(gentle upbeat music) - Hello and welcome to "Prairie Pulse."

Coming up a little bit later in the show, we'll learn about a whimsical woodworker from Perham, Minnesota, Tyson Andrews.

But first, our guest joining us now is the past president of the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities and the current Moorhead Mayor, Shelly Carlson.

Shelly, thanks for joining us today.

- Yes, thank you for inviting me.

- Well, as we get started, tell the folks a little bit about yourself and your background maybe.

- Yeah, well, sure.

This is my sixth year being the mayor.

I was on the city council for two years prior.

I am originally from western North Dakota and I migrated here in the '90s and have made this my home for the last 30-some years and got into giving back to my community about eight years ago when I ran for city council.

I did a lot of other things, but just kind of stepped it up a little bit.

And then, like I said, I've been the mayor for the last, this my sixth year and just really have had the honor and privilege of representing Moorhead in this community, across the state, and even down in Washington D.C.

- Okay.

Well, you're here today mostly to talk about your connection with the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities.

Tell us a little bit about what is that, what is the Coalition?

- So the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities was started in the early 1970s by a group of mayors from Outstate Minnesota, who really thought the legislature needed to focus a little bit more on Greater Minnesota instead of just in the seven-county metro community.

And those mayors formed a nonprofit organization, and it's grown since that time.

We have a little over 100 cities that are members of the Coalition, we call it just CGMC for short.

It's less than the mouthful of Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities.

Anyway, so yeah, that group of mayors formed this coalition and nonprofit organization that's been in existence now for 50-some years, and it's a great organization that really helps to advocate for cities in Greater Minnesota, outside of the seven-county metro region.

- So how is the organization funded and staffed maybe?

- Yeah, so great question.

All of the member cities contribute to the budget of the organization and there's maybe some minor fundraisers that happen, but really it's the membership dues from the cities that are part of it.

And we contract with Flaherty & Hood, which is a law firm that does a lot of lobbying, and that's where executive director is a staff member of and pull different lobbyists from those specialties with Flaherty & Hood that help to do the lobbying on behalf of CGMC.

So, you know, all of them aren't full-time with CGMC because the legislature isn't in session all the time, and so they're able to do other things, but we have a lot of specialty attorneys and lobbyists at our fingertips to be able to utilize whenever we need.

- So how many cities are part of the Coalition, and is it growing steady or declining?

- Yeah, I mean, we're always looking and trying to encourage other cities from across Greater Minnesota to join and provide them the information about why it is so beneficial.

So it's still been steady around that 110, 120, you know, sometimes cities will leave the Coalition and then some of them will rejoin the Coalition.

We've been pretty steady in the years that I've been involved, probably the last, you know, seven, eight years.

But again, always trying to encourage other cities to join and participate in Greater Minnesota.

- So how does the city become a member?

Or is there criteria they have to meet?

- The criteria is you're a city in Greater Minnesota (laughs) and you just contact the CGMC and tell them that you wanna be a member.

There's different levels of membership.

Moorhead is the largest city that is a member, so we pay a larger portion of the tiered dues.

Smaller cities like Glendon, Minnesota, or Hawley, or Burnsville, they would pay a a lesser amount.

Their budgets aren't as big, so that just makes more sense.

We wanna make sure it's inclusive of any and all communities across the state.

- Yeah.

You may have mentioned, how long have you been associated and what roles have you had?

- Yeah, the city of Moorhead has been part of CGMC probably since like the '80s.

It's just seeing the real value in being part of that Coalition.

Personally, I've been part of it since I came on the city council and, you know, there's different subgroups that you can be part of.

And so joined a subgroup, and then when I became the mayor, that's when I decided to join the board of directors and put my name in the hat and was elected to an at-large member.

And then I became, I think, the second vice president, first vice president, then the president, now I'm the past president.

So yeah, it's been great.

- So how does the Coalition choose its board members?

Are there requirements for that?

- The requirements are you have to be a member, - The city- - Coalition member.

Yeah, the city has to be.

And so we have administrators that are part of our board of directors, we have council members, we have mayors.

You just really have to... It's more elected officials and then maybe the leadership of those organizations.

But the membership itself chooses, so it's voting memberships, and you know, at the annual meetings, people vote on it and, you know, nominate this person, and it's an I or an A and that's how you get to be part of it.

- Are there similar organizations in other states?

- I'm not sure in other states, there are similar organizations even in the state of Minnesota though.

So there's the League of Minnesota Cities, which is all cities across the state of Minnesota, both metro and Greater Minnesota.

There's a small cities coalition.

I know that the metro cities have their own coalition.

