Credit Anoka County Watchdog for Archiving the item - it looks like, give Tinklenberg Group $115,000 for communication, organization, and marketing.

But the word "lobbying" and the word "Oberstar" are absent from this archived item, so it is in a sense unusual among some of the other Tinklenberg Group authored or related items to be found online. And it is fair to say, I have seen much of Tinklenberg Group online items often that do talk of contacting legislators, agency personnel, etc., without saying the "l-word." That seems to be the style of those Tinklenberg Group folks. Could it be a fig-leaf view of plausible deniability?

Anyway, the specific item from fall of 2006 is six and a fraction pages long, and looks to be a lot of vapor-and-vague-speak, which seems to boil down to glad-handing a lot, and "marketing." And when it is governmental funding sources you are going to "market" to, in major part if not wholly that, how exactly is that NOT lobbying?

It sure looks to me as if the L-word applies. I guess it depends on how YOU define "lobbying."

The link is here.

_________UPDATE_______
Successive p.1 sentences of the longer item do say, up front:

The following sections provide a general description of areas in which The TInklenberg Group will focus efforts in the develpment and management of a Joint powers Board.

Critical to building and maintianing an effect JPB is strong working relationships with members, potential members, governmental agencies and elected officials, community business leaders and the general public.

When you are developing "strong working relationships" with "govenrmental agencies and elected officials" to advance a project for which you are being paid over a hundred grand; what's the name for that?

Hint: a word beginning with the letter "L" and ending "ing". With a double "b" in the middle.