Memorial Day

This weekend we recognize Memorial Day and honor all those in uniform who laid down their lives to defend our freedom. I will be at a number of Memorial Day services in our community, and I hope to see many of you there.

News from St. Paul

The 2023 legislative session ended on Monday, after months of the House and Senate majorities passing overreaching and overspending bills that will make life harder and more expensive for Minnesotans.

After spending the entire $17.5 billion budget surplus, the majority passed a state budget that raises taxes by nearly $10 billion more, and spent that too. With Minnesota families dealing with inflation, rising gas prices, and increased cost of living, the state government should be finding ways to return the surplus to the people who paid it, and living within its means. Instead, they grew the budget by 40% - the largest budget increase in Minnesota history.

One of the few good things to come out of this session is that Republicans fought and won increased funding for our nursing homes. After proposing a budget that included less than 1% of its spending going to save our troubled nursing homes, Republicans stepped in to strike a late-session deal securing $300 million for nursing homes. I am hopeful that this funding will put the state's nursing homes on more solid ground and ensure they can care for our seniors the way they deserve.

News from District 23B

This week I met with the Mayor's group with community leaders to give a session update. I heard a lot of concerns about the many mandates and higher taxes facing our community.

I also welcomed 70 students from Blooming Prairie to the Capitol this week - thank you all for visiting!

Gideon Perez from Austin was named a 2023-2024 Fulbright Scholar and will spend time after graduation as a teaching assistant in Slovakia. This is an incredible accomplishment, and it's amazing to see former students doing big things after they leave here!

Southland Boys Golf finished second in the conference tournament, Girls Golf finished third, and Nick Edland finished in second place in the individual tournament! Southland's Clay Target team placed first in their conference, and Southland's girls softball team are the 2023 Southeast Conference champions! Congratulations to all of our Rebels and Lady Rebels who competed!

Blooming Prairie's trap team also finished first in their conference, with Madi Lea, Clare Rennie, and Claire Foster all finishing in the girls top 10, and Alec Wangen, Levi Denherder, Carter Bishop, and Alex Lea finishing in the boys top 10! Go, Awesome Blossoms!

Finally, we have an incredible third grader in Lyle who qualified to compete in the UNAA World Championships later this summer! Way to go Lillian!