The question posed to veteran quarterback Sam Darnold this week was pretty straightforward.

Did he think the New York Jets failed him early in his NFL career?

“No,” he said. “I think I had a lot of opportunities in New York, and I always felt like I could’ve played better there.”

All the credit to Darnold for taking the high road with the Vikings set to play the Jets on Sunday at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London.

He could have used his success with the Vikings as a way to illustrate how much the Jets bungled his development after selecting him with the No. 3 pick in the 2018 NFL Draft out of the University of Southern California. He chose instead to take accountability for the role he played in things not working out.

Not surprisingly, Darnold continued steering the conversation away from this being a revenge game for him, as did head coach Kevin O’Connell when asked if he feels he has to address the elephant in the room ahead of the matchup between the Vikings and Jets.

“No, I don’t,” O’Connell said. “I’ve been so happy with Sam, and I think he’s going to continue to focus on doing his job against a really talented defense.”

The fact that Darnold has played so well this season, however, makes for an interesting case study when discussing the concept of Nature vs. Nurture when it comes to developing a young quarterback in the NFL.

As a way to further dive into that topic, the Pioneer Press spent this week reaching out a number of longtime NFL quarterbacks, including Kurt Warner, Matt Ryan, Rich Gannon and Dan Orlovsky to get their opinion.

The general consensus among Warner, Ryan, Gannon and Orlovsky seemed to center on the importance of the pieces in place around a young quarterback.

“There are very few quarterbacks that can elevate above the talent around them,” said Warner, now an NFL Network analyst who will call the game between the Vikings and Jets on Sunday. “It’s hard for a guy to succeed if the guys around him aren’t talented. It’s as simple as that. Nobody goes out there and wins the Super Bowl by himself.”

That’s something Warner can attest to based on his career. Though he helped  the St. Louis Rams win Super Bowl XXXIV as the straw that stirred the drink for The Greatest Show on Turf, Warner had offensive weapons that included running back Marshall Faulk, receiver Torry Holt and receiver Isaac Bruce.

It was a similar story for Ryan when he broke into the NFL with the Atlanta Falcons. He referenced how important it was for him to have running back Michael Turner, receiver Roddy White and Hall of Fame tight end Tony Gonzalez at his disposal early in his career.

“It’s massive to have that support,” said Ryan, now a CBS analyst on The NFL Today. “All of those things were in place, and I think that took a lot off of my plate.”

How does that pertain to the concept of Nature vs. Nurture?

“You have to have this prerequisite of natural ability to get to be able to go out there and do it and get to the NFL,” Ryan said. “Now, I would argue once somebody gets to the NFL, talent is less relevant because everybody has it.”

That’s why the infrastructure is imperative to a young quarterback.

“It’s not always whether the young quarterback is ready to play,” said Gannon, who started his career with the Vikings. “It’s sometimes whether the team is ready for the young quarterback.”

Now, if a team isn’t, it doesn’t take much for things to spiral out of control. A few bad games can turn into a few bad months in a blink of an eye.

That snowball effect seemed to get to Darnold early in his career with the Jets and continued during his tenure with the Carolina Panthers. He finally found some stability last season with the San Francisco 49ers before landing with the Vikings.

The ability to push through that adversity and come out stronger on the other side is what stands out most to Orlovsky when evaluating Darnold and what he has done this season.

“It’s as impressive as the play itself,” said Orlovsky, an ESPN analyst “He’s been so mentally tough throughout his journey, and it’s been so cool to watch that pay off for him.”

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St. Paul, Mounds View and Roseville voters will weigh in on a range of ballot questions in November, deciding whether to subsidize child care and change future election calendars, switch to city-organized trash collection, and adopt a sales tax to pay for new city buildings.

St. Paul

In St. Paul, residents will be voting on two questions. The first question asks residents whether to increase property taxes annually for 10 years to fund municipal child care subsidies for low- and moderate-income families.

The question is backed by the “Yes for St. Paul Families” coalition — previously known as the St. Paul All Ready for Kindergarten campaign, or SPARK — which is chaired by Halla Henderson, a St. Paul school board member.

RELATED: Key child care advocacy group stays mum on St. Paul’s child care subsidy ballot question

Ballot question language: SHOULD THE CITY LEVY TAXES TO PROVIDE EARLY LEARNING SUBSIDIES?

In order to create a dedicated fund for children’s early care and education to be administered by a City department or office that provides subsidies to families and providers so that early care and education is no cost to low-income families and available on a sliding scale to other families, and so as to increase the number of child care slots and support the child care workforce, shall the City of Saint Paul be authorized to levy property taxes in the amount of $2,000,000 in the first year, to increase by the same amount each year following for the next nine years ($4,000,000 of property taxes levied in year two, $6,000,000 in year three, $8,000,000 in year four and so on until $20,000,000 of property taxes are levied in year ten)?

BY VOTING “YES” ON THIS BALLOT QUESTION, YOU ARE VOTING FOR A PROPERTY TAX INCREASE.

Shifting election years

The second question asks residents to vote on whether city elections should take place in even years — making them coincide with presidential and gubernatorial elections — rather than the current model of odd years.

Peter Butler, a former city financial analyst, has tried before to put the question forward to St. Paul voters, but this is the first time it’s made it to the ballot.

Supporters cite lower voter turnout during odd-year elections. Opponents fear it would lead local races to be overshadowed by better-funded state and national ones.

