Lori Sturdevant: Complacency is the enemy, stewards say

By LORI STURDEVANT, Star Tribune

Last update: February 9, 2008 - 6:19 PM

On Wednesday, Minnesota will get its annual status report from one of the people charged with stewardship of this state, Gov. Tim Pawlenty. ¶ But the governor doesn't bear that responsibility alone. On Feb. 1, the Star Tribune Editorial Board heard from four leaders in the Minnesota improvement business. They run four of the state's largest grant-making foundations: Kate Wolford at McKnight, Sandra Vargas at Minneapolis, Carleen Rhodes at St. Paul, and Peter Hutchinson at Bush. ¶ Excerpts of their "state of the state" assessments follow. In sum: Minnesota has done well, but the state is now in a precarious spot. A number of its key well-being trend lines are heading in the wrong direction.

And if all this state does in response to a recession is tighten its belt, it risks real trouble in years to come.

"We have to decide: Are we only going to patch the holes, or are we going to make the changes that are necessary so that there are no holes?" asked Hutchinson.

He's the newest member of the foundation CEO club, having just finished week 10 as Bush's top leader and as a former politician. The Independence Party's 2006 gubernatorial candidate has sworn off another bid for elective office.

But he hasn't taken a vow of silence. Neither have the other three foundation heads, two of whom -- Wolford and Vargas -- are also new to their positions within the past 14 months.

Together, they're bringing fresh eyes and creativity to the task of spending, in aggregate, about $180 million per year in Minnesota in ways that maximize the appreciation of this state's best shared assets -- its people and their environment.

That's small potatoes, compared with the $17 billion per year in the state budget. As Vargas said, "I don't think we can get anything done without the public sector doing its job."

But the contributions of what Hutchinson calls the state's "independent sector" are large enough to give them standing as problem-solving partners with government.

Complacency is Minnesota's enemy now, the foundation CEOs agreed. The biggest hazard they see on the horizon: too few skilled workers to sustain Minnesota's high-tech industries, which fuel the whole state's prosperity.

That threat is already real, they say, and will loom larger and meaner if a recession shrinks efforts to maximize this state's human capital.

They aren't calling for a tax increase, but they would reprioritize existing tax dollars. They'd make early childhood education available to every 4-year-old. They'd emphasize early intervention in troubled young lives. They would step up rigor in high school and retention in college.

Hutchinson urged one thing more. He wants the independent sector to throw its voice and muscle into efforts to control health-care costs and improve access and quality. He's a fan of the surprisingly similar plans two study groups forwarded last week to the Legislature.

"We can't wait for the feds to act" on health care, he said.

Legislators will be back in business Tuesday -- and likely back in gridlock soon thereafter. The return of money trouble will renew all the old battles between the DFL Legislature and the Republican governor.

But Hutchinson is right: Health care need not be fighting words this year. The bipartisan consensus in the plans put forward last week could set the table for a win-win outcome.

If the foundations can help make that happen, more power to 'em.

Lori Sturdevant is a Star Tribune editorial writer and columnist. She is at lsturdevant@startribune.com.

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