Lt. Gov. Tina Smith, right, examines a cupcake-scented bath mix while Rae Anne Conat explains how she makes them in her store, Swanky Sweet Pea.
Snowmobilers leave the AmericInn Friday, which played host to the Minnesota United Snowmobilers Association Winter Rendezvous.
Lt. Gov. Tina Smith said she came to the MnUSA Winter Rendezvous to celebrate all that is snowmobiling and its impact on the local and state economies.
Lt. Gov. Tina Smith talked Friday with Voyageurs National Park Superintendent Mike Ward at the Rainy Lake Visitor Center before heading out for a ride on the Rainy Lake Ice Road, her first ice road experience, she said.
Rae Anne Conat, left, explains to Lt. Gov Tina Smith how she uses a machine to compress the scented bath mixes she makes and sells in her store, Swanky Sweet Pea.
A member of Lt. Gov. Tina Smith’s staff snapped this picture on Rainy Lake ice of International Falls Mayor Bob Anderson, Smith, and VNP Superintendent Mike Ward, after a drive on the ice.
A rider waves to The Journal’s camera as he leaves the AmericInn.
With just six weeks on the job, Minnesota Lt. Gov. Tina Smith is racking up the miles and the experiences.
On Friday, she had her first visit to the Icebox of the Nation and Minnesota’s only national park, first snowmobile ride, and her first experience driving on an ice road.
And while the Minnesota United Snowmobilers Association Winter Rendezvous lured her to Borderland, once here Smith had an energetic itinerary.
“We’re here to have fun with the snow, but we’re also here to talk about economic development,” said Smith.
Smith addressed a gathering of MnUSA members Friday morning as they prepared for trail rides guided by local snowmobilers in the Borderland area. Many were headed to the Kabetogama Community Center for lunch.
She’d just flown into International Falls that morning from Roseau, where she visited Thursday Polaris and pledged to get to Thief River Falls to visit Arctic Cat.
Gov. Mark Dayton knows well the value of winter tourism to the entire state, said Smith noting that 10 percent of Minnesotans get on a sled at least one time each year.
“It’s fun and a huge economic driver,” she said of the state which she said invented snowmobiling.
“What really makes this run is the volunteers,” Smith said.
As snowmobilers stood inside the AmericInn, which served as headquarters for rendezvous activities, listening to Smith, snowsuits were unzipped and hats pulled from heads.
“I don’t want you to overheat in this room,” she told the group. “I can’t wait to get out there with you.”
Smith traded in her winter puffy coat and jeans for a Polaris helmet and snowsuit and got instruction from Mike Heibel as she hopped behind him on the seat of his machine.
Heibel served as co-chair of the Steering Committee of the International Voyageurs Snowmobile Club, which played host, with assistance from the other area snowmobile clubs, to the 2015 Winter Rendezvous.
Marlys Knutson attended her more than 30th rendezvous event representing Polaris. She brought sleds to the event for others to ride, she said.
“We’re always thankful when the governor, or someone from his cabinet, comes and joins us,” she said, adding that she was sure folks from “Cat” or Arctic Cat representatives were in the room as well.
MnUSA offers the chance for snowmobilers to enjoy their sport with others in the snowmobiling community, as well as often with state lawmakers and staff with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
“It’s just a lot of fun. Snowmobilers are the cream of the crop,” said Knutson. “They are wonderful people, they work hard. You’ve got to understand that snowmobiling is primarily done by volunteers.”
Many people believe the state pays staff to create, maintain and groom snowmobile trails for the public to use. Not so, she and others said.
“The clubs work very hard at it,” she said. “They have a lot of fun, but they also have a lot of fundraisers, they do a lot of work: brush out trails in the fall, get them ready to go in the spring.”
As Heibel moved through the crowd on Friday morning, he said getting the large groups of snowmobilers organized for guided trail rides was a bit overwhelming.
“We’ve got a lot of people, and people are excited,” said Heibel Friday morning. “The weather is cooperating today, but snowmobilers — we’re hardy people, we can handle the cold like we will tomorrow.”
Heibel estimated more than 150 people were registered as of Friday morning and he expected more.
Prior to Smith’s brief talk Friday morning, IVSC’s Joe Mershon introduced Terry Hutchinson, president of MnUSA, who discussed Smith’s role as lieutenant governor.
