Did You Hear?

Santa’s going to be in townSanta has agreed to stop in Luverne on Saturday, Dec. 20.Santa, along with Mrs. Claus, will be walking up and down Luverne’s Main Street beginning about 2 p.m. This will be Santa’s second visit to Luverne. He also was in town last Saturday.State troopers crack down on seatbelt violatorsThe latest crackdown by the Minnesota Highway Patrol to help put people in the habit of wearing their seatbelts took place from Nov. 19 through Dec. 1.The troopers, out of the Marshall office, stopped more than 200 motorists, and issued 172 seatbelt tickets during the Safe & Sober enhanced enforcement campaign.According to Lt. Brian L. West, 70 percent of Minnesota drivers are regularly using their seatbelts when they drive.Getting our share of the ‘pork’The Minneapolis Star Tribune recently published a story about the federal spending (some call it "pork") that came back to Minnesota.On the inside of the publication, the newspaper listed the amount the state has received in 9 categories.Here are the totals:
Defense: $108 million
Grants from departments: $55.6 million
Veterans housing and urban development: $5.14 million
Energy and water: $49.25 million
Military construction: $12.65 million
Transportation: $116.45 million
Health, education and arts: $2.96 million
Justice: $2.85 million
Miscellaneous: $21.32 millionMinnesota households on the riseA recent report from the State Demographic Center reports that Minnesota will increase its number of households by 287,000 between the years 2000 and 2010.Over the next 30 years, an increase of 750,000 households is expected.Approximately two-thirds of the growth is expected to take place in the Twin Cities metro area, so don’t expect the boom to be centered in Luverne.The number of married couples with children under age 18 living at home will decline slightly by 2010, while the number of married couples without children and people living alone will grow substantially. The report already shows a big increase in empty-nesters.After 2010, the aging of baby boomers will produce a sharp increase of elderly people living alone.I suppose you already knew college was getting expensiveA bill currently being considered in Congress would punish colleges financially if they raise their tuition rates too much.With that in mind, the Minneapolis Star Tribune compiled the current tuition rates for Minnesota schools and what the percent of increase their rates are from last year.Here is a list of the top five most expensive Minnesota colleges and their percent of increase over the past two years.First Carleton College: $28,527, up 11.7 percentSecond Macalester College: $25,088, up 11 percentThird St. Olaf College: $23,650, up 11.1 percentFourth Minneapolis College of Art & Design, up 11.4 percentFifth Gustavus Adolphus College: $21,460, up 11.5 percentThe five most inexpensive schools are:First Hennepin Technical college: $3,074, up 22.4 percentSecond Minneapolis Community and Technical College: $3,466, up 25.5 percentThird Metropolitan State University: $3,852, up 23.9 percentFourth Minnesota State University-Moorhead: $4,260, up 25.9 percentFifth Minnesota State University-Mankato: $4,506, up 24.5 percentPublisher Roger Tollefson can be reached by e-mail at tolly@star-herald.com