(00:00:00) I would say a bulk of the (00:00:01) problems. Or the bulk of (00:00:04) my time has been sent spent solving (00:00:08) Personnel problems (00:00:10) people that want to get on a certain committee people that want a certain office people that feel that they should have been a chairman rather the vice-chairman all the little (00:00:24) ego perks (00:00:26) even one that felt he his parking spot could have been 10 feet closer than somebody else's and it's unbelievable what people put as (00:00:34) priority up here that (00:00:37) the priorities that go with the (00:00:39) job (00:00:40) and it's these things that have to be taken care of in a manner. So that egos are not bruised too (00:00:46) badly. And it's there's always Fate has to be face-saving in this sort of thing. (00:00:54) A lot of my work also has been with Irv Anderson and his staff trying to line up the committee (00:01:00) schedule. (00:01:04) We couldn't name. We couldn't name our committee members (00:01:09) until that was done, (00:01:11) but it's a combination of things but mostly Personnel at this point (00:01:15) people wanting things. Is that how you foresee the job (00:01:18) continuing basically out throughout met or will there (00:01:21) be additional things involved some point? (00:01:23) I think the the bulk of my job having observed other speakers and and gotten to know speakers quite well are the pressures from people to do things to accommodate people to lean one way or the other on a piece of legislation, but the I guess the bulk of it is we want some of your time to explain something to you whether it's a personal problem legislative problems of pressure problem of political problem or whatever it is. (00:01:52) Yeah. (00:01:54) How do you intend to conduct the floor sessions? I noticed for example on Friday the second hand tick past two o'clock in bang the gavel in down. Is that going to be typical of speaker Cyril? I certainly do hope so I'm a great believer in starting on time always have been and I'm I'm delighted to see some of the chairman with whom I worked over the years or men that I've so-called trained follow that example Fred Norton is a perfect example as Appropriations chairman of those that work with him start on time. And you know, Bob really it isn't so much that you're being flamboyant. You're doing your job. Number one. Number two. It says that you appreciate the value of that person's time who's waiting to testify And you know many's the time I've sat there and seeing the president of the University of Minnesota in all his Entourage and I figure boy think of the money that's ticking away there on work that they could be doing for the University and they're sitting here waiting for us to get started that sort of thing and I'd like hopefully set an example for not just the house but the committee's to to start on time we can also then close on time. the anticipated the floor sessions will run fairly smoothly or will they become bogged down in the in great detail repetitious debate because of the 6767 Tire because of the large number of new members are just what I really can't answer that unequivocally at this time, but I have a feeling in just observing. The way Tex Eben has started to handle the the floor business. The text is a no-nonsense type of guy and I don't think that he'd want to see it bogged down any more than I it's true later on when we get into some partisan things if they get to the floor we're going to have that sort of thing, but on routine business, there's no reason why we have to go through all those exercises and hot air Let's talk a little bit about how the house has evolved over the years (00:04:07) since since you first came here. (00:04:11) What are your observations for one thing about the (00:04:13) kind of people that are being elected office these days (00:04:18) younger better educated better better looking most of them had their teeth. (00:04:27) I shouldn't say things like that. aggressive more serious (00:04:36) I think there's a there's a less of a sense of history (00:04:41) with our younger people (00:04:43) than some of the (00:04:44) older people that I've served (00:04:46) with and they're more interested in getting the job done. What I refer to as the young people on white Chargers coming up here when he changed the world in one or two sessions. It can't be done and usually it takes some of these people at least a session to (00:05:05) recognize it can't be done (00:05:06) and that they have to get into the more slow grinding out of legislation, which is the end. It's a good (00:05:13) thing it works that way (00:05:15) because just in the last six years we've seen really an (00:05:18) upheaval in in paper and in regulations from the state government and (00:05:24) people are crying out there don't give us any more government if that's what we're going to have. Let's