When U.S. Sen. Al Franken toured Bemidji’s J.W. Smith Elementary School on Friday, he was impressed when he saw third-graders reading to kindergarteners in the school auditorium. Their cheerful faces made him grin from ear-to-ear.

But in a meeting with area school leaders afterward, Franken found their concerns were no laughing matter.

Over-testing, unfunded federal mandates, special education and teacher pay came into the limelight as leaders turned to the senator, pleading re-authorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, also referred to as No Child Left Behind.

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Tensions have cooled since Sen. Al Franken’s heated questioning of NBC and Comcast execs several weeks ago. Remember, when he accused the companies of being downright dishonest?

But it seems the former NBC employee’s inquest into the two companies, which hope to merge, is far from over. Franken recently submitted a series of written questions to both companies, touching on Net Neutrality, unionization and a “terrestrial loophole.”

Perhaps most interesting, however, is Franken wrote that he wants the two execs to guarantee they will keep posting their current and future content online on Web sites like Hulu after the merger. On top of that, he asks them to promise that the content won’t be available only to Comcast cable subscribers.

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Sen. Al Franken wants to make sure other people besides Comcast cable subscribers will be able to watch 30 Rock and The Office online.

According to his written questions to Comcast and NBC Universal’s executives about their proposed $30-billion merge, Franken requested that they promise to put all their television shows online.

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MAHTOMEDI — A U.S. senator who also happens to be a famous comedian spoke from the pulpit of a new energy-efficient Mahtomedi church last week.

The 400 people who heard Sen. Al Franken (D-Minnesota) speak Feb. 17 at the White Bear Unitarian Universalist Church (WBUUC) got a little national policy, a little partisan trash talk, some Washington, D.C., insight and lots of laughs.

The Franken visit was part of a WBUUC Global Climate Committee monthly environmental speaker series. Global Climate Committee Chairman Dick Ottman, of White Bear Lake, orchestrated the visit and greeted the audience in the church foyer.

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St. Paul, Minn. — Hundreds of people rallied Sunday in support of passing comprehensive health care overhaul legislation.

The rally at union hall in Minneapolis was designed to coincide with President Obama’s televised health care summit scheduled for later this week. Business owner Diane Brennan, who owns a hair salon in St. Paul, said the cost of health insurance is making it tough for small business owners to compete.

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Timber availability, student financial aid access, banking regulations, veterans’ concerns — these were some of the issues Sen. Al Franken addressed during an economic development forum.

Representatives from Bemidji, Baudette, Blackduck and Park Rapids gathered Friday in the Beltrami Electric Cooperative community room to hear about Franken’s SEED Act — Strengthening Our Economy Through Employment and Development — and raise issues they want the senator to address.

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MINNEAPOLIS – More than 500 people, armed with banners, signs, and stories of health insurance industry abuse rallied at the Minneapolis Labor Center Sunday afternoon to demand Congress to deliver on health care reform.
U.S. Senator Al Franken delivered the keynote. Earlier in the week, he signed onto a letter asking Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to use the budget reconciliation process to pass the public option as an alternative to private health insurance. Reconciliation would require only 50 Senate votes, plus the Vice President, and has given many people hope that passage of a public option may still be possible.

In opening remarks, Bill McCarthy, President of the Minneapolis Regional Labor Federation, praised Franken for his leadership on federal health care reform and called the Senator “a fighter and champion of Minnesota’s working families.”

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Every day we get more economic news, and each of us has had to become somewhat of an expert at deciphering the reports. Just 18 months ago, most of us had never heard of an ADP report, or ever cared to know the difference between a dislocated worker and a discouraged worker. But if you step away from the day-to-day analysis, you come away with several big-picture trends — this already has been one of the deeper recessions we’ve been in, and even though we may turn the corner and start adding a few jobs soon, unemployment will remain a concern for several more years.

Small business is the engine of growth nationally, and it certainly is true in southeastern Minnesota as well. It’s time that we take a look at methods of ensuring that small business has the necessary resources to sustain a recovery.

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U.S. Sen. Al Franken wants to try a successful Iron Range-authored 1980s jobs program to put more Americans back to work.

The Minnesota Emergency Employment Development program, proposed by then-Gov. Rudy Perpich, provided 7,400 jobs its first six months in a public-private partnership that saw wages subsidized for employers who retained workers for a set period of time.

The 19883-87 program was especially useful on the Iron Range to help fill a downturn in the mining industry.

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Kate Krisik of Stillwater, executive director of Stillwater’s Valley Outreach Food Shelf, meets with U.S. Sen. Al Franken recently to discuss the significant increase in the number of people needing help during the current economic downturn. Krisik told Franken that although Washington County is one of the most affluent in Minnesota, it has seen record increases in the amount of food it gives out to area families.

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