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Dear Neighbors,
With the State Fair over and school starting, summer is really starting to wind down. As we look towards fall, here’s an update on the conversations we continue to have on the rising costs of insulin, including upcoming community events we’ll be holding across the state.
Insulin Community Conversations
In the wake of another Minnesotan who died as a result of insulin rationing, and the refusal of GOP Senate leadership to address the rising cost of the drug, the DFL House held a bipartisan roundtable to address this crisis. Advocates and legislators came together to discuss what can be done to make sure another Minnesotan never again dies from a lack of insulin.
The Minnesota Legislature isn’t scheduled to return until February 2020, but this is an issue that deserves our attention immediately. We will be holding Community Conversations on Insulin and Prescription Drug Price Affordability throughout the state, with one taking place at Richfield City Hall on Thursday, September 19, at 6:30pm. I encourage anyone who has been impacted by the rising costs of insulin or prescription drugs to join us as we work towards the solutions that we need.
Back to School
I know many of you are just finishing up your first week of school. Whether you’re getting back into the groove of getting kids on the bus or sending them off for the first time, know that this year at the Legislature we fought hard to ensure that students across the state are getting the support they need. We invested more than $500 million in E-12 education over the next two years, and protected pre-K funding for over 4,000 of Minnesota’s youngest learners.
Thank you to Governor Walz and Education Commissioner Ricker for coming to Richfield this week to help see off students as we start the new school year! The future is bright for these students, especially with these champions of education in St. Paul.
State Fair Poll Results
Whether or not you were able to stop by the Minnesota House of Representatives booth at the State Fair, we were able to get some interesting results from the impartial poll that was conducted throughout the 12 days of festivities. Minnesotans from all across the state shared their thoughts on everything for background checks on firearms sales, to legalizing the recreational use of marijuana. Although this is not a scientific poll, more than 10,000 Minnesotans shared their feedback on a host of issues. You can take a look at some of the interesting results here.
You can find all of the results from this year’s poll here. If you’ve got questions or comments on these policy questions, feel free to contact me. Many of these issues could be taken up during next year’s legislative session, and I appreciate your input.
Sincerely,
Michael Howard
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