Political Party

Senators to get a show in Mantorville

Members of the Senate Capital Investment Committee will not likely forget what awaits them in Mantorville today. Residents have planned an elaborate welcome complete with people dressed in 19th Century costumes riding on horseback. Senate Minority Leader Dave Senjem, R-Rochester, said he will be getting a to ride — along with a few other lawmakers — in a horse-pulled stagecoach.

For Mantorville, it is all about making a lasting impression on lawmakers that will have a key hand in determining the state's public works borrowing bill for 2010. Dodge County is looking for $2.7 million to build a "Stagecoach Trail" that would connect Owatonna to the Douglas Trail in Olmsted County. There has also been talk about using the trail for stagecoach tours that would run from Mantorville to historic Wasioja.

This is not the first time that the residents have employed these tactics. In 2007, the put on a similar show that wowed committee members. They ended up getting $550,000 toward the project in the 2008 public works bill. But Senjem told me that organizers have said that was just a "dress rehearsal" compared to what lawmakers can expect today. I'll be there to check it out and post some pictures.

The committee will be in Rochester this afternoon to learn about the proposed Mayo Civic Center expansion, the Southern Rail Bypass corridor and the National Volleyball Center expansion. I have a story today on the long-running quest to finish the volleyball project.

Green Pipes survives governor's veto pen

Gov. Tim Pawlenty slashed more than $85 million worth of projects out of the bonding bill late Saturday, but an Olmsted County project was spared.

It looks like the county will still get $5 million to build a 1.25 mile steam pipe that would run from the Olmsted County Waste-to-Energy facility to University Center Rochester campus. The project has been dubbed "Green Pipes." The hope is that it will dramatically cut the cost of heating and cooling the campus. The state money requires a 50/50 match from the county.

Another winner in the bonding bill is the St. Charles School District. The bill includes up to $242,000 in state aid to make up for students who may leave the district because of last month's devastating North Star Foods fire.

But there was some bad news for Rochester Community and Technical College. The governor vetoed $3.6 million for classroom renovations for Minnesota colleges and universities. RCTC had expected to receive some of that money.

Green pipes in, volleyball center out of bonding bill

The House and Senate today approved a $299 million capital works bill. Including in the bill is $5 million for Olmsted County's Green Pipes project. The project includes a 1.25 mile steam pipe that would run from the Olmsted County Waste-to-Energy Facility to the Rochester Community and Technical College.

But the National Volleyball Center in Rochester failed to make the cut yet again. Assistant House Majority Leader Andy Welti, DFL-Plainview, said lawmakers knew it would likely be an uphill battle this year to get the money for the project. He said it has been vetoed three times — once by former Gov. Jesse Ventura and twice by Gov. Tim Pawlenty. The Senate version of the bonding bill did include $4 million for the center's expansion.

The bill now heads to the governor, who had been seeking a bill with a smaller price tag. Senate Minority Leader Dave Senjem, R-Rochester, said he expects the governor will likely use his line item veto on the bill.