slow down on it and I would hope this would be the course we'd take We got a good chance this year (00:05:35) because all the committee's are being (00:05:37) structured. Evenly when you first came into the legislature. Most of the people had other professions had other jobs (00:05:44) that came from farming or (00:05:47) medicine or law or whatever it might be and and now with the what the legislative work load. There's an awful lot of them will (00:05:52) list. Their occupation is professional legislator. (00:05:56) What kinds of changes is that in (00:05:57) it? (00:05:59) Well, it is true. I did a guest editorial for a (00:06:02) local paper a year or so ago in which I pointed these things out that (00:06:07) there were no legislators listed (00:06:11) as occupation back in the (00:06:14) 50s. I think in the house alone. There were 24 that (00:06:18) listed their occupation as legislator. (00:06:24) I think this is the critical two-year period because we're coming into the note the new pay period And I had a I had a freshman at my door this morning saying that he was anxious to get going because he wanted to justify the 16,000 plus that he was going to be getting and he felt guilty about taking that that number of dollars and that's a good attitude. This man is a professional. Businessman, I mean he's made it on his own but he's willing to sacrifice time away from his family and his business to come up here and work which is the attitude. I like I've set aside my my business for two years (00:07:04) and have someone (00:07:06) helping me limp along with it. So I don't have to be concerned but I think the Minnesota Legislature is in a transition period right (00:07:14) now (00:07:17) many of the interim activities under the dfl of the last six years. I make no bones about I figure was just busy work was just to keep people busy to keep one per diems to allow him to live and to keep staffs (00:07:35) busy. (00:07:38) Now when I first came in there were a I don't remember how many they used to have what they called interim commission's where there'd be so many from the house and so many the Senate to study certain problems. I can remember as a freshman. I was on an interim commission with Al quie and Delbert Anderson. Those are the only three of us, they're still left in the their legislature today or in state (00:08:01) government (00:08:04) that studied the future of the Agricultural high schools. Now this is probably for your time, but we had agricultural high schools at Morris (00:08:16) Crookston (00:08:18) Grand Rapids, Waseca and St. Paul. Now just in those 20 years you see what's happened. They've all been dissolved was sick of being the last of them Morris went before your campus Cooks in is now a two-year Technical Institute Grand Rapids, the university turned that over and they've made a Navy TI in a community college st. Paul was when Christensen died. They just absolve that and while seek it was the last one to go to the two-year Tech. So interim commission's can be very important in studying specific problems today with our interim. We've got subcommittees on some of the most obscure titles that you'd ever want to see I see you smiling as am I it's just to keep busy people busy and to give them a title. Well, are you suggesting that the people are not getting their money's worth out of the sixteen thousand dollar salary plus per diem. I think it's too early to make a judgment on whether the sixteen eight or sixteen five. Whatever it (00:09:17) is is out of line. (00:09:20) Let's wait and see what this legislature (00:09:22) produces. (00:09:25) What have been your own primary legislative interests through the years? Well, my my legislative course was set as a freshman. Now I'll never forget the Experience day or two after my election. I was in the office of the man who was my mentor at that time as the one that asked me to run and he called a fraternity brother his in st. Paul by the name of Peter Popovich. And he said Peter we got a young guy down here that just got elected. And it looks like he might be in there for a while. Why don't you see if you can't get him on some good committees (00:10:07) is the way it was put (00:10:09) and so I found in 1957 session in the minority. I was placed on both Appropriations and education. And I worked my butt off. And that set the course of my career in the legislature because except for a two two year period I was on a perp I've been on Appropriations ever since. Having the chairmanship of the education division for 10 years. And I stayed right on education until Marty Sable took the chair and then he didn't believe in in the Dual role of someone being on both education and Appropriations. So (00:10:48) he told me I had to make a choice. So I stayed with education. (00:10:51) So I was on on the elementary secondary education committee until nineteen through 