We're not sure what to make of a Minnesota lawmaker's uncalled-for shot at North Dakota's Capitol, other than to suggest that lawmakers there surely have more important things to worry about within their own borders.
Rep. Matt Dean, the Minnesota House's Republican majority leader, criticized North?Dakota's Capitol during a discussion last week about spending $221 million for repairs to the Minnesota Capitol.
"It's like State Farm Insurance called, they want their office building back," Dean said in describing North Dakota's Capitol. Dean later said he's never been inside our Capitol, but would welcome the chance to tour the building so he can be proven wrong.
Don't hold your breath for that invitation, Matt. By the way, didn't Minnesota residents elect you to do a job? Don't you and your colleagues have enough to do worrying about your state budget and trying to build a new stadium for the Minnesota Vikings with money you don't have?
By the way,?Matt, North Dakota could easily lend you the $221 million you need to refurbish your state Capitol and not even make a dent in our roughly $1.5 billion reserve. We're not going to do that, though, because we'd worry about getting our money back.
North Dakota's Capitol was completed in 1934, with less flair and extravagance than originally intended because lawmakers made sure the project stayed within its $2 million budget, something Dean and his cohorts have struggled to do through the years. Call it boring if you want, but the North Dakota Capitol stands as a representation of the residents of this great state: Solid, sensible and effective.