Community Solutions Podcast

www.commsolutionsmn.com- This last week, Ilhan Omar made a speech that was smilar to a Donald Trump speech... except that it was about Somalia. It called for a Somalia-first policy, including a secure Somalian border . If the Squad didn't have hypocrisy, it wouldn't have any political strategy at all. Never mind that she took an oath to put our country and our constitution before all others and to...

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Well... It's January, and with that, we have new city council and school board members in select locations. St Paul has set a record. No, not for the most females on an elected body, but for possibly the most juvenile and uninformed public meeting in history. They sat around and cheered that there were no elected men on the council, had a guy run around the room with a bub...

www.commsolutionsmn.com- We're back with season 8, and we're off to a raging start. We're going after an issue that seems like a national issue, but it really doesn't get more local than what's in your wallet.  The Federal Reserve has been talking about issuing a new currency … a progammmable digital-based currency. This isn't the first time a new US currency has been implemented. Most times the A...

www.commsolutionsmn.com- We have recorded 299 episodes over seven seasons. That's a bunch more than most podcasts. We have stood the test of time, and taught many in Minnesota (and elsewhere) all about the ins and outs of local government. We've done shows on budgets, government handouts, local elections, transit, property taxes, and bike lanes. You can only tear apart so many Comprehensive Annual...

www.commsolutionsmn.com- It's no secret, we hate odd year elections. Very few people come out, and the majority of those are activists, union members, and the uber political. Should 3,500 people decide who makes policy for a city of 50,000? Why don't we just make it easy for people to vote? We hear so much about making it as easy as possible for everyone to have their voice heard, and then so many...

www.commsolutionsmn.com- The war in Israel is front and center on the world stage, and there are a number of things that are starting to surface, that we didn't think that we would ever see again. When Hamas blindsided Israeli families and concertgoers on not only their Sabbath, but also on a huge religious holiday, it proved its cowardice and barbarism. At least everyone is condemning it. Well......

www.commsolutionsmn.com- If we want to change the direction of our government, it takes us getting serious about our local elections. Top-down government never works, but yet we almost completely ignore the offices that are closest to us. The real problem is that we are playing a game that progressives created and wrote the rules to. Almost every city in Minnesota (and really, in the nation) are e...

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Our fantastic legislature passed a 1% increase in the sales tax this year that just took effect. This pushes Minneapolis' sales tax up over 9% and St. Paul is almost at 10%! Of course, the DFL wants to claim that this increase is "for the kids", yet the kids never seem to be any better off. Our taxes keep going up, and it's getting harder to keep up with the increases. Par...

www.commsolutionsmn.com- We hear all around us about the impending doom that is climate change. A group called C40 Cities in collaboration with Arup advisors have come up with some ambitious climate goals so that we can all save the earth... or something like that. There's a problem, however, that if we do these things, we will have to completely give up our way of life. Their JUMP Campaign demand...

www.commsolutionsmn.com-   Ramsey County is trying to pass a $842 million budget , and there is no expense spared . It's 750 pages of endless spending to the tune of almost $1 billion. They have huge personnel costs, as they have well over 4,000 employees. There is all sorts of state aid and federal aid, mixed with bonding, to meet the demands that they have laid out. Ramsey County has hundreds of...

www.commsolutionsmn.com- It's no secret, our school districts are struggling with discipline issues. The inmates run the asylum, with schools allowing them to talk back to teachers, be physically violent with teachers, and with grading standards being erased. Parents no longer back the teachers, and the Teacher's Union is the one empowering the students over the teachers. Teachers need to give fee...

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Just about everyone agrees that the Met Council is way too powerful. They threaten cities with litigation if they don't fall into line. So what glorious ideas are both Republicans and Democrats agreeing upon to fix this problem? Dismantle their authority? Of course not! We're going to elect them ! People don't know who their county commissioner or park district representat...

