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Sexton









Legislative Update

Greetings,

Happy Veterans Day!

As a fellow Veteran it is my honor to continue public service as part of our outstanding community! In the next couple of days, if you thank a veteran for their service, please consider thanking the veteran’s spouse and children. They served in so many ways and in so many far away places too. I know Jeanne and our two sons (who are both serving in the U.S. Air Force with their families) spent many holidays wondering where I was and what I was doing while deployed. Furthermore, many times, we did not know when we would redeploy back home. This is a difficult and stressful lifestyle for young families, and we all stuck together to take care of each other. Please consider helping the family of a National Guard or Reserve family in your neighborhood when a spouse is deployed. It seems like the car, the lawnmower, or the clothes washer only breaks when the service member is deployed, so your assistance can make a significant difference. Thank you!

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Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota

This is the season for legislative trips not only in our districts, but adjacent districts as well. Representative Keith Allen and I had the opportunity to visit the Children’s Museum of Southern Minnesota in Mankato on Monday. Fortunately, his daughter, Reese, accompanying us as our technical consultant. While we were touring the museum and listening to the museum staff, Reese checked out all the displays and confirmed they were a lot of fun! In addition, we learned about the museum’s plans to expand their facilities while making sure their exhibits remain dynamic in support of our local and extended community. With the change of seasons, it might be a great opportunity to explore the museum and keep your children and grandchildren active.

Sexton

"Representative Keith Allen, his daughter, me, and our hosts at the Mankato Children’s Museum"

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Southeastern Minnesota Capital Investment Committee Travel

The Capital Investment committee visited southeastern Minnesota on Wednesday and Thursday this week. Fortunately, this trip provided Senator Jasinski and I with the opportunity to push several bonding bills within our district including the ongoing Inflow and Infiltration (I & I) issue plaguing the City of Waseca. Through the bonding process, the City of Waseca requested $8.9M to accelerate the ongoing efforts to address the Inflow and Infiltration issue.

What is Inflow and Infiltration (I & I)?

In summary, the Waseca wastewater treatment facility becomes overwhelmed when stormwater, due to a heavy rain event, overwhelms the wastewater treatment facility. The storm water should not be entering the wastewater pipes. Stormwater (rainwater) is clean water and it should flow directly through the storm water pipes and into our lakes. Here the flow of the storm water slows down and eventually flows into the Mississippi River. Unfortunately, it is inadvertently entering the wastewater pipes and now must be treated along with the wastewater coming from our homes and businesses. In order to address these stormwater surge events at the wastewater facility, the City of Waseca must pump water from the wastewater pipes into the stormwater pipes to prevent wastewater from backing up into our homes and businesses. Next, the City of Waseca must close the local lakes, test the water for contamination levels, and notify the State of Minnesota. Neither option is acceptable. We do not want wastewater in our lakes and we do not want wastewater in our homes and businesses.

How do we fix this issue?

Since our fresh water, wastewater, and stormwater pipes are located under our local streets, the City of Waseca replaces these pipes every time a major road repair occurs. For example, the replacement of 8th Avenue NE in 2024 resulted in a significant increase in stormwater capacity. We can see the result in Clear Lake Park by the lack of standing water following a heavy rain event. The volleyball courts and surrounding area drains significantly better now and we know the storm water is no longer mixing with the wastewater and flowing to our wastewater treatment plant from this area.

In the smaller, neighborhood pipes, the City of Waseca is installing a lining to extend the life of the pipes and stop any infiltration or inflow from occurring. While expensive, this process is much less expensive and disruptive compared to completely closing each street, excavating and replacing each pipe, and restoring the street.

Thank you to our public servants in each of our communities who are working hard to maintain our aging infrastructure while trying to keep our services fully operational and keeping our taxes as low as possible.

Sexton

"Mr. Carl Sonnenberg, City Manager, explains Waseca’s Inflow and Infiltration challenges to the MN House of Representatives Capital Investment committee at Clear Lake Park. Mr. Sonnenberg’s experience is second to none! He’s worked on these and many other issues as a City of Waseca employee for over 40 years!"

Sexton

"Clay pipe, circa 1922, buried 30 feet underground and recently recovered during the 2nd Street NW road rehabilitation project."

Sexton

"Concrete pipe, circa 1985, recently recovered during the 2nd Street NW road rehabilitation project."

Sexton

"A replacement pipe example. This type of pipe is designed to seal significantly better and is now installed as part of the 2nd Street NW road rehabilitation project."

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Coffee with Tom

Please feel free to join me for Coffee with Tom at the Owatonna Chamber of Commerce on Friday, November 7th at the Owatonna Chamber of Commerce from 12:00pm-1:00pm.

Our next meeting in Waseca will be on Friday, November 14th at the Waseca Chamber of Commerce from 12:00pm-1:00pm.

Thank you for your support and feedback!

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I want to hear you

I am always here to listens to concerns or ideas of my constituents. I can be reached via email [email protected] or phone 651-296-5368. 

Tom Sexton Signature

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2828 Centennial Office Building
658 Cedar Street
St. Paul, MN 55155 [email protected]
651.296.5368







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