(00:00:00) Good afternoon. Welcome back to midday on Minnesota Public Radio. I'm Gary eichten. Glad you could join us. Well Governor Jesse Ventura is our guest this hour of midday. The Minnesota Legislature now has less than a week to go before The Constitution says the legislature has to adjourn and it sure looks like the session might go right down to the wire. The governor says there will be no special session to finish up on left unfinished work. If the legislature doesn't complete its all of its assignments by next Monday. Governor says, we should prepare for a government shutdown on July 1 Governor Ventura is here to talk about some of the issues that are still left to work out and we invite you to join our conversation as well. If you've got a question or a comment for Governor Ventura, give us a call. Our Twin City area number is 6512276 thousand 6512276. Thousand outside the Twin Cities one eight hundred two four two two eight 286512276 thousand or one eight hundred two, four two two eight two eight Governor. Welcome to midday again. Hi Gary. How are you today? Just fine. Now I Senate Majority Leader mole house Speaker swag. Mm. They were kind of optimistic this morning that when all is said and done everything will get done. How about yourself? Well, I'm optimistic to I mean they've been hired to do a job by the state of Minnesota just as I'm hired and I got my budget to them two and a half weeks ahead of schedule. So in reality they've by law had actually two and a half more weeks to get their job done than what should be needed. And in fact, I'm going to state to you here for the first time that I am going to make the governor's residence open this evening that if the speaker and the majority leader can't come to a decision during the work day today. They are fully being invited and welcome to the governor's Residents tonight and they can spend the entire evening there. They can spend the night there if they would like to whatever it takes for them to get their work done. Will you and and I'll even lock them in a room with Franklin my bulldog and I think if I put him in the library with Franklin and if I feed him a little bit of hamburger, I got a feeling we'll get a deal in about a half an hour. Now. Would you sit in on those extended meetings? I certainly would wear needed but like I said, I'm willing to open up the governor's residence this evening if we haven't reached a deal or an agreement on the budget and certainly they they they are welcome to come there and take whatever time it needs to do that and certainly I'll take part as need be this is your first go-round with these kind of negotiations. Are you surprised at how tough It's been to to get a an agreement on all the big issues? No, not really. That's what I ran on. I think a lot of it was the fact that what I'm surprised and not surprised I think surprised the wrong word Gary what bothers me is how they play poker until the 11th hour. I mean these issues and this whole thing in my opinion should have been going on a month and a half ago so that they're not put up against a Time deadline then you know now they're put up against a Time deadlines where by Constitution they have to be done with their work next Monday and to me it's that's the that's the sad part about the to caucuses and the business-as-usual career politicians and the old quote. That's the way it's always been done and I came into office not feeling that way. That was one of the reasons I sent my budget out as quickly as I possibly could saying, okay, here's my budget. Now, you've got from January February March April and half of may get your work done and if they don't get it done, you know, it's the Soda people who pay the price for them not being able to get their work done. But I like I said, I'll open up the governor's residence tonight. They're free. They're welcome to come over and take whatever time they need to get the to get their jobs done so that we can finish next Monday. Assuming everybody is working in good faith and they don't get done on time. You wouldn't really force a shutdown would um, you would call a special session so they come back and wrap things up. Once you don't ever play poker with me. That's my answer to you. I've made it very clear to them that there is no excuse for them not to get their work done on Monday. What excuse Gary? Can they give me? Can you think of one? Well, I mean just FYI I'm asking you. Can you think of an excuse they have been in session since January the 5th or whatever day it was they knew they had till March 17th, or I should say May 17th. I'll say that again May 17th what excuse could they have that? They could they couldn't get their work done on time. And I'm then expected to call a special session where it becomes then see once I call it then they decide when it ends and there's per diem paid out. There's more expense to the state of Minnesota in calling special sessions like that. And you know, and to me there's no excuse for it. Why why can't they get their work done? And if I were the Minnesota public I would be very disturbed over the fact that what is the problem here? We hired you. We elected you to carry out the state's business, you know what the time constraints are. You know what the limits are why can't you get it done, but it wouldn't it would just hurt the people of Minnesota though to actually have a government shutdown would it not and eventually you'd have to do something to get all these things taken care of so wouldn't you cave in on that? I'll call it as it happens. I I'll tell you this I won't. Call a special session unless there's a deal unless there's an agreement. I'm not calling them in just so they can sit around and posture. You know, I mean, I want to see an agreement on my desk to where they if if if inch if by chance they and what I'm not going to look the session, I think they can get it done yet. You know, there's again there's no excuse. So why cross the bridge before you have to get to it? And so they we have till Monday. They have no excuse not to get their work done. And I think that it'll hurt them a lot more than it'll hurt me. It'll show incompetency on their part, you know of not being able to do the state's work. I did my work. You know II got them a budget would they grant me the same Gary if February 15th were of come around and I just said hey, I don't quite have my budget done yet, even though I went through a full transition had to name all these Commissioners start from ground zero through all that if February 15th Woulda came, could I have gone? Under them and said, you know, I didn't quite have my budget done. Could