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State Representative Paul Anderson
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4317
For more information contact: House GOP Communications 651-296-5520
GUEST COLUMN
GOLD STAR LICENSE PLATES UNVEILED
Notes From the Capitol
By State Rep. Paul Anderson
Beginning Oct. 1, Minnesota will join approximately 40 other states in offering “Gold Star” license plates. These auto plates will be made available to parents and spouses of those killed in active military service. Governor Pawlenty signed legislation back in May authorizing the issuance of these new plates.
The concept of the gold star dates back to World War I when a British mother began wearing a gold star following her son’s death. Since then, a single gold star has become a symbol for those grieving for a loved one lost in military service.
Application for the new Gold Star plates can be made through the mail or at any Minnesota Driver and Vehicle Service deputy registrar’s office. Application forms may be obtained at the following web site: www.mndriverinfo.org.
Vehicles displaying the new plates are subject to the standard registration fees, but there is no additional charge for the Gold Star plates or for their replacement should they become damaged.
As classes resumed this fall at Minnesota’s colleges and universities, not all new students were freshmen. According to the Minnesota Private College Council, nearly 25 percent of new students at its member schools are transfer students. In part because of the economy, a growing number of students are beginning their higher education at community colleges before transferring to four-year schools to get their degrees. Technical and vocational schools are also seeing higher enrollment figures. Alexandria Technical College has an agreement with Bemidji State University that allows students to take their general education courses at Alex before transferring and finishing work on their degrees.
The demographics of higher education students are also changing. Many of today’s students are displaced workers back in school to obtain further training. Some are earning a second degree. In addition, many students are already working and need to schedule classes during evenings or on weekends.
As our workforce population ages and begins to shrink, there is an added concern about large numbers of high school graduates attending college elsewhere and possibly not returning to Minnesota when they finish college. According to the Private College Council, research suggests that most students seek employment and permanent residence in the state where they graduate from college.
These decisions will have ever-increasing economic and workforce implications for Minnesota. Over the past six years, more students have left the state than have come here for college. In 2008, Minnesota experienced a net loss of 6,000 college students, with North Dakota and Iowa having the highest influx of Minnesota students. Interestingly, Arizona is the only state outside the Upper Midwest that is a large net importer of our students.
With debate going on in Washington concerning greenhouse gas reductions, talk of global warming seems to have subsided – at least in our part of the world. Last winter was more normal again, and this past summer was anything but warm. However, according to the National Climatic Data Center, more than 1,500 weather records were either broken or tied last week alone! Many of the those records pertained to precipitation in the South, but 227 high-temperature extremes were reported during the week of Sept. 13-19, while only 20 low-temp extremes occurred.
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Rep. Anderson encourages constituents to contact his new office with input regarding any state legislative issue. He can be reached on the web at www.house.mn/13A and via email at rep.paul.anderson@house.mn. To contact Anderson by phone, call (651) 296-4317. Mail can be sent to Rep. Paul Anderson, 239 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., St. Paul, Minnesota 55155.
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