Fridley's state senators butted heads Monday on a bill to change the way school districts decide which teachers go during layoffs. Under the bill, teachers' overall experience and their effectiveness would matter more than their length of service in a particular district in determining who stays on. Wolf's BillSen. Pam Wolf (R-51) is the author of the bill, which passed the Senate Monday by a vote of 36-26. The first YouTube video starts with her remarks: Currently, if there's a layoff, teachers are laid off in the order in which they were hired. Hence the term "LIFO" [Last In First Out]. …

State Sen. Barb Goodwin (DFL-50) said Friday she would object to a gun-rights bill on the Senate floor because committees won't take into account news that Minnesota's laws on felons getting guns are among the nation's "loosest." Goodwin, who represents parts of Fridley, cited a New York Times article ("Felons Finding It Easy to Regain Gun Rights"). The article includes this:  Using partial data from Minnesota’s Judicial Branch, The Times identified more than 70 cases since 2004 of people convicted of “crimes of violence” who have gotten their gun rights back. A closer look at a number of …

At a joint Minnesota Senate committee hearing Thursday evening, Sen. Barb Goodwin (DFL-50), questioned statements of support for childcare workers from senators who during the legislative session voted to decrease state funding for childcare. Majority GOP leaders called the joint meeting of the Senate Committee on State Government Innovation and Veterans and Committee on Health and Human Services to hear arguments for and against unionization of home day care providers. Goodwin represents a district that includes the western part of Fridley. Video clip courtesy of The UpTake.

There was a controversial do-over of the morning prayer at the Minnesota House of Representatives Friday, and Fridley played a small part.  The first prayer came from Bradlee Dean, leader of You Can Run But You Cannot Hide International who has made numerous anti-gay statements. His appearance prompted an uproar as House members awaited a vote on a controversial Constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage. At Speaker of the House Kurt Zellers' direction, the regular House chaplain delivered a new prayer and House members repeated the Pledge of Allegiance. Zellers apologized and said he …

UPDATED: State Sen. Barb Goodwin (DFL-50) lodged an impassioned complaint (see video) on the Minnesota Senate floor after a colleague, Sen. Gretchen Hoffman (R-10), misattributed slurs against mentally ill people to her on Twitter. Hoffman's tweet asserted that Goodwin had called the mentally ill "idiots and imbeciles." Goodwin was speaking against Republicans' health and human services spending bill Wednesday evening when she made reference to terms like "idiots" and "imbeciles" that the state used to apply to the mentally ill, as well as to others committed to state mental hospitals. (See …

State Rep. Carolyn Laine (DFL-50A) is back at the state Capitol after a liver injury kept her away for much of the legislative session. In this video clip Laine comments on a bill, H.F. 1097, saying it is time for Lutsen Mountain Corporation to clean up its act. The company uses 60-107 million gallons of water of year from trout streams to make snow for skiing, she says, but they are permitted only to use 13 million. Laine says using the water damages the environment and reducing the water flow during the winter causes the river causes it to freeze to the bottom and kill trout eggs. Lutsen …

State Rep. Kate Knuth (DFL-50B) argued on the Minnesota House floor Wednesday against a bill that would lift a state law banning utility companies from increasing carbon dioxide emissions. Knuth, who represents a small part of eastern Fridley, brought a stack of scientific and government reports supporting climate change (get a glimpse of them at the 2:00 mark of the video clip). These are some really useful resources in terms of how governments around the world are responding to climate change and the various scientific organizations—all of the scientific organizations, true professional …

In the Minnesota Senate Finance Committee Monday, state Sen. Barb Goodwin (DFL-50) aired a gripe you hear often in Fridley: that there isn't enough east-west transit service for people traveling from suburb to suburb. The topic arose as part of the debate over a transportation funding bill, S.F. 898. Goodwin argued that budget cuts of as much as 27 percent would mean bus-service cuts when people need more bus service. Fridley's other state senator, Pam Wolf (R-51), is a co-author of the bill as a member of the majority Republican party on the Transportation Committee. Wolf's view, according …

Should the State of Minnesota stop regulating development along the Mississippi River and leave that to the cities? Fridley's two state senators disagree on the question and argued about it on the Senate floor on Thursday. At issue is a bill (S.F. 39) to end state law requiring that cities along the Twin Cities stretch of the river adopt plans that conform to so-called Critical Areas rules, which have recently been the subject of revision efforts. Sen. Barbara Goodwin (DFL-50) said she is concerned that without state regulation cities will allow development that will adversely effect the …

Creating more alternative routes to becoming a teacher won't solve the educational achievement gap between racial groups, state Sen. Barb Goodwin (DFL-50) said Thursday on the floor of the Minnesota House of Representatives. "It's a little bit, to me, like trying to give an aspirin to cure diabetes," Goodwin said. Here's a video clip of Goodwin's remarks, courtesy of The Uptake. The bill, S.F. 40, passed the Senate 46-19, with Goodwin voting against and Fridley's other state senator, Pam Wolf (R-51) voting for. The bill passed the state House 72-59, with Rep. Tom Tillberry (DFL- 51B) voting …

North-metro sports facilities—both existing and proposed—continue to be the talk of the Twin Cities. To Fridley's east, prospects for a new stadium for the Minnesota Vikings in Arden Hills make headlines almost daily.  Yesterday at the state Legislature it was the National Sports Center in Blaine in the spotlight. This video clip from The UpTake has state Rep. Nora Slawik (DFL-55B) asking Paul Erickson of the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission whether the sports center has seen an increase in revenue from events relocated from the damaged Metrodome. Anderson's answer to the House State …