Tag: Jerry Newton

Sen. Jerry Newton (SD37) Update: February 14, 2020

Friends and Neighbors,

The 2020 Legislative Session has now begun. My colleagues and I came back to the Capitol on Tuesday, and we have a lot of work to do over the next few months. Our May 18 adjournment will be here before we know it, and there are several priorities that we are focusing on.

The major focus for this year is on passing a capital investment bill, or more commonly called bonding bill. I have introduced several bonding requests for our area including repairs for Anoka-Ramsey Community College, safety improvements for Highways 10, 47, and 65, upgrades at the National Sports Center, and funding for the Mighty Ducks Grant Program to replace coolant systems for ice rinks throughout the state.

I’m also carrying the bonding requests for two projects in Blaine that will help Minnesota’s first responders. The first is funding for a Greater Twin Cities Regional Public Safety Training Facility that will provide a state of the art training opportunity for police and firefighters. The second is a new State Emergency Operations Center which can serve as a centralized location for responding to emergency and disaster situations.

In addition to the bonding bill, we will also have discussions on hot button issues. With a divided legislature, the views in the DFL-controlled House and GOP-controlled Senate are quite different, and compromise may be difficult. I am hopeful we can finally take real action on insulin affordability and access, so thousands of diabetic Minnesotans can afford their lifesaving medication.

Most importantly, I want to hear from you on the issues that you care about and what you think we should be focused on this year.  Please contact me to share your questions, comments, and ideas on any issue. Get in touch by phone at 651-296-2556 or by email at sen.jerry.newton@senate.mn.

Thank you and have a great weekend,

 

Jerry Newton

State Senator

District 37

Sen. Jerry Newton (SD37) Update: January 31, 2020

Friends and Neighbors,

Representative Koegel and I are holding a town hall meeting on Tuesday, February 4th (6:30 PM) at Westwood Intermediate and Middle School.  Please feel free to stop by and share your thoughts, ideas, and concerns. I deeply value your input in order to most effectively represent you.  Hope to see you all there!

Image

If you have any questions or wish to unsubscribe from this Newsletter please feel free to contact my office at 651-296-2556 or by email at sen.jerry.newton@senate.mn.

Thank you and have a great weekend,

 

Jerry Newton

State Senator

District 37

Rep. Erin Koegel Update (HD37A) Update: January 30, 2020

Dear Neighbors,

I hope the new year is treating you well. I’ve spent the first weeks of 2020 connecting with residents and preparing for the legislative session, which begins on February 11. Senator Jerry Newton and I are holding a town hall meeting on Tuesday, February 4 to gather input and ideas before our work in St. Paul gets underway. I hope to see you there!

Koegel Town Hall 02.2020

Continue reading “Rep. Erin Koegel Update (HD37A) Update: January 30, 2020”

Governor’s Bonding Bill includes Senator Newton’s Bonding Requests

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – As the final piece of his bonding bill proposal, Governor Walz today released an approximately $2 billion Local Jobs and Projects Plan. Included in his proposal were several bonding requests carried by Senator Jerry Newton (DFL-Coon Rapids).

“The Governor’s proposal makes smart investments in public infrastructure and public assets in our community that will create jobs, improve our higher education facilities, and strengthen our community,” said Senator Newton. “I want to thank Governor Walz for prioritizing these projects, and I look forward to working to make sure this funding is secured in the 2020 Legislative Session.”

The Governor’s proposal includes $3 million to fund the demolition and replacement of the campus maintenance facility and an additional $837,000 for asset preservation at the National Sports Center, $4 million in funding for the Mighty Ducks Grant Program to local communities to upgrade ice arenas, primarily through replacing refrigerant and improving air quality,  $16.282 million for construction of nursing and business classrooms and labs on the Coon Rapids campus at the Anoka Ramsey Community College, $700,000 for expansion of the City of Coon Rapids Recycling Center, and $29.545 million to acquire land, design, develop, construct, and equip a new State Emergency Operations Center and Homeland Security and Emergency Management office. 

Sen. Jerry Newton (SD37) Update: December 30, 2019

Friends & Neighbors,

The end of the year is used as a time of reflection and preparation for a new beginning. We set our goals and make plans for reaching them for the coming year. My main goal has always been to make Minnesota a better place to live now and for future generations. This year Minnesota was recognized as the third best state in the country by U.S. News & World Report. These rankings evaluate all 50 states across a range of criteria, including education, health care, crime, infrastructure, and the economy. Minnesota was able to achieve this impressive ranking because of its dedication to making strong investments in schools, families, and infrastructure.

We are the only state in the country with a divided government – the House has a DFL majority and the Senate has a Republican majority. Making these critical investments wasn’t easy. The 2019 Session included difficult budget negotiations, a lack of transparency in conference committees, and a tenuous global agreement made just one day before adjournment. Continue reading “Sen. Jerry Newton (SD37) Update: December 30, 2019”

Sen. Jerry Newton (SD37) Update: November 26, 2019

Friends and Neighbors,

I hope that this newsletter finds you and your loved ones well as we begin the holiday season. This year, I am thankful for my family and the opportunity to spend time with them during this holiday season. I also wish to thank and extend a deep sense of gratitude to our family members, friends, and other loved ones who are serving in the military whether domestically or overseas. As a veteran myself, I know how difficult it is to be away from loved ones during the holidays, and how homesick one can get. Take some time to keep those servicemen and women in your thoughts and prayers.

