Tag: Sen. Cwodzinski

Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (SD48) Update: January 18, 2019

Week of January 14th – 18th

Legislative Preview on AM 950

I had the opportunity to speak with Brett Johnson from AM 950 on his radio show. It was a gratifying and insightful discussion about the responsibilities I have as a state senator and what to expect form the upcoming legislative session. I was also able to answer questions from those who called in. Thanks to Brett for having me. You can listen to our conversation by clicking HERE.

Catching up with former students

While at Eden Prairie High School, I got to see my former student Aubrey Sebastian, who is now attending the University of Minnesota and working as an undergraduate researcher. Continue reading “Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (SD48) Update: January 18, 2019”

Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (SD48) Update: January 11, 2019

Week of January 7th – 11th

Kicking off 2019 with constituent engagement

Last weekend, Representative Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn, Representative Laurie Pryor, and myself got together with our shared constituents to host a town hall meeting. It was a great way to start the year.

Our discussion included nearly two dozen topics, which are listed below. Continue reading “Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (SD48) Update: January 11, 2019”

Health care, gun control top residents’ concerns at Eden Prairie town hall

Sen. Steve Cwodzkinski with Reps. Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn and Laurie Pryor at Eden Prairie High School for the first town hall of the new legislative session. Credit: Eden Teller, Eden Prairie News

Before legislators return to St. Paul for the start of the new session on Jan. 8, Eden Prairie’s representatives sought the advice of their community in what they said was the best-attended town hall of their careers.

State Sen. Steve Cwodzinski, D-Eden Prairie and state representative Laurie Pryor, D-Minnetonka, and Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn, D-Eden Prairie, spoke to about 150 people at Eden Prairie High School Saturday, Jan. 5 — the largest group that Pryor or Cwodzinski, on their second terms, had ever seen at a town hall.

“You’re making my heart sing, putting this thing called ‘we the people’ into action,” Cwodzinski told the crowd.

View the complete January 7 article by Eden Teller on The Eden Prairie News website here.

Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (SD48): November 30, 2018

December, 2018

Back at Eden Prairie High School

I got another chance to visit Eden Prairie High School again this past month, and had another absolutely spectacular time talking to our next generation about civic virtue and political efficacy.

A former student of mine, Jessica Jacobson, was also in the classroom working in special education.

More civics with students

This past week I was also given the truly unique opportunity to talk with building and construction trades students about government and citizenship. No matter what profession you are in, it is always important to recognize your civic duty.

Touring the Capitol with Constituents and Former Students

This past month also included an enjoyable tour around the State Capitol with a constituent of mine, Tracy Johnson, and her family. One of her sons, Clayton, was a student of mine and brought along two of his friends who were also in my class. All three of these former students are now at the U of M law school. It was quite the reunion.

Celebrating National Adoption Day

Saturday, November 17 was National Adoption Day, and I went down to the Hennepin County courthouse to observe the proceedings. I got to see two colleagues finalize their adoption, and watch as the child was given their stuffed animal at the end of the proceedings.

Talking Southwest LRT with engineers

As you may have heard, we have officially broken ground on the Southwest Light Rail project as of 3pm today. Earlier in the week, I met with a group of engineers at SRF Consulting to discuss the logistics.

Lunch with a former Supreme Court justice

On Monday, Senator Matt Klein and I visited with former State Supreme Court Justice Paul Anderson, an Eden Prairie institution. Despite hitting the court’s mandatory retirement age, Paul still continues to be an exemplary public servant.

Jacquelyn Cwodzinski visits the Capitol

This Thanksgiving break, my mom got the chance to come visit me at my new job. I would not be where I am without all of her hard work to support me.

 

Sen. Steve Cwodzinski Update: November 1, 2018

Don’t forget to vote this Tuesday!     

The November 6 election is just days away. Make sure you get out and vote to make sure YOUR government hears YOUR voice, regardless of political party. Hundreds of millions of people in this world have no say in what their government does. Do not take your rights for granted. Cherish the fact that your government guarantees you a right to vote, and exercise that right with pride.

You can find out where to vote by clicking HERE.

Continue reading “Sen. Steve Cwodzinski Update: November 1, 2018”

Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (SD48) Update: September 17, 2018

September, 2018

[/one_half

Ringing in the New School Year

This is one of the most special times of the year: school getting back underway. Some students will just be starting for the first time, many will begin a year of meeting new faces and and making new friends, and some will be soaking up their last year of high school as they get ready to take on the world.

If you are a parent, educator, support professional, or any other staff person that makes it possible for our children to learn, thank you for the work that you do.

Most importantly however, if you are a student reading this, know that this is a time of your life that’s full of possibilities. A simple chance meeting or a spark of inspiration can change the rest of your life for the better, in ways that you cannot imagine.

You can view more of my thoughts in a video by clicking HERE.

