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Dear Granite City Neighbors,?
The weather outside may be snowy and cold, but the action at the Capitol has been hot and active! Last week saw our first and second bill deadlines, meaning that the bills that did not make it through the appropriate House and Senate Committees by last Friday are not moving forward this session. It was an intense week, but I?m proud to report that good bills are advancing that will make a real difference for us here in St. Cloud, and for Minnesotans across the state!
Here?s your weekly update from the Capitol:
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*St. Cloud comes to the Capitol*
Whenever I get the chance, I always jump at the opportunity to bring my legislative colleagues up to St. Cloud, which I?ve been able to do for several committee tours, town halls, retreats, and community events. It?s always a blast to show off our neck of the woods and provide other legislators with first-hand experiences in our district.
During the legislative session, while some of my colleagues still make the trip - like our ?Sambusas with the Speaker? event earlier this month - opportunities to drive up 94 are a little more difficult to get on the schedule. Sometimes, like last week, you just gotta bring St. Cloud to the Capitol.?
I partnered with my fellow St. Cloud House member, Rep. Bernie Perryman, to invite my House colleagues to meet with business leaders and local officials to highlight our community and advocate for our needs. I?m so honored to have such an active and engaged constituency, with all of us coming together to show off the best St. Cloud has to offer.
St. Cloud Day
Thank you to everyone who attended the St. Cloud Area Evening at the Capitol!
If that wasn?t enough, it was also Jonnie and Bennie Day at the Capitol on Tuesday! As a CSB/SJU alumnus, I really enjoyed speaking to students and President Brian Bruess, who I?m working with on the Promise Equalization Act to provide $13.9M in scholarships for 13,330 students attending nonprofit colleges.
Having my alma mater at that Capitol this week was yet another proud opportunity to show off the best of what Central Minnesota has to offer our state.
CSB/SJU
It wouldn?t be Johnnie Bennie Day without a delicious loaf of Johnnie Bread!
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*?From the Capitol? Radio Interview*
Be sure to tune in to WJON every Wednesday at 10:40am, when I join Kelly Cordes to discuss the latest legislative news. For our latest episode, we recapped St. Cloud day at the Capitol, my legislation to support 911 dispatchers, and last week?s important legislative deadlines.?
You can catch our conversation below:
From the Capitol [ [link removed] ]
Tune in every week to hear us live on WJON, Wednesdays at 10:40am.
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*Feeding Our Students*
This month, the House passed legislation [ [link removed] ] to adjust state formula-funded programs to match the updated February 2024 budget forecast. The biggest changes in this bill are related to the overwhelming popularity of universal school breakfast and lunch programs which we enacted last year. Participation in the universal school meals program surpassed the initially anticipated increase by more than 20%. I?m happy to say this bill passed with unanimous support.?
USDA Food and Nutrition Service Administrator Cindy Long came to Minnesota to celebrate the 4.3 million "more" breakfasts and 4.5 million "more" lunches that were served to Minnesota students last fall than in the same period in 2022. I know we?re taking advantage of it in the Wolgamott household!
School Lunches
MPR had a great story about the success of this program that you can read here [ [link removed] ].
But we?re not stopping there when it comes to feeding Minnesota?s students. You can?t learn on an empty stomach, at any age, which is why I?m co-authoring legislation [ [link removed] ] to open up SNAP eligibility for students enrolled in higher education.
According to Students United [ [link removed] ], over 25% of Minnesota students enrolled in higher education programs are food insecure. While SNAP is the primary mechanism for addressing food insecurity, it is very difficult for students to qualify. In 2021, Congress passed two temporary exemptions to expand postsecondary student access to SNAP during COVID.?
Students with work-study and a family contribution of zero dollars on the FAFSA became SNAP eligible. However, once the public health emergency expired, the federal work requirements kicked back in, basically eliminating SNAP as an option for full-time students. Our bill would fix that.?
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*Stay Connected*
Bundle up and drive safe if you?re heading out during this storm! As always, I hope you?ll reach out with any questions, comments, concerns, or ideas you have regarding my work in the Minnesota House. Feel free to email me at
[email protected] or give my office a call at 651-296-6612.
You can also stay up to date by following my official Facebook page [ [link removed] ], subscribing to these regular email updates [ [link removed] ] if you haven?t already, and checking my legislative webpage [ [link removed] ] for the latest information from my office.?
Have a wonderful week!
Sincerely,?
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Rep. Dan Wolgamott
Speaker Pro Tempore
District 14B
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