Dear Neighbors,
Happy Thanksgiving! I wish you a safe and peaceful holiday.
I am continuously grateful for my family, my friends, and our community. I am thankful for Minnesota’s strengths and for our opportunities for improvement. I honor the people who get up each and every day to serve our community:those who keep us safe and healthy, those who educate us, and those that provide vital services we sometimes overlook. I’m also deeply grateful for the trust you’ve placed in me to represent you – and the issues you care about – at the State Capitol.
Small Business Saturday
As we head into the holiday shopping season, I encourage you to participate in “
Small Business Saturday” (on this Saturday, November 28) by patronizing local businesses. In 2014, a total of $14.3 billion was spent across the U.S. at small independent businesses on this day.
Small businesses are a major generator in the engine that keeps Minnesota’s economy running. Our economic recovery is due in large part to the good, local jobs created by small businesses and the to the entrepreneurial, innovation-driving spirit they bring. When you purchase a product or service from a small business, a significantly larger portion of the money you spend stays right here in our local economy. Visit here to find participating small businesses in our area.
Met Council Equity Advisory Committee
Have you been looking for a way to help shape regional policies on transportation and transit, local planning, housing, environmental issues and more? The Metropolitan Council is seeking applicants for a newly created advisory board to help advance equity in the Twin Cities region.
The Equity Advisory Committee will is specifically focus on how the Council implements the equity commitments in
Thrive MSP 2040, the region’s long-range development plan.
The committee will have 21 members representing geographic districts to assure region-wide representation, as well as people from different races, incomes, abilities and backgrounds. It will include four sitting Council members.
State Capitol Artwork Feedback
How can the artwork featured in our State Capitol building better reflect Minnesota’s history and values? As you may know, the Minnesota State Capitol, originally opened in 1905, is currently closed to the public while it undergoes a top-to-bottom, three-year renovation(expected to wrap up in 2017.) The Art Subcommittee of the Capitol Preservation Commission is traveling around Minnesota to gather feedback about current art in the State Capitol and to invite ideas for new artworks for display.
Current Capitol artwork includes portraits of former governors, statues and busts of notable Minnesotans, and paintings depicting historical state events. But there are some concerning elements in some of this older artwork: lack of historical accuracy in certain paintings, too much focus on past governors alone (to the exclusion of other influential elected officials), and very little representation of the true diversity of gender, ethnicity, culture, and class that have built the state we are so grateful to live in.
I invite you to visit the
commission’s website, take their
brief survey to express your point of view, and view a complete inventory of the artwork most recently on display.
As always, feel free to contact me with your comments, concerns, and any issues that need my assistance.
Enjoy the holiday!
JoAnn Ward