Digitization made possible by the State of Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, approved by voters in 2008.
May 7, 1975 - While the Minnesota State Senate and House of Representatives come together to discuss amendments to the year's omnibus tax bill, other committees meet to work on new DNR regulations, tax credits, and the issue of tools used in the act of shoplifting.
May 7, 1975 - The hotly contested amendments to the tax bill are discussed here, in terms of their passage in the Minnesota State Senate. Senators Perpich and Stassen addresss the closure of a state hospital, while Robert Brown pushed for maximum security status to Stillwater Prison.
May 7, 1975 - The destruction and transport of a Missouri company's cache of the dangerous chemical Dioxin is discussed here. Debate concerns how and where to destroy the substance, and that a company located in Minnesota may be able to handle the process. The chemical cache in question had been linked to human and animal contamination when it was mixed with tar and spread on Missouri roads.
May 7, 1975 - Are those who are benefitting from exempt status when it comes to property taxes abusing the system? That question is debated here in a discussion including Ramsey County Assessor William Carlson, who would like to push for stronger limits on what constitutes an 'exempt' property. On the other side is Alan Boyce of the Citizens' League who argues that exempt status increases the value of properties adjacent.
May 7, 1975 - Debate over the Berglin bill, a bill that would change evidentiary hearings in rape cases, is debated here. While agreement was generally seen over the main focus of the bill, debate ensued from the Republican side over whether or not removing codes regarding sodomy and adultery would contribute to the further decline of the nation's moral standing.
May 7, 1975 - Jerome Blatz, a Republican Minnesota State Senator from Edina, voices his displeasure with the 1975 tax bill under debate on the Senate floor. Reporter Dulcie Lawrence adds that Blatz proposed amendments to the bill, but minority requests would probably be rejected.
May 7, 1975 - United States and Canada come to loggerheads when discussions regarding of price increases and possible problems with natural gas supplies. Canadian concerns stem from recent oil embargos affecting Canada's energy supply. Concerns over conservation have influenced price increases abroad. Cooperation to develop possible new sources of oil acquisition also discussed.
May 9, 1975 - Property tax increases average 15 to 20 percent across the state and substantially higher in some cities. John Weston, Duluth city assessor, thinks his city is absorbing all the property tax it can, around 6 percent. He doesn?t think the tax was ever designed to carry such things as welfare, it was meant to take care of a municipality, it has been overused. U of M extension economist Arlee Waldo says for autonomy local governments need their own source of taxed revenue. State law prohibits local sales and income tax. A tax other than property tax would be worse because of variability. The property tax provides a smaller portion of government revenue than it used to. In 1971 it accounted for 47 percent, last year it dropped to 34 percent.Allen Boyce of the Citizen?s League Committee favors a gradual decrease in revenue from property tax to 25 percent. He says the overall level of tax is determined by how much money govenment spends. Every man?s tax break is another man?s tax burden. One problem facing cities is inflation and government method of funding projects.
May 9, 1975 - Greg Barron talks about his attempt to get information from the governor?s office. He says Governor Anderson prefers the Latch Lake site for Reserve Mining. Greg talks about the Environmental Policy Act. The Attorney General has sent a memo advising the governor against holding public hearings on technical feasibility on Latch Lake site until environmental impact statement, then hearings will start. EIS will analyze alternative sites, and rules about what sites must be chosen. Discussion of railroading the decision. This is the first breach between the attorney general and governor office, lawsuit may follow,
May 13, 1975 - Nearly 300 gather for the first annual Seven County Senior Federation meeting in Northern Minnesota. Senior citizen activism spreading across the state, outward from the Twin Cities. Clausen says older people have clout and they should use it at the Legislature to lobby for senior issues. Discount prescription drug program announced. Adolf Tobler speaks on seniors being pushed aside. Another speaker talks about how he got an itemized bill from hospital. The Gray Panthers, as they?re called in parts of the country, hope the six existing senior groups will expand into a powerful statewide orgainization.