...and another photo of the legislators.
Friday, February 20, 2009
A light-hearted moment when the legislators were asking about "what to cut"
...and another photo of the legislators.
Sen. Ingebrigtsen, Rep. Westrom will host town hall meetings today, Friday February 20
Senator Bill Ingebrigtsen and Representative Torrey Westrom will continue their tradition of co-hosting town hall meetings and have scheduled six events throughout District 11A on Friday, Feb. 20.
The turnout for previous town hall meetings has been great and the legislators say it’s helpful to have public input as they make their way through the current legislative session. Everyone is welcome to attend.
“A big town hall topic last year was the gas tax,” Westrom said. “There probably will be a lot of economic talk this time around as we travel the district. People likely will want to address the state’s budget deficit and offer suggestions as we work toward a solution.”
Regardless of the topic, these town meetings provide a casual setting. “We enjoy speaking face to face with local folks to get a real grass-roots feel of what’s on people’s minds,” Ingebrigtsen said. “Area citizens seem to appreciate the chance to talk about what is most important to them; it doesn’t matter how large or small the issue is.”
Rep. Westrom can be reached at the Capitol by calling 651-296-4929 or 800-711-2620, and by email at rep.torrey.westrom@house.mn.
• Town hall meeting schedule:
Friday, Feb. 20
TIME/LOCATION: 7- 8 a.m. The Cattle Club, Elbow Lake. 9 - 10 a.m. at the Federated Telephone Cooperative, Chokio. 10:30- 11:30 a.m. at Detoy’s Family Restaurant, Morris. 12:20 - 1:20 p.m. at Anderson’s Dew Drop Inn, Hoffman. 2 - 3 p.m. at Mac’s Diner, Evansville. 4:00 at City Hall in Alexandria.
The turnout for previous town hall meetings has been great and the legislators say it’s helpful to have public input as they make their way through the current legislative session. Everyone is welcome to attend.
“A big town hall topic last year was the gas tax,” Westrom said. “There probably will be a lot of economic talk this time around as we travel the district. People likely will want to address the state’s budget deficit and offer suggestions as we work toward a solution.”
Regardless of the topic, these town meetings provide a casual setting. “We enjoy speaking face to face with local folks to get a real grass-roots feel of what’s on people’s minds,” Ingebrigtsen said. “Area citizens seem to appreciate the chance to talk about what is most important to them; it doesn’t matter how large or small the issue is.”
Rep. Westrom can be reached at the Capitol by calling 651-296-4929 or 800-711-2620, and by email at rep.torrey.westrom@house.mn.
• Town hall meeting schedule:
Friday, Feb. 20
TIME/LOCATION: 7- 8 a.m. The Cattle Club, Elbow Lake. 9 - 10 a.m. at the Federated Telephone Cooperative, Chokio. 10:30- 11:30 a.m. at Detoy’s Family Restaurant, Morris. 12:20 - 1:20 p.m. at Anderson’s Dew Drop Inn, Hoffman. 2 - 3 p.m. at Mac’s Diner, Evansville. 4:00 at City Hall in Alexandria.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Monday, February 16, 2009
Crude oil is getting cheaper - so why isn't gas?
By CHRIS KAHN and JOHN PORRETTO – February 16, 2009
NEW YORK (AP) — Crude oil prices have fallen to new lows for this year. So you'd think gas prices would sink right along with them.
Not so.
On Thursday, for example, crude oil closed just under $34 a barrel, its lowest point for 2009. But the national average price of a gallon of gas rose to $1.95 on the same day, its peak for the year. On Friday gas went a penny higher.
To drivers once again grimacing as they tank up, it sounds like a conspiracy. But it has more to do with an energy market turned upside-down that has left gas cut off from its usual economic moorings.
The price of gas is indeed tied to oil. It's just a matter of which oil.
The benchmark for crude oil prices is West Texas Intermediate, drilled exactly where you would imagine. That's the price, set at the New York Mercantile Exchange, that you see quoted on business channels and in the morning paper.
Right now, in an unusual market trend, West Texas crude is selling for much less than inferior grades of crude from other places around the world. A severe economic downturn has left U.S. storage facilities brimming with it, sending prices for the premium crude to five-year lows.