Reuniting at the State Capitol

Marilee Rozowski, longtime friend of mine, visited the capitol last week. It had been years since we had seen each other, and reuniting at the capitol was the perfect mix of old and new: reminiscing and catching up on each others’ lives, touring the historic state capitol and sharing the our hopes for the future of the state.

I also got to reunite with a former student, Steve Yi after 30 years of being apart. He brought along another former student, as well as his kids. We had a wonderful time touring the capitol, and I can already tell that those kids will be exhibiting the same sense of civic virtue as their father.

Touring the new Optum Experience Center

Several of my fellow legislators and I recently went on a tour of the New Optum Experience Center in Eden Prairie. It was a thoroughly educational experience, learning about new innovations in healthcare technology.

Another Wonderful Year of The State Fair

I was thrilled to spend multiple days of this year’s State Fair in the education building at the Senate Information booth. Listening to what is on peoples’ minds is one of my favorite parts of the job, and there are few better opportunities for this than being at the fair. To make one of my days even better, I ran into a former student of mine. Joe Lenczewski is a legislative assistant in the House, and was also there to represent his respective chamber at the fair.

I also got the chance to talk with Capitol Report, and answer some of their questions. That video can be found by clicking HERE. My segments are shown at 3:42, 8:11, 11:46, and 15:53.

Celebrating America’s Newest Citizens

Last week I had the remarkable opportunity to welcome over 900 newly naturalized citizens into our great country at St Paul’s Rivercentre. A news story on this event, along with a short excerpt of my speech, can be viewed by clicking HERE.

After the ceremony I met Rasa Bagdonaite, a woman who immigrated from Lithuania just like my grandmother did 100 years ago to seek a better life. Seeing so much enthusiasm for the chance to participate in our democracy was yet another reminder that we cannot ever take what we have for granted.

My grandson Elliott is already taking that lesson to heart, and is absolutely astounded by how Minnesota’s constitution so eloquently enumerates the responsibilities of state government.

Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (SD48) Update: August 3, 2018

August, 2018

Education Committee Meets to Discuss Special Education

In mid-July, the Senate Education Policy Committee held its first meeting since session ended to discuss how we can improve our state’s special education programs. We heard a recap from the legislative auditor on a report they did back in 2013, and on the progress they have observed in the time since then. It was an incredibly informative meeting, and I am grateful to have so many experts who are willing to help us serve our state as best we can. Continue reading “Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (SD48) Update: August 3, 2018”

Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (SD48) Update: July 2, 2018

July, 2018

End of Session Column: 2018 Legislative Session Serves As a Teachable Moment

Below is a column that appeared in early June in several local papers:

The 2018 legislative session ended at midnight Sunday, May 20. During the past several weeks, I spent a lot of time reflecting on what happened.

Political pundits are framing the session as a failure in which everything came crashing down and nothing got done. Depending on who you ask, some would blame Republican legislative majorities for the dysfunction, while others would attribute it to DFL Gov. Mark Dayton. An “us vs. them” narrative overlooks members of the public who for months poured their hearts and souls into the causes they care about. Continue reading “Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (SD48) Update: July 2, 2018”

Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (SD48) Update: June 1, 2018

June, 2018

Governor Dayton Takes Action On Legislation

Governor Mark Dayton has officially signed the last bill of his career: a bipartisan pension plan that passed the Senate unanimously and will secure retirement benefits for generations to come. He also signed a bonding bill into law, which helps establish a new facility for the Hennepin County Medical Examiner in Minnetonka near Glen lake and provides funding for metro parks.

The governor also vetoed two major pieces of legislation: the omnibus spending bill and the omnibus tax bill. Both bills had good bipartisan pieces of legislation, however they also contained provisions that the governor had promised to veto. I believe that the root of our problem was in having bills that were simply too large. Provisions we all agreed on were lumped in with bills we were still debating, and so bipartisan agreements on elder care and opioid overdose prevention end up not getting signed into law. I believe that this session provided our state with a teachable moment about how we can better serve the people of Minnesota. We need to follow our state constitution’s single-subject clause. Continue reading “Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (SD48) Update: June 1, 2018”

Legislative Q&A: District 48 Sen. Steve Cwodzinski

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 Sen. Steve Cwodzinski for a Q&A reviewing the session

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

I love going to work at the Capitol and working with all the amazing people there, so in that sense it was great. However, I feel like we had a lot of missed opportunities. No action was taken on gun-violence prevention or distracted driving. Legislation on opioid abuse and elder care could have passed unanimously, but instead they were included in a 990-page document that the governor had promised to veto. Our state constitution has a single-subject clause stating that a bill can only be about one issue. Following our constitution may have led to a more successful session. Continue reading “Legislative Q&A: District 48 Sen. Steve Cwodzinski”