Local legislators expect difficult session

By KURT NESBITT

Journal Staff Writer

SLEEPY EYE -- The upcoming legislative session won't be as short as some think. It might not be pretty, either, warned two area legislators early Thursday morning.

State Sen. Jim Vickerman (DFL-Tracy) and State Rep. Howard Swenson (R-Nicollet) gave area leaders an early-morning preview of the issues facing southwest Minnesota for the upcoming session and addressed concerns from stemming from those issues.

Discussion centered around the issues that the legislature will focus on in 2002. Swenson said the budget, funding for two Twins and Vikings stadiums and the bonding bill will be the three main issues when the legislature starts again on Jan. 29.

"There will be a lot of issues," Swenson said. "It'll be tough to give concrete answers."

Vickerman added later his own concerns about the governor's bonding bill, noting monies the governor took away from agricultural initiatives like ethanol and disease research as ways that agriculture took a big hit in Gov. Jesse Ventura's bonding bill proposal. Vickerman also criticized Ventura for proposing increased spending on light rail and for proposing to use the five-cent gas tax increase to replace monies lost in the license tab fee reduction instead of devoting it to highway funding, adding that he's been getting calls lately from truckers concerned about biodiesel efforts and sales taxes on vehicle repairs.

"I can go along with the House leadership and do cutting," he said. "Raising taxes is the last thing we should do."

Swenson agreed, adding that raising taxes would take more money out of the economy.

"If you look at the bonding bill, most of the money ends up in the metro area. There's not a lot for rural Minnesota," Swenson said.

The Ventura bashing continued when the subject switched to the debate over the Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern railway expansion. Vickerman called it "the salvation of rural Minnesota," but said the governor won't come forward to help cities like Rochester, which wants DM&E tracks to bypass its city limits.

"You never know just where this governor's at," Vickerman said. "He better not call us goofy. That starts to bite after a while."

Vickerman's final criticism of Ventura came when he touched on the issue of public financing for two stadiums for the Twins and Vikings.

''I don't know how you can build two stadiums when you don't have the money to do it," he said. "I like baseball, but it can't be a top priority."

The discussion then shifted to debate over the future of the University of Minnesota's extension services. Assistant Dean Dick Senese said the current model that the Extension Service uses is no longer financially viable.

"This happens every ten years," he said. "We see flat money from the state, but our staff gets pay increases. It caught up to us because of the budget issue."

The service announced on Dec. 3 a plan to have regional extension service partners and educators. Senese said counties will continue to see services despite the contraction and budget cutting. He also said he knew the effect of the cuts because he grew up in a small town on the Iron Range.

"It's a difficult issue," Senese said. "We're going to try to make the most of it."

Vickerman questioned why services to rural Minnesota are always downsized, but are almost never upsized.

"Why is rural Minnesota always first?" he asked.

The floor then opened to questions from the audience. University of Minnesota Extension Educator Katie Rassmussen asked about progress on the Minnesota Supreme Court's redistricting plan. Vickerman said four different plans were presented to judges, which might spell trouble for southwestern Minnesota.

"You might not like it," he said. "But you won't have anything to do about it."

New Ulm City Councilor Dan Beranek asked Swenson and Vickerman about the possibility of Republicans and Democrats coming together against the governor's proposals.

"That's not an easy question to answer," Swenson said. "We don't expect that the solution is 100 percent of what the governor has proposed. There will be some changes."