At the Capitol: Blizzard of bills buries Capitol

Kirsti Marohn
kmarohn@stcloudtimes.com

ST. PAUL -- Lawmakers leaped headlong into the new session last week with committee hearings on everything from sex offenders to health care.

New bills were introduced at a fast and furious pace. Because bills from last year -- the first year of the biennium -- are still alive, the number of active bills is approaching 2,000.

Rep. Mark Olson of Big Lake is making sure no one forgets about his pet issue, personal rapid transit. Olson, a Republican, has introduced numerous bills relating to the new technology, which involves individual cars running on a track. It's still in the developmental stage.

Olson is a vocal opponent of the Northstar Corridor commuter rail line, which would run through his district. He prefers PRT, which allows commuters to get on and off without affecting other riders.

Olson hopes a PRT demonstration at last year's Minnesota State Fair piqued some interest. He wants to encourage a privately funded system rather than government paying the bill.

A St. Cloud face was among the "People's Legislature" on Tuesday at the Capitol. Rick Podvin addressed the group of citizens and community activists -- many from labor or social service organizations -- who first banded together last year with the mission of promoting a "fair and balanced approach to solving the state's budget crisis."

Podvin is director of Catholic Charities' Domus program, which provides transitional housing for people with mental illness or chemical dependency issues.

Podvin told the crowd that in the past year, Minnesota programs that offer people a helping hand have been cut.

"It has become more complicated, difficult and heartbreaking to be poor in Minnesota," he said. "We're moving in the wrong direction. We cannot offer the message of hope with as much conviction this year as last year."

As is typical during the session, the Rotunda has become a busy place for protests, speeches, rallies and displays.

Some St. Cloud-area college seniors took advantage of a busy Rotunda on Thursday to draw attention to their thesis projects.

Peter Ehresman and Travis Grotz of St. John's University and Susan Matthees of the College of St. Benedict displayed their research and shared their knowledge of their topics of expertise: the housing crisis of Kenya, the role hormones play in post-traumatic stress disorder and childhood obesity, respectively.

After delivering his State of the State address Thursday and dealing with the weighty issue of health-care costs Friday morning, Gov. Tim Pawlenty and his staff took the afternoon off for a viewing of "Miracle."

The new movie is about legendary hockey coach Herb Brooks and how he led the U.S. hockey team to a gold medal in the 1980 Olympics.

Contact reporter Kirsti Marohn at the Times Capitol bureau, (651) 224-4937 or by e-mail at kmarohn@stcloudtimes.com.