Dear Neighbors,
I hope your summer has been enjoyable and provided many chances for memorable times with family and friends. Change is in the air, with the Minnesota State Fair having arrived and fall right around the corner. Here is an update from the State Capitol.
Take the Iron Range Broadband Communities survey
Ensuring that everyone on the Iron Range has access to high-speed internet is a top priority for me. In order to gather input from the community about current broadband availability, as well as the region’s future needs, the IRRRB’s Iron Range Broadband Communities effort is conducting a survey. This group is supported by a grant from the Blandin Foundation and along with many other local organizations is aiming to improve internet access for everyone in the area. Please take this survey, targeted to residents of the Hibbing, Mountain Iron–Buhl, and the Chisholm school districts and Cherry Township, to let the IRRRB know about your experience with broadband. Your opinion matters! Click here to take the survey. When you’ve taken it, but sure to share it with your friends and neighbors. Email it, text it, and share it on social media; we need as many people to take this as possible so maximum input is received.
Activities In and Around the District
This summer has provided me an excellent opportunity to tour the district and meet with many folks from the communities I’m privileged to represent. Here is a sample of some of the places I’ve had the chance to visit and groups with whom I’ve gotten to meet.
On August 10 I attended the meeting of the Western Mesabi Mine Planning Board. Here I heard about the status of the Hill Annex State Park, improvements to Highway 169, and broadband and other economic development initiatives. August 16th I met with MnDOT staff in Hibbing to discuss the status of various highway projects on the Range, specifically Highway 169 and access to the Calumet Fire Department. The Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) at UMD hosted an open house for legislators on August 19, which was a great chance to look at some of their innovative research strategies. They are doing wonderful work in the areas of invasive species, renewable energy, efficiencies in mining, and more.
August 21, the Iron Range Higher Education Committee met at Mesabi Range College in Virginia where we discussed the future of Iron Range Engineering. As we work to diversify our economy there is great potential to give young people opportunities in this field, and valuable research is moving forward to determine best practices to take advantage of this.
Finally, as a member of the Legislative Permanent School Fund Commission, I took part in tours last week of several school trust land sites. In addition to a meeting of the commission in Mountain Iron, we made several stops including at Kennecott Exploration in Tamarack and at MinnTac where we took a tour and saw a blast, video of which you can see here:
Have an Excellent School Year
With the Minnesota State Fair here and the winding down of summer, that means another thing: the start of another school year. Throughout our communities there are countless committed people, including teachers, parents, support staff, administrators and others who are set to hit the ground running - helping our young people learn skills, gain valuable life experiences, and reach academic success.
With a new school year means purchasing school supplies, and as we all know, this amount can add up quickly. Luckily, there is a tax benefit available for parents of K-12 students toward most of these supplies. Parents should remember to save receipts for these purchases to claim the tax credit or subtraction on their 2017 state income tax return. The Minnesota Department of Revenue has more information available here.
I wish the students in your family the best, and hope you will provide the encouragement they need to meet their full potential, reaching goals and achieving at a high level in the classroom and in all of their endeavors including athletics, arts, or other activities in school and in the community.
As always, I encourage you to stay in touch with me, and let me know your questions, feedback and ideas. Feel free to call or email me anytime.
Sincerely,
Julie Sandstede
State Representative