2007- 2008 Inside Politics class members front row, left to right (seated): Matt Rovnak, Liberty Diversified Industries; Trent Taher, Taher, Inc.; Mike Korstad, Alerus Financial; Peggy Wander, Liberty Diversified Industries;. middle row, left to right: Brooke Stoeckel, Visit Minneapolis North; Liz Hoch, Home Plate Products/Peg’s Countryside Café; Karen Nolte, City of New Hope; Susan Pierce, Medica; Sarah Wiczek, Anchor Bank; Andrea Wiley, Robbinsdale Area Schools; Taylor Kristoffe-Jones, Candidate for District 35B; back row, left to right: Joan Suko, Ridgedale Center; Melissa Madison, 494 Commuter Services; Steve Prom, Financial Concepts, Inc.; Tony Berthiaume, First National Bank of Elk River; Steve Swanson, Eco Energy Solutions; Lisa Brown, North Memorial Health Care; Stacy Clair, Allianz.

The old saying is true – government will either do something for you or it will do something to you, but it will do something. To be effective in today’s business climate, you need to understand how government works, and how you can influence the process.

Every other year, TwinWest offers a dynamic, four-session series called Inside Politics to teach you how government impacts your business, and how you can proactively impact government. Participants learn the inside scoop about our political process from Minnesota’s top political experts – our faculty includes U.S. Congress members, state legislators, county commissioners, city officials, school board members, administration officials, and lobbyists. These insiders unlock political secrets from city hall to the U.S. Capitol, and explain how things really work in language you'll understand.

The class returned in October 2007, with sessions on the second Wednesday of October, November, January and February from 1:00 – 5:00 p.m.  The next class will be held in 2009-2010 on the same schedule.

The cost to sponsor TwinWest’s Inside Politics series is $1,000.

October 10, 2007 Local Government Often, local units of government – city councils, school boards and county boards – can have the largest impact on your business. In the first month of our program, you’ll be exposed to the inner workings of local government, including learning how much it costs to run cities, counties and school districts, and from where their funding comes. November 14, 2007 State Government Minnesota’s state government oversees a $35 billion annual budget. How that money is spent and raised affects you and your business. During Inside Politics’ second session, you’ll learn the ins and outs of Minnesota’s legislative, executive and judicial branches. January 9, 2008 Federal Government Washington, DC is a long way from Minnesota, but the actions taken by our federal government are felt right here. In January, discover how the feds impact you and how you can make sure your voice is heard at this level. February 13, 2008 Insider’s Tour of the Capitol/Graduation Ceremony For our final session, we’ll spend the afternoon in St. Paul, meeting the people who represent our communities and getting an inside peek at the legislative process. We’ll pull together all of the elements from previous sessions and send you out into the business world as a politically educated, informed advocate.

Thanks to our Inside Politics sponsor:                           Peg’s Countryside Café