Tag: HD49B

QAnon on the ballot: Six GOP-endorsed Minnesota candidates back conspiracy theory

The theory includes false claims that Satanists and pedophiles run the government and that COVID-19 is part of a plot to steal the election. 

At least a half-dozen Minnesota Republicans running for state legislative seats in November have promoted the sprawling, false QAnon conspiracy that claims Satanists and pedophiles run the government and that COVID-19 is part of a plot to steal the election.

Once a fringe fiction, QAnon is quickly seeping into mainstream Republican politics as scores of GOP candidates across the country express support for it. Among them are six candidates endorsed by the Minnesota Republican Party for state House and Senate seats from the Iron Range to the metro suburbs.

In some cases, Minnesota candidates have used official social media pages for their campaigns to post slogans in support of QAnon, which the FBI has warned is a conspiracy theory that could inspire domestic terrorism or violence. Some posts include references to a “Great Awakening” or “The Storm,” a prophesied reckoning in which elected officials, journalists and other members of “the Deep State” are rounded up for imprisonment or execution. Continue reading.

ICYMI: Six GOP-endorsed Minnesota candidates back conspiracy theory

New reporting from the Star Tribune has revealed the extent to which the QAnon conspiracy theory has permeated the Republican Party of Minnesota. At least six Minnesota Republican Party-endorsed candidates have professed belief in the deranged conspiracy cult.

The Star Tribune: QAnon on the ballot: Six GOP-endorsed Minnesota candidates back conspiracy theory

By Stephen Montemayor

At least a half-dozen Minnesota Republicans running for state legislative seats in November have promoted the sprawling QAnon conspiracy theory that includes false claims that Satanists and pedophiles run the government and that COVID-19 is part of a plot to steal the election.

Once dismissed as a fringe movement, QAnon is quickly seeping into mainstream Republican politics as scores of GOP candidates across the country express support for its ideas. Among them are six candidates endorsed by the Minnesota Republican Party for state House and Senate seats from the Iron Range to the metro suburbs.

Continue reading “ICYMI: Six GOP-endorsed Minnesota candidates back conspiracy theory”

Rep. Steve Elkins (HD50B) Update: July 15, 2020

Dear Neighbors,

Special Session

On Monday, the House and Senate convened in a special session called by Governor Walz. The governor has extended the current peacetime emergency so he can continue to access the state’s toolbox to take quick, decisive action to protect Minnesotans through the COVID-19 pandemic. Yesterday, the House voted to uphold the governor’s emergency powers for another 30 days. We can’t get complacent now after all of our sacrifice and hard work; we have seen that states that reduce precautions too quickly suffer from a major spike in cases.

This special session is an opportunity to finish important work for the people of Minnesota. After George Floyd’s killing, Minnesotans are still demanding improvements to public safety so everyone, in every community, can have confidence in law enforcement. We will continue working to enact strong police accountability measures like the ones the House approved in the last special session. Continue reading “Rep. Steve Elkins (HD50B) Update: July 15, 2020”

Rep. Steve Elkins (HD49B) Update: June 24, 2020

Dear Neighbors,

The Minnesota Legislature went into a special session on June 12, 2020 with the hopes of passing some much needed legislation. The House DFL, and the POCI caucus in particular worked incredibly hard to craft and pass legislation from repairing and renewing our aging infrastructure, to reforming our public safety system. While our position as legislators is designed to be “part-time,” I see it as our duty to stick around if urgent action is needed. Even though the Senate Republicans decided to pack up and go home, I am committed to coming back for future special sessions to pass these critical bills. Here is what we were working on before this special session ended.

Minnesota Police Accountability Act of 2020

The House DFL recognizes that we need systemic reform if we are to ever have a public safety system that makes all Minnesotans safer and the House was able to pass a comprehensive package of policing reforms in this special session. However, our Republican colleagues aren’t yet on board with all of these reforms and they did not pass in the Senate. Negotiations with the Senate leadership will continue and we are hopeful of coming to an agreement in time for the next special session, which is inevitable sometime in the next few weeks.

Here is the full list of reforms the House passed: Continue reading “Rep. Steve Elkins (HD49B) Update: June 24, 2020”

Rep. Steve Elkins (HD49B) Update: June 15, 2020

Dear Neighbors,

The State Legislature convened in special session Friday at noon. The session was necessitated by the governor’s decision to extend the state of emergency related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; however, while we’re here we will also be taking up various other COVID-19 related bills providing additional financial support for small businesses and local governments, as well as unfinished business from the regular session, including the Local Jobs & Projects Bill (bonding bill.)

Following a spirited debate, the House voted to uphold the governor’s authority to maintain his COVID-19 emergency orders. It’s important to note that 54 of the nation’s 55 states and territories are operating under gubernatorial emergency pandemic orders right now, Wisconsin being the only exception.

