Accessibility menu
State Representative Dean Urdahl
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4344
For more information contact: Jodi Boyne 651-296-0640
NEWS RELEASE
2005 STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS SHOWS VISION
ROCHESTER, MINN. - State Representative Dean Urdahl, R-Grove City, Tuesday said he was encouraged by Governor Tim Pawlenty’s State of the State Address, especially his call for more ethanol use and more funding for the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program.
“The governor’s speech hit all the right notes,” Rep. Urdahl said. “I think he showed a real commitment to the entire state, including Greater Minnesota.”
The governor called on the legislature to pass his proposal to double the amount of ethanol sold in Minnesota. Increased ethanol would be a welcome stimulus to the farm economy, Rep. Urdahl said, in addition to its environmental and national security benefits.
The governor also highlighted plans to raise K-12 education spending, create jobs, and hold down local taxes through what he calls a “Turbocharged Truth in Taxation” that would allow citizen input to trigger a referendum on local levies.
Governor Pawlenty also highlighted higher education, focusing on a plan to follow the example set by Winona State University that creates “Centers of Excellence” in Minnesota’s higher education institutions. He also said his office will begin studying the possibility of giving more state aid money to students, rather than institutions, so that universities would be forced into a more competitive environment where their financial livelihood depended, to an extent, on its overall quality. The governor said he hopes to have a plan finalized in time for the 2008-2009 budget.
“The governor showed he has a vision for the future of our state and I look forward to working with him to implement it,” Urdahl said.
This was the first State of the State Governor Pawlenty delivered outside the State Capitol. Instead, he chose to deliver the address at a Mayo Clinic support facility in Rochester, Minn., to trumpet his landmark Job Opportunity Building Zones (JOBZ) program. The facility, which now receives and processes blood and tissue samples, was closed last year when the previous occupier moved its 800 jobs overseas. Now, more than 700 people work there and the Mayo Clinic plans to add even more.
“It’s just another example of how well we can do when we have a government that works for the people, not against them,” Rep. Urdahl said.
Full-text of the 2005 State of the State Address can be found on the web at www.governor.state.mn.us.
News Items
- Law to assist military honor guards will take effect - (Posted: 2012-06-22 00:00:00)
- Memorial Day tribute - (Posted: 2012-05-25 00:00:00)
- Legacy Division delivers while facing its own set of challenges - (Posted: 2012-05-25 00:00:00)
- Archived News Items
- Subscribe to RSS News Feeds
- Read more about RSS.