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| Game day. |
Strib,
publishing more about perk-snatching by the well-placed semi-famous:
U.S. Bank Stadium suite guests feasted on $32,000 worth of food on state dime
By Rochelle Olson Star Tribune --- January 11, 2017 — 6:59am
[...] Anderson commented on a 27-page document sent by the MSFA in response to questions last month from her, Senate Finance Chairwoman Julie Rosen, R-Vernon Center, and Sen. Mary Kiffmeyer, R-Big Lake.
Anderson and Rosen, who was a sponsor of the 2012 legislation that got the stadium built with nearly $500 million in public money, say they will lead Republican efforts to examine the MSFA’s operations this session.
In response to lawmakers’ questions, the MSFA revealed a few new details, including the cost of the food, who got free parking passes and an acknowledgment that there was a quorum of commissioners at one Vikings game, but that it wasn’t illegal. The document also outlined the written suite policy and the division of duties between Chairwoman Michele Kelm-Helgen and Executive Director Ted Mondale.
Kelm-Helgen is expected to make her first appearance this session Wednesday at a hearing of the Government Operations & Elections Committee.
Since the stadium opened Aug. 3 with a soccer match, the MSFA has controlled access to two Norseman Suites on the main concourse of the $1.1 billion stadium. The suites accommodate 36 guests total. For the Vikings season alone, a suite sells for between $200,000 and $300,000. The MSFA controls the suites for all stadium events.
Anderson said she thinks the suites, on the 20-yard line, are more likely on the higher end of that range. She expects to calculate the true cost of using them, including the $32,120 for food, and seek additional reimbursement from guests who used them
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| Ted? |
image credit - Penguin is republishing the 1954 illustrated edition of George Orwell’s Animal Farm, complete with drawings by Joy Batchelor and John Halas whose work on the animated film version of the story helped bring the writer’s novel to a new audience
