Dear Neighbor,
It has been a busy stretch of meetings, including one I attended in St. Paul this week to address Minnesota's overpopulated prisons.
A bonding proposal would help create more beds, but it still looks like we would be approximately 500 short. Talks have picked up recently in regard to starting up the mothballed Prairie Correctional Facility in Appleton. A common-sense approach to reopening that 1,600-bed prison, which was privately operated before closing in 2010, would mitigate the bed shortage and also bring many good jobs to an area that could really use an economic boost.
Here is a roundup of other news items:
DNR groundwater forums continue
I encourage local citizens to attend two upcoming meetings scheduled to discuss the DNR's Groundwater Threshold Project. Public participation is important in this process in order to put thoughts, ideas and concerns on the record as the DNR considers a course of action. Three public forums already have taken place on this issue. Click here to see a recap of a previous meeting and get a feel for what was discussed.
The next two meetings will take place 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on both Nov. 13 and Dec. 3 at Golden Valley City Hall (7800 Golden Valley Rd., Golden Valley, MN 55427).
MnDOT planning meetings scheduled
MnDOT is planning a series of three workshops to discuss its statewide transportation plans. These discussions are designed to allow citizens and stakeholders opportunities to provide MnDOT with input as it updates the Statewide Multimodal Transportation Plan and the 20-year Minnesota State Highway Investment Plan through one joint process.
The meetings all run from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. and the format and information presented at each forum will be the same. Sites include:
Nov. 5 in Mankato
Nov. 6 in Minneapolis
Nov. 9 in Brainerd
You can check out www.minnesotago.org for more information.
Property tax refunds available
Many dollars go unclaimed from the Minnesota Property Tax Refund Program that is available to homeowners and renters in our state. Here is some information I hope will help people obtain the refund checks they are due:
The final date to claim the 2014 refund is Aug. 15, 2016. That means homestead property owners who missed the Aug. 15, 2015 deadline still have time to make application for the property tax refund. Below are three links with more details, including income-based qualification standards.
Forms and instructions helps homeowners understand this program.
Filing for the Property Tax Refund addresses the electronic filing for this refund.
Property Tax Refund online filing system relates to information about the on-line filing system.
I hope you find this information helpful.
Good luck,
Jeff