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Below are news items about city, ward, and
neighborhood issues that you might find of interest. Please check back as
the list is updated often.
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Toxic Government by Democrats: Minneapolis
By John Perazzo
Frontpage Mag, 4/4/13
"The city of Minneapolis, Minnesota--whose population is composed of 63.8%
whites, 10.5% Hispanics, and 18.6% African Americans--has been governed
exclusively by mayors from the Democratic Farmer Labor Party, the state
affiliate of the Democratic Party, since 1978. As of 2011, the poverty
rate in Minneapolis was 23.5%, more than one-and-a-half times the national
figure of 15%....Prior to the permanent Democratic takeover of Minneapolis
in 1978, the city's poverty rate had been consistently lower than the
national average." Cause and effect.
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Audit finds common misuse of Minnesota driver data
By Eric Roper
Star Tribune, 2/21/13
And the city council and mayor tell us to trust them as they spend $2.8 million to build a database of all the information they collect
any every city resident that will be accessible to every city employee. Don't fall for the lie that they limit access and no one EVER
gives their password to anyone else. It's already happened in the driver's license data scandal where Mpls employees account for a
disproportionate number of offenders. The only way we can trust them is to LIMIT THEIR POWER. This database should not be built.
$2.8 million tax dollars are better spent on crumbling infrastructure than using our own money to limit our freedom.
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Powerful new tool in Minneapolis creates virtual city
By Eric Roper
Star Tribune, 2/20/13
What's city government done for us? Prosperity-crippling taxes and fees,
crony capitalism, stifling regulations, plans to confiscate firearms of
law-abiding citizens, and now they are compiling data on us so they can
prevent undesirable behavior before it happens. Detect a pattern here? We
hired these people to maintain our streets, pick up the garbage, and put
in a sewer and water system. They're out of control. They all need to be
replaced.
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St. Croix bridge tolls, higher gas tax may be ahead
By Pat Doyle
Star Tribune, 2/17/13
"'It's a potentially important source of revenue,' said Rep. Frank
Hornstein, DFL-Minneapolis...Raising the gasoline tax...is another option
favored by key lawmakers, including Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis...Dibble
was on a governor's task force that recommended raising the gas tax by 40
cents a gallon." Their beady eyes bright with greed and with nothing to
stop them, these two Mpls. politicians are why we can no longer afford
their brand of govt. It's time to replace these ruling elites with men and
women who understand that the money we earn is, first and foremost, ours
and not theirs.
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2/15/13 - The Hennepin County
Sheriff's Office is releasing statistics that provide an estimate of the
county's violent crime in 2012. The statistics show that violent
crime has decreased countywide by 37% from 2006 to 2012. Shall
issue permit to carry was implemented in 2005. It's no coincidence. When
law-abiding citizens are armed, criminals have a bad day. Fact.
Rybak offers bold vision of downtown in 2020
Star Tribune, 2/13/13
By Eric Roper
"The mayor noted that retail will also play an important role in making
the downtown of 2020 an attractive place. Better 'retail management' is
needed, he said, because 'we have not figured out how to do retail
right.'" Clueless and incompetent central planners have plagued Mpls for
decades--similar wizards of smart tore up the same street car tracks in
the 1950's that are now so essential. Time to clean house and bring in men
and women with real world experience and fresh ideas before they spend us
into a Detroit.
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Debt is
really just a matter of sharing
Tweet, 1/27/13
Councilwoman Betsy Hodges tweeted that massive govt. debt is really just a
matter of sharing. While that ludicrous remark is grounds for questioning
her intelligence, it is more likely that she has simply been too long in a
system where govt. greed is called justice and the lust for power is
community service. Our economy SHRUNK 0.1 percent in the 4th quarter of
2012, the federal debt at the moment is over $16 trillion, and every
citizen in the country owes $52,309 and they're still spending. It's time
to replace stale politicians like Betsy with men and women with real world
experience and fresh ideas. The status quo is unsustainable.
