2010 - 1st Half, 2nd Half
2009 - 1st Half, 2nd Half
2008 - 1st Half, 2nd Half
2007 - 2nd Half
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PRESS RELEASE - FIRST HALF 2010
Housing group lauds bipartisan trio of legislators - 6/10/10
The Minnesota Manufactured Housing Association (MMHA) recently announced Sens. Dan Skogen and Tom Saxhaug and Rep. Mark Murdock as 2010 recipients of its “Friends of Affordable Housing Award,” in recognition of their service and common-sense approach at the State Capitol to promoting safe, decent, and affordable housing for Minnesota families. They will be recognized at an event on June 16.
The bipartisan group of legislators played a critical role during the 2010 Legislative Session in advancing a consensus bill supported by the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, housing advocates, and factory home-builders, which modernized 1970’s provisions of the Minnesota State Building Code, making housing more affordable for Minnesotans.
According to MMHA President Mark Brunner, “While we're fortunate to have a number of affordable-housing champions in the Legislature who deserve praise for their work, Sen. Skogen, Rep. Murdock, and Sen. Saxhaug stand out as consistent advocates for a balanced approach to state housing policies. Workers who want to live within driving distance of where they work need to have viable sources of quality housing. It also allows employers to grow and expand locally and meet the housing needs of their workforce.”
The MMHA is a statewide non-profit trade organization, representing Minnesota’s largest source of non-subsidized affordable housing, factory-built homes. The MMHA works to promote quality housing that is affordable, encourage a level playing field in the public policy arena, and educates its members on new home-building technologies and best industry practices.
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Senate bill retains mental health services
in Wadena and Fergus Falls - 5/6/10
State Senator Dan Skogen of Hewitt says he’s encouraged that the Health and Human Services Finance Bill passed by the Minnesota Senate today restored proposed cuts to a Wadena hospital and a Fergus Falls dental clinic serving the disabled.
“I’m glad that the Senate recognized that these cuts were disproportionately targeted to Greater Minnesota,” said Skogen. “In addition to retaining jobs and providing services to people who used to be served by the state hospital system, we need to strike a better balance of where cuts are made.”
The bill, which passed on a bipartisan vote, keeps the dental clinic in Fergus Falls operating by changing the payment system to one where they are paid based on Medicare reimbursement rates. This change requires approval by the federal government, and would result in additional federal funding for these services.
If not approved by the federal government, then these clinics will be designated as critical access providers and receive reimbursement accordingly.
In Wadena, the bill provides $900,000 to re-staff and reopen the hospital until June 30 of 2011. The hospital was recently closed by the state Department of Human Services without legislative approval.
“Distances are an issue in Greater Minnesota,” said Skogen. “Citizens in our part of the state who have family members with disabilities, mental illness, chemical dependency, and traumatic brain injuries can’t necessarily jump in a car and drive to the Twin Cities – they pay state taxes too – and they need an array of help available to them at a reasonable distance.”
“This bill is a good start, but there’s still a lot of work ahead,” said Skogen. “First, it needs to come out of a Senate-House conference committee intact, and we need to keep together the bipartisan coalition of rural legislators who have been working to keep these services available. Together, we need to work with the governor to resolve this matter.”
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State’s business tax climate improving - 4/29/10
A new report from an outfit called the Council on State Taxation landed on my desk this week, and it has some positive news for those, like me, who are concerned about the costs of doing business in Minnesota.
Their latest annual report comparing state taxation shows that Minnesota’s business taxes are the 15th lowest in the nation. And, yes, you read that right.
The Council on State Taxation is an association of 600 corporate tax attorneys representing businesses that do extensive interstate and international operations. The group tallies all state and local taxes imposed on businesses each year and measures taxes paid as a portion of private business activity in each state. A full copy of the report can be found at http://www.cost.org/
What makes the report interesting is that they compared actual collections of tax dollars from businesses, not just the rates set in statute. It also factors in other variables, such as property taxes, unemployment taxes, license fees, individual income taxes collected on business income, and so forth. Using total collections also provides a look at the effect of deductions and credits on the total tax burden.
In this light, even though Minnesota has one of the highest corporate tax rates – 9.8 percent – our state’s greater array of deductions and credits can lower business tax bills by a considerable amount.
The list of deductions is growing. This year, the Legislature and governor enacted a jobs bill that included tax credits for new and existing businesses, as well as a capital investment bill and an economic development bill that, combined, are expected to create more than 30,000 new Minnesota jobs.
