I want to start by thanking all the organizers and volunteers who made last weekend’s On The Road Again in South St. Paul another great success! It was great to see all of you out in community with our neighbors, and I’m already looking forward to next year’s event!
October is Farm to School month, a time to enjoy and celebrate local food in our schools, early care communities, and communities. I was glad to join the Departments of Education and Agriculture for the 2025 Apple Crunch event and celebrate funding in our 2025 Agriculture budget to feed kids with local food.
This year, more than $1.35 million is available to reimburse schools and childcare providers for purchasing Minnesota-grown and raised foods. It’s a big opportunity for K–12 schools, early care centers, and even family childcare providers who prepare meals from scratch and want to bring more local food to kids’ plates. Applications for these opportunities are open now and are due Thursday, October 23, at 4 p.m. Learn more and apply here on the MDA Website.
This week, the House’s Capital Investment Committee continued our tour of local communities to hear about their needs for bonding projects in Northeast Minnesota, from Ely to the Iron Range and stops between Duluth and Saint Paul. One highlight was our stop in Hibbing, where we visited the Hibbing Memorial Arena, which was built by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Work Progress Administration and Bob Dylan’s childhood home!
 We toured important infrastructure projects, like pump stations and wastewater infrastructure, as well as historic sites like the Split Rock Lighthouse and our state parks that define what Minnesotans love about going ‘up north’!
Calling all lake property owners and lake service provider businesses – the health of Minnesota waters depends on you! Invasive species threaten our local ecosystems, and you can take common-sense steps to protect our water from threats like zebra mussels and faucet snails.
As fishing, boating, and cabin season come to a close, remember to clean, drain, and dry (for at least 21 days!) docks, lifts and swim rafts to prevent the spread of invasive species when removing equipment for seasonal storage.
For more information on how you can help protect our waters from invasive species when moving shoreline equipment, visit the DNR’s website here.
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Please continue to share your questions, ideas, and feedback throughout the year. You can reach me by email at [email protected] or by phone at 651-296-6828.
For more regular updates, you can subscribe to these regular legislative updates if you haven’t already, here, and you can also “like” and follow my official State Representative Facebook page.
Sincerely,
Rick Hansen
State Representative
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