March 12, 2021
Stepping Up Vaccinations and Dialing Back Mitigations
On March 9th, Governor Walz announced that vaccine eligibility has been expanded 3 weeks ahead of schedule, due to 70% of seniors 65 years and older receiving the vaccine. This is an incredible accomplishment. You can find out where you fall in the distribution order by clicking HERE.
If you have not already, get registered with Minnesota’s Vaccine Connector by clicking HERE, to get notified on when a vaccine will be available for you.
And in additional news, this increase in vaccine deployment is also helping us dial back some COVID-19 mitigation measures. While school districts have already been empowered to return to in-person learning and all businesses are allowed to be open, we are now safely increasing capacity limits. Brighter days are on the horizon, and hopefully we can all see each other in the summer for an in-person town hall meeting. You can view the full details by clicking HERE.
Recovery Day and Constituent Advocacy
Tuesday was Minnesota Recovery Connection‘s day on the hill, and I was invited to speak about the importance of our state’s recovery schools. PEASE Academy, right here in our state, was the first school in the country to be dedicated specifically to young people struggling with addiction. Since 1989, they have helped countless youth stay in school and live healthy, productive lives. You can view my speech during the virtual rally by clicking HERE.
I also spoke to lots of constituent groups this week. Some of them were:
- AFSCME public employees
- Disability services advocates
- Clean energy business owners
- Mental health services advocates
- Reproductive rights advocates
I also had a lot of constituent correspondence via email this week. Some of the big subjects were:
- COVID-19 mitigation measures
- Taxability of PPP loans
- Energy and environmental issues
- Affordable housing
Thank you to everyone who made your voice heard this week. I’m looking forward to another strong week of constituent advocacy, especially with next Tuesday’s town hall.
SD 48 Town Hall this Tuesday!
Final reminder (at least in the weekly newsletter)! This coming Tuesday, March 16, at 7pm, my House colleagues and I will be hosting a town hall meeting. You can RSVP at the Facebook event by clicking HERE, and you can watch live from any of our Facebook pages. Mine can be viewed by clicking HERE. Additionally, you can ask questions in advance by clicking HERE. Looking forward to seeing you all!
Addressing Our Students’ Social and Emotional Needs
Over the past year, we have all gained an appreciation for the social and emotional needs of our children. More than ever before, we are seeing students struggling with their mental health. The social isolation of this pandemic has only exacerbated the problems that already existed. This is a wake-up call, and when this pandemic is behind us we need to appreciate the lessons we learned. We need to shift the focus away from teaching to a test. You can watch my weekly video on this subject by clicking HERE.
In keeping with this theme, my colleagues and I held a press conference on Tuesday to discuss investing in our students, educators, and critical staff. We need to have counselors and social workers to help our kids with their mental health struggles. We need to make the teaching profession more accessible to people of color. And, we have a constitutional responsibility to fully fund our schools and support our students. Article 13 of our State Constitution specifically states it is our duty as the state legislature to create a general and uniform system of public schools. You can watch the entire press conference by clicking HERE.
Working Together On COVID Recovery
This Thursday in the Senate we passed a bipartisan bill to conform to the federal government’s tax exclusion for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. These loans helped a lot of businesses weather the current pandemic, and I heard from many of you about how important this provision was. I am glad we could get this done.
Unfortunately, there were some things we did not get into the bill, such as additional tax relief for unemployment insurance recipients. The fight is not yet over though, with the bill still needing to pass the House. Hopefully we can come to an agreement on this.