editorials

In the mad dash to the end of the legislative session, Minnesota lawmakers have smartly taken time out to examine how the Department of Natural Resources used taxpayer's money to take an expensive foray into event planning last summer.

This morning, two committees of the House and Senate are slated to hold a joint hearing on how the state agency spent nearly $400,000 hosting a three-day game warden conference last July -- developments detailed earlier this week by Star Tribune reporter David Shaffer. The conference made a profit for its organizers, who did not share the windfall with the DNR. The agency spent $196,000 on the event and at least $187,000 in staff time planning it.

Revelations of the expensive event come at a time when state revenues are forcing budget trims at the agency. On the table are cuts equaling $160,000 in DNR staffing and programs.

Lawmakers will be asking some tough questions this morning. Among them: Did state employees improperly solicit private donations to pay for the event? And, did the agency violate state law by not going through proper funding channels for conference spending?

"By law, the moneys need to be appropriated by the Legislature,'' said state Rep. Jean Wagenius (DFL-Minneapolis), chairwoman of the House Environment and Natural Resources Finance Division. "The public has a right to know how its money is being spent.''

More troubling is what may not have happened at the agency because of the resources devoted to the event. Were conservation officers not out in the field? Was money diverted from programs critical to protecting the state's lakes, wetlands and wildlife?

"We will be asking a lot of questions and we will be putting it out into the sunshine,'' Wagenius said. The Legislative Auditor's office and the DNR's internal auditor are also looking into the matter. This morning's public hearing will complement those investigations by putting top DNR officials on the spot.