A Southern thing
Whoo’s there?
Jennifer Musto column
In search of the burrowing owl
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PRIOR LAKE
SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2011
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AMERICAN STATE LEGISLATURE
Local lawmakers still taking pay during shutdown BY SHANNON FIECKE sfiecke@swpub.com
Three area state leg islators a re a mong 52 of t he 66 members of the Senate and 87 of the 135 members of the House who opted to continue to receive Claire paychecks during Robling the state government shutdown. After Gov. Mark Dayton announced that he would not accept pay during the state government shutdow n, 14 senators and 48 representatives followed suit. Michael Sen. Claire Beard Robling (R-Jordan) and Reps. Michael Beard (R-Shakopee) and Mark Buesgen s ( R- Jord a n) continue to take pay. “There’s other work I cou ld be doing that I can’t because I’ve been Mark focused on legisBuesgens lative work,” said Robling from the state Capitol on Tuesday. “I’ve been down here almost every day.” The $31,140 legislative salary is paid throughout the year, much like teachers, Robling said. Normally, Robling, the Senate Finance Committee chairperson, helps her husband Tony with farming during the summer, so he’s had
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Breaking news Gov. Mark Dayton and GOP leaders in the state Legislature reached a tentative deal on Thursday to close the budget gap and end the state shutdown. The state would borrow $1.4 billion by delaying school payments and relying on the sale of bonds from the tobacco company lawsuit settlement. Next week: Look for a report on how local schools might be affected by the budget deal.
to hire relatives to take her place. She said her stomach has been in knots about the budget impasse. Beard said he’s busy working behind-the-scenes on several matters, including a judicial appeal to allow road construction to restart. “I’m running all over the state and metro area,” he said. Beard said people say to legislators, ‘Get back to work.’ Buesgens said “it would be a very bad precedent if a wealthy governor could hold hostage elected representatives of the people by withholding their paychecks simply for doing what their constituents sent them to St. Paul to do.”
LAKEFRONT DAYS
PHOTO BY MERYN FLUKER
Eight-year-old Mae Artang of Savage takes apart a broken VCR during I Can Invent – Edison’s Workshop, one of five sessions offered during the first day of Camp Invention on Monday. The weeklong camp, run through Prior Lake-Savage Area Community Education Services and offered to students going into grades one through six, combines science and creativity. Mae, who will attend third grade at WestWood Elementary School this fall, and her fellow campers will take broken devices and turn them into original inventions.
Electrical inspections back on
The medallion hunt begins City to hire contractors during state shutdown The annual Lakefront Days medallion hunt begins today, with the fi rst clue below. Additional clues wi l l be posted Saturdays and We d n e s d a y s a t w w w. plamerican.com and www. me d a l l ion hu nt s.c om / events/1014 until the medallion is found. The person who finds the medallion should bring it to Kelly Meyer at City Hall, 4646 Dakota St. The winner will receive $200 and a chance to be in the Lakefront Days parade on Saturday, Aug. 6. For rules and more information, visit www.cityofpriorlake.com or www.priorlakechamber.com.
Find this medallion somewhere on public property in Prior Lake, and win $200 (and a ride in the Lakefront days parade). SUBMITTED PHOTO
Clue No. 1 July and August in all their glory Comes the time for the medallion story.
BY LORI CARLSON editor@plamerican.com
As the state shutdown stretches into its third week, construction and home-improvement projects have been left hanging due to a lack of state-provided electrical inspections. Since the government closed its doors on July 1, Prior Lake – which contracts with the state for the inspections – has had to come up with a new plan. On Tuesday, Prior Lake City Council members passed an ordinance allowing the city to hire licensed inspectors or contract with another public entity to complete electrical inspections. Costs would be offset
by license fees, said City Manager Frank Boyles. Jane Kansier, the city’s building and transportation services director, said the city was fi ne for the fi rst couple of weeks, but now inspections are “getting backed up.” She said with the new ordinance, the city could start bringing in electrical inspectors by Monday, July 18. “Our immediate goal is to get through the shutdown,” Kansier said. The city wants to retain flexibility and expertise in electrical inspections so Prior Lake is seen as a good place for residential and commercial development, Boyles said. The new plan “doesn’t get the entire job done, but it’s an important
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fi rst step” in keeping up with electrical inspections, Boyles said. “It’s frustrating,” he added. “And most cities are in the same situation.” Prior Lake’s ordinance follows a draft prepared by the League of Minnesota Cities, which serves more than 800 cities in the state.
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