Dear Neighbors,
This week’s update includes news about our work to address Chronic Wasting Disease, a municipal store operations report, and new end-of-year reports from the Environmental Quality Board.
Update about our work to address CWD
On Tuesday night, I participated in an event with hunters from Minnesota’s Karen and Hmong community. Thank you to my colleague Rep. Jay Xiong for inviting me to attend. We enjoyed a productive discussion about what our state government is doing to address Chronic Wasting Disease and appreciated hearing the perspective of Assistant Professor Peter Larson from the University of Minnesota's College of Veterinary Medicine. Click here to download the university’s CWD fact sheet and stay tuned for an announcement about hosting additional meetings.
State Auditor releases new municipal liquor store operations report
On Wednesday, Dec. 11, Minnesota State Auditor Julie Blaha released the “Analysis of Municipal Liquor Store Operations” report. This report is for the year ended December 31, 2018. At a press conference at St. Anthony Village Wine and Spirits, a municipal liquor store, Auditor Blaha discussed trends and underlying financial data provided in the report, which you can read yourself here.
According to Auditor Blaha, the report suggests that the strong local oversight model for municipal liquor stores is effective.” During 2018, Minnesota’s municipal liquor operations reported a 23rd consecutive year of record sales, totaling $360.2 million. Total sales generated in 2018 increased by $11.3 million, or 3.2 percent, over 2017. The Star Tribune has a story about the announcement that you can read here.
Environmental Quality Board releases new end-of-year reports
Minnesota’s Environmental Quality Board is made up of nine state agency heads and eight citizen members. It provides leadership and coordination across agencies on priority environmental issues that are multi-jurisdictional, and multi-dimensional, as well as provide opportunities for public access and engagement. Learn more about the EQB’s work by reviewing its newly released reports on pollinators and the Emerald Ash Borer.
Minnesota State Agency Pollinator Report
https://www.eqb.state.mn.us/sites/default/files/documents/EWR_502_20%20V2%20A11Y.pdf
Information Sources for the 2019 Minnesota State Agency Pollinator Report
https://www.eqb.state.mn.us/sites/default/files/documents/InfoSourcesPollinatorReport19.pdf
State Agency Pollinator Summaries
https://www.eqb.state.mn.us/sites/default/files/documents/AgencyPollinatorSummaries19.pdf
Pollinator Legislation Memo 2019
https://www.eqb.state.mn.us/sites/default/files/documents/PollinatorLegislationMemo2019.pdf
2019 Minnesota State Agency Emerald Ash Borer Report
https://www.eqb.state.mn.us/sites/default/files/documents/2019%20Minnesota%20State%20Agency%20Emerald%20Ash%20Borer%20Report.pdf
I always appreciate hearing from fellow community members, so please feel free to reach out. You can contact me anytime at rep.rick.hansen@house.mn or 651-296-6828.
Sincerely,
Rick Hansen
State Representative