Dear Friend,
The legislative session is well underway and we’ve seen many proposals put forward by the legislative bodies and the Governor. Recently the Northfield News published a guest column from me on those proposals. Also, the Le Center Leader published an earlier column on the start of the session, which can be found here.
I do weekly radio interviews on Wednesday mornings with Jeff Johnson on AM 1080, you can find the previous interviews here: 1-7-15, 1-14-15, 1-21-15, 1-28-15 and 2-4-15.
State Rail Plan
Last week MnDot briefed local governments on the State Rail Plan. I was encouraged that many people came out to voice support for Inter-City Passenger Rail Line between Northfield and the Twin Cities. MnDot has extended the comment period to February 10, 2015. I encourage you to take a minute or two to comment and tell them you support this project. You can learn more about the project and comment here.
Tax Season
We're now two weeks into tax filing season. The Minnesota Department of Revenue has a wealth of information on free tax software, how to reduce errors through e-filing and how to get your refund faster by choosing direct deposit.
Can You Serve Your State?
The Minnesota Secretary of State keeps a list of all open commissions and appointments. It’s easy to apply and you can help Minnesota by putting your knowledge to work for your fellow citizen. Current vacancies include seats on the boards that oversee issues related to pharmacists, disabled Minnesotans, the arts, Indian families, children’s mental health and education. You can find out more here: Open Commissions and Appointments.
Recent and Upcoming Meetings
Lastly, there are two recent meetings I’ve attended and a meeting tomorrow I wanted to make you aware of.
Last month I participated in a Beyond the Yellow Ribbon planning meeting with local officials, community partners and interested citizens. We’re working to establish and sustain a local Yellow Ribbon Network to meet the needs of service members, veterans and military families. I’ll keep you updated as we continue to work to establish this network. The next public meeting is scheduled for March 2, 2015.
Last night I visited with officials from the Tri-City United School District, Sen. Dahle and Rep. Vogel. Their top two legislative priorities are to increase the funding on the formula and Sen. Dahle’s legislation allowing them to meet funding deficiencies (maintenance and repairs) via operating levy as 28 other districts currently can. I enjoyed meeting with them and both of my legislative colleagues.
Tomorrow I’ll be joining the Land Stewardship Project and Clean Up the River Environment for a roundtable discussion and action planning session. I’ve been invited to join this discussion as a result of an Op-Ed that was printed across the state on supporting real, family driven agriculture in Minnesota. You can read the article here and find out more about the event here.
As always, please feel free to contact me with any thoughts, concerns or comments you have. In addition to e-mail, I can be reached at 651-296-0171.
Sincerely,
David