Page 4 | July 14, 2011
www.shakopeenews.com | Shakopee Valley News
commentary EDITORIAL
Canterbury gets a raw deal during shutdown As frustrating as the state government shutdown is for everyone, the effects perhaps hit hardest with a publicly owned business right here in Shakopee. Canterbury Park and its Card Casino were forced to close because state oversight of their operations was suspended wit h t he Ju ly 1 shutdown. If logic were applied to the situation, horse racing would be allowed to continue. Because it has not, some 1,100 people are out of work at Canterbury, along with hundreds of others who care for the horses at the racetrack. Even worse, the situation may be permanent for the rest of the racing season as horsemen begin to pull out of Canterbury and head to other tracks as close as Iowa, where horse racing purses are beefed up through slot machine revenue. Eight days of racing have been canceled due to the shutdown, including this past weekend and the lucrative July 4 weekend. Canterbury President Randy Sampson estimated that the loss of the four-day holiday weekend alone cost Canterbury $1.3 million in revenue. The worst part is, this was unnecessary. The Minnesota Racing Commission, which oversees the horse business in Shakopee as well as Running Aces harness track in Columbus, is a state agency. That’s why it needed to close. But the commission is not funded by state funds, but rather from regulatory fees paid by the tracks. Canterbury had paid its fees through the month of July. So why can’t it operate? Good question. The horsemen who loyally popu-
late Canterbury each summer do so despite the fact that the Shakopee track’s purses lag behind those at other tracks in places as close as Iowa and Illinois. Despite the opportunity to make more money, horsemen like Canterbury and choose to come here anyway. But they cannot afford to stay here without an opportunity to make money. On July 1, Canterbury filed a petition asking the court to allow the racing commission to remain in operation as it is fully funded by the industry, requires no general fund dollars, and has received payment for all expected July expenses. The following day, Ramsey County District Court Judge Kathleen Gearin denied that request. On Wednesday last week, attorneys representing Canterbury and Running Aces provided additional information to the court regarding funding of the racing commission and asked Gearin to reconsider. In a letter to the judge, the attorneys said that the tracks seek to clarify facts regarding funding for the racing commission that place the commission on the same footing as the Minnesota Zoo, which was permitted to reopen. We understand Gearin’s overwhelming responsibility in sifting through hundreds of state agencies and functions in determining what are considered core government services. But a quick glance at the race tracks’ situation, the threat to a publically owned racing company, the real threat of the tracks’ closing for the year at a loss in the millions, and the loss of jobs for perhaps more than 2,000 people, should be enough for her to reconsider.
Flexibility needed by everyone on impasse BY SEN. CLAIRE ROBLING
I worked hard to try to reach a compromise and prevent a state government shutdown, and I am disappointed that it happened and apologetic to everyone who is adversely affected. I absolutely did not want a government shutdown because I believe it is bad for our fragile Minnesota economy, not to mention the direct impact it has on state employees and those who have contracts with the state or depend upon some service from the state to continue to operate, such as Canterbury Park. I do wish Gov. Mark Dayton would have conceded to the request of Republican legislators to call us back into special session at the end of June in order to pass a “lightson” bill to keep state government running at current levels until a full budget agreement could be reached. We could have put a limit of one week or 10 days into the resolution so everyone would have kept working hard toward a compromise. We were close to agreements on many of the budget bills. In fact, if the governor didn’t want to use a lights-on bill, I believe we could have closed up six of the nine major outstanding budget bills very quickly, and we would have been willing to do that if he would have agreed. If we could have passed those, many workers could have stayed on the job and services would have continued for many state residents. The budgets in the environment bill (funding game, fish, parks and the Pollution Control Agency, with the Department of Commerce also rolled into that bill), the E-12 education bill, transportation (which could have kept all the road construction projects going and the rest stops open), higher education, jobs and judiciary and public safety bills were either completely or almost (a few million dollars) agreed upon. Intense and productive
SHAKOPEE
VALLEY (USPS 491-740)
Claire
ROBLING GUEST COMMENTARY
negotiations took place a couple of weeks ago on the health and human services (HHS) bill, our largest growth area and the bill that always causes the most angst as a result. The committee chairs and the commissioner of HHS were making real progress and there was agreement that some additional one-time money would be provided for this budget if reforms that would slow future growth in this area were also included in the bill. The tax bill and state government bill were also still being discussed. However, Gov. Dayton refused to call us back for a special session, something only the governor could do after he vetoed all of the bills we passed which did provide for a balanced budget (and additional spending over current levels in K-12 and HHS) and would have kept everything running if he had signed them in May. Gov. Dayton said he would only call us back to pass a continuing resolution if we had agreement in all budget areas. Prior to the shutdown in 2005, Gov. Pawlenty encouraged us to pass bills, which he signed, as agreements were reached in each budget area. That resulted in a much more limited shutdown than is being experienced this time. It is the belief of many of my colleagues, and I agree, that Gov.
