Sen. Al Franken’s plan for creating employment — fashionably nicknamed Cash for Jobs — came to East Grand Forks on Thursday.

Some praised it while others thought it was a clunker compared with other government options to stimulate the economy.

The first-term Democratic U.S. senator proposes a wage subsidy similar to one used in Minnesota in the 1980s that returned 7,400 workers to jobs. The subsidy, good for up to a year, would amount to half of the wages, with a maximum subsidy of $12 per hour.

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The “I will mess you up” Senator is what Keith Olbermann is now calling Al Franken. He also added that “orientation” for Minnesota’s Senator is now over.

Franken’s toughness and savvy was on display last week at a hearing on the proposed $30 billion mega-merger between Comcast and NBC Universal.

In his feisty opening statement, Franken said: “I worked for NBC for many years. And what I know from my previous career has given me reason to be concerned–let me rephrase that, very concerned–about the potential merger of Comcast and NBC Universal. The media are our source of entertainment, but they’re also the way we get our information about the world. So when the same company that produces the programs runs the pipes that bring us those programs, we have a reason to be nervous…. You’ll have to excuse me if I don’t just trust their promises and that is from experience in this business.”

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Sen. Al Franken is using the momentum from last week’s NBC/Comcast hearing to rake in a few bucks for the cause.

In case you missed it, the former-NBC-employee-turned-lawmaker emerged as the most vocal critic of the two companies merging during a Judiciary Committee meeting and assailed their two execs for various alleged improprieties.

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Staff members from Minnesota Sen. Al Franken’s office will meet with Moorhead residents today to discuss their ideas for job creation in the area.

The meeting is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. in the east conference room of Moorhead City Hall, 500 Center Ave.

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ALEXANDRIA, Minn. – Sen. Al Franken may be stuck in a blizzard in Washington D.C., but his staff visited Alexandria today to talk about job creation.

It’s a part of the senator’s jobs-creation bill called “Cash for Jobs.” He wants to take $10 billion in existing funding from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and re-allocate it to creating jobs in the private and public sectors.

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Staff members from Sen. Al Franken’s office will meet with East Grand Forks area residents at 10:30 a.m. Thursday in the first-floor training room of East Grand Forks City Hall, 600 DeMers Ave., to discuss “Cash for Jobs,” Franken’s newly introduced jobs creation bill…

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NO doubt there are drawbacks to choosing a U.S. senator from among former players on “Saturday Night Live.” Last week Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., made an asset of his former life as a TV comic. He stared down the president of NBC Universal and announced that he did not believe the company’s promises. Franken had learned on the job not to believe them.

A $37 billion purchase does create an incentive for the players to make whatever promises about competition and innovation that are necessary to push it through. That is so for Comcast, which is doing the buying, and for NBC Universal, which is being bought.

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Sen. Al Franken questions Comcast CEO Brian Roberts and NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker during a hearing on the proposed $30 billion merger between cable giant Comcast and NBC. Sen. Franken said Roberts had assured him in his office that consumers will continue to have access to variety of programs after the merger because FCC rules safeguard against and forbid discrimination of other companies’ programs.

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Members of U.S. Sen. Al Franken’s staff met with officials from Stillwater and across Washington County to discuss efforts to create jobs in the area on Friday.

Franken recently introduced the “Strengthening Our Economy Through Employment and Development (SEED) Act,” based on a successful 1983-1987 Minnesota program, the Minnesota Emergency Employment Development program, that got 7,400 workers back on the job in its first six months. Franken’s bill would provide incentives for hiring in the private and non-profit sector and provide grants to states, local governments, to make public buildings more energy efficient.

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It was a sold out venue for Friday night’s event.

Senator Al Franken gave a speech that touched on healthcare and talked about a new program he’s proposing that he hopes will bring thousands of jobs to Minnesota.

Though 2009 was one of the toughest years Hibbing has ever seen, chamber and government officials shared their optimistic outlooks for 2010.

The event also included an auction and awards presentation that honored Range businesspeople for leadership, ambassadorship and achievement. All the money raised at the event goes toward Chamber programs.

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