Dear John,

Well after another chaotic month in Washington, it was great to be back in Minnesota meeting with constituents and stakeholders all week!

I wanted to thank each and every one of you who attended Monday’s town hall – my 63rd since taking office. My town hall is one of the most important hours of my month. It allows me the opportunity to hear from all of you and answer your questions. So, I’m always grateful so many of you take the time to join.

The focus of this month’s town hall was public safety, and we were fortunate enough to be joined by Shakopee Police Chief Jeff Tate for a robust conversation on how we can support our law enforcement communities.

I learned a lot from our conversation, and I wanted to share some key takeaways with you all.

First, mental health investments make our communities safer – and that starts with taking care of the Minnesotans who sacrifice so much to take care of us: the law enforcement community.

Chief Tate shared a statistic that I believe emphasizes the importance of expanding mental health resources for law enforcement. An average person will witness 3 “critical incidents” – like a serious car accident or house fire – in their lifetime. A law enforcement officer is expected to witness an average of about 188 critical incidents over the course of their career. That is an extraordinary weight to bear – and we must do everything we can to make sure officers can process through these often-traumatic experiences with the care and time they deserve.

Last year, Chief Tate and I worked to bring home $80,000 in federal funding for mental health support for his department – and he used this funding to provide a training for his officers on the importance of nutrition, sleep, injury prevention and more. We need to expand grant opportunities like these to support our officers – both physically and mentally. And I’ll be working hard to make sure that happens.

Here's what else I was up to this week:

Visiting MASH Baseball Facility in Savage
My visit to the MASH Baseball Facility in Savage was a home run!

It was great to hear from local business owners about how I can work in Congress to ensure they get the support and resources they need to thrive.

Updating the Prior Lake City Council
On Tuesday, I joined the Prior Lake City Council to share an update on what I’ve been working on in Congress and hear more about how we can work together to bring your federal tax dollars back to Minnesota.

Connecting with Dakota County Mayors
On Wednesday, I met with mayors from across Dakota County to discuss how we can partner to secure common-sense investments to make the South Metro a better place to live and work.

Behind the scenes with Rep. Craig:

This week marks the end of Women’s History Month! I’ve had this book on my coffee table in my office for about a year now – and it shares the stories of the women who have helped pave the way for so many leaders in our country. It’s a reminder of all the work that has been done – and all the work that needs to be done to make sure women are given an equal shot at success in this country.

A 10/10 read, I will say!

That’s the end of this week’s update for you all.

Happy Easter and Passover to those observing.

Until next week,
 

Angie Craig

Member of Congress