Editor's Note: Rick Hansen represents District 39A in the Minnesota House of Representatives.  Thank you to all citizens who contacted me during the 2012 Legislative Session. The session has adjourned, bringing an end to the 2011-2012 legislative biennium. It’s important to look at the big picture over the past two years. The two years were marked by a tough economy and a public desire for progress. One of the bright spots this session was the passage of a $500 million bonding bill with strong bipartisan support. I came here with a goal of job creation and this bill will create jobs. Public …

Editor's Note: This guest commentary is written by Grit Youngquist and Jon Kerr, organizers with the Friends of Lilydale Park. As you may know, for several years Friends of Lilydale Park has been involved in good faith efforts to work with Saint Paul Parks & Recreation to plan and implement appropriate improvements in one of the City's most unique areas. We have tried to represent our 13 years of interactions with literally thousands of Lilydale Park users, during which 3 main priorities have consistently been identified: Protect and interpret the unique natural and historical elements and …

Editor's Note: Rick Hansen represents District 39A in the Minnesota House of Representatives.  The 2012 Legislative Session is just a few days away, scheduled to begin on January 24. After last year’s difficult session, government shutdown, and eventual special session, we once again have an opportunity to truly tackle the challenges facing our state.  Traditionally, the primary focus of each even-year legislative session is prioritizing capital investment projects — more commonly known as bonding. These projects can include construction and repairs of roads and bridges, flood mitigation, …

Editor's Note: Rick Hansen represents District 39A in the Minnesota House of Representatives.  Almost 400 year ago, the Plymouth colonists and Native Americans shared a harvest feast. Now we share family traditions of pumpkin pie, turkey and togetherness. Our American Thanksgiving was formally proclaimed by President Lincoln in the midst of the Civil War in 1863. During these tough economic times, it is important to realize that we are fortunate in all that we have. While the economy is slowly improving, too many in our community can’t find work, others have watched their savings and …

Editor's Note: This guest commentary is written by Fred Wysoki, a Mendota Heights resident. “I’m going to be 80 in February,” said Miles (Sonny) Snyder, a prolific artist living in Mendota Heights, “and I’ve been creating art for over 50 years.” Sonny was born and grew up in St. Paul’s Midway area. He graduated from high school and joined the Army. If you ask about the scenes in some of his artwork, he can tell you that they are some of the interesting places he saw during his Army days in Europe or from his days working on University Avenue in St. Paul. Every year I see these “Art Sale” …

Minnesota has one of the most educated workforces in the country and it’s one of the many ways our state is attractive to businesses. Students who attend our public colleges and universities are more likely to stay in Minnesota, work in Minnesota, and raise a family in Minnesota. The research and work being done in our public colleges and universities in clean energy, robotics, health care and dozens of other fields has the potential to create thousands of new jobs, and even entirely new industries and technologies that we haven’t even thought of yet.  The students at our MNSCU schools, like …

As part of the budget agreement negotiated by Gov. Mark Dayton and the Republican legislative leadership, the Legislature considered a $500 million bonding bill, which will deliver much-needed infrastructure and public projects, while helping potentially create thousands of jobs. This was a bi-partisan bill that passed 112-16. I was pleased to vote for this infrastructure bill and signed on as a co-author. Fundamentally, infrastructure bonding bills are investments in our future. They help build, repair and maintain the facilities our children and grandchildren will use at our public colleges…

Editor's Note: Rick Hansen represents District 39A in the Minnesota House of Representatives. In the midst of a tough economic climate and in a time when government is attacked and looked on with skepticism, it’s easy to forget the good things that government can accomplish. Small things matter and as we see contentious debates on taxes and spending, it’s important to remember the smaller efforts that aren’t big spending items, but still serve purposes of incredibly high value. One of these smaller programs of high value is Conservation Corps Minnesota. Started in the 1930s as the Civilian …

Typical questions about children tend to start with, “How old is she?” or “What’s her name?”  The most common question I get about Avery is, “Why is she in a wheelchair?” When I was pregnant with Avery, my husband and I went in for our 20-week ultrasound.  We were excited to see our baby for the first time and expected to hear the “everything looks great, see you in a few weeks” message, like we had gotten with our first child.  Instead, we were told we needed to come back for a second ultrasound…that there were some concerns.  After many ultrasounds, many tests, and many tears, we learned …

Editor's Note: Mendota Heights Patch received this guest commentary from long-time Mendota Heights resident Bernard Friel. While all letters to the editor and guest commentaries should be focused on local issues, Patch ran a story Jan. 11 about the impact on Mendota Heights of a recent Supreme Court decision on variances, and it is an issue the city continues to follow. This guest commentary provides a historical perspective to that discussion and addresses the most recent development regarding variances taking place at the Minnesota Legislature. Making variances easier to obtain, as a …