For the Tribune

Nearly 70 percent of those participating in the 2005 House of Representatives State Fair Poll do not believe that a special session should be called this year to deal with stadium issues for the Minnesota Twins, Minnesota Vikings and/or the University of Minnesota.

During the 12-day run of the Minnesota State Fair, a total of 8,822 fairgoers took the poll conducted by the nonpartisan House Public Information Services Office. It is an informal, unscientific survey on a number of issues discussed in prior legislative sessions that may again be topics of discussion. There were four more ballots cast this year than in 2004.

Results show that 81.1 percent of polltakers believe residents should have a say when a city or county wants to raise its local sales tax for whatever purpose.

The Hennepin County Board has proposed paying the county’s share of a new Twins ballpark on the edge of downtown Minneapolis through a countywide sales tax increase of 0.15 percent

without a voter referendum.

Voters also strongly support dedicated funding to clean up

polluted waters, believe that at least one-half the members in the House and Senate should be up for election every two years and most would be willing to pay a fee on electronics purchases to fund a statewide electronics recycling program.

Slightly more than half of voters generally support increasing the state’s gas tax to support road and bridge funding.

When it comes to gambling, an oft-discussed budget tool in the 2005 legislative session, 47.4 percent of voting fairgoers oppose the so-called “racino” at Canterbury Park and 44.8 percent support the plan.

More than 62 percent of voters oppose the idea of a state-run casino at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

The majority of voters also believe that when no legal directive is provided, the state should not presume that a person wants a feeding tube inserted to sustain life; ticket scalping should not be legalized; and capital punishment should not be reinstated.

More than 63 percent of ballot casters believe co-curricular school activities should remain the responsibility of the school district, not local governments.