Sandra Masin's Blog

I had the opportunity to tour the new Vikings practice facility in Eagan on Friday. It is scheduled to open at the beginning of March. The field that will be available for youth activities is also nearing completion. The complex will be an impressive addition to our community. The building definitely has  a visible presence when you are driving by on 494.

On Wednesday, I attended the 2018 State of the City Address at the Ames Center.  It began with a video that highlighted the 2017 events of the community.

Afterwards, Burnsville Mayor Elizabeth Kautz outlined the plans for the next 20 years. More housing, replacing infrastructure, transportation improvements, and adapting city buildings to meet the needs of the community, were some of the items she mentioned. She talked about maintaining some of the current business areas as well as working on areas that need changes, particularly some of the retail areas. Mayor Kautz was especially enthused about the development potential of land along the river. She painted a bright future for Burnsville and its residents.

Last week, legislators had the opportunity to meet with #196 Superintendent Jane K. Berenz, some staff members, and many other people from the school district.

The visit started with a tour of the new elementary school, East Lake, in Lakeville. It is an impressive facility, spacious and colorful.

Afterwards, we sat down to a roundtable discussion. District #196 is one of the largest school districts in the state.  It has a number of outstanding programs and students with outstanding performances.

On the list of priorities is stable funding, indexing general education formula to inflation, increasing equalilization aid to equalize local tax burden, and allowing local control to renew existing operation tax levies.

Our school districts are still trying to recover from the inadequate funding received during the first half of this decade. Funding our public schools is constitutionally mandated. In addition, we need an educated workforce to have a successful economy.

I saw the Copper Street Brass for the first time tonight at Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church in Eagan. They are an extremely talented group and very entertaining. They performed both traditional Christmas songs as well as themes from TV shows and movies. My favorites were “I Saw Three Ships” and “Carol of the Bells.”

They perform throughout the region, so check them out.

I recently attended the HolidayFest at Hindu Milan Mandir. It is a celebration of the many holidays that are taking place. In addition to the religious observance, we spent most of the evening being entertained by singing and dancing. The talent was outstanding and the clothes are so beautiful. A great way to bring people together during this very special time of the year.

The 39th Annual Minnesota Hmong New Year celebration started today at the St. Paul River Centre. In addition to the program on the main stage, there are many other activities taking place.

The theme this year was “Women In Leadership.”  The keynote speaker was Pa Der Vang, an Associate Professor at St. Catherine University-University of St. Thomas.  She said that the Hmong started immigrating here 42 years ago and gave an overview of their history.  While they have adapted to their new home, they are still trying to retain some of the their traditions like honoring their elders and maintaining their language.  There is no doubt that they have become an important part of our community and the state of Minnesota.

Nyob Zoo Xyoo Tshiab (Happy New Year)

The State of Minnesota held its Veterans Day Celebration at the Inver Grove Heights Veterans Memorial Community Center today. It is always an impressive. event. For one, the 34th Infantry Division Red Bull Band provides the music. Secondly, it is well attended and there is lots of interesting conversation. Third, the speeches help illustrate the importance of observing Veterans Day.

The Keynote speakers were Douglas Bradley and Craig Werner, the authors of  “WE GOTTA GET OUT OF THIS PLACE – THE SOUNDTRACK OF THE VIETNAM WAR.” They talked about how important music was to the troops during that time. It was easier to have veterans tell their stories if they first talked about the music that was important to them while they were in Vietnam.

The highlight is always when the Red Bull Band plays the songs for each branch of the military and the people stand when the music for their branch is played.

U.S. Senators Klobuchar and Franken were in attendance as were U.S. Representatives Tim Walz, Tom Emmer, and Jason Lewis. They did an very good job of emphasizing the importance of our military and paid tribute to them.

Truly a special way to observe Veterans Day.

I saw “SHRAPNEL IN THE HEART”  Friday evening.  It is a very moving play based on letters and remembrances from the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.  Essentially, it takes portions of the book of the same name by Laura Palmer.

The last performance in Eagan is Saturday, November 11, at Advent Church on Lexington at 5:00 p.m..

There was a good turnout this morning for the Fall Housing Summit at St. John Neumann Church in Eagan. It was attended by a number of state legislators, city council members, a school board member, staff from numerous agencies, real estate agents, and many housing advocates.

Madeline Kastler, Housing Manager for Dakota County Social Services, led off the program with some statistics on the impact of homelessness. Anyone who pays more than 30% for housing is considered to have a problem,  Students without stable housing do not do as well in school as do those that do.

The main part of the program was highlighted by a panel of people knowledgeable on the topic.

One question is how do we increase the availability of affordable housing? Another is what should be the role of state government and local government?  We need to solve these issues sooner than later. The need for affordable housing is growing!

Many thanks to all who came to Wildcats yesterday for our campaign event!  There was a lot of good discussion and lots of energy in the room.