Mr. Dahle Goes to St. Paul

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 DFL convention came to a close last night shortly before midnight with Margaret Anderson-Kelliher securing the endorsement after a spirited battle for delegates. I returned home this morning, a bit weary but energized as well. The candidates were extremely passionate in speech after speech offering insight about what we could do as a state with new vision in the Governor’s office. When not working the crowd myself, I sat with friends and neighbors, District 25 delegates, for much of the day. One of those delegates, an eighteen year old and former student in my Civics class, experienced his first State party convention. Others had years and years of convention experience. Delegates had different ideas about who the next Minnesota Governor should be. Four of us sitting in close proximity, all cast different votes for different candidates: Rybak, Kelliher, Marty, and Thissen, eventually settling in on the two candidates left standing. When Rybak conceded at around 11:30pm we all shook hands, donned our Anderson-Kelliher buttons, headed into the Duluth evening knowing there would be much work left to do.

Growing up, the Public Library was always one of my favorite stops when headed downtown. It provided a lot of fond memories. I recall the joy in reading every one of the books in the Hardy Boys series. Having completed that goal, I even started reading the Nancy Drew mysteries (although I never shared that with the neighbor kids). Signing your name to the library card was always a source of pride and satisfaction. Seeing classmates, neighbors, town folks both young and old, gathered at the library was a comforting part of my childhood, an experience I will happily pass on to my own children.
Yesterday, I attended the grand opening of the Lonsdale Public library. Judging by the number of people in attendance, you knew that this brand new facility, with both library and a beautiful new community room, was a popular and welcome addition to their town. Neighbor to the Three Links Care facility, it provides a great space for citizens of all ages to come together to share not only the joy that books can bring, but a reason and opportunity to visit and share time with each other.
While the Northfield Carnegie Library will be celebrating its 100th anniversary this April, the brand new Lonsdale library becomes only the 2nd new library to be built in Minnesota in the past year. That is a great accomplishment. Whether brand new or a century old, the town library strengthens a community through literacy, providing access to information, intellectual freedom, and fostering lifelong learning and enrichment.
At a time when community budgets become strained due to economic realities, we need to do whatever we can to support these valuable community assets. The services, programs, and resources, and memories they provide are too valuable to take for granted.

Representative David Bly and I will be holding a town meeting this Monday, March 29 from 7:00-8:00pm at the Northfield Public Library. With the legislative session nearing the halfway point, we welcome the opportunity to hear your concerns and thoughts about the issues facing Minnesotans. If you are unable to attend, as always, please contact me to express your concerns about the economy, jobs, education, the environment, energy, or health care. I am always willing to listen. We’re in this together, and I’ll do my best for you.

This past Saturday, I received the endorsement of the DFL party at the Senate District 25 endorsing convention in Montgomery. Representative David Bly received the endorsement for House District 25B and the Mick McGuire, Mayor of Montgomery, received the House District 25A endorsement. There were no challengers to the three endorsed candidates. An excerpt from my acceptance speech:

While I reaffirm my commitment to the party, I also want to pledge to continue to do my best to represent all Minnesotans… Republicans and Democrats, Independents, and others. When we stop working together, our legislature becomes a haven for special interests and personal agendas.

I believe together we can meet the challenges and maximize the opportunities that lay before us. What will break the people of District 25 is not adversity – we’ve been here before. What will break our spirit is thinking that tomorrow is going to be just like yesterday. If we think that government cannot change that which is broken, we lose interest, we lose faith, we lose the people…but worst of all, we lose the 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

