Dear Neighbor,
Greetings from the Capitol where, before we get to legislative news, I want to put out a call to area residents to do anything they can to assist 17-year-old Jacob Fuhrman of Pierz.
You may have seen Jacob’s story in the media recently, but he has an extreme case of Tourette’s Syndrome and OCD. The family has tried just about everything to help Jacob and a procedure recommended by a team of doctors at Mayo Clinic costs nearly $100,000. Insurance won’t cover this Deep Brain Stimulation surgery, which is due up front, so a fundraiser is taking place to help the Fuhrmans cover the cost.
As someone who normally doesn’t put out requests such as this, I humbly ask you to contribute as you are able to this cause. As someone who taught in Pierz, this is near and dear to me. Click here for the gofundme link.
On another note, proud papa moment here: That Little Falls Nordic skier you may have seen featured in a recent Morrison County Record photo is none other than Adrienne Kresha. She’s my daughter and a Flyers junior. Way to go, Adrienne and all of the LF skiers, and please be careful working out in this harsh weather with the potential for another cold snap next week.
As for news from the Capitol, proposals to legalize marijuana are getting attention. At this point, I don’t see a good reason to move forward on this. My focus is on more pressing matters such as establishing a new two-year state budget, making school safety improvements, addressing child maltreatment and neglect, and combating the opioid crisis in our state.
On the subject of school safety, I have introduced a bill this session that would help districts make improvements in that regard. Our children deserve to be able to learn and grow in a safe environment and it is a priority of mine to help our state do a better job of that.
The Republican House approved a bill with some similar provisions last year, but it was taken down by a Gov. Dayton veto. I am confident we can get strong support on this proposal once again and move this through the Legislature … and hope our new governor will be more cooperative so we can get this past the finish line. It’s a good bill with bipartisan support and I will pass along details of it in a future email.
Sincerely,
Ron