RELATED: November ballot will feature question to St. Paul voters on even-year local elections

Ballot question language: Changing City Elections to Presidential Election years.
Shall Chapter 7 (Elections) of the City Charter be amended as follows: Sec. 7.01. – City elections. The election of city officers and such other officers as are required by law to be elected at a city election shall be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in odd numbered presidential election years. Notwithstanding Section 2.02 of this Charter setting four-year terms, and to transition to presidential election years, councilmembers elected on November 7, 2023, shall serve a five-year term and a mayoral election shall occur on November 4, 2025, for a three-year term. Currently, city elections take place in odd years. A “yes” vote changes City elections to take place in presidential election years, which occur in even years. A “no” vote keeps City elections in odd years.

Mounds View

In Mounds View, voters will decide whether the city will have an organized residential solid waste collection system replace its current competitive market collection system. If approved, most residences will have trash, recycling, and other solid waste collected by a city-designated hauler in a city-designated collection district, according to the ballot question. The city now has five separate licensed haulers collecting trash and recycling.

The Mounds View city council adopted a seven-year contract in August with Lakeshore Recycling Systems, with services beginning under that contract in April if voters approve the change.

“This was a resident-driven petition to the charter,” said Mounds View city administrator Nyle Zikmund.

To learn more about this question, go to mvtrashservicesplan.org.

Ballot question language: Should the city adopt organized residential solid waste collection?

Should the City establish a system for organized residential solid waste collection in which most residential dwellings will have trash, recycling, and other solid waste collected by a City-designated hauler in a City-designated collection district? The organized collection system would replace the current competitive market collection system. A “Yes” vote is a vote to allow organized collection. A “No” vote is a vote against organized collection.

Roseville

Two questions will be on the ballot for Roseville residents, but they apply to the same project, according to City Manager Patrick Trudgeon. One question asks residents whether the city should impose a 0.5% sales and use tax for up to 20 years to collect $64.2 million to build a public works and parks operations facility.

The second question asks voters if the city should impose a 0.5% sales and use tax for up to 20 years to collect $12.7 million to build a license and passport center.

The city’s plans for a new operations facility would displace the current license and passport center, according to Roseville Mayor Dan Roe in a state of the city video address. The city’s public works and parks operation facility houses city vehicles used to maintain city and park infrastructure, but the city is looking to update the facility.

“We’ve run out of space to store and maintain the more than 300 city vehicles it takes to keep the city running, including snowplows, street sweepers, mowers, sewer equipment and park maintenance equipment,” Roe said.

If one or both questions are approved by voters, the tax increase will total 0.5%, not a full 1 percent. The tax would expire once the approved projects are fully funded.

With a sales tax, the city is able to share some of the costs for the facilities with non-residents, Trudgeon said. A study done with the city and the University of Minnesota Extension found that 64% of sales tax generated comes from non-residents, Trudgeon said.

To learn more about the proposed project, go to investinroseville.org.

Ballot questions language: Sales Tax for Public Works and Parks Operations Facility

Shall the City of Roseville impose a one-half of one percent (0.5%) sales and use tax for up to 20 years to collect $64,200,000, plus the costs of interest and of issuing the bonds, to build a public works and parks operations facility? By voting “yes” on this question, you are voting to increase the sales tax in Roseville. If one or both questions are approved by the voters, the City is only authorized to impose a single one-half of one percent (0.5%) sales and use tax for the lesser of 20 years or until enough sales tax revenue has been raised to pay for the costs of one or both of the proposed projects.

Sales Tax for License and Passport Center

Shall the City of Roseville impose a one-half of one percent (0.5%) sales and use tax for up to 20 years to collect $12,700,000, plus the costs of interest and of issuing the bonds, to build a license and passport center? By voting “yes” on this question, you are voting to increase the sales tax in Roseville. If one or both questions are approved by the voters, the City is only authorized to impose a single one-half of one percent (0.5%) sales and use tax for the lesser of 20 years or until enough sales tax revenue has been raised to pay for the costs of one or both of the proposed projects.

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With 3M’s healthcare spin-off eyeing the former Blue Cross Blue Shield campus in Eagan for its new headquarters, city officials have sought to clarify exactly where Solventum’s more than 1,100 employees might land.

The 55-acre Blue Cross campus maintains a general address of 3535 Blue Cross Road, but Solventum — currently based at 3M headquarters in Maplewood — wants the building across the street from the original Blue Cross headquarters.

“Solventum is considering renovating a different building located at 1750 Yankee Doodle Road, on the west side of Highway 13,” city spokeswoman Sara Leier Horwath said Friday.

The Yankee Doodle Road location could host 600 to 800 employees per day, according to city staff documents prepared for the Eagan City Council.

Solventum and the city have been tight-lipped about other details, waiting instead for the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) to take the lead as it reviews the company’s requests for two types of relocation assistance this month.

The Eagan City Council on Tuesday passed a resolution supporting the company’s loan applications to both the Minnesota Investment Fund (MIF) and the state’s Jobs Creation Fund to renovate an existing building on the Blue Cross campus into “a high-tech medical research and development facility.”

The size of the two loan requests was not spelled out in the council documents. DEED would be responsible for reviewing and administering the loans. A spokesperson for DEED had no immediate details to share Friday.

The package would include $100,000 in loan forgiveness that would otherwise be paid to Eagan’s revolving MIF fund.

Also Friday, Eagan Mayor Mike Maguire released a brief written statement through Horwath, which said: “We’re thrilled about the prospect of Solventum joining the Eagan business community. Their presence would further strengthen our position as a hub for innovation and economic growth.”

The 55-acre Blue Cross Blue Shield site became available last year after many of the insurance company’s roughly 3,000 employees opted for a hybrid work model. Solventum, which maintains some 20,000 employees across 300 offices in 38 countries, spun off from 3M in March.

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