Minnesota State Senator Tom Neuville

Thursday, Aug.24th, was a tough day for some of the communities in District 25. In the morning, baseball sized hail hit Northfield (including my home and cars), causing significant damage. Much of the damage occurred at Dokmo Ford, Furlong Motors, and at the colleges.

But, I suspect that most people in town experienced some damage. There will be a lot of roof damage too. I found about 6-7 holes in my roof caused by the hail. I found that old, plastic political yard signs were great for patching the holes until the insurance adjusters come to inspect.

Then, later that night storm warnings of high winds, rain, and tornado threats had all of us watching the radar on T.V. Some of the worst damage occurred in the Western part of my district, in Kasota, and south of Cleveland.
On Friday, Governor Pawlenty toured the area with Representative Laura Brod, me and LeSueur County law enforcement and emergency officials. We first met with citizens at the high school gym in Cleveland. Then, we toured some of the damaged areas.

It is hard to describe seeing damage caused by tornadoes first hand. Corn is flat, blown to the east in one field, and to the south in another field across the road. Farm silos are sheared in half, or tipped over onto the barn, while the house 200 feet away is standing, with just window damage. Cattle are dead and lying next to the road, or laying in the corn field with broken legs.

Near Lake Emily, in Kasota, several houses were blown away, while the golf course on the other side of the road, was undamaged. One elderly man died. He was evacuated by boat , since the tornado blew trees across his driveway and prevented rescue squad vehicles from getting to his home.

I am sad for those who suffered injuries or damage to their homes or farms. But, I was heartened by the positive attitude of those who lost the most. They were thankful to be alive and to have so many friends to came out to help. Another group that helped so much were the local Volunteer Firemen. Many were out helping their neighbors at 3-4 am. The Sheriff’s Posse was also out in force to find straying cattle.

There will be a great need for volunteers next week. Mostly for debris cleanup from farm fields. If you are willing to help, contact my office in St. Paul, or Le Sueur county Emergency officials. Below are just a few of the pictures of the damage that I witnessed last Friday after the storm.

As we were leaving, we passed a farm site where the entire house and outbuildings were destroyed. 40-50 volunteers were there helping. I noticed that someone had put up a small American Flag in the rubble. Even in adversity, people hold their head high, and look forward.

I am proud to represent people who gladly help their neighbors. I saw a lot helping on Friday.

Sportsmen (and women) groups are plentiful in District 25. Last Friday, August 10th, was the annual Waterfowl Banquet in New Prague.I attended with Representatives Laura Brod whose Husband Wade is quite an avid hunter) and Representative Ray Cox and his wife, Ellen. Ray was lucky and won one of the raffles- a nice Cabela’s bag.

One topic of interest with people was the Constitutional Amendment to dedicate 3/16th of one cent of the existing sales tax for clean water and wildlife habitat. Many sportsmen organizations worked hard to gain passage of the amendment, but it failed this year mostly because Senate Democrats added Constitutional dedication of sales tax for arts spending. Many, including me, believed that this amendment to the bill was designed to “kill” the bill. It worked. Next year, Sportsmen Groups will work harder to keep the bill clean.

One article which accurately described the events at the capitol this year was written by Sportswriter Dennis Anderson of the Minneapolis Tribune. He concludes that the bill was defeated by the addition of arts funding to the bill. He’s right ! An earlier article written by Dennis Anderson is also linked here.

On Thursday, August 3rd, I participated in the Annual Golf Tournament for the Three Links Care Center of Northfield. The Tournament is now dedicated in the name of John Falck, who organized this tournament for many years. I played with Dick Daymont (above), his wife Chris, and Stan Hup all of Northfield. We shared dinner with Representative Ray Cox and his wife Ellen.

We are very fortunate to have three skilled nursing homes in Northfield.( The others are the Northfield Retirement Center, and the Northfield Hospital Long Term Care Center.) All provide wonderful care for our senior citizens.

