It’s always fascinating to journey with a busload of Bemidjians for the annual Bemidji Day at the Capitol lobbying effort. We had our fifth journey on Tuesday, with a busload of 60 people from all walks of life, clad in our signature red-and-black plaid sweaters or vests from Bemidji Woolen Mills.
After several trips, we have our coverage down pat.
Publisher Dennis Doeden and I take the bus down to St. Paul, with both of us following delegations of three or four Bemidjians to the offices of lawmakers in the State Capitol and the State Office Building. We take pictures of the meetings and scribble notes of what was said. Each delegation is armed with a brochure highlighting a half dozen community issues upon which to lobby.
This year was a little different in that both the House and Senate were in session parts of the day, and many committee hearings were running, some starting late and others running late. The touches made by our delegations were smaller this year because of the flurry of activity, but at least each lawmaker’s legislative aide was briefed on Bemidji issues.
And this year, each lawmaker was presented with a commemorative puck, thanking them for prior bonding support for the Bemidji Regional Event Center and noting the first puck will drop Oct. 15.
Also a problem this year was my mobility. I broke my ankle and injured my knee late last summer, and I’m still having balance issues and use a four-point cane. The walk to the State Office Building was out, so Dennis took some pictures over there but I concentrated my stories on what was going on in the State Capitol.
First, Mayor Richard Lehmann and City Finance Director Ron Eischens met privately with Gov. Tim Pawlenty to discuss the governor’s radio show in January in which he bashed Bemidji as a “government town” and noted the city’s near 20 percent property tax hike. The mayor present information to the governor about Bemidji being a regional center, and thus also a government center which isn’t a bad thing. The city still has a low tax base, and new building saw a lot of public buildings constructed to further constrict the tax base. Secondly, the mayor wanted to impress upon the governor the importance of Local Government Aid, especially to a rural regional center with a low tax base and with a lot of population living outside city boundaries but make use of city services.
I interviewed the mayor right after I got off the bus and made my way to the Great Hall, where the Bemidji delegation was headquartered for the day. Lehmann called it a productive meeting, with neither side giving in but at least both sides having more understanding.
Dennis and I made our way to the Capitol basement where the press offices are. Basement is a kind word. Cramped into small quarters are many offices the size of the Pioneer’s bathroom, representing state media. We work out of Forum Communications Co. Capitol Bureau, staffed by Don Davis. The hall ways are small, two can’t pass side-by-side. I met WCCO’s Eric Eskola, whom I went to school with, on the way in and he said I couldn’t pass without taking a cookie.
Dennis set up in the Forum office, with an extra computer with Internet access, while I set up my laptop down the hall on a table in an area used for standup television interviews. The area isn’t wireless, so anything I did had to be transferred to a jump stick, handed to Dennis, who would download it on the office computer, edit it and send it via Internet back to the Pioneer. After interviewing the mayor, I did the story on his meeting with the governor and finished in time to hit the Great Hall for more pictures and cover the midday speeches.
Remarks were sparse this year, only Sen. Mary Olson, DFL-Bemidji, and Rep. Larry Howes, R-Walker, spoke to the group. I had earlier tried to catch up with a delegation in Olson’s office, but the Senate was in session and no one was there. While on the Senate floor, Olson spoke about it being Bemidji Day at the Capitol , to watch for the red-and-black attire, and attend the community’s evening reception at the Kelly Inn.
In past years, speakers have included bonding committee chairmen Sen. Keith Langseth fo Glyndon and Alice Hausman of St. Paul, former Speaker Steve Sviggum of Kenyon, current Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher of Minneapolis, and other legislative leaders. Former Senate Majorit6y Leader Roger Moe of Erskine, now a Capitol lobbyist, stopped by to say hello but did not speak. Rachel Becker, a Bemidji State University graduate who now works for the Senate Republican Caucus via several jobs in Washington, D.C., also stopped by to chat.
Strangely absent was Rep. John Persell, DFL-Bemidji, whom I did not see all day. He wasn’t listed on the master schedule for a delegation visit and not come to greet the delegate with a midday speech. The only mention of the local representative came from Howes, who noted my Saturday story about Persell at a Friday evening town hall meeting at which he said he’d looked into ways of impeaching Pawlenty.
“Folks should maybe talk to John Persell a tiny bit,” Howes said. “You don’t say you’re going to impeach the governor in a very large newspaper when you have projects in the bonding bill. It’s just not good political satire. … It’s not good to get the guy angry who can line-item stuff.”
