Arne Carlson, our newest blogger

Today we welcome our newest blogger: former Minnesota governor Arne Carlson, who provides his take on the Wisconsin collective-bargaining controversy. MN VOICES | Jo Ann Clark helps students of color get to college By Andrea Parrott By Andrea Parrott, TC Daily Planet Jo Ann Clark loves kids and she loves education. "I'd rather invest money in education than jail," Clark said in a February interview with TC Daily Planet. She pointed to education as a major factor in helping kids obtain better jobs as adults. Growing up in Memphis, Tennessee, Clark credits her grandfather and grandmother with instilling in her the importance of getting a good education. When asked why she listened to them, she simply replied that obeying them was the natural thing to do.MORE » Arts Orbit Radar 3/3/11 By Jay Gabler, TC Daily Planet What's happening this week Thursday, March 3MORE » On the radar: Even more embarrassing than the Twins' continual inability to get past the Yankees in the MLB playoffs is the inability of local musicians to come up with a decent rally song for any of our sports teams. No one expected much from G.B. Leighton, but the Hold Steady's Twins-themed "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" also fell flat, and we won't even discuss Prince's pennywhistle-laden "Purple and Gold." We need someone to step up to the plate like Boston's Dropkick Murphys did for the Red Sox with their rewrite of "Tessie," the anthem that propelled the Boston Americans to victory in the 1903 World Series. Now there's a song that makes you want to spill some beer! The Dropkick Murphys will be the visiting team tonight at First Avenue. Racial equity report card: more state lawmakers need to make the grade By Charles Hallman By Charles Hallman, Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder Racial equity must be incorporated in solving the state's budget deficit and "not as an add-on," say multi-racial leaders and community members.MORE » FEMA, floods, and funding in Fargo-Moorhead By Riordan Frost, Minnesota 2020 Fargo used to be best known nationally for the 1996 Coen brothers movie. Now Fargo's on the map for the Red River's repeated attempts to take it off of the map. Due to an impressive wet cycle, the Red River of the North has been exceeding flood stage annually since 1993, according to the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE). The Fargo-Moorhead community has been greatly affected by these floods. These communities' mitigation planning and implementation is worth examining.MORE » Madison demonstrators sleep outside Wisconsin state capitol By Jacob Wheeler, The Uptake Late Monday night, our friend Luciano from Brazen Video Productions interviewed protesters sleeping in frigid temperatures outside the Wisconsin State Capitol. Where demonstrators were able to live inside the capitol dome last week, they have been barred from entering this week, as upstart Republican Governor Scott Walker seeks to take back the people's house. HousingLink's hAlert: Simplifying house searches By Alexander Holston, TC Daily Planet The difficulties in finding low-income housing can seem insurmountable: classified ads have all but moved to Craigslist.org, visiting potential apartments is time consuming, and waiting lists for Section 8 housing open sporadically and often for short periods of time.MORE » Inside the Daily Planet Air quality forum in South Minneapolis by Nien Liu, TC Daily Planet Approximately 150 concerned people spent last Thursday evening learning about the state of Minnesota's air quality and strategies to improve it. They attended the Plymouth Congregational Church attending the League of Women Voter's Air Quality Forum, where they heard from a panel of experts from the business, medical and science communities. Wisconsin protesters settle in as labor battle drags on by Jessica Van Berkel, The Minnesota Daily Until two weeks ago, Jacob Moe didn't care much about politics. Then Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker proposed a budget bill eliminating unions' collective bargaining rights. Conferees adopt alternative teacher licensure pathways report by Kris Berggren, Session Weekly/Session Daily Alternative paths to become a licensed teacher are closer to becoming law after a six-member conference committee adopted a report on HF63/ SF40*. House passes environmental review bill By Susan Hegarty, Session Weekly/Session Daily One day before a legislative auditor's report is due to be released on the topic, a bill that would streamline the environmental permit process within the Department of Natural Resources and the Pollution Control Agency passed the House 89-42 as amended by the Senate. It now goes to Gov. Mark Dayton for his review. NEW IN BLOGS FRONT ROW SEAT | Best tweets of February by Jay Gabler • "Just came from the most ridic yoga class ever -- straight outta Portlandia. And no, I do not want to 'open up my womb,' thank you very much." GOVERNOR ARNE CARLSON'S BLOG | The red flags are waving by Arne Carlson • On January 8, 2011, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in Tucson, Arizona. A nation was horrified. And, as a people, we resolved to bring about a new environment of civility. Republicans and Democrats reached out to each other and vowed mutual respect. Sadly, that effort has come to a halt. JOURNAL OF AMERICAN ROCKET SCIENCE | Journal of American Rocket Science designs new Vikings all-weather stadium By Robert Roscoe • A new Vikings football stadium design with a retractable roof, whose design is reminiscent of pickup truck toppers propped up on sawhorses as seen in backyards and driveways in northern suburbs, propelled the campaign to build a new Minnesota Vikings Football stadium a giant step forward. The top structure and its sawhorses can stand outside of the playing field during nice weather, but in inclement conditions drivers from Bobby and Steve's Auto World and their giant tow trucks will pull the massive topper and sawhorses support structure on wheels along a rail roadbed, placing the giant canopy over the playing field to protect ticketholders. PUBLIC POLICY FORUM | Rep. Karen Clark applauds Governor's signature of child lead poisoning protection bill by Karen Clark • State Representative Karen Clark (DFL - Minneapolis) applauded Governor Dayton's signature of HF 166/SF 139, a bill that extends time given to contractors to register with the Department of Labor and Industry that they are certified in lead specialization. THE OPTIMISTIC PESSIMIST | Second Annual Cuban Film Festival raises the curtain on our embargoed neighbor by Jim Brunzell III • While many filmgoers in the Twin Cities look forward to the annual Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival (MSPIFF), taking place in six weeks, there are a few other film festivals upcoming, including the Minneapolis Jewish Film Festival and the Italian Film Festival, which both start at the end of March. At the present time, the Second Annual Cuban Film Festival (CFF) is taking place at St. Anthony Main Theatre, for the next five Thursdays (the first screening was last Thursday). WHO IS THAT? | Alicia Zobbe-Hogdal, a.k.a. Meatpit by Jay Gabler • This profile contains explicit content. You've been warned!
The Twin Cities Daily Planet is a project of the Twin Cities Media Alliance 2600 East Franklin Avenue Minneapolis, MN, 55406 Unsubscribe