Legislative Update
Friends and Neighbors,
We hit the ground running on Monday with an urgency declared on the School Resource Officer fix in an attempt to bring it before the floor. This procedural motion would have allowed the House to take up this important legislation and accompanying amendment to get SROs back in schools across the state.
We heard from Representative Jeff Witte, a former resource officer, on the important role these men and women play in the development of young students and the safety of the learning environment. He shared how students looked to him to keep school safe and how those relationships helped to put some students on a better path to happy successful lives rather than repeating behaviors that would have been damaging to their futures. He is a great example of the important work these officers do every day and why we must get them back in schools as soon as possible.
With 27 years of experience in law enforcement and as a former DARE officer I understand the importance of having officers in school to build these relationships with students and provide for the safety of our students and teachers. It is critical that we get the resource officers back in schools to provide this essential service.
Unfortunately, the motion failed on a party-line vote. Throughout the week we have continued to bring up the lack of bi-partisan cooperation on this important legislation. Hopefully, some negotiations over the weekend will provide some improvements in the bill and get us closer to this much-needed fix.
Gray Wolf Update
Delisting of the Gray Wolf continues to be at the top of people?s minds following a mediocre deer season. I?ve heard numerous stories of wolf sightings on trail cameras and running deer out of their usual grounds which lead to the weak hunting season. While this does fall under federal oversight, luckily our congressional delegation has been vocal in their support of delisting these wolves so that agriculturalists and hunters would once again be free to protect their land and animals.
Get Involved
The most important solution for the future of Minnesota is for everyone to get involved and make their voice heard. As we saw last year, when Minnesotans show up and make their voice heard we can force some decisions on the single-party controlled legislature and governor. Some upcoming ways you can get involved are precinct caucuses on February 27th and the presidential primary on March 5th. You can find your caucus location here and your presidential primary location here.
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