Is someone to blame for failure to get St. Charles aid?

The Legislature's failure to pass $800,000 in aid that the city of St. Charles had been hoping for has some pointing fingers. The money would have made up for lost property taxes and sewer/water and electricity revenue from the North Star Foods, which was destroyed in a fire last month.

While lawmakers did manage to get money for the local school district and a sales tax exemption for the company to rebuild, the money for the city failed to win approval. The measure did win Senate approval but did not pass in the House.

In the wake of the disappointment, some politicians have been putting the blame on Rep. Steve Drazkowski, R-Wabasha, the bill's sponsor. Here is a link to a Winona Daily News article with some critical remarks by St. Charles Mayor Bill Spitzer. But in an interview on Tuesday, Spitzer said his comments were mischaracterized and that you can't blame one person for the bill's failure.

But Sen. Steve Murphy, DFL-Red Wing, was more than willing to take Drazkowski to task over the bill — along with the governor. Here is a link to today's story.