To me, the report’s findings are good news. When joined by the fact that Minnesota has a lower unemployment rate than the national average, it demonstrates that some of the policy decisions being made are providing some benefit. But the report also raises some issues.
While Minnesota’s overall business tax burden may be below the national average, businesses in western Minnesota have to deal with the fact that the two states with the lowest business tax burden are in North and South Dakota. And while targeting tax credits and deductions can achieve some policy goals in terms of promoting certain types of business activity or stimulating job creation, it remains a fact that the base corporate income tax rate is among the highest in the nation. It may be worth looking at ways of trading off certain deductions and credits in the interest of lowering the overall tax rate.
In other words, these findings are encouraging, but we can’t afford to take its findings at face value and use them as an excuse for inaction on the business tax front. Helping Minnesota’s businesses stay competitive is an ongoing process that will need to be revisited every year.
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Skogen supports plan to protect services
for the mentally ill and disabled - 4/13/10
Senator Dan Skogen plans to support a Minnesota Senate proposal that would stave off closure of facilities that provide care to people with disabilities, mental illness, chemical dependency and traumatic brain injuries.
The plan is an alternative to one proposed by Governor Tim Pawlenty, which would close facilities in Fergus Falls and Wadena. The Governor's plan would have closed a dental clinic in Fergus Falls that served mentally ill and disabled persons who in the past would have been served at the old Fergus Falls Regional Treatment Center. It also would have transferred the Wadena Community Behavioral Health Hospitals into a new program providing less intensive care. In all, the Governor's plan would eliminate 58 professional positions at the two facilities.
Under the Senate's plan, the dental clinic at Fergus Falls would remain open, while the transfer at Wadena would be delayed. It would keep operations intact at a number of other facilities, mostly located in cities outside the metro area.
"One of the problems I had with the administration's proposal," said Senator Skogen, "was that it eliminated nearly 200 jobs for people doing direct patient care in Greater Minnesota, yet cut few jobs at DHS headquarters in Saint Paul."
The facilities are part of a matrix of services that were put in place in the 1990s as the old state hospital system was taken down in favor of smaller, more home-like treatment settings in communities across Minnesota.
"A big part of the understanding between the state and communities in Greater Minnesota was that services would continue to be provided in our part of the state," said Senator Skogen. "We need to maintain that commitment to families in rural Minnesota."
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Senator Skogen, Senator Ingebrigtsen, and
Representative Nornes meet with area mayors - 4/7/10
Seated at the table from left to right are: Jim Hermanson, Mayor of Henning; Ole Mounts, Mayor of Ottertail; and Les Aldstad, Mayor of Barrett. Standing from left to right are: Larry Hodgson, Mayor of New York Mills; Gerald Porter, Mayor of Deer Creek; Sen. Bill Ingebrigtsen, District 11; Sen. Dan Skogen, District 10; Marlin Genz, Mayor of Clitherall; Jay McNamar, Mayor of Elbow Lake; and Tom Grover, Mayor of Ashby. |
Mayors of west-central Minnesota communities came to the Minnesota State Capitol to share their concerns with Sen. Dan Skogen and other area legislators.
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Skogen: Bipartisan jobs bills will put more
Minnesotans to work - 4/7/10
In the last month, about 2,000 Minnesotans received their last unemployment check, and the unemployment rate continues to hover around 7.5 percent.
That sobering reality was the backdrop for the passage of two pieces of legislation that could put as many as 20,000 of our fellow citizens back on private payrolls.
And there was an added bonus to these two bills: Republicans and Democrats negotiated like grown-ups to come up with legislation agreeable to both sides, and both bills were signed into law by Gov. Pawlenty.
One part of the package was the passage of a capital investments bill that authorizes the sale of bonds to fund infrastructure projects around the state. Nearly all of these projects have been through the design phase and are ready to be put out for bids - meaning that construction workers can be on the job as early as this summer.
Another provision is one I've been pushing for some time - new tax credits for "angel investors" to encourage investment in start-up companies in high-technology, bioscience, and energy-efficient manufacturing. The estimated benefit from this tax credit is the creation of 6,300 jobs with an average annual wage of $49,000.
