Mr. Dahle Goes to St. Paul

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

A couple of cities in District 25 received some good news earlier this summer. The city of Montgomery has been awarded $608,300 from the Small Cities Development Program (SCDP). This award is to rehabilitate 15 owner-occupied houses, eight commercial building, and six rental units to benefit the cities of Montgomery and Lonsdale.
The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) administers the Community Development Block Grant Program for greater Minnesota through the SCDP, which encourages community development activities. These activities are consistent with comprehensive local and area-wide development planning that furthers the goal of providing a decent and suitable living environment for all households in Minnesota with an emphasis on benefits for low and moderate income families.
The Minnesota Dislocated Worker program approved a $270,000 grant to serve 75 workers laid off from LeSueur Inc. in LeSueur. The Dislocated Worker program, which is both state and federally funded, is administered through the South Central Workforce Council. The return to work program assists eligible workers in finding new jobs as quickly as possible, at the highest skill and wage level possible. Services can range from job search workshops to intensive career counseling to financial assistance with long term training depending on the labor market and the goals of the individual customer.
These types of programs are critical to the communities of greater Minnesota. The financial resources of the programs, coupled with both private and public resources, provide rural communities with a comprehensive approach in addressing their needs. It is good to see these programs finding their way to our local communities.

After speaking at a Chamber of Commerce luncheon in LeCenter a few days ago, I had a discussion with a woman about voting and voter identification. Our conversation followed an earlier comment by a gentleman who felt the recent MN U.S. Senate race and subsequent recount made us a “national laughingstock.” I respectfully disagreed with the lady and the gentleman.
The United States, throughout its 233 years, has a history of restricting voters. Originally, land owning white males were the only people showing up at the polls on Election Day. Gradually, these restrictions were lifted. No less than 6 constitutional amendments have extended voting rights to women, minorities, 18 year olds, and residents of the District of Columbia. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 put teeth into earlier amendments ensuring eligible citizens could exercise their rights and cast their vote on Election Day.
The woman was emphatic about the need for a photo ID to vote: “Well, you have to show an ID to cash a check or buy a beer; we should require the same for voters.” I disagree. We don’t have a constitutional right to buy beer or cash a check. We do have the right to vote. And not every person has a photo ID. There is no documented wave or trend of individuals voting multiple times, voting as someone else, or voting despite knowing that they are ineligible. Indeed, evidence from the highly scrutinized 2004 gubernatorial election in Washington State actually reveals just the opposite: though voter fraud does happen, it happens approximately 0.0009% of the time. The similarly closely-analyzed 2004 election in Ohio revealed a voter fraud rate of 0.00004%. National Weather Service data shows that Americans are struck and killed by lightning about as often (Brennan Center for Justice).
The recent Franken – Coleman recount demonstrated a deliberate and thorough process that highlighted a few areas of concern. The concerns were minimal, but if addressed, could avoid any problems in future recounts. Legislation passed by the legislature this past session would have strengthened Minnesota’s election system by using state and federal databases to help prevent those who are ineligible from registering or voting before elections take place. Every effort was made during the session to pass a bipartisan election reform bill with non-controversial, common sense reforms to make our good election process better. Those reforms would have strengthened voter registration systems and made it easier to accurately and efficiently count absentee ballots. Governor Pawlenty vetoed the bill.
“I don’t care who you vote for, just as long as you vote.” I actually would say that to people on the phone during my last election campaign. The right to vote is at the core of any democracy. Perhaps I put too much trust in my community, our local election judges, or the person who vouches for their neighbor at the polling site. Even though Minnesota consistently leads the nation in voter turnout we should continue to do whatever we can to encourage even more voter participation, not set up more roadblocks.