Following the ride, Smith was all smiles.
“We had a wonderful time,” she said. “We went out for about 10 miles and MnUSA folks looked like they are having an absolute blast.”
On a tight schedule, Smith said she was excited to the see the park and was delayed getting there after the snowmobile ride. She was driven on the Rainy Lake Ice Road by International Falls Mayor Bob Anderson.
“It was a little hard to say goodbye to the snowmobilers,” she said of her schedule delay.
At the visitor center, Smith talked about the park and the challenges it faces with Superintendent Mike Ward.
Justin Olson, Voyageurs National Park interpretive ranger, greeted Smith at the Rainy Lake Visitor Center. He said she viewed the exhibits and discussed the opportunities offered by the park.
Any time state or federal officials can visit Voyageurs National Park and find out about its opportunities is a good thing, Olson said.
Concluded Smith: “Pretty good for my first six weeks as lieutenant governor to get a chance to do some of these things.”
Business challenges
After spending Friday morning taking in the sights of Koochiching County via snowmobile, Smith met with a local entrepreneur to discuss challenges facing small business owners.
She paid a visit to Swanky Sweet Pea and its owner Rae Anne Conat to get a first-hand smell of the fragrant bath and beauty products Conat offers.
Smith listened as Conat told her about the struggles she’s experienced as a small business owner trying to drum up capital to purchase necessary equipment, upgrades and certifications. Conat said she’s had to cut back on vacations and other comforts in order to make her business work.
Conat cited the work and expertise of Jenny Herman, local Small Business Development Center consultant, in helping her find available loans and grants.
Smith said access to working capital for upgrades and improvements necessary to stay ahead of the competition is something she hears from small business owners throughout Minnesota.
“And because of the Great Recession, banks and lenders are more risk-averse now,” Smith said. “So small business owners are paying the price for other people’s mistakes.”
While banks haven’t been able to provide her with the loans she needs, Conat said they’ve shared many tips and recommendations to make sure she’s on the right track.
Smith said there are smaller-scale “agri-grants” available from the Minnesota Department of Agriculture which may help Conat get the capital she needs. Conat responded she had just finished her application packet, and was ready to submit it.
Sen. Tom Bakk
Borderland’s state senator has been pretty busy these days.
Not only is Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk guiding the Minnesota Senate, but he’s answering questions about a public rift in Minnesota’s DFL family.
Bakk told The Journal Tuesday he didn’t believe progress of the Legislature would be hindered or delayed after a disagreement went public about how salary raises initiated by Gov. Mark Dayton for his cabinet were handled by Bakk.
Instead, Bakk said he believes “it was a bit of miscommunication” by both he and the governor.
“We both made decisions without informing each other in advance,” Bakk said.
Dayton accused Bakk of “stabbing me in the back” just hours after the DFL-led Senate voted overwhelmingly Thursday on a Bakk-authored amendment that put on hold until July 1 the salary hikes totaling $800,000.
The Legislature in 2013 gave the governor the authority to raise the salaries of commissioners higher than the governor’s salary.
“He was within his authority to do what he did — no question about that,” Bakk said.
However, Bakk said the governor didn’t inform him of his plans to raise the salaries.
“He didn’t tell me what he was going to do and I am on the Senate that gave him that authority in 2013,” Bakk said. “I had to read about it in the newspaper. That’s the miscommunication on his part.”
Bakk said the governor determined the amount of the salary raises by the results of a study conducted by a private consultant.
“I did not know he’d had a study,” Bakk said.
The study offered a comparison of the commissioners’ salaries to others with similar numbers of people managed, responsibilities and budgets in other governments, nonprofit organizations and business, Bakk said.
Bakk said he found out about the study via a note passed to him on the Senate floor.
“I said let’s see the study, and offered an amendment to delay the raises until July 1 to review the data,” Bakk said. “The raises may well be warranted, and we may not question what he gave people is not fair, I just would like to see the study to see all the comparisons made.”
The study results are considered private data, but staff with the Minnesota Office of Management and Budget are in the process of making the information public, Bakk said.
“That’s where my miscommunication came from — not telling him we want to see the study and don’t want the raises in effect before that,” Bakk said. “So I should have told him that before I offered the amendment.”
