The plan won support from Gov. Tim Pawlenty. DFLers also have ideas to provide some kind of relief from soaring college costs, making legislative action appear likely.
December 29, 2006
StarTribune
Pat Doyle
With a growing bipartisan chorus calling for college tuition relief, the new House Republican leader on Thursday proposed a one-year tuition freeze at Minnesota colleges and universities, and the idea picked up support from Gov. Tim Pawlenty.
"Our plan will help the average student catch up to the skyrocketing costs ... encountered in earning a college degree," said Rep. Marty Seifert, R-Marshall.
The DFL majority in the Legislature also supports tuition relief but members labeled the Republican plan inadequate in scope and details. While Seifert said a tuition freeze could be financed in large part through cuts in school spending, a leading Democrat said increasing the state's appropriations to colleges and universities is a better option.
"A one-year fix is all well and good, but students go to college for at least four years," said Rep. Tony Sertich, DFL-Chisholm, the incoming majority leader, who dubbed the House Republican proposal "a one-time gimmick."
But the proposal is another sign that some kind of tuition help is likely to be a priority in the legislative session that starts next week.
Tuition has risen by nearly 50 percent since 2002 at the University of Minnesota in the Twin Cities, after adjusting for inflation, according to the Minnesota Office of Higher Education.
It rose about 40 percent at four-year schools in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system (MnSCU).
High tuition became a key issue in the legislative campaigns leading up to the November election, and Sertich attributed some of the gains by DFLers to their support for relief.
Welcome back, bizfolk, to the right question: How can Minnesota build its skilled workforce?
December 19, 2006
StarTribune
Lori Sturdevant
It was predictable -- economically, demographically, politically. The skilled worker shortage that was all Minnesota employers talked about in the late 1990s was bound to be back.
All it took for the "too-few-workers" lament to return were a solid recovery from recession, the start of boomer retirements, and a squeeze on state higher education spending.
Sure enough, "workforce" is back on top as the No. 1 "drag on economic growth" in Minnesota. That's according to the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce's latest findings from a year of interviewing 797 business owners around the state. Worker issues beat out lousy transportation and -- amazingly -- high taxes, which have fallen to Gripe No. 3.
The same worry is afflicting the 110 biggies who make up the Minnesota Business Partnership, said its executive director, Charlie Weaver. Availability and quality of trained workers are "the No. 1 issue for our members. How do we ensure that we'll have a workforce that can do the job?"