The 2022 legislative session is underway, and this year most legislators are hoping to put together a bonding bill to pay for various projects
around the state. With a $7.7 billion dollar budget surplus set as the backdrop for this session, the size of a bonding bill this year could easily surpass the one passed in 2020, which exceeded more than a billion dollars for the first time in state history.
State Senator Rich Draheim, however, hopes to pump the brakes on a statewide bonding bonanza. The senator has been an outspoken critic of government spending throughout his political career. He said there are unnecessary costs to bonding that need not be incurred when the state has so much money in reserve.
“I would rather see us spend cash. You know, if there are traditional bonding packages, let’s spend some cash on them if they are basic infrastructure – your water, your sewer, your bridges, roads, etc. I think we could spend cash on those types of projects.”
Government Bonds are generally seen as low-risk/low-interest investments by the public, but Draheim said the other side of that doesn’t necessarily translate.
As the chair of the Senate Housing Finance Committee, he said he knows what housing bonds cost. On a twenty-year bond, he said, the state will charge 4% interest on the first year, and 8% for the next nineteen years.
“Not all bonding is cheap,” he said, adding that buying a house at 8% would not be a good idea right now,
Draheim’s concern is the amount of debt the state is issuing.
“We’ve bonded a ton in the last five years,” he said. “More than any other five-year period in Minnesota history.”
He said there are many good projects around Minnesota, but the state does have to have priorities, and he believes that each project should be evaluated for its importance.
“You have to make a list,” he said. “You have to draw a line somewhere and cut other projects off.”
The Senator acknowledged that the idea of paying cash for infrastructure projects is not a popular one, even within his own party.
“I don’t think the Finance Chair is on the same page that I’m on,” he said.
The conversation will continue throughout the session, and Senator Draheim said any bonding bill will not be passed until the session is nearly over in May.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Senator Rich Draheim can be heard here
Mountain Dew awards grant to Clean River partners
Clean River Partners has announced that they have received a $5,000 grant from Mountain Dew for the work they do to clean up the Cannon River.
A statement issued by Clean River Partners, formerly the Cannon River Watershed Partnership, said they are one of 40 outdoor oriented nonprofit organizations in the country to be chosen by Mountain Dew for this type of funding.
Based in Northfield, and a strong member of the city’s non-profit community for more than thirty years, Clean River Partners helps to protect the area’s lakes and rivers and ensure long-term conservation of freshwater ecosystems by working with a vast array of partners.
“With the Mountain Dew Outdoor Grant funding, we can drum up more participation in the annual Cannon River ‘Watershed-Wide Clean Up,’” said Kevin Strauss, the CRP Community Engagement Coordinator. He anticipates the funding will help them recruit more volunteers to help pick up the thousands of pounds of trash and litter that accumulates along the banks and in the area of the Cannon River.
Those wishing to participate in the Cannon River Watershed-Wide Clean Up, should mark their calendars for Saturday, September 17th. The organization will look for volunteers in Northfield, Faribault, Owatonna, Cannon Falls and other southern Minnesota communities.
For more information, visit CleanRiverPartners.org/cleanup.
Temple says Northfield Public Broadcasting is raising its standards
And Sam Temple, the station manager with Northfield Public Broadcasting, is clearly enjoying the new resources the city decided to allocate
to his department this year. The station manager position has been elevated to full time, and Temple said with twice as many hours to work with, the ability to take on more projects is very exciting.
He cited the Human Rights Commission’s Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday as a perfect example. The decision to create a virtual event, rather than hold an in-person celebration was made on short notice. Moreover, the program would involve both pre-recorded material and live elements via Zoom, as well. A hybrid program such as that can be technically tricky to pull off, and they had very little time to put it all together. But despite the time crunch, Temple said they were able to create a high-quality presentation befitting the occasion, and that is due directly to the station’s expanded capacity.
On top of that, during the two weeks they spent working on the MLK program, they were also able to keep the pace of adding a new video each week. Producing weekly programming at a high standard while also making major contributions to community events are the kinds of results Temple said they are now able to show.
“Not only can we do these short piece videos happening every week, but we can help with these larger developments; we can help with these larger community-wide projects. That will not only have immediate benefits for the event, but now those things will last. Now those things will be not only good quality in the moment, but good quality over the course of the next year and into the future.”
In addition to more staff hours, NPB is developing a new studio space as well. The addition of a facility that is set-up and ready to be used for filming is a significant one that is allowing them to get more creative in the use of lighting, sound, motion graphics and more.
Temple said, with full time staff on board, he has higher expectations of himself and the work NPB is doing, and he expects viewers to see NPB’s standards for quality increase even more dramatically in the coming year.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Sam Temple of Northfield Public Broadcasting can be heard here
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
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