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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
Reasons to offer Thanksgiving
By State Rep. Paul Anderson
With the holiday season upon us, it’s my hope that you had a good Thanksgiving and spent it with family. It’s always good to stop and reflect this time of year on our blessings. Even though these are trying economic times and there are many uncertainties ahead, we as a state and nation still have much to be grateful for.
We should be thankful for our armed forces and all they do to keep us safe. That, really, is one of the basic foundations of life here in the United States of America, because without that freedom and safety, the way we live would be far different.
On the state level, I’m thankful that we must balance the budget every two years. At times the process bogs down and can get political, but at least we stay above water. I have deep concerns about the future and our children’s ability to pay back the massive amount of debt we are accumulating on the federal level. The value of money seems to be lost when we just print more or borrow it from China.
On the local level, I am thankful for the unseasonably warm weather we experienced during the first three weeks of November. If an early start to winter had followed our wet and soggy October, area farmers would have faced disaster. For the most part, soybean harvest has been completed, and the gathering of corn has come along well. True, it’s still too wet and the drying process slows down and makes the harvest more expensive, but to have weather that nice so late in the season was a gift.
Noticed an interesting press release from a company called POET, which is the country’s largest ethanol producer. They claim to have slashed the cost of producing cellulosic ethanol from corn cobs and that they will be able to compete, price-wise, with gasoline within two years. The company, which currently produces 1.5 billion gallons of ethanol per year from corn, said its one-year old pilot project has reduced the cost of making cellulosic ethanol from $4.13 per gallon down to $2.35.
One of the teams in our area, New London-Spicer, is still in the running for a state football championship. We wish the Wildcats good luck in the Prep Bowl. I am on a crew that officiates high school games, and we were selected to work one of the quarter-final games in the state playoffs. Our “white hat” or head official is Bill Mills, who’s the activities director at Minnewaska Area High School. Other members of our crew are Randy Wiener of Sauk Centre, along with Neil Nelson and Josh Kath of Glenwood. We worked the Class A contest at Big Cat Stadium in Morris between Minneota and Barnesville. Minneota came out on top and they, too, are going for a state title.
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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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