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5,000 alerted of records breach in abuse of drivers' data by DNR employee
Star Tribune, 1/16/13
If this is how they treat our drivers license data, how safe will we be when the ruling class has access to our complete medical history, has pinpointed and
registered every gun, and Google has turned over a database of every website we've visited and every search we've made? Imagine your life controlled by Al Franken.
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Pushing forward in the fight against gun violence
Posted on January 14, 2013 by R.T. Rybak
Rybak and the Democrats' faux angst over gun violence is just a gossamer
veil over their political agenda. If their concern was genuine, they'd
examine our culture of violence where infants are chopped into pieces and
sucked from their mother's womb; where movies, music, and games glorify
wasting anyone who gets in your way and are marketed to children; and
where schools teach bullying and intolerance is fine if the victim is
someone who disagrees with the agenda of the left. Violent reactions that
have become second nature in our society is the real problem and until we
face that, it will never be stopped.
Response to Mayor Rybak's
Announcement Not To Seek Re-election--12/27/12
"And the residents of Minneapolis have been every step of the way as
partners."
Mr. Mayor, we are NOT your partners as you
wrote in your 12/27/12 e-farewell address, we are your employer. Over your
12 year tenure, you have taken our money in taxes, fees, and regulations
to the point where we can barely afford to live in our city; you have
forced your liberal utopian dreams on us against our will (remember
denying the stadium vote required by city charter?) to the benefit of
millions of dollars for your friends and special interest supporters; and
you've condemned the north side of our city to generational poverty,
failing schools, and loss of opportunity.
As a rising star in the political class, you will no
doubt do well in the future. Our only hope is to reverse your charted
course and begin
to reestablish and grow the once prosperous middle class in Minneapolis
before our beautiful city turns into a Detroit or LA or Chicago.
St. Paul shop caught with smoking gum
By Paul Walsh
Star Tribune, 12/27/12
"A unanimous City Council outlawed candy smokes and cartoon
character lighters in April 2009. The council cited a study
showing that these products
encouraged youngsters to take up smoking tobacco." The government
class is now codifying their irrational and unfounded fears into
law. It's time to limit
their power, replace them, and get them the therapy they need
before they do any more damage to society. Let's start in
Minneapolis.
Fast vote tally in Minneapolis? Maybe not
By Steve Brandt
Star Tribune, 12/26/12
"Minneapolis estimated two years ago that a hand count in 2013
would cost $133,000 more than an automated count, and that amount
would balloon if turnout returns to normal after 2009's light
voting." But we can't have voter id because it's too expensive and complicated.
"Advocates say ranking candidates gives
voters more choice and helps ensure that more voters support the
eventual winner rather than the traditional winner-take-all approach."??!
"Council Member Cam Gordon, who heads
the council's Election Committee, said he's looking forward to
huddling with Hennepin County soon on the issue."
They've had four years to get software and machines to handle this
expensive, complicated, and possibly unconstitutional (one person, one
vote) form of
voting and they are just now beginning to "huddle" with the county,
legislature, and Secretary of State's office? What has the council
been doing? Oh yeah,
the Vikings needed a stadium.
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Defendant: Snooping was rife at Minneapolis City Hall
By Eric Roper
Star Tribune, 12/21/12
What's going on here is more than just a city employee being disciplined.
Tom Deegan was head of housing inspections and a 37-year employee of the
inspections and regulations dept. that Rybak is rolling into the CPED as
he consolidates power into one huge, difficult to hold accountable city
department. Deegan is in the way and needs to go. Maybe this power play
within the government class will bring to light how the game at city hall
is really played. When thieves fall out...
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Rybak's 12/19/12 e-newsletter,
"Turning despair into action to end gun violence", is a shameless
exploitation of the Sandy Hook shootings for political purposes. The young
victims have not even been buried yet and the mayor giddily writes his
wish list of 2nd amendment restrictions which will not and would not have
prevented what occurred. But that isn't the goal of the Democrat left.
