Dear Neighbor,
Before we get to news from St. Paul, I want to invite District 12B residents to join Sen. Torrey Westrom and me during a series of town hall meetings we will co-host Friday, Feb.24. We can discuss state policies and field questions from constituents regarding a wide variety of issues from the current legislative session.
These informal meetings will last around 45 minutes. Here is the schedule:
- Glenwood: 9:30 – 10:15 a.m.; Community Room - Pope County Courthouse/Government Center (130 E. Minnesota Ave.)
- Sauk Centre: 11:00 – 11:45 a.m.; City Council Chambers, City Hall (320 Oak St. S.)
- Melrose: 12:15 – 1 p.m.; Meeting Room A, Melrose City Center (225 1st St. N.E.)
As for this week at the House, a bill I authored to extend the tractor rollover program in Minnesota by another year passed through its first committee meeting. Legislation I successfully authored last year allocated funding for the Minnesota Department of Agriculture to start the program, which helps farmers with the financial cost of adding roll bar protection to older tractors.
The program was a highly successful public-private partnership, with 226 kits approved. I have heard from people in District 12B who have participated in the program, including one farmer from north of Elrosa. Funding is pretty well gone, so my bill would extend it with another $150,000 this year. MDA again will be seeking private donations from some of our outstanding Minnesota companies to help defray the costs of helping make tractors safer.
Another bill I am authoring would extend the life of a commission that is researching the development of a livestock research educational facility at the U of M. I mentioned this topic in a recent email, but the project is the product of a bill I championed five years ago, starting with the establishment of a commission to guide the process. A location on the U of M’s St. Paul campus has been established and efforts continue to raise money from the private sector. The commission in charge of this initiative currently is set to expire this coming Aug. 1, but my bill pushes that out to 2020 so they can keep working on this project.
Look for more from St. Paul soon and, again, I hope you can join Sen. Westrom and me during our town hall swing through the district.
Sincerely,
Paul