Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Pam Wolf, who represents part of Fridley, is on the committee.
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Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Sen. Pam Wolf (DFL-51), who represents a central and eastern portion of Fridley, is on the Minnesota Senate Local Government and Elections committee that holds a hearing today into the proposed Constitutional amendment to requre voters to show photo ID. Another Fridley connection to the proceedings: Former state Sen. Don Betzold, who Wolf defeated in the 2010 general election, gave testimony to the committee late Wednesday afternoon.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
He also got a recent award for his work to make government more transparent.
Political heavy hitters turned out last week to honor former state Sen. Don Betzold of Fridley, whose 18 years in the Minnesota Senate ended in January. About 80-90 people attended the April 5 "appreciation celebration" at the Shorewood Grill, according to Senate District 51 DFL Party Chair Jeremy Powers. Among them were several state officials, including Secretary of State Mark Ritchie; state Senators Tom Bakk, Scott Dibble, Barb Goodwin, Tony Lourey and John Marty; and former state senators and representatives Roger Moe, Steve Novak, Alice Johnson, Richard Jefferson and Connie Bernardy. State Rep. Tom Tillberry (DFL-51B) couldn't attend because the state Legislature was in session late that night. Also in attendance were many local …
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-93.243759
Shorewood Bar & Grill
6161 Highway 65 NE, Minneapolis, MN
/articles/appreciation-celebration-honors-former-state-sen-don-betzold
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Monday, January 10, 2011
The divided-government dynamic has the Fridley rep's DFL Party in the legislative minority but holding the governor's office.
Editor's Note: Capitol Review is a weekly look at what your state legislators are doing at the Minnesota Capitol—how they're voting, the bills they're writing and the issues they're getting behind. Come back to Patch every Monday for a new Capitol Review. For third-term DFL state Rep. Tom Tillberry of Fridley, "It's going to be interesting to see what Republicans [can do]" this legislative session. It's Tillberry's first experience serving in the minority party, and the first time in a generation that DFLers have been out of control in both the state House and Senate. The saving grace for Democrats: Mark Dayton, a DFLer, is in the governor's office. "When Gov. Pawlenty was there he would veto everything we would do anyway," Tillberry said…
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-93.253059
700 Mississippi St NE, Fridley, MN
/articles/tom-tillberry-roles-are-reversed-at-capitol
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Thursday, January 6, 2011
The new state senator taught school on Monday and was sworn in on Tuesday.
Pam Wolf didn't have a day off this week. Instead, the new state senator from District 51 was in her classroom at Pines School in Lino Lakes on Monday for one last day of teaching this school year. The next day, she was among 21 new Republicans sworn in as senators in St. Paul, helping her party take the majority in both houses of the state Legislature. A substitute will take over her classroom until Wolf returns after the legislative session. But among her first orders of business was arranging a Capitol tour for her students next week—this time with a stop at the senate office of their regular teacher. Finding herself elected to the Senate on her second attempt and in the majority came as a pleasant surprise to Wolf, but "that's what we …
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-93.23414
7743 Lakeview Ln NE # 55432, Spring Lake Park, MN
/articles/pam-wolf-steps-from-classroom-to-capitol
/locations/6585718
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
DFL Minority Leader Tom Bakk put Don Betzold's name into contention first for president, then secretary of the Senate.
On the first day of the legislative session, the name of former DFL state senator and Fridley resident Don Betzold came up not once but twice. That's because Betzold, by virtue of losing his senate seat last November to Republican Pam Wolf, was eligible to be secretary of the Senate, a top staff position held by non-senators. But instead, a distracted Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk first nominated Betzold to be president of the senate, a job that would require Betzold to still be in office. Alerted to the error, Bakk withdrew Betzold's name. A few minutes later came the vote for secretary of the Senate, and Bakk made a short nominating speech for Betzold. (Throughout, Bakk was holding an active youngster identified by Minnesota Public …
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-93.100426
75 Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, Saint Paul, MN
/articles/former-fridley-state-senator-nominated-for-top-staff-post
/locations/2953363
Monday, January 3, 2011
State Sen.-elect Barb Goodwin called a $6.2 billion hole in Minnesota's budget the biggest difference from her time as a state rep.
It's not quite "been there, done that" for Barb Goodwin at the State Capitol. Yes, the incoming state senator in District 50 has served as a state legislator before, representing District 50A in the Minnesota House of Representatives from 2001-07. And she worked at the Capitol from 1985-98 too, first leading the DFL House majority's research staff, then as legislative affairs director for the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE). But besides taking a new seat in the senate chamber this week, Goodwin said there is a big difference this time: the state's looming, $6.2 billion budget deficit. The Minnesota Legislature is required to balance the state budget. "They're going to have to find a way," Goodwin said of the …
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650 Sullivan Ln NE, Columbia Heights, MN
/articles/goodwin-budget-shortfall-will-swamp-session
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Sunday, December 12, 2010
Being bested by rival Pam Wolf means the Fridley DFLer leaves his post as state Capitol's 'Rules Guy.'
State Sen. Don Betzold said he chalks up his loss to Republican Pam Wolf last month to an electorate with big worries about the economy and jobs. "If it had been a banner DFL year I would have taken it personally," he said. People in Senate District 51, which includes the east side of Fridley, will gain a new voice in Wolf, who challenged Betzold unsuccessfully four years ago. Meanwhile, the state Senate will lose its "Rules Guy." That's the nickname Betzold says he earned after dedicating himself to learning the ways of the Senate over his five terms there. His motto: Stay on the floor, pay attention, know the rules. His expertise in legislative process earned him a seat next to a succession of DFL Senate majority leaders, from Roger Moe…
Chris Steller
5:35 pm on Thursday, January 6, 2011
I asked Rep. Knuth by email about once being Sen. Wolf's student and got this reply: "As far as I can remember, I did have Pam Wolf as a student at Edgewood Middle School. I know of at least one other teacher/student pair in the Minnesota legislature. Rep. Swails was Rep. Bigham's teacher. They both served from 2007-2010. I received a world-class education in Minnesota public schools, and I think… more ›