After the speeches I did few interviews and went down to the basement again. I had interviewed Bill Sanford, Lakeland Public Television general manager, while on the bus – he sat behind me, with Ron Johnson, Lakeland TV official and Bemidji City Council member. Pawlenty is proposing to end public subsidies to public television, which is a key issue for Sanford and one of the issues the Bemidji delegation was lobbying. So, story No. 2 was about Lakeland’s effort on Bemidji Day at the Capitol.
I finished that about 3 p.m., working around Twin Cities Public Television’s Mary LaHammer’s grade-school daughter who was using her new point-and-shoot to take pictures of everything, including me and Davis. Meanwhile, Dennis brought lunch, a nice ham and cheese sandwich and a tasty bowl of chili.
At 3 p.m., I decided to attend a Senate Agriculture and Veterans Committee hearing on Olson’s bill to reorganize natural resources agencies. She and Sen. Satveer Chaudhary have been pushing the idea for more than a year, including a hearing in Bemidji. Davis is set up in his office with several TVs tuned to coverage of House and Senate committees, so he can monitor goings on while writing stories. I set my tape recorder to the TV speaker and ran (rather hobbled) upstairs to the committee room for photos. There I noticed that Sen. Rod Skoe, DFL-Clearbrook, was chairing the hearing.
The panel approved the bill, sending it to the Senate State and Local Government Committee. No one opposed it. After the hearing, Olson told me she was extremely proud of the progress of the bill but was disheartened that her mentor on the issue, aquatic biologist Dann Siems, who has health issues, could not be there to help celebrate.
Back to the basement, I starting writing the main Bemidji Day at the Capitol story, focusing around Olson and Howes’ remarks, plus an interview with Lori Paris, Bemidji Area Chamber of Commerce president, and adding in color from the day. Both Howes and Olson spoke about ongoing negotiations on General Assistance Medical Care, comments I held out for a more extensive article for Thursday’s Pioneer. Also, the committee coverage of Olson’s bill will go in Thursday’s edition.
Dennis and I sent a bunch of photos up to Bemidji, and did cutlines. Dennis at 4:30 p.m. went upstairs to take the traditional on the steps photo of the delegation, which this year for the first time because of rain had to be taken inside on steps at the side of the Rotunda.
I finished my work about 6:30 p.m., and we waited for the 7 p.m. end of the Kelly Inn reception and for the bus to come and pick us up. During the day, I had a little chance to explore, and found a little souvenir shop off the Rotunda where I bought some post cards and a miniature model of the State Capitol in Lego bricks. The only problem, I have to put it together and I’m all thumbs.
While Dennis and I waited by the door in a darkened hallway for the bus, Senate Taxes Committee Chairman Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, was leaving by the same door (where his car is parked steps from the door) and we talked for about 10 minutes, and he followed us out to the bus. He joked with the bus driver he was inspecting to see that all passengers have seat belts, and then jumped into the bus, announcing he was escorting me to my seat. He then walked up and down the aisle, shaking everyone’s hand. He got a round of applause when he thanked the Bemidji delegation for taking the time to visit with fellow lawmakers, which got a round of applause.
I think he’s running for governor.
Lori Paris provided me with a patty melt and fries, which I ate in near darkness but was excellent, but the day didn’t end there.
I had received an e-mail link late last week but hadn’t had the time to visit the link until late Monday night, discovering it was an article written by Irene Folstrom of Bemidji on golf.com about her experiences as Tiger Woods’ girlfriend. Both went to college at Stanford, and they were an item for about a year and a half before Tiger hit the pro circuit. I forwarded it to Eric Stromgren in sports to check it out, and I read an e-mail from him on by BlackBerry on the bus, saying he thought it was legitimate. I briefed Dennis on the item, and he of course thought we should pursue it. Then came another e-mail from the office that Ms. Folstrom had called for me to let us know that a television crew was headed to her house for a 9 a.m. Wednesday interview. Dennis asked if there was any way on the bus for me to call her and interview her, and possibly construct a story (again, in the dark) on the bus. They weren’t ideal conditions, especially with noisy after-reception-where-booze-was-served companions on the bus, so we decided on another route of having either Eric or Laurie Swenson try for an interview from the office. Laurie accepted the challenge and was able to reach Ms. Folstrom and we had a Wednesday morning story.
The bus reached Bemidji at 11:30 p.m., and I proceeded to the office to download photos and audio tape to my office computer, finally arriving home at 2 a.m. I was very tired, finding it hard to function Wednesday, but the day was very productive: five stories, 110 photos taken, a blog and making many contacts.
