I am writing to voice my opposition to the Freedom Foundation of Minnesota’s June 16 claim that the City of Mankato has engaged in “dubious and frivolous spending” when it awarded a $2,500 arts grant to the Mankato Area Community Band. The statement was made in anticipation of Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s unallotment decision (issued the same day) that cut $3 million from Mankato’s city budget.

The Freedom Foundation of Minnesota describes itself as “a conservative foundation which advocates personal responsibility and limited government.” My question to the members of this organization is: Who decides what constitutes “dubious and frivolous spending?” If the elected representatives of Mankato’s citizenry aren’t capable of such a task, then what gives them (Freedom Foundation) the right to do so? Had they done their homework before issuing such a rash statement, I strongly suspect, the Freedom Foundation would not have included the community band on their list of items that should be cut from the Mankato city budget.

Let me explain. Originally founded in 1922 as the Mankato Elk’s Band, the Mankato Area Community Band has had a long tradition of both educating and entertaining young and old alike. Membership in the band is open to anyone who enjoys playing a band instrument, who is able to sight-read music, and who is willing to donate two nights a week to practicing for and performing a series of six outdoor concerts in Mankato’s Sibley Park.

It should be noted that these concerts are free to the public.

For many years, the band was automatically funded by the City of Mankato; however, it is now required to apply annually for a community arts grant, such as the one cited by the Freedom Foundation as “frivolous.”

Without these funds, the band would have no other means of meeting its operating expenses. Because competition for these grants from other worthy organizations is stiff, there is no guarantee that the community band will receive one, unless it can fulfill its stated mission of “providing a quality musical experience to the people of Mankato and the surrounding communities of south-central Minnesota.”

I am proud to say that the band has not only met, but surpassed this expectation. Attendance averages 500 people per concert; at the June 30, Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Tribute concert, there were 700-plus people in attendance.

Besides the practical matter of dollars and cents, there is a moral issue at stake that I wish to address. While the band plays a variety of concert music, ranging from classical to jazz to highlights from musicals and show tunes, much of its repertoire is patriotic in nature. Who can call patriotism a waste of money? Who can deny veterans, assisted living residents, senior citizens, young children, and people with special needs their right to enjoy live music at an affordable price?

What the Freedom Foundation fails to recognize (and perhaps fears) is that music is human kind’s most democratic form of expression. It is the great equalizer, because music appeals to everybody. It is both therapeutic and relaxing. It provides emotional support that reinforces our most fundamental ideals as a nation.

Instead of criticizing the Mankato City Council and Mayor John Brady for approving the arts grant, the Freedom Foundation should rather be advocating for the band’s continued existence, if for no other reason than to “promote family values.” While they’re at it, the Freedom Foundation should advocate reinstatement of music education programs in the public schools, in order to maintain a high level of quality musicians.

I invite the members of the Freedom Foundation to attend a Mankato Community Band concert, instead of sniping at the organization from the sidelines. If they did, it is likely the Foundation would be singing a completely different tune than the one they are singing now.



Bryce Stenzel is president of Mankato Area Community Band. He lives in St. Clair.