ST. PAUL, Minn. - Gov. Mark Dayton is using his State of the State address to push lawmakers to adopt his top proposals while reminding them that Minnesota voters will render a verdict on their performance in November.
The dual approach illustrates Dayton's key challenge: He needs Republican help to pass his agenda but he'll be looking to topple their majorities in the fall elections.
On a Vikings Stadium
Governor Dayton says his administration and lawmakers "may be getting close to a site, a deal and a bill" for a new Minnesota Vikings football stadium.
He urged lawmakers to press ahead on a proposal this session and not let it linger into the fall or beyond.
Dayton suggests that some lawmakers may prefer to avoid a vote on the thorny issue until after the November election. He calls that unfair to unemployed construction workers and the team.
The Vikings and public officials have yet to nail down where a new stadium would be built, how much it would cost or where the money would come from.
Faster Permits
Accelerating Minnesota business permits is one area where Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican lawmakers have worked in concert over the past year.
And Dayton says the effort is paying off.
Dayton said that 99 percent of priority permit applications are being completed by pollution control and natural resource regulators within 150 days.
The governor added an anecdotal example of a wood products business from northern Minnesota that credits the permit speed-up with easing a major expansion.
Dayton and lawmakers are studying other licensing and permitting changes this session that could save government and businesses time and money.
Dayton's Father
Gov. Mark Dayton's 93-year-old father cancelled plans to watch his son deliver his State of the State Address because he wasn't feeling well enough to attend.
Bruce Dayton was going to watch Wednesday's speech from a seat in the House balcony, but Dayton's staff says he didn't feel up to it. Dayton had to rewrite an opening portion of his speech where he introduced his father.
Dayton still mentioned in the speech how he and his father have lunch together every Sunday at Bruce Dayton's home in Long Lake. That's where Dayton grew up.
The governor planned to praise his father's decades-ago preservation of an old-growth forest on his property as an example of how Minnesotans must be good stewards for future generations.
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