They see this tragedy as their best opportunity to neutralize the 2nd
amendment, which is the final protection of citizens from government,
under the guise of concern for public safety and the children. It's
despicable.
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Schools may lower academic bar for sports
By Steve Brandt
Star Tribune, 12/19/12
"Now a proposal before the school board would allow students who make at
least a .1 improvement in their grade-point average in the previous term
to compete, even if they are below a C or 2.0 average." Are our public
schools just training grounds for the billion dollar football industry or
is their purpose to educate young people to succeed in life? This plan may
be currently shelved because the coaches don't want players who can't even
make a 2.0, but the officials who think this was a good idea are still
there. Our kids deserve much better than the Mpls public schools are even
interested in delivering.
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Math test causing division at schools
By Steve Brandt
Star Tribune, 12/17/12
"One argument for insisting on a high standard is that 40 percent
of Minnesota students require remedial classes if they enter the
state's public higher education system." What are critics of this
test saying? That MN high school teachers are too incompetent to
teach higher level math or that students are too stupid to learn
it? Evidently, these same students can learn math if taught
remedially in college so it must be the teachers. But I thought we
had a teachers union to guarantee the quality of its
members...right.
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Rybak asks state to keep car license data private
By Eric Roper
Star Tribune, 12/14/12
"If the commissioner approves, it would prevent the city from releasing
the tracking data to members of the public...Rybak said the issue became
clear to him after reading Star Tribune stories, one of which documented
his own vehicle's locations throughout the city." For thee and not for me,
R.T.? The big question is why this data is being collected. Is it based on
the presumption that someone MIGHT be guilty sometime, so hidden cameras
and police cars should track where everyone is or has been at all times?
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U student leaders worry that low- and middle-income families will
be priced out
By Jenna Ross
Star Tribune, 12/14/12
Before raising tuition why not try: cutting faculty salaries by
2%; reducing public sector union dues by 3% eliminating the need
for employee raises; cut froo froo degrees; find and eliminate
redundancy and waste; prioritize the goals of the U with an eye on
core degrees, research, and overall purpose. There are lots of
places to cut and reorganize before pricing students out.
Minneapolis school attendance down in wake of bus passes
By Steve Brandt
Star Tribune, 12/13/12
Really? I wonder where they went?! LOL.
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Ryan Cos. in talks with Star Tribune over land development
By Janet Moore
Star Tribune, 12/12/12
"Ryan [Cos. U.S. Inc.] may be interested in purchasing four of five blocks owned by the newspaper, all of
which will be near the planned $975 million Vikings stadium and the Downtown East/Metrodome light-rail station...the
four blocks covered by the Ryan agreement have a value for taxation of about $18 million. The fifth parcel owned by
the newspaper across from the light-rail station that is slated to be part of the stadium development is valued at
about $3.3 million for tax purposes." To sum up: City politicians pushed the dome site where the only local newspaper
and Vikings owner Zygi Wilf own prime real estate and in return get favorable press, campaign contributions in 2013 and
beyond, and can stick city residents with the possible bill of $890 million. Move along, folks. Nothing to see here.
Just the usual liberal crony capitalism at work.
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Six-figure Salaries Abound at State Teachers' Union
By Jonathan Blake
Freedom Foundation of MN
Let's see: we pay the teachers who pay the union officials who lobby our
representatives to pay the teachers more who pay the... Swell.
Election official offers ways to fix voting problems
By By Steve Brandt
Star Tribune, 12/4/12
"Carl said that the logjam from the city's 81 percent turnout -- which was matched statewide -- was exacerbated by one-quarter of those voting registering to
do so at the polls, compared with only 18 percent statewide. That slowed lines for those voters and consumed the time of election judges, he said."
Solution:
kiosks to register to vote everywhere across the city and registration ends three days before election day. Problem solved.
Plan calls for $20 billion in Minnesota tax hikes for roads, transit
By Pat Doyle
Star Tribune, 11/30/12
"Higher local sales taxes, gas taxes and vehicle fees are being pushed by Gov. Mark Dayton's task force on transportation and could help shape the debate on
highway and transit funding as DFLers take control of the Legislature next year." Elections have consequences.
