Sign up for updates!

  

Friends and Neighbors-

The 86th Minnesota Legislature is steadily getting organized and preparing to be sworn in on January 6. The caucuses are electing leaders for the new session, first-term members are getting oriented (literally, as in "where is the nearest restroom, and where might I find a cup of coffee?"), and returning members like myself are working on drafting legislation for next January.

Meanwhile a lot of work continues on the Green Jobs Task Force, the Gov't Ops. and Elections Committee, and the Transportation Committee.

GREEN JOBS TASK FORCE

We are busy taking input around the state, and working across party lines and traditional divides to draft our statewide action plan to grow green jobs. The interest has been amazing; we have a unique opportunity to put Minnesota's economy back on track.

Yesterday, I spent much of the day at the Institute for Renewable Energy and the Economy's annual Energy, Environment and Economy (E3) Conference. The attendance doubled again from last year, and filled a great portion of the St. Paul River Center. Idea innovators were connecting with researchers and funders, and students connected with policymakers and future employers. The energy was fantastic.

Check out the Green Jobs Task Force website, and participate in the discussion boards: www.mngreenjobs.com.

THE U.S. SENATE RECOUNT

As you may know, the State Canvassing Board ordered the commencement of a hand recount in the U.S. Senate race. Norm Coleman and Al Franken were separated by just 215 votes, and today that recount began - resetting the count at zero for each side.

Chisago County's Auditor Dennis Freed, and his great staff, have been highlighted by Minnesota Public Radio throughout the past weeks. Today's MPR story walked through some of the details of the recount in Center City:
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/11/18/recount_chisago_county/.

While various news outlets are keeping track of the numbers in different ways, the official count is being kept by the Secretary of State's office. Every evening at 8 pm they will update this website:
http://electionresults.sos.state.mn.us/20081104/SenateRecount.asp .

You can view just Chisago County's numbers here:
http://electionresults.sos.state.mn.us/20081104/SenateRecountCounty.asp?x=1&rq=13

Please note that Chisago County may update their numbers after each day, or may wait until they complete the recount entirely by tomorrow night or Friday.

NTSB REPORT ON 35W BRIDGE COLLAPSE

I wanted to pass along this note from MnDOT Deputy Commissioner / Chief Engineer Khani Sahebjam to House Transportation Committee members today:

"On November 14, 2008, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) concluded its investigation into the cause of the Interstate 35W Bridge collapse and made recommendations for changes in industry practice to prevent a similar tragedy from occurring again.

Attached is Mn/DOT’s response to the NTSB Safety Board report and recommendations. The response includes a description of the steps Mn/DOT has taken to implement the recommendations.

A synopsis of the Board's report, including the probable cause, conclusions, and recommendations, is available on the NTSB's website: http://www.ntsb.gov/Publictn/2008/HAR0803.html.The Board's full report will be available on this website in several weeks.

Sincerely, Khani Sahebjam Deputy Commissioner/Chief Engineer"

I have attached MnDOT's response to this email. I have not yet had the time to thoroughly review it myself, but I wanted you to be able to see what the agency is doing to address the safety and infrastructure issues in light of the collapse.

As always, thoughts, ideas, questions and comments are welcome.

My best,

Jeremy

--------

Jeremy Kalin
State Representative - 17B
sign up for my email updates at www.house.mn/17b

Contact me at the Capitol:
Rep.Jeremy.Kalin@House.mn
651.296.5377
579 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive
St. Paul MN 55155

Contact me at home:
11629 Loftman Trail
North Branch, MN 55056
651-257-9861
Jeremy@Kalin.com