Contact Information: 227 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155. Phone: (651) 296-1534. E-mail: rep.ron.shimanski@house.mn.

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2006 MCA Candidate Survey Results: Candidate did not respond to survey.

Additional Notes from MCA: None.

Contact Information: 239 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155. Phone: (651) 296-4344 or (800) 920-5861. E-mail: rep.dean.urdahl@house.mn.

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2006 MCA Candidate Survey Results: Candidate did not respond to survey.

Additional Notes from MCA: Rep. Urdahl displays many pieces of original artwork by artists from his district in his St. Paul office. Rep. Urdahl is also a published writer of short stories.

Contact Information: 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
State Office Building, Room 103, St. Paul, MN 55155-1206. Phone: 651.296.4131.

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2006 MCA Candidate Survey Results:

1. Minnesota’s nearly 1600 non-profit arts and cultural organizations provide access to the arts and support quality of life in every corner of the state. While providing over 22,000 jobs, arts organizations served nearly 4.5 million people in 2004.
What arts activities have you attended, participated in or supported in the last year?
Check all that apply: Music, Theater, Visual Arts, Literary Arts, Dance, Other.

Answer: Music, Theater, Visual Arts, Literary Arts, Dance.

2. Over the last three biennium the State Arts Board and Regional Arts Council appropriations were cut by 34.5%. These are substantially larger cuts than the cuts to the overall state budget. Would you support an increase in arts funding to restore the cuts that were made, in recognition of the important role the arts and culture play in our economy and in our quality of life? Select One: Enthusiastically Support, Support, Neutral, Opposed.

Answer: Enthusiastically Support.

3. During the 2006 legislative session the legislature considered a constitutional dedication of funds for water, hunting and angling and various cultural purposes including the arts. Would you support a similar constitutional amendment in the 2007 legislative session? Select One: Yes, No, Don’t Know

Answer: No.

4. Research shows that students with high levels of arts participation outperform other students on virtually every measure from standardized tests to community participation, and that learning through the arts has a significant effect on learning in other areas, particularly in the early years. Would you support policies and funding to increase the availability of the arts in our schools? Select One: Enthusiastically Support, Support, Neutral, Opposed

Answer: Enthusiastically Support.

5. We would welcome any additional comments you would like to make with regards to the arts in Minnesota.

Comments: Constitutional dedicating funds for any purpose is a bad idea because it makes it more difficult to balance the budget during a recession.

Additional Notes from MCA: The following poem by Senator Dille was published in the Nov./Dec. 2004 issue of “Voices, The Publication of the Southwest MN Arts and Humanities Council:

Salute to the Artist

It is the Artist who has built a $1.3 billion industry in Minnesota.

It is the Artist whose success has made five of Minnesota’s top 25 tourist attractions, art organizations. They are: The Walker Art Center, the Guthrie Theatre, the Ordway Theatre, the Children’s Theatre, and Orchestra Hall.

It is the Artist who raises our spirits and nourishes our lives.

It is the Artist who reflects on who we are and gives voice to the full range of human experience.

It is the Artist that entertains us.It is the Artist that makes us laugh and think and sometimes cry. It is the Artist who enhances our quality of life. It is the Artist who improves communication.It is the Artist who helps us remember the past.It is the Artist that for nearly all religions enhances the worship experience.

It is the Artist we should all thank because it is the Artist who adds that extra special dimension to make our lives and our world an extra special place.

Thank you, Artists, for all you do to help make our world a better place.

May 2000: Sen. Dille voted YES to override the Governor’s veto of $1 million in bonding money for the Lanesboro Center for the Arts, but NOT to override the veto of $3 million in planning money for the Guthrie Theater. The override was successful. A ‘Yes’ vote is a good arts vote.

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2006 MCA Candidate Survey Results: Candidates did not respond to survey.

Additional notes from MCA:

April, 2006 : In a statement made regarding the Senate passage of the proposed consitutional amendment on conservation, clean water, public broadcasting and the arts, Governor Pawlenty displayed his neglect of the value of the arts: “While I appreciate the Senate’s willingness to vote on this important issue, I hope the bill will be more focused in its final version. Conservation and clean water are too important to be watered down by other issues. While the arts and public broadcasting are important, they do not rise to the level of being in need of dedicated constitutional support.”

May, 2005: Governor Pawlenty vetoed a measure to create an official poet laureate in Minnesota, remarking: “Even though we have a state ‘folklorist’, I have concern that this will lead to calls for other similar positions. We could also see requests for a state mime, interpretive dancer, or potter…”. Minnesota would have joined its neighboring states North and South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin in having an official poet laureate if Pawlenty had not vetoed the bill.