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Pay-at-pump option may fuel lottery ticket sales
By Alejandra Matos
Star Tribune, 11/29/12
"[Minnesota Lottery executive director Ed] Van Petten said the easy access has some worried about its abuse, but he said the State Lottery has worked to
address that. Lottery employees at the nine participating gas stations are checking driver's licenses. Eventually, lottery players will have to scan their
licenses, but that software is operational only at the ATMs for now." How is it that the state lottery department can run a complex program that requires "a
debit card, driver's license and cellphone number...and other identification information" from an individual to buy a lottery ticket, but it's too expensive
and complex for the government to require a photo id to vote?!
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Financing for K-12 targeted
By Maria Elena Baca
Star Tribune, 11/28/12
It appears no one is asking the real questions, like, why do Minneapolis schools, which have one of the highest per pupil costs in the nation, only graduate
less than 50% of students with even worse percentages among minorities? On what exactly is all this money spent? Isn't this plan to "increase revenue" by
redistributing levy taxes simply government greed (when do they ever have enough?) with no accountability to the people paying for it or responsibility for
the poor result to the people they are supposed to be serving? It's
time to stop funding government greed and to hold the political class accountable for what
they do.
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Minnesota educators push to end high-stakes math exam
By Steve Brandt
Star Tribune, 11/27/12
"With nearly a third of high school students at risk of failing Minnesota's high-stakes exit exam for math, some educators say it's time the state dropped
the requirement...In Minneapolis, administrators are urging the school board to go on record opposing the GRAD portion of state testing in favor of
vocational and academic assessments leading to the ACT that tell students whether they're on track for their college or work goals." The headline should
read: "Teachers Fail. Students deemed to pass." Kumbaya.
State Department Sends Assistant Secretary to ... Minneapolis
By Daniel Halper
Weekly Standard blog, 11/19/12
"The press release is written in the same way an announcement for a trip abroad would be described. Except Brimmer is only going to Minnesota."
We are the world; we are the children
Star Tribune, 11/10/12
"Students who won the "Power of We" essay contest share how working together can improve our world." The one thing the children may have missed is that it
took ONE PERSON to organize others to accomplish something. Shouldn't we award those individuals with the innovative ideas and encourage them to persevere
even if no one else agrees? How does a contest like this encourage leadership, creativity, or individual excellence if children are told that alone they are
nothing? A camel is a horse designed by a committee. We don't need any more government sponsored committees designing camels.
Rochester re-elects dead man
By Richard Meryhew
Star Tribune, 11/7/12
A commentary on the mental ability of the average voter or a new
and good idea?!
Cities speak on ballot issues
By Mary Jane Smetanka
Star Tribune, 9/28/12
Ms. Ideal Councilperson would ask, "Is it appropriate for those we've
elected to enforce and uphold our laws to issue an official city
proclamation, on city time, against any law before it is even passed? Are
our elected officials now picking and choosing which laws they will
support and which laws they will not?"
Mr. Commonsense Councilperson would
inquire whether "This action by the city council, showing themselves
to be above and beyond the will of the people and not subject to it,
explains why they were able to simply ignore the city charter
requirement of a public vote on any sports facility in Minneapolis
requiring more than $10 million in tax dollars?"
Suburbs, state top Mpls for growth in homeless students
By Steve Brandt
Star Tribune, 9/19/12
"Homelessness among Minneapolis students is up, which isn't newsworthy, considering the city's widespread areas of poverty."
Homelessness of
children in Minneapolis ISN'T "newsworthy"?! That's appalling but not surprising coming from the establishment media who appear to have
accepted as the new norm the destruction of human lives under the weight of the poverty created by the city central planners.
The Purple Plunder Taxpayers
More members have a financial interest in projects before the panel.
