Tag: House District 48A

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”

Dear Neighbors,

The first two weeks of the legislative session are behind us. It’s great getting to visit with members of the community and advocates on a wide variety of issues. This week, these meetings included one in the State Capitol rotunda with some Eden Prairie students, and one with Lyle Goff, Board Chair of the Minnesota Lions Vision Foundation, working to deliver the gift of sight to Minnesotans.

Continue reading “Rep. Laurie Pryor (HD48A) Update: January 18, 2019”

Dear Deb,

The 2019 Minnesota Legislative Session gets underway at noon today. I’m so honored and fortunate to be serving a second term

and I look forward to the work ahead. Here’s the view from my new office, room 571 of the State Office Building.

If you ever make your way to Saint Paul, I’d love for you to swing by and visit.

Town Hall Meeting

Thanks to all who attended the Town Hall Meeting on Saturday with Sen. Steve Cwodzinski, Rep.-elect Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn and myself. We had close to 200 engaged community members attend. The focus of the town hall was legislative priorities for the upcoming session. We discussed a diverse set of issues submitted by audience members with their comments. At the end of the discussion, those attending voted on their top three issues for the next legislature. The top vote-getters were health care, reducing gun violence, and climate change. Continue reading “Rep. Laurie Pryor (HD48A) Update: January 8, 2019”

Dear Neighbors,

I’m very grateful for the trust you gave me earlier this month with the opportunity to serve at the State Capitol for another term. Serving as your state representative is a wonderful honor, and I look forward to the work we can accomplish together during the next two years. Here are some updates from Saint Paul.

Minnesota House Committees

Heading into the 2019 session, with the DFL caucus taking over the majority in the Minnesota House, there will be a new roster of committees and chairs. This list of committees, divisions, and subcommittees and their chairs was announced last week. I’m encouraged by the inclusion of many of these, which means attention will be paid to issue areas which have had some long-term efforts, particularly early childhood education, clean water, and adequate housing that individuals and families can afford.

I would expect the full list of committee members will be announced in the next couple of weeks. Continue reading “Rep. Laurie Pryor (HD48A) Update: November 29, 2018”

Dear Neighbors,

I hope you and your family have been able to enjoy summer so far. Whether it be our lakes, parks, trails, or any number of other opportunities, it’s a great time to take advantage of our abundance of outdoor recreation activities.

For my part, I continue to participate in events around the community. This past Sunday, I attended an event with other elected officials hosted by members of the Chinese Minnesotan community. The Political Engagement Seminar was a terrific opportunity to discuss how Minnesotans can get involved in their government and affect positive change in a variety of issues, like improved education offerings. I look forward to dialogues like this in the future. Continue reading “Rep. Laurie Pryor (HD48A) Update: July 13, 2018”

Dear Neighbors,

Earlier this summer, I had the opportunity to attend the Memorial Day ceremony in Eden Prairie. It was a moving event giving those of us in attendance an opportunity to reflect on service and sacrifice. In addition to honoring those who made the ultimate sacrifice, the event recognized veterans and active duty service members.

While there, Sen. Steve Cwodzinski and I visited with Eden Prairie Fire Chief George Esbensen. We discussed a bipartisan success from this past legislative session which was a breakthrough regarding the recognition of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for police officers, firefighters, EMTs, and others. Previously, if one of these first responders experienced PTSD, they would often run into roadblocks to attaining workers compensation awards. Continue reading “Rep. Laurie Pryor (HD48A) Update: June 12, 2018”

The following article by Patty Dexter was posted on the Eden Prairie News website May 29, 2018:

The 2018 legislative session ended on Sunday, May 20.

The newspaper contacted Rep. Laurie Pryor for a Q&A reviewing the session

What are your thoughts about how this year’s legislative session went?

While the legislative session had some bright spots, it ended with many missed opportunities. State conformity to the recent federal tax changes should have been done in bipartisan fashion, but legislative leaders insisted on playing politics. We had an opportunity to address our persistent opioid crisis, but big pharma was able to deflect responsibility to pay for prevention strategies. Our seniors and vulnerable adults deserve greater protections in care facilities, but all that was ultimately considered were some watered-down policies and a task force. Continue reading “Legislative Q&A: House District 48A Rep. Laurie Pryor”