So, you know, I think it just depends on what the mission of the organization is, so- - So you're not totally unique, yeah, 'cause I'm gonna ask you if you were unique, 'cause you said small cities, so there you go.

You're not necessarily unique.

There are other organizations.

- There are other organizations like that.

Yeah.

- What does it mean for communities to be part of the Coalition though?

- You know, we really see the value in the city of Moorhead, being a very large urban community in Greater Minnesota, our needs are different than in the seven-county metro region, and we don't necessarily have the resources to do the advocating in the legislature that we need for all of the issues that we're facing.

So being a member of CGMC allows us to put funding towards an entity that is down in St.

Paul all day, every day, multiple people working on different issues and a variety of issues, and a collective voice of Greater Minnesota cities that have similar issues.

So Local Government Aid is a funding strategy that Minnesota has utilized to get money out to local communities.

And LGA has not been increased significantly in the last decade.

So it affects all Greater Minnesota cities and our lobbyists with CGMC can really do a lot of that lobbying on behalf of us.

So this allows the city of Moorhead to focus our specific lobbying efforts on ones that are just specific to the city of Moorhead and not have to do all of the work and all of the lobbying on things that would affect cities across the Greater Minnesota.

So like lead pipe replacement is something that affects all communities, so we don't have to just focus on that.

We know CGMC has that, and then we can focus things that are more specific to Moorhead.

- Yeah.

So how do you choose which issues to focus on and work on?

- Yeah, so at CGMC, again, it is all cities get to vote on it and- - But one city may have already replaced their lead pipe.

- Right, right.

And you know, we work on so many different issues on CGMC, there's, you know, six general kind of umbrella issues.

So there's transportation issues, there's childcare, there's housing, emergency medical services has become a larger issue.

And so even if it doesn't necessarily specifically affect Moorhead directly, we know that it's an issue across Greater Minnesota, and it might be, you know, 1 of 50 issues that aren't affecting our city, but more than likely it's affecting Moorhead.

- So it sounds like the Coalition then does sort of bring specific projects or bonding bills to the state of Minnesota.

Is that true?

- So bonding will affect every community across the state of Minnesota and we wanna make sure that the dollars are allocated equitably between the metro communities and Greater Minnesota.

You know, there's just sometimes more need in Greater Minnesota for certain things, like EMS services is a huge need, you know, childcare and where you find that, I mean, I know that's an issue across the entire state, but when people have to travel 35, 40 minutes in, you know, a two-lane where there's nothing between two towns to get childcare, that can be a different issue than down in the metro.

- Yeah, I think you kind of answered this just a few minutes ago.

Why would a Greater Minnesota city associate with the Coalition to represent them if they have elected officials already doing that?

- Well, a lot of times, you know, even for the city of Moorhead, I'm not a full-time mayor, the hours wouldn't necessarily affect that, but especially smaller communities, a lot of these folks, they have full-time jobs.

So being an elected official, they don't necessarily have the time to go to St.

Paul and do this lobbying, and the distance to travel, you know, if you're in Grand Rapids, that's a huge drive.

And even if you can testify virtually, it's not the same as being in the capitol and going and talking face-to-face with the legislators.

That's the benefit that we really get by being a member of CGMC.

They're there every single day and they have lobbyists that one might be working on housing, another one is working on the lead pipe replacement and somebody else is working on making sure that that bonding gets passed.

So it's a way to access lobbyists for your community when you might not have the budget to do it on your own.

- Yeah.

Has your role with the Coalition, in various capacities, helped you as the mayor of Moorhead?

- It absolutely has, because it's given me a lot more insight into the process of how things work in the legislature and how you can get things passed and how to really be a voice and build that coalition, build relationships across the state that will help us to, you know, get the things that we need for our communities.

So absolutely, it's helped tremendously.

- What's the legislation in 2026 session here that the Coalition's been advocating for or against, I guess?

- Yeah, you know, there are probably two things that we've really focused on, and these are bigger issues.

The biggest one is bonding.

We need the legislature to pass this bonding bill because there is so much money tied up in infrastructure projects that really affects entities in cities across the state of Minnesota.

And the other one is more of a housing, zoning bill, multiple bills, that have been making its way through the legislature.

And it's a different version of what's been going on the last couple of years.

And really our stance at CGMC and within the city of Moorhead as well is Greater Minnesota, our zoning and our needs are similar but yet different than in the metro area, and you can't make a one-size-fit-all type of legislation for the entire state of Minnesota.

You can't have the same type of zoning requirements in the city of Moorhead as you do in Greenbush, Minnesota.

I mean, they're just totally different.

