Jul 22, 2010

Candidate visits

Mark Dayton, a DFL candidate for governor of Minnesota, stopped by the Brainerd campus of Central Lakes College Thursday, July 22. He toured part of the campus and witnessed an EZ Enrollment Day at which nearly 130 new students registered for the fall semester that starts Aug. 23. Over the lunch hour he addressed a gathering of college employees, mostly members of the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). He focused on educational issues facing the state and policies that he would implement or alter. He discussed biofuels research being done at the Central Lakes Ag and Energy Center near Staples and reiterated his stance on making the wealthiest Minnesotans pay their fair share -- the same tax rate as lower income citizens -- as part of the plan to reduce the state budget deficit. Dayton is a former U.S. senator and held state office under previous DFL governships. He is on the Aug. 10 primary ballot seeking the right to campaign in the general election held in November.