Week of December 10, 2006
On Monday I attended a luncheon with several new state representatives and senators at the Minnesota AFL-CIO for a briefing on labor issues.
On Tuesday, I was on Minnesota Public Radio's Mid-Morning program to talk about recycling. Sorry, no politics or legislative business on this show! You can listen to it after the fact at http://www.mpr.org at this link. On Tuesday evening, I appeared before the Circle Pines City Council to hear their priorities for the 2007 session. Among those priorities were the fiscal disparities program, local government aid, and street funds.
On Tuesday I was assigned my office space. I'll be in Room 581 in the State Office Building at 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. in St. Paul.
On Wednesday morning, I visited the Centennial School District Early Childhood Family Education program, or ECFE, located at Lino Lakes City Hall. Roughly 250 kids participate in programs that include preparation for kindergarten. There is a waiting list to get in the program, which was cut by 20% in 2003.
During the noon hour I spoke briefly about recycling initiatives at the Solid Waste Management Coordinating Board in St. Paul.
In the evening, I attended a meeting of the North Metro Mayors Association in Mounds View, where a major topic of interest is reform of the local government aid (LGA) system. Afterwards, I attended a meeting of Taxpayers for an Anoka County Stadium Referendum (TAACSR) in Blaine.
On Wednesday I received a congratulatory letter from the Governor, in addition to a confirmation of the recount results that were certified by the Board of Canvassers on Monday.
On Thursday morning, I visited St. Paul Radiology in Arden Hills, which is an ambulatory imaging center. They do MRIs, ultrasounds, and so on. I was invited by the MN Ambulatory Health Care Consortium. Later in the day I spoke to the Association of Recycling Managers, a group of city and county recycling professionals.
On Friday, I spoke to several current legislators about some recycling and composting proposals, and otherwise sought advice on the legislative process. North Metro 15 (Anoka County cable TV) interviewed me for an upcoming segment.
Constituent contacts: Circle Pines resident asking for support on a dedicated sales tax amendment for conservation; Lino Lakes resident asking about water quality/lake issues; North Oaks resident proposing a recycling idea
Non-constituent individuals asking for support for initiatives: Park Rapids resident asking me not to support a smoking ban other than in restaurants; out of district resident asking for support of legalization of medical marijuana; out of district resident asking for support of a statewide smoking ban; Minneapolis resident opposing smoking ban
Letters of introduction sent: National Conference of State Legislatures; Chief Information Officers for the State of MN; President of Century College; PACE/Minnesota (a lobbying firm); Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America; MN Elementary School Principals' Association; MN Catholic Conference; Commissioner Clark Dyrud of the Department of Veterans Affairs; MN School Boards Association
Organizations inviting me to events: Senator Betzold inviting to a meeting with the City of Blaine along with other legislators representing parts of that city; Sexuality Education for Life-Minnesota; DFL Progressive Caucus; St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce; MN Association of Christian Schools
Agency correspondence: MN Board of Architecture, Engineering, Land Surveying, Landscape Architecture, Geoscience & Interior Design on proposed rule changes
