Declarations

‘Dumb driving’ fines

“You crash, you pay … your insurance premium is probably going to go up, but what about the penalty being paid by 25,000 drivers who are sitting in traffic waiting for you to get your traffic cleared?”

Minnesota gubernatorial candidate Peter Hutchinson at a press conference on drivers who cause crashes because they are “wolfing down hamburgers or applying mascara.” Hutchinson blamed “dumb driving” for a quarter of the congestion on state roads. His five-point plan includes fines for those drivers and more conventional provisions including a 10-cent gas tax increase. (AP)

Growth name

“We are a growing company, and our name needs to grow with us. It recognizes our growth into a multi-state insurer and our leadership in the regional work comp market.”

Pat Johnson, president and CEO, State Fund Mutual Companies, a workers’ compensation insurer in the Minnesota-Wisconsin market and the largest in Minnesota, after the company changed its name to SFM.

Ballooning costs

“Unfortunately, we cannot afford to stay in a business which is not profitable, even though it is the product line that founded Aerostar.”

Mark West, president and chief engineer of Sioux, S.D.-based Aerostar International Inc., a subsidiary of Sioux Falls-based Raven Industries Inc., which is getting out of the hot air balloon market. West said a gradual decline in the popularity of the recreational activity and rising liability insurance costs have made the hot air balloon business no longer profitable. (AP)

Big business

“It’s a big business … these people are in a good financial position. They have nest eggs. They own homes. They have good credit ratings … but most don’t have the necessary skills to spot and prevent potential fraud.”

Iowa Lt. Gov. Sally Pederson upon announcing a new initiative designed to educate older Iowans about investment fraud. The program, Seniors Against Investment Fraud, will be administered by the Iowa Insurance Division. Pederson said the goal would be to help elderly Iowans spot potential fraud schemes before the elderly become victims.

Information need

“We need to go ahead with this [bill] because people need to have this information.”

Nancy Slotten, one of the employers’ representatives on the board of North Dakota’s Workforce Safety and Insurance Agency, which wants to publish a list of employers who haven’t paid their premiums. (AP)

Big box

“I’m depressed. Calumet Park has land right across the street they can develop. Our development will just sit there for another century.”

Chicago Alderman Carrie Austin lamenting Target’s decision to drop its plans for the new store unless Mayor Richard Daley vetoes an ordinance requiring big-box outlets to pay their workers at least $10 an hour in wages and another $3 in fringe benefits by July 1, 2010. (AP)