I have an additional week here? What do you think their reaction would have been to that Gary Come on? Well, what do you think data said to that and yet that's what they're asking. You know, that's the question you're posing to me now is that well, they couldn't get their work done. So won't you have to give him some extra time? Would they do it? Would they have done it for me? What do you think? I I think they would have blasted me. I think they would have you know, who knows what they would have done. I don't know can they give me extra time? I've never looked into it. You know, why because we got our job done, you know on Sunday, once you announce that you are willing to go along with an income tax cut for each of the three brat ears. Yes, the three tiers there were reports all over the media. Well, the Log Jam is broken. We can just you know cross the t's and Dot the I's here and wrap this what happened. I thought that would do it in light of the everything that was being said and done now granted the majority the Senate Majority Leader never fully agreed to that. He never said look if you know, we didn't have a deal. I just spoke very candidly to all parties Sunday and I said in my opinion it's my job as (00:08:23) A (00:08:23) leadership role to break the Log Jam and we were so very very close. The amount of money really is not much. It truly is not much, you know on that upper tier. It is not a great deal of money. The difference was roughly 20 to 40 million dollars in light of a two-year biannual budget of over twenty three billion dollars and I felt that it was a move that I had to make as a leadership role to break the Log Jam. I did it. I made the call if I get criticized that's fine. I'm willing to take criticism but that's my job is to reach compromise and do the things it takes to do so that so that we can keep the government running and do what's fair. And right now I think right now there's been some great fairness out there. We're in a position right now where if they can if they can come to an agreement all three entities all three try partisan politics can walk away winners, I believe and if Don't do it. Well, then they put us in a position of walking away losers because their egos or whatever stand in the way and I you know, we all have to look in the mirror real hard and say what's best for the state of Minnesota. And those are the decisions we make and I try to make them I don't base my decisions on getting re-elected and I'm in a great position Gary. You know, why in the year 2000 I'm not up for election. Everybody else is everybody else is over there. So, you know, they have to adjust accordingly and now but that was my job and I thought it would break the Log Jam. I thought we'd have a deal Monday by doing that but apparently not so that her Jesse Ventura is our guest this hour of midday. Let me give you the phone number here. If you got a question for the governor, but don't call right now because all of our lines are busy will get through some callers here, and then some of the lines will free up Twin City area number six five. One two, two seven six thousand if you're calling from outside the Twin Cities 1-800 to for 22828. Monday next Monday is the day when the legislature has to adjourn says the state constitution Alice your question, please (00:10:31) we were very happy to hear your decision on Sunday. And we thought it would break the Log Jam but we're not in the upper bracket, but we don't feel that that we should be the third most Progressive plan and highly tax state in America actually were number two in that but I just want to say a Governor Ventura people are tired of the Spenders like Roger mole who seem to wield such power over there. Why should he come out and say that we need to throw another hundred million dollars at K through 12 education. It just doesn't make sense. People are expired of you know, we'd like to see him and pull the Miller and Marty and Sam's in a few of the other people in the Senate to go out and get a real job to see how tough it is to work for a living. I mean, they have been kind of sucking off our system at all pockets of our packets for so many years that we're tired. Okay, (00:11:25) let's get the governor's comment. Well, you know, I'll agree somewhat with what Alice said in the fact that if you look at the past election mayor Coleman and I were not that far apart fiscally on the fiscal end. And if you combine our vote totals that was 71 percent of the state of Minnesota and the mayor and I both stood in agreement on giving the Surplus back. We stood an agreement on that. There should be permanent tax cuts. I am I only drawback was and and I still say today that it that it has to be structurally balanced. We have to only do cuts that that go for years out of structural balance because if there's a turn in the economy, it could be disaster for not only the government but for all a Minnesota because let's face it government does play a big role in minnesotans lives and in our in our expected standard of living that we have and so I'm all for cutting taxes, but on the same token. I want people to understand to though that you can't just do backdoor tax cuts. Like what I'm facing also is where they're trying to cut down government agencies in some aspect to where we won't be able to function. And now if that indeed is true and here's the point the house and the Senate over there have passed over a hundred and thirty some new laws this year this session and each one of those comes with a price tag. Now they have to do both when they pass a new law. It generally means you have to support it with some kind of monetary or spending so they can't sit and pass laws on one side and then expect me as the governor to implement and carry out what they say and give me less resources to do it with they either have to stop passing the laws start repealing laws if the it and if they do that then it's much easier to cut down government spending, but if they continue to pass more and more laws all the time. I don't have the luxury of a law is passed Gary and I go g this is dumb and I particularly don't want ever you know, how the heck with it. I won't do it. I can't do that if it's passed and become law I have to like now I've heard you know IV told that sprinkler Bill where they were going to mandate people had to put sprinklers. Now, I've heard it's showing up on an Omnibus Bill that they've they're doing it under the table again rather than letting a bill stand on its own they're going to attach it to something else and that's a typical Ploy that goes on to where I'm then forced to either veto the