But it is the overseas crude that goes into most of the gas made in the United States. So prices at the pump will probably keep going up no matter what happens to the benchmark price of crude oil.
"We're going definitely over $2, and I bet we'll hit $2.50 before spring," said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service. "This is going to be an unusual year."
On the last day of 2008, gas went for $1.62 on average, according to the auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express, a company that tracks transportation data.
The recession in America has dramatically cut demand for crude oil, and inventories are piling up. So prices for West Texas crude have fallen well below what oil costs from places like the North Sea, Saudi Arabia and South America.
That foreign oil sells in some cases for $10 more per barrel — and that doesn't even include shipping.
Brent North Sea crude, which feeds some East Coast refineries — and therefore winds up at many gas pumps around America — now costs about $7 more per barrel than the West Texas crude. Deutsche Bank analysts say the trend should continue.
Historically, West Texas International crude has cost more. So nobody bothered building the necessary pipelines to carry it beyond the nearby refineries in the Midwest, parts of Texas and a handful of other places.
Now that the premium oil is suddenly very inexpensive, refiners elsewhere can't get their hands on it.
"It's so cheap," said Lynn Westphall, the senior VP of external affairs at San Antonio-based Tesoro, which owns a half dozen refineries on the West Coast and Hawaii. "But you can't just build a pipeline to everywhere. We know we can't get it."
Tesoro's refineries in North Dakota and Utah use locally drilled oil and Canadian oil, which also has been running about $10 more per barrel than West Texas crude.
So why not build more pipelines? Because investing billions of dollars over several years makes no sense when the prices could just flip a year from now to where they were before.
"How long is WTI going to be cheaper than Venezuelan oil? Than Canadian?" asked Charles T. Drevna, president of the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association. "You just don't build a pipeline like that."
At the same time, refiners have seen the same headlines as everyone else about job losses and consumer spending. They've slashed production just to avoid taking losses on gasoline no one will buy. Result: Higher gas prices.
"Why should a refiner produce more gasoline when the stuff we produce is not being used?" Drevna said.
Of course, complex explanations of the diverging price paths of West Texas crude and gas are unlikely to placate frustrated drivers. Memories of last summer's $4-plus gas have not receded.
"Drivers are being ripped off even more now than before," said Stuart Pollok, who was filling up recently at a Chevron station in downtown Los Angeles. He pointed out Exxon Mobil Corp. reeled in billions in profits last year when oil prices neared $150.
Others see the conspiracy reaching higher.
"It got really low during the elections and now it's going back up," said Christel Sayegh, a 23-year-old graphic designer in Los Angeles. "They do that every election, though, right?"
AP Energy Writer John Porretto reported this story from Houston. Associated Press Writers Jennifer Malloy and Ryan Nakashima in Los Angeles contributed to this story.
NEW YORK (AP) — Crude oil prices have fallen to new lows for this year. So you'd think gas prices would sink right along with them.
Not so.
On Thursday, for example, crude oil closed just under $34 a barrel, its lowest point for 2009. But the national average price of a gallon of gas rose to $1.95 on the same day, its peak for the year. On Friday gas went a penny higher.
To drivers once again grimacing as they tank up, it sounds like a conspiracy. But it has more to do with an energy market turned upside-down that has left gas cut off from its usual economic moorings.
The price of gas is indeed tied to oil. It's just a matter of which oil.
The benchmark for crude oil prices is West Texas Intermediate, drilled exactly where you would imagine. That's the price, set at the New York Mercantile Exchange, that you see quoted on business channels and in the morning paper.
Right now, in an unusual market trend, West Texas crude is selling for much less than inferior grades of crude from other places around the world. A severe economic downturn has left U.S. storage facilities brimming with it, sending prices for the premium crude to five-year lows.
But it is the overseas crude that goes into most of the gas made in the United States. So prices at the pump will probably keep going up no matter what happens to the benchmark price of crude oil.
"We're going definitely over $2, and I bet we'll hit $2.50 before spring," said Tom Kloza, publisher and chief oil analyst at Oil Price Information Service. "This is going to be an unusual year."
