In this episode, Jason and Andrew are talking about grants. Grants fund a number of projects in your city, county, park district, and/or school district, etc. These projects are heralded, because someone else is paying for it. It's "free" money. Is it really free? Every grant has strings attached. It pays for all or part of a project being done in a specific way, and is often with disregard to the character, history, or population of the community that is slated to receive the grant.

In this episode, Jason and Andrew welcome their friend "The Closer" Brad Carlson from 1280am The Patriot's Northern Alliance Radio Network. This turned into an epic discussion that actually has some really important tie-ins to local elections. You will want to tune in just for that.

We apologize for the sound quality on Brad's mic. It happened in recording, so we did what we could to minimize it in post production. I hope you enjoy this one, as we talk history, minor leagues, and sabermetrics!

It's Thanksgiving week, so we thought we'd do something a little different. In this episode, Jason and Andrew welcome their friend "The Closer" Brad Carlson. We wanted to have a little fun so we decided to sit down and talk some baseball. This turned into an epic discussion that actually has some really important tie-ins to local elections.

We apologize for the sound quality on Brad's mic. It happened in recording, so we did what we could to minimize it in post production.

www.commsolutionsmn.com- In this episode, Andrew and Jason start out discussing an e-mail from Robbinsdale School District 281 about interviewing a number of architectural firms to create "inviting classrooms", based on their Unified District Vision. We break it down for you, because this will surely become a trend in other school districts. Then we get into the results from a number of local races in 2017, and why odd year elections are absolutely one of the worst things man has ever conceived.

In this week's episode, we are discussing Ranked Choice Voting. You may or may not have had exposure to this idea, but it is a very real thing, as cities like Minneapolis and St. Paul have tried to go down this road. Does it give more opportunity to less popular parties, or just secure election for the most popular one? Does it allow for more clarity in the election process, or muddy the waters? There are so many questions around this practice. I hope that this show will help you form an educated opinion.

In this episode, Jason and Andrew discuss the gas tax in the state of Minnesota. How much is it? Who gets a piece of it? How is it spent? What roads are maintained with gas tax money? Where does Minnesota rank among the other 49 states? Who pays for what roads? Does the Metro get more than Greater Minnesota? How much money goes to roads and bridges verses transit and to bike paths? Being idea folks, we may have come up with a solution to all of this, because that's what we do.

In this episode, Jason and Andrew talk about an international group that goes directly to cities to get them to implement policies that promote sustainability. That group is called the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI). Take a listen and find out how this group has worked its way into how local governments operate, even if they are not a member city and what you can do about it.

In this episode Jason and Andrew interview Hennepin County Commissioner and MN Governor hopeful, Jeff Johnson. We ask him about all things Hennepin County and then get into the governor's race. We don't, however, ask all the normal questions you'll hear everywhere else. We talk about how state government affects local government and what can be done to grant more local control to cities, counties, and school districts. We also give a little bit of local news in The Local Lowdown.

In this episode Jason and Andrew look into Campaign Finance Reports. It's how you can get an idea who has contributed to someone's election, what views a candidate may hold, or who is expecting representation after the election. This is an important tool in nonpartisan elections, as it may tell you where someone's political affections really are and what beliefs they might hold. You'll want to listen to this one and and look up the people that have run for election in your area.

In this episode, Jason and Andrew sit down for a discussion with New Brighton Council Member Gina Bauman and city council hopeful, Sue Erickson. This is an important podcast no matter where you live, because this is really what goes on in so many city councils, especially when the existing power structure gets challenged. Mayor Val Johnson tries to set up her own Diversity Task Force without consulting the rest of the city council. Council Member Bauman calls her on it and Mayor Johnson becomes unhinged.