entire bill or pass it through and then they get there they're sprinkler thing and that and to me that's sprinkler bill was ridiculous mandating that people have to have something put on their underground sprinkler system to determine whether it's raining or not. Excuse me. I haven't had a great trouble determining. It's raining Gary of is that ever been a problem for you, you know to be The figure out or if you have an automatic sprinkler system wouldn't you ask for that? If you're paying your own water bill and you'd say, you know if I leave for the weekend, maybe there's a device that I can buy and put on my sprinkler that if I'm gone for the weekend and it's raining my sprinkler won't turn on because if it does I guess to pay the bill for it now Alice raises the question about the education money and how much to spend on it. Is that become the the last big hurdle that's kind of blocking that at this point in time I'd say yes, but then again, I thought the upper tier was the last hurdle on Sunday and then you know, although I've I've always known budget-wise that the that the Senate wanted to spend a hundred million more on public education than what I did, you know and the house wanted to even spend more on it than I did and and and my in mind 70 percent of all new spending was geared towards education, but with that education and with that spending must come Accountability, I'm not just simply going to put more money into the education system without having accountability that our students are going to reach certain standards educational standards and that the money is being spent good so that we end up with higher test scores and higher standards on a Statewide level so we can prove that the money invested is indeed being used and we're getting a bang for the buck on it in terms of standards that brings up the question of the profile of learning the house wants to abolish the program altogether Senate wants to change it. Are you prepared to veto any profile of learning legislation that does not maintain a single Statewide standard. I believe that that and I truly believe that the profiles they need work sure. They're like a new government program that comes in they when they initially made them there's too much bureaucratic red tape in it. There's too much paperwork, but To me what they're going to accomplish are going to be they're going to raise the standards because the children will still have to pass their basic skills tests all the way what the profiles do is they take a child what they've learned in basic skills, and it makes them through the different profiles apply it to a real life situation. And I think that's excellent because I'll give you an example. I had a good friend. I was in the military with and when he got out of the military he went on to college he went on to medical school. He went on to become a hand surgeon a specialist hand surgeon right went and studied under one of the greatest hand surgeons in the world became very competent in his art of hand surgery a specialist yet. He told me when he got out of medical school and got out of surgery surgery and all that and learned all that. He didn't even know what to charge. He didn't even know how to set up an office here. He had all this knowledge on how to be a surgeon, but he had no Practical way to apply it in an everyday situation and see that's what the profiles do. They take the knowledge that our young people get and and teach them to apply it to a real-life situation to where they you know, what'll happen when they get out in the real world and I don't see anything wrong with that and you know why there's all this bitter fight over over that I guess I'm I don't get it. But if you know if the legislature decides to make some material substantial changes in the existing program or throwing our shit together, there should be some changes if they throw it out all together. I think that's a waste that's throwing the baby out with the bathwater and you'd veto such a bill like I have to look at the bill Gary. I can't sit and hypothetically tell you right now that I'd sit here and say yes. No, you got to look at the bill. You got to study the bill and see what exactly is in it and what isn't in it and all of that Bob your question for the governor Place. (00:18:21) Yeah. It's a probably know Governor there. Very compelling commentary article in today's start reviewing by Lutheran Bishop Mark Hanson, which is titled State severe shortage of affordable housing demands a response. And then last Tuesday was the Star Tribune article that reported that Mary Jo Copeland is attempting to raise one point eight million dollars in order to double the size of our facility for the homeless in Minneapolis because of a desperate need to house the growing number of homeless people might question Governor is are you in the legislature putting a substantial amount of money in the budget to deal with the lack of affordable housing and the growing problem of homelessness, if you're not why (00:18:59) not. I will say this in my budget. It's the largest budget for affordable housing since the 1970s is what I've put into my budget certainly maybe it isn't enough. Maybe we need more in affordable housing affordable housing also needs to be tackled by the private sector. Also, you know, you have to make it good for a builder. Wanting to build that type of housing in the need to do it, but my budget is the highest in over 20 years in affordable housing and I think there is quite a substantial amount there to do that. It also is another thing that needs to be and my budget. Also I am the largest per capita of any governor in the United States of America on affordable housing. So I think we're taking a lead on it here in Minnesota in terms of government involvement in everyday life. Let's set aside the fact that you couldn't possibly tax people enough to pay for all the everything that they want, you know, people left understand now set that aside for a moment. I mean his government could it be bigger and without becoming too intrusive in your mind or is it is about the right size now should it be a lot smaller? I think that I think that government should be smaller, but I think that you have to be very careful in how you do it you can't do A knee-jerk reaction. You can't come in like like Genghis Khan with a big Sabre sword and ride in and start hacking and chopping and you know without knowing what the repercussions are. I think that you know, when I look at government I'm here for four years when this budget gets finished and I certainly hope it does on Monday that gives me 2 years then I'm set then for two