Dear Neighbors,
New Budget Forecast
Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) announced the November Economic Forecast, projecting a $641 million surplus for the current budget cycle, while a deficit of $1.273 billion is projected for the 2022-2023 biennium beginning July 1.
This economic projection shows that Minnesota is well positioned to provide immediate economic aid to workers and small businesses. There have been clear winners and losers of the Covid economy and it is our job at the Legislature to ensure that those who have been hardest hit are able to survive this ongoing crisis. We will continue to push for a new economic package that will help those Minnesotans and businesses that are hurting the most.
Minnesota Pledge to Defeat COVID-19
In Minnesota, we care for our families, front-line health care workers and small businesses. We recognize we all play a role in limiting the spread of COVID-19. We commit to the following personal choices to help protect all of us and hope you will join in this commitment. Together, we can defeat COVID-19 and emerge stronger. We will:
- Wear a face mask or covering while indoors in public places to help protect all of us
- Maintain social distancing to help protect all of us
- Stay home if we are sick or exposed to COVID-19 and get tested to help protect all of us
- Limit the size of gatherings at holidays to our immediate family to help protect all of us
- Be kind to one another, because we are in this fight together in our efforts to help protect all of us
I have taken the pledge, I hope you do too.
New Funding for Hennepin County Closes Today
New emergency relief money will soon be opened up by Hennepin County. Applications open on Monday, November 23rd and close the following Tuesday, December 1st. This new pot of money is available countywide to gyms, restaurants, bars, and entertainment venues. Apply here.
Minnesota Recognized for Covid Data
A lot of the correspondence that I’m receiving calls into question the data upon which the Walz Administration is basing its decisions restricting business and activities. Most of this data is easily available from the Minnesota Department Of Health’s COVID-19 Dashboard, which just won a national award as best in the nation.
Minnesota has ranked the best in the nation in sharing essential COVID-19 information through its online dashboard, according to a new national report published by Resolve to Save Lives, part of the global health organization Vital Strategies. The report analyzed the quality and breadth of COVID-19 information shared by all 50 states and found that Minnesota had the strongest COVID-19 data dashboard in the nation, praising Minnesota’s dashboard for providing “robust information, enabling communities to be better informed on the local spread of COVID-19 and risk of infection.”
Minnesota’s COVID-19 data:
Read the report: Tracking COVID-19 in the United States: Progress and Opportunities
I also regularly review the New York Times’ Covid dashboard which has excellent maps and graphs and shows where Minnesota and its counties are in comparison to other surrounding states. You do not have to be a NYT subscriber to view this dashboard.
New Phone App to Help Track the Spread; Please Download!
A new app, COVIDaware MN, is now available for free to all Minnesotans. The voluntary, anonymous application will alert a user if another user with whom they have had close contact during the virus’ infectious period tests positive for COVID-19. This app is completely safe to use and does not share any of the users private data. This second wave of COVID-19 has been defined by community spread where it is often unclear where exactly someone contracted the virus, leading to difficulty tracing the virus. This app will help with this tracing and let you know if you have potentially been exposed to COVID. You can learn more and download the app here.
Testing at Home Now Available
Testing is now easier than ever with at home testing available for all Minnesotans. This testing is available for everyone, with or without symptoms, at no cost. Visit the Vault Medical Services website to order a test. When you are ready to take the test, you will log in to access the Vault virtual waiting room and do a video visit with a Vault test supervisor. They can give you instructions and make sure you do the test the right way. You will then send the test to the lab in Oakdale, Minnesota, using the prepaid package. Once it arrives at the lab, you will get your test results by email in 24-48 hours.
A new Covid testing site has been established within our House District at Ridgeview Elementary School in Bloomington.
Keep in Touch
Now more than ever, please contact me anytime with questions, input, or ideas. Don’t hesitate to reach out if I can provide any assistance. Please follow me on my Facebook page for further updates and invite your friends and family to do so as well.
Thanks for the honor of representing you at the Capitol.
Sincerely,
Steve Elkins
Representative, District 49B
Minnesota House of Representatives
515 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
St. Paul, MN 55155
(651) 296-7803