Contact Information: 515 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155. Phone: (651) 296-3964. E-mail: rep.maria.ruud@house.mn.

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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.

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: Don’t Know.

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: Thank you for sharing your vision to give all Minnesotans the opportunity to participate in arts. Your mission is valuable and essential to the quality of life we enjoy in Minnesota.

Additional Notes from MCA: Excerpt from the Session Weekly, March 11, 2005: Vividly colored children’s artwork brightens the stark white walls of Rep. Maria Ruud’s office in the State Office Building. It’s a mini art gallery of original works by children who live in her district. After Ruud was elected, she invited schools to select artwork to display. Not only do students feel good that their art was selected, but Ruud, a passionate supporter of the arts, gets a boost every time she enters her office. ‘How can you not smile when you look at these?’ Rudd asks as she gestures to the walls.”

Contact Information: 309 State Office Building, 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Saint Paul, Minnesota 55155. Phone: (651) 296-7449. E-mail: rep.erik.paulsen@house.mn.

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

Additional Notes from MCA: Rep. Paulsen received a 2006 Legislative Arts All Star award for his work on behalf of the nonprofit arts.

Contact Information: 100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., State Office Building, Room 127, St. Paul, MN 55155-1206. Phone: 651.296.1749.

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

Additional Notes from MCA: None.

Send an e-mail to this elected official using MCA’s quick & easy Desktop Lobbyist.

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.