years on a budget that gives me two years to start studying real reform. You know, when you come in like I didn't November and have to go from ground zero to getting a budget out to naming Commissioners to naming everything. I have to do between now and June doesn't give you a lot of time to start looking at some major reform issues. And so but this will give me 2 years then to start looking at property tax reform and really doing and not just giving you a little Band-Aid fix here. That one person's fix is another person's payout, you know, and all of that stuff. So you have to look at it in that aspect get back to the size of Government, certainly, I think that there are places that we can combine and cut down government. But again, you have to have the opportunity to come in and do it in a logical way. Not a knee-jerk reaction way that and people again and I'll reiterate this everybody wants a dollar from government for their pet program everybody does and they need to remember something government doesn't create any of that money when government gives somebody a dollar government took that dollar from the fruits of another man's labor through taxes. I mean, it's like if a fella goes out and digs a ditch for 10 hours a day for ten dollars an hour and makes a hundred bucks. Well, then people want his money people say hey, wait a minute. I deserve part of this man's money and you got to remember that you're taking we don't have a Magic Tree over at st. Paul that grows money. We don't create this money. This money comes to us via taxes via the hard work that people do every day on their jobs. So if you're a beneficiary of a government money remember it was somebody else's labor that is paying for you to get that Governor. Jesse Ventura is our guest this hour and our next caller is from Audubon Andy. (00:22:39) Good afternoon, Governor. Hi Andy, how are you? Fine? Just like you to know that your wife is on our prayer list for a complete (00:22:46) recovery. Well, I appreciate that and I know she certainly does she's doing a lot better but it's a tough. You know that Epstein-Barr mono is a strange strange disease if you want to call it that because there's nothing there's no medication. You can take it simply a lot. A lot of rest you've got to do it and right and that's tough for her to do because my wife is a real go-getter. She she likes to get involved and likes to do things and I I'm the one that more is hollering at her. Hey enough take some time off. And get your health because her health means a lot more to me than than a price tag of anything can be put on (00:23:23) it. That's true. My question is do there are legislators get paid extra of is for special sessions in the state. Do perhaps may be some kind of law that cuts their pay in half or something might be in the (00:23:35) works. Well, I yeah, but remember they have to vote for that. You know, that's that's that's your Catch-22. They have to pass something like that. It will here's a unique situation. Do they get paid extra? They get per diem they get a set salary and then they get per diem and some other payments go along with it if they're still in session, but here's a thought you know, everyone is so quick to cut government my end of government the executive branch of government. I have a question to pose. Why do we as taxpayers pay for party caucus staffs? Why why does that come if you're not a member of the Democrat or Republican party as a taxpayer out there? Why should your tax dollars go to pay for their caucuses to have staffs and if they want to cut down government, why don't they lead by example and cut down their own caucus staffs and get rid of them after all. I'm a member of the Reform Party shouldn't I then have a caucus staff? I don't have one. Why do the Republicans and Democrats have won, you know, that's an interesting question and why and to me that should be paid for by the two political parties because they're doing political party work. Why should why should the average tax Dollar pay for that? That should be paid for from party donations and what the Republican and Democratic parties raise money. They should pay for their own staffs. It should not come out of the general fund budget or the taxpayers pocket over there. Don't they do a lot of legislative research work in the like though, too. Well for what their party caucuses their parties, they're doing it for Cindy our question for the governor (00:25:17) Yes. Actually I don't have a question. Good afternoon Governor Ventura. Hi Sherry. How are you today? I'm having a fine day calling you from Rochester and we both my husband and I are very reporting Reform Party Support. If I want to commend you on your efforts to hold the line on keeping the legislature on time back to personal responsibility and personal accountability. I'd like to be able to use my voting power to determine who's in the legislator next legislature next time. Should they not hold to what their job requirements are I would agree with you and I I would encourage you to please hold the line. My other thought is runs back to profiles on learning we have attended several. Different discussions down in Southeastern Minnesota regarding the profiles and I for the very first time called the entire list of the actual the committee that they set aside to discuss profiles and I was shocked at some of the letters. I received from Senators very condescending letters. I only received one that was encouraged my participation in government and coming from a Grassroots level having never done that before found something that I felt like I needed to place a voice in I was quite shocked at some of the responses I got but I have to tell you I'm back to personal account of I'm a big personal accountability person and I feel that the profiles Lin's kind of holds the children to more mediocre standards as opposed to higher standards. (00:27:06) Well, why do you say that because they still After pass all the same requirements on their basic skills testing which is, you know, they're reading their writing in their arithmetic and then the profiles makes them pass additional skills. Well, you know it (00:27:21) you're doing is though they're taking you away from your academic standards (00:27:25) in place and how and how how are they (00:27:27) doing that by putting you in like you'd said the learning how to operate a business encouraging the community employment employers to hire children and have these points systems and and when you to learn life skills, well, that's all well and good to but you know, there's nothing like good ol calculus and trigonometry. You only have