(l-r) Micky Klasen, Elwyn Tinklenberg, Cindy Senger and Bob Busch were on hand June 6 in St. Cloud to toss a ceremonial shovel of dirt, marking the start of a $11.5-million district office building renovation project. Photo by Kent Barnard

Groundbreaking ceremonies were held today in St. Cloud to kick off the $11.5-million renovation and expansion of Mn/DOT District 3's facility in that city. Work is expected to be completed by Fall 2002.

Commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg and Transportation District Engineer Bob Busch were among the speakers at the ceremony June 6. Two St. Cloud district employees, Micky Klasen and Cindy Senger, were invited to participate in the ceremonial shoveling of dirt. 

Klasen, project supervisor in construction, started with Mn/DOT in 1965 working on the new construction of I-94. Senger is a 23-year Mn/DOT employee, currently working in front desk customer service, transportation permits, and as the district’s Adopt A Highway coordinator.

“St. Cloud is at the heart of a number of important interregional corridors that link central Minnesota and help ensure economic vitality for the entire state,” Tinklenberg noted.

The improvements to the St. Cloud facility will slightly more than double the square footage of the existing building and will provide the administrative base for more than 200 current Mn/DOT employees working in the southern half of District 3.

By Mike Travis

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Information about the marriages, births, retirements, funerals and other milestones of your Mn/DOT co-workers is now online.

Employeeline, a companion publication of Newsline, makes its first appearance today. Check out this new way to stay in touch by clicking on the "Employee information" button on Mn/DOT Newsline’s navigation bar. (Note: this information is posted on the department’s internal Web site. People accessing Newsline externally currently will not be able to view Employeeline information. Look for details soon about how retirees and others can access this information.)

We'll update Employeeline as needed, so check back often for changes. Notices will be posted for one month and then archived on the Web site.

We need your help in keeping Employeeline up-to-date and useful. Don't be shy! Click on the "Submit Information" button and send us your announcement, along with your name and phone number.

Employeeline is still in development, so let us know what you think and expect to see some changes over the next few months as we refine the publication to meet your needs.

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Legislative leaders are still at an impasse on how much to spend on property tax relief and on public school education over the next two years, pushing a special session into next week at the earliest, said Betsy Parker, associate director, Government Relations.   

“Nothing has changed since last week,” she said.

The House and Senate leadership’s inability to reach a compromise on these issues appears to be having a trickle-down effect on the legislative working groups that must reach agreement on the state’s major spending bills. The working group responsible for the bill that will provide funding for transportation, criminal justice and public safety programs met this past Monday, but canceled its meeting scheduled for Thursday.

One action the working group did take Monday, Parker said, was adding the Senate’s language for a design/build provision to the omnibus transportation-funding bill, keeping that measure alive.  

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Dep. Commissioner Doug Weiszhaar (foreground) takes in the view at the newly reopened Albert Lea rest area and travel information center. The center is located on I-35, one mile north of the Iowa border. Photo by Brian Jergenson

The I-35 Albert Lea rest area and travel information center reopened on May 21, reports Carol Braun, Mn/DOT's safety rest area program manager. Located one mile north of the Iowa border, the rest area closed in March 2000 for site preparation for the new facility.

The project cost $3.19 million to complete and won recognition from Mn/DOT and the Concrete Paving Association for best project of its type.

"The primary value of Minnesota rest areas is providing motorists with opportunities for short-term safety breaks. Motorists also have the opportunity to obtain tourist and routing information at rest areas,” Braun said.

“Mn/DOT is committed to developing aesthetically pleasing rest areas and to locating them in natural and scenic areas to promote a positive image for Minnesota's tourism," she added. The Albert Lea rest area, for example, offers travelers three picnic shelters, a playground and walking trails. 

With 550,850 visitors in 1999, Braun said the Albert Lea rest area is the second busiest rest area in the state. The St. Croix rest area, located on I-94 three miles west of the Wisconsin border, is the busiest.   

A grand opening of the rest area will be scheduled in late June.

Click here for more information about Minnesota's travel information centers.

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Emma Corrie is the new “master gardener” of the department’s Seeds program. The program recruits minority or economically disadvantaged college students and prepares them for full-time employment with Mn/DOT. Photo by Sue Stein

Emma Corrie was appointed Seeds program manager on May 16. She succeeds Catherine Peterson, who served as acting Seeds program manager.

Previously, Corrie worked at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources for four years in the enforcement division. Initially, she managed a pilot program recruiting Southeast Asian conservation officer candidates; most recently she handled recruiting for all conservation officers. Prior to that, she coordinated the India Study Abroad Program at Concordia University in St. Paul. Corrie has a master’s degree in business. 

As the new Seeds “master gardener,” Corrie plans to make strong connections between recruitment and eventual placement.