There's also a historic structure tax credit, modeled after an existing federal credit, which will provide more incentives to preserve and restore historic buildings in the state. I'm hopeful that this will help spur more private investment in the historic "Main Street" business districts that are in many rural communities in Minnesota. The provision's sponsors expect that this will create up to 1,500 new jobs in construction, drafting, and architecture, some of the hardest-hit employment sectors during this recession.
Finally, this package slices the state's budget deficit by $312 million by making cuts in spending in 11 state departments. More cuts are likely to come, but the exact amount and nature of them depends on the outcome of a Supreme Court decision on a lawsuit against the governor over his use of his unallotment powers. We're also waiting for reliable fiscal estimates of the amount of federal funds flowing into the state as a result of congressional action on federal stimulus and health care reform changes.
Perhaps one of the best outcomes of the current legislative session is a reduction in partisan sniping that plagued recent years. That's not to say that there aren't people who spout the party line and refuse to compromise on anything, but their influence on the legislative process seems to be waning - at least in St. Paul. To those of us who would rather produce results than talking points, that's one good trend that needs to be extended.
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So far, good progress at mid-session - 3/29/10
This week, the Legislature holds off on official meetings for a week for the annual Easter/Passover break. Over the years, this has become a time when we can assess the progress made so far.
Facing a huge $1.2 billion deficit for the current biennium, I expected the session to be especially difficult and contentious. While the decisions are difficult, I'm pleased to report that, unlike Washington, D.C., the level of contentiousness has been well within the parameters of a healthy democracy. There's plenty of disagreement and spirited debate, but on the whole, discussions have been respectful, thoughtful, and even informative.
Under Minnesota's legislative system, there's a "long" session, from January to the third week in May of odd-numbered years. It reviews and sets a two-year statewide operating budget. There's also a "short session" from February to May in even-numbered years that's charged with passage of a capital investment bill and making adjustments to the budget.
This year, we're in the short session, and the work is getting done on schedule:
• We passed a capital investment (bonding) bill that was signed by Gov. Pawlenty. While he exercised his right to line-item veto several items, projects that were proposed for our area were left in. To me, this is a testament to the smart, non-partisan work of local officials who put together proposals that "made sense." It was a pleasure to sponsor bills for area projects that met everyone's criteria for need, importance, and impact.
In addition to thousands of private-sector construction jobs that will result from early passage of the bonding bill, there will be many permanent jobs generated once construction is complete.
• We're well on the way to balancing the budget for the current biennium. On Monday, we passed $312 million in needed cuts in a number of state agencies. The plan is similar to the proposed budget released by Gov. Pawlenty in February, but with less than half the cuts to local aid. This should ease pressure on property taxes over what had been proposed by the governor.
• We passed much sought-after tax credits for "angel investors" and other job-creation provisions. The Angel Investor Tax Credit is a bipartisan proposal that passed both houses of the Legislature last year, but was vetoed when it got caught up in end-of-session wrangling over the budget. Unlike the capital investment bill that gets ground broken this summer, this bill is more about long-term investment and job growth for Minnesota.
When the Legislature convenes again this Tuesday, we'll still have work to do on a number of issues. We'll have to reconcile the rest of the budget, keeping an eye on the effect of recent federal changes to health care. There are also a number of policy bills that need to be addressed. But both the tone and the level of bipartisan cooperation has been helpful to our progress so far, and I'm hopeful that it can continue to a swift and complete conclusion to the 2010 Legislative Session.
In the meantime, I hope you and your family enjoy Easter, and the return of spring to Minnesota!
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Skogen hails bonding bill outcome
for local communities - 3/17/10
State Senator Dan Skogen says he's gratified by the outcome of the bonding package that was signed into law by Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Monday.
Even though the governor vetoed a third of the funding out of the total package, all four projects in Senate District 10 that were in the legislative bill were kept intact.
"What it shows is that the proposals from our region of the state were reasonable and necessary," said Skogen.
The projects approved by the governor include bonding authority for a resource recovery facility in Perham, trails for Glendalough State Park, renovation of the Tower Road bridge, and design for a new Becker County waste transfer station.
"Overall, there were over $3 billion in requests," said Skogen. "The Legislature cut those requests by two-thirds, and the governor lopped off another third off of that."
