Apr 4, 2001
The dust has settled on the DFL Party’s endorsement battles in the City of the Lakes when the last ward convention was held this past weekend. We make these observations during this month-long process. A concentrated effort by out-going Sixth Ward City Council...
Apr 4, 2001
The amount of population decline throughout the rural areas was somewhat less than people speculated. The interesting reason is the higher than expected increase in the minority population. The number of people who identified themselves as part of an ethnic, racial...
Apr 4, 2001
Former Twins first baseman Kent Hrbek spoke at the legislature yesterday in favor of a constitutional amendment for the creation of a Heritage Enhancement Council authored by Rep Mark Holsten (R–56A, Stillwater). If the legislation and the amendment were to pass a...
Apr 4, 2001
The stage is being set for a standoff in the state House between the proponents of BioDiesel and the opponents of Conceal and Carry of firearms. The urban legislators are seeing the need to conjoin these issues. The reason is each is of concern for rural members,...
Apr 4, 2001
Rep Michael Paymar (DFL–64A, St. Paul) sent around the following e-mail to members of the legislature: Dear Members: I will have a letter ready for your signature this week that will be sent to the Minnesota firms that have contracts will the tobacco industry. Several...
Apr 4, 2001
The Star Tribune tried to ferret out the names meant by Rep Greg Davids (R–31B, Preston) condemnation after the shelving of the Wine in Grocery Stores bill but failed. We, on the other hand, have learned the finger was pointed directly at former Representative and now...
Apr 4, 2001
An interesting idea is surfacing at the state legislature and that is the concept of no tax bill this session. It may seem odd to consider, but there isn’t any requirement to pass a new tax bill as the previous tax collection method will remain in place. Some people...
Apr 4, 2001
There are interesting issues emanating from the DFL ranks in both the state Senate and House. On the Senate side, Senators are openly discussing a large number of House Republicans they speak to regularly who ask them to pass bills in the Senate. The reason is due to...
Mar 30, 2001
The Metropolitan Sports Facilities Commission will be holding an open house discussion on the Stadia issues. On Wednesday, April 4 from 4-7 p.m. at the Woodbury Senior High School Cafeteria, the public is invited to an informal open house to learn about the stadium...
Mar 30, 2001
The idea of Rebecca Yanisch being a candidate to fill the vacancy at Department of Trade and Economic Development was not an unfamiliar idea to us at Checks & Balances. In fact, we discussed it with a number of sources close to and in the administration, but our...
