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

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

Comment: “As a citizen and as an elected official for the past 28 years, I have been a strong supporter of many different arts organizations. There are many examples of accomplishments for our local arts organizations in which I played a role. If I am elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives, I will continue to be a stong supporter of initiatives for the arts.”

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: Yes.

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: Support.

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

Comments: As a teacher I know the value and importance of art to the overall education of students.

Additional Notes from MCA: None.

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, Dance, Plains Art Museum.

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: Neutral.

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: Support.

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

Comments: In question #3 Arts should have its own package. It should not be tacked on to water, hunting and angling.

Additional Notes from MCA: Sen. Langseth received a 2006 MCA Legislative Arts All Star Award for his work on behalf of the nonprofit arts.

Senator Langseth was a 2006 member of the Senate Finance Committee, and also the Senate K-12 Education Budget Division, which decides the fate of the Perpich Center for Arts Education.

May 2004: As a member of the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Langseth voted against motions that would have reduced or stripped arts funding from the Outdoor and Cultural Heritage Amendment, and he voted for the final passage of the bill out of the committee, both good arts votes. (The Amendment would have doubled arts and cultural funding, but did not pass out of the legislature this session.)

2002 Comment: “After hours of deliberations with the House Republicans, I made sure that funding in the 2002 bonding bill included money for the Bloomington Art Center for the Arts, The Children’s Theater, the Guthrie and for the Rochester Arts Center Design. I also secured funding for the Perpich Center for Arts Education and for Trollwood. All were vetoed. I also led the veto override for public tv’s digital conversion appropriation.”

May 2000: Sen. Langseth voted YES to override the Governor’s veto of $1 million in bonding money for the Lanesboro Center for the Arts, and $3 million in planning money for the Guthrie Theatre. The override was successful. A ‘Yes’ vote is a good vote for the arts. Sen. Langseth is the chair of the Senate Capitol Finance Committee, which recommends projects to receive state bonding funds, including some arts organizations.

Additional notes from MCA: Governor Tim Pawlenty (GOP)

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.