promote economic development, increase employment, promote safety, connect the community, stabilize access to other highways, and support increased mobility along the corridor. Currently, as part of its efforts to ensure the continuing viability of US-169, the U.S. Highway 169 Corridor Coalition is building on extensive studies and plans that have already been completed by the Minnesota Department of Transportation.
To learn more about the coalition: http://www.us169corridorcoalition.com

The Boy Scouts of America celebrated its centennial anniversary in February of this year. The largest youth organization in the United States, it has 2.8 million youth members and 1.1 million adult leaders in the programs of cub scouting, boy scouting, and venturing. Since 1910, more that 111 million have participated in the organization’s traditional programs. The organization was granted a federal charter in 1916 by an Act of Congress signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson.
Today I attended the presentation of the Eagle Scout rank to Bradley Walechka of LeCenter, Minnesota. As a Civics teacher, I teach young people about the importance of citizenship, patriotism, and service to one’s community and nation. But family, friends, community, and organizations like the Boy Scouts of America are pivotal in supporting and nurturing our young men and women to become the best citizens our communities can hope for. The mission of the Boy Scouts of America is “to prepare young people to make ethical and moral choices over their lifetimes by instilling them the values of the Scout Oath and Law: Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent.”
Annually, scouts and their leaders volunteer over 35 million hours of service to their communities through more than 75,000 service projects, meeting a wider range of needs in the areas of food, shelter, education, and environmental conservation.
Congratulations Boys Scouts of America on your 100th Anniversary Celebration. Congratulations, Bradley. Your success and your efforts give us all reason to be proud of our next generation of citizens …and our country’s future.

I will be holding several town meetings this coming Saturday, February 20. I am interested in hearing your concerns about the budget, policy, or any other issues you may have. If you cannot make one of the town meetings this Saturday, I will be holding several others at locations around District 25 over the next month or so. I hope to see you there.

LeSueur Town Hall Meeting
10am LeSueur City Library
118 Ferry Street, LeSueur

Belle Plaine Town Hall Meeting
Noon Belle Plaine Public Library
125 West Main Street, Belle Plaine

Arlington Town Hall Meeting
3:30pm Arlington City Hall Chambers
204 Shamrock Drive, Arlington

As always, feel free to contact me at the Capitol. I can be reached at 651 296-1279 or sen.kevin.dahle@senate.mn

The US Fish and Wildlife Service has been purchasing land in the Minnesota River Valley with the intent to provide additional acreage to the National Wildlife Refuge already in place there. That is an admirable and worthwhile goal. Unfortunately, they have decided to ban snowmobile use on newly acquired lands, specifically on trails that have been in existence there since the 1970s. These trails have successfully co-existed with those uses outlined in the Fish and Wildlife Service’s guidelines since the trail’s inception. Snowmobiling groups and I have been working with our representatives in Congress as well as those at the Fish and Wildlife Services in hopes of finding a solution to the problem before the first snowfall. Even a waiver for conditional use of the established Grant-in-Aid snowmobile trail this winter season seems to be a reasonable compromise.
There is much at stake. The city of Henderson depends on the patronage of snowmobile traffic to help them through the winter months. Other cities will also be impacted by dwindling patronage if this vital link in the trail system is unavailable. In addition, local fire and rescue utilize the established trails to access the river bottom lands. Reduction in this accessibility affects their plans in the event of emergency situations. Snowmobiling is a favorite winter pastime for thousands of Minnesotans. Snowmobiling also helps provide a large number of recreation opportunities for other trail users since the majority of snowmobile trails in Minnesota are open for multiple uses and help provide important winter access, services, and trailheads. Rerouting of the existing trail, in this case a steep ditch, poses many safety issues including the crossing of county roads, many without shoulders.
Snowmobiling provides opportunities for families and friends to enjoy wintertime companionship while experiencing splendid scenery like no other season offers. These opportunities combine to help teach respect and conservation of the environment, while instilling a strong appreciation for private and public lands.

“This country will not be a permanently good place for any of us to live unless we make it a reasonably good place for all of us to live.” – Theodore Roosevelt, 1912