Rochester

Gov. Tim Pawlenty wants to cut nearly $200 million from the Local Government Aid program as part of his plan to eliminate the state’s $2.7 billion budget deficit. While the fiscal hit to the program is less than feared (Pawlenty had originally proposed whacking $450 million from LGA), it will still present a significant fiscal [...]

The sun shines more brightly in St. Louis and Olmsted counties than in any of the seven counties in the Twin Cities metropolitan area, according to a recently completed nationwide evaluation of county Web sites by a group that advocates for transparency in government.

There is a broader solution. With proper leadership we will find it.

Now that the Federal Railroad Administration has told the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern railroad that it is not going to give it the hoped-for $2.3 billion loan to expand into the Powder River Basin, is that the end of a decade-long dream for the [...]

Just six months ago, Murayo Nur Ali was told that she had no hope of being treated for a severe injury she suffered during a gang-rape at age 7.

That was in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia. But on Monday, she was full of hope as she stepped out of a private jet that flew her [...]

Once considered a “sure thing,” the proposed Dakota Minnesota & Eastern (DM&E) Railroad expansion into the coal-rich Powder River Basin could be on the verge of collapse. The reasons for this are many and varied, but a last-minute provision slipped into the Transportation Bill earlier this year virtually assuring a $2.3 billion dollar unsecured federal [...]

Tim Walz has segued in the last two years from laid-back school teacher to frenetic campaigner and now equally frenetic congressman-elect. It’s quite a transition. Though official announcements will be forthcoming, here’s what’s happening on the QT:

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I was going to write a straight news story about Barak Obama’s visit to Rochester in support of Senate candidate Amy Klobuchar and Minnesota District 1 congressional candidate Tim Walz, an event that I attended. But it has been amply covered by the Associated Press here and by Matt Stolle of the Rochester Post-Bulletin here [...]

Cross-posted at Vox Verax.

Two articles came out recently in the Rochester Post-Bulletin stating what many in the 1st Congressional District already know:

Rochester can no longer be counted on to deliver the Republican vote.

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The online world is a fantastic place to get up-to-date information and engage with a community of users. 

But politicans seem to have a difficult time navigating that world. 

The latest misstep?  Rochester City Council Member Pat Carr.
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The results for the latest poll on the DM&E expansion project are now online in PDF format. This poll was commissioned by the Rochester Coalition, which opposes the railroad’s plan to route coal trains through the city. The results of the poll indicate an overall lack of support for a proposed $2.5 billion federally guaranteed [...]