Funding our nursing homes in Minnesota is a challenge. As the “Baby Boom” generation approaches age 70 we will probably see a significant transformation in the way we care for people who need skilled nursing care. Every year, I visit with the nursing home administrators in my Senate District. It has been a struggle financially for many of them. It will be important for the legislature to provide more flexibility to this care industry. If we are to continue with a system of unitary billing, which allows nursing homes to charge private patients only at the same rate as those on public assistance, then we must provide enough public funding to allow our homes to retain their staff and provide quality care.

Other nursing homes in District 25 include: Mala Strana Health Care Center in New Prague, the Lutheran Home in Belle Plaine, Central Health Care Center in Le Center, Minnesota Valley Health Care Center in Le Sueur, Good Samaritan in Waterville and Good Samaritan in Arlington (Sibley County).

This week I was endorsed by Care Providers PAC. This organization is one of the two major organizations representing nursing homes in Minnesota. They have a major lobbying presence in St. Paul. I have worked with them most recently in trying to lower the cost of liability insurance for our nursing homes. Many homes have seen their insurance premiums increase by 100-200% over the past several years, even if they have not had major claims. Insurance premium increases shift funds from other direct care needs, and limit the quality of care that many homes can provide. I’m very please to be given this endorsement. It reflects my commitment to helping our State’s nursing homes thru the transition which will occur during the next 10 years.

This blog entry has nothing to do with politics. Although this was going to be a busy weekend of campaigning for me, my schedule was quickly changed. My brother-in-law, Dan Bissen of Austin, Minnesota died on Tuesday this week at age 51. His wake was last night (Friday) and the Funeral was today. Dan had brain cancer and fought the illness for almost 3 years. A pretty remarkable struggle.

Most who read this entry didn’t know Dan. But, Dan and his family were very special people. About 6 months ago, the Austin High School music department held a benefit concert for Dan and his family. The Paramount theater was overflowing and people had to be turned away. The same thing happened today for his funeral. People were standing in the aisles and the church was overflowing. Everyone shed a tear when the trombonist played “Danny Boy” during the service. Why was Dan Bissen so special that a community loved him and his family this much?

Well, Dan was a TV and appliance dealer in Austin for many years. He did meet a lot of people. He was always happy. Several people told me that if he ever wanted to run for mayor, or the legislature, he would have won handily. But, Dan was interested in other things than politics.

Dan always gave the extra effort to help people. He would often give a stove or used refrigerator to a family who was hurting for money. He was a great musician himself - Austin’s favorite tenor. The Bissen family singers sang at many funerals, weddings and concerts them selves, and beloved in the Austin community. Everyone in the area heard the news quickly when Dan got cancer three years ago. Last year, Dan was the Honorary Co-Chairman of the Mower County Relay for Life, which raises money for cancer research. I remember him telling people how blessed he considered himself, because God had given him so much in life.

But, today we heard mostly about his deep faith and his sense of humor. The first time I ever met Dan (he was dating Marilynn’s sister Margo), he came to our house in Northfield, wearing a Groucho Marx mask. Dan loved his wife, Bobby Dylan, fishing, drawing, the Vikings, his kids’ wrestling, football, and softball games, and the Bissen TV and Appliance Store. He had just expanded the appliance store about 5 years ago. It was hard to liquidate everything and give up the lease to the store. But, it had to be done before he died. About two months ago, Dan went out to collect “receivables” with another of our brothers-in-law. He collected about $100, smiled and said, “now we have money for lunch”.

Most importantly, Dan showed everyone how death is truly a part of life. He accepted his inevitable death with dignity and even good humor. He was an example for everyone who had the privilege of caring for him this last year. I’ll miss him. He was one of the “Band of 6″, the six men (friends and brothers-in-law) who all married into the Hamilton family. We all knew that Grandma Hamilton loved him the best, but he earned it !

Death is painful for family members who lose loved ones, and we have shed many tears this weekend. But, having people like Dan Bissen in my life, makes me a better person and puts everything else I do into perspective. Dan is in Heaven tonight. Probably singing and trying to send messages back to his wife Margo and the kids. God Bless you Dan. We won’t forget you.