And so that's one of the things that we've been really pushing back and we've, you know, formed alliances with other coalitions in the state and also with the county.

The counties have their own association to kind of push back on that, but in the same time, we're also connected with them because all of us want to make sure that a bonding bill passes as well.

- Yeah.

So again, so basically, Greater Minnesota cities are anything outside of Minneapolis, St.

Paul area?

- Yeah, anything outside of that seven-county metro.

- But of course, you've got Duluth, you've got Moorhead, you've got Crookston, I mean- - Rochester (speaks faintly).

- And then you got very, very small cities, Austin, - Yes.

- Granite Falls, Appleton.

Okay.

- Yes.

- So talk a little bit about maybe a key issue Coalition seems to have its finger on.

You've mentioned some of this, housing and local government's zoning authority, you know, it's been a major topic.

How has this discussion around it transformed since you've been involved?

- Yeah, you know, housing is an issue, and there is a shortage across the state of Minnesota, and there are maybe some communities in the metro that their zoning laws haven't been updated or they're really stringent and because of the stringency that they put on builders are saying, "Well, it's too costly for us "to come in and build housing in your community.

"And if you could eliminate some of these zoning, "then we could come in and provide more affordable housing "or we can provide density, "putting in apartment complexes."

Well, you can't necessarily have the state come in and make decisions for cities in that way with a one-size-fits-all.

The city of Moorhead spent several years updating our zoning policies and we are looking at how to create density specifically in our downtown.

We knew that we needed to create that density, but we don't need the state to come in and tell us what type of building materials that we need or the aesthetic appeal of if we want brick on the buildings or not.

That's something that our city needs to make those decisions for ourselves.

Another issue that the CGMC has been really advocating for is the ability for cities to put on the ballot to their residents, the option to have a sales tax in place so that they can fund different types of capital projects in their communities.

There was a moratorium in the last couple years in the legislature and you know, most cities, their funding for their budget comes from taxes, local taxes and Local Government Aid.

And you don't wanna continually always be putting the taxes on and increasing that property tax levy, a sales tax, if it's put in a community, can help because there's a lot of other people that come into your city to shop and they're helping to pay for the project and you know, if the voters don't want it, they can vote no in November anytime it's on a ballot.

And so we've been really fighting back with the legislature to allow communities to do that.

That's how we were able to fund our new community center and library.

That's how some communities have been able to fund their fire stations.

It's really important for cities to have that mechanism and tool on their tool belt to help with projects.

- You know, what are ways the Coalition gathers feedback from all the members of your 110, 120 members about housing or childcare, and how do you apply that feedback?

- Yeah, we have a lot of subcommittees with a different topic.

So we have a transportation subcommittee, we have a housing subcommittee, a childcare subcommittee.

And if you're not a board member, anybody who is a member of the Coalition, a city member, can participate.

So I have some council members that participate on these different subcommittees and that's how we gather feedback.

And so those subcommittees report back to the larger board and then we present that at our annual meeting on, you know, are these the topics and how do we wanna prioritize this as a coalition?

And we vote on that as a coalition.

And then our lobbyists, and our director, and members of the CGMC, they kind of take their marching orders that way and then they go to the legislature and they try to advocate on behalf of the Coalition for the things that we've prioritized.

- You know, there's been a lot of talk and a lot of activity in Minnesota, the recent events like ICE, the activity and presence in Minneapolis, St.

Paul, and other Minnesota communities, how has that affected legislation and what's going on this session?

- There is a lot of legislation moving through both on the senate side and the house side for different programs that can assist the businesses that were affected by the ICE surge that occurred in the metro region, as well as some housing.

And some of the communities in that metropolitan area have figured out some different ways to provide some of that assistance.

Speaking with our cities in CGMC, most communities, with the exception of maybe a few in Greater Minnesota, I keep thinking of Willmar as one of the communities, we didn't see what was happening in the metro community happening in Greater Minnesota.

So, you know, speaking with my fellow mayors and council members from the metro, you couldn't go down the street without running into an ICE agent.

That wasn't happening here.

They certainly were here, they're not necessarily here anymore.

And that's what we heard from across Greater Minnesota as well.

So the legislation that is passing through right now in St.

Paul is likely going to be more focused and the criteria focused on the businesses that ended up closing, that saw a significant reduction in their clients coming through, or people coming to their restaurants, their guests.

There might be some communities that will be able to apply from Greater Minnesota as well.

- Well, we are out of time, but if people want, you know, more information where can they go?

Who can they contact?

- Yeah, so the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities has a website.

You just Google that, go to our website and we have a plethora of information, and I just wanted to thank you for giving me the opportunity to really lift up this great, great organization for Greater Minnesota.

