Last week was another busy week at the Capitol, packed full of committee meetings, constituent visits, and long House Floor hearings.

In Health Finance and Policy, we heard an overview of the Fairview/Sanford merger, with testimony from representatives of the companies, the University of Minnesota, the Minnesota Nurses Association, as well as Attorney General Keith Ellison. In Human services, we heard a lot about long term care and disability services, along with bills to increase payments for both.

In addition to hearings in committee and on the House floor, last week I welcomed several constituents to my office in St. Paul! Representative John Burkel, Senator Mark Johnson, and myself welcomed representatives from MnSCU and Northland Community and Technical College (photo at top) to talk about budget details and how things are going at Minnesota's two-year public colleges.

I also talked about broadband with local representatives from Garden Valley Telephone Company and Wiktel (photo above), and discussed electricity with Northern Municipal Power Association members Lucas Spaeth, Dalene Monsebraten, and Halstad Mayor Darin Johnson (photo below).

As always, if you are visiting St. Paul from our area, please don't hesitate to stop by to discuss your thoughts on the issues coming before the Legislature!