Much of the debate was centered around data, how we interpret it, and what it predicts for the future. The Minnesota Department of Health maintains a Coronavirus “Situation Update” page on its website which is updated daily. You can subscribe to receive daily updates from MDH at this subscription link. What this data shows is that Minnesota’s case count and death rates have leveled off and are starting to decline. Continue reading “Rep. Steve Elkins (HD49B) Update: June 15, 2020”

Rep. Stev Elkins (HD49B) Update: June 12, 2020

Dear Neighbors,

This morning the Minnesota Board of Pardons issued its first-ever posthumous pardon in the case of Max Mason, a young black man who was scapegoated for the rumored rape of a white woman in Duluth in 1920. I’m proud to say that Bloomington attorney Jerry Blackwell, who secured this pardon, is one of our friends and neighbors here in House District 49B. Monday marks the 100th anniversary of the lynching of three other young black men who were accused in this case, Elias Clayton, Elmer Jackson, and Isaac McGhie. They were dragged from the Duluth jail and hung by a white mob. I’d encourage folks to read the accounts of this case that were published in the Minneapolis StarTribune yesterday and today. This is a strong reminder to all of us that lynching was never just a southern thing – we have a long history of depriving black citizens of life and liberty without due process of law here in Minnesota, as well, and the murder of George Floyd is just the latest, and hopefully the last, example. Continue reading “Rep. Stev Elkins (HD49B) Update: June 12, 2020”

Rep. Steve Elkins (HD49B) Update: May 22, 2020

Dear Neighbors,

The legislature wrapped up its business at midnight on Sunday, passing a flurry of “consensus” legislation related to education and healthcare policy. However, once it became widely understood that there would almost certainly be a special session on June 12 to address the governor’s ongoing emergency declaration, the deadline pressure was relieved and we adjourned on Monday with much left undone, most notably the biennial “bonding bill” which finances capital improvement projects around the state. The House version of the jobs and local projects or “bonding” bill includes my bill which provides funding for an ongoing project to renovate the original 51-year-old section of the Normandale College campus. Here are some additional projects in our area:

  • a portion of $20 million for flood mitigation in Bloomington;
  • a portion of $55 million for the D line bus rapid transit from Brooklyn Center to Bloomington;
  • $2 million for work designing and planning the Riverview Corridor Transitway
  • $2 million for the South Metro Public Safety Training Facility in Edina

Continue reading “Rep. Steve Elkins (HD49B) Update: May 22, 2020”

Rep. Steve Elkins (HD49B) Update: May 4, 2020

Dear Neighbors,

My dentist’s office called last week to cancel my semiannual dental hygiene appointment and I took the opportunity to ask Dr. Weber about any plans she might be making to reopen. She told me that the Minnesota Board of Dentistry (MBD) is working with the profession to determine which measures would need to be in place for dental practices to safely open for routine dental hygiene procedures. She expects to be open later this month after procuring the personal protective equipment recommended by the MBD, including a supply of the KN95 masks which she has ordered from a reputable industrial supply wholesaler. She mentioned that her hygienists were expressing reluctance to resume work until the necessary PPE was on hand and new COVID-19 protocols were in place.

I really need a haircut and so I have also reached out to the Executive Director of the Board of Cosmetology to make sure that they’re doing the same kind of planning for their profession.

In both of these cases, it’s obvious that the controlling factor is going to be access to personal protective equipment, for the benefit of both the practitioners and the customers. The woman who cuts my hair, Kelsie Harris, is married to a man with diabetes. I know that Kelsie is going to be unwilling to come back to work until she knows that she and her family are going to be protected from the COVID-19 virus. This is the rub: even if all of these businesses were suddenly allowed to reopen, tomorrow, would their employees be willing to return to work without access to PPE? Would their customers be willing to make appointments without knowing that these offices were properly equipped to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus?

I have been impressed with the fact that the Walz administration is working closely with industry trade groups in a public-private partnership to develop safety protocols on an industry-by-industry basis. The partial reopening of retail establishments for curbside pickup under a protocol which was developed in cooperation with the Minnesota Retailers Association is a model for what’s to come.  There is not going to be a day when either the President or the Governor suddenly waves a magic wand and announces that everyone can go back to work as if this pandemic had never happened. Instead, we are going to see a series of rolling re-openings of individual industries and professions as each industry develops its own set of safety protocols and is able to obtain adequate supplies of the personal protective equipment that is appropriate for its business.

At this point, the supply of N95 masks is barely adequate to supply essential healthcare workers treating cases of COVID-19. It’s going to be a while before Kelsie has access to the PPE that she would need to feel safe cutting my hair.

