Rep. Peggy Flanagan Update: August 11, 2017

Dear Neighbors,

This weekend in St. Paul, the Minnesota State Capitol’s Grand Opening celebration is taking place, commemorating the stunning restoration of “the People’s House.” If it’s been a while since you’ve visited the Capitol, you will be blown away by the results of the nearly four-year restoration project, bringing the building to a pristine condition not seen since its opening in 1905. Artwork has been retouched with superb attention to detail, space available to the public has about doubled, heating and cooling systems have been modernized, technology has been upgraded to the 21st century, and accessibility has been improved so all Minnesotans can enjoy the Capitol.

The celebration started today and goes through Sunday. There will be plenty of activities for the whole family, including free concerts, a fireworks spectacular Saturday evening, behind the scenes tours every half hour, a Prince Dance Party, a Kid Zone, musical and dance performances from a variety of cultures, and much more. With the exception of the Cap Untapped craft beer tasting tomorrow (tickets for which are available here), all of the events are absolutely free to attend. Plenty of free parking is available, and bus and light rail rides on Metro Transit are free as well. Continue reading “Rep. Peggy Flanagan Update: August 11, 2017”

Rep. Peggy Flanagan Update: July 28, 2017

Dear neighbors,

Monday evening, Myron Frans, the Commissioner of Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB), is launching the “My Minnesota Tour” with a meeting right here in St. Louis Park. I’m quite excited that Commissioner Frans, who serves as Chief Financial Officer for the state, selected our community as the location from which to launch this tour. By conducting this tour, Commissioner Frans is looking to gather input about potential new investments the state should make as well as share information about how the state budget directly impacts local communities. I’ll be there with other state and city leaders to welcome him to St. Louis Park.

Continue reading “Rep. Peggy Flanagan Update: July 28, 2017”

Rep. Peggy Flanagan Update: June 2, 2017

 

Dear neighbors,

Last week, legislators and staff worked around the clock to complete a special session that was supposed to last one day to allow Republicans to finish their work on omnibus budget bills. However, that special session dragged through the entire week as they could not reach final agreement. This process was frustrating and I think it was irresponsible for us to be forced to pass the majority of our state budget in the middle of the night, after it was negotiated behind closed doors with little or no public input.

I wanted to give you a few quick updates: Continue reading “Rep. Peggy Flanagan Update: June 2, 2017”

Rep. Peggy Flanagan Update: May 19, 2017

Dear neighbors,

Only a few days remain in the 2017 legislative session, and a budget solution seems elusive. All budget issues remain unresolved with the exception of agriculture. Compromise is needed to pass a budget to fund Minnesota into the future, but unfortunately, Republicans have been unwilling to stay at the negotiating table and meet in the middle.

As we go into negotiations over the weekend, I wanted to give you a quick update: Continue reading “Rep. Peggy Flanagan Update: May 19, 2017”

Klobuchar Joins St. Louis Park’s Peggy Flanagan In ‘Powwow For Hope’

The following article by William Bornhoft was posted on the St. Louis Park Patch website May 12, 2017:

Earlier this week, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar joined Sen. Al Franken, St. Louis Park State Rep. Peggy Flanagan, and tribal leaders for the American Indian Cancer Foundation‘s 6th Annual Powwow for Hope. “Proud to stand with Minnesota’s Native community and stand up for strong investments in cancer research,” Klobuchar said in a statement. “All Americans are counting on us to continue pressing for better prevention, better treatment, and ultimately a cure.”

Joined tribes from around Midwest for . Need to keep investing in cancer research for patients & families.

View the post here.

Rep. Peggy Flanagan Update: May 12, 2017

Dear neighbors,

The legislative session’s constitutional adjournment date of May 22nd is approaching quickly, meaning we have just 10 days to negotiate a budget that will lift up Minnesota families and invest in the things that make our economy strong.

With Mother’s Day right around the corner, I want to give you just a few relevant updates that are on my mind this week. Continue reading “Rep. Peggy Flanagan Update: May 12, 2017”

What happened to making child care affordable?

The following commentary by Rep. Peggy Flanagan was posted on the MinnPost website May 11, 2017:

As you read this, there are 4,997 families in Minnesota on a waiting list to access affordable child care. While they wait, often for years at a time, the very child-care facilities where they want to send their kids are hanging on by a thread as they struggle to keep their doors open.

We have an affordable-child-care crisis on our hands in Minnesota. And this was the year we were supposed to do something about it. Instead, Republicans in the state legislature are not only failing to move forward with a bipartisan plan to expand affordable child-care opportunities; they are actually making the problem even worse. Continue reading “What happened to making child care affordable?”

Erik Paulsen Voted To Hurt My Mom: Rep. Peggy Flanagan

The following article by William Bornhoff of the Patch Staff posted the following on the St. Louis Park Patch website May 4, 2017:

St. Louis Park’s state representative took to Twitter Thursday to criticize Congressman Erik Paulsen’s vote for American Health Care Act.

ST. LOUIS PARK, MN — Republicans in the House of Representatives, including Minnesota Third District’s Erik Paulsen, voted to pass the American Health Care Act Thursday by the slim margin of 217-213 with no Democratic votes. GOP leadership has partially recovered its wounded pride after its embarrassing first attempt to pass the bill ended in abject failure in March.

In response, St. Louis Park state Rep. Peggy Flanagan, who represents an area within Paulsen’s district, issued a series of critical tweets at the Republican: Continue reading “Erik Paulsen Voted To Hurt My Mom: Rep. Peggy Flanagan”

Rep. Peggy Flanagan Update: April 28, 2017

 

Dear neighbors,
With just a few weeks to go, we are entering the negotiation portion of the legislative session. Legislative Republicans have passed their budget bills, and the Governor has presented his budget. Now we have to work together to produce a final package on which all parties can agree.
While those negotiations take place, I thought you should know my thoughts on each of the omnibus budget bills that passed out of the Republican-controlled Minnesota House.