Capitol Update from Rep. Deb Kiel
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Here is an update with the latest news from St. Paul.
MCCL Statistics
Minnesota Citizens Concerned for Life released information earlier this week showing that in 2017, taxpayer funded abortions hit a record high of $1.06 million for 4,356 abortions. Those are heartbreaking statistics, and I want to take a moment to remind everyone that we have two crisis pregnancy centers in our area – the Women’s Pregnancy Center in Grand Forks, and the LifeCare Pregnancy Center in Thief River Falls.
Omnibus Bills
It has been a very busy week in committees, wrapping up omnibus bills in their committees of origin and having our last meetings in policy committees. I’d encourage you to check out the almost 1000 page Health and Human Services bill. In the past, Republicans were criticized for having large omnibus bills, but the HHS bill alone has more pages than the bill for every area of state government last year. In addition, their budget bills are funded by tax increases and don’t keep the many promises they made before session.
They also cut reimbursements for nursing homes by about $68 million, despite hearing in committee about how that would negatively affect our local nursing homes. Including the federal and private share of those losses, the cuts to our nursing homes would be close to $200 million. I’ve heard from several of the nursing homes in Northwest Minnesota about how this will severely impact them. I will continue to fight for adequate funding of our great nursing homes, and against these catastrophic cuts.
Town Hall Meetings
Over the Legislative break the week before Easter, I am hosting some town halls to hear from constituents and give an update on session so far. Below are the dates and locations – I hope to see you there!
Monday, April 15th Senator Johnson and Representative Kiel
- 9:30am-10: 30 am, East Grand Forks City Hall, 600 Demers Ave, East Grand Forks, MN 56721
- 12:00pm-1:00pm, Crookston City Hall, 124 Broadway, Crookston, MN 56716
- 2:30pm-3:30pm, Fosston Civic Center, 215 1st St E, Fosston, MN 56542
Tuesday, April 16th Senator Johnson, Representative Kiel, and Representative Fabian
- 9:30am-10:30am, Uptown Cafe, 510 N Main St, Warren, MN
- 12:00pm-1: 00 pm, Thief River Falls City Hall, 405 3rd St E, Thief River Falls, MN 56701
- 3:00pm-4:00pm, Grain Bin Café, 125 N Main Ave, Grygla, MN 56727
This Week
I had a lot of visitors this week – below are some photos from my visits with Teamsters, U of M students from Crookston, and local teachers!
U of MN Crookston Students
Teamsters
Local Teachers
It’s an honor and a privilege to work for you at the Capitol. Don’t hesitate to contact my office at any time this session to share your thoughts, concerns, or ideas. I am here to serve you!
Sincerely,
Deb