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Legislative Update
Greetings,
As I rose early this morning to wrap up this letter, I noticed the temperature outside is -17° Fahrenheit. Please be careful! Please take extra precautions as you travel! Carry extra clothing, phone chargers, etc.
Thank you to our community leaders who are opening churches and other facilities as emergency shelters!
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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration
Thank you to the Owatonna Human Rights Commission for sponsoring a very well attended event for MLK Day. Guest speakers included Mayor Matt Jessop and community members Sarah Sanchez, Whitney Harvey, Martha Sykes, and Gospel Kordah. As your representative in St. Paul, I always want to listen first and engage in a productive conversation about the celebrations and concerns within our community. Then, I can faithfully carry your message to St. Paul. Thank you to the dedicated members of the Human Rights Commission and the guest speakers for organizing and participating in a great event.
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MN Ag Expo
It’s a busy week for important events and the Minnesota Ag Expo is just one of the many I attended. During the legislative forum, my key take aways included the following key topics. First, ensuring the Beginning Farmer Grant and Beginning Farmer Loan programs remain fully funded. As I have spoken about our budget challenges, ensuring funding for these programs should be a bipartisan issue. In addition, we should be strongly supporting Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) as a low carbon alternative to petroleum energy sources. Why focus on SAF compared to electrification of aircraft? The energy density of liquid fuels is far greater compared to battery powered alternatives. In addition, the weight-to-energy ratio of liquid fuels is far superior to our current battery technology. Remember, battery functionality degrades significantly in a cold environment and high-altitude flight is a very cold environment. Thus, sustainable aviation fuel alternatives will be a long-term opportunity for Minnesota farmers to contribute to reducing emissions and sustaining our ability to independently create our own energy sources. These are just a small sample of the key topics discussed during the Priorities for Agriculture in the 2026 MN Legislative session. Thank you for having me!
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March for Life
Yesterday was definitely one of the coldest March for Life events in recent history. However, we are Minnesotans! We know how to dress for the cold weather, and we turned out to defend the unborn. Of particular note was the keynote address from Rev. Brook Parker-Bello, PhD. She described her personal experiences as a survivor of human trafficking starting in her early teens and the continued exploitation of young women still occurring in our society today. Jeanne and I were grateful for the opportunity to participate in this event and reflect on the importance of stopping human trafficking. As legislators, we have much to do as we attempt to address all these issues.
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County, City Council, Township, and other local meetings
As we continue to kickoff the new year, I am attending as many of our county, city council, and township meetings as possible. As you might imagine, many of these meetings occur at the same time and on the same dates as other important meetings. Thus, I always appreciate your input via a phone call or email highlighting upcoming events and important discussion topics scheduled for a particular meeting. Our local leaders do a superb job of supporting our region and our constituents, so I want to attend these meetings to better understand each issue and support our communities in conjunction with their leadership.
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Coffee with Tom
Please feel free to join me for Coffee with Tom in Owatonna on Friday, February 6th at the Owatonna Chamber of Commerce building from 12:00pm-1:00pm.
Our next Coffee with Tom meeting in Waseca will be on Friday, February 13th at the Waseca Chamber of Commerce from 12:00pm-1:00pm.
The 2026 Legislative session will begin on Tuesday, February 17th at 12:00pm in the State Capitol House Chambers.
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.
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 If you would like to contact Rep. Sexton, DO NOT reply to this email. Please reach out directly to [email protected].
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2828 Centennial Office Building
658 Cedar Street
St. Paul, MN 55155 [email protected]
651.296.5368 |
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