Hey Gang! I turn 50 this weekend! That’s crazy in itself, but nevertheless, I have a few birthday wishes for this half century milestone.
1. A Viking victory over the New Orleans Saints
2. Spending time with friends and family
I could type a few other things like world peace or a budget miracle at the state capitol in the next few months but we will start small and work up from there. You can help by showing up at the party this Friday night, January 22, Upstairs at the Rueb-N-Stein in downtown Northfield (503 Division Street). My good friends in the band, Area 51, will be performing along with another good friend, Northfield’s own Chad Johnson. A cash bar and free hors d’oeuvres will be provided. No gifts, but I will accept a donation to my re-election campaign which begins in earnest this summer and fall. If you can’t make the party, please consider hitting the donate link at this site. I really appreciate your support.
Finally….yell real loud on Sunday. Let’s rally behind the Purple People Eaters on their way to Super Bowl XXIV. Who dat gonna beat those Saints? The Vikings, that’s who. Go Vikes!

During Jimmy Carter’s term in office, the 39th president expressed concerns about the complacency of the American public. Not surprising, considering America was not far removed from the conflict in Vietnam and the Watergate scandal. At the end of his term, the country was experiencing high unemployment, an energy shortage, inflation, and of course the Iran hostage Crisis.
Yesterday, I was asked to recite a patriotic reading as part of the Northfield 4th of July festivities. I chose a passage from Jimmy Carter’s farewell address delivered from the White House January 14, 1981. The President’s speech was delivered with the hope of reawakening American citizens to the ideals expressed in the Declaration of Independence. He spoke of human rights around the world and our nation’s obligation to serve as a beacon to oppressed people everywhere. He also spoke of our own country’s rights and values. His vision is still so relevant today:
“We live in a time of transition, an uneasy era which is likely to endure for the rest of this century. It will be a period of tensions both within nations and between nations — of competition for scarce resources, of social political and economic stresses and strains. During this period we may be tempted to abandon some of the time-honored principles and commitments which have been proven during the difficult times of past generations.
We must never yield to this temptation. Our American values are not luxuries but necessities — not the salt in our bread but the bread itself. Our common vision of a free and just society is our greatest source of cohesion at home and strength abroad — greater even than the bounty of our material blessings.
Remember these words:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights; that among these are life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
This vision still grips the imagination of the world. But we know that democracy is always an unfinished creation. Each generation must renew its foundations. Each generation must rediscover the meaning of this hallowed vision in the light of its own modern challenges. For this generation, ours, life is nuclear survival; liberty is human rights; the pursuit of happiness is a planet whose resources are devoted to the physical and spiritual nourishment of its inhabitants.”
As we celebrate this 4th of July weekend, we should all work for the values this nation was founded to secure. That is the citizen Jimmy Carter has become. It is the type of citizen we should all strive to become.

Most every community in my Senate district will hold community celebrations and parades this summer. It is a great opportunity to meet constituents and sample the hospitality and fare each town has to offer. The people are always warm and inviting and, of course, always having a good time. Earlier this month I walked with the LeSueur County DFL in the Bullhead Days Parade in Waterville and more recently, the Cherry Creek Days Parade in Cleveland, Minnesota. We had great weather both weekends and my kids and I had a great time. I especially enjoyed dining on some tasty bullhead in Waterville. I couldn’t talk my kids into sampling the same, however. They settled for the foot long corn dog. Food always tastes better at a community celebration. Northfield hosted its annual “Taste of Northfield” event this past week. They had a great turnout. Needless to say, I was unable to taste everything offered in Bridge Square on a beautiful Thursday evening. This Sunday I will be walking in the Henderson Sauerkraut Days Parade beginning at noon. Following the parade, I will be spending some time at Bender Park and offering a few words of congratulations to the Parade Grand Marshall, Jeff Bertrang. Jeff, born and raised in Henderson, has been promoted to General in the Minnesota National Guard. Congratulations, Jeff. I look forward to visiting with you.
Of course, there are plenty of other community celebrations to come. Kolacky Days in Montgomery, BBQ Days in Belle Plaine, Defeat of Jesse James Days in Northfield…and a community celebration in Dundas this weekend, just to name a few. Join in the fun. Watch a parade, eat some food, and meet some friends.