- Well, you're welcome and thanks for joining us today.

- Thank you.

- Stay tuned for more.

(gentle upbeat music) Tyson Andrews from Perham, Minnesota is a woodworker whose taste for the whimsy came from building custom houses, from bandsaw boxes with cracks to large wooden sculptures with multiple hidden compartments.

Tyson hopes his creations inspire others to break the confines of perfection and start looking at things differently.

(upbeat music) - There's more than what you see.

There's always gonna be something that you never knew was there that's gonna be there.

(upbeat music) I've been a custom home builder for over 25 years now, and I sort of just dabbled in the creative process of jewelry boxes and things on my off time at home.

I built houses for country music star Kenny Rogers and Dwayne the Rock Johnson.

And some of the amenities that went into their houses were just weird, as far as pocketing walls and hidden door systems and rooms.

(upbeat music) Those untraditional building styles allowed me to think outside the box and fueled my artistic style and ability.

(upbeat music) I make bandsaw boxes, end grain cutting boards, sculptures.

(upbeat music) I enjoy putting secret compartments, or hidden magnetic locks or levers for operation.

(upbeat music) I don't use templates or patterns when I make stuff.

It's all original.

So everything is unique and different, which is what carries my attention onto the next piece.

If it was by repetition, I would quickly lose interest.

(upbeat music) I'd laminate a block of wood together with different tones, so you'll have a variety of hardwoods from maple, walnut to cherry.

(upbeat music) Once I have that block, that's my canvas right there.

And from there I will draw on the block what I'm going to cut out, figure out secret compartments, or how I want it to operate.

(upbeat music) There's indiscrepancies in a lot of woods, so to accentuate those things I think separates you from a normal artist.

So like a knot turning into an eyeball, or a crack turning into a figurative piece of that piece of woodwork that you're doing.

Where some people might say, "This is trash," and throw it away, "it's messed up."

I try to enjoy the mistakes in the woodwork and really just drawing focus to those points and making them key figures of that piece.

(gentle upbeat music) This is the Cracked Knot Clock.

Everything that you see here, besides the motor in the housing in the back was salvaged wood.

This is flamed box elder, it's actually a type of maple.

This is walnut, which was also felled from a piece of property and kiln-dried and used as trim pieces.

The body was actually hollow.

It's made from a skeleton frame and then wrapped with plywood.

(gentle upbeat music) It is unique in the form that it's very interactive.

So back here, these are actually magnetic rosettes that just come off and expose a hidden pull for a secret drawer.

(gentle upbeat music) Once the drawer is out, you have a pop-down compartment right here.

Inside the pop-down compartment is a magnetic keep card that actually, if you go to the front of the clock, I'll open up the front of the clock for you.

(gentle upbeat music) (lock beeping and clicks) I think it's the whimsical, you know, looks like it came out of "Alice in Wonderland" and maybe a reincarnation of Dali with the functionality.

Once you take in the clock and what it means to you, then you see the actual functionality of the compartments and the time and attention that went into that stuff.

It really goes over the top with feelings and emotions from the individual.

(gentle upbeat music) Everybody always asks me, do I put the crack in there?

Does it come like that?

Yes, I cut it out like that.

(gentle upbeat music) I do like the cracked things.

It speaks to me like as individuals, we can all be broken in a sense, but still be functional.

(gentle upbeat music) Sometimes I start a piece and then I walk away from it for months at a time and then I'll come back and then I'll finally be able to see it come to fruition and then I'll continue with it.

(gentle upbeat music) When I'm in that process, I am in a totally different world.

I wake up in the morning and I'm out there working in a wood shop all day long.

I get hyper-focused on stuff.

That's all I think about and work on until it's finished.

It's my happy place.

(gentle upbeat music) I've got nothing but positive feedback.

People genuinely come up to me, some people in tears, and telling me what I've made and how it transpires to their life, and people pushing me to keep moving forward with what I'm doing because they see something that maybe I haven't seen yet.

But it definitely inspires me to keep making and creating.

(gentle upbeat music) Nothing's perfect in the world.

There's this standard, when it comes to woodworking, of perfection, and I think that if individuals, you know, can kind of take themselves out of the confines of perfection and take a minute to let what they're looking at just resonate with them, they'll see things differently.

(gentle upbeat music) - Well, that's all we have on "Prairie Pulse" this week.

And as always, thanks for watching.

(gentle upbeat music) - [Announcer] Funded by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund, with money from the vote of the people of Minnesota on November 4th, 2008.

(gentle upbeat music) And by the members of Prairie Public.