Taxpayers League of MN, 9/18/12
"The Legislature approved $600 million in taxpayer funding for the new Vikings Stadium. While taxpayers wallets are being emptied, Vikings owner Zygi Wilf
sees his investment in the team increase 22% in ONE year."
Minneapolis to install 25 new electric car charging stations
By Bill Keller
myfox9news.com, 9/10/2012
"The Minneapolis City Council is moving toward a greener future by
adding 25 charging stations for electric cars, but how necessary
are the plug-in stations when electric vehicle sales are falling
below projections? General Motors spent more than $1 billion to
develop the Chevy Volt, but only 20,000 have been sold since
2010." Mr. Commonsense Councilperson would ask if it is the
purpose of city government to use taxpayer dollars to create
energy policy? Shouldn't the primary concerns of the city council
be streets, infrastructure, and public safety?
Minneapolis planning board's conflicts prompt ethics review
More members have a financial interest in projects before the panel.
By Eric Roper
Star Tribune, 9/10/12
"In recent months, members of the Minneapolis Planning Commission have
increasingly sat out votes on development proposals because they're
somehow involved in the projects...the nine-member Planning Commission is
one of the city's most influential citizen boards...responsible for
advising the City Council on most major development projects that pass
through City Hall...Dan Cohen, a one-time City Council member, followed
suit out of frustration [recused himself]. It's planning commissioners
using the planning commission as their own personal piggy bank," said
Cohen, who represents Hennepin County on the commission. "And that is not
right. Sitting in the audience doesn't cure it." Cronyism. How it's done.
Minneapolis tax increase would pay for more police, firefighters
By Eric Roper and Maya Rao
Star Tribune, 8/16/12
"But the mayor claimed the rise in the levy would have been doubled had it not been for recent Vikings stadium legislation that directs less property tax
revenue to the aging Target Center." TRUTH: Our property tax levy could have been
CUT if Rybak and his 13 rubber stamps hadn't committed $890 million of our
hard earned money to buy a playpen for their wealthy crony Zygi Wilf.
2013. Last chance.
"Rybak said his spending plan will boost the city's police budget by $2.5 million next year, an increase that amounts to about 1.8 percent more than 2012.
That will allow the city to have 10 additional officers by next summer, Rybak
said." TRUTH: The 2012 city budget is $1.22 BILLION. An increase of 1.8
percent for public safety is nothing! It pales compared to the waste and
misuse of funds by this bloated, out of control politburo. How long will
we be fooled by this aging carrot of 'a few more cops and firefighters'
while they squander hundreds of millions to prop up their failed agenda?
2013. Last chance.
"That doesn't mean next year's levy
will be particularly high, but instead that homeowners will have to take
on more of the total tax burden. "What we do in 2013 can make a difference
to how painful 2014 feels to people," [Council member Betsy] Hodges said."
TRANSLATION: Wait until after we're reelected in 2013 and then we'll have
4 more years to take what little is left from the producers in this city,
finish building our culture of dependency, and complete our plan to turn
Minneapolis into Detroit or Baltimore or LA or... 2013. Last chance.
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Minneapolis 311: Best run but most costly?
By Eric Roper
Star Tribune, 7/30/12
"The city pays about $3 million to operate 311...67 percent of
that cost is attributable to salaries and benefits -- there are
currently 28 employees." And the job these highly paid telephone
operators do is more critical than police and arson investigators
or fire fighters?! Evidently it is to Rybak and the central
planners.
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Minneapolis police skip inquiries in most hit-and-run accidents
By Masako Hirsch
Star Tribune, 7/27/12
"The Minneapolis police website says only hit-and-runs that
involve "serious injuries or fatalities" will be probed. The
Accident Investigation Section has dropped from seven
investigators to two in recent years...The policy appears to be
unique among large agencies in the Twin Cities -- sheriffs'
representatives in Hennepin and Ramsey counties, St. Paul and
Bloomington police and the State Patrol routinely investigate
hit-and-runs, with or without injuries."
