Something is rotten in Minnesota

“PARKS:Holiday weekend campers get a reprieve as governor signs bill to keep parks open. "Only hours before the state's parks were set to close, Gov. Tim Pawlenty promised to sign a $686 million bill to keep parks in business for the holiday weekend."

With the high rates charged by state parks the parks should be self-sustaining. I can't believe $686 million extra is needed to operate the parks for this weekend, the busiest weekend of the year. They should be kicking in surplus money to the state for operation during slower days.
last edited: 7/01/05 6:36:15 AM”

“"Anderson estimated Minnesota state parks had about 320,000 visitors over last year's Fourth of July weekend. William O'Brien alone brought in about $22,000 in revenue for the weekend. This year, he said, all of park's 100 reservable campsites had been booked and most people had started planning more than two months in advance." MARINE ON ST. CROIX, Minn.

"The Legislature had overwhelmingly passed the bill to keep the parks open and provide money for farm and job-training programs. The $686 million bill was seen as the most visible way to keep Minnesotans happy as a possible state government shutdown loomed in St. Paul. Gov. Tim Pawlenty signed the bill Thursday night."

ahh, ha! Politics as usual. Some of the money is headed elsewhere!
last edited: 7/01/05 6:58:23 AM”

“I think that bill includes more that just parks, although I still haven't read what exactly is funded and until when.....

http://www.twincities.com/mld/twincities/news/politics/12028630.htm

Posted on Fri, Jul. 01, 2005

Campers enjoy a late reprieve

Last-minute funding keeps state parks open
BY JEREMY OLSON and DENNIS LIEN
Pioneer Press


It was nearing the 4 p.m. parks closure deadline Thursday at William O'Brien State Park, and still there was no word whether the state parks budget would be completed and if the park would remain open for the night.

Eric Hanson and Meg O'Reilly, two teachers from Brooklyn Park, sat patiently at their campsite, just off the St. Croix River in Washington County. They removed the gear from their car but didn't unpack it just yet.

Pam Facchin of St. Paul started packing up — she had been camping since Tuesday — while her husband went to the park entrance to await the news. They were hoping for one more night, she said, "but we knew coming up here we might have to leave early."

At the entrance, a dozen cars lined up in anticipation.

Hopes were high for Romeo Mateo. He traveled with his wife and two children from New York to camp with family. The children thought Camp Snoopy was a great backup plan, but this trip had been in the works for a long time.

Then came the call. It was 3:50 p.m. Ten minutes to spare. Park manager William Anderson's boss gave him the good news: The parks budget was going to make it to the governor. The park could remain open, and he still had his job. "This was much too tight for my comfort level," he said.

Anderson kept extra staff around to help close the park if necessary.

"It's never gotten this close," he said, recalling the near-shutdown of state government in 2001.

Minnesota lawmakers had plenty of chances Thursday to ease the minds of Fourth of July weekend campers. But they waited until moments before the widely advertised 4 p.m. deadline.

After spending several hours debating a bill to keep parks open, the Senate and House overwhelmingly approved it, enabling thousands of weekend campers whose plans had been up in the air to begin registering for overnight sites. Gov. Tim Pawlenty quickly signed the measure.

Campers' plans would have been scuttled if the Legislature hadn't agreed on the wide-ranging bill that funds such agencies as the Department of Natural Resources, the Pollution Control Agency and the Agriculture Department. Without it, the DNR was prepared to close all campgrounds, lodging and restrooms in 66 parks and six recreation areas and state forests.

State parks director Courtland Nelson said campers canceled 450 of 3,200 reservations the past few days. Those people are being reimbursed and will not be able to reclaim their reservations.

Despite the uncertainty, things went relatively well across the parks system, he said. In some parks, such as William O'Brien, vehicles were backed up onto nearby highways.

"We just simply let them come in and occupy a campsite,'' Nelson said, adding that people were told they might have to turn around and leave.

While many observers believed the bill's passage was a certainty, it often didn't appear that way. A legislative working group finished the bill Wednesday night, and its House and Senate leaders agreed afterward not to change it Thursday.

But the Senate quickly approved two amendments dealing with off-highway vehicle use in state forests in northern Minnesota and changing the structure of the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources, a bipartisan panel of lawmakers that recommends money for environmental and conservation projects.

After the bill's chief Senate sponsors, Sen. Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, and Sen. Dallas Sams, DFL-Staples, argued privately that the changes could sink the bill, the Senate took up the amendments again and defeated them.

"They said, 'If you don't send us a clean bill, all bets are off,' '' Bakk said, referring to House leaders.

The Senate voted 57-6 for the bill and the House voted 93-41.

Back at William O'Brien on Thursday afternoon, campers were just happy to have their vacation plans confirmed. The Brooklyn Park teacher O'Reilly drove up to the entrance to get her pass.

"Congratulations," a worker said to her.

"Congratulations to you, too," she replied.

Campers grabbed their passes, some firewood and scrambled into their cars. Minutes later, Steve Griffore drove up to the entrance. He knew the deadline and had timed the drive from his home in Richfield. His gut told him the gate would be open.

"It's all just politics, you know," he said.

Next came Cathy Hovda from Woodbury with her husband and two sons. They had arrived earlier but went hiking to pass the time. "It didn't seem wise to put up a tent," he said.

Had the park closed, they planned to find a campground across the river in Wisconsin. The Hovdas finished their tent just as the wind picked up and sprinkles started falling.”

“Come on now, peeps, lizs ain't all that bad! ;-)”

“Minn. government shuts down; 9,000 jobless "Services that were closed included highway rest areas and the issuing of new driver's licenses. But the most significant pain would be felt by the roughly 9,000 employees who were locked out without some deal or stopgap spending plan."”

“I am SOOOOOO glad Mn parks stayed open. It's bad enough in Western WI dealing with Minnesotans coming over every weekend, but this weekend would have been almost unbearable had they closed the parks in MN.”

“SS - I came to this thread specifically to say the same thing. Scary, huh?”

“I sure hope the MN Parks stay open... We are going to MN next week, and I have reservations at state parks on the 12 and 13th. NP, now that I think about it, except I paid in advance. Guess if they close we'll do more time than planned on the Superior Trail!”

“Apparently the governor "signed a bill passed by the Minnesota Legislature that approved funding for the Department of Natural Resources for the biennium. The approval of this budget means that Minnesota State Parks have the funding to remain open for the next two years."
The rest stops and many other state services are closed, but the parks are open. YAY!
They do expect to have the whole thing settled before this weekend.
Minnesota here I come!”

“Cindy, when do you arrive again? I am probably outta here Friday, July 8. Sheesh... and I think, from what you've said, that just misses you guys, right?”

“'Whorehouse Days' Called Off

GILBERT, Minn. (AP) — "Whorehouse Days" are a bust in Gilbert.

Organizers had big plans for their first festival this weekend, including a four-poster bed race, a beer mug-sliding contest and a showdown for best-dressed madam.

But the City Council, which, as earlier reported in Out There, was never happy about the idea, is now refusing to rent out public buildings for the event.

Almost one-third of the city's businesses signed a petition against the event and dozens of residents protested at council meetings.

"The City Council's acting like it's the Moral Majority or something," said lead organizer Bob Cap. "They really played a number on us."

Organizers had promised all the events would have been rated G or PG.

Gilbert's history actually includes a period when it was known as a place of saloons and prostitution, in the early years of the 20th century when mining and timber-cutting were in full swing.

But Cap acknowledged the name was picked as a marketing tool.

"We figured the shock value would cause some people to say, 'Hey, let's go check that out.'"

Last story”

“hooray for hooers!”