Dear Neighbor,
For starters today, let’s congratulate Anoka’s Eli Paulson for winning the Class AAA wrestling championship at 145 pounds. Way to carry on the family tradition, Eli! Also, good luck to the Andover boys hockey team in the state tournament semifinals tonight (8 p.m. vs. Minnetonka) after notching a big win against Lakeville South last night.
As for notes from the Capitol:
House approves Andover water funding
The Minnesota House on Monday provided broad, bipartisan approval of legislation featuring $6.1 million to mitigate the cancer-causing chemical dioxane found in private drinking water wells in the Red Oaks neighborhood of Andover.
Funding for this Andover project was provided in a bill I authored this session. It actually was the first bill I introduced as a House member and the proposal ultimately was included in a larger package of infrastructure appropriations using cash from the state’s $17.5 billion surplus.
I am thankful for the House passing this overdue funding to help people who have been without safe well water the last year and a half and had to rely on using bottled water in their own homes. Regardless, there is still a long road ahead for these people whose wells are contaminated, and I hope the fact this was a cash bill will speed up the process compared with waiting for bonds to be let in a traditional bonding bill.
The funding will allow Andover to address properties with currently contaminated wells through the design and construction of new municipal water mains. Additional Red Oaks properties are being monitored for contamination and further funding could be necessary to address those as well pending continued testing. I will continue to be vigilant and assess the needs of people in this part of our district. We’ll keep an eye on things and respond accordingly.
The bill (H.F. 670) passed the House 98-36. It now is in the hands of the Senate, which I urge to provide quick approval so the governor can enact this bill so we can fix this local problem as soon as possible.
Town hall recap
Thank you to everyone who attended the town hall meeting I co-hosted with fellow legislators from the area last weekend in Ham Lake. It was an extremely friendly group and a productive discussion on numerous topics. The feedback we received is very helpful and will serve us well as we continue doing our best to represent our constituents. If you were unable to attend, I always welcome your feedback via email to the address on this page.
Where is public safety?
Public safety was a major point of discussion for legislators and prospective legislators alike last summer. Now that we are at the midpoint of the 2023 session, it is disappointing to see nothing of substance has been accomplished to combat abnormally high rates of violent crime in the metro area and beyond. The House majority has seemed more focused on reducing punishment for criminals than cracking down on violent crime and stopping repeat offenders. Look for more on this subject soon.
Meanwhile, House Republicans have assembled a Safe and Sound Minnesota plan that focuses on confronting crime, supporting law enforcement, and increasing transparency in our court system to help close the revolving door for repeat offenders. Watch for more on this developing issue in an upcoming newsletter.
Until next time, have a good weekend and please stay in touch.
Sincerely,
