Wendy Wulff of Lakeville, a self-employed web designer and Lakeville City Council member, has been named to fill the District 16 seat on the Metropolitan Council.

She will resign from the Lakeville City Council and the Transportation Advisory Board as a result of her appointment to the Metropolitan Council.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty appointed her to fill the seat that came open when Brian McDaniel resigned in January.

District 16 includes the Dakota County cities of Apple Valley, Coates, the southern portion of Eagan, Farmington, Hampton, Hastings, Lakeville, Miesville, New Trier, Randolph, Rosemount, and Vermillion; and the Dakota County Townships of Castle Rock, Douglas, Empire, Eureka, Greenvale, Hampton, Marshan, Nininger, Randolph, Ravenna, Sciota, Vermillion, and Waterford.

President Obama made another pitch for high-speed rail this morning, calling it a cure-all for employment, transportation bottlenecks, and even the environment, says a Wall Street Journal blog.

And the Chicago-Twin Cities leg is included in the Chicago Hub Network, one of the 10 major corridors "identified for high-speed rail projects" in the president's plan.

The Chicago Hub Network includes Chicago, Milwaukee, the Twin Cities, St. Louis, Kansas City, Detroit, Toledo, Cleveland, Columbus, Cincinnati, Indianapolis and Louisville.

St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman weighed in on the president's  plan:

"Investing in our transportation infrastructure is essential to rebuilding our national economy. A 21st century high-speed rail line between Chicago and St. Paul will lay the groundwork for new economic development throughout the Midwest. The President's comments today show a commitment to a new partnership with cities that will grow our economy, protect our environment, and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.”

The WSJ notes, though, that it's not a done deal:

"The problem is that developing a true, nationwide high-speed rail network will cost a lot more than the $13 billion the administration currently has earmarked. Some studies (PDF) suggest building a high-speed, inter-city rail network could cost between $250 billion and $500 billion."

Sen. Amy Klobuchar will be in Bloomington Saturday to lead a discussion on the No Child Left Behind law, which Congress will re-examine this year.

Supporters say the law has brought much-needed accountability to public education, especially in serving disadvantaged students. Critics say the federal law has created new unfunded mandates and encouraged an excessive focus on standardized testing.

Klobuchar said she wants to know what changes in the federal rules will best help local students.

The 10 a.m. meeting Saturday is at Washburn Elementary School, 8401 Xerxes Ave. S., Bloomington.

Klobuchar and her staff plan a series of education forums throughout the state this month and next.

There were no combined sewer overflows during storms last year and Minneapolis is gaining on Portland, Ore., in the quest to be the most bicycling city in the nation. Those are two of the highlights of a report on green efforts in Minneapolis, reports the Southwest Journal.

The city also passed an idling ordinance to battle greenhouse gas emissions from cars and trucks. Signs are going up soon in some city locations to remind drivers to not leave their vehicles idling for longer than three minutes.

Still, there are problems:

There has been a net loss of about 9,000 public trees over five years. The city’s goal is to have zero net loss.

And in battling so-called unhealthy air days, Minneapolis is far from its 2015 goal of 35 days or less. In 2008, there were 166 unhealthy air days.

“Thirty-five may not be a target we reach until we have all electric vehicles,” said Daniel Huff of Environmental Services.

More information is available in the city's recently published Greenprint, the annual report on the city’s green efforts.

Tight government budgets may bring closed pools and longer grass in the parks this summer, says the St. Cloud Times.

Parks and recreation budgets are taking a hit as many local governments trim "optional" services they aren't required by law to provide, such as parks, rather than critical services like public safety and road maintenance.

For example, St. Cloud's Recreation Department must cut $400,000 from its $1.6 million 2009 budget. A large part of that will come from closing four of the city's wading pools and not hiring 20 lifeguards.

Other cities are canceling summer recreation programs or relying more on volunteers to help with upkeep.

The culprits: the state's $4.6 billion budget deficit -- and the resulting cuts in local government aid -- along with sinking property tax revenue caused by a lack of new construction and declining property values.

"Some things just might not get done," said Monty Headley, administrator of Benton County, which is hiring half as many seasonal park workers as last year. "We want folks to have the best experience possible when they come to the parks and not find a garbage can full of dirty garbage ... But I think it's reasonable that people will notice a difference."

Child safety advocate and former congressional candidate Patty Wetterling says more emphasis is needed on preventing sexual violence.

She said prevention is key for both victims and perpetrators in a speech this week at Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, according to a story in the Marshall Independent. Wetterling is now director of Sexual Violence Prevention for the Minnesota Department of Health.

She asked men in the audience to think about the women in their lives and consider how society portrays females.

"We're objectifying girls at younger and younger ages," Wetterling said. "We shouldn't be treating them only as sexual objects. I always think about children when they're first born, how proud everyone is. Nobody thinks about them being victims. We have to protect our children for many, many reasons."

She became an outspoken supporter of child safety after her 11-year-old son Jacob was kidnapped at gunpoint in 1989. He has never been found.

Maybe I haven't been paying attention, but I hadn't noticed that state Rep. Tom Rukavina of Virginia might be ready to jump into the DFL gubernatorial pool.

But the Mesabi Daily News mentions Rukavina, along with state Sen. Tom Bakk (no surprise there) as two Iron Rangers testing the waters.

"If either or both of them officially take the electoral plunge for the DFL nomination, they will have plenty of company," says the paper.

It lists this group of contenders:

• DFL State Sen. John Marty of Roseville.

• Former U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton who spent many years seeking a seat in Washington, but when he got it decided he wanted only a single term.

• Former House Minority Leader Matt Entenza.

• Former state Sen. Steve Kelley and state Rep. Paul Thissen.

• Ramsey County Attorney Susan Gaertner.

• House Majority Leader Margaret Anderson-Kelliher has also not ruled out a possible run at the office.

Other possibilities include the Twin Cities' mayors, R.T. Rybak and Chris Coleman. And I'm sure there'll be others.

An arsenic-contaminated residential neighborhood in South Minneapolis will received some of the stimulus package money earmarked for Superfund cleanups, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday.  

The approximate center of the site is 27th Street East and 17th Ave South. About 500 homes are affected; up to $25 million is budgeted for the project, which is expected to take nearly three years to complete.

Fundraising for Minnesota’s Senate recount is nearing the $10 million mark.

Democrat Al Franken has raised nearly $6 million since the election to pay for his recount effort, Minnesota Public Radio is reporting. That compares with $3.6 million raised by Republican opponent Norm Coleman, according to Federal Election Commission reports filed today. Details here.

Young children learning to read and Minnesotans without health insurance will benefit from two significant grants announced today by Greater Twin Cities United Way.

The organization will contribute $2.3 million per year over the next three years toward 15 programs helping children read at grade level by third grade. It’s expected 6,400 children in the nine-county metropolitan region will be helped, children in Bloomington and St. Paul school districts among them.  The organization will also award $3.5 million annually toward making primary medical, dental and mental health care more accessible by helping support 23 local programs. Overall, 17 of the programs are newly funded by United Way.

In a news release, United Way calls the effort “investments into two of the most important gateways out of poverty for the highest risk populations in the community.”