Laurel Beager / FILE PHOTO 

Rep. David Dill

Sen. Tom Bakk

Al

Franken

Sen. Amy Klobuchar

U.S. Rep. Rick

Nolan

With the onset of a new year, Borderland's state and federal lawmakers have been assigned to committees.

State

Rep. David Dill, DFL-Crane Lake, was first elected in 2012 and is serving his seventh term.

Dill serves on the following House committees: Greater Minnesota Economic & Workforce Development Policy; Environment & Natural Resources Policy & Finance; Agriculture Finance and Mining & Outdoor Recreation Policy.

The Minnesota House of Representatives provides live, unedited web and mobile streaming video coverage of all floor sessions, as well as select committee hearings and press conferences. All programming is archived. Minnesota House web and mobile streaming video schedules, and links to the live webcasts, can be found at: www.house.mn/htv/schedule.asp.

Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk, DFL-Tower, served in the House from 1995-2002; Senate representing District 6 from 2003-2012, and Senate representing District 3 from 2013 to the present.

Bakk serves as chair of the Senate Rules and Administration Committee and the Taxes Committee.

The Secretary of the Senate, Senate Media Services Office, provides nonpartisan media services on behalf of the Senate to the public, the legislature, administrative agencies and news organizations. See the website at http://www.senate.mn/media/.

Congress

U.S. Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., will continue membership on the Senate Judiciary Committee, serving as ranking member on the Subcommittee on Privacy, Technology, and the Law. He will also remain on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and for this Congress, will serve as ranking member on the Subcommittee on Employment and Workplace Safety.

In addition, Franken will continue to serve on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., serves on the following Senate committees: Judiciary Committee; ranking Senate member of the Joint Economic Committee; chairman of the Senate Democratic Steering and Outreach Committee; Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee; Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee; Rules and Administration Committee.

U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan serves as a member of the Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure and House Agriculture Committee, as well as the following subcommittees:

• Subcommittee on Highways and Transit
• Subcommittee on Aviation
• Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management
• Subcommittee on Water Resources and the Environment
• Subcommittee on Conservation, Energy and Forestry
• Subcommittee on Livestock, Rural Development, and Credit

District Court

The following people have been sentenced in Koochiching County District Court on felony or aggravated misdemeanor charges. The information is provided to The Journal by district court staff.

Dalton B. Williams, 27, International Falls, was sentenced Jan. 26 for felony fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct and felony third-degree controlled substance crime.

On the criminal sexual conduct, he was given a stay of imposition of sentence and placed on eight years supervised probation. He was ordered to serve 60 days jail and pay fine and fees of $225. He was ordered to complete a sex offender program. He must register as a predatory offender, provide a DNA sample to the state, and follow the recommendations of a chemical assessment. He may have no contact with the victim or family and may have no contact with people less than age 18. He was ordered to have no access or use of the internet without approval. He was ordered to consume no alcohol or controlled substances and must submit to random tests and searches. He may not enter bars, liquor stories or social gatherings where alcohol is served or consumed. He must serve 80 hours with the Sentence to Serve program and pay $225 fine and fees.

On the controlled substance crime, he was given a stay of imposition of sentence and placed on eight years supervised probation. The sentence is to be served concurrent with the sexual conduct sentence.

Thomas A. Baker IV, 24, International Falls, was sentenced Jan. 26 to felony first-degree burglary.

He was given a stay of adjudication and the case was continued. He was placed on three years supervised probation and ordered to serve 14 days jail and pay $225 fine and fees.

Brent W. Hanson, 43, International Falls, was sentenced Jan. 26 for felony fifth-degree possession of drugs.

He was given a stay of imposition of sentence and placed on five years supervised probation. He was ordered to serve 20 days jail and given credit for 13 days served. He was ordered to pay fine and fees of $375 and to serve 40 hours with the Sentence to Serve program. He was ordered not to use alcohol or controlled substances and may not enter bars, liquor stores or social gatherings where alcohol is served or consumed. He must submit to random tests and searches and complete all recommendations of an evaluation.

Michael D. Pula, 29, Northome, was sentenced Jan. 26 for gross misdemeanor driving while intoxicated.

He was sentenced to one year jail and $3,125 fine and fees. All but $1,325 and 45 days jail were stayed on court conditions and he was placed on three years supervised probation. He was ordered to complete a chemical assessment and may not use alcohol or enter bars or liquor stores. He must submit to random tests and searches and serve 120 hours with the Sentence to Serve program.

Gust L. Wells, 33, Meadowlands, was sentenced Jan. 26 for gross misdemeanor refuse to submit to chemical test.

He was sentenced to one year jail and $3,200 fine and fees. All but 30 days jail and $1,200 was stayed on court conditions and he was placed on three years supervised probation. He was ordered to complete treatment and aftercare and may not use alcohol or controlled substances or enter bars or liquor stores. He must submit to random tests and searches and serve 80 hours with the Sentence to Serve program.

Katie Clark Sieben

Minnesota’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 3.6 percent in December, according to figures released by the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development.

The U.S. unemployment rate was 5.6 percent.

State employers cut 5,200 jobs during the month. Those figures, combined with revised figures that reduced November’s gains by 4,000 jobs, brought job growth in Minnesota over the past year to 33,400. Jobs are up 1.2 percent in the state from one year ago, compared with 2.2 percent nationally.

“While December’s job numbers are disappointing, the state unemployment rate fell for the fifth consecutive month and is now at its lowest level since April 2001,” DEED Commissioner Katie Clark Sieben said in a release. “This drop in unemployment occurred as the labor force participation rate ticked up to 70 percent, and as the employment-to-population ratio rose again for the fourth consecutive month.”

Local numbers

Locally in Koochiching County in December, there were 524 unemployed persons from a labor force of 6,399, for an unemployment rate of 8.2 percent. This compares to November, when there were 469 unemployed persons from a labor force of 6,287, for an unemployment rate of 7.5 percent.

In December 2013 in Koochiching County, there were 614 unemployed persons from a labor force of 6,449, for an unemployment rate of 9.5 percent.

Trade, transportation and utilities led all industrial sectors in December with 4,100 new jobs. Other sectors with gains were other services, with 400 jobs and information, with 300 jobs. Logging and mining held steady.

Sectors that lost jobs were government, down 4,200 jobs, education and health services, down 1,500 jobs, manufacturing, down 1,400 jobs, financial activities, down 1,100 jobs, leisure and hospitality, down 900 jobs, professional and business services, down 600 jobs and construction, down 300 jobs.

Over the past year, nine of 11 sectors have gained jobs: professional and business services, up 11,995 jobs, education and health services, up 8,910 jobs, manufacturing, up 7,589 jobs, leisure and hospitality, up 4,891 jobs, trade, transportation and utilities, up 1,329 jobs, logging and mining, up 648 jobs, other services, up 480 jobs, government, up 140 jobs and construction, up 127 jobs.

Sectors that lost jobs over the past 12 months were financial activities, down 2,503 jobs and information, down 206.