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2004 Notable State Documents
2004
Notable State Documents
These notable state documents were produced in
2003-2004. They are a small selection
of the quality work done each year by Minnesota state agencies, great resources
for libraries and citizens. This year's
list finishes with a bibliographic essay on government finance resources by
John Heintz. John is currently a
reference librarian with the University of St. Thomas, but he developed
expertise in this area while working for the Minnesota Department of
Finance.
Career Information
MnCareers,
Minnesota Department of Employment and
Economic Development, Labor Market Information Office, 2005. Supplementary Web
site: http://www.mncareers.org.
Adults contemplating a career change or students exploring
career choices will find this website or the corresponding book,
MnCareers, invaluable.
Both formats provide the reader with easy to
read graphics and text covering all aspects of career planning.
Both publications use documents like the
Minnesota Salary Survey and other DEED (Department of Economic and Employment
Development) documents to provide Minnesota specific job descriptions, career
outlooks, salary comparisons and educational requirements.
A self-administered interest assessment test
and contact information for Minnesota Schools are also provided.
Criminal Justice
Minnesota Statewide
Racial Profiling Report: All Participating Jurisdictions: Report to the
Minnesota Legislature. Institute on Race and Poverty, Council on
Crime and Justice, 2003.
http://www.crimeandjustice.org/Pages/Publications/RecialProfilingStudy.htm
This mandated report is based on a study of 65 participating
city police departments, county sheriff's departments, and the Leech Lake
Indian Reservation. The participants collected specific data elements for
traffic stops during calendar year 2002. The report provides detailed analysis
of this data that shows a pattern of disparities based on race or ethnicity.
Appendices have charts by county of the collected data.
Report of the
Interagency Task Force on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Prevention.
Dept. of Public Safety, Minnesota Center for Crime Victim Services, 2004.
http://www.dps.state.mn.us/ojp/IATF/IATF_Report_03.pdf
Domestic and Sexual
Violence in Minnesota: Strategies for Prevention and Intervention.
Minnesota Department of Health, 2003. http://www.health.state.mn.us/injury/pub/dsvstrategies.pdf
These two reports are valuable resources in the fight
against domestic violence and sexual assault.
Filled with charts and graphs, the Interagency report provides
statistical information on domestic violence and sexual assault. In one concise
publication, you will find local and national statistics gathered from a
variety of sources. The Strategies publication is subtitled "Five year
objectives for health care and public health systems." This planning tool
outlines specific objectives and strategies for preventing violence. This guide
will provide useful guidance for many audiences, including health care
providers, public health officials, policy makers, victim advocates, and interested
citizens.
Environment
LCMR Parks Study Group
Report. Legislative
Commission on Minnesota Resources, 2004.
http://www.lcmr.leg.mn/Parks%20Study%20Comm/Final%20Report/FINAL%20REPORT.pdf
The LCMR developed this study to evaluate the operation and
financing of parks and explore their possible self-sufficiency. Three types of
parks are examined: State Parks, Metropolitan Regional Parks and Greater Minnesota
Regional Parks. Included is background information and data on each type of
park, with comparison tables on such topics as facilities, visits, funding
sources, user fees, and charges. The Appendices have detailed information on
visits, acreage, operations and maintenance, grant appropriations, and fee
data, as well as descriptions of individual parks.
Field Guide to the
Native Plant Communities of Minnesota - The Laurentian Mixed Forest
Province. Minnesota
Department of Natural Resources, 2003. Available for purchase, $10.95, at:
http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/publications/books/plantcommguide_lmf_orderform.pdf.
Intended for land managers, field surveyors and researchers,
this book also is great for anybody interested in learning more about
Minnesota's native vegetation. The publication is the first in a series of
state field guides put out by Minnesota's Ecological Provinces and the DNR.
It can be used to aid in identification,
improve vegetation management, survey areas for biological conservation and
identify research needs. The guide includes maps, keys, fact sheets with
information on plant-community composition and structure, landscape settings,
and soils.
Field Guide to the
Freshwater Mussels of Minnesota. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, 2003.
