There is a kinda/maybe deal to re-jigger some level of funding for the GAMC program, say Strib reporters Warren Wolfe and Mike Kaszuba. But as the sun comes up, no one is saying how, what or how much. The Stribbers reiterate: "[Gov.] Pawlenty acted on his own last year to end GAMC and move recipients onto a program with less coverage and higher per-person costs. Pawlenty instructed the state Department of Human Services to shift about 32,000 current GAMC clients on April 1 to MinnesotaCare, an insurance program designed for lower-income working people and funded by premiums and a surcharge on health care providers and insurers. That program has a $10,000 annual cap on spending for a client's inpatient hospital care."

Three medical students at the U of M pen a letter to the Minnesota Daily excoriating Pawlenty's GAMC gambit. They write, "Pawlenty is cutting the health care coverage of 60,000, switching some 20,000 over to the more expensive and less comprehensive MinnesotaCare and abandoning the other 40,000. Additionally, he wants to build a staggering new facility to incarcerate sex offenders who haven’t been caught yet and spend some of the health care savings on a 20 percent tax cut for corporations. Ironically, Pawlenty seems to be using the opportunity to show the Republican base an example of his 'values.' " They add, "As medical students, we have had the opportunity to see the remarkable services hospitals like HCMC and Regions provide the state of Minnesota and surrounding communities. These institutions will be hit especially hard by the cuts to GAMC, forcing them to cut many primary care services for the poor, ultimately resulting in more frequent visits to already crowded emergency departments."

The Let Freedom Ring blog comes to Pawlenty's defense on this matter, saying, " [A] loyal reader of this blog also highlights something else that’s worth noting: 'GAMC costs Minnesotans a billion dollars per two year budget, and those costs are rising 36 percent per year! Unfortunately, that money isn’t delivering the primary and preventive care these people need most.' Why wouldn’t you reform something that’s costing Minnesota’s taxpayers that much money and is that out of control? That the DFL refuses to consider reforming GAMC speaks to their status quo mindset. I’ve said before what I’ll repeat now: That’s how the DFL has turned into the obstructionist majority party." Uh, GAMC ... $500 million ... a year? Oh well, that's probably just a rounding error.

Minnesota 2020, the liberal think tank, argues, with a bit more specificity, "MinnesotaCare receives the majority of its funding from the Health Care Access Fund which receives its revenue from a 2% provider tax and a 1% premium tax. The Health Care Access Fund is estimated to run out in 2012, but now it may run out as early as April 2011 if it is bogged down with 28,000 new program participants from GAMC. GAMC does more than guarantee access to care for the poorest of the poor; it guarantees payment for that care. Hospitals will continue to provide emergency care to anyone in need of it, but without GAMC the costs will be covered through various cuts in programs and staff and higher rates to the insured."

The governor is also pushing the view that George W. Bush will be "vindicated" by history. This comes via a Paul Schmelzer story in The Minnesota Independent. Says Pawlenty, "He [Bush] is also going to be defined, of course, by Iraq and the war on terror. I think he’s going to go down as a strong leader in history for that. We could end up with an Iraq that has a democratic government, that is reasonably secure in a very troubled region. If that turns out to be the future, I think he’s going to be remembered very fondly for that. And he also kept us safe. He was very aggressive, as was Vice President Cheney and the rest of the team, on taking it to the terrorists."

Oddly, this view coincides with pretty much the same view expressed (and argued) in Karl Rove's soon-to-be-released memoir. John Hinderaker of Power Line is, of course, pleased to see such vigor. He quotes from an AP review: "[Rove] depicts Bush as a courageous and resolute leader whose conduct in office was forever shaped by the Sept. 11 attacks. He calls Bush's achievements over two terms 'impressive, durable and significant' and says many of the controversies that weakened his presidency were falsehoods perpetuated by political opponents." (Cough) Katrina, U.S. attorneys, (cough), through-the-roof deficits, signing statements, rendition, lack of preparation for controlling Iraq (cough). And then adds, "That's a fact; many if not all of the attacks on Rove were falsehoods perpetuated by political opponents, too." That's a "fact."

Oh, great idea! Cut the number of state troopers by half. That'll save $75 million. KSTP-TV's Susanna Song and Becky Nahm file a report on this proposal. "The board of the Association of Minnesota Counties recently voted 20 to 2 in favor of a proposal to reduce the number of Minnesota state troopers by as much as half. There are currently about 570 troopers ... that's money the AMC says could be used for roads and bridges."

David Olson of the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce likes the overall AMC plan. He writes in a letter printed in the Red Wing Republican Eagle: "There are some ideas on the list that Minnesota businesses will oppose — for example, county sales tax and equalization formula. But there are many that we believe will lead to higher quality public services at lower cost. That’s the essence of government redesign ... More than ever, Minnesota’s job growth and high quality of life depend on a comprehensive and persistent effort to redesign our state and local services so we deliver expected results at the same or lower cost per unit." Keep that "cost per unit" business in mind the next time you see a drunk go rocketing by you in the wrong lane.

Bob Geiger at Finance and Commerce covers what sure sounds like a retreat by Cub Foods in the St. Cloud market. Coburn Delivers bought up two Cub stores in that area, leading to speculation that Cub's parent company, SuperValu, just doesn't have the mojo to compete like it used to. The reasons are pretty familiar. "But David Livingston, a grocery analyst for Waukesha, Wis.-based DJL Research, said Cub Foods won’t build replacement stores in St. Cloud. 'Cub had a chance to buy those stores just like Coborn’s did, and they didn’t take it,' said Livingston. He blamed debt carried by Cub Foods’ parent, Eden Prairie-based Supervalu Inc., for Cub’s likely disappearance from St. Cloud.  'They’re at a big disadvantage when they’re so heavily in debt,' said Livingston. 'Every acquisition they make, they don’t use their own money to buy it; they borrow it.' "

Denny, Denny, Denny ... we've often wondered where you're getting the money to pay your attorneys, those bedraggled gentlemen wading through the detritus of your 220-plus companies and thousands of e-mails. If your move to grab back $100,000 of the $125,000 the courts forced you to restore to your, um, retirement account is any indication of how you've pulled this off, well ... we're thinking that well might be getting close to dry. MaryJo Webster of the PiPress reports on this moment of Hecker-ania, with Judge Jay Quam adding this immortal quote: "It may be that Mr. Hecker has reached 'the end of the trail' financially, as his counsel claims. Had I not heard that same refrain several times before, I may be willing to take that leap of faith. Yet time and time again I have heard Mr. Hecker doggedly claim he has no money to pay his wife maintenance, only to see that he somehow managed to find the funds to go on a trip, pay his country club dues or afford some other extravagance that would be out of the question if his claim of poverty was true."

The Fox9 story includes a fast breakdown, a reminder, of the intended pay-outs from that $125K: "Hecker was accused of hiding $125,000 he took out of a 401(k) and lawyers started following a trail of canceled checks. Nearly $10,000 was made out to his girlfriend, Christi Rowan. $20,000 were made to attorneys, $1,500 were dues to the Lafayette Club in Minnetonka along with dues to three other golf clubs. All were checks, because Hecker says he doesn't even own a credit card." Which does make us wonder, with all those arbitrary, "because-we-feel-like-it" increases, what interest rate Denny is paying on his VISA card.

There is $16.2 million sitting in IRS coffers for Minnesotans to claim, if they'd just file a 2006 return. An Associated Press story says, "The IRS says some people may not have filed a return because they had too little income to require it. But many did have taxes withheld from their wages or made quarterly estimated payments. The agency estimates that half the Minnesotans who could file and claim a refund for 2006 would receive $552 or more back."