It’s always fascinating to journey with a busload of Bemidjians for the annual Bemidji Day at the Capitol lobbying effort. We had our fifth journey on Tuesday, with a busload of 60 people from all walks of life, clad in our signature red-and-black plaid sweaters or vests from Bemidji Woolen Mills.
After several trips, we have our coverage down pat.
Publisher Dennis Doeden and I take the bus down to St. Paul, with both of us following delegations of three or four Bemidjians to the offices of lawmakers in the State Capitol and the State Office Building. We take pictures of the meetings and scribble notes of what was said. Each delegation is armed with a brochure highlighting a half dozen community issues upon which to lobby.
This year was a little different in that both the House and Senate were in session parts of the day, and many committee hearings were running, some starting late and others running late. The touches made by our delegations were smaller this year because of the flurry of activity, but at least each lawmaker’s legislative aide was briefed on Bemidji issues.
And this year, each lawmaker was presented with a commemorative puck, thanking them for prior bonding support for the Bemidji Regional Event Center and noting the first puck will drop Oct. 15.
Also a problem this year was my mobility. I broke my ankle and injured my knee late last summer, and I’m still having balance issues and use a four-point cane. The walk to the State Office Building was out, so Dennis took some pictures over there but I concentrated my stories on what was going on in the State Capitol.
First, Mayor Richard Lehmann and City Finance Director Ron Eischens met privately with Gov. Tim Pawlenty to discuss the governor’s radio show in January in which he bashed Bemidji as a “government town” and noted the city’s near 20 percent property tax hike. The mayor present information to the governor about Bemidji being a regional center, and thus also a government center which isn’t a bad thing. The city still has a low tax base, and new building saw a lot of public buildings constructed to further constrict the tax base. Secondly, the mayor wanted to impress upon the governor the importance of Local Government Aid, especially to a rural regional center with a low tax base and with a lot of population living outside city boundaries but make use of city services.
I interviewed the mayor right after I got off the bus and made my way to the Great Hall, where the Bemidji delegation was headquartered for the day. Lehmann called it a productive meeting, with neither side giving in but at least both sides having more understanding.
Dennis and I made our way to the Capitol basement where the press offices are. Basement is a kind word. Cramped into small quarters are many offices the size of the Pioneer’s bathroom, representing state media. We work out of Forum Communications Co. Capitol Bureau, staffed by Don Davis. The hall ways are small, two can’t pass side-by-side. I met WCCO’s Eric Eskola, whom I went to school with, on the way in and he said I couldn’t pass without taking a cookie.
Dennis set up in the Forum office, with an extra computer with Internet access, while I set up my laptop down the hall on a table in an area used for standup television interviews. The area isn’t wireless, so anything I did had to be transferred to a jump stick, handed to Dennis, who would download it on the office computer, edit it and send it via Internet back to the Pioneer. After interviewing the mayor, I did the story on his meeting with the governor and finished in time to hit the Great Hall for more pictures and cover the midday speeches.
Remarks were sparse this year, only Sen. Mary Olson, DFL-Bemidji, and Rep. Larry Howes, R-Walker, spoke to the group. I had earlier tried to catch up with a delegation in Olson’s office, but the Senate was in session and no one was there. While on the Senate floor, Olson spoke about it being Bemidji Day at the Capitol , to watch for the red-and-black attire, and attend the community’s evening reception at the Kelly Inn.
In past years, speakers have included bonding committee chairmen Sen. Keith Langseth fo Glyndon and Alice Hausman of St. Paul, former Speaker Steve Sviggum of Kenyon, current Speaker Margaret Anderson Kelliher of Minneapolis, and other legislative leaders. Former Senate Majorit6y Leader Roger Moe of Erskine, now a Capitol lobbyist, stopped by to say hello but did not speak. Rachel Becker, a Bemidji State University graduate who now works for the Senate Republican Caucus via several jobs in Washington, D.C., also stopped by to chat.
Strangely absent was Rep. John Persell, DFL-Bemidji, whom I did not see all day. He wasn’t listed on the master schedule for a delegation visit and not come to greet the delegate with a midday speech. The only mention of the local representative came from Howes, who noted my Saturday story about Persell at a Friday evening town hall meeting at which he said he’d looked into ways of impeaching Pawlenty.
“Folks should maybe talk to John Persell a tiny bit,” Howes said. “You don’t say you’re going to impeach the governor in a very large newspaper when you have projects in the bonding bill. It’s just not good political satire. … It’s not good to get the guy angry who can line-item stuff.”