“I am excited to be part of Seeds because of its innovative approach and excellent track record,” Corrie said. “Mn/DOT has taken it upon itself to grow from within. It is about recognizing a need and addressing it effectively.”

The Seeds program fosters a diverse workforce by recruiting minority and/or economically disadvantaged students and preparing them for full-time employment with Mn/DOT. Seeds positions are available to qualified students in trade or technical schools, colleges and universities. Students may work as many as 20 hours per week during the school year and up to 40 hours per week during semester and summer breaks.

Since its inception in 1994, approximately 70 percent of Seeds students have been placed in permanent Mn/DOT positions. Approximately 50 students are enrolled in the Seeds program at any given time.

In the next six months Corrie plans to visit Seeds students and their supervisors at their work sites. One of her first responsibilities is planning the next Seeds Day on June 14 at the Sheraton Four Points. The day’s theme is “Recognizing the past, celebrating the present and ensuring the future.”

Corrie is located in the Office of Human Resources, Central Office, and can be reached at 651/297-3897.

By Sue Stein

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A “welcome to the block” party will honor the arrival at the Central Office June 8 of Charlie Brown, Mn/DOT’s champion of work zone safety. Charlie will be on display through the end of August. Photo by Craig Wilkins

Mn/DOT’s champion of work zone safety—a five-foot-tall polyurethane Charlie Brown statue clad in regulation safety vest and hat and holding a stop sign—will arrive at the Transportation Building June 8.

The statue will be stationed in front of the building this summer to remind visitors to the Capitol area about the importance of driving safely through highway work zones, according to Mary Meinert, work zone safety coordinator.

Commissioner Elwyn Tinklenberg will conduct a brief ceremony outside the cafeteria at 11:30 a.m. Lemonade, cookies and (of course!) peanuts will be served to celebrate Mn/DOT Charlie’s arrival.

The statue is part of St. Paul’s “Charlie Brown around Town” event—a follow-up to Snoopy’s successful tour last year honoring Charles Schulz, creator of the Peanuts cartoon characters.

The department partnered with Head Lites Corporation (a supplier of safety vests and equipment) to purchase and create the statue. The two organizations split the $3,600 cost for the statue. At the end of August, Mn/DOT Charlie will get cleaned up and auctioned off with the other 100 Charlie Brown statues around the city.

Mn/DOT has no plans to permanently purchase the statue, Meinert said.

For more information, contact Mary Meinert, 651/297-5868. See also the May 23 Newsline article.

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Mn/DOT employees, supervisors and payroll administrators will discover that working with timesheets in RCA will be much easier after this Sunday, June 10.

“The RCA Steering Committee has been listening to concerns from employees about RCA,” said Dick Swanson, director, Financial Management. “Our office has been looking at ways to address those concerns. The result is a long list of enhancements that will help make RCA work like a new system.”

The enhancements include many new timesaving improvements such as preventing an employee from mistakenly starting a second timesheet for the same pay period. The improvements will also help cut down on keystrokes. For instance, RCA will automatically save before you validate your timesheet. Other enhancements let supervisors be payroll administrators and allow supervisors and timekeepers to manage timesheets from one screen.

Also on June 10, the first part of the new work management system will be integrated into RCA. This will allow designated users to create work orders for employees to use in RCA. Additional functionality and reports will become available in subsequent upgrades to WMS.

“About three-quarters of all Mn/DOT employees now enter their timesheets on the RCA application,” Swanson added. “The remaining one quarter should be up and running by early fall.”

For more information about RCA application enhancements, contact Alan Weiszel, 651/296-2989 or Sue Dwight, 651/282-6475.

By Donna Lindberg

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The update of GroupWise address books with SEMA4 information has begun, reports Phil Jorgensen, network services supervisor, Information Resource Management.

Last week, employee work phone, fax number, mail stop, work address and title information from the SEMA4 database was imported into the GroupWise address books of Management Operations Group, Corporate Business Group and Commissioner’s office employees. The remainder of Central Office employees will be updated Thursday night, June 7, with the changes appearing in GroupWise on Friday.

“After these updates, employees are asked to check their personal information carefully,” Jorgensen said. “If there are errors, please contact your office manager or human resources representative who will make the changes.”

This project is one component of the department internal communications plan to help improve communications throughout Mn/DOT. According to Lucy Kender, director of internal communications, it will also save time for the people who previously had to enter information into more than one database.

Jorgensen said that updates to districts and the Metro Division will be phased in over the next couple of weeks, and that payroll administrators will be notified prior to the changeover in their area.

Click here for information about your GroupWise address book or call the GroupWise help desk at 651/296-3342.

For information about the SEMA4 imports, contact Phil Jorgensen at 651/297-3939.

By Donna Lindberg

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