Dear Friends,
I hope you have been able to enjoy the warm temps and the first few weeks of summer! It was great to see so many of you at last weekend’s Willmar Fest events!
I’d like to offer my congratulations to the 2020 Willmar Fest Ambassadors that were crowned on June 22nd. Abby Valladarez was crowned Queen of Festivals, Maddie Stoeberl was crowned International Princess, and Brielle Thorpe was crowned Aqua Princess.
I know that you will make us proud as you represent the City of Willmar over the next year!
4th of July Festivities
Next Thursday is Independence Day and final preparations are being made for the Spicer 4th of July celebration. If you’d like to take part in some of the festivities next week, feel free to click here for more information.
The Spicer 4th of July celebration is a great time for folks from all walks of life to enjoy each other’s company. Thank you to all the volunteers and organizers who put on these local events that are so special in our area!
CABHS Groundbreaking
Construction on the new Child and Adolescent Behavioral Health Services (CABHS) hospital began earlier this month in Willmar. I was proud to be the chief author of legislation that funded construction of this new hospital and fought to ensure that the hospital would remain in Willmar after the Dayton administration proposed moving it to the Twin Cities.
As the only hospital of its kind in Minnesota, it was critically important that the CABHS hospital in Willmar remained open to serve children and adolescents with complex mental health problems. I look forward to the great work that will take place at the new facility in the years to come.
Addressing the Teacher Shortage
If you or someone you know is a teacher, please be sure to look into the Minnesota Teacher Shortage Loan Repayment Program.
The Minnesota Teacher Shortage Student Loan Repayment Program was established to provide student loan repayment assistance to teachers providing classroom instruction in a teacher shortage area in Minnesota. The purpose of the program is to encourage teachers to teach in Minnesota in designated shortage areas.
Follow the link to learn more about if you apply for the program: https://www.ohe.state.mn.us/mPg.cfm?pageID=2191
Staying in Touch
Please continue to reach out to me to share any questions and concerns regarding state government. I can be reached at rep.dave.baker@house.mn or you can call 651-296-6206.
Have a safe and relaxing week ahead, and Happy Birthday, America!
Dave