The Free Press, Mankato, MN

Local News

January 17, 2012

Senjem says Senate bonding proposal to emphasize higher ed and infrastructure

By Dan Linehan Free Press Staff Writer

MANKATO —  

Senate Majority Leader Dave Senjem said the Senate’s bonding bill will emphasize higher education and state infrastructure more than Gov. Mark Dayton’s plan.

The city of Mankato’s $14.5 million request to renovate and expand its Verizon Wireless Center would seem not to fit in either category. But the city is making a bigger effort to link the civic center with its biggest tenant, Minnesota State University and its hockey teams.

When the Senate Bonding Committee, which Senjem also heads, came to town Tuesday, the city employed this new strategy. It included moving the women’s hockey team downtown, $5.8 million in arena improvements and more prominent branding of the civic center as the home of MSU hockey. (See accompanying story.)

After the meeting, Senjem said the state’s interest — MSU as a tenant, in other words — would be important when the committee releases its bonding list.

“They’ve got hockey needs,” he said, and fixing their arena would be cheaper than building new.

In past years (and vetoes) the city has focused on a lack of parity — other civic centers have received state money while Mankato’s has not — but this time the city is focusing on its economic impact and the MSU connection.

The proposal, kicked off by an MSU employee and held in an MSU ballroom, was attended by perhaps 150 people, including many Mankato business people. There were several other bonding proposals presented, but most of the crowd left after the civic center presentation.

Even so, civic centers are not likely to be first on Republicans’ bonding list.

Infrastructure, especially old roads, bridges and wastewater systems, are likely to come first.

And the Minnesota Senate’s bonding bill may end up being smaller than Dayton’s. Senjem said a February 2011 forecast showed the state could safely borrow $915 in the biennium. Last year’s bonding bill was $497 million, which would leave $417 million for this year’s, much smaller than Dayton’s $775 million proposal.

Text Only | Photo Reprints
Local News
  • mfp fire autism 3 pic.jpg Scary environment turns into a safety-centered one

    Specialized training familiarizes kids who have autism with firefighters and vice versa.

    May 21, 2013 3 Photos

  • mfp robb colum pic Sad closure for a favorite story

    By the time I met Judy Roe, it was already too late. I met her at a dinner table at Pathstone Living, an assisted-living and nursing home facility near Sibley Park in Mankato. I'd been invited by her husband, Jim Roe.

    May 21, 2013 1 Photo

  • N. Kato seeking consultants for major plan

    The North Mankato City Council set the stage for two long-term plans Monday night, one for economic development and the other a comprehensive plan.

    May 21, 2013

  • Repairs to ruts, roads underway Q: I have noticed deep, muddy ruts along sidewalks that were plowed by, I assume, the city. I have seen them quite a few places, including in my neighborhood along Hoffman Road. The grass is gone and the ruts are deep -- deep enough for someone to br

    May 21, 2013

  • Mankato Schools employees recognized MANKATO -- The Mankato Area School Board got to know a few of its employees a little better Monday night when they were recognized for many years of service. Bios were read aloud by Board Chair Ann Hendricks for employees who have worked 30 and 35 ye

    May 21, 2013

  • Mankato earns GreenStep designation from state departments

    The city of Mankato has taken another step in Minnesota's sustainable cities program, earning the Step Two GreenStep City designation for its efforts to reduce energy use and implement other measures aimed at sustainability.

    May 21, 2013

  • St. Peter surplus on auction block

    Listings of the city of St. Peter's surplus property are available from an online: www.fss.state.mn.us/SurplusServices.html. Friday is the deadline for bidding.

    May 21, 2013

  • N. Kato approves $150K water project

    |The North Mankato City Council approved a $149,840 bid on Monday to coat the interior of a water tower. Maguire Iron, Inc., of Sioux Falls, made the lowest of eight bids.

    May 21, 2013

  • Feelings mixed on anti-bullying bill delay

    A bill that would have strengthened efforts to combat bullying in Minnesota's schools will not become law this year, which surprised and disheartened Minnesota State University professor Walter Roberts.

    May 20, 2013

  • mfp Thrift shop1 Hopp's hope

     Hopp's Thrift Store isn't run by a nonprofit. And it isn't filled with racks of used clothing or furniture. Instead, it's geared toward a different clientele -- guys

    May 20, 2013 2 Photos

Featured Ads
AP Video
Tim Cook Defends Apple's Tax Accounting AP Photograher: 'It Was a Miracle' They Got Out Raw: Crews Search for Survivors of Okla. Tornado Raw: Tearful Reunion After Okla. Tornado OKC Hospital Describes Treating Tornado Wounded Obama Pledges Urgent Aid for Tornado Victims Raw: Massive Funnel Clouds in Oklahoma