On the last day of 2008, gas went for $1.62 on average, according to the auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express, a company that tracks transportation data.
The recession in America has dramatically cut demand for crude oil, and inventories are piling up. So prices for West Texas crude have fallen well below what oil costs from places like the North Sea, Saudi Arabia and South America.
That foreign oil sells in some cases for $10 more per barrel — and that doesn't even include shipping.
Brent North Sea crude, which feeds some East Coast refineries — and therefore winds up at many gas pumps around America — now costs about $7 more per barrel than the West Texas crude. Deutsche Bank analysts say the trend should continue.
Historically, West Texas International crude has cost more. So nobody bothered building the necessary pipelines to carry it beyond the nearby refineries in the Midwest, parts of Texas and a handful of other places.
Now that the premium oil is suddenly very inexpensive, refiners elsewhere can't get their hands on it.
"It's so cheap," said Lynn Westphall, the senior VP of external affairs at San Antonio-based Tesoro, which owns a half dozen refineries on the West Coast and Hawaii. "But you can't just build a pipeline to everywhere. We know we can't get it."
Tesoro's refineries in North Dakota and Utah use locally drilled oil and Canadian oil, which also has been running about $10 more per barrel than West Texas crude.
So why not build more pipelines? Because investing billions of dollars over several years makes no sense when the prices could just flip a year from now to where they were before.
"How long is WTI going to be cheaper than Venezuelan oil? Than Canadian?" asked Charles T. Drevna, president of the National Petrochemical and Refiners Association. "You just don't build a pipeline like that."
At the same time, refiners have seen the same headlines as everyone else about job losses and consumer spending. They've slashed production just to avoid taking losses on gasoline no one will buy. Result: Higher gas prices.
"Why should a refiner produce more gasoline when the stuff we produce is not being used?" Drevna said.
Of course, complex explanations of the diverging price paths of West Texas crude and gas are unlikely to placate frustrated drivers. Memories of last summer's $4-plus gas have not receded.
"Drivers are being ripped off even more now than before," said Stuart Pollok, who was filling up recently at a Chevron station in downtown Los Angeles. He pointed out Exxon Mobil Corp. reeled in billions in profits last year when oil prices neared $150.
Others see the conspiracy reaching higher.
"It got really low during the elections and now it's going back up," said Christel Sayegh, a 23-year-old graphic designer in Los Angeles. "They do that every election, though, right?"
AP Energy Writer John Porretto reported this story from Houston. Associated Press Writers Jennifer Malloy and Ryan Nakashima in Los Angeles contributed to this story.
My Hoffman City Council meeting story from the February 9th meeting is completed
The big item I will point out is the final paragraph, which is posted below.
I've heard that the city clerk has been busy with a few residents, laying out the fines when their dogs are loose around town.
I'm working on a "big announcement" story, talking about none other than myself. Look for that in the February 19th issue as well as the City Council story that I referenced above.
The final item discussed by the council was stray dogs about the town. Acually, the dogs are not true strays but are owned by city residents who are not following the pet ordinance. The city will continue giving the appropriate fines to dog owners that are out of ordinance.
I've heard that the city clerk has been busy with a few residents, laying out the fines when their dogs are loose around town.
I'm working on a "big announcement" story, talking about none other than myself. Look for that in the February 19th issue as well as the City Council story that I referenced above.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Former Hoffman-Kensington Patriot three-sport athlete will provide color commentary for webcasting of UM-Morris athletic events
Details for the following post are related to the University of Minnesota-Morris webcasting of various athletic events for the Cougars sports program. The link to follow to what is talked about is http://csn.morris.umn.edu.
"Mary Asche joins CSN webcast team"
Posted by Mike Cihak on Monday, Jan. 5, 2009
Mary Asche, a former UMM Cougar basketball player and successful three-sport coach in volleyball, basketball and softball at Morris Area High School, has been named color analyst during web casts of University of Minnesota, Morris women’s basketball games on the Cougar Sports Network (CSN). Asche will join Paul Schwarz, play-by-play announcer for UMM Women Cougar Basketball home games webcast on CSN beginning January 6th 2009.
