The State Legislature worked up until their statutorily mandated adjournment deadline last night, without coming to an
agreement on the spending framework worked out last week by the legislative leadership. The possibility remains that Governor Walz could call a special session to force the legislators to work out their differences, but he has said many times he will not do so.
The disappointment of a session where virtually nothing was accomplished will be felt by many but should not come as a great surprise. Heading into the weekend, Representative Todd Lippert said that earlier in the session he had felt nothing would be passed. However, there had been enough development in recent weeks to make him feel more optimistic.
Still there were measures he had been working on that did not have a particularly good outlook. Among them was the soil health/water conservation/cover crop measure that Lippert has been working on throughout the session. Soil and Water conservation has long been a focus of his legislative agenda, and the measure he has been shepherding through would have provided subsidies and tax breaks to farmers to make it practical for them to plant windbreaks and crops like Kernza which can act as living cover crops throughout the year. Lippert said there is some provision for it in the Agriculture Bill, but the funding he was hoping to get through the Environmental Bill did not materialize. He also said there could be funding coming through the Legislative Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCMMR), but the commission’s recommendation does not become public until later this week.
Lippert, who is at the end of his fourth and final legislative session, said it is rare for a legislator to get everything they want out of a session, so some disappointment is to be expected.
“Negotiations on conference committees get difficult. And this is a season of disappointment. You don’t [always] get the things you want, or [you don’t get them] just the way you want them. Everyone gets tired and cranky and it’s not the best environment for everything working out.”
Speaker of the House Melissa Hortman said yesterday that she planned to ask Governor Walz to call a special session. Senate Majority Leader Jeremy Munson said earlier yesterday that his caucus would not support such a move.
Jeff Johnson’s full conversation with Representative Todd Lippert can be heard here
Council discusses amendment to sidewalk chalk statute
By Cait Kelley, KYMN contributor
At last week’s City Council meeting, Council Members Jessica Peterson White and Clarice Grenier Grabau brought forward for
discussion an amendment to the city code that would allow for the use of chalk on sidewalks.
The ordinance in question was written in 1906 and states that “No person shall write, print, stick, post, or place any bill, placard or sign of any description upon the sidewalks or other public structure of the city.” This ordinance has been interpreted to mean that it is illegal to use chalk on Northfield sidewalks. The proposed change says, “substances intended to mark concrete for less than…twenty-four (24) hours that can be completely and easily removed from sidewalks” are allowed.
Peterson White argued that the ordinance was written before sidewalk chalk was commonly used and that the vast majority of the time when chalk is used, it’s used by children and by community members who want to decorate the sidewalks which is not against the spirit of the ordinance. She also acknowledged that chalk has been used in Northfield by citizens expressing their feelings about issues they are passionate about. For her, this expression of free speech in a public, but temporary way should be embraced by the Northfield community.
For both Peterson White and Grabau, this is also an equity issue, since enforcement of the current no chalk law is complaint-based, and complaints can be levied more heavily against particular groups than others. Peterson White also argued that the current law wastes city resources because when people don’t like sidewalk chalk that they see they call 911 and the police have to come to wash it away.
Mayor Rhonda Pownell expressed some concern at the meeting that allowing chalking on sidewalks could lead to groups expressing their political views competing for chalking space in places like Bridge Square.
During her weekly conversation on The KYMN Morning Show Pownell said,
“I think one of the other aspects of it is that it’s also been utilized in our downtown as a way to – our bridge square is oftentimes utilized as an area where people can stand with signs and on particular issues that they really care passionately about. And that’s been there and available for a long time. We’ve also had people utilize sidewalk chalk in Bridge Square on our concrete areas to also display messaging about topic areas that they really care deeply about as well. This would then allow that. It’s not simply sidewalk chalk. There is more to this particular change in the ordinance than what meets the eye. I think it’s important for people to know and understand that, that content of the messaging is not always looked upon favorably. It’s not just hopscotch.”
The City Council will revisit the proposed ordinance change at their meeting on June 7th.
City website now offers Community Events Calendar
The City of Northfield communications staff has announced the establishment of a free online Community Event Calendar that
will allow local organizations to submit and display their upcoming events.
Submitters must follow the City of Northfield event guidelines.
The calendar is intended for events such as sporting events, school or community fundraisers, city wide garage sales, live entertainment, drink or food specials, walkathons, festivals, races, bicycle events, celebrations or any other gatherings of similar nature. The city does require that the events be all inclusive.
Examples of events that do not qualify for publication include funerals, personal sales, family reunions, weddings, showers, and anniversaries.
A statement issued by the city also said that Google Translate will allow translation of community events into several languages.
For more information on the new Events Calendar, visit events.northfieldmn.gov, or visit the City of Northfield website.
Rich Larson is the KYMN News Director. Contact him at rich@kymnradio.net
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