so many days in a or hours until day, (00:27:57) but you know what though? I learned all that never used it. Well all that calculus and trig that I took in high school. I never used it and I'm 47. But now and now never used it at (00:28:10) once. Well, the the other the other side to that too is like his stated before when you introduce something like that. There's a heavy Federal involvement in with (00:28:21) profile. No, there's not. Oh sure there is no I think that's a misconception out there that that is being portrayed that this is somehow federally being federally done to my knowledge and working with with see here's my problem with it. I've got mesh, um who's a 36-year educator an award winning teacher and may very strongly supports it and says that teachers should be able to do it they and if they're truly into teaching like they want like they all should be in truly into gaining God children's learning that does that it's no big problem and I weigh very heavily on me. I will tell you this that I I use may very strongly on education because I respect her she's been in an award-winning educator for 36 years now and I would very much prefer, you know loved to have met answer these questions and Christine Jack's more than me because they met as someone that has worked in the education business now and literally done in her whole life. Bridget decoy is on the line from Albert Belle with a question. Go ahead, please. (00:29:26) Yes. Hello Governor Ventura rigid. How are you today? I wanted to ask about your policy views on environmental issues from the legislation you back concerning the ban on snowmobile studs and then an appointment for the mpca director for an executive in the industry that was under scrutiny of the mpca kind of seems that environmental issues aren't a concern yet. You're a great proponent of Light Rail. So I just wanted to get your feelings or have you speak to what your ideas are on environmental issues like feedlots and urban sprawl and if you have any kind of agenda, (00:30:01) well, well, my agenda is is very much our transportation package on urban sprawl because I think if you If you set up a good seven County and Statewide Transportation package that development will develop according to transportation that and you don't force people but it allows an option for people to live near Transportation hubs, which makes life a lot easier rather than what we have going on right. Now. What we have going on right now is just throw the leaves up in the wind and watch them blow and see where they go and I and that that's going to be you have to have a vision. I believe as a governor of more than two or four years. You have to take a vision of okay. What is Minnesota and the Twin Cities going to be like in the year 2010 or the year 2015 and that's what my vision is on Transportation issues is, you know, we need to look now to solve problems that are going to happen 10 to 15 years from now as far as studs on snowmobiles go they're willing to pay a higher fee for any damage and repair that it does. And it's also a thing dealing with personal safety that very clearly. I don't ride a snowmobile. I'd like to make that very clear because a lot there was a Miss conception out there that somehow I ride snowmobiles. I've never been on one in my life, but I've been told by people that do that as a safety issue. The studs are a lot better for public safety for the riders that do ride them to have the control over them. And so we as Government also have to look on a public safety standard and as far as my view is in on the environment goal, I believe very strongly in taking care of our environment, but I'm also a realist Gary and until someone can convince me. Otherwise, we humans are still number one on the food chain. So until that changes in some manner I have I've you I'm very practical when it comes to that. I believe in doing everything we can to support the environment but I also realize that you have to find a happy medium between the environment and what it requires to go through day to day Life Light Rail Transit is that now settled on have both there's nothing settled on well in terms of that there were Gary there's nothing until there's a bill in front of me. I'm not going to be bold enough to say something is settled upon. No because every time it seems it's settled upon the bar gets raised on something else. And so I am not guy, you know, I'm very confident is light rail. I think that as part of the whole Transportation package that it is coming to a positive in my book ending of of let's see, let's build it and see do you think do you see that line at the Hiawatha line as being kind of a No, I guess for lack of a better word and experiment build one and see how it works or do you really see in your mind's eye the the state of Minnesota building a whole series of these lines everywhere. I see a combination of both buses express lane buses LRT larger rail, you know, we're eventually going to have to run some type of rail from st. Cloud down to the Twin Cities because that along that I-94 Corridor is the fastest growing area in the state of Minnesota. And for people that don't want to believe in the future that that is going to end up one city running up and down I-94 if you drive it in right now from Weaver Lake Road in every morning, it's backed up traffic and it's the best it's going to be right now because as more development happens and more homes are built out that direction it's going to get heavy and heavy. So I view transportation is the big picture. You have to look at the big picture. We are us and Houston. Are the only two cities that don't have some type of mass commuter Transit and Houston's and the process of now changing their mind and getting it because of the success Dallas has had Dallas Texas. I mean Texans are the most committed to their cars of anybody. I know in the world and there were all the naysayers down there in Dallas saying no, it can't work and there was a great story in the Star Tribune on Sunday dealing with Dallas and the whole thing down there and now they can't hook up enough lines fast enough. Every suburb wants to connect to it. It's been an overwhelming success down there. I forget what the ridership is daily. It's huge and all the Texans are saying this is this has been remarkable and I'd love to see it. I mean, how nice would it be to have some type of rail going from even out by Lake Minnetonka all the way to downtown Minneapolis to Timber Wolf and Viking games where you wouldn't have to deal with that parking. Imagine how nice that would be, you know, you could pretty good offensive though. Not any more expensive than 394. What's the price tag on Interstate? 