By Dan Sparks, State senator

This year’s Legislative session ended at 7 a.m. May 16 and since then, more time has been spent pointing fingers at the other party than talking about solutions for the issues left unresolved. People in Minnesota are frustrated, and understandably so.

On Tuesday, I was able to tour the state with the Senate Majority Leader and listen to input from people across Minnesota. The overwhelming message heard was that people want lawmakers to stop placing blame and start working toward a solution. Minnesotans elected us to represent our districts and deliver results, and playing the blame game is not helping us accomplish that job.

What should be known is that no one &045; Democrat or Republican &045; began this session with the intention of stalling business. We all had priorities we were determined to accomplish, and seeing many of those go unresolved is the last thing anyone wanted. The problem was that many of these priorities were vastly different.

Senate Democrats kept quality education, affordable health care and job creation as top priorities. Republicans, in contrast, had social issues and stadiums at the top of their list. After reluctantly accepting last year’s budget that deeply affected education, health care and jobs, we as Senate Democrats were simply unwilling to surrender our priorities yet again. We refused to pass the Governor’s proposal to shortchange nursing homes, we opposed the Governor’s deep cuts to job creation programs, and we were unwilling to forge back-room deals in place of public negotiations.

While I believe in this commitment to stand up for basic Minnesota values, I realize this does not excuse everything in the eyes of the public. The fact is, the level of partisanship in this state has elevated to a point previously unseen in Minnesota and this new climate is forcing everyone to reevaluate how to effectively serve the public. Every legislator needs to accept some responsibility for what happened this year, and we need to move forward and build on some of the positive compromises that did emerge from this session.

Despite failure on high-visibility measures such as the budget deficit and a bonding bill, the House and Senate were able to agree on new science and social studies standards for our schools. In addition, we passed the lower .08 drunken driving standard and compromised on a veterans’ benefits package that will help all Minnesotans who have served our country. Provisions for the Help America Vote Act also succeeded, which will help ensure clean and fair elections this fall.

Locally, I was able to pass bills that will allow Comforcare Good Samaritan Center in Austin to expand its bed capacity and create an Alzheimer’s Care Unit. I also had seven additional bills signed by the Governor, including legislation that will protect our lakes and streams by limiting the use of phosphorous fertilizers; and a bill improving utility excavation practices.

My biggest fear is that people are going to interpret the legislature’s inability to pass many other substantial bills as a sign that we lawmakers are abandoning our commitment to our constituents. Instead, I hope people understand that those of us in elected positions have very passionate opinions of what is good for Minnesota. This year’s impasse was not a result of laziness, but rather a result of 201 legislators standing up for the people we represent and not wanting to settle for anything less than what we believe is best for the state.

Admittedly, if we truly want to represent our constituents we need to work on the art of compromise, especially in light of the state’s changing political climate. If you have any comments on this year’s session or questions about what happens next, please feel free to contact me at 651-296-9248; 507-438-2898;

sen.dan.sparks@senate.mn; or G24 State Capitol, St. Paul, MN 55155.

I look forward to visiting with all of you this summer and fall.

(Dan Sparks is a state senator serving Albert Lea.)