 Dear Neighbors, Thank you to those who attended our town hall on September 23rd! We had a great conversation on all sorts of topics, including ranked choice voting, SROs, climate change, affordable housing, gun violence prevention, and more. If you couldn’t make it, I have another one coming up on 10/24 (see below). As we step into October, I'm excited to share some important updates and encourage you to reach out to me with any input or questions you might have. Driver’s License for All Takes Effect On October 1st, the new law we passed to provide driver’s licenses for all took effect. As a member of the Transportation Committee, this was one of the first bills we heard early in session. This always made sense to me from a public safety perspective. But listening to the 6+ hours of testimony on the bill, made me understand even better the personal toll not having a driver's license has had on families. This bill restores a privilege taken away two decades ago and ensures our undocumented neighbors are able to participate in society with the dignity they deserve. Without driver’s licenses, it’s difficult for tens of thousands of Minnesotans to reliably get to their jobs, school, and medical appointments. We all deserve to be safe when driving to work, dropping our kids off at school, picking up groceries, or going to the doctor. If you are one of the estimated 81,000 people in Minnesota who are now eligible for a driver’s license as part of Driver’s Licenses for All, be sure to have all of the required documents ready. You must have an appointment to apply - appointments are now available. Additional resources for translations into other languages are available with the virtual assistant. The driver's license manual is available in multiple languages on the Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) Forms/Documents/Manuals page. Recent Podcast AppearanceRecently I had the privilege to be on the Volts podcast, talking about some groundbreaking climate-smart transportation work we did in MN this past session. For those in the clean energy space, this is one of the most authoritative (though wonky) podcasts, so I was thrilled to be on it. The fact that host David Roberts recognized what we did was unique and nationally significant, was pretty cool. You can hear our conversation here. Town Hall Coming Up!On October 24th, I’ll be hosting a town hall at the St. Louis Park City Hall from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. to deliver updates from St. Paul, answer questions about the 2023 legislative session, share some of my priorities for next session, and discuss pretty much whatever you’d like to discuss. Please come if you can!  |