Hello from St. Paul,
As our first bill hearing deadline is approaching, we have begun to go later into the night in some committees in order to hear as many bills as we can.
One of those House committees is the House Capital Investment Committee. As this is a bonding year, the committee will be unveiling a proposal that will fund needed construction projects around the state in the coming weeks.
This week, I presented two of my bills before the committee. The first would tackle Forest Lake’s top priority and address a significant safety issue, as funding would be allocated to build a pedestrian bridge over Highway 97 next to the Forest Lake High School. MnDOT is scheduled to do a roundabout in this area, but it needs more money to do a pedestrian bridge, which is why this proposal is necessary.
My second proposal would upgrade Forest Lake’s wastewater treatment facility.
I’ll keep you posted on their progress.
GOOD NEWS FOR FARMERS
A popular state loan program could soon be available to farmers thanks to recent action taken by the Minnesota House of Representatives.
The House approved a proposal dedicating $50 million to the Rural Finance Authority (RFA) loan program, which ran out of funding on February 21. The RFA is Minnesota’s main agricultural lending arm. It partners with agricultural lenders to provide low-cost financing to farmers on terms and conditions not otherwise available from other credit sources.
The bill now heads to the Minnesota Senate for its approval.
LOCAL VISITORS
Christopher Stewart and Cam Stottler of North Lakes Academy Charter School recently visited.
It was also “FFA Day at the State Capitol” this week. I was pleased to meet with Forest Lake’s FFA students along with teacher Ann Tauzell.
Congratulations are in order for the Forest Lake boys Nordic ski team as they recently became state champions. Well done!
The Forest Lake wrestling team also continued its success at the state wrestling tournament, as 5 out of 7 wrestlers placed in the top 6, including Derrick Cardinal who won his 3rd consecutive state championship in the 126 pound class.
Tyler Raway placed 4th in the 160 pound class, Jeremy Vanacker placed 5th in the 106 pound class, Jacob Aho (113 pounds) and Dan Vanacker (132 pounds) each placed 6th, and Wyatt Nelson (170) and Pedro Castillo (220) also wrestled in the state tournament. Congratulations to all!
Have a good weekend,
Bob