OPINION | MN Catholic bishops respond to governor’s unallotment plans

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Prior to the announcement of Governor Pawlenty’s unallotment plan, the Minnesota Catholic bishops wrote a letter to the Governor urging him not to “impose even greater hardships on those among us who are struggling to live.” In the June 12 letter, the nine Catholic bishops stated, “we are compelled to speak with and for those among us whose voices are not always heard, and whose lives are oftentimes devalued. We are gravely concerned that our state’s unbalanced budget for FY 2010-11 will be resolved by further eliminating critical services for Minnesotans with urgent needs. We fear that additional spending reductions to beneficial health care and human services programs will have detrimental consequences for those who are poor and vulnerable, and ultimately to our state.” In asking the Governor to uphold the dignity of every human person, the Minnesota Catholic bishops also said: “We understand that the challenges facing our state are monumental and unprecedented. Continue Reading

MPR’s Kerri Miller on interviewing, reporting, and time ticking

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Minnesota Public Radio host Kerri Miller was Wednesday’s guest at the Twin Cities Media Alliance “Lunch With a Journalist Series.” One audience member spoke admiringly of the show and told Miller, “You seem to know everything.” Indeed, Miller can attack topics like United States foreign policy in the Middle East, the sharing of household duties between men and women, and household mold all in the course of one week. We promised Kerri Miller would be, as she frequently says on air, “very interesting.” She didn’t disappoint. Continue Reading

Hubbard TV stations ask for all rejected Coleman-Franken ballots

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Five Minnesota television stations are asking to see all the uncounted absentee ballots in the Norm Coleman-Al Franken contest for U.S. Senate. Four do news, while the fifth shows re-runs (with a new news show weeks off); all are owned by Coleman backer Stanley Hubbard. About 10,000 ballots were rejected and not counted for one reason or another during the statewide hand recount and election contest trial. The stations’ request (pdf) also covers data about ballots that either side ejected from the recount under controversial rules from the Minnesota Supreme Court, and envelopes that show why ballots they contained were rejected. The request, filed under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act (MGDPA) by Hubbard Broadcasting TV stations KSTP, KSTC, WDIO, KSAX and KAAL, comes as an order is expected at any time in Coleman’s appeal to the state Supreme Court of his election-contest defeat. Continue Reading

Youth employment a priority for Minneapolis

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A city program will provide 2,300 youth jobs this summer. As Minnesotans wait for an economic turnaround, some Minneapolis youth are experiencing what that change could feel like. The federal government gave the city of Minneapolis $1.6 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for various youth employment programs that will provide 2,300 youth jobs this summer. The STEP-UP program in Minneapolis will be responsible for 1,300 of those jobs for youth between the ages of 14-21. The money created 500 youth jobs this summer — exciting employment news for the city given Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s announced $300 million budget cut in city, county and local government aid. Continue Reading

OPINION | Quality public education: What’s in it for me?

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This fall, it is estimated that more than 50 of Minnesota’s 343 school districts will go to their communities to ask taxpayers to pay more in property taxes to help pay for their schools. Unfortunately, many communities will answer “no,” leaving administrators to make tough decisions about staff and programs.
Robin Smothers is a parent in the Robbinsdale Area Schools
We pay for public education through our tax dollars. In these days of economic troubles that bring thriftiness and self-reflection, it’s only fair to ask, “Why should I pay for someone else’s education? What’s in it for me?” Increased Graduation Rates
In June, the respected magazine Education Week reported that Minnesota’s 78 percent graduation rate in 2005 was the ninth highest in the county. Continue Reading

Nangah Tabah: Beauty queen with brains

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When Nangah Tabah was crowned Minnesota’s Cameroonian beauty queen in a beauty contest a couple of years ago, some people believed that she had just the good looks. This past May, however – she asserted herself as a career woman when she got her second degree from Iowa Law School. Nangah Tabah obtained her first degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Minnesota in May 2005. Her parents stood by her side on graduation day as she made another milestone in her life by acquiring a Law Degree from Iowa Law School this May. “I am deeply grateful,” a brimming young and vivacious Nangah told this reporter on graduation day while her parents stood by in solidarity. Continue Reading

Higher ed in greater Minnesota braces for unallotment crunch

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For Minnesota’s college administrators, the announcement of the Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s unallotment plans was a good news/bad news story. The size of the budgetary hit was not as big as they expected. But, it’s still a substantial amount. They were prepared for it, but it’s still coming. The governor announced that the state’s two higher-education systems — which comprise 32 colleges and state universities, plus the four University of Minnesota campuses outside the Twin Cities — will each take a hit of $50 million dollars, or about a 3.6 percent drop. Continue Reading

VOICES | Teaching to students’, not industry’s, needs

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Margaret Virum taught in the Minneapolis Public Schools nearly 50 years. She has been listed among the most prestigious alumni from the University of Minnesota’s College of Education and received many honors for her innovative teaching before her death one year ago. Rebecca Bauer is an English teacher at St. Paul Central High School
After becoming a teacher 16 years ago, I wrote Miss Virum a letter telling her how much it had meant to me to be a first and second grader in her class and the many ways in which her teaching had not only influenced me as a reader, writer and future teacher, but also how her classroom was a safe haven from a home that had often been in turmoil during those years. I recalled for her the many memories I had of her creative projects and the ways she blended experiential learning and individualized instruction so that each student had an opportunity to feel valued and visible in her classroom. Continue Reading

Klobuchar bill condemning Tiller murder faces GOP opposition

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Weeks after Dr. George Tiller was shot and killed in his Kansas church, the U.S. Senate is debating a resolution condemning violence against abortion providers. But abortion politics has made even the simple task of passing a resolution denouncing violence into a contentious battle. The words “reproductive health care” could be a deal breaker with some Republicans and anti-abortion senators. Sen. Amy Klobuchar is a lead sponsor, along with Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., of a bill in the Senate condemning Tiller’s murder and use of violence for political ends. Continue Reading