Dear Neighbor,
Members of Cold Spring Scout Troop #15 deserve a big shout-out for their efforts to clear snow from 113 fire hydrants! I’m sure this was so helpful for the local firefighters, and you made their job much easier to access the hydrants.
It’s evident a great deal of time and energy was taken to complete this task and the parents involved deserve credit, too! Thank you for the service and generosity you provide the community.
As for more official notes from House:
New legislative maps
“Redistricting” was a big subject at the Capitol this week as a map of new legislative districts was issued on Tuesday. Our Constitution requires redistricting to happen once per decade to accommodate for changes in our state’s population and keep the number of constituents relatively even across Minnesota.
The 2020 census indicates Minnesota’s population is 5,706,494. That translates to a baseline constituency of 85,172 for our state’s 67 Senate districts and half that (42,586) for our 134 House districts.
Because shifts in population around the state are not uniform, some districts needed to shrink, and other boundaries needed to be expanded to add residents. I have represented District 13A during my first two terms in office and the new district in which I reside will still go by that same label, with additional square mileage to reach the target constituency total.
The short of it is the southern border of the new 13A still runs through Eden Valley and Watkins before dipping below Kimball over toward Clearwater. The district is bumped up to the north and west, adding the city of Albany and the townships of Avon, Farming and Krain. Zion Township and a portion of St. Joseph are ceded.
The thing I want to underscore is these new districts won’t take effect until next year. My focus will remain on doing my very best to represent the people of our current District 13A. The new legislative map changes nothing in terms of how I conduct my day-to-day business to help the people I represent.
I’m here and, yes, as always, your input is welcome so please let me know how I can help.
Changes in St. Paul
We are seeing signs of returning to business as normal at the Capitol with a couple of announcements issued this week. The State Office Building, which hosts House members’ offices in St. Paul, will reopen to the public on select days starting March 21 after being restricted the last two years amid COVID-19. In addition, the mask mandate has now been lifted for House members, staff, and the public in the House Chamber.
Sincerely,
Lisa