Good Question Bonus: Is There A Recall Option For Congress?
Mary wrote to us this week out of frustration. In fact, many of you were quite angry in your Good Question submissions about the government shutdown. On Tuesday, we answered the GQ about Congressional members' salaries.
I thought we'd use this space to answer Mary's question: Is there a recall option for Congress?
No. According www.usa.gov, citizens cannot recall members of the House or Senate because that ability was not written into the Constitution. Courts have also ruled that no state or citizen can override that. The only way to terminate a member of Congress before his or her term is up is "expulsion" – when the members of the House or Senate can vote someone out with a 2/3 majority.
Brooke from Red Wing asked: How much tape do the Vikings go through each season?
According to the Vikings athletic training staff, they use roughly 600 cases of tapes that vary in size, color and tensile strength to support the players.
Brian from Mounds View wants to know: Why does Anoka County have a small piece of land that sticks out on the south?
I assume Brian is talking about that small area that includes Fridley, Spring Lake Park, Hilltop and Columbia Heights. You can see it really well on this Anoka County map. Valerie Wendel with the Anoka County Historical Society and I had a nice conversation about this GQ earlier this week. She told me that in 1857, that small area became its own small county called Menomin County. But by the 1870s, it became difficult to maintain all the services needed for that small spot, so Menomin County petitioned to become part of Anoka County. At the time, Anoka County was far more rural and looked more like Menomin County than the more urban Ramsey and Hennepin Counties.
Rick from Melrose asked: Who figures out what the car license tabs will be each year?
The Department of Public Safety says the five colors - white, green, red, gold and blue – were chosen because of visibility for law enforcement. The colors change on an annual cycle and repeat that cycle every five years. For 2014, the color is white.