"To get these projects in the final percent of the requests that won the authority to sell bonds, is a testament to local officials and professionals who worked hard to develop and present proposals that rose to the top of the heap"
Skogen added that, since most of the projects are ready to go, there should be additional jobs opening up soon. "The value of the projects to the area is the first priority," said Skogen, "but getting some people back to work in good-paying jobs is an awfully nice side benefit." |
Senator Skogen: My take on budget proposal - 2/22/10
The governor recently released his proposal to balance a $1.2 billion budget deficit for the current spending period, which ends on July 1 of next year.
The governor's proposed cuts break down like this:
• $250 million cut from the funds that come back to cities, towns, and counties to pay for police, fire, maintenance, and public safety.
• $347 million in cuts in payments to local nursing homes, hospitals, and clinics.
• $47 million in cuts to colleges, technical schools, and universities.
• $61 million in reductions at state agencies.
If it doesn't look to you like that adds up to $1.2 billion, you're right. The actual cuts suggested by the governor are only around three-fifths of what we need to balance the budget.
He calculates the rest of the amount needed through one-time shifts of about $120 million among state accounts, and by counting on Congress passing $387 million in enhanced Medicaid matching funds for Minnesota.
As this legislative session progresses, we will flesh out more details on this proposal and look for other additional ways to balance the budget. I'm keeping an open mind, and will work with the Pawlenty administration and legislators on both sides of the aisle before I vote. With that in mind, here's my first take on the governor's proposal:
• We'll probably need to cut more. In the absence of new revenue, anything that isn't an actual cut means that the rest will show up as an obligation in the next biennium. It would be better to take our medicine now.
• Spending cuts shouldn't put money in one pocket while pulling it out of another. Cuts by the state shouldn't end up as property tax increases on the local level or higher hospital or nursing home bills.
• Make better priorities for cuts. One of the proposed cuts would be to local nursing homes, which the governor hopes to balance off by allowing nursing homes to charge more for patients that pay out of their own pocket. I'm not sure how this saves money in the long-run, especially if you consider that higher nursing home bills would cause patients to burn through their savings faster - forcing even more of them onto Medicaid. I'd rather see bigger cuts to the bureaucracies in St. Paul before resorting to this kind of scheme.
• Gov. Pawlenty is right to support more Medicaid funding from Washington, but I wouldn't have entered it in the ledger book just yet. According to the non-partisan Tax Foundation, for every dollar Minnesotans send to Washington in the form of federal taxes, we get back only 72 cents in federal services and funding. By comparison, North Dakotans get back $1.68. It's an unequal distribution of federal funds, and part of the reason Minnesota is a comparatively high tax state. We should get behind the bipartisan effort to improve our share of funds to pay for health care. But passage isn't a sure thing, and I think it would have been more prudent to suggest greater cuts rather than counting funds which haven't been authorized yet.
As I said, that's my first take on the budget, and I'll be working to protect your interests at the Capitol. One thing is certain; there will be substantial cuts to state spending, possibly more than has been suggested by the governor. As always, I look forward to hearing from you on this or any other issue before the Legislature.
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Senator Skogen: Don't leave your property tax
refund unclaimed
- 2/15/2010
Each year, many Minnesota homeowners and renters don't file for property tax relief that they have coming to them. One of the reasons for this is that there are several programs and criteria and tax filers get confused.
To apply for the refund, complete Form M1PR from the Minnesota Department of Revenue. This form is available at public libraries and at other locations where state tax forms are distributed. It can also be found at the Minnesota Department of Revenue website at: www.taxes.state.mn.us/taxes/prop_refund/forms.shtml
For taxpayers filing for a property tax refund this spring, the Department of Revenue recommends that M1PR forms be submitted by August 16, 2010. However, taxpayers may file for their refund through August 15, 2011.
To qualify for a property tax refund, you must be a full-year or part-year Minnesota resident, and you cannot be a dependent. If you are a homeowner, your property must be your homestead. If you are a renter, you must live in a building on which property taxes are paid. Also, only one refund per property - so if you have a relative living in a separate house on the same property, only one can qualify for a refund.
You may be eligible for a property tax refund under one of these programs:
• Special Property Tax Refund
You may be eligible if you are a homeowner, owned your home on both
January 2, 2009 and January 2, 2010, and the net property tax on your homestead increased by more than 12 percent and at least $100 from 2009 to 2010. The increase cannot be due to improvements to your home. This refund does not depend on your income.
• Homeowner and Renter Property Tax Refund Programs
You may be eligible if you are a homeowner and have a household income of $98,290 or less, or you are a renter and have a household income of $53,030 or less. Higher income limits apply if you have dependents or if you are a senior citizen or disabled. Your refund will depend on how high your property taxes or rent is relative to your income. The maximum refund for homeowners is $2,350, and $1,510 for renters.
