As lawmakers plan for how to utilize the state’s historic $7.7 billion budget surplus, leaders from the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities (CGMC) are calling on Governor Walz and the Legislature to remember rural Minnesota.
“The Governor and legislators have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make investments that will benefit our state now and well into the future,” said CGMC director Bradley Peterson during a virtual meeting with statewide leaders and media Jan. 27.
Peterson, who was joined on the call by Luverne Mayor and CGMC President Pat Baustian and Owatonna Mayor Tom Kuntz, said for Greater Minnesota that means investing in Local Government Aid (LGA), wastewater and drinking water infrastructure, and in workforce needs like child care and housing.
 
LGA hasn’t kept up with rising expenses, inflation
As its top legislative priority for 2022, the CGMC is seeking a $90 million increase in LGA, a statewide program that restrains property taxes, reduces inequities between communities and ensures all cities are able to provide quality services and quality-of-life amenities to residents and businesses.
“LGA is the lifeline for Greater Minnesota cities. Without it, rural Minnesota would crumble,” Baustian said.
He noted that in Luverne, LGA makes up about 28 percent of the city’s annual budget. He said Greater Minnesota cities are strategic when planning their budgets, but increasing expenses and inflation continue to put a strain on city finances.
“Like other cities, our costs have increased a lot in recent years,” Baustian said.
“Construction costs have gone up 35 to 50 percent over the last four years. We have an aging workforce, which drives up costs. But LGA has not kept pace with rising costs and inflation.”
Peterson added that while local governments received pandemic relief from the federal government, that money is not a substitute for LGA.
“LGA is consistent funding with flexible uses that allows cities to better plan for the future as they set their budgets.”
 
Water infrastructure should be cornerstone of bonding bill
CGMC is also urging the Legislature to pass a large capital investment bill (a.k.a. “bonding bill”) that includes $299 million for water and wastewater infrastructure grant and loan programs.
“With low interest rates, a hefty budget surplus and federal money to leverage, now is the time for a transformational investment in Minnesota’s water infrastructure,” Peterson said.
“This funding is needed to make progress in addressing the backlog of water infrastructure projects across the state.”
Peterson noted that costs to upgrade or build a new water treatment facility are often tens of the millions of dollars which mostly fall on communities and their ratepayers.
“Cities are willing to pay their fair share, but it is incredibly difficult to pay for these massive projects without a grant or loan from the state,” Peterson said.
 
Child care, housing play major role in addressing workforce shortage
The CGMC is also calling for state investments in programs that address child care and housing shortages that have long hindered economic growth in Greater Minnesota.
“In Greater Minnesota, businesses of all sizes are scrambling to fill open positions,” said Peterson. 
“Simply put, employers can’t get workers if there is nowhere for them to live and no one to look after their children while they are at work.”
Baustian said child care is the No. 1 economic development priority in Luverne, a sentiment shared by many community leaders across Greater Minnesota.
“When we talk to our local businesses, all we hear is ‘What are you going to do about child care?’” Baustian said.
According to First Children’s Finance, Greater Minnesota needs to add 40,000 new child care slots to keep up with demand.
Unlike in the metro area, Greater Minnesota communities rely heavily on in-home providers, many of whom have chosen to leave the profession in recent years.
Some cities have decided to purchase buildings for city-owned child care centers, and Baustian shared information about Luverne’s recent move to do that with the former Total Card Inc. building.
This session, CGMC is requesting $20 million for a child care capital grant program, which provides grants of up to $500,000 to outstate communities to fund up to 50 percent of the costs to build, upgrade or expand child care facilities.
In addition, CGMC is seeking $5 million for the DEED child care grant program, which has proven successful at helping to create new and retain existing child care providers.
The shortage of housing, particularly market-rate housing for middle-income families and workers, is also a major concern across Greater Minnesota.
“In rural Minnesota, there aren’t enough developers that have the cash and are willing to build in our communities,” Baustian said.
“We are also dealing with the issue of aging housing stock. When housing is already hard to come by, it is critical we are able to preserve and maintain the existing homes in our community.”
CGMC is pursuing several legislative proposals to encourage construction and increase availability of housing across Greater Minnesota.
Proposals include
•the creation of a new “fix up fund” grant program to help cities rehabilitate dilapidated homes.
•state funding for public infrastructure, such as sewer connections and streets, needed for new housing developments.
•additional funding for the existing Workforce Development Grant Program.

Senate Republicans recently announced session priorities that will focus on helping Minnesotans afford everyday life, reducing crime and empowering parents.  
“Senate Republicans are focused on getting Minnesota back on track by making life affordable for Minnesotans, tackling crime, and improving education,” Sen. Bill Weber (R-Luverne) said.
“We focused on the issues important to you, not on how we can increase government spending. With a record surplus, we can return money to Minnesotans and undo the damage that COVID and inflation have caused. We can help businesses recover and get the economy moving so that families have the resources they need to prosper.”
 
