Hello from the State Capitol,
As other states move forward on lifting COVID restrictions and planning for a return to some form of normal living, Governor Walz has yet to come forward with an outlook of any kind, though he has announced he may turn back the dials later this week.
There is no doubt that even though Minnesota is among the nationwide leaders for vaccinations, the virus has not been eradicated and is still very dangerous. That said, Minnesota is well past the emergency state of this pandemic, and the governor should present a plan to Minnesotans that sets a target date of when capacity limits and other COVID restrictions can be lifted.
This should not be controversial. Even California and New York have established target dates and Connecticut lifted its capacity limits in March. Florida has removed all of its remaining COVID restrictions.
The governor clearly has a plan in place, but has yet to share it publicly. He recently said he expects the Minnesota State Fair to be pretty close to normal this year. That’s an event that can see 100,000 people in a day. If you’re going to allow even a fraction of that amount to walk through the turnstiles every day, you’ve come to the realization that Minnesota is no longer facing an emergency.
So what is the plan? What is the target date? It’s time for the governor to let Minnesotans know where we’re headed.
HOUSE MAJORITY STILL SET ON TAX INCREASES
With less than two weeks left before the Minnesota Legislature is constitutionally required to end session, we still have not finalized what was lawmakers’ top task: completing our state’s next two-year budget.
What’s standing in the way? Partisan games.
You’ll recall that despite bipartisan opposition, the Minnesota House DFL majority approved – by one vote – a billion-dollar tax hike. It also approved a proposal that would raise taxes and fees on gasoline, license tabs and others, impacting Main Street businesses and middle-class Minnesotans. The Minnesota Senate has stated it will not accept any tax increase this session, which is sensible considering Minnesota has a $1.6 billion budget surplus and billions more coming from Washington through federal aid.
Yet the House majority is standing firm, refusing to take tax increases off the table.
Minnesota does not need any more of your money, but what it does need is for the House majority to end its insistence on tax increases being part of budget negotiations. Tax increases will not become law this session, and the sooner the House majority realizes this, the sooner we can get to work on a budget and finish session on time.
OUT AND ABOUT….
Last Friday, I was honored to have been asked to throw out the first pitch for the Hastings Hawks season opener at Veterans Field in Hastings.
It was a perfect spring evening for baseball. Thankfully, the only thing I threw out was the ball.
Have a son or daughter interested in becoming a police officer? Then Cottage Grove Police may have a program for you. Its Police Explorer program is a great opportunity for those interested in a law enforcement career to gain valuable experience. Explorers train weekly (from burglary response to first aid to hostage negotiations), compete against other agencies and engage with community members. Applicants must be between 14 and 20 years old and be a resident of Cottage Grove, or a Park High School student/graduate. For more information email Ofc. Strehlo at jstrehlo@cottagegrovemn.gov.
To all our mothers out there, have a Happy Mother’s Day weekend!
Talk to you soon,
Tony