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An unfinished project on the North Side
By Steve Brandt
Star Tribune, 7/27/12
"Filed in July 1992, the lawsuit [was] settled in 1995, [and] an
estimated $225 million has been spent to erase the four projects
that once straddled Olson and to rebuild the area. Hundreds of
project residents moved to new public housing in the suburbs.
Others used 900 new federal rent vouchers to move there or to
safer areas of the city." $225 million in tax dollars to help
people flee the Northside and it's still poverty ridden. Over 40
years of liberal, central planner ideas have failed. We need to
admit it, remove them from power, and make 2013 the year of
freedom from political tyranny in Minneapolis.
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Anti-Vikings stadium crowd silent
By Eric Roper
Star Tribune,, 5/29/12
"In '97, you could collect signatures and make a difference," [Council
member Cam] Gordon said. "In 2012, all you can do is hope and pray and beg
your elected officials to vote the way you want them to." BEG AND
PRAY that our representatives will do what we want?!! We don't
need hope or prayers. We need new council members. But the machine knows
that's not likely to happen when the sheeple vote in 2013. And the beat
goes on...
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Stadium gets final sign-off
By Eric Roper
Star Tribune,, 5/25/12
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Stadium next step: Minneapolis City Council
By Eric Roper
Star Tribune,, 5/13/12
The city's contribution is expected to be $150 million for stadium construction and another $189 million for operating costs over the life of the deal. That
$339 million total rises to $675 million when factoring inflation interest. It is paid for by a combination of city sales taxes that help support the Minneapolis Convention Center
-- a citywide sales tax, downtown liquor and
restaurant taxes, and a hotel tax. If sales tax revenues rise faster than expected the city's contribution, with interest, could reach $890 million.
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Bryn Mawr Safety Committee
By Patrick Murphy
Bryn Mawr Bugle, 5/12
"At the meeting last fall, we talked with other Area 3 residents whose streets are used for buying and selling drugs. These
transactions bring to Bryn Mawr people who are openly contemptuous of our neighborhood.
The police representative with whom we met made it clear that the
precinct is kept busy with serious crimes on the North Side and is not prepared to respond routinely to calls about drug trafficking in Bryn Mawr. So-we're
more or less on our own, at least on this issue." You can be sure there will be plenty of cops (at our expense) to guard Zygi's Crony Stadium though." |
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STATE OF CORRUPTION: How the Vikings Stadium Deal Went Down And Took Honest & Open Government With It.
By Nick Coleman
The State I'm In blog,5/10/12
"The state's non-profit pubic interest groups, the "progressive" organizations still dizzy with glee at being FOD’s (friends of Dayton), the churches, the advocacy groups
for the poor, the civil liberties and good-government groups — all have stayed silent during a lengthy, furtive, closed-door giveaway of hundreds of millions in scarce public dollars to the NFL and Zygi Stardust. None of them even made a peep when Dayton, who campaigned on a promise to keep
his calendar available to the public, reneged on that promise – at exactly the time he started dancing with Zygi, (sometimes even neglecting other duties)." |
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The Minnesota Vikings — based in Delaware?
