Category: Minnesota Politics

by Dave Mindeman

Here is a cute little ranking survey for major league baseball teams. It titles it as MLB Ballpark Rankings but the categories include Fan IQ, Hospitality, and Promotions. So really it is more of a total franchise ranking. Now the rankings are determined this way:

They are based solely on results taken from an online survey of baseball fans in March, when we asked readers to rate their hometown ballpark in 10 categories. As a group, these fans know of what they speak: Nearly 15 percent of the responses came from season-ticket holders, and more than half of all the responses came from fans who attend at least five games per season.

So, essentially, fans are rating their own team. Minnesota fans rated the Twins at 26 out of the 30 teams. Looking at some of the individual categories:

Food: ranked at 25. What? You don't like those Hormel Dome Dogs? or Ice Cream in a helmet?

Fan I.Q.: ranked at 22. Maybe they took the survey during one of our April snowstorms and realized...Oh My God, what have we done ...an open air stadium???

Traffic: ranked at 15. Strangely enough, this was one of the higher rated categories for the Twins...even though it was still only mid level. Maybe they should have ranked parking?

Promotions: ranked at 26. Egad! Are they finally getting sick of bobbleheads? Perish the thought... I have 25 I can sell...cheap?

Anyway, I am sure that ranking will improve with a shiny new ballpark.... at least until that first April snowstorm makes it hard to see the ball.

Category: Minnesota Politics

by Dave Mindeman

One of my favorite blogs to read is The Political Animal by Rachel Stassen-Berger at the Pioneer Press. She had a post up Wednesday on the volume of Ron Carey news conferences as they continue to milk Al Franken's business problems.....

The press corps was curiously quiet at Carey's press conference. We just asked a few questions and those after a long pause during which Carey joked: "You've got nothing left? We've covered it all."

Could it be that Carey has just worn us down? By my count, today's Capitol appearance to talk about Franken's business dealings was at least Carey's fifth in the last few weeks.

Not to minimize the fact that Franken's business mistakes are serious and do need to be explained... but realistically isn't this overkill? Could anyone pass muster with this kind of scrutiny?

Frankly, I don't think we ever got an adequate answer from Carey regarding his tenure with the Minnesota Autism Center...and the suspicious money handling there.

(Actually, as I re-read that article, I noticed that the US Attorney handling the investigation was Rachel Paulose....hmmmmmm)

Franken admits to the mistakes; he is correcting the non-payments. It is a relevant issue to discuss, but it is time to move on people.

Category: Minnesota Politics

by Dave Mindeman

On Monday, the Lakeville city council has a vote to make on whether to join the Metro Transit Taxing District. To me that choice is whether to move Lakeville into a future of transportation choices or to stand still and let the rest of the south metro detour around them.

Seems like a simple choice to make.

For years, Lakeville community leaders have resisted joining the Transit Taxing District because the benefits weren't spelled out for them. They were "afraid" that other communities might benefit more from the pool of money they would contribute to -- while at the same time many of Lakeville's residents were pirating help from sister cities.

Now, the Met Council has put it all in black and white. Spelled out a detailed plan of what would be available if Lakeville gets on board. Just about every objection has been answered.

But there are still obstacles. For one, there is "Stone Age" Rep. Mary Liz Holberg:

"I think this is going to be a very hard decision for this council to make, to impose additional taxation," said Rep. Mary Liz Holberg, R-Lakeville.

Hard? Really? The average homeowner will pay $36 per year in additional taxes. Now, granted, not everyone in Lakeville will be utilizing this potential benefit but it opens up options.

As gas prices continue to climb, people will be looking for alternatives. Those alternatives will be desirable for a growing city and waiting till the urban sprawl overruns the area will make everything more difficult and more costly to implement later. Moving people on commuter buses will take cars off the road and the traffic jams on I-35 and Cedar Ave can use all the help they can get.

The Lakeville City Council has a leadership decision to make. They have always taken the "no new taxes" route. It is a familiar mantra that gets repeated by their legislative representatives over and over and over...

But that isn't really leadership and it is not forward looking. The average citizen elects it leaders to use good judgment about their future. They expect their leaders to tell them what needs to be done and not just what they want to hear.

It's time for Lakeville to take that next step. It will never be made so clear. The choice is really not that hard.

And to the councilmembers: If you do move Lakeville forward -- try to drag Rep. Holberg along...kicking and screaming if you have to.