Please join Sen. Cwodzinski, Rep. Kotyza-Witthuhn and me for a District 48 Virtual Town Hall tomorrow, December 17 at 7 p.m. To participate, go to my Facebook page: Rep. Laurie Pryor | Facebook. You can submit your questions ahead of time here.
Dear Neighbors,
I hope this note finds you safe and well. It’s hard to believe it is November already and I want to start by thanking you for your continued trust in me to be your voice in the Minnesota House of Representatives. Happily, though this was an unconventional year, we were still able to cast our votes in a safe and secure manner. In Minnesota, the last of the votes are being counted today, and it looks like our state will continue to have a divided legislature – the only in the nation. In the conversations I’ve had with neighbors throughout the year, you shared that compromise and common-sense solutions are critical as we move forward as a state to work through our challenges, the most prevalent among them being the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the election over, I am able to once again send out these legislative updates on a regular basis. If you’re not subscribed, or know of anyone who would find these helpful, you can sign up to receive them here. Please feel free to forward on to neighbors or friends who may be interested.
A Personal Note
In the midst of an election year and a global pandemic, my husband and I welcomed our fourth child this summer. We’re so grateful to be raising our children in this wonderful community.
Continue reading “Rep. Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn Update: November 10, 2020”
Dear Neighbors,
I hope you had an enjoyable 4th of July holiday weekend and are staying cool in the heat. Summertime typically doesn’t include much work at the Minnesota Legislature, but this year is anything but typical and we find ourselves preparing to return for another special session next week.
While the ongoing pandemic is the main reason for this July special session, I’ll also be pushing for compromise on legislation to address meaningful police accountability measures, a robust jobs and local projects bill (also known as a bonding bill), and a tax bill that puts Minnesotans first. These are all proposals that will help our state face not only the economic struggles brought on by the pandemic, but address systemic inequities that have existed for far too long. Continue reading “Rep. Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn (HD48B) Update: July 10, 2020”
Dear Neighbors,
The end of our first special session this last weekend had a mixed bag of results for Minnesota. Having initially been called to address the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impact, the recent killing of George Floyd and subsequent unrest made public safety and criminal justice reform an additional priority of our work this special session. It was a long week of working on urgent and important measures, but our efforts were unfortunately cut short when the Republican-led Minnesota Senate adjourned without a compromise on key pieces of legislation, effectively halting our work in the House as well.
Solutions to both the impacts of COVID-19 and the social justice inequities in our public safety system won’t be easy to craft, but we can’t enact change or provide resources unless all parties are willing to come to the table to work. I remain committed to fighting for these much-needed changes, and I’ll be pushing for compromise to be reached. Should Governor Walz decide to extend the peacetime state of emergency, the Minnesota Legislature will be called to meet again in July, and possibly earlier if consensus can be reached on other critical issues. I’ll be sure to keep you updated as we learn more. Continue reading “Rep. Carlie Kotyza-WItthuhn (HD48B) Update: June 25, 2020”
Dear Neighbors,
This week, my legislative colleagues and I are preparing for a special session, likely beginning on Friday, to primarily address the COVID-19 pandemic. Though the pandemic will be our principal reason for convening, I will also be championing issues of economic relief, jobs and local projects, and public safety and criminal justice reform.
Additionally, I hope you’ll be able to join Sen. Cwodzinski, Rep. Pryor, and myself for another virtual town hall. We’ll be live at 7:30 PM tomorrow, June 10. You’ll be able to participate on my Facebook page, and you can submit questions ahead of time here.
Continue reading “Rep. Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn (HD48B) Update: June 9, 2020”
Dear Neighbors,
I want to start by giving a shout out to everyone that helped us donate sorely-needed groceries for the communities impacted in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd. As I was coordinating this event with PROP, the City of Eden Prairie, and the Eden Prairie Community Foundation, I couldn’t have imagined this incredible outpouring of support. Proof once again that Minnesotans care about each other.
