Latest news with #GaryDahms
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Lawmaker sought replacement site for closed Minnesota state park
May 27---- Minnesota Sen. Gary Dahms explored the possibility of replacing the with a new state park, but ran into challenges that he could not overcome. Dahms, a Republican from , told attendees at a town hall meeting in Granite Falls last week that he had a potential replacement site identified and landowners open to the possibility of selling land for a new state park. The state senator said he identified a "beautiful, really nice site" that could be developed for use as a state park. Property owners on two sides of the site indicated they were willing to sell land for use as a state park. On a third side of the site, the land is already state-owned, according to Dahms. The 1,300-acre state park was closed in February of 2024 and the land transferred to the the following month. The is in the process of awarding funds from a $5 million allocation included in the transfer legislation. The DNR is entering joint powers agreements to provide allocations of $1.55 million each to Renville County, Yellow Medicine County and the city of Granite Falls for improvements to their parks. Dahms said during the May 21 town hall that he had hoped to include a $20 million appropriation in the state bonding bill toward the acquisition of the land and development of structures for its use as a park. He said he wanted to put the funds in a trust for a five-year period, as it would take time to acquire the land and complete the work required for a new park. He learned that state bond monies cannot be set aside in a trust fund. Bond funds can only be used if purchase agreements are in place and the design and engineering for new structures and infrastructure are completed. Dahms said he informed the Department of Natural Resources about the possible replacement site. He said the DNR was initially excited about the possibility, but soon informed him there were a number of things that would not work out. Dahms said he initially had hoped the DNR would move forward with a replacement park, but not so now. "They told me how much they were looking," he said. But the senator said he now believes the DNR is instead looking to put the idea in the "rearview mirror." Dahms also expressed his continued frustration with the process that led to the closure and transfer of the state park. "That deal was so cut and dried and put to bed. It was all internal," he said. He explained that some members of the Senate Environmental, Climate and Legacy Committee were not aware of the legislation prior to its first hearing before them during the 2023 legislative session. At that time, Dahms said he received a call over the prior weekend from his Republican colleague State Sen. Andrew Lang, R-Olivia, who informed him of the upcoming hearing and the legislation for the transfer. Lang learned about the hearing after he had received a call from a news reporter inquiring about it. Dahms said he spoke on the day of the hearing to representatives of the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and who told him it was also the first they knew of the transfer plans. Dahms said he believed some of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party majority leaders and governor were aware of the legislation in advance, but no Republicans knew about it. The bill calling for the transfer was introduced by State Sen. Mary Kunesh, DFL-New Brighton, and approved during the 2023 legislative session. Dahms said the DFL senator had not informed him about the legislation, even though the state park property is in his district.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Minn. Sen. Gary Dahms says close split played role in forcing special session
May 24---- Differences over funding for health care coverage for undocumented immigrants was the major sticking point that upended a budget agreement and has led the to need a special session to finalize a budget, according to State Sen. Gary Dahms, R- . Dahms told attendees at a town hall meeting in Granite Falls on Wednesday that the divided Legislature — with 100 Republicans and 101 Democrats — made it far more difficult to reach compromise than many had expected. "It's hard to maneuver and get much done," he said. The tight split meant the relatively small People of Color and Indigenous caucus within the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party had the leverage to stop an agreement that would have ended health care coverage for undocumented immigrants ages 18 and over beginning Jan. 1, 2026. Coverage would have continued for their children as part of a compromise agreement, according to Dahms. The caucus consists of five House and five Senate DFL'ers, and they protested what Dahms termed a "reasonable" budget agreement the two parties' leaders had approved one week ago. The Legislature is expected to hold a three-day special session in the coming week to resolve its budget differences. While stating it was not the cause, Dahms also criticized the decision by DFL'ers in the House not to gather in St. Paul for the first 23 days of the session as contributing to the current situation. A dispute over a residency challenge led House DFL members to boycott the start of the session until it was resolved. Republicans continued to meet, but they lacked a quorum to approve legislation, according to a State Supreme Court ruling. The absence of DFL members at the session's start served to slow the process as Senate committees waited for House committees to complete their bills, Dahms explained. "Most of us realized down the road how big of an impact that was going to happen," he said. The Wednesday town hall meeting was to have included State Rep. Chris Swedzinski, R-Ghent, but Swedzinski had to remain in St. Paul as part of the negotiations taking place prior to the special session, according to Dahms. The two jointly host after-session town halls in their districts, but this year's work remains unfinished. There remains uncertainty as to the fate of a number of measures. Dahms said the greater share of expected spending cuts in the new budget will be in the form of "shifts" in responsibilities to counties and cities. Some of the biggest shifts will occur in support for skilled nursing care for the elderly, Dahms said. Overall, he warned that the shift in burdens to counties and cities will result in an average 10% to 12% property tax increase, although the actual impact will vary among the counties. Add inflation, and local governments could be raising property taxes by 14% to 18%, according to one projection he has seen. "That is just unaffordable," Dahms said. On top of the shift in burden, Dahms said the latest budget proposal — as of the town hall meeting — calls for decreasing state aid to nursing homes by $250 million. "No way they can take that," he said. Dahms said the expected cut to nursing homes is roughly the same as the projected costs for continuing health care coverage for undocumented immigrants. Dahms said he expects that a $700 million capital investment or bonding bill will be approved in special session. It is much lower than the $1.2 billion that Senate DFL'ers are seeking, he said. The $700 million is based on an analysis from the Office of Budget Management. A larger, $1.2 billion bonding bill will likely be taken up for debate in the next session, he said.
