Veteran councilors return, share concerns

Three experienced Cloquet city councilors were sworn into office Tuesday. Kerry Kolodge, Lyz Jaakola and Iris Keller all ran unopposed in the November election, and rejoined a council of veteran elected officials.

The group had plenty of suggestions for State Representative Jeff Dotseth, R-Kettle River, when he shared his priorities and asked for input from the council for the upcoming legislative session.

Ward 2 councilor Sheila Lamb responded with several concerns. "I'll throw some at you," she said, stressing the importance of finding ways to help senior citizens stay in their homes, and helping with affordable home repair. Lamb also asked for support for the Cloquet Area Fire District and its need for a new building, which Dotseth has supported in the past.

Mayor Roger Maki talked about the changing makeup of the legislature, which is almost equally split between Republicans and DFL. "I hope we don't fall into a gridlock situation like we have in the past," Maki said.

Dotseth said he hopes they can achieve "genuine bipartisan" consensus. "I think at the end of the day, we need to work together to come up with reasonable, common-sense legislation that is good for all of Minnesota," he said.

Dotseth also met with city administration earlier in the day, along with several other local entities, he said. He sits on the housing committee, and hopes to prioritize more housing for greater Minnesota at all levels, from senior housing to the homeless.

"Let's grow our communities and grow our tax base," Dotseth said.

The second-term lawmaker stressed several "pillars" of his platform, including a decrease of government fraud, reduction of unpaid mandates and giving local government more control.

Ward 5 councilor Lyz Jaakola had a more nuanced view of mandates. She suggested funding some of the mandates might be a better option in some cases, pointing to a 2008 mandate that required schools to teach the indigenous history as part of its state history.

"When the mandates are not there, many communities would choose not to teach about the history of our state," she said. "And this history begins with indigenous peoples."

Yet those mandates are not funded, nearly 16 years later, she pointed out.

Healthcare, families caring for elders and environmental stewardship were also high on Jaakola's list of concerns.

"Minnesota's economy is built on a clean and healthy environment as well as our general wellness as Minnesotans," she said. "Prioritizing clean water, the St Louis River watershed, is very important to this region as well as the port. ... Because without that lake, who

are we?"