Dear neighbor,
I hope you had a great Valentine’s Day weekend! In this edition of the Peppin Report:
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Pay Raises for Political Appointees
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Meeting with the Minnesota I-94 West Corridor Coalition
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Tour of Waconia
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Upcoming Rogers Listening Session
1) Pay Raises for Political Appointees
News recently broke that Governor Dayton approved pay raises for members of his Cabinet. Objections were raised not only by Republicans, but by Democrats in the state senate. The governor’s political appointees got anywhere between a 19% increase to as high as 58%. Top commissioners received a $35,000 increase. The chairman of the Met Council got an increase of $83,577 from the previous year’s salary. With most of these positions already paid a six-figure salary at the public expense, such significant increases were not warranted. Currently, the legislature is looking at ways to scale back these raises.
2) Meeting with the Minnesota I-94 West Corridor Coalition
Thank you to the members of the Minnesota I-94 West Corridor Coalition who came to my office to discuss transportation issues. This group is at the front lines working on necessary transportation improvements in our region. Their success is in part due to the hard work of city staff from the member cities, as well as the dedication and commitment of the I-94 West Chamber members and staff who give of their time to serve as true citizen lobbyists. Thank you for your continued advocacy for our region!
3) Tour of Waconia
Last Friday I had the privilege of touring Ridgeview Medical Center and a couple small businesses in Waconia with first-term Rep. Jim Nash (R-Waconia) and Waconia Mayor Jim Sanborn. I was impressed by the world-class care and services that Ridgeview provides. Thank you to Robert Stevens, President and CEO of Ridgeview Medical Center, for the presentation and tour!
Later, Rep. Nash and I went to J. Carver Distillery to listen to the concerns of those with small businesses in the brewery, distillery, and wine-making field. The legislature can certainly do more to ease the regulation and licensing rules for these small businesses so they can thrive, grow, and hire more people.
Our final stop of the day was at Mocha Monkey, a popular locally-owned coffee shop. In March of 2014, it was named WCCO’s Viewer’s Choice for Minnesota’s Best Coffeehouse. The coffee was fantastic and I enjoyed the unique hand-crafted mugs. The owner of Mocha Monkey, who purchased the store while he was still in college, expressed some concerns with the Met Council billing him even though Carver County doesn’t receive most of their services.
4) Upcoming Rogers Listening Session
Senator Warren Limmer and I will be co-hosting a listening session this Saturday in Rogers from 9:30 to 10:30 in the morning in the Rogers Community Room (21201 Memorial Drive, Rogers, MN 55374). I’m eager to get your thoughts, comments, and concerns regarding the legislative session.
As always, I welcome your emails, calls and visits. In order to best represent our communities, I need to hear from you, so please don’t hesitate to contact my office at any time.
My direct line is 651-296-7806. My email address is rep.joyce.peppin@house.mn and my mailing address is Room 459 State Office Building, 100 Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard, St. Paul, MN 55155
Have a wonderful week,
Joyce
**Encourage your neighbors and friends to sign up for my email updates at www.house.mn/34A