If you are 65 years or older and a property owner, you may also be eligible for the Senior Citizens Property Tax Deferral Program.
The Senior Citizens Property Tax Deferral Program allows property taxpayers who are 65 years or older to defer a portion of their homestead property taxes until a later time. In this program, the taxpayer pays only 3 percent of the preceding year's household income as property tax and the rest of the property tax is deferred. Taxpayers are still allowed to file for a property tax refund and any other property refunds the state may offer. However, the amount of any refunds will be applied to the deferred property tax amount.
In order to qualify for this program, all of the following criteria must be met:
• The property must be owned and occupied as a homestead by a person 65 years or older. If married, one spouse must be 65 and the other must be at least 62 years of age.
• Total household income must be $60,000 or less for the calendar year preceding the year of the initial application.
• The home must have been owned and occupied by one of the homeowners for at least 15 years before the initial application.
• There must be no state or federal tax liens or judgment liens on the property.
• The total unpaid balances of debts secured by mortgages and other liens on the property, including deferred tax and interest amounts under the program, unpaid and delinquent special assessments and property taxes, penalties and interest (but excluding the current year's property taxes), do not exceed 75 percent of the assessor's estimated market value for the current year.
If you have questions, you can call the Department of Revenue at 651-296-3781, or e-mail a question to indinctax@state.mn.us.
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Local project included in Senate capital
investment bill - 2/5/2010
Capital investment projects that were requested by local communities fared well in the Minnesota Senate's capital investment bill, according to state Senator Dan Skogen.
"Overall, it's a very good package for Greater Minnesota, and our area would get its fair share," said Skogen.
Included in the package is authority to sell bonds to finance a resource recovery facility in Perham, a new trail at Glendalough State Park, renovation of the Tower Road Bridge, construction of a new ice arena in Fergus Falls, and funds to design the new Becker County waste transfer station. In addition, $20 million would go towards building business development infrastructure in Greater Minnesota. "Local communities would be able to apply for grants to build and upgrade infrastructure projects targeted towards business development, such as water and sewer upgrades," said Skogen.
This legislation was developed after members of the Senate Capital Investment Committee traveled thousands of miles throughout Minnesota in late 2009, visiting 64 of the state's 87 counties and holding more than 150 meetings to get firsthand views of projects for which funding was being sought.
The bipartisan committee made direct site inspections of all the area projects included in the Senate proposal. "You have to give a lot of credit to local officials and citizens who did a fantastic job of presenting their ideas," said Skogen. "Out of more than $3 billion in capital investment requests made, less than one-third were included in this proposal. To get such a high percentage of local projects included is fantastic."
The capital investment bill is typically the main piece of legislation to arise in the second session of the Legislature, which convenes in even-numbered years. What is different this year are the unexpected opportunities presented by the current recession. Not only are interest rates at historic lows, but the slowdown in the construction industry is generating bids that are far lower than anticipated. For example, a major construction project at Bemidji State University was expected to cost $15 million, but is now expected to cost just over $12 million when finished due to lower bids.
Skogen cautions that there is still a lot of work that needs to be done. "This bill still has to pass the Senate, get reconciled with the version coming out of the Minnesota House, repassed, and ultimately signed by the governor," Skogen said, "so some of these projects may yet fall by the wayside. On the other hand, we've got terrific bipartisan cooperation at the local level on these projects, and that will help a lot."
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School payment delay sets bad precedent - 1/29/2010
Minnesota Management and Budget, formerly the Department of Finance, announced on January 26 that the state will hold back school aid payments in order to pay the state's bills this spring.
While administration officials have been hinting that this could happen, I had hoped that it wouldn't. The formula the administration is using to withhold payments from school districts targets those where prudent, conservative local management produced positive fund balances. I don't believe the state should treat well-managed local districts as if they were the rich uncle to a state government that cannot manage its own finances.
If the idea to use local schools to cover the state's fiscal problems seems new, it's because it's never happened before. Minnesota Management and Budget Commissioner Tom Hanson will invoke a never-before-used Minnesota law, passed a generation ago, to cover Minnesota's negative cash balance. Statewide, total aid to be withheld in March and April is $423 million.