By Heather J. Carlson
PostBulletin.com, Rochester, MN, 5/8/12
"The Red Wing Republican [Sen. John Howe] said he plans to offer an amendment today to the Vikings stadium bill that would require the Vikings organization
to be based in Minnesota in order to get state funding for a stadium. Howe also plans to offer an amendment that would pay for the state's share of the
stadium with a user fee on stadium-related items like tickets, parking and sports memorabilia." |
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Rybak's top aide clears first vote for city planning post
By Maya Rao and Eric Roper
Star Tribune, 4/21/12
"Others at City Hall counter that Hanson Willis' experience as the mayor's liaison on key economic issues and communications
background will help him lead a department that is trying to better coordinate planning with development and ensure it has
enough funding." CPED is the most powerful, intrusive, and inappropriate department in all of city government. This is a move
by the central planners to consolidate their control over every aspect of life in Minneapolis. The 2013 city elections may be
the last opportunity we have to free our city. |
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Gay 90's facade redo gets city cold shoulder
By Eric Roper
Star Tribune, 4/18/12
"They're just control freaks," [owner] Hafiz said. "They want to call the shots on everything..."You know the city," Hafiz
said. "When you get them involved, they want you to change the name of your kids." Spot on. |
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Push for Internet sales tax crosses party lines
By Baird Helgeson
Star Tribune, 4/13/12
It never even occurs to these political elites that the solution to internet sales cutting into
the bottom line of local businesses
is to LOWER local taxes, not raise online taxes. Want less of something (smoking, anyone?), tax it. Want more of something,
make it cheaper. Of course, it's hard to grow government that way... |
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With voter ID, state would be in compliance
By Andy Cilek
Star Tribune Counterpoint,, 4/12/12
"As amazing as it may seem, this November the state of Minnesota is set up to do what it has done since 1974. Namely, it will
stop accepting and checking the validity of new voter registrations 20 days before the election and then, on Election Day,
allow more than 500,000 people to register and vote without doing any checking of their eligibility beforehand." |
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Rybak: City's future depends on revitalizing North Side
By James Eli Shiffer
Star Tribune online, 4/11/12
"If the city wants to grow, the key will be North Minneapolis." Four decades of ever increasing central control and
liberalism has undermined the unique neighborhoods that made Mpls. the vibrant city it used to be. Does anyone believe giving
more money and power to the political class that caused the city's decline is going to reverse it? Decentralized, limited and
transparent city government, strong, individual wards and neighborhoods, and most importantly, local control of government
schools are ways to begin to stop Minneapolis from becoming Detroit. Next year's elections are where the reversal starts. |
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Mpls. robbery turns deadly
By Matt McKinney
Star Tribune, 4/11/12
"The boys yelled at him that they wanted his bike, then shot at him twice, running away as [Jody Lynmarvin] Patzner continued
to bike for 30 feet before collapsing on the sidewalk...."We're moving," [Tara] Hesser said. "I'm getting out of Minneapolis.
When you can't leave one block from your own house, that's ridiculous." |
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Mpls. City Council schedules April 24 hearing on Vikings stadium
By Eric Roper
Star Tribune, 4/9/12
"It will be held from 4 to 6:30 p.m. in room 317 of City Hall." |
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Minnesota teachers start to sweat the big test
By Kim McGuire
Star Tribune, 4/1/12
"What we see is the potential for 400 current classroom teachers not to be in the classroom next year," said Keith Hovis, a
spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Education. "And that could cause significant staffing problems statewide." Create a
staffing problem?! The real problem is that 400 teachers in MN can't pass a simple test. Worse, they are at this moment
teaching our children. This is appalling! |
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Payrolls down but payouts up
By Maya Rao
Star Tribune, 4/1/12
"Minneapolis spent $13.9 million on payouts of unused sick and vacation leave from January 2007 through December 2011, a
period when annual payments jumped about 15 percent." How long can taxpayers continue to pay salaries of public sector
workers who make twice as much they do? |
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E-mails reveal under-the-radar maneuvering to land Vikings stadium
By Eric Roper and Mike Kaszuba
Star Tribune, 3/28/12
When big business and big government collude (cronyism) to use the power of government to take the wealth and property of
citizens to benefit the few, it's tyranny. We taxpayers have no representation in this city. 2013 is our opportunity to
restore our rights. Let's do it. |
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New stadium offers the ultimate marquee
By Thomas Lee
