Flaherty & Hood recently staffed the 2012 Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities Summer Conference. Over 80 representatives from 37 Greater Minnesota cities headed to Owatonna July 25-27 for informative sessions, CGMC administrative meetings, and fun community activities.
Elizabeth Wefel and Nancy Larson recently gave a presentation to the Minnesota Association of Rehabilitation Providers (MARP).
Flaherty & Hood has secured bonding for many clients and is available to help advance your project next session.
On behalf of the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities (CGMC), staff at Flaherty & Hood launched the Greater Minnesota Advocate, a weekly informational resource for legislators covering important developments on CGMC program areas—property tax relief and LGA, economic development, land use, the environment, energy, transportation, labor and employee relations—all from a rural perspective.
In late January, shareholder/attorney Tim Flaherty and senior media advisor Glen Fladeboe embarked on a media tour through the cities of Alexandria, Moorhead, East Grand Forks, Thief River Falls and Bemidji to respond to the legislative majority’s "Phase 1" budget bill, which cuts roughly $1 billion in state spending, $149 million of which comes from city aid programs.
On January 11, 2011, senior attorney/lobbyist Elizabeth Wefel spoke at a CLE seminar for the Ramsey County Bar Association and provided a preview of the 2011 legislative session.
U.S. Sen. Al Franken joined members of the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities (CGMC) on Veterans Day as keynote speaker for the organization’s annual fall conference, which was held November 10 – 12 in Alexandria.
Conventional wisdom at the Capitol held that if both houses remained in Democratic hands and Mark Dayton took the governor’s office, a large bonding bill would jumpstart the 2011 legislative session and revisit projects vetoed by Governor Pawlenty in 2010.
The change in party control of the legislature will also bring a change in its committee structure. On November 16, the House and Senate Republican majority leadership unveiled their plan to "streamline" the House and Senate committees, including reducing the number of Senate committees from 25 to 16, and the number of House committees from 36 to 24.
This summer, the Minnesota Association of Rehabilitation Providers (MARP) successfully fended off potentially devastating rule changes through quick action, strong analytical and communication efforts, and teamwork.
Improving the state-local relationship sparked constructive debate amongst the candidates for governor and state auditor who joined the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities (CGMC) in Winona August 19.
A new online tool produced for the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities challenges users to bridge the state's $5.8 billion budget gap.
J.D. Burton, attorney/lobbyist with Flaherty & Hood, was invited to participate in a series of working group meetings designed to craft selection criteria for highway interchange projects throughout the state.
A jobs bill (H.F. 2695) recently enacted by the Minnesota legislature and signed by the governor offers cities and other local governments a unique opportunity to help citizens make their homes and businesses more energy efficient, and at the same time, encourage small scale renewable energy.
Included in the jobs bill with the PACE program is an item proposed last year by the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities (CGMC), a Flaherty & Hood client, in a bill intended to improve land use and planning.
On behalf of the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities (CGMC), attorney/lobbyist J.D. Burton secured $8.5 million for the Greater Minnesota Business Development Public Infrastructure grant program, an economic development tool that helps outstate cities attract and retain local jobs by providing up to 50 percent of needed capital improvement costs.