By Rich Larson, News Director
And the Northfield Public Works Department will be closing Highway 19 between Armstrong Road and Highway 3 from 7am tomorrow until 5pm on
Friday to repair a watermain and to perform maintenance on the railroad.
A detour will be posted using Eaves Avenue, North Avenue, Eveleth Avenue, 320th Street and Highway 3 to funnel traffic around the closure area.
The City of Northfield is urging motorists to always drive with caution, slow down in work zones, and never enter a road blocked with barriers or cones.
The water main to be fixed was damaged on April 16 and closed traffic for several hours.
Draheim, Republicans stand firm against tax increase
With the clock ticking down on the legislative session and both the House and Senate waiting for legislative leaders to negotiate the budget targets both Republicans and Democrats are sizing the other side up, looking for areas of compromise in the all-important budget negotiations, and looking for the areas where the other side is not willing to budge.
Senator Rich Draheim said that this is the period where both sides are working, but without specific goals, neither side can get much accomplished.
Draheim said, the slow pace of negotiations is due to some very fundamental differences in philosophy between the two sides.
The DFL controlled House of Representatives passed a budget that includes a 1% tax increase on Minnesotans making more than $500,000 dollars a year, or couples whose combined income is more than $1 million. The Republicans, who control the Senate, have stated very clearly that the state has a $1.6 Billion dollar surplus, and there is no need to raise taxes on anybody.
Draheim said the reason the Democrats want to increase taxes is because they would like to increase spending on things like education, infrastructure and environmental concerns. The GOP, on the other hand would like to re-evaluate where the money is being spent, and make sure the programs are working and doing the things they are deigned to do. Moreover, he said, despite the increase coming on the wealthiest Minnesotans, a tax increase would affect everyone.
“The House Democrats want a huge tax increase, and we’re saying we don’t need a tax increase. We’ve had surplus after surplus, even after this last year. With all the Covid mess we went through, we still have a surplus. And the tax proposals affect every working Minnesotan.”
Without the budget targets, however, no constructive negotiating can be done, said Draheim, calling it a “Hurry up and wait” situation.
The legislature is constitutionally mandated to adjourn on Monday.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Senator Rich Draheim can be heard here
The Merlin Players present online film staging of ‘Running’
After more than a year-long Covid-19 forced layoff, The Merlin Players theater company has returned to offer on online theater experience that will most likely resonate with people at the end of a pandemic. On Friday, the Merlin Players premiered a film staging of Running, a comedic drama that finds a pair of old acquaintances re-connecting and discovering some deeper connections, written by American playwright Arlene Hutton.
The play starring Brendan Etter and Paula Jameson, and directed by Sam Temple, was filmed in March and April on the stage of the Paradise Center for the Arts in Faribault.
The pandemic has been difficult for everyone, of course, but theater people in particular have suffered greatly over the last fourteen months. The Merlin Players, one of two theater companies based at the Paradise, had greatly hoped to stage a live production this spring. But in February as the pandemic kept going, it became apparent that they would have to switch gears. Temple, a theater director and a filmmaker, decided that filming a stage play with a small cast and a minimalist set would be the best option. After selecting Running, which he said is perfect for this moment in time because it has great empathy without ever mentioning a pandemic, he contacted Etter and Jameson.
Etter, who is a veteran of many theater productions around the area said he had very little experience with film. The filming was challenging for both actors, not just because the scenes were filmed out of sequence, but the directions for film are different than the directions for stage. Etter said Temple was patient with both cast members, but they all had to think differently on stage.
“It was very hard to break out of the habits, which, when you’re filming are actually bad habits in some ways. They’re not the opposite, but they’re very different than the way you would act on stage. You don’t need to cheat out. You don’t need to project as much. The acting can be very internal rather than playing to the back seats of the Paradise Center for the Arts. So that was a learning curve.”
Running is available now through Sunday. The cost to watch is $17.00 per household. For more information visit merlinplayers.org.