Golden Valley is a mess. In their pursuit for "equity" they are destroying the city. They wrote an equity plan that required all contractors looking to do business in Golden Valley to answer certain equity-related questions. They put equity ahead of fairness and have a plan to ensure things work that way. Equity has become the foremost standard in hiring police officers, which by the way, they are...

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Minneapolis Public Schools just approved a $976 million budget . That's almost $1 billion! They cite rising costs and lower enrollment. Shouldn't fewer students equal fewer dollars spent? Maybe they can afford it? Not a chance. The district is running a $42 million deficit. This is absolutely irresponsible. Kim Ellison (yes, of the Keith Ellison "Ellisons") is a major fact...

www.commsolutions.com-  I'm sure that you all heard that there was a huge tax surplus in St Paul. Don't stay up waiting for your check. It ain't coming. So after spending all of the extra money they stole, that should be the end of it... right? Of course not!!! They passed a bonding bill in a non-bonding year with Republican help! Thanks guys!!! Remember, that a bond is a debt instrument , so it's...

www.commsolutionsmn.com- On their way out of session, the Minnesota Legislature passed an education omnibus bill . As you know, we hate omnibus bills. So much junk passes through in these things, and the Republicans are just as complicit as the Democrats. They could choose to stop this horrible practice with a unified "no" vote, but they refuse. Is education now fully funded? Instead, Republicans...

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Police departments are starting to fly surveillance drones over cities . Don't we have a fourth amendment anymore? Aren't we supposed to be secure in our persons, homes, papers, and effects? How can this be allowed? Yet if we say anything, the same people that marched in the streets and ran for office on the platform of defunding the police call us anti-police. Hello, pot?...

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Everyone is talking about 2024 and who will be running for president. Did you know that many places will be having school and municipal elections this year? There's one problem...  almost no one votes in odd year elections . Townships can have elections whenever, as can school districts with referendum votes. We currently see totals of 10, 15, 20%, of total registered vote...

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Our cities are expected to be built the same as each other, using the exact same infrastructure, zoning, and policies. Everything is interconnected and collecting, analyzing, and reporting all different kinds of data. They're pushing electric vehicles, smart meters, and safer streets. They monitor activity and use that to try and drive behavior. They are putting sensors on...

www.commsolutionsmn.com- The Gold Line Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line just got a huge financial shot in the arm from the Federal government. It is only a 10-mile line, and $240 million alone is coming from the Feds. $120 million a piece have come from Ramsey and Washington counties. That is such a short route, and it stops in so few places. It will serve such a small segment of the population, but t...

www.commsolutionsmn.com- There is no end to the amount of money that government is asking from us. The problem is that the costs grow out of control as we implement all of these new green regulations. Thrifty is a word not found in the government dictionary.  Stearns County wants a new jail , but it will cost at least $300 million, which is only three times what they originally thought. They want...

www.commsolutionsmn.com- We haven't talked about Minnesota's Department of Natural Resources (DNR) much on this show, but they make a lot of rules that affects a lot of local cities and businesses. When they mess around with the slot sizes and limits, it can affect the level of businesses at the resorts, bait shops, gas stations, and restaurants. If you can't keep any fish, few people will want to...

www.commsolutionsmn.com- I'm not sure that anyone can explain how property taxes are figured out, but we're going to give it a shot. You get the county, the city, and the school district, all with their hands in the pie. There are 47-some classifications of properties, despite there being four main classifications (residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural). But as with all things, gov...

www.commsolutionsmn.com- Property ownership is a bedrock of American society. It has been ingrained in the fabric of our great country since before the beginning. Yet, government has found a way to confiscate our property, despite what the constitution says. Government came up with eminent domain as a way to take that property back. They would just take what they wanted, when they wanted it. Then...

www.communitysolutionsmn.com- I'm sure that you've heard about the 150 car train derailment in East Palestine , OH on February 3rd. The train was full of a number of dangerous chemicals, including vinyl chloride, which was used as a poison in World War I. The Federal government has avoided and ignored this situation up to now. The state of Ohio has finally began to get involved, but there's a lot...