Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Here is an update with the latest news from the Capitol.
In this Issue:
- Open Enrollment Begins
- MSFA Hearing
- High School Page Program
- High School Musical and Lutefisk Time - Community Events
- Peppin’s MinnTriv
Open Enrollment Begins
This week marked the beginning of open enrollment, and Minnesotans are seeing a more stable market this year due to reforms championed by House Republicans. Because of these reforms, Minnesotans who purchase their own insurance on the individual market saw an end to a four-year trend of double-digit premium increases. What’s more, premiums remained steady or went down for next year as we worked to make health care more accessible and affordable.
While there is still more work to be done to fix a health care system damaged by Obamacare and MNsure, this is a step in the right direction.
MSFA Hearing
This week, the State Government Finance Committee held a second oversight hearing on the Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority (MSFA), as they continue to look into the hiring of Monterrey Security at U.S. Bank Stadium. As you may recall, Monterrey was found to have hired security guards without background checks in addition to using questionable billing practices.
With thousands of Minnesotans attending games and events at U.S. Bank Stadium and an upcoming Super Bowl in February, we must be diligent to protect citizens and prevent security slips like this from happening again. We will continue to require transparency and accountability of MSFA actions.
High School Page Program
There is one month left to apply for the Minnesota House High School Page Program, so if you know a high school junior interested in state government and politics, encourage them to apply! Over the past forty years, the High School Page Program has offered a great, hands-on learning experience, providing students with the opportunity to learn more about how their state government works first-hand.
To apply, students will need to fill out the application, receive a faculty recommendation and craft an essay. All applications are due by December 1, 2017. You can learn more about the program and how to apply here.
Community Events
Fall brings with it plenty of fun things for the family. Best wishes to all middle and high school students who have been hard at work rehearsing for their fall musicals. Please consider supporting them by attending one or more of these great performances!
Maple Grove Middle School will present “The Little Mermaid Jr.” from Thursday, November 2-Saturday, November 4. Performances will be at 7:00 p.m. on November 2, 3, and 4th, and at 3:00 p.m. on November 4.
Osseo High School presents “Hairspray” as its fall musical. Performances will be November 10, 11, and 16-18 at 7:30 p.m. at the school, with a matinee performance on November 12 at 2:30 p.m.
Maple Grove High School presents “The Pajama Game” November 9-11 and 16-18. Performances will be at 7:00 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at seatyourself.biz/mgsh.
Advent Lutheran Church (9475 Jefferson Highway in Maple Grove) is holding its annual Lutefisk Dinner on Saturday, November 11. In addition to lutefisk, Swedish meatballs, potatoes and gravy, rutabagas, carrots, beets, cranberries, lefse and Swedish desserts will be on the menu. Serving times are 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.
Get your holiday shopping done at the Craft Show and Sale in Dayton on Saturday, December 3 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm at the Dayton Activity Center (18461 Dayton Street). There are a number of quality crafters and vendors who will be selling goods, so bring your friends and family! For more information contact Bernie Kemp at 612-964-3799.
Peppin’s MinnTriv
Thank you to everyone who participated in the last Peppin’s MinnTriv Question. The question was: Located in Minnesota, this is the largest professional dinner theater company in the United States. The answer is the Chanhassen Dinner Theater.
Congratulations to Todd Leyse from Maple Grove who is last week’s winner.
Here is this week’s question:
What is the Minnesota State Flower?
The FIFTH respondent with the correct answer will be featured in the next e-mail update!
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In order to best represent our communities, I need to hear from you, so please don’t hesitate to contact my office at any time. My direct line is 651-296-7806. My email address is rep.joyce.peppin@house.mn and my mailing address is Room 459 State Office Building, 100 Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard, St. Paul, MN 55155.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Sincerely,
Joyce
**Encourage your neighbors and friends to sign up for my email updates at www.house.mn/34A