394 out there and what is it done? Has it alleviated any big traffic problems you driven. It lately doesn't look much different now than when it was Highway 12 just a lot more cement and it looks great, you know, but it's still traffic bumper to bumper and all of that and not see people don't realize that highways are subsidized every one of your roads out. There are subsidized via property taxes and things of that nature that and when they think yeah build more roads, they don't realize just the upkeep of these roads is more expensive than any rail ever would be just simply the upkeep of that and I just think you have to look to a big picture. You're never Gary and I'll ask you name me one city that is built their way out of congestion. I have no idea. There are none. Are we the first are we the city the Twin Cities of Minneapolis? I don't know build our way out of congestion. I don't want to bog down here on light rail, but I do have to I mean Advocate that light rail line on Long Hiawatha is not going to end congestion on the highway. So absolutely not and even if you were to build a full light rail system, would that end congestion on the highways maybe not but it'll certainly help and it will certainly give an alternative it'll give people an alternative rather than getting in a car what it will do though. It's going to run from the airport to downtown isn't it? So all those cars that have people that need to get from the airport to downtown. They'll get an alternative method rather than having to rent a car or to do, you know find some four-wheel gasoline mechanism to get to a Downtown hotel when I used to work for Ted Turner in Atlanta. They have a beautiful Marta system down there and I used to $34 for a round trip to the CNN to the airport until a Minnesotan said to me on the plane one day where you going and I told him and he said follow me and I jumped on the rail. Then it cost me $2. I went from spending thirty four to two, you know and much better ride. I actually arrived faster got there quicker. I'd be a going by on the rail and see these massive traffic jams out on the highway and I'm sitting there reading the paper relaxing and people used to get on and look and see Jesse The Body what are you doing on here? I said, hey, I ride. What's the best way to get there? I said, this is the best and I love the system in Atlanta loved it, you know went to one center location downtown you change there and I went to the next stop and drop me right by the Omni one block from the Omni in the CNN Center back to the phones Hank's on the line from New York Mills your question for the governor, please (00:37:42) good morning, Governor Ventura are good afternoon up here Hi, how are people in outstayed aren't really too concerned. The right rail down (00:37:49) there, but but but you should be though Hank and I'll tell you why after you hang (00:37:53) up and that's and that's and that's fine. No, but I just want you to know I appreciate the job you're doing I appreciate the way you've handled the public scrutiny I voted for you and I'm happy that I did. Thank you. I appreciate it. I also applaud your efforts to try to do anything. You can I don't believe that any government money should have anything to do with political parties. You're absolutely right on that one. Why any state tax dollars would go towards any kind of a political party effort in any way. I don't care what they're doing where they're making poles or whatever. Yeah and have anything to do with your (00:38:25) speaking to the caucus staff money. Yeah. Yup. (00:38:28) Exactly. Anything we can do to to get rid of that is is a wise idea to shoot something at you. All right people don't talk about too much because we only talk about it when we need money and that's the Canterbury down slot machines. Yeah, if putting up. She's a category downs and not are of course obviously not everybody believes. It is a good idea, but they talk about it when they talk about building a stadium back about it when they talk about doing this or using the money always earmarking the money for something. Yep. Why can't we build front Machines of the Canterbury Downs and and use it for tax dollars. He's it for the general (00:39:08) fund. Well, you could do anything you want if you get the legislature to approve it, but you're going to run into a lot of resistance on that because you know legislators knows people that accept packed and special interest money have special interest people that they answer to and there, you know, you've got very strong opposition over there to opening up any more gambling and you know, let's face it slot machines at Canterbury are additional gambling and you've got a huge opposition of legislation over there. That won't allow that to happen. I mean, let's look at it this way people nine days before the end of session when we had all these major major Bill's to deal with and look at Carrie Miller out there. She knows where I'm going already. She's smiling Kari Miller from Channel 11 sitting out there. But anyway nine days before the end of the session when we've got all these major bills to do I get a bill that comes to my desk that believe it or not the state regulated Gary that old folks homes could only play Bingo two nights a week. Now when this sessions over I want to find out who carried that bill and what governor signed that into law or how it got there what this did it repealed it. It says now that old folks can play Bingo every night if they want and here's the fun part. They're the prizes were never over $10 and you know what the major prize was Who got to go to the front of the dinner line first or the as ice in the military called the chow line? That was the big winner of the night. If you won the big bingo game in the old folks home. You got to eat ciao first and I had you know, this bill got repealed this law. That's how strict it is on gambling in the state of Minnesota. What do you think about raising the legal age to gamble in Minnesota? There's a plan afoot to raise the right. Now if you're 18, you can gamble legally the plan would raise it to 19. I think that we have a bigger picture than that to look at Gary we have the big picture to look at is we better decide on who's an adult And what I say there is this legally you can be drafted into the military at 18 years of age. Does that not make you an adult if you could get if you could be drafted if there was a draft which you still have to register for the draft, even though there's not a draft at 18 years of age. We make all our young men go down and