Dear Neighbors,
This past Monday was a historic day in the Minnesota House of Representatives. We commemorated the first ever “Sovereignty Day” where we heard remarks from 11 tribal leaders in Minnesota and discussed how to improve government-to-government relations and how to work together to create better opportunities for Native people in Minnesota.
Continue reading “Rep. Laurie Pryor (HD48A) Update: February 21, 2019”
SAINT PAUL, Minn.—Tomorrow, February 21, a bipartisan group of legislators will be joined by advocates from the health care industry, mental health organizations, early childhood coalitions, and supporters for a press conference to announce their support for prenatal care and home visiting programs.
What: Prenatal care and home visiting press conference
Who:
When: Thursday, February 21 from 9:30 – 10:00 am
Where: Room B971, Minnesota State Capitol, 75 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Saint Paul, MN 55155
Week of February 11 through 15
Yesterday in Veterans Committee we discussed soldiers who have been Prisoners of War and Missing in Action, and it reminded me just how much we have to appreciate in life. I hope you all have a great weekend, regardless of it is you do, because life truly can be wonderful. Watch here.
Current Eden Prairie High School students Anna Feist, Maya West, Braden Ross, and Muna Galbayte came to the Capitol on Thursday to attend a press conference against gun violence. Glad to see them not letting school get in the way of their education. Continue reading “Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (SD48) Update: February 15, 2019”
Legislating and teaching have a key similarity to State Sen. Steve Cwodzinski: It took three years of each for him to settle into the role.
“It’s like drinking out of a firehose,” Cwodzinski said of his first year in office. Now, as he enters his third year in office, he introduced the first bill of the session on the State Senate floor that would require a financial literacy class for all high schoolers in Minnesota.
Cwodzinski answered the following questions from Eden Prairie News on Feb. 1 (some responses have been edited for length and clarity):
View the complete February 7 article by Eden Teller on The Eden Prairie News website here.
I was excited this week to present my bill on personal finance education. Financial literacy is a critical skill to have. Young people need to have an understanding of student debt, home ownership, and savings. The bill would require that all high school students take a course in personal finance, and I am hopeful that this will see widespread support.
I would like to thank Yonah Davis, Sally Adams, and Jason Kley for their testimonies in front of the E-12 finance and policy committee this week. They have given extremely helpful input in the creation of this bill. Educators, students, and the business community all support this legislation.
Tuesday was CPA day on the hill, and I got to meet with some constituents in this field. We ended up talking about the personal finance education bill, and I could not be happier to learn of their support as well.
Continue reading “Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (SD48) Update: February 8, 2019”
In light of the recent weather conditions, it has been a fairly slow week at the State Capitol. I hope you all stayed safe during the freezing temperatures.
Because of the cold, one of my bill hearings has been delayed until next week. This coming Monday, February 4th, I will be presenting a bill to require that all Minnesota high school students take a course on personal financial literacy. I am hoping for this to earn bipartisan support in the Senate Education Committee, which will be meeting at 3pm that Monday.
One of the highlights of my week included catching up with Pete Knaeble, a former student who is now a firefighter with the city of Edina. He has also recently been appointed as the administrator of Minnesota’s emergency response unit, Task Force 1. We talked about public service, and the role of 911. As he put it: you call them when you have a problem you cannot solve. I could not be more proud of the work he is doing. Continue reading “Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (SD48) Update: February 1, 2019”
Dear Neighbors,
I hope you’ve been able to stay warm this week with the bitter cold weather. With nearly every school district in the state was closed, families were on the lookout for creative child care solutions. Here at the State Capitol, it meant we had an above-average count of children spending time with us, as legislators and staff alike had extra company with them.
With plenty to get done between now and adjournment in May, House leadership chose to move ahead with important work, and committees were quite productive. Despite the weather, several visitors came to the Capitol this week including Minnetonka Fire Chief John Vance. Continue reading “Rep. Laurie Pryor Update: February 1, 2019”
ST. PAUL, MN – Nearly 30 organizations have sent a letter expressing their strong support for H.F. 1, the Great Start for All Minnesota Children Act. This legislation, authored by Rep. Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn (DFL—Eden Prairie) and Rep. Dave Pinto (DFL—St. Paul), would increase support for prenatal care, home visiting, and early care and learning opportunities. The endorsement of these organizations is more evidence of the strong momentum this session to help get every child off to a great start.
Read the full text of the letter below:
Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn has many titles — legislator, analyst, parent, millennial — and she’s bringing them all to the Minnesota State Capitol as she tackles her first session as District 48B’s state representative, which largely includes Eden Prairie.
On Jan. 9, the freshman legislator introduced a bill focused on shrinking the student achievement gap by improving prenatal and early childhood care, called the Great Start for All Minnesota Children Act. She spoke frequently about education and health care in her campaign and, in a Jan. 21 conversation with Eden Prairie News, referred frequently to the concerns she heard from constituents while campaigning.
View the complete January 29 article by Eden Teller on The Eden Prairie News website here.
I was invited to speak with Eden Prairie City Manager Rick Getschow on his podcast. We had a fulfilling discussion regarding the highlights of my teaching career and what led to my career as a state senator as well as the responsibilities I hold as one. It ended up being a intuitive and compelling discussion. Thank you to Rick for having me. Lots of introspective questions which led to some interesting self-reflection. You can listen to it by clicking HERE.
Last Saturday I attended a breakfast hosted by the Chris Wivholm Foundation for opioid abuse prevention. Thank you to one of my constituents, Elina Curran, for organizing this event.
I’m always interested in what people are reading and I love talking about books.
I have been encouraging my colleagues to check out When Republicans Were Progressive, by Minnesota’s own Former Senator Dave Durenberger and Star Tribune columnist Lori Sturdevant. It’s about working across party lines for the betterment of our country, and is an inspiring read.
What books are you reading for pleasure?
Continue reading “Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (SD48) Update: January 25, 2019”