Available for purchase, $9.95, at:
http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/ecological_services/nhnrp/mussel_survey/mussel_orderform.pdf
Excellent for identifying and learning about Minnesota's
freshwater mussels, this book includes colorful photographs, information on
shell characteristics and maps that show how mussels are distributed. Facts
about mussels are provided, as well as information about threats to their
survival and collection regulations and methods. Also included are sections on
the biology of mussels, diagrams of their anatomy and discussion of the
mussel's role in the ecosystem.
Health
Minnesota Diabetes
Plan 2010. Minnesota
Diabetes Program, Minnesota Diabetes Steering Committee, Minnesota Department
of Health, 2003.
http://www.health.state.mn.us/diabetes/plancentral/plan.pdf
Currently 1 out of 18 adults in Minnesota has diabetes;
one-third of them don't even know they have the disease. An increasing number
of people are at risk of developing type 2 diabetes every year. The purpose of
Minnesota Diabetes Plan 2010 is to provide a disease management tool to
individuals and communities to reduce the impact of diabetes in Minnesota.
Strategic Plan for
Addressing Asthma in Minnesota; Recommendations of the Commissioner's Asthma
Advisory Work Group.
Chronic Disease and Environmental Epidemiology, Minnesota Department of
Health, 2003.
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/hpcd/cdee/asthma/documents/AsthmaPlan.pdf
This publication considers all aspects of a disease that
appears to be the rise in Minnesota. Asthma is considered a serious public
health problem. It accounted more than $33 million in health care costs for
emergency room visits and hospitalizations in Minnesota in 1999. Public
awareness of asthma's burdens can help ensure that individuals with asthma have
the resources needed to manage the disease. This document presents
recommendations to address the increasing economic and health burden of asthma
in Minnesota.
Asthma Action Plan.
Health Promotion and Chronic Disease
Division, Minnesota Department of Health.
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/hpcd/cdee/asthma/ActionPlan.html
This interactive software resource was developed for medical
professionals and patients. Using the Action Plan takes the guesswork out of
treating asthma episodes. The plan was created to help patients know what to do
in case of an attack, control asthma attacks, and know what to watch for to
intervene early in an attack - strategies to help them to avoid doctor visits.
Minnesota Workplace Safety Report: Occupational Injuries and Illnesses, 2002.
Research and Statistics, Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, 2003.
http://www.dli.mn.gov/pdf/saferpt02.pdf
The report presents information about Minnesota's
job-related injuries, illnesses and fatalities -- their incidence, nature and
causes, the industries in which they occur and changes in their incidence over
time. The report also describes programs from the Department of Labor and
Industry used to help employers and workers reduce injuries and illnesses in
their own workplaces.
New Minnesotans
Refugee Health Provider Services. Minnesota
Department of Health. Web resource at:
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/idepc/refugee/hcp/index.html
This website is a valuable resource for health care
providers and for anyone who works with refugees or immigrant populations.
Included is a 'comprehensive screening examination' with appropriate follow-up
referrals. Resources on topics such as social adjustment, language access, and
cultural competence are provided, as are refugee demographic and health
screening data. Information on the
Minnesota Immigrant Health Task Force and the Metro Refugee Health Task Force
is also available.
Estimates of Selected Immigrant
Populations in Minnesota: 2004.
Office of the State Demographer, June 2004.
http://www.demography.state.mn.us/PopNotes/EvaluatingEstimates.pdf
Find current demographic information
for nine immigrant groups in Minnesota. In this brief document,
they have included 1990 and 2000 U.S.
Census data, 2003-2004 school enrollment numbers, and current population
estimates. This report is one of an
ongoing series titled, Population Notes.
(http://server.admin.state.mn.us/pubs/popnotes.html)
The authors of this series take government
statistics and create fascinating snapshots of the demographics of our
state.