1971. And in fact, I was chairman of the subcommittee on School Aids from about 1965 to 1970. So we worked a lot harder in those days on many different things, but it was always in the field of Education or education (00:11:15) funding. What do you think about the (00:11:19) governor's proposals for (00:11:20) changing education funding now decreasing the class size and early grades and so on. (00:11:27) Well, I can't I can't disagree with the direction that the governor is trying to take us. I think I will Reserve judgment until I see how he is structured the package that we're going to have to look at in the way of funding (00:11:42) to do that. (00:11:44) I think it's a noble idea. But whether it will work to the full extent that he would want it we'll have to wait and see tell me just a little bit about your professional background your business experience. Well, I'm not a (00:11:56) professional at anything. I'm a generalist. I've (00:12:04) I came out of New Jersey (00:12:06) where I was a (00:12:07) junior executive in scheduling and planning in a large Manufacturing Company came out here after World War Two to raise my family to see whether I could make a success of farming. I was asked to get into politics and Ava to try (00:12:28) and (00:12:31) I went out of active farming about. The fourth year after I had been in here because the long extra sessions (00:12:40) was not conducive to raising very happy crops. (00:12:45) So I've been running my farm on a share basis since that time. So I still manage it and then I went into life insurance work, which has been very good to (00:12:53) me and (00:12:58) but managed to pick (00:12:59) up graduate from Mankato State University in the interim over a nine-year period and (00:13:06) have kept busy civically. I'm going to present the Rotary Club (00:13:10) and One other (00:13:15) other honors, in fact, I was 1978 tree farmer of the year for which I am very proud because we don't have any tree farms down in our corner. I say what down in the corn and bean country, but that's that's my first love is the hundred and some Acres of conservation that I've our family have worked together on we've planted over 30,000 trees in the last 30 years and (00:13:43) we've put in (00:13:45) about five different conservation ponds, and we have all kinds of just about every conceivable conservation practice on our farm not because we wanted it there because it was needed and we're great Believers in soil conservation and the things that you've got to do to help (00:14:02) nature. Conserve what we (00:14:05) have what got you into (00:14:06) politics? I was asked to go into politics. (00:14:10) Well, the circumstances were that we had an incumbent conservative or republican serving in the legislature who was interested in only one thing and that was making sure that we didn't change any of the (00:14:20) liquor laws. He was a very devout dry and (00:14:27) I was given some Republican leaders came to me and said we need younger blood in there someone who can look at the broader picture of State problems and local problems and the way they had it laid out. I couldn't lose. But I did (00:14:46) this was a (00:14:47) 1954 but I was farming full time. I was taking flying lessons and I was going to summer school all the same time when I was I didn't work hard enough that first time and I lost by nine votes. (00:15:01) You were doing all those things as you're trying to campaign. Yes, and (00:15:06) I didn't have any help. I think I spent almost two hundred dollars in the whole campaign things were just a lot slower and a lot easier in those those days. Nobody gave me a chance the fact that I came that close got the headlines rather than the incumbent winning again. (00:15:25) so (00:15:27) I just kept right on running as a (00:15:28) matter of fact over the next two year period (00:15:31) And I beat the same man in the primary two years later with the help of a dfl mayor of Waseca. And then the mayor and I ran it (00:15:40) off and I won. And have been in ever since (00:15:46) we were had any trouble getting re-elected. I had trouble this year. I had the closest election battle than I've ever had. And I think I was part of the throw the Rascal out syndrome that purpose show Wendy Anderson and the rest of them (00:16:01) found so offensive. (00:16:06) I've been very fortunate in my district that in the 12 terms in which I've run I've had opposition only on (00:16:11) six so (00:16:14) but my district is changing it's getting much more liberal than it used to be. It (00:16:17) used to be very conservative (00:16:21) rural Farm. But now with the the increase in Industry brings in a different different type of person more liberal (00:16:31) thinking (00:16:32) and so margins of 7075 percent that I used to enjoy or now down (00:16:37) to less than 55 percent. So I (00:16:40) have to work hard.