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Government

• K-12 spared, but higher ed cut more deeply
  Governor Pawlenty has largely kept his pledge to shield elementary and secondary classrooms from the cuts needed to balance the state budget. He says his proposed spending plan for the next two years actually includes a slight increase in the per student funding formula for public schools. The state's public higher education institutions, however, face a 15-percent decrease in state funding.February 18, 2003
• Spending on health targeted in Pawlenty budget
  Gov. Pawlenty's budget plan allows for some growth in health and human services spending, but that growth is far short of projections for fiscal years 2004 and 2005. Pawlenty says the state can afford to cut back on its social programs and still be on a par with other states in the upper Midwest. Advocates for the poor, however, say Pawlenty's budget proposal will harm the poor and working class.February 18, 2003
• Cities debate proposed cuts to local government aid
  Officials in cities around Minnesota are concerned about a recommendation from the state auditor that local government aid to cities be cut by 42 percent. Some cities depend on the annual state aid to pay for essential services. Auditor Pat Awada claims that LGA money is often used for services she terms non-essential, such as libraries and parks. Other cities say the LGA formula should be reworked to be more fair.February 11, 2003
• Bush's plan for the Mississippi River
  President Bush's request to increase funding for the Army Corps of Engineers' Mississippi River environmental restoration program is encouraging to environmental groups. But some are wary of the Corps' intentions.February 7, 2003
• Pawlenty cuts hit education, social services, environment
  Gov. Tim Pawlenty has used his emergency budget-cutting powers, after lawmakers failed to agree on a short-term budget fix. Pawlenty's cuts affect nearly every area of state government, from education to road projects to legislative TV. The governor says he had little choice, with less than five months left in the fiscal year.February 7, 2003
• Current budget cuts made
  Governor Pawlenty outlines unallotments in the current state budget, including more than $50 million cut from higher education and $23 million out of social service funds. He also slices into ethanol funding and an Iron Range minerals program. Midmorning carries the governor's press conference live.February 7, 2003
• Hoping to do more with less money
  In his first state of the state address, Governor Tim Pawlenty outlined how he would restructure state government to add new programs without raising taxes.February 7, 2003
• Students face limited financial aid possibilities
  Because of Minnesota's budget crisis, college students almost certainly face higher costs next fall. It's not just tuition that's going up. The state's budget deficit is also putting the squeeze on financial aid that many students depend on to make college affordable.February 6, 2003
• Pawlenty demands deal by tomorrow or he'll cut budget
  Gov. Tim Pawlenty told lawmakers on Wednesday that he's prepared to cut spending on Friday if legislative leaders don't reach a budget deal. The House and Senate haven't agreed on how to eliminate a projected $356 million deficit in the current fiscal year. If Pawlenty uses his authority to cut spending unilaterally, the cuts could include school aid to Minneapolis and St. Paul, ethanol subsidies and an Iron Range development fund.February 5, 2003
• Governor names new health commissioner
  Gov. Tim Pawlenty appointed Dianne Mandernach to lead the Minnesota Department of Health on Tuesday. Mandernach has served as chief executive officer for Mercy Hospital and Health Care Center in Moose Lake since 1993.February 4, 2003
• Minneapolis trims long-term spending; cuts affordable housing plan
  Minneapolis forecasts cuts of $55 million over the next five years. Advocates for affordable housing are critical of the plan's elimination of a $4 million development levy.January 31, 2003
• Budget negotiations continue; Who'll get cut?
  Governor Pawlenty had tough words for Senate Democrats when he called legislative leaders to his office to talk about patching the hole in the state budget. Before the meeting Pawlenty said the bill passed by the Senate is "not acceptable." A conference committee is working out differences between the House and Senate bills.January 30, 2003
• House focuses on human services cuts in budget battle
  The Minnesota House on Monday evening passed its version of a short-term budget fix. The Republican-sponsored bill would erase a projected $356 million deficit in the current fiscal year, and leave a financial cushion in case the state's economy worsens. The plan must now be reconciled with a DFL-sponsored Senate plan. DFL leaders say House Republicans moved too quickly to cut programs without considering the impact of the cuts.January 28, 2003
• The ethanol debate
  The House is set to take up a budget-balancing plan Monday that preserves most of the state's ethanol payments. Gov. Tim Pawlenty's suggestion that the subsidies should be eliminated to balance the current budget deficit met with cries of protest from farmers and producers of the corn-based fuel. Critics of the program say ethanol producers would survive without state assistance, but supporters say profits vary from year to year and plant to plant.January 26, 2003
• Sviggum downplays conflict of interest talk on ethanol
  House Speaker Steve Sviggum is trying to quell talk that he has a conflict of interest by voting on bills containing ethanol subsidies. Sviggum farms with his brothers near Kenyon in southeastern Minnesota. The brothers are partners in an ethanol plant, which receives state money and helps boost the price of the family's corn.January 25, 2003

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