“Mary Asche brings with her the experience of playing and coaching the game at all levels,” says Paul Schwarz, play-by-play announcer for the Cougar Sports Network. “Like Mark {Torgerson, CSN men’s analyst] she is local talent that has not only played at a high level in high school at three sports, but has coached them as well.”
Entering her tenth year teaching physical education at Morris Area High School, Asche has coached girl’s volleyball for the past eleven years, girl’s basketball for 13 years and girl’s softball for 11 years. “Whenever I broadcast games that Mary coached, I always loved what she had to say,” says Schwarz. “She is truly one of my favorite coaches to interview. It’s exciting that she will bring that insight to Cougar's women’s basketball."
After Asche graduated from Hoffman-Kensington High School as a successful three-sport athlete, she graduated from the University of Minnesota, Morris in 1995 and later completing a licensure in Health and Physical Education from Minnesota State University-Mankato in 1997.
At UMM, Asche was a forward for the women’s Cougar basketball team from 1993-1995. She also played softball from 1992-1995, where she played catcher.
What Asche likes in terms of basketball at the high school or collegiate level is the level of athleticism on the court and game management with the use of the shot clock. That makes perfect sense for a competitor who is also a registered basketball official, and recently completed officiating her first volleyball game this season.
The University of Minnesota, Morris Cougar Sports Network is a free, easy-to-use online portal for enjoying selected UMM athletic events on the Internet. The UMM Cougar Sports Network utilizes the latest in web technology to bring live video, audio and stats of UMM Cougar athletics events to Cougar fans around the globe.
"Mary Asche joins CSN webcast team"
Posted by Mike Cihak on Monday, Jan. 5, 2009
Mary Asche, a former UMM Cougar basketball player and successful three-sport coach in volleyball, basketball and softball at Morris Area High School, has been named color analyst during web casts of University of Minnesota, Morris women’s basketball games on the Cougar Sports Network (CSN). Asche will join Paul Schwarz, play-by-play announcer for UMM Women Cougar Basketball home games webcast on CSN beginning January 6th 2009.
“Mary Asche brings with her the experience of playing and coaching the game at all levels,” says Paul Schwarz, play-by-play announcer for the Cougar Sports Network. “Like Mark {Torgerson, CSN men’s analyst] she is local talent that has not only played at a high level in high school at three sports, but has coached them as well.”
Entering her tenth year teaching physical education at Morris Area High School, Asche has coached girl’s volleyball for the past eleven years, girl’s basketball for 13 years and girl’s softball for 11 years. “Whenever I broadcast games that Mary coached, I always loved what she had to say,” says Schwarz. “She is truly one of my favorite coaches to interview. It’s exciting that she will bring that insight to Cougar's women’s basketball."
After Asche graduated from Hoffman-Kensington High School as a successful three-sport athlete, she graduated from the University of Minnesota, Morris in 1995 and later completing a licensure in Health and Physical Education from Minnesota State University-Mankato in 1997.
At UMM, Asche was a forward for the women’s Cougar basketball team from 1993-1995. She also played softball from 1992-1995, where she played catcher.
What Asche likes in terms of basketball at the high school or collegiate level is the level of athleticism on the court and game management with the use of the shot clock. That makes perfect sense for a competitor who is also a registered basketball official, and recently completed officiating her first volleyball game this season.
The University of Minnesota, Morris Cougar Sports Network is a free, easy-to-use online portal for enjoying selected UMM athletic events on the Internet. The UMM Cougar Sports Network utilizes the latest in web technology to bring live video, audio and stats of UMM Cougar athletics events to Cougar fans around the globe.
Friday, February 13, 2009
Hoffman Good Samaritan Center holds Valentine's Party on Friday afternoon
Shown seated in the photo is Dorothy Kammerer of Alexandria, who claimed that she has been playing piano for "at least" 89 years. She provided music for the crowd to enjoy at HGSC's activities room during their Valentine's Party. Howard Olson and Helen Watson were crowned the new King & Queen. Read more about the event in next week's February 19th Hoffman Tribune. More photos will be in that issue from this event as well.
Stay warm this weekend!
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