“Hare-brained” and “fiasco” were among the nicer things Gov. Mark Dayton had to say about the GOP’s latest stadium plan. At MPR, Tim Nelson reports: “Gov. Mark Dayton blasted legislative Republicans this morning, calling their counter offer to his stadium plan ‘gamesmanship. ‘[A]s the Senate author said herself, two prerequisites for it were no general fund tax dollars and there would be a roof on it so it could be used year round as a people's stadium. Unbeknownst to the bill's two authors, both Republicans, the Republican leadership yesterday, the day after they were supposed to have adjourned, come forward with this hare-brained scheme, that would basically destroy the project as it was conceived, destroy it as it was funded, and for all practical purposes destroy it for this legislative session.’ ”
Mike Kaszuba’s Strib story says: “ ‘I can’t deal with people who say one thing, and do another,’ [Dayton] said. ‘If this project crashes which, you know, it’s on its way to the ground right now, I don’t see how it can be salvaged’ after what occurred Tuesday. The governor, a longtime stadium proponent, said that he suspected the Republican stadium plan was aimed at making sure Dayton did not come away from the about-to-end legislative session with a series of political victories. ‘That’s the way I view it,’ he said. … ‘I’ve been for this project from the very beginning, and nobody wants it more than I – not for myself, but for the people of Minnesota,’ said Dayton.”
Doug Belden’s PiPress story says: “[GOP Rep. John] Kriesel said he is not familiar with the details of the new GOP plan, but he said the fact is the stadium plan that he and Morrie Lanning, R-Moorhead, have been carrying in the House did not have the votes to pass. ‘I thought we were good with votes, but that was a rough estimate,’ Kriesel said. ‘We really would have needed all the maybes to be yeses, and that really doesn't happen.’ Kriesel declined to give a specific vote count, but he said ‘we were a bit short.’ Given that that plan wouldn't have survived a floor vote, the leaders should be commended for proposing something else rather than letting the stadium die, Kriesel said. He said ‘an overwhelming majority of our caucus’ supports the new approach.”
Gov. Dayton isn’t the only one throwing up his hands at the stadium circus. At ESPN, Kevin Seifert writes: “I've done my best to steer clear of politics in the increasingly tense debate on the Minnesota Vikings stadium bill, but the events of Tuesday left little choice. One political party (the Republicans) introduced a substantially different stadium proposal than had been discussed for much of the past eight months. Another political party (the Democrats) complained bitterly, bringing the issue to the stalemate where it currently exists. ... I have gone out of my way to avoid steering this conversation one way or the other. I recognize reasonable arguments on both sides, and as a local taxpayer I acknowledge the inherent conflict of interest in taking sides. What I've tried to do is distill the news for those who aren't wading through the minute-by-minute coverage, and at times try to use my contacts — I've been covering this issue for almost 13 years — to provide some insight into what the news does or doesn't mean. What I will say is I will be disappointed and critical if this issue gets swallowed up by political posturing that has nothing to do with the matter at hand.”
At Forbes, Tom van Riper says: “[Voters are] leery of spending more public money on sports stadiums, but don’t want to be blamed for pushing the Vikings out of town. Not that a move is likely, even with everyone’s favorite empty NFL city, Los Angeles, still waiting in the wings. ‘If you move a team, you want to do it because it’s the better alternative, not because it’s the only alternative,’ says Marc Ganis, a Chicago-based sports business consultant. If the political debate over funding is settled, there’s little reason to think that L.A. is the better alternative. Starting from scratch with a new fan base is far more risky than maintaining a relationship that’s provided proven support over the years. The Twin Cities also have a strong corporate presence. … Still, don’t discount the possibility of a Vikings’ move altogether. The ongoing drama is bad for the NFL’s image, and it’s only a matter of time before the league starts taking a heavier hand in the proceedings. ‘You can’t be the NFL and let this go on forever’, says Ganis. ‘Eventually you have to pull the trigger.’ Because “pulling the trigger” is far preferable to writing the check.
At The Huffington Post, David Lohr posts about how you take down a house … with a tank: “A company in Kasota, Minn., took home demolition to the next level when they used a tank to raze an abandoned house. The 150-year-old home had been slated for demolition on Monday, but the owners decided to spice things up and called in a British FV432 armored personnel carrier owned by Drive-A-Tank. The local company typically caters to individuals interested in military tank driving and car crush adventures. MarKessa Baedke-Petersen, event coordinator for Drive-A-Tank, told The Huffington Post that her company did not think twice about the request. ‘You pay us enough money and we'll destroy anything with our tanks,’ she said.” If you’re wondering, they’re fully booked for the remainder of the legislative session.
If you want to buy a Kindle at Target, I suggest leaving now. Bryan Bishop at the tech site The Verge, writes: “Since Target stores began selling Amazon's Kindle line back in 2010, the devices have always appeared to do well; the Kindle Fire was even the retailer's best-selling tablet during Black Friday last year. It appears that's about to change, however, with a source telling us that the company is going to stop carrying the line of products due to a ‘conflict of interest.’ According to an internal Target memo we've received, the company will be removing Amazon hardware from its locations starting this month. Certain accessories will remain in stock, but shipments of Kindles themselves will cease as of May 13th.” And yes, it’s an Apple-related thing.
Speaking of tech … it’s a full scale re-do at Best Buy. Thomas Lee of the Strib reports: “Best Buy Co.'s top marketing chief has left the company, sources tell the Star Tribune. Barry Judge, executive vice president and chief marketing officer (CMO), resigned from the Richfield-based consumer electronics giant earlier this week. A Best Buy spokesperson declined to comment. Sources say the company is remaking its senior leadership team. Stephen Gillett, a former top Starbucks executive who recently joined Best Buy to lead its digital efforts, will oversee global marketing. Judge, who was appointed CMO in 2008, is the third senior Best Buy official to leave the company this year.”
Who needs the Democrats when the Republicans can brawl like this? Josh Moniz of the New Ulm Journal writes: “[Mike] Parry unleashed a harsh accusation against [Allan] Quist by claiming the former state legislator from St. Peter broke his promise to honor the [1st District] endorsement convention decision. Quist moving to the primary means he won't be following a decision by the convention, including if another convention is held, Parry said. Both candidates made public pledges to obey the decision of the endorsing convention. In fact, they were required to sign a document promising to abide by the decision to speak at the Brown County Republican Convention last March. … The anger generated by the promise-breaking debate even prompted both candidates to bring accusations of being unelectable at each other. Quist said [Cong. Tim] Walz would eat Parry alive for his statement that he'd wait to bring troops home until the job market improved. Parry's campaign advisor Ben Golnik said Quist's prior statements that men are genetically predisposed to be the head of households made him unable to win.”
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A 'hare-brained' ... 'fiasco,' says Dayton of GOP stadium alternative
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