Helping people afford their lives 
The state's projected $7.7 billion surplus will be one of the most discussed items in St. Paul.
Following stubborn and record inflation from runaway congressional spending, Senate Republicans are advancing a series of tax cuts targeted at working Minnesotans, families and seniors to help them afford their everyday life. 
In the last five years, Republicans have secured billions in tax cuts, including exempting most seniors from taxes on social security and the first income rate tax cuts in 20 years. 
 
Safe communities and law enforcement support 
Another priority this year will be investments in public safety and initiatives to drive down crime.
Senate Republicans plan to quickly address the urgent need to increase Minnesota’s police presence while providing additional tools and resources to fight crime and recruit and retain police officers.
Republicans will also continue to be tough on crime, and address failed progressive policies that reduce or eliminate bail.
They will also introduce legislation increasing penalties for repeat offenders, carjackers, and crimes involving dangerous weapons.
 
Empowering parents as education partners 
Republicans will also focus on education and getting schools back to the basics of meeting reading and math scores.
The closure of schools due to COVID has been an eye-opening experience for parents across the state. These failed policies have left too many kids behind from COVID learning loss, which Republicans will rapidly address.  
Additionally, parents have raised concerns about their kids’ education coming at the cost of political activism.
To that end, Republicans propose increasing transparency and accountability in school, empowering parents and allowing them to be active partners in their child’s education. 
Senate Republicans have had control of the Senate since 2017 and consistently stopped harmful tax increases on working and low-income Minnesotans.
They stabilized the health care market in 2017 with the very successful reinsurance program and passed record funding for students in schools.
Senate Republicans also continue to reduce burdensome regulations on Main Street businesses and support economic development across the state.

A friend of mine in Luverne put her recycling bin out on the wrong day.
The next morning she discovered the bright yellow recycling “tag of shame” attached to it. The tag of shame is usually given to people who place non-recyclable items in recycling bins.
You know the kind – they don’t wash the cans or remove the labels. (Yes, you are supposed to.)
They try to recycle types of plastic that aren’t “on the list” or they repurpose plastic shopping bags to carry material to the bin and leave the bags in the recycling container. (No, you are not supposed to.)
Some have gone so far as to toss actual garbage into the recycling.
The Luverne garbage guys could probably fill a book with the tales of stupidity they encounter every week.
As for my friend, it’s bad enough to be the only person on your side of the street to roll a giant recycling bin through the snow, across the ice berm and out to the curb on the wrong day, but to discover the bright yellow tag of shame twisting in the bitter Minnesota winds the next morning just makes it all the worse.
Sometimes a person just wants to blend in with the neighborhood, lie low and go unnoticed. No one wants to find the yellow tag boldly proclaiming to the neighbors, “A doofus lives here!” or “This person can’t remember what day it is!”
No one wants the neighbors wondering what “exactly” the problem is with the recycling situation.
My friend, seeing the tag and realizing her mistake, went to lug the giant bin back to the house.
It was empty. 
The garbage guys had emptied the bin. Why?
The bright yellow tag read, “Not your recycling day – emptied it anyways.”
At that moment, the bright yellow “tag of shame” became a little ray of sunshine on a cold Minnesota morning.
This isn’t a sign to put out the recycling bin any day you want to. It’s a sign that people are nice even when they don’t have to be. Even when no one is looking.
Even when it’s a little extra trouble on their part.
Thanks, garbage guys.
Have a nice day.

Harrison: 'Habitat' is "a fun and rewarding endeavor'
To the Editor:
As some of you know, Lowell and I have been doing Habitat for Humanity builds during our winter travels. It has been a fun and rewarding endeavor.
We have heard a number of heartwarming stories about the homeowners, but we were struck by the one we recently heard in Texas.
The daughter of a recent recipient of a home expressed an interest in helping this year’s family. Her mother suggested she make a wreath for the door. The 11-year-old responded, “I want to buy the door, for I remember how I felt the first time I walked through the door of our new home.” 
She has a business of making decorated cakes and cupcakes, so she saved her earnings, and yesterday the door was delivered by the family.  Bless her heart. 
The family of five children (ages 4-14) is hoping to either foster or adopt children after the current members are older. 
Receiving a Habitat for Humanity home has been a life-changing event for many families. We have been privileged to be a small part of this effort. (FYI The family does pay for the home but, of course, it has a lower cost and is accompanied by a no-interest loan.)
Shirley Harrison,
Luverne

