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Dear Neighbor,
We had a special and important event in the Legislature to kick off this week, and the House is back to a tie. Here’s a quick update.
Minnesota Legislature hosts Sovereignty Day
On Monday, the Minnesota Senate and Minnesota House of Representatives held Sovereignty Day at the State Capitol. It was a day of learning, conversation, understanding, and most importantly, strengthening government-to-government relations between the legislature and the Tribal Nations within Minnesota. Legislators were joined by the Tribal governments of the 11 sovereign Tribal Nations within the boundaries of Minnesota, Governor Tim Walz, Senator Tina Smith, and policy experts from the State of Minnesota and the Tribal Nations. The agenda for the day and topics discussed were decided with direct input from the sovereign Tribal Nations, MN Tribal-State Relations Training staff, the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council and others.
The Minnesota House held the first Sovereignty Day in 2019. Members of the House participated in Tribal-State Relations Training in October 2021 hosted by the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa. The House and Senate hosted the second Sovereignty Day in 2023 and participated in joint Tribal-State Relations Training in October 2023 hosted by the Prairie Island Indian Community.
Educating members and legislative staff is critical to the work that we do together and to respecting Tribal sovereignty. We have enjoyed a lot of policy successes in recent years, but we know there is more work ahead of us. I’m deeply grateful to Minnesota’s Tribal leaders, and I look forward to our continued partnership and collaboration this session.
You can read more about Sovereignty Day in this story from Minnesota Public Radio.
 State and Tribal leaders participating in Sovereignty Day.
 Speaking with Red Lake Nation Chairman Darrell Seki, Sr.
 Speaking at Sovereignty Day.
Minnesota House of Representatives back to a 67-67 tie
On Monday, state Representative David Gottfried was sworn in, moving the Minnesota House of Representatives back to a 67-67 tie. This means the previously negotiated power-sharing agreement will be in effect for the remainder of the 2025-2026 term.
Nearly all House committees are now co-chaired by Democrats and Republicans, with equal numbers of members from both parties.
While Republicans spent the last month focusing on divisive political stunts instead of solutions to real problems people are facing, DFL committee co-chairs are beginning to hold hearings on things like making life more affordable and protecting people from the Trump administration’s chaos, cruelty, and incompetence. Minnesotans want us to fix our broken economic system where corporations and billionaires do better than ever while hardworking Minnesotans live paycheck to paycheck. We hope our Republican colleagues will work with us to build a future where everyone can get ahead, not just the wealthy and a powerful few.
House committees will rotate gavels, with DFL and Republican co-chairs setting their respective agendas and deciding which bills to hear. More information about committee membership and schedules can be found at www.house.mn.gov/committees.
Puppy Day at the Capitol
This week, the Animal Humane Society hosted their 8th annual Puppy Day at the Capitol. In my opinion, every day should be Puppy Day (and I think we could get plenty of bipartisan support for that)! Thank you to the Humane Society for bringing a bit of cuteness and snuggles to the Capitol.
As always, please contact me anytime with your input. You can reach me at 651-296-4280 or [email protected]. You can also keep up with what’s happening at the Capitol by liking my legislative Facebook page. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Melissa Hortman
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