The 80 non-metro counties pay 36 percent
As we know, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has presidential aspirations, which means, since he’s a Republican, courting the likes of casino mogul Sheldon Adelson, who is quite proud of his Jewish heritage. In Madison’s Capital Times Jesse Opoien writes, “Navigating a religion or culture you weren't brought up in can be challenging, to say the least. … In an undated letter unearthed by the liberal group One Wisconsin Now during the August release of documents from the first of two John Doe investigations related to the governor, Walker responded to a letter from Milwaukee attorney and chairman of the Wisconsin Center District Franklyn Gimbel. Walker told Gimbel his office would be happy to display a menorah celebrating ‘The Eight Days of Chanukah’ at the Milwaukee County Courthouse, and asked Gimbel to have a representative from Lubavitch of Wisconsin contact Walker's secretary, Dorothy Moore, to set it up. The letter is signed, ‘Thank you again and Molotov.’"
Some call it “catch up,” others call it “payback.” Tim Pugmire’s MPR story says, “Republicans reclaimed the House by winning big in rural districts on claims that Democrats had shortchanged Greater Minnesota in favor of the Twin Cities. Over the next two years, they plan to continue that theme with several new committees to highlight specific rural concerns. … The latest numbers from the nonpartisan Minnesota House Research Department show the seven-county metro area pays 64 percent of the state's taxes and gets back 53 percent of the major tax aids, credits and refunds. By comparison, the 80 non-metro counties pay 36 percent and get back 47 percent.”
Speaking of GOP interest in outstate, Aaron Brown in his Strib blog writes, “A few weeks ago, Daudt announced new House committee structures, one of which stood out to me: the new "Mining and Outdoor Recreation" committee. On the surface, this seemed odd. Mining and outdoor recreation are only ever related to one another here on the Iron Range, one small part of the state. Further, both represent a relatively small portion of the business before any given legislature. In essence, this was a political strategy disguised as a legislative committee.”