We all know the dangers of driving with snow and ice on the roads, but driving with snow and ice on your vehicle is also a hazard.
Always take time to remove all snow and ice from your vehicle before traveling. This is for your safety and the safety of other drivers.
Snow and ice left on your hood, roof and trunk can shift and blow off – blinding you or the driver behind you.
Limited visibility can also occur if snow and ice are sucked into the fresh air intake of your vehicle (normally located near the bottom of the front windshield). It can create moisture fog inside your windows and windshield. 
It is also important to clear snow and ice from:
•Headlights and taillights to see and be seen.
•External camera lenses and side view mirrors so you’ll be able to see what’s around you.
•External sensors to allow the assistive-driving features like automatic emergency braking to work.
When traveling behind a vehicle with ice or snow falling from it, give yourself plenty of room to avoid being hit with debris or having your vision obstructed. Pass the vehicle only if it is safe to do so.
You can avoid a ticket — and a crash — if you simply buckle up, drive at safe speeds, pay attention and always drive sober.  Help us drive Minnesota toward zero deaths.
If you have any questions concerning traffic-related laws or issues in Minnesota, send your questions to Sgt. Troy Christianson – Minnesota State Patrol at Statue 169.791 2900 48th Street NW, Rochester MN 55901-5848.  (Or reach him at, Troy.Christianson@state.mn.us)

Dispatch report
Jan. 21
•Complainant on S. Kniss Avenue reported harassment via Snapchat.
•Complainant on County Road 17 and County Highway 4 reported a fire in the ditch.
•Smoke was reported at location of an earlier fire at location on County Road 17 and County Road 4.
Jan. 22
•Nobles County requested RCSO assistance in Magnolia.
•Complainant on Main Street and Bluemound Avenue reported an illegally parked SUV.
•Complainant eastbound on Interstate 90, mile marker 21, Magnolia, reported a semitrailer swerving.
•Complainant on E. Warren Street reported he can hear someone yelling for help.
•Complainant on E. Main Street reported damage to a door.
•Complainant on E. State Street, Magnolia, reported a break-in at location.
•Trooper requested assistance with a DWI arrest at mile marker 6 on Interstate 90, Beaver Creek.
•Deputy reported an outage.
Jan. 23
•Complainant on S. Kniss Avenue reported two unruly guests at location.
•Complainant on County Road 17 and County Road 4, Manley, reported a malfunction at railroad crossing.
•Complainant westbound on Interstate 90, mile marker 5, Beaver Creek, reported a vehicle swerving.
•Complainant on E. Mead Court reported damage to a storage unit.
Jan. 24
•Complainant on 1st Street, Hardwick, reported someone shot his house.
•Nobles County requested deputy assistance on W. Warren Street.
•Complainant on S. Donaldson Street reported a damaged sign.
Jan. 25
•Complainant on E. 4th Street, Hills, attempted a warrant service.
•Complainant on S. Steen Street, Steen, reported a civil issue.
Jan. 26
•State patrol requested deputy assistance on Highway 270, Hills.
•Complainant in Luverne reported property damage to a school vehicle.
•Complainant on SE Park Street reported suspicious activity.
•Deputy completed a civil standby for property removal on S. Steen Street, Steen.
•Complainant on S. Broadway Street, Magnolia, reported a suspicious phone call.
•Complainant on N. Blue Mound Avenue reported a suspicious vehicle in the area.
•Complainant on 241st Street and 190th Avenue, Luverne, requested to tow a vehicle.
•Complainant on S. Central Avenue, Hills, reported a probation violation.
Jan. 27
•Complainant north of Warren and Donaldson reported loud music.
•Complainant reported internet scam.
•Standby on S. Steen Street, Steen, for property removal.
•A warrant was issued on E. 4th Street, Hills.
•Deputy assisted with a property exchange on S. Steen Street, Steen.
•Complainant on Highway 75 and 131st Street, Luverne, reported an SUV all over the road.
•A warrant was issued on E. 4th Street, Hills.
•Complainant in Luverne reported a lost wallet.
In addition, officers responded to 5 motor vehicle accidents, 2 deer accidents, 2 vehicles in ditch, 2 escorts, 14 ambulance runs, 6 animal complaints, 2 fingerprint requests, 4 paper services, 14 burn permits, 1 background check, 3 alarms, 1 drug court test, 9 purchase and carry permits, 2 stalled vehicles, 20 traffic stops, 7 abandoned 911 calls, 1 report of cattle out.