While the 2020 Legislative Session will not begin until February 11, I encourage people to reach out to my office with what they’d like to see the legislature tackle in 2020. It will be a bonding year, and I will work to get our local projects included in any final bill. We also have unfinished policy work to do – like addressing prescription drug costs and providing emergency access to insulin. These are just some of the issues I hope we can find common ground on in 2020. Continue reading “Sen. Jerry Newton (SD37) Update: November 26, 2019”

Riding the Northern Lights Express

In the upcoming legislative session, the fate of the proposed high-speed rail line from Minneapolis to Duluth is once again to be debated. In 2009 Representative Mary Murphy of Hermantown and I submitted bills to provide for $13 million in bonding to perform a feasibility study to determine whether such a rail line was a viable transportation alternative. Our bill moved through the committee process but did not pass. Every session since then has seen Senate and House bills attempting to secure bonding approval for the Northern Lights Express, the proposed name for the rail line, fall short. In the mean-time legislators, rail enthusiasts and federal transportation officials have kept pressure on to keep the project front and center of all rail discussions.

This year, my Senate File 816 and Representative Murphy’s companion House File 387 have perhaps the best chance of passing since we first tried 10 years ago. Speaker Melissa Hortman is a co-author of the House bill, adding major significance to the legislation. Senate Minority Leader Tom Bakk has given his verbal support to my SF 816. Perhaps of even greater importance, Representative Murphy is the current Chair of the Capital Investment Committee. This is the committee that will determine which bonding bills pass and be moved on to the Governor for signature. There are no guarantees but being able to move her own bill is the best hope we have had in years to see the Northern Lights Express come to fruition. Continue reading “Riding the Northern Lights Express”

Sen. Hoffman, Sen. Newton, and Sen. Abeler receive Hmong medals of honor

Sen. Jim Abeler, Sen. Jerry Newton and Sen. John Hoffman are pictured from left to right with Sen. Foung Hawj, Captain Xai Nou Paul Vang and Lieutenant Charles Vu after receiving their medals of honor in appreciation to their support of the Hmong community.

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Sen. John Hoffman (DFL-Champlin), Sen. Jerry Newton (DFL-Coon Rapids), and Sen. Jim Abeler (R-Anoka) received the One Star Leadership Medals of appreciation from the Hmong Special Guerilla Unit and its late leader General Vang Pao.

The Hmong Special Guerilla Unit is credited with saving hundreds of American soldiers and pilots in Laos during the Vietnam War, at great cost of life in their Hmong community.

The medal, designed by the late General Vang Pao, was given to the legislators to honor the three Senators for their long-term relationship with the Hmong community. They lent bipartisan support in designating May 14 as the special recognition day for the Hmong Veterans of the Secret War in Laos. The path to this recognition has been very difficult.

“It is a great honor to receive this very important medal of honor from Hmong Special Gorilla Unit. They were instrumental in preventing the threat of communism from spreading deeper in Southeast Asia,” Sen. Hoffman said.

“Many soldiers owe these brave men and women their lives,” said Sen. Newton. “I am among those who owe them an eternal debt.”

“The selfless sacrifice by these brave men and women on behalf of American soldiers is truly impressive,” said Sen. Abeler. “As the Hmong have no home country, it is particularly valuable that we can honor them in this special way.”

 

Sen. Jerry Newton (SD37) Update: April 5, 2019

 

On Wednesday this week, Governor Tim Walz gave his first State of the State address.  He emphasized that even though Minnesota is currently the only state with a divided legislature, we have the opportunity to be a exemplar of nonpartisan cooperation: “I’ll tell you right now the story that not just Minnesota needs but the country needs is a bipartisan and a split government that came together for the good of the people and moved things forward.”

I echo Governor Walz’s comments that we need to reach across the aisle and be a model for bipartisanship. I thought the perfect opportunity to put this into action would be the Senate Veterans and Military Affairs Committee.

Unfortunately, yesterday the Senate Veterans Committee missed a golden opportunity to accept DFL amendments that would have fully funded the Minnesota National Guard and the Department of Veteran’s Affairs budget requests. In response to this inaction, I sent out the following press release Continue reading “Sen. Jerry Newton (SD37) Update: April 5, 2019”

Sen. Jerry Newton (SD37) Update: March 8, 2019

It’s Halftime at the 2019 Legislature

We are now entering the third month of the 2019 Legislative Session, and as the first committee deadline approaches things will really begin to move quickly as we work to create a budget. A budget funding essential programs and services over the next two years is the most critical work my colleagues and I will do this year.

On February 28, we received the updated February Forecast from Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB), which gave us a clear picture of the state’s fiscal outlook. According to MMB, the state has a positive balance of just over $1 billion. However, since the November forecast, that balance has decreased by $492 million. Now, we must find the right balance between making smart investments without threatening budget stability as we look beyond 2020.  More information regarding the State’s budget can be found here.

Before the MMB forecast, Governor Walz released a budget proposal outlining his priorities. His proposal included historic investments in education, increasing access and reducing the costs of health care, stronger support for local governments, and new funding for our state’s transportation network. This is only a starting point and now must be revised with the updated forecast numbers. While the governor’s budget will change, we must continue to focus on the issues that are affecting working Minnesotans like education, health care, and infrastructure. Continue reading “Sen. Jerry Newton (SD37) Update: March 8, 2019”