By Fritz Busch and

Clay Schuldt

Journal Staff Writers

SLEEPY EYE – Sen. Gary Dahms and Rep. Paul Torkelson received so many questions from constituents that they had to leave for their next town-hall meeting without answering all questions at Brown County REA Auditorium Friday.

Sleepy Eye City Manager Mark Kober and Brown County Commissioner Dean Simonsen asked that Local Government Aid (LGA) be restored to 2002 levels when it was cut due to tough economic times.

“I’m not asking for a handout, just restoring (LGA) to the level it was 13 years ago,” Kober said.

Torkelson said the LGA formula should be reviewed and that the League of Minnesota Cities and Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities will push for restoring funding back to 2002 levels.

Brown County Farm Bureau President Greg Bartz said farm managers are concerned about the future of agriculture after reviewing farm accounting data the past few years,

Dahms said rural Republican and Democratic legislators are working together on legislation to improve the situation.

Regarding all-day school for four-year-olds which Gov. Mark Dayton sought, Dahms said it would cost the State $880 million in the next two years. “I don’t see where the money is to do it,” Dahms said.

Torkelson said he didn’t support the plan and that private business people would be threatened by it. “Many schools have no room for the program now,” he said. “I feel targeted programs for needy kids is a more sensible approach.”

Kathi Gruenhagen of Gibbon mentioned discriminatory practices against people over age 40, the need to audit the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS), how the Minnesota Merit System is handled, and ensuring that government legal notices continue in small town newspapers instead of placing them online.

She also talked about the need to create a line of authority for pipelines and praised a drinking water quality report recently done at Texas A&M University.

“That’s a lot of things to mention at once,” Dahms said.

Torkelson talked about the need to simplify the Minnesota property tax system, which he called the most complicated tax system in the world. “We have to simplify it,” Torkelson said.

Nursing home funding was a hot topic with some constituents.

“We’re upset about nursing home rates going up 29 percent. The sky must be the limit,” said Alphonse Mathiowetz of Mulligan Township, near Comfrey. “My wife and daughter both worked in nursing homes. They were really exhausted after eight hour shifts. I hope (nursing home) employees got raises after rates went up. I called the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office and they told me to talk to legislators.”

Dahms said several nursing homes in his district were on the verge of closing due to lack of funding and lack of employees, which prompted him to support higher funding. “I realize it’s tough for private pay people, but nursing home employees were grossly underpaid. We had to increase nursing home rates to avoid losing nursing homes,” Dahms said. “I understand you’re upset, but I think you’d be more upset if your nursing home closed. It takes people with special skills to work at nursing homes.”

Torkelson said the number of Minnesota over age 65 will greatly increase in the near future, so the need for nursing homes will not diminish.

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NEW ULM-Following meetings in Sleepy Eye and Springfield, Sen. Gary Dahms and Rep. Paul Torkelson held a third town-hall meeting at the New Ulm Pizza Ranch, to discuss legislative issues with constituents prior to the start of the 2016 session.

The main topic of discussion among those attending was the need for legislation to increase wages for assisted living and home healthcare workers. Over 35 people attended the New Ulm meeting, most of whom worked for area group homes or received services from group home staff. Several individuals spoke on the need for a wage increase.

Pat Booker spoke on behalf of her son Keith who requires 24-hour care at the Sarah Hills Home.

“It is a wonderful group home. They take excellent care, the staff is wonderful. They are special people, kind, compassionate, they are professional. They do their job very well, and that is a relief to me,” said Booker. “But I see [staff] leave and I know the reason they leave go somewhere with better-paying jobs.”

Booker worried that if this continued the services and quality of living for her son would diminish. She supported a 5 percent increase to staff wages, adding that staff deserved it.

Ric Nelson, MBW Company CEO, spoke at the meeting that special waivers will not solve the problem if they remain understaffed.

“As a CEO, I have grave concerns about the future of our business and our ability to continue because we can’t hire enough people to do the services,” he said.

Torkelson comment that he and Dahms were familiar with the issues faced and by these health care professionals. Both legislators stated they were dedicated to implementing a wage increase program for Group Home staff similar to the 5 Percent Campaign for Nursing Homes that was passed in previous sessions.

“This is a huge industry in our district,” said Torkelson. “Lots of people depend on the services, and lots of folks depend on it for their employment.”

Dahms agreed it was time to increase wages as it has become a greater struggle for the group homes and assisted living services to hire qualified employees. “I will co-sign and push for a 5 percent bill, but I don’t think that is the answer. We have to come with something that is more consistent and stable.”

Robert Childrey, a legislative liaison support professional with supportive living service MBW, asked how to communicate the need for group home assistance to the House and Senate leadership.

Dahms stressed the need to contact the Department of Health and Humans Services with these concerns saying, “If they get on board, they will have strong impact on the governor.”

The senator explained this was one of the methods that led to passing the 5 Percent Campaign for the Nursing Homes.

Another issue addressed at the New Ulm meeting included transportation.

Torkelson believes transportation will once again be a major issue during the session, including the continued expansion of Highway 14.

“Highway 14 has been an issue since before I was elected,” said Torkelson. “We continue to advocate strongly for that.”

Dahms took time to address Real ID, saying a lot of misinformation was being spread on the subject. Real ID was an act passed in 2005 by Congress that modified U.S. Federal law regarding security, authentication, and issuance procedures standards for state drivers’ licenses and identification cards. The legislators in Minnesota voted to pass a bill that took authority from licensing bureaus and the Department of Transportation to deal with the federal government on Real ID. Dahms explained this was done because data privacy laws for Minnesota and the Federal Government are drastically different.

“Our’s is a much more stringent, stronger bill for data privacy and we wanted to keep it that way,” said Dahms.

The legislators are currently working to ensure data privacy.

“We will probably rescind that bill this coming session, and that will give our agencies the right to start dealing with the federal government on Real ID.”

The federal government has given the state another two-year extension, allowing current IDs to work in the same way as in the past. Dahms added that people in Minnesota will be able to get Real ID now, if they choose.

The 2016 session will begin late this year, on March 8, due to the ongoing construction at the Capitol.