Some fishing and hunting outings end with full game bags or fish stringers, and others end up with nothing but the receipts of the money you spent. Empty fish stringers don’t always mean that the trip was not a fun or successful one, though.  It depends on what criteria you use to define success.
I recently traveled to St. Cloud to attend the Minnesota Pheasants Forever state meeting. This event has been canceled the last few years, and attendance was a little lower than normal due to the recent surge in COVID-19.
I called a friend who I knew was also attending and asked him if he was interested in going up a day or two early to try our luck spearfishing on a lake that neither one of us had ever been on – or for that matter ever even heard of.
Being the adventurous sort, he agreed to give it a try. The name of the pond we tried was a 65-acre lake called School Section Lake in Stearns County. Everyone was driving their trucks on this lake, but I can’t seem to bring myself to drive my dog truck on ice. I towed my ice rig Polaris Ranger with tracks on it, and we off-loaded that and went exploring with a rig that weighs 1,000 pounds instead of a truck that tips the scales at about 5,000 pounds including everything I carry.
When you cut a spear hole and then leave that spot, you try to mark it with a stick from the shore. This makes others on the lake know that there is a spot where the ice will be thinner than the overall lake. We saw several sticks protruding from the snow and decided if that spot was good enough for them, it would be good enough for someone who had never been on the lake before.
I had recently purchased a new battery-operated ice drill and was pretty excited to try it out. I attached the battery, and when I pulled the trigger it turned about two times and died. I tried again and got the same results. I knew that when the batteries were cold, they would not operate at full capacity, but I thought they would at least work a little. I was wrong. I tried an additional new battery I bought with the unit, and it also did nothing.
Back to the truck we went, and after 30 minutes on the truck’s defroster, they worked like a charm. I wonder if this only happens to me or if other battery-operated ice drills do the same thing. We got the hole cut, set up the portable, and we were off to the spearfishing races.
In spearing you sit still and hope the fish come to you. Most often you will use either a large sucker chub on a safety pin or other fake decoy to attract the pike to you. Some use spoons or painted golf balls to attract the fish. I had purchased four large suckers about 10 inches long from the local bait shop.  When you are trying to decoy a pike, the goal is to have that pike come in nice and slow to check out if they want to eat your offering. If you use a smaller bait, they will often blast in and gobble up the decoy and flash out of sight in about a half a second. This slash and grab offers no opportunity to throw a spear. Bigger bait often slows down the approach.
I have had fish that have come into the hole and stayed for five minutes. Others will cruise on through without even stopping to sniff the potential meal.
My trip to St. Cloud was a smash and grab experience. I started with four large baits, and in about two hours I had no bait left at all. The fish wanted nothing to do with my other decoys. It did not matter if that was a spinning spoon, a painted golf ball or one of about 15 different-colored and -sized hand-carved decoys I tried.
The fish we saw were all large fish. They engulfed a 10-sucker chub like I enjoy a single Lay’s potato chip. It is very exciting to see big fish, even if they don’t give you a shot to take them home in your truck. The other side benefits of spearing are you get to see all of the other fish in the lake. We saw multiple large-mouth bass that I estimated to weigh five pounds. We saw a few hundred pan fish, but they never looked like eater size. Turtles, frogs, crawfish and other lake inhabitants all come by to visit.
Southwestern Minnesota where I live has very few lakes with water clear enough to spear in. Not all that far north of me there are hundreds of lakes that qualify as crystal-clear lakes. After I got home, I was able to visit with a local that spears on the lake I tried. He explained that that lake has lots of spearing pressure and that the pike are now smart enough not to loiter in the kill zone. They flash in and flash out and in many cases get a free meal in the process.
I didn’t think a pike could get that smart, but after two days I was proven wrong. We saw, if even for an instant, over 25 fish in two days and I did not manage to put a spear in a single one. It was still a great outing, and my lack of success has not dampened my desire to try again.
Spearing has experienced a resurgence over the past five years or so. More folks enjoying natural resources and buying licenses means more revenue to manage those resources.
There are a lot of lakes in Minnesota. Find an avenue to give this sport a try. You’ll get hooked just like I did. I equate it to bow hunting for deer. You sit still for long periods but when the big one shows up, you forget it was 100 hours since you saw the last one.
Scott Rall, Worthington, is a habitat conservationist, avid hunting and fishing enthusiast and is president of Nobles County Pheasants Forever. He can be reached at scottarall@gmail.com. or on Twitter @habitat champion.
 

Luverne High School will break up the doldrums of winter with Snow Week Feb. 7-11 with various activities and the crowning of a Snow Week king and queen.
The royalty candidates are selected and voted on by LHS teachers and staff as recognition for positive leadership and character in the classroom and activities at school and in the community during their years at LHS. “These 10 seniors are well-rounded role models for other students to look up to and they represent what makes LHS teachers, staff and students proud of our school,” said student council adviser Jason Berghorst.
 
The student council has organized various activities for Snow Week, including the coronation scheduled for 1:50 p.m. Monday, Feb. 7, in the performing arts center.

Card Shower
Dorothy Petersen celebrated her 95th birthday on Sunday, Jan. 30. Greetings may be sent to her at 603 Phyleon Drive; Luverne, MN 56156.