register for the draft at that point. You got it. We have to decide as a society. If you're old enough to be an adult to do not put your life on the line and die for your country. Shouldn't you likewise to be old enough to gamble be old enough to consume alcohol be old enough to do all these other and I'm not saying 18s the necessary age I'm saying it's time for us to get a consistent message and say and pick an age out and say this is the age you are an adult and let's be consistent with it. Not what works here nice and don't work there one of the biggest things I face that that really bothered me when I was young I went in Volunteered went into the military. I went to training and all that. I went to Southeast Asia for nine months. I came back I couldn't vote and I couldn't drink a beer. Because I was one I was a child. So what does that tell me? It tells me we send our children to war. We don't send adults because I at that point in my life. I couldn't Vote or have a beer. Well failing that broader discussion about when a person becomes an adult he think it's a good idea to move the age up to 19 on the gambling then I think we should move the draft registration up to 19 to Short of that though leave it. Okay. No, I'm saying what I believe in right if if if you're old enough to be drafted into our country's military, you are old enough to be considered an adult in every aspect of life. So if you're going to move that the gambling age to 19 then move the draft age to 19 with it, otherwise leave it alone. Otherwise leave it alone or get consistent pick the age out. It's time to pick the age out me know your question, (00:43:31) please Governor. I applaud you for your stand not having a special session and I am saying this few years ago. I was listening to a lobbyist to spoke to a group. I was nervous and he was there from beginning to end and he said you would not believe the time that is wasted the first half or two-thirds of the time those guys are there they accomplished nothing and I don't think Should ever be a special session and that's exactly what that lobbyists said and that person who called earlier and said pay them has I would say pay them nothing if they don't get their work done the rest of us don't get paid. If we don't get our work done. Well, it's easy to work with the Public's money and let the different parties donate money to if they want to stay there. (00:44:28) Yeah, Nina, let me fire this one at you. If you were out working in the private sector and your company came up to you and said Nina, we've got this major job to do and you have to get it done between January 4th. You're going to start this job on January 4th, but it must be finished by May the 17th. And I and you couldn't get the job done. Do you think you'd still be working at that (00:44:52) company right? There were throw me out and what I would do and those guys over there should do it plan their time. They know what they have to accomplish but it's easy to waste the public. (00:45:04) Money, you know, I think Nina you should run for (00:45:07) office. That's what a couple of friends that Governor. You are a man after my own heart. Thank you Nina terrific job and I thank you. And I admire you. I also think we need a unicameral legislature. (00:45:20) Oh, yeah absolutely need a oh, I couldn't I'll tell you what was Nina set up call for me. And I don't think so there. You've got an honest Minnesotan right there. You can tell by that accent to that there. There's a Minnesotan through and through I could tell there someone who speaks Minnesotan. I bet you Nina had a part in Fargo. You know that that there's a Minnesotan and I agree with her unicameral and this is the prime example right now of what you've got going on that should sell people on unicameral legislation on the other hand Governor if you only had one house and it was controlled by one party and they had enough votes they could do whatever they wanted regardless of what you thought regardless of what the minority We thought that would be the law. Yeah, that's true. But then again we would all vote them in wouldn't we that would be the people of Minnesota voting these candidates in if they didn't have 2/3 and I highly doubt you would ever see one party having say you had a hundred people there if I highly doubt you'd ever see one party with 67. And which they could override my veto don't you think, you know, you get some you get some good ideas out of the give-and-take that comes with this this forget about the fact that they're right down to the wire here. But every session you've got these negotiations going on and you different people with different perspectives coming to go get that you would sure you would you know, what the difference would be. It would be done. It would be debated out on the open floor rather than in conference committees where the public can hear or see it. You ain't house Speaker swaggin was right today. He said, you know if all these last-minute negotiations with him and Mo and yourself were conducted publicly. They probably would have been done quite a while ago. He's certainly entitled to his opinion. I he may be right. I don't know but I I had four people from Nebraska come into my office about a month ago in Nebraska has unicameral and these were citizens and I started to ask them about it and they couldn't tell me how great it was how it cut down the bureaucracy. It makes every Over there stand on their vote and this and they they couldn't say enough good things about it. But all four of them agreed on one thing there was one major negative thing about unicameral that all four of these people from Nebraska agreed on you know, what that was Gary. They said the only downside was we didn't implement it 25 years sooner. That was the part that they didn't like that they'd waited too long to do it. Let's get one more caller on here. Anyway before we wrap up Tom. (00:47:54) Hi, good afternoon. I am Governor. Hi Tom. How are you today? Good good, great to speak with you. I've actually got a bit of a follow up question. The first part of which I asked a few weeks ago at a symposium at the Fitzgerald theater in st. Paul regarding youth issues where you and commissioner Jacks were there and my question that that time was due to the staff turnover, which is usually contributed to by low wages in the childcare industry and staff turnover being a concern in that industry. I was wondering about state tax exemption for those workers. To encourage retention for the daycare workers and you gave a great answer which I'll be honest surprised me a little bit but I was also very pleased to hear and you said