Dear Neighbors,

As we pause to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation this weekend, the Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs is sponsoring a Virtual Memorial Day Program. TPT has created a 30-minute Memorial Day program entitled “Always Remember: A Minnesota Tribute to Veterans We’ve Lost,” that will be broadcast across the state on TPT’s