Greetings Eastsiders, I hope you had an enjoyable summer! As we enter fall, I hope students, parents, and educators in our community are off to a good start to the new school year. During the legislative session, my DFL colleagues and I passed a K-12 Education budget with historic investments in students, families, schools, and staff. The budget ensures sustainable funding for Minnesota schools by increasing the general education formula, supporting student well-being, promoting equity and academic innovation, enhancing career pathways, and helping recruit more teachers from diverse backgrounds. Earlier in the session, we also made breakfast and lunch free for all students. All of these efforts aim to provide schools with stability and resources to help all students succeed. With these strong investments and continued community engagement, I’m confident students will have the opportunities they deserve to grow, develop, and achieve in the classroom. Daylighting Phalen Creek Next Saturday, September 30 from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m., you’re invited to join your neighbors for a Community Engagement Session about the Daylighting Phalen Creek design project. Since 1997, community members have been working to bring the connection of the creek to Lake Phalen back above ground, a process known as “daylighting.” Benefits of daylighting include improved water quality, improved local ecosystems, new aquatic habitat, better stormwater management, and opportunities to connect people to nature. The meeting will take place at the greenspace near Wheelock and Johnson Parkways, and in the case of rain, it will be held at the Phalen Recreation Center. Wakan Tipi Awanyankapi’s website has more information, renderings of the project, and a community survey. Other Local UpdatesThe City of Saint Paul is working to help people experiencing homelessness through the Homeless Assistance Response Team (HART). HART was created in 2021 to address the unprecedented rise in homeless encampments amid a regional crisis in affordable housing. The team works across city departments, service providers, and other government jurisdictions to reach vulnerable or unsheltered residents and identify their unique needs. HART’s weekly update provides a snapshot of homelessness in Saint Paul and their efforts to connect residents to shelter and other resources. I have the honor to chair the House Workforce Development Finance and Policy Committee, and in this role, I focus on creating opportunities for everyone to find meaningful, fulfilling job opportunities, including youth and BIPOC Minnesotans. Our state budget invested nearly $175 million in workforce programming, including funding for community organizations to train workers, prepare young people for jobs, and promote workforce development. I’ve had the opportunity to meet with organizations that received this funding earlier this summer, including the Sanneh Foundation and 30,000 Feet. I also got to meet with Matt Varilek, the new commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). I look forward to a strong partnership with the commissioner and his team as we work to achieve our shared goals to strengthen economic opportunities in our community and across the state. Capital Investment TourThis fall, the House Capital Investment Committee, of which I am a member, is touring our state to learn about proposed infrastructure projects all across Minnesota. This past legislative session, we passed the largest Capital Investment bill in state history, with $2.6 billion worth of investments in colleges and universities, transportation infrastructure, parks and trails, clean water facilities, economic development opportunities, and more. Under the leadership of our chair, Rep. Fue Lee, in recent years we’ve also taken a new focus on investing in underrepresented communities that have been largely left behind in previous Capital Investment packages. However, billions of dollars of unaddressed infrastructure needs remain, and the tour gives us an opportunity to learn more about potential projects to fund in the 2024 Capital Investment bill. Earlier this month, we visited sites in Northwest Minnesota, including communities like Moorhead, Red Lake Falls, Brainerd, Mahnomen, and Crookston. Next week we will travel to Northeast Minnesota, including stops in Duluth and on the Iron Range. Whether it’s taking care of assets communities already have or a vision for something new, it’s valuable to hear about how we can partner together to advance local and regional priorities. We can’t wait to see more of our state this fall when the tour will take us to the Southwest, Central, and Southeast regions of the state, along with visits throughout the Twin Cities metro area. |