Week of February 11 through 15
Appreciating What We Have
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.
Constituents at the Capitol
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.
This week included a meeting with a few of my physician constituents from the Minnesota Medical Association. Good conversation about the provider tax.
I was especially excited to see Caleb Schultz with the group, who is a former student of mine.
I also met with a few nurse constituents. We discussed a bill on nurse staffing ratios and the benefits it has for both patient and staff safety.
Don Demers stopped by for the engineer day on the hill. It was great to see him again, as we have met to discuss the logistics of Southwest LRT multiple times already.
Mark Gagstetter also visited by to talk about the Junior Nationals and adaptive sports. He is doing great work in making a variety of sports accessible to those with physical disabilities. I could not be more proud of the work he is doing.
Visiting Eagle Ridge Academy
I toured Eagle Ridge Academy in Minnetonka this week, and received a wonderful surprise. A former student of mine, Anne Bartow, is now a teacher there!
Continuing the Discussion on Financial Education
This week I was invited onto the KFGO radio station to have a conversation about my personal finance education bill. JJ and Amy were great hosts and it was a pleasure to talk with them. You can check out the interview by clicking HERE.
Catching Up With Governor Walz
I was fortunate to talk with Governor Tim Walz twice within the past week. Last Friday, we both attended the TwinWest Chamber of Commerce’s February legislative breakfast.
We met up again Thursday night at a reception at the Governor’s residence. I am looking forward to the governor’s plans for education funding coming out next week, especially considering that both Governor Walz and I, as well as our spouses Gwen and Patti, are all teachers.
Continuing the Work Against Gun Violence
Protect Minnesota had a rally on Thursday, and I solemnly read the name of victims of gun violence.
I also got to reunite with Lori Weissman to discuss criminal background checks and red flags laws. I am authoring legislation on both.