State Representative David Bly, District 25B

I recently participated in an event sponsored by MAPA, Lutheran Social Services, AFL-CIO, and many others, and lead by Education Minnesota’s Lisa Nentl-Bloom and AFSCME’s Chris Cowen, where we had a discussion about substantive impacts of economic policy, particularly those of the shift in distribution of public education funding to the state, where the […]

EDUCATION COMMISSIONER YECKE’S CONFIRMATION HEARING IS APRIL 1, AND IT’S NO APRIL FOOLS JOKE!
Yecke’s appointment as Commissioner of Education must be denied.
It amazes me, the similar theme I keep hearing from this group of ideologues, “Let’s turn back the clock to a simpler time, the 1950s, before we had all these social problems.” David Strom […]

Participants at the DFL’s Scott County Unit 25 (Belle Plaine) and Rice County (Northfield) conventions were inspired by candidate speeches from two 2nd Congressional District Candidates Teresa Daly and Peter Idusogie. They hit upon similar themes: We have had enough of the Bush policies and Minnesota needs a Representative who will look out for […]

Last week, Minnesota House Speaker Steve Sviggum gathered his caucus leadership around him and delivered the Republican house supplemental budget proposal. (MPR Photo/Laura McCallum) He seemed to be asking Minnesota voters to close their eyes and hope as they continue to cut necessary services and try to pay for government with gambling proceeds — […]

This last Thursday evening, I helped out with the Minnesota Association of Alternative Programs’ Youth conference called STARS Spring Events. Students prepare various demonstrations and performances, along with participating in various problems solving and skill events, to show what they’ve learned in their Alternative schools. One of the events is LifeSmarts, a program […]

There is an ongoing effort to pass legislation in Minnesota that is designed to take the adverse effects of money interests out of politics. This effort has already met with success in Maine and Arizona, where State legislatures voted to limit expenditures and encourage public financing of elections. In Minnesota, status of such efforts […]

Rik Reppe chronicles his search for America in his play, Staggering Toward America, which was presented in its final performance on Sunday, March 14th. The play bill describes:
Staggering Toward America Presented by Rik Reppe
Feeling disconnected in the tragic aftermath of 9/11, Rik Reppe closed his thriving management consulting business and set out […]

A continuation of my take on the Cox/Neuville/Brod Town meetings held on Feb.28th first blogged on March 1st.
CREP/RIM CSP
At the town meetings a couple of weeks ago, Rep. Cox also talked about the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP) bill he is carrying on behalf of the Governor. I asked him about the […]

Tuesday was Caucus night, and in Northfield, nearly 1,000 people turned out and excitedly and optimistically shouted “YES!!!!” we’ve had enough, and we’re ready for change, and we’re going to make that change! It was an inspiring evening, seeing so many politically active people who want to change the direction of this country, and […]