that you would support a state tax exemption for all low wage workers. I had heard you say that anytime before and I haven't heard you mention any time since I'm wondering if you could kind of elaborate on that a little bit and let me know if you've got any initiatives in that area. (00:48:46) Well what I what I mean by that is the fact II don't like where where I hear about the word living wage where governments going to come in and mandate that a private sector industry has to pay a certain amount of money. I would prefer because what happens then is that yeah. Okay say hypothetically the government comes in and says, no, you can't pay $7 an hour. We're going to make you pay nine. Well what happens then out of that extra two bucks the government gets part of that. Which causes government to grow the more money government gets the more government tends to grow I would prefer to use an attitude of keep them at the same wage just don't make them pay taxes or cut them on that end rather than Simply Having government intervening saying, oh we have to raise the wages and government coming out there like big brother because when government does that government benefits from it because that means government's got of that to box government's going to get how much 60 some 70 cents of it a third of it. Third of its going to go to the government where I would prefer to see some type of initiative. I'd rather see very very low wage people pay less in taxes. Let them keep more of their money rather than forcing this inflation to happen of keep raising the bar raising the bar raising the bar the but then again that's down the road stuff. It's not going to happen this legislative session because I didn't have time to do all of that Health and Human Services bill is always an important. And one affects a lot of people and the house version of that bill contains some abortion related measures if push comes to shove you get down to the deadline. I know you've said that you simply are not going to accept any restrictions on abortion. Is there any wiggle room there at all? No, because I believe that's a Judicial decision the judge. I think that if people want to do something with abortion, they should bring a court case to the through the judicial system. The Minnesota Supreme Court has said unequivocally that the woman has the right to choose and and and for us to start, you know to me it's a decision that sled that should be left in court. If you want to challenge it go through the judicial and the government because that's why we have legislative executive and judicial and they've stated that that's the law and so it should be challenged through the judicial and not backdooring it on a Health and Human Services Bill, even if no bill passes at all or could get past you'd be Be willing to veto that measure. Okay. What about the tobacco money? Is that going to be is that endowment process that you proposed? Is that going to make it through the final I ringer here. Like I said, you know as of Sunday, I thought the only thing left on the table to of contention was just the upper tier tax relief, but then you know, actually that you know, the the Senate still wanted their additional money for you know, I'll take that back a little they always were in contention for more money for the public school system, but I thought it would break the Log Jam whether it does or don't I don't know and and the same holds true on the you know, I'd like to think that we've saved it but until I see an actual bill. You don't know till you see the bill until the agreement is reached and again before we go off the air Gary. I I'll make my statement again that I will open the residence tonight for the house and the Senate leadership to come over and they can sit down and whatever room they choose and that they can stay there all night long if they want to to come to an agreement. That's my position. My position is if it takes 24 hours a day till Monday to get the job done. Let's get the job done. And let's do it. You heard from the callers today. They seem pretty negative towards giving these people more time when they were elected to do their jobs and have had four and a half months to do them. Like the one woman said they sit around for two months doing nothing and then all of a sudden dig because they're playing poker. They let it go to the last week. Well, you know, that's fine. That's the way it's not fine. But that's the way they've always done it but now is the time for them to get their job done and there's no excuse for them not to get it done. I gave them the budget two and a half weeks ahead of time. That's like a special session. Had two and a half additional weeks, but I'm confident they can get it done. If they if they don't well then they'll and you know will all answer to the people of Minnesota. I guess fishing opener this weekend. Are you going to catch a fish Arne Carlson couldn't well anyone that fish has enough knows not to make a prediction like that Gary you you don't know if they're going to bite you certainly know you're going to go out and try your darndest to do it. But whether the fish bite or not, I'm not going to go out. I am not going to go out on a limb and say yes, I absolutely will but I will tell the people of Minnesota. I'll give it my best shot and we'll see what happens and you know and rest assured though. It won't matter if I have an underwater camera or not that will make any difference whether that fish bites or not. Thanks Governor. Thank you. Gary. Always a pleasure Governor Jesse Ventura joining us during this hour of our midday program. If you miss part of the program by the way will be re broadcasting conversation with the governor at nine o'clock tonight rebroadcast here on Minnesota public radio thats it for our Day program now we have news headlines next and then Melinda pankova will be along with today's edition of Talk of the (00:54:10) Nation. Gary over wonder how sound man Tom Keith creates all those wonderful sound effects on A Prairie Home Companion. Check out A Prairie Home online this we can find out the show has lots of great (00:54:21) visual gags and you can catch a glimpse of the audience and host Garrison Keillor (00:54:24) click on Prairie Home dot-org. (00:54:28) You're listening to Minnesota Public Radio. We have light rain 57 degrees at Kenner wfm 91.1 Minneapolis. And st. Paul showers and thundershowers are likely all afternoon. Maybe some heavy rain for that matter with a hive supposedly reaching the mid 60's occasional showers tonight with a low in the 50s and then more rain is likely tomorrow with a high right around 60 degrees.