While Bakk said he believed the governor overreacted, he didn’t think it would permanently “drag on. We’ve had skirmishes; it’s not that unusual.”
He said Gov. Rudy Perpich often had problems with fellow DFLers in the Legislature while he served as DFL governor.
“We will be fine,” Bakk said of his relationship with the governor. “It’s likely we don’t even disagree on this. He just has a lot more information on this than I do.”
The public is skeptical about whether a $35,000 increase in salary is warranted for a commissioner, or any other position, Bakk said.
“So the public needs to see this information and that is part of the legislative process — having hearings and giving the public the opportunity to come, see it on TV, and maybe even testify,” Bakk said. “The Legislature is the place the public has the opportunity to get engaged.”
Mending the relationship has already started, Bakk said.
“My chief of staff has had conversations with the Lt. Governor (Tina Smith) about the best path for (Dayton) and I to move forward,” Bakk said. “This, too, shall pass.”
Meanwhile, the Legislature is in week seven of the 18-week session and “it’s going pretty fast,” Bakk said.
Feb. 27, when the state budget forecast is determined, is the next big day for the Legislature.
“We will know exactly how much we have to appropriate,” he said. “Until then, it’s a matter of going through confirmation of the governor’s commissioners.”
The Senate, through the state Constitution, is somewhat responsible for ratifying the governor’s choices for state department leaders, he said.
“I don’t expect to have any problems,” he said.
A legislative auditor’s report on MNsure was due Tuesday, Bakk said. The report is expected to suggest the strengths and deficiencies of the program and Bakk said he expects some additional legislation to define the process.
Ryan
Anderson
No musher in the 26-year history of the U.P. Sled Dog Race has ever won the event five times.
Until now.
Ryan Anderson of Ray was the first of 14 teams to cross the finish line Sunday in Marquette, Mich., to become the first five-time champion.
“It feels good,” Anderson said of the win.
The musher took second in the event last year and won the U.P. 200 four consecutive times before that.
Just two weeks earlier, Anderson won the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon.
While this year’s accomplishment is an exciting one for Anderson, it isn’t the reason for competing in the event.
“I come to this race because I like to run dogs,” he told The Journal Monday. “If I can do that and get a win, it’s just a bonus.”
The victory didn’t come easy. Fierce winds gusting up to 45 miles per hour and fresh snow tested the musher and his team, but the dogs handled it well, he said.
“The weather typically sucks,” he said with a laugh. “I’ve come to this race 12 times, and I think there was only one time we ran on a hard trail. The rest, it’s been covered in snow.”
That held true this year as several inches of new snow blanketed the race route. In fact, Anderson said there was question if the event would even be held as scheduled because of road closures in the area.
“Handlers couldn’t get from checkpoint to checkpoint because the road was closed,” he said. “They ended up opening it, but there were blizzard conditions.”
Even in less-than-desired weather, the U.P. 200 is one of his favorite races, Anderson said.
“I really enjoy the course,” he said. “We run through a real mature hardwood forest and you can see forever. It’s a beautiful area.”
Strong finish
Anderson crossed Sunday’s finish line with 10 of the 12 dogs with which he started the race. One of the dogs he dropped from the team during the race was young and started to show signs of mental fatigue, he said.
“He was doing phenomenal,” Anderson noted. “But he’s young and I didn’t see any need to take him if I didn’t have to.”
The other dog dropped was developing a minor injury and even though the dog likely would have worked out the injury, Anderson said he didn’t want to take any chances.
“I want to keep him for Hudson Bay,” he said of a March race in which he plans to compete. “I was being conservative with that dog and considering how I need him down the road. I couldn’t look just at this race...Plus, I was confident finishing with the 10 dogs I had. They all did great.”
The musher said the team will get a well deserved rest before they are back in action at the Hudson Bay Quest Sled Dog Race in Churchill, Manitoba, March 13.
“I’m really happy with the dogs and how they performed,” he said. “Now we will get home and give the yearlings some experience.”
Anderson will travel to Ely Sunday to compete in the WolfTrack Classic. The race, will be the first for many of his younger dogs, he said.
“We’re going to go and have fun,” he said. “I’m excited to see how they do.”
Amanda Vogel, also of Ray, finished the U.P. 200 in 13th place. She did not return calls to The Journal as of press time.
Ryan
Anderson
