ST. PAUL – Governor Mark Dayton delivered his State of the State address to Minnesota Legislators this evening on the campus of the University of Minnesota. Governor Dayton emphasized the strong fiscal health of Minnesota’s budget and reiterated his desire to see the $900 million budget surplus used for strong investments in Minnesota’s roads, bridges, and broadband internet infrastructure to continue economic growth, and investments in students from pre-kindergarten to college.
“Tonight Governor Dayton was standing up for ordinary Minnesotans,” said Rep. Erik Simonson (DFL – Duluth). “Ordinary Minnesotans are looking for ways to improve early childhood education for their kids, they’re looking for affordable strategies to keep our water clean, and they are searching for ways to get ahead. We have a budget surplus that allows us to get started on a lot of the things Governor Dayton was pushing tonight – broadband infrastructure, early childhood scholarships, a college tuition freeze, and middle class tax cuts – but we don’t have money to give tax cuts to big business while families in our state are going hungry tonight, and I agree with Governor Dayton’s call to pass unemployment extensions immediately for Iron Range families. He’s called on us to act and I think we need to listen.”
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