Star Tribune, 3/25/12
"As part of the proposal to build a $975 million stadium at the current Metrodome site in downtown Minneapolis, the Vikings would receive all revenues for the new venue's naming rights. The return could be substantial to the franchise. Adding a corporate namesake to an NFL stadium could fetch the Vikings anywhere from $100 million to $500 million." Do the taxpayers of Mpls. have
NO representation?! Who brokered a deal where we have to dig deep to fund the Vikings' business costs while they rake in $100's of millions? Why isn't the revenue from the naming rights going toward the cost of this billion dollar playpen? Silly question. The political class takes care of its friends. |
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Stadium debate puts downtown's last frontier front and center
Star Tribune, 3/12/12
If the Vikings stadium is built at the Dome site, Zygi and Mark Wilf, "whose family has made millions developing real estate" could be in line to reap even more millions in development around the billion dollar stadium paid for by overburdened Mpls. taxpayers. Given the liberal cronyism rampant in Minneapolis and the fact that "three key parcels near the Dome on S. 3rd St. and 9th Av. S. already are owned by the Wilfs and are assessed at about $2 million", it could happen. Seems like the Putin of Minneapolis, Mayor Rybak, is still taking care of his friends with our money. |
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Minneapolis City Hall Could See An Extra Pile of Cash
KSTP.com, 3/5/12
As much as a $6 million surplus in the city coffers by simply requiring departments to review their budgets and use the money
wisely. How much could be saved if the city began to eliminate unnecessary departments altogether? I wonder if they'd give us
our money back by lowering taxes and fees?! |
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Jon Tevlin: Bumper crop of 'nimbys' sprouts around plans for urban farms
Star Tribune, 2/29/12
"[Council member Meg] Tuthill is concerned...and she wants to make sure it doesn't allow someone to grow corn out of a
bathtub in their front yard, for example..."I grew up on a farm," said Tuthill. "They are out there tilling before the
flippin' sun comes up." Meg Tuthill's phobias--first backyard fires and now corn--don't make good public policy. It seems
that the reaction of central control to every truly human activity, like making fire or growing food, is to stamp it out
before it spreads.
And let's not overlook the limousine liberal hypocrisy in all this: "Nobody seems to be against big gardens, per se. Many
involved in this issue are good progressives. You know, people who are for density, unless perhaps it's next door, and for
organic farms, unless perhaps they're next door." When the Obama economy collapses, we may be very grateful to these urban
gardening entrepreneurs. |
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School board turns to founder of Harvest Prep
By Steve Brandt
Star Tribune, 2/28/12
"But the biggest departure from the district norm will be Pierre Bottineau French Immersion School. It's the first school to
open under the state's self-governed schools law, which dates to 2005...The school will be run by a council of community,
parent and teacher representatives, and they'll contract for such services as busing or food. 'Keeping decisions close to
teaching and learning makes decisions better,' said Tina Maynor, a district teacher who now has the job of school leader."
Could this be the beginning of real school reform that puts education content and management in the hands of teachers,
principles, and parents? |
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Gun bill gets thumbs-down
By Steve Brandt
Star Tribune, 2/17/12
"'This law would give our citizens a greater right to use deadly force than we currently provide to law enforcement officers
in our state, with less review,' said Backstrom [Dakota County Attorney]." First of all, we're not "your" citizens. Second,
the U.S. Constitution gives citizens all the power, except for a few and enumerated powers given to the state. This bill
would be a start to restoring the proper balance. |
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Minneapolis not keeping up -- how do your streets rate?
By Steve Brandt
Star Tribune, 2/15/12
How about sliding the $300 million for the stadium to repairing streets? In fact, spending this now excess tax revenue
(the mayor and council tell us it's not needed for its original purpose) would also mean that home and business
owners' property would not be assessed for these repairs. Great deal all the way around! Go for it R.T.! |
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To catch a thief in Minneapolis is unlikely
By Matt McKinney
Star Tribune, 2/14/12
Rybak and the council want to spend $300 million to build another sports playpen in the city, but there is no money for
detectives to solve crimes. "Already one of the most common crimes in the city -- 5,103 burglaries were reported in
Minneapolis last year, or about 14 every day -- they also hold the distinction of being among the least likely to be solved."
The priorities of the liberal political class running Minneapolis are not in providing basic services, but in funding ever
more expensive, unnecessary development we can't afford. It's time to ask
who benefits from all this spending? |
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