Dear Neighbors,
As the calendar is about to turn from July to August, I hope you are enjoying your summer. We have wonderful parks, trails and open spaces and with summer flying by, my family and I have been taking advantage of them as much as we can! My family has enjoyed seeing many of you out and about across the city this summer so far.
Here’s an update from the Capitol: Continue reading “Rep. Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn (HD48B) Update: July 30, 2019”
Dear Neighbors,
I hope you are enjoying your summer. Earlier this week I had the opportunity to meet new University of Minnesota President Joan Gabel. We have much to look forward to under her new leadership.
Yesterday was National Intern Day, and I want to acknowledge my stellar intern, Rahul. Continue reading “Rep. Laurie Pryor (HD48A) Update: July 26, 2019”
As I have done each of the past few years, I spent much of July 4th celebrating in Eden Prairie at Round Lake. It was a great opportunity to hear from my constituents. One of the people I ran into there was Brandon Carlston, a former student who is now a police officer. I was so glad to see him find a career in public service.
Earlier in the day I also walked in a parade with Moms Demand Action, and was overwhelmed by how strong their turnout was. Momentum is continuing to build for gun violence prevention, and the sooner we act the sooner we can save a lot of lives.
Earlier in mid-June I got another opportunity to appreciate our country. My grandson Elliot and I enjoyed a wonderful Flag Day outside soaking up some sun.
A few weeks ago I attended another naturalization ceremony for new citizens at the St Paul Rivercentre. It was so inspiring to see the diversity of individuals booming with pride for their country. Many of them have been working towards this for years, and that day they got to see all of their efforts come to fruition.
Similar to last time, I got the chance to meet an immigrant who came from Lithuania. Some of you know that my grandmother was a Lithuanian immigrant as well, so meeting this woman meant a lot to me. We had a great conversation.
I hope you are all having a fantastic summer. Take advantage of every opportunity you have to get outside and enjoy Minnesota’s beautiful scenery. If you are able to visit the Boundary Waters, now is the perfect time to escape some of that Twin Cities heat and enjoy the cooler weather up north.
As the legislative season came down to the wire, Minnesota’s elected officials created a state budget during a daylong special session.
Eden Prairie News reached out to the city’s elected officials to ask them about the session and if they achieved their goals. State Sen. Steve Cwodzinski, DFL-Eden Prairie was elected in 2016 and reflected compromise and the nature of legislative systems.
Cwodzinski answered the following questions from Eden Prairie News on June 3:
View the complete article by Eden Teller on the SW News Media website here.
Dear Neighbors,
It was an honor to be the keynote speaker at the Memorial Day Ceremony at Groveland Cemetery. Despite the rain, it was rewarding to see so many neighbors gathered to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for the betterment of our nation.
Continue reading “Rep. Laurie Pryor (HD48A) Update: June 10, 2010”
Dear Neighbors,
Early Saturday morning, my first session and the 2019 legislative session concluded. With a divided government, I’m glad that Governor Walz and legislative leaders reached a bipartisan compromise on a budget framework. We wrapped up our work on a new two-year state budget during a one-day special session required to complete work on these various bills, with assistance from our non-partisan fiscal and research staff and the Revisor’s Office. The House Chairs of conference committees worked to have open public hearings on each of the bills to allow Minnesotans to review and weigh in throughout the last weeks of the session. Separated by a 12 hour difference, the glow of the State Capitol looked different Friday night from Saturday morning.
See below for some final bill highlights! Continue reading “Rep. Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn (HD48B) Update: May 31, 2019”
The legislative session ended a week ago, and I am incredibly proud of the work done by activists and legislators to find common ground. Together we saved MinnesotaCare, provided necessary funds to education, addressed our state’s opioid epidemic, and prevented distracted driving. There is still a lot of work left to do though, from gun violence prevention to transportation to environmental protection. I remain optimistic that we can address these next session. Continue reading “Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (SD48) Update: May 31, 2019”
Dear Neighbors,
We’re now in the last weekend of the legislative session, with a deadline to adjourn by midnight Monday. I will be at the State Capitol all weekend working as talks continue between Governor Walz and legislative leaders on an overall agreement on the state budget. Once this is done, House/Senate conference committees can put together details for each area of the state budget. We have a responsibility to work together to strengthen the lives of Minnesotans, and I’m committed to delivering a budget that does this.
Last week, neighbors in Eden Prairie approved a school referendum for the Designing Pathways program. I’m thankful our community values education so highly. Sen. Cwodzinski and I continue to keep a close eye on the E-12 Education Conference Committee and we’re advocating for a budget that includes strong investments for schools across the state so all students have an excellent education. Continue reading “Rep. Carlie Kotyza-WItthuhn (HD48B) Update: May 18, 2019”
We have made a lot of progress in the past few weeks in conference committees. As our deadline approaches, I am still a firm believer that we can compromise and do right by the people of Minnesota this year. When we work together we have the capacity to become better than the sum of our parts. Meetings have continued taking place throughout the day, and I remain optimistic. Continue reading “Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (SD48) Update: May 17, 2019”
Dear Neighbors,
With just a few days remaining in the 2019 legislative session, Governor Walz and legislative leaders are working on an overall budget agreement, while joint House/Senate conference committees are preparing to reconcile the many differences between budget bills passed by each body. I’m honored to serve on the Higher Ed. conference committee. Once our target is agreed to, I’ll work to ensure we pass a higher education budget that gives all Minnesotans an opportunity to go to college or enter career training without taking on massive debt.
I was recently visited by Lisa Lewis and Maureen Kostial, two community members who are alumni of the University of Minnesota, sharing their support for the U of M.
Continue reading “Rep. Laurie Pryor (HD48A) Update: May 17, 2019”
