Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (SD48) is a former high school government teacher who is willing to speak to young people about how government works. He can also arrange tours of the State Capitol.
If you’re interested, please contact his Legislative Assistant, Greg Weiner, at greg.weiner@senate.mn.
The following article by Sean Miner was posted on the Sun-Current website July 24, 2017:
State Sen. Steve Cwodzinski (DFL-Eden Prairie) was one of 50 selected to participate in the 2017 Emerging Leaders Program, sponsored by the State Legislative Leaders Foundation and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia.
Held every year on the campus of the University of Virginia for a select group of state legislators, the program is designed to inspire and educate the country’s freshman elected officials. The four-day program took place July 10-13.
“I am incredibly excited to learn and gain the skills to become the best senator that I can be,” said Cwodzinski before attending. “It is an honor to be selected, and I will soak up as much knowledge as I possibly can during these next four days.”
Discussions examined qualities and characteristics of leadership like ethics, the arts of compromise and coalition building and the philosophical under-pinnings of representative democracy.
View the post here.
Two immigrants came to the United States searching for the American dream. One came to heal; the other, to protect. Now due to the fear and violence surrounding firearms, both have realized the American nightmare.
State Sen. Steve Cwodzinski, DFL-Eden Prairie
Minneapolis Star Tribune, July 19, 2017
The following article by Tim Engstrom was posted on the Lakeshore Weekly website June 29, 2017:
ON BIG ISLAND — Despite being part of the negotiations for selling the veterans camp on Big Island in 2006 and despite being on the board that oversees the funds from the sale of the property, Tom Tweet of the Bloomington VFW Post had never set foot on the island.
Finally, on Wednesday, June 21, he did.
And he brought the commander of the Bloomington VFW, Doug Doerfler, with him.
“I really appreciate the opportunity to see what it looks like,” Doerfler said.
Tweet said the trip was good because of the connections the island has had with veterans over the years.
The 2017 legislative session has truly been one of the most remarkable parts of my life.
For 33 years, I taught high school students bout how government works, and yet I am still awestruck by all the things I have learned in just five months. Much of what I have learned has been from my own constituents. I have also been incredibly impressed by how may of my former students have walked through my door. Continue reading “Reflections on an outstanding 1st session”
Governor Dayton vetoed five budget bills this past week, again due to issues of policy being included in them. Later in the week, he offered new budgets targets to GOP leaders that were halfway between their original starting points. Then, late Friday, GOP leaders announced that they too would agree to halfway point budget targets, which I am thankful to hear.
However, I am incredibly disheartened by the fact that that they also announced a refusal to remove policy from their budget bills. With the legislative session nearing its end, the time has come to find what we agree on and get those things done. If one party does not like a policy provision, we should come back next year and find a compromise. The hour is getting late, and this last minute deal-making is how unintended consequences find their way into state law. Continue reading “Sen. Steve Cwodzinski Update: May 19, 2017”
Friday afternoon Governor Dayton vetoed five pieces of legislation that were solely GOP-designed, without any effort to compromise. Last year, I was disappointed in the partisan division we saw at the end of session, and so it is only more discouraging to see bills sent to the Governor with minimal DFL support (sometimes none at all).
Here are the bills that were vetoes, along with the Governor’s veto letter explaining why: Continue reading “Sen. Steve Cwodzinski Update: May 12, 2017”
Earlier this year, the House and Senate voted in favor of provisions that would limit what internet service providers could do with their customers’ data. Now, these provisions have been entirely removed from the conference committee report in a backroom deal between just two legislators. I am incredibly disappointed that my Republican colleagues are sacrificing Minnesotan’s privacy. There’s still a chance that these provisions could make their way into the final bill so I am holding out hope. Continue reading “Sen. Steve Cwodzinski Update: May 5, 2017”
Week of April 16 – 23, 2017
A bill to revamp the state’s Board of Teaching and create a tiered educator licensing system was debated and passed off the floor of the Senate on Thursday, April 20. This language was also included in the E-12 education finance bill, but this version of it stands alone and separated from general funding measures.
While well-intentioned, this legislation seriously changes the alternative teacher preparation provider requirements, making it easier for an alternative program, such as Teach for America, to be established in Minnesota. I very supportive of getting young people into the teaching profession, however these changes could threaten teacher preparation quality. Concerns include elimination of student teaching requirement for alternative preparation candidates, mandatory teacher prep program approval with minimum educator standards, and removal of higher education partnership requirement. Additionally, there was nothing in the bill to make sure that young people stay in the profession once they are in it. Continue reading “Sen. Steve Cwodzinski Update: April 21, 2017”