Government Finance Resources
State and local government taxation and spending issues take
up a seemingly disproportionate amount of time during each session of the
Legislature. This is appropriate, because issues of who pays how much of which
taxes, and on what programs and
services are those monies spent directly affect the lives and pocketbooks of
all Minnesotans. The governor, legislators, and local government officials
who must wrestle with the difficult
choices involved are fortunate to have dedicated staff people in several
agencies to provide detailed information and analysis to help guide those
decisions. Fortunately, many of these documents are also available to interested
citizens, researchers, and all
affected by these actions.
Do you know where state tax dollars come from and where they
go? Want to take a look at detailed
budget documents to try and figure out when that highway near your house might
get rebuilt? Ever wonder what the Board
of Water and Soil Resources does? You
can find answers to these questions and more on the Department of Finance's
Minnesota State Budget Web page.
This site provides both summary and detailed
budget information on the state's operating and capital budgets.
State budget information is complex, and
this site has multiple layers of information, including archives of information
from prior budget periods--if you get confused, give them a call, and they'll
help you find what you need.
Have trouble remembering what the sales tax rates are and
what goods and services are exempt? Need to know at what dollar levels the income
tax brackets change? See the Minnesota
Department of Revenue's Minnesota Tax
Handbook for a concise
summary for each major tax on rates levied, amounts collected, legislative
history, and more.
Curious about the impact of the various taxes on different
industries, categories of taxpayer, or income levels of taxpayers?
State decision makers refer to the Minnesota
Department of Revenue's Tax Incidence
Study to help them judge the fairness and impact of the overall
state and local tax system.
Ever notice when buying things that sometimes you pay a
local sales tax and sometimes you don't, and wonder why and what that money is
used to pay for? Check out the Department of Revenue's
Minnesota's Local Sales and Use Taxes: A Report to
the 2004 Minnesota Legislature.
Did you know that the state sent over $8.8 billion (roughly
72% of state general and highway fund spending in 2002) to local governments to
pay for schools, human services, highways, and general operations?
Interested in seeing a map of which regions
of the state receive more state aid, and which pay more taxes?
Need data by county showing local aid
payments and amounts of state taxes collected?
Refer to the Minnesota House of Representatives Research Department's
Major State Aids and Taxes: A Comparative Analysis
for a 241 page compendium of such information.
Are your kids' teachers concerned about budget cuts?
Wondering what's going on in school finance
in Minnesota? Check out the Office of the State Auditor's
Financial Trends of Minnesota School Districts
reports. There is one for districts
under 1,000 students, and one for districts over 1,000 students.
Resources included:
- Minnesota State
Budget. Minnesota Department
of Finance. Web page at:
http://www.budget.state.mn.us/budget/index.shtml
- Minnesota Tax
Handbook. Minnesota
Department of Revenue, 2002, with 2003 update.
http://www.taxes.state.mn.us/taxes/legal_policy/research_reports/content/handbook.shtml
- Tax Incidence Study.
Minnesota Department of Revenue, 2003.
http://www.taxes.state.mn.us/taxes/legal_policy/research_reports/content/incidence.shtml
- Minnesota's Local
Sales and Use Taxes: A Report to the 2004 Minnesota Legislature,
February 2004.
http://www.taxes.state.mn.us/taxes/legal_policy/research_reports/content/local_sales_tax_study.pdf .
- Major State Aids and
Taxes: A Comparative Analysis.
Minnesota House of Representatives, House Research Department, 2003
(2002 update)
http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/hrd/issinfo/tx_aids.htm#PD1
- Financial trends of
Minnesota School Districts: School Districts Under 1,000 Enrollment.
Minnesota Office of the State Auditor,
2004.
http://www.auditor.state.mn.us/default.aspx?page=rptgid03smalldistrict
- Financial trends of
Minnesota School Districts: School Districts Over 1,000 Enrollment.
Minnesota Office of the State Auditor, 2004.
http://www.auditor.state.mn.us/default.aspx?page=rptgid03schooldistrict
Another source for state budget documents and information is
the Minnesota Legislative Reference Library's guide, State Budget, at
http://www.leg.state.mn.us/lrl/issues/budget.asp.
Notable State Documents for 2003