State Representative David Bly, MN District 25B

April Johnson knows first hand the joy of being part of a child’s success as she serves as an AmeriCorps member at Faribault’s Three Rivers Head Start. She spends her days helping young children learn to read. She also relishes their smiles as they enjoy a favorite story for the fourth or fifth time. The [...]

Star Tribune editorial writer and columnist Lori Sturdevant wrote in an editorial piece on April 27 that homeowners’ property taxes over the last 6 years have increased, on average, 82%. In the upcoming year, taxes are forecast to increase 7.7%. These increases are forcing many homeowners into difficult financial problems.
This Legislature is [...]

The Minnesota Foreclosure Crisis Summit II was held on April 29th, 2008 in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Over 200 housing officials and community leaders from throughout Minnesota attended the event. Important new foreclosure data and best practices for responding to foreclosures were presented by a series of non-profit and government leaders. During the summit, The Greater [...]

Just a reminder that the April 4, 2008 deadline is approaching for requests for seed money available from the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation. Up to $25,000 in seed capital is available for biobusinesses through the newly created Bio Seed Fund. These funds are designed to support start up and expanding bio-medical, bio-agriculture and renewable energy [...]

Let’s go green!

Marc Strassman of the Feed-in Tariff Channel interviews Terry Tamminen, former chief policy advisor to Governor Schwarzenegger. Tamminen discusses how feed-in tariffs encourage green energy and would allow the average citizen to become entrepreneurs in the green energy effort. The video is used with permission from the Feed-in Tariff Channel, which is part [...]

The 2008 Legislature will use all the tools available to close the budget gap, including cuts. However, we will take a long-term “balanced approach” that Minnesotans want us to do when it comes to solving this crisis. Finance committees will begin their work soon. The Governor has proposed a short-term view and fails to address [...]

A new television ad getting some airing recently has given rise to a misleading statement regarding the deficit and new funding generated by the 2008 Transportation Bill. To set the record straight you need not look very far for evidence to debunk this statement.
The issue: Does raising the gas tax affect the current billion-dollar budget [...]

The State’s economic February Forecast is now available. The Department of Finance is projecting a $935 million deficit for 2008-2009, and budget planning estimates are for a $1.086 billion deficit for 2010-2011. Contributing to the economic picture is a decline in individual and corporate income taxes. The Forecast predicts a minor recession for the first [...]