By Mark Fischenich
MANKATO — \The dollar amounts aren’t substantial in the face of $2.7 billion in red ink in the state’s upcoming two-year state budget, but a number of area institutions rely at least in part on money from the state Capitol.
Farmamerica
An agricultural interpretive center east of Waseca, Farmamerica is slated to receive $128,000 a year.
The center, a 120-acre site that displays Minnesota’s farm heritage from 1850 to today, has been a regular recipient of state funds since its creation in 1978.
Rep. Tony Cornish, a Good Thunder Republican who has Farmamerica in his district, said the facility also should be a strong contender for grants from a new pool of money financed through a special sales tax approved by the voters last year. The Legacy Fund includes money for hunting and fishing habitat, parks and trails, and arts and heritage programs.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty, who has decided to use the special unallotment powers provided to a governor when a state budget is out of balance, can’t unallot money generated by the constitutional amendment.
The river board
The reorganized board, housed at Minnesota State University, is slated to receive $90,000 a year in the upcoming budget.
The board coordinates efforts to clean up the Minnesota River, serving as a clearinghouse for information and technical advice, said Rep. Terry Morrow, DFL-St. Peter. The board was created in 1995 as part of an initiative to clean up the polluted river.
The rural policy center
The St. Peter-based Center for Rural Policy and Development wasn’t funded in Pawlenty’s budget proposal, but lawmakers in the DFL-dominated Legislature included $100,000 a year. That’s already less than the $250,000 it’s receiving and substantially less than the $500,000 annual support promised by the legislation creating the center in 1997.
The center is a nonpartisan institute created to provide the Legislature and other policy-makers with unbiased research about issues facing rural Minnesota.
Business facilitation
A trio of centers in Blue Earth, Faribault and Martin counties — providing no-cost advice on whether or not entrepreneurs should attempt to launch a business — are eligible for up to $63,000 a year each, although any state money has to be matched with local funds.
For the Riverbend Center for Advanced Entrepreneurial Facilitation, the local match has come from Blue Earth County. But Executive Director Bryan Stading said his organization will probably accept less than $53,000 of the state money.
That’s largely because the center attempts to be frugal, setting an example for the entrepreneurs it helps, Stading said. He also recognizes counties are likely to take a heavy hit because of the state budget crisis and might have trouble matching the entire $63,000.
Stading is also hopeful the legislative support the centers have received might influence the governor to look elsewhere for budget cuts.
“There are a number of senators and representatives that support the program, mainly because the program does what it’s supposed to do,” he said.
Homeless vets
The Minnesota Assistance Council for Veterans, which provides housing for homeless veterans in several cities including Mankato, received twice as much funding as Gov. Tim Pawlenty proposed in his budget.
But the $500,000 a year in funding is half the $1 million the organization is receiving after a special appropriation in the last state budget. The good news for the program, which operates the 11-unit Paul and Dorothy Radichel Veterans Town Homes near River Hills Mall, is that Pawlenty has specifically mentioned spending for veterans as an area he believes should be protected.
IRETI
The Legislature provided a $1.5 million appropriation for a green-energy laboratory at Minnesota State University. The International Renewable Energy Technology Institute would be an MSU-based testing lab for Swedish technology, including furnaces and boilers that use pelletized wood and other biomass as fuel.
The lab would do a variety of work to make the Swedish technology compatible with American standards, including emissions tests and Underwriters Laboratories certification. Local supporters hope the lab will lead to the placement of production facilities in the region, which would bring manufacturing, marketing and sales jobs.
