Commentary; Posted: 1/7/04

Top stories from the ECM region in 2003

Don Heinzman

The year 2003 and its economic woes had its ups and downs, with Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty calling a lot of the budgetary shots. Hereís a look at some of the regionís top stories.

1. The call-up of Reservists and the National Guard to help fight the war in Iraq and seek out Al Qaeda forces in Afghanistan affected many families in the Twin Cities region.

While there were no deaths in communities served by ECM publications, there were casualties and near misses as anxious parents in our communities waited for their e-mails and phone calls from loved ones overseas.

In Anoka County, 76 members of the 151st Field Artillery Unit of the National Guard were called to active duty. On the home front practice alerts were conducted in just about every county to prepare for any terrorist attack.

2. On the local governmental scene, counties and communities struggled to cut their budgets to meet the challenge of millions of dollars of lost state Local Government Aid and Tax Credit Aid. The state cut those budgets to help eliminate a $4.2 billion deficit.

Services to citizens were cut, fees were raised, library hours were reduced, parks went unimproved and positions were not filled in county courthouses and city halls. Communities dug into their reserves to keep taxes down.

3. Despite the dire predictions about sky-rocketing property tax increases, local governments surprisingly only increased the property tax rate by an average of 7.1 percent. At yearís end it appeared Gov. Pawlenty and the Republican leadership were correct in assuming local governments could handle the state-aid hits.

4. Meanwhile, in school districts throughout communities served by ECM newspapers, many had operating levy referendums for voters to pass. While some did pass, key ones in Princeton, Cambridge, Forest Lake, North Branch and Farmington went down. These districts will have to cut even more out of already lean budgets.

5. As growth continued, battles to annex land from townships raged.

In Princeton, many in Princeton Township fought unsuccessfully to prevent 60 acres of land from being annexed, just the tip of the iceberg.

In Chisago County, Chisago City is battling to annex 11,000 acres of Wyoming Township through a hostile process.

The city of Rogers and Hassan Township, which surrounds it, peacefully are nearing an agreement for a merger.

6. The establishment of Job Creation Zones (JOBZ) in outlying metropolitan communities could attract more businesses. These zones were created in Milaca, Mora, Cambridge, Princeton, Wyoming and North Branch. Businesses that quality can qualify for tax exemptions on capital gains, property taxes and other taxes.

7. The JOBZ in Wyoming is one reason Polaris Industries intends to locate a plant there. Andersen Windows has announced it will locate an operation in North Branch. That effort was spearheaded by Chris Eng, director for the countyís HRA and EDA commissions.

8. Communities along the Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad corridor waged a campaign to convince the state legislature and Gov. Pawlenty that the state should spend $120 million to match federal aid to finance the North State Commuter system. At the end of the year, the Federal Transit Administration strongly hinted it would approve a line only from Big Lake to Minneapolis, with Gov. Pawlenty holding the trump card he will play based on results from the FTAís recommendation.

9. The Metropolitan Council under the leadership of Peter Bell, appointed by Gov. Pawlenty, while more conservative, stuck to the plan of protecting parks and wetlands, of encouraging affordable housing and working closely with local communities to plan the region for a million more people by the year 2030.

10. Anoka County put together a comprehensive proposal to lure the Minnesota Vikings football stadium to a site in Blaine where there is space for the stadium, practice fields and the teamís headquarters. The proposal will be ready for the Jan. 15 deadline.

Other stories of note: Herb Brooks, a hockey legend, died in a one-car rollover near Forest Lake, the lawsuit led by Milles County over the jurisdiction of the Ojibwe Indian tribe continued, the mysterious fire at the prominent Carlson home in Forest Lake baffled authorities, the appointment of Gene Merriam, a prominent DFLer, as the state DNR Commissioner and the decision of the Chisago County Board to bond for three libraries.

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