The Alliance for a Better Minnesota (ABM) crew is hitting the road to find out first-hand about the things that make our state great, but are in jeopardy because of irresponsible budget cuts. They’ll be bringing the stories they hear to the public through a variety of new media and old school methods and encouraging legislative leaders to take action so Minnesota can thrive – not just survive.
Follow our journey on Facebook or Twitter!
Check out some of the video we've shot along the way.
St. Paul
We visited at historic Fort Snelling to learn more about life on the frontier during the Civil War era.
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Anoka
Did you know that our own Anoka was the first city in the nation to put on a Halloween celebration?
The Anoka Classic Car Show is running every weekend until September 26, with about 500-600 cars every Saturday night...
White Bear lake
Residents of cold states like Minnesota are trading in their clunkers at much higher rates than those in Sunbelt states where the cars don't have to deal with the effects of rust and salt.
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Duluth
If you’re planning on going to Duluth’s Park Point Beach for some fun under the sun, remember that it’s no longer staffed by city-employed lifeguards...
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Bemidji
The Bemidji School Board unanimously approved a plan to borrow $9 million to cover shifts in state funding to its school districts in mid-July...
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We made it a point to stop and see the gigantic statues of Paul Bunyan and Babe when we stopped in Bemidji. It is, after all, the birth place of Paul Bunyan himself...
The Upper Mississippi Mental Health Clinic in Bemidji, which has seen it's funding cut, and recently announced salary cuts of 10% for top level staff and 5% for everyone else..
Crookston
We managed to to find some delicious food at RBJ's in Crookston, in what we're calling the Great Minnesota Steak-Off..
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East grand forks
The Make Minnesota Thrive Drive made a stop in East Grand Forks today, where the City Council decided against hiring a new police officer and firefighter last week...
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moorhead
We stopped by MSU-Moorhead on move-in day to speak with junior Carson Starkey about how cuts to higher education are impacting college students...
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Mark Altenburg was our first interview in Moorhead this morning. He was the DFL nominee against Morrie Lanning in the last election, so he is obviously well-informed on the issues impacting district 9A...
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Wadena
Before we get too carried away with the stories from St. Cloud, here are some of the scenes and tales from our travel around Wadena yesterday... READ MORE
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St. cloud
If we continue to cut funding to the state university system, the economic engine in many communties is going to take a hit....
Pulling in to St Cloud we asked our twitter followers for the best places to eat in the city. @RobinMarie suggested Bravo Burrito, so we gave that a try...
During tough economictimes, one of the best ways to keep people off the unemployment rolls is through some labor intensive projects that will also add some value to city infrastucture...
Willmar
Willmar finished construction on two wind turbines in early June of this year. Each turbine generates two megawatts of power, which means that the two of them will replace around three percent of the city’s annual energy needs...
mankato
We interviewed some Minnesota State-Mankato students on the impacts of Gov. Pawlenty's unallotments to the state college system at the Fillin' Station.
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The result of Governor Pawlenty’s budget cuts at Minnesota State University in Mankato? New professors are only being offered one-year contracts, administrators have “interim” before their title, and class sizes are increasing...
rochester
The city of Rochester is really impressive, particularly in the downtown area, but what made all of this possible was an innovative and thriving medical community around which other sectors have organized...
