Dear neighbors,
It’s been another busy week here at the Capitol. Here’s a brief update on some of the things I’ve been working on:
State Flag Redesign
Two students from Mahtomedi High School testified in support of HF 505 yesterday morning. Thomas Atkins and Jack Kalkman inspired me to introduce this legislation and helped me advocate for it last year. Watch this clip from Almanac at the Capitol or this video from Almanac Wrap to hear them explain why we should create a task force to redesign the state flag.
You can listen to the presentation that Thomas and Jack gave yesterday here.
Forever Green Initiative
Current agricultural practices in urban and rural areas can pollute Minnesota’s lakes, rivers, and groundwater, causing health risks, environmental damage, and economic losses. The Forever Green Initiative, a partnership between the University of Minnesota and USDA, wants to change that by developing new crops that improve water and soil quality. New winter annual and perennial crops would lead to healthier water and soil and produce food, feed, and fuel products to boost the economy. I’m proud to be a co-author of HF 962, a proposal to invest in this important work. Learn more about the Forever Green Initiative at forevergreen.umn.edu.
MPCA Community Meeting
Last week I attended the first of two community meetings related to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency’s investigation of Water Gremlin. The MPCA and Minnesota Department of Health opened the meeting with presentations on what happened and health risks of TCE, the chemical emitted by the Water Gremlin plant, and then heard questions from residents.
Details for the next meeting are below. If you’re unable to attend, my colleague Rep. Ami Wazlawik shared the first meeting on Facebook Live. You can watch the presentations here, and the Q&A here. Coverage from WCCO is also available.
When: Thursday, March 7 from 6:30 to 9pm
Where: North Campus High School, 5045 Division Avenue, White Bear Lake, MN 55110
I recognize that this is a frustrating and stressful issue for many people in our community. Please feel free to share your questions and concerns. I’m available at 651-296-5363 and rep.peter.fischer@house.mn.
Sincerely,
Peter Fischer
State Representative