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Robling to page 8 ®
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LETTERS
Political posturing by GOP, governor The government shutdown is political posturing of the two-party system. The shutdown will affect Minnesotans. That is wrong! I believe the shutdown is nothing but games by Gov. Dayton and the GOP to see who can hold out from compromise. It will be interesting to see how long the two parties can be childish at the expense of Minnesotans.
of mine here, I can certainly find more hospitable tax climates a few miles away. But since I’m not the rich millionaire, why should I care? Because businesses that move to the Dakotas or anywhere else take jobs from our great state — permanently. Gov. Dayton, you can close us down for days or weeks now, but unwise tax policies will cause a slow and catastrophic economic shutdown that will hurt for years to come.
Andrew Unseth Shakopee
Josh Ondich Prior Lake
Unwise tax policies hurting the state Shut down the state now or shut it down later — or maybe we should ask, have you visited Moorhead recently? A trip up Interstate Highway 94 to Moorhead would benefit any legislator or governor while they mull over the current state shutdown. A visit to any of our state’s border towns highlights the difference between what is happening to businesses in Minnesota and our neighboring states with lower taxes. Moorhead is nice, but the contrast between the vibrant business [read “job”] growth on the Fargo side of the border and our own side is shocking after years of DFL legislative control. Even little Lyle on Highway 218 stands in the shadow of a giant new ethanol plant built just 25 feet onto the Iowa side of the border. The choice of where to build or expand a business is often as simple as asking where I can keep more of my money. If Gov. Dayton wants to take more
Congressman, dental office come through When my son deployed to Iraq I begged him not to use the military dentist! We have a lot of time and money invested in his beautiful smile and he was not to let them “practice” on it! This is because his father had used the military dentist during his Vietnam tour. He went and complained of a toothache. They pulled two teeth and told him to come back tomorrow. When he arrived the next day they pulled two more teeth and told him to come back the next day. He decided going back was not a good idea. My son completed his tour and our prayers were answered when he returned with everything intact. Teeth included. Over the next few years he completed school and secured a job with the Department of Defense as a mechanic. About nine months ago he had an accident at work. A large wrench flew back, hit him in the face, split open his lip and knocked out three teeth. His beautiful smile gone. Once the initial medical issues were taken care of, finding the teeth, stopping
the bleeding, stitching up the lip and reinserting two teeth, he still had a hole in his smile from the tooth that could not be replaced. He was told that an implant would be needed. Being somewhat overprotective, I suggested that he see our family dentist that he’s had since childhood, Dr. David Eckart. I wanted to ensure he got his beautiful smile back and I was confident Dr. Eckart would be the person for the job. My son went to Dr. Eckart’s office, explained the workers’ comp issue and mentioned that everything should be approved before they started the work. Dr. Eckart’s dedicated staff member, Lisa Malecha, started the paperwork. Lisa submitted the forms. Over the next few months the insurance company returned them for various reasons. Each time requesting some minor correction. Lisa made the correction and resubmitted. It was returned a nd resubmit ted a nd retu r ned and resubmitted approximately 15 times. Lisa was not going to give up! Lisa explained that the insurance company continued to deny the work and the “closing date” was approaching, at which time the file would be closed and he would not be eligible to have the work completed. Lisa contacted Congressman John Kline’s office and explained the situation. Within days the issue was resolved and the work began. If not for Lisa’s thoroughness, dedication and persistence, my son would have lost his benefits for his dental implant. I want to thank Lisa, Dr. Eckart and his staff and the staff at Congressman’s Kline’s office for being who they are, for doing what they do and for doing it so well!!
Kathy Duklet Shakopee
Get a read on various views For my friends, family members and the 36 faithful readers of this column it will come as no surprise when I tell you that occasionally I will have an opinion on a matter. Even though I want to believe that my opinions are offered only after reasoned and thoughtful consideration, I know that is not always the case. When a person is wrong enough times he begins to accept it (which is not the same as expecting it). The person who thinks he is never wrong will never accept being wrong. That person can never know what they don’t know. The things I don’t know could fill volumes — so I read. I was reading the July 2 edition of World Magazine when I flipped the page to Janie B. Cheaney’s column, “Becoming Readers.” Since this was on Page 24 of a magazine composed largely of words, it seemed that the author was after more than just inspiring people to read. She wrote:
Jerry
KUCERA COMMUNITY COLUMNIST
“I remember the moment when I became a reader. I always liked to read, but that’s not the same thing. What made a reader of me was a novel I received through a children’s book club (‘The Silver Sword’ by Ian Serraillier) … the story itself had reached out and grabbed my hand. “Words arranged in sentences, built into a narrative, made me bigger. It’s a bit like creation
itself: light spoken into being, coalescing into atoms, combining into molecules, becoming elements. Writing imitates creation by ‘speaking’ ideas into being.” According to Cheaney, readers share in the creative experience. “ … they interact with the book in a conversation that alters perception, expands sympathy, provokes anger, or refines argument. “Not everybody is a reader, in this sense. C.S. Lewis, in “An Experiment in Criticism,” made the claim that even in a highly literate society, readers (those who get something from books that they get nowhere else) are the minority. Most people read for two reasons: entertainment and information. Both needs are legitimate, but can be met in other ways, especially today. The third reason I would call enlightenment — letting the ideas created by written language challenge or change us.”
Kucera to page 8 ®
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