#WhoCaresForUs

Stay at Home Order Extended with Some Exceptions

Governor Walz announced that the stay at home order will be extended until May 18th, with some important alterations to help more businesses conduct commerce safely. Staying at home is working, but Minnesota still needs some more time before we can take greater steps towards normalcy. Each and every one of you who have followed the order and practiced social distancing have bought Minnesota critical time. This time has allowed Minnesota to better prepare the infrastructure necessary to fully manage COVID-19. As a result, we are able to continue making progress towards gradually and thoughtfully restoring normalcy to life in our state. You can watch the governor’s full briefing here.

Extended Order

Starting today, all retail establishments will be able to return to work, provided they establish a safe process to do so through curbside pick-up or delivery. All businesses must establish a comprehensive, safe operating procedure to protect the health and wellbeing of employees and customers. There is a template available here for businesses if they wish to use the state’s guidance as a resource, you can also click here for more information from the Minnesota Retailers Association. With this change to the existing restrictions on business operations, up to 30,000 Minnesotans will be able to return to work safely.

In consultation with, and at the urging of hospitals and ambulatory care centers, the state halted elective surgeries in order to preserve PPE supplies. Now that the state and healthcare providers have made significant progress in obtaining PPE supplies (although we continue to compete with other states in order to reach the capacity we need), we are beginning to ease into planning for the scaled provision of elective surgeries again.

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DFL Taking Action to Ensure Economic Security for all Minnesotans

The House and Senate DFL outlined our COVID-19 economic security agenda this week, which focuses on the following priorities. Follow along at the #WhoCaresForUs hashtag to see the stories of how many of these priorities would lift up the Minnesotans who are keeping the state runnings:

  • Keeping Minnesotans safe in their homes with a $100 million investment in housing assistance
  • Providing economic security for our education professionals by ensuring full pay for our hourly school employees
  • Providing economic security for the personal care assistants who care for vulnerable Minnesotans through a well-deserved and long-overdue wage increase
  • Keeping Minnesotans connected by ensuring all Minnesotans have access to the broadband they need to go online

Helping families make ends meet by using available federal funding to boost payments for low-income working Minnesotans in the Minnesota Family Investment Program

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Unemployment for Self-Employed Minnesotans

The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development announced that it has started dispersing the initial pandemic unemployment assistance payments to self-employed, contract, and other workers in Minnesota who are not normally eligible for unemployment insurance benefits. If you are an eligible worker in these categories whose employment has been interrupted as a result of COVID-19, you can find instructions for how to apply for unemployment, and you can submit your application for unemployment insurance benefits, here.

If you have already applied, or did not follow these specific instructions when applying, you do not need to reapply for unemployment. MN DEED will be proactively reaching out to everyone regarding their eligibility. You will also receive the additional $600/week payment, and your unemployment payments will be backdated to when you first became eligible as a result of COVID-19.

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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. This situation is evolving constantly and I will be sure to update you with any changes. 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

Rep. Steve Elkins (HD49B) Update: April 16, 2020

Dear Neighbors

I took some time over our short Easter/Passover break to reflect upon my legislative experience this year and would like to share my thoughts in advance of our online Legislative Town Hall Thursday evening, which I’m hoping you will be able to attend. (The details are at the bottom of this note.)

COVID-19 Overview

The arrival of the COVID-19 virus in Minnesota in early March completely disrupted the legislative process, and we’re only now getting back to some semblance of normalcy with about a month left in a session that will end, as required by the state constitution, on May 18th. The last time that we were all on the floor of the House together as a body was Monday, March 16. Since then, much of our time has been spent fielding constituent questions and requests for assistance in navigating the various state government sources of information and resources related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Expressions of support for various forms of legislative assistance to help workers, businesses and local governments, and expressions of concern over the impact that social distancing mandates are having on the economy are also streaming in. Continue reading “Rep. Steve Elkins (HD49B) Update: April 16, 2020”

Rep. Steve Elkins (HD49B) Update: April 15, 2020

Dear Neighbors,

The Minnesota House is hard at work to make good on the promises we made to Minnesotans who desperately need our help. At long last affordable insulin will be a reality for those who need it most.

House Passes Alec Smith Affordability Act

Yesterday, the house voted to pass the Alec Smith Affordability Act. After many months of negotiations with Republicans, we finally reached a bipartisan consensus on this important legislation. I’m deeply grateful for the tireless advocacy of those who suffered the most at the hands of the pharmaceutical companies, and who kept up the pressure on lawmakers to get this across the finish line. The final version of the bill ensures those who urgently need a supply of insulin can get one and will require pharmaceutical manufacturers – who have made enormous profits off of the drug as its price has skyrocketed – to reimburse pharmacies for these emergency supplies. The legislation also provides relief for those who need assistance on a longer-term basis by requiring drug makers to create a patient assistance program. If they don’t comply, the companies could be fined up to $3.6 million for the first year, doubling in the second year. You can read the legislation here. Continue reading “Rep. Steve Elkins (HD49B) Update: April 15, 2020”