Did you hear?

Fragment to play at the PalaceA Bluegrass band with a Slovak flavor will grace the stage of the Palace Theatre in Luverne.According to their Web site, "Fragment was founded in Bratislava, Slovak Republic" (former Czechoslovakia) in 1983."The band's main intention was to play progressive newgrass music, and the band quite fast gained its recognition on the Czechoslovak bluegrass scene."In the nearly 20 years of its existence, the band has seen many musicians and musical styles come and go — from newgrass to new acoustic music and bluegrass."The group is currently on tour in the United States and will play at 2 p.m., Sunday, Sept. 26, in the Palace Theatre.When should school start?By law, school cannot start before Labor Day.The education lobby wants that date to be moved up to August.The hospitality industry wants it left just the way it is.The hospitality industry has always argued that an earlier start would put the state’s family resort businesses in a bad situation.Starting school in August, kids, both high school and college, who depend on their jobs working at the resorts as much as the resorts rely on them, would have to quit work around mid-August to get ready for the return to school.According to a recent Politics in Minnesota, the loss of those thousands of workers would damage many of the small family-owned resort businesses and cut deep into revenues from one of the three big holidays of the summer season in Minnesota.On the 2004 and 2005 calendars, Labor Day falls about as late as it possibly can.Some schools, receiving waivers to start prior to Labor Day were blamed by many for the drop in attendance of more than 100,000 from this year’s Minnesota State Fair, which ran through Labor Day.So, what did Minnesotans think at the fair?The political newsletter, Politics in Minnesota, checked with the Minnesota State Senate and the House of Representatives to find out how their annual polling whet.Although the polls are not considered scientific, here are some of the answers they received.
Should there be a statewide ban on smoking in bars and restaurants? Six of our 10 agreed with the idea in the House poll, while the Senate version showed an almost even split.
Should the state have a constitutional amendment defining marriage? 57.7 percent in the Senate poll were opposed to the idea, while only a sliver over one-third supported the amendment proposal.
Should we expand legalized gambling in Minnesota? The House poll showed 53.1 percent opposed and 32.2 percent in favor.
Two thirds of those polled indicated support for laws limiting the use of off-highway vehicles.
52.46 percent liked the idea of the six-year terms of senators being staggered, with a third of them up for reelection every two years. Currently they are all up for reelection every six years.
67.7 percent favored the state preventing contracts from being outsourced to other countries.
All day, every day Kindergarten was approved of by the respondents by a margin of 62.57 percent to 28.45 percent
Gov. Pawlenty’s proposal to deny drivers licenses to truant high-schoolers was supported by 77 percent in the House poll.
The House poll showed 73 percent in favor of continuing same-day registration with only 20. 4 percent opposed.
53.7 percent of those polled in the House poll supported making it illegal to talk on a cell phone while driving.Even Smokey the Bear has to put up with changes at workAfter six decades of telling people to "Only you can prevent forest fires," Smokey the Bear is getting his message altered.In order to reflect the importance of fire in a healthy forest ecology Smokey’s new slogan will now be "Only you can prevent wildfires."In conjunction with the Governor’s Fire Prevention Day recently the Department of Natural Resources Division of Forestry had a 60th birthday party for the aging bear.Publisher Roger Tollefson can be reached by e-mail at tolly@star-herald.com