In Senate District 10, which makes up all of Otter Tail and Wadena counties, and a portion of Becker County, the cost to affected school districts totals over $4.5 million.
This is the second time in less than 12 months that Minnesota school districts have faced a large cut without legislative approval. Last July, the governor unilaterally cut $1.2 billion with the unallotment shift. Under the new plan, the state would withhold payments once this fiscal year, which ends June 30. However, payments could be withheld again next fall when the new fiscal year is in effect. This new tactic affects 231 of 337 Minnesota districts that were forced to borrow to cover costs because of the previous shift. The average hold back is $689 per student.
The positive cash balances in many districts' budgets aren't excess funds, either. Districts use them as cash flow accounts to ensure that funds are available to pay bills - many of which are owed to local businesses that provide goods and services to our schools. What's more, much of the money comes from property tax collections. No matter what your political leanings, I think we can all agree that the state shouldn't be trying to fix its problems on the backs of Minnesota property owners.
As everyone knows, the fiscal problems facing Minnesota this year are huge - but it's hardly the first time our state has faced a deficit. If Minnesota could go for 24 years without invoking this statute, we ought to be able to make the cuts necessary to avoid using it this year as well. A bill is being introduced to repeal this law, and pending review of the exact language, I expect to support it. |
Use Minnesota's fiscal crisis to improve
government efficiency - 1/14/2010
While it's not good news that the state faces a $1.2 billion shortfall in the current biennium, the crisis forces all of us to scrutinize government services and expenditures more closely than ever.
Already, individuals and organizations are contacting legislators with their own ideas. Among them:
• Save $80 million by reducing outsourced work that could be performed by existing state employees;
• Freeze out-of-state travel for state agencies;
• Reduce the number of politically appointed management positions at state agencies. In just the past year, 65 new managers were hired at a cost of $8.5 million.
According to the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees, there's nearly one manager for every two supervisors at state agencies. If that number is true, that's sounds like an awful lot of people in charge of supervising those - who are supervising those - who are doing the work.
This legislative session, there will be substantial cuts made to state government - the size of the deficit and the current recession means that there is simply no way around that. But we can reduce the effect on citizens by taking a hard look at the way state government goes about providing services.
The guiding principle should be that the greatest percentage of tax dollars spent to perform a service should go to that purpose - not the administration of delivering that service. In other words, as much money as possible spent on education ought to go to learning. As much money as possible spent on health care should go to patient care and therapy, and so on.
The Senate has begun pre-session hearings on efficiency initiatives. This week, the Environment and Natural Resources Policy Committee held a hearing on ideas for finding efficiencies and improving natural resources management. Later in the month, two Senate committees will review the state's economic development agencies and determine if there are better ways the state can deliver assistance to businesses, while creating more jobs throughout the state.
And it won't stop there. If you have ideas you'd like to share, I'd appreciate hearing about them. While the coming budget cuts will be hard for many, finding and implementing better ways to operate state government will be beneficial to everyone for years to come.
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Senator Skogen and Representatives Nornes and Murdock
invite public to area listening sessions - 1/6/2010
State Senator Dan Skogen is urging citizens, business owners, and local government officials to attend one of the local meetings being held throughout the region on January 16 and January 23 in preparation for the Legislature going back into session in February.
State Representatives Bud Nornes and Mark Murdock will also be on hand at the hearings held in the areas they represent.
"The meetings are an opportunity to talk to us face-to-face on issues before the 2010 Legislature, like balancing the state's budget, passing a capital investment bill, and ag and rural economic development issues," said Senator Skogen. "We're here to listen and answer your questions."
Saturday, January 16:
8 a.m. - 9 a.m. - Shoreline Café, Battle Lake
9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. - Farmhouse Café, Underwood
11 a.m. - noon - Dalton Café, Dalton
1 p.m. - 2 p.m. - Café 116, Fergus Falls
2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. - Riverside Café, Pelican Rapids
Saturday, January 23:
8 a.m. - 9 a.m. - The Spot Café, Staples
9:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. - Boondocks Café, Wadena
11 a.m. - noon - J's Family Restaurant, Sebeka
12:30 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. - Cottage House Café, Menahga
2 p.m. - 3 p.m. - The Creamery Restaurant, New York Mills
3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. - Wild Goose Restaurant, Perham
5 p.m. - 6 p.m. - McKanes Restaurant, Henning
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Paid for by the Dan Skogen for State Senate Committee
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