Dear Neighbors, The 2024 legislative session has come to a close, ending my first two years serving as your representative. Throughout the highs and lows, I did my best to never lose sight of what I was sent to St. Paul to do. Despite our shared victories and the disappointments that come with serving in the legislative minority, I knew that at the end of the day, I fought hard to make sure the priorities of you, your family, and our Lakeville community were heard loud and clear at the legislature. Thank you so much for your support during this journey. The phone calls, emails, coffee meetings, conversations at the grocery store, and more—all these interactions helped guide my decision-making these last two years. I hope that I’ve been able to maintain and build on the trust you placed in me to serve you and your family. As I look back on the last two years and what I’ve learned, it’s clear to me that balance is needed in St. Paul. Minnesotans expect lawmakers to roll up their sleeves and work together on solutions that make Minnesota a better place for us all. One-party-control of St. Paul has fostered a culture of “my way or the highway” legislating that has shut down compromise. The end of the 2024 session perfectly illustrated what’s been so wrong with St. Paul. In the final 30 minutes, before the midnight deadline to pass bills, the House and Senate majority rolled dozens of unrelated bills into a 1,400-page omnibus bill and passed it without any debate. They shut down the voices of the minority through procedural motions and approved the bill on a party-line vote without any members having physical copies of the bill to review. This sort of chaos is not what Minnesotans sent us here to do. As lawmakers, we must reject this type of lawmaking. Reject the dysfunction and instead pursue statesmanship. Let’s listen, learn, lead, and work together to find solutions to the challenges facing our state and communities. That approach to lawmaking is what I’ve tried to do. By reaching out a helping hand and forging relationships with others, I’ve had the opportunity to effectively impact important legislation like the School Resource Officer fix, requiring reporting data related to carjackings, securing funding for the FiRST Center in Lakeville, and reaching across the aisle to help improve the straw purchasing bill in the wake of the Burnsville tragedy. Looking ahead, I am so glad that I will be able to spend more time back home in Lakeville. I look forward to seeing many of you out and about this summer, especially at Pan-O-Prog! Please do not hesitate to say “hi” if you see me at an event or around town. It would be great to chat with you and learn more about the things that matter most to you and your family. School VisitThank you to the group of students and teachers from Christian Heritage Academy in Lakeville for visiting the capitol recently. It was great to meet with you and share some of my day with you all!  |