Thursday, May 17, 2012
Apparently there is an "evil" clown that is hired to scare a child in the days leading up to his or her birthday. What?
A couple weeks ago, our Parents Talk discussion was on creepy kids toys. Many agreed that a clown, anything having to do with a clown or anything resembling a clown was straight up creepy. Well, an actor in the Swiss city of Lucerne has set himself up as the "evil" birthday clown. According to the Huffington Post and the Austrian Times, for a fee, parents can hire this psychotic clown—played by actor Dominic Deville—to leave menacing, booby-trapped letters for their children. He will also tease through text messages and phone calls. Deville warns the children they are being watched and that they will soon be the victim of an attack. At the end of the terror-filled week, the birthday boy or girl catches a cake in the face. According to the …
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
A message from District 44's state senator about happenings in the Legislature.
[The following news release comes from the office of Sen. Ron Latz (DFL-District 44)] Well, we finished the legislative session with little time to spare – on day 119 of the 120 days allowed. For the record, it is the second longest legislative biennium in State history. We finished 2012 with another constitutional amendment on the ballot, a small bonding bill and a Vikings stadium. My biggest disappointment was that Southwest Light Rail Transit (SW LRT) was not included in the final bonding package. Despite heroic efforts by the metro region’s chambers of commerce, the local governments along the line, Hennepin County and the Metropolitan Council not one single dime of State money was included for SW LRT. While the State only has to …
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Moms, here's your chance to think big.
The gifts range from breakfast in bed to nothing—with flowers, manicures and greeting cards in between. Moms, perhaps your families have been thinking about your big day for the past month or maybe Sunday will be the first they hear of it. Regardless of your family's style of celebration, Sunday is Mother's Day. And with more than $16.3 billion expected to be spent on the day this year, it is a highly consumer-driven holiday as well. Now's your chance to tell us what you really want. Would you like a clean house? Expensive jewelry? Maybe the day away from all of them? Or maybe, you'd like to buck the tradition and have a donation made in your name, from an organization like World Vision. For $75, your kids could buy a goat for a familiy in…
Monday, May 7, 2012
The state representative added the plan is not without its flaws, however.
Editor's Note: The following letter was sent to constituents by Rep. Ryan Winkler (DFL-District 44B). Dear Neighbors and Friends, Minnesota’s economy remains slow, and too many of our citizens are still looking for jobs and cannot find them. We have an immediate jobs shortage, and we must take action to create a broadly prosperous state for our children and grandchildren. Yet state government has been incapable of providing even short-term solutions, much less embracing a vision for economic success. The current Vikings stadium debate is a vivid demonstration of our inability to set the right priorities for our state. Building a Vikings stadium will not produce long-term economic growth. Every independent economic analysis shows that …
A message from District 44's state senator about happenings in the Legislature.
[The following news release comes from the office of Sen. Ron Latz (DFL-District 44)] Once again, there were long periods of waiting in between short floor sessions that did not accomplish much. The Senate heard a few small bills on the floor on Monday, took up one of the Transportation Omnibus bills on Tuesday (I amended my ignition interlock bill onto it) and then the Majority’s Tax bill conference committee report (no agreed with the Governor) on Thursday. At different times during the week we were told a vote on the Vikings bill was imminent and a bonding bill was going to be taken up. Neither came to fruition. Monday, the House leadership has said that they will take up both the Vikings bill and the bonding bill. The Senate will not…
Thursday, May 3, 2012
The death of a friend's son has me asking what I can do for suicide awareness and prevention.
The son of one of my friends killed himself last week. My friend found him. When I heard that on Monday, I had a rush of emotions: disbelief, despair and anger. Five days earlier, I read a story about a woman whose son, Dustin, committed suicide in fall 2011. The story was by Mike Schoemer, St. Michael Patch local editor. At the time I read the St. Michael story, I felt a tremendous amount of empathy for Dustin's mother, Gretchen Harrington. But it wasn't until I heard about the death of my friend's son that I felt some of the anguish of a suicide survivor. I cried for my friend, who came home from work to find her son dead. I wanted to hug her and sob with her for as long as she needed me; long-distance prayers and Facebook posts seem so …
Monday, April 30, 2012
A message from District 44's state senator about happenings in the Legislature.
[The following news release comes from the office of Sen. Ron Latz (DFL-District 44)] The final weeks of session are heating up and winding down all at the same time; it is definitely “hurry up and wait” time. While the Senate met every day this week, and is in the middle of a Saturday session as this goes out with a possible Sunday session, we frequently started an hour or two after scheduled to gavel in. Work in conference committees, with leadership in negotiations and on the Vikings stadium has postponed work on the floor. Waiting for the House to pass the budget omnibus bills first, as constitutionally required, is also creating a very mercurial schedule. This week the Senate passed several conference committee reports. These …
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Sadder: 'Voters should ask him why he supports this whopper of a job killer.'
- OPINION
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Saturday, April 28
To the editor: There has been much debate between the majority and minority parties in the Legislature on who can create jobs. I've supported some tax credits or grants; some believe we should use bonding dollars for job creation. One thing I think all the parties would agree is that it is a bad idea to charge businesses an extra tax when they create new jobs. That would undoubtedly take us in the wrong direction. So why is Rep. Ryan Winkler, D-Golden Valley, supporting a 900-percent increase in taxes on corporations for increasing a firm's payroll as the chief author of H.F. 2480? Minnesota taxes its corporations on an average of three items: its sales; its property value; and its payroll. It has wisely relied mostly on the sales factor, …
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Senator Rest talks about a possible date change for absentee voting, a fireworks bill and a bill that could require abortion facilities to be licensed.
- GOVERNMENT
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Thursday, April 26
The following information was provided by a newsletter from the office of Senator Ann Rest. June Primary Provision Amended to Absentee Balloting Bill A panel of legislators in the Senate is considering an amendment to S.F. 2296 that would shift the State primary election from August to June in 2014. The bill was amended by the House several weeks ago and returned to the Senate where the changes are being discussed in conference committee. Supporters of the bill argue that it gives general election rivals more time after the primaries for general campaigning while opponents argue that the earlier primary would benefit incumbents instead of challengers. Senator Rest and Gov. Dayton have ex-pressed support for the date change. Fireworks …
Is there a toy you avoid buying because it’s too creepy or scary?
I swear it was possessed. Furby. That furry little menace always sat idly and quiet on my daughter’s shelf when she was younger. However, the minute I walked into her room or even just walked by, Furby would start talking and doing his creepy thing. It wouldn’t have been a toy I would have ever brought into our home willingly – just the gremlin-like look of it was disturbing enough. It was one of those gifts from a relative that you try to tolerate – for a while. Eventually Furby happened to find its way into the bottom of the box of toys during a move. To this day, I’m still fairly certain I removed Furby’s batteries before it went into the box. The minute we loaded the boxes in the van, we could still hear Furby trying to interact with …
Michael Rose
9:01 am on Friday, May 18, 2012
This does seem a bit cruel and unusual. However, I might be inclined to hire someone to mess with my 18+ child (I don't have one...this is hypothetical). That actually could be kind of funny..."Punking" your college freshman son/daughter could be cool. For instance, maybe you could hire an impostor dorm roommate, who would be the biggest jerk of all time. Then, a few days in, you could reveal the… more ›