For those of you interested in other ways to help, the Star Tribune released a list of resources you might find useful. My work in the Minnesota House now turns to the ways we can enact systemic change to address the deep-rooted issues that led not only to the death of George Floyd and other black and brown Minnesotans, but the ongoing unrest in the Twin Cities and areas all over the country. Today, DFL members of the POCI (People of Color and Indigenous) Caucus announced measures for police and criminal justice reform, as well as their intent to make these issues a priority during a likely special session this month. You can watch their press conference, or read an overview of their proposals. These include measures to: Continue reading “Rep. Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn (HD48B) Update: June 2, 2020”
Dear Neighbors,
I wanted to give you a quick update on an emergency food drive I organized, with support from PROP, the City of Eden Prairie, and the Eden Prairie Community Foundation. On Saturday and Sunday, from 9-11am, we’ll be at the Hennepin Technical College off of Flying Cloud Drive, accepting donations for senior living facilities in south Minneapolis near the 3rd Precinct.
The recent tragedy and ongoing unrest has left them without access to the resources they require. The foods that are most in need right now are non-perishable and pantry staple items like bread, peanut butter, cereal, pasta, canned goods, etc.
We cannot accept any perishable food items due to non-refrigerated storage space. We will not be able to accept any cash donations, but online donations can be made to local food shelves at www.hungersolutions.org or www.2harvest.org.
We will be at the J1 entrance, to the right of the main entrance. Enter on College View Drive, stay straight toward the auditorium, turn right before the main entrance, and the J1 entrance will be on the left side.
We could use a small number of volunteers. Please email me at rep.carlie.kotyza-witthuhn@house.mn if you’d like to volunteer either Saturday or Sunday. We ask that any volunteers wear masks, and we will also have hand sanitizer available on-site.
Eden Prairie has done such an amazing job of sticking together during the challenges we’ve faced this year. If you’re also able to help those struggling in Minneapolis, it’d be greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn<
Dear Neighbors,
Late Sunday night, the Minnesota Legislature adjourned sine die for the year. The Minnesota Constitution requires us to adjourn by May 18, so while this was our technical end date, it’s likely we will meet again soon to continue addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and other unfinished business concerning economic support for Minnesotans.
Following the success of our May 13 virtual Senate District 48 Town Hall (which you can watch here), I’ll be joined by Sen. Cwodzinski and Rep. Pryor for another one on Wednesday, June 10, at 7:30pm. You can submit questions ahead of time here, and you’ll be able to watch it live on my Facebook page. I’ll keep you posted on more information as we get closer to the event.
Continue reading “Rep. Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn (HD48B) Update: May 22, 2020”
Dear Neighbors,
I hope you and your family are healthy as we continue to work through the COVID-19 pandemic in our state. In the Minnesota House, we remain hard at work, mostly from home, as we strive to deliver the resources our communities need during this trying time.
There has been some good news this week, especially with the state working alongside the University of Minnesota, Mayo Clinic, and Hennepin Healthcare to deliver 20,000 tests a day for COVID-19. This is exactly the kind of ingenuity and teamwork that is making Minnesota a leader in the fight against this coronavirus, and now, widespread testing will be a huge part in working toward some sense of normalcy in our communities.
You can read more about this breakthrough on testing here. Continue reading “Rep. Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn (HD48B) Update: April 24, 2020”
NOTE: This update arrived after our last post of the day. The tomorrow in the first sentence is actually today, April 14, 2020.
Dear Neighbors,
Tomorrow, the Minnesota Legislature will meet to pass additional legislation to bolster our state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Like last week, legislators will be voting remotely in an effort to adhere to the social distancing guidelines recommended by the Minnesota Department of Health. You’ll be able to watch the action on the House floor the same as me, through the livestream that will be available here, starting at noon.
Last week, we passed a bipartisan bill to ensure that Minnesota’s health care and public safety officials have access to the workers’ compensation they deserve in the event that they contract COVID-19. These are vulnerable, exposed jobs, and we need to support the professions that in turn support our state; the nurses, EMTs, firefighters, police officers, child care workers, and corrections officers. Continue reading “Rep. Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn (HD48B) Update: April 13, 2020”