After the speeches I did few interviews and went down to the basement again. I had interviewed Bill Sanford, Lakeland Public Television general manager, while on the bus – he sat behind me, with Ron Johnson, Lakeland TV official and Bemidji City Council member. Pawlenty is proposing to end public subsidies to public television, which is a key issue for Sanford and one of the issues the Bemidji delegation was lobbying. So, story No. 2 was about Lakeland’s effort on Bemidji Day at the Capitol.
I finished that about 3 p.m., working around Twin Cities Public Television’s Mary LaHammer’s grade-school daughter who was using her new point-and-shoot to take pictures of everything, including me and Davis. Meanwhile, Dennis brought lunch, a nice ham and cheese sandwich and a tasty bowl of chili.
At 3 p.m., I decided to attend a Senate Agriculture and Veterans Committee hearing on Olson’s bill to reorganize natural resources agencies. She and Sen. Satveer Chaudhary have been pushing the idea for more than a year, including a hearing in Bemidji. Davis is set up in his office with several TVs tuned to coverage of House and Senate committees, so he can monitor goings on while writing stories. I set my tape recorder to the TV speaker and ran (rather hobbled) upstairs to the committee room for photos. There I noticed that Sen. Rod Skoe, DFL-Clearbrook, was chairing the hearing.
The panel approved the bill, sending it to the Senate State and Local Government Committee. No one opposed it. After the hearing, Olson told me she was extremely proud of the progress of the bill but was disheartened that her mentor on the issue, aquatic biologist Dann Siems, who has health issues, could not be there to help celebrate.
Back to the basement, I starting writing the main Bemidji Day at the Capitol story, focusing around Olson and Howes’ remarks, plus an interview with Lori Paris, Bemidji Area Chamber of Commerce president, and adding in color from the day. Both Howes and Olson spoke about ongoing negotiations on General Assistance Medical Care, comments I held out for a more extensive article for Thursday’s Pioneer. Also, the committee coverage of Olson’s bill will go in Thursday’s edition.
Dennis and I sent a bunch of photos up to Bemidji, and did cutlines. Dennis at 4:30 p.m. went upstairs to take the traditional on the steps photo of the delegation, which this year for the first time because of rain had to be taken inside on steps at the side of the Rotunda.
I diminished by work about 6:30 p.m., and we waited for the 7 p.m. end of the Kelly Inn reception and for the bus to come and pick us up. During the day, I had a little chance to explore, and found a little souvenir shop off the Rotunda where I bought some post cards and a miniature model of the State Capitol in Lego bricks. The only problem, I have to put it together and I’m all thumbs.
While Dennis and I waited by the door in a darkened hallway for the bus, Senate Taxes Committee Chairman Tom Bakk, DFL-Cook, was leaving by the same door (where his car is parked steps from the door) and we talked for about 10 minutes, and he followed us out to the bus. He joked with the bus driver he was inspecting to see that all passengers have seat belts, and then jumped into the bus, announcing he was escorting me to my seat. He then walked up and down the aisle, shaking everyone’s hand. He got a round of applause when he thanked the Bemidji delegation for taking the time to visit with fellow lawmakers, which got a round of applause.
I think he’s running for governor.
Lori Paris provided me with a patty melt and fries, which I ate in near darkness but was excellent, but the day didn’t end there.
I had received an e-mail link late last week but hadn’t had the time to visit the link until late Monday night, discovering it was an article written by Irene Folstrom of Bemidji on golf.com about her experiences as Tiger Woods’ girlfriend. Both went to college at Stanford, and they were an item for about a year and a half before Tiger hit the pro circuit. I forwarded it to Eric Stromgren in sports to check it out, and I read an e-mail from him on by BlackBerry on the bus, saying he thought it was legitimate. I briefed Dennis on the item, and he of course thought we should pursue it. Then came another e-mail from the office that Ms. Folstrom had called for me to let us know that a television crew was headed to her house for a 9 a.m. Wednesday interview. Dennis asked if there was any way on the bus for me to call her and interview her, and possibly construct a story (again, in the dark) on the bus. They weren’t ideal conditions, especially with noisy after-reception-where-booze-was-served companions on the bus, so we decided on another route of having either Eric or Laurie Swenson try for an interview from the office. Laurie accepted the challenge and was able to reach Ms. Folstrom and we had a Wednesday morning story.
The bus reached Bemidji at 11:30 p.m., and I proceeded to the office to download photos and audio tape to my office computer, finally arriving home at 2 a.m. I was very tired, finding it hard to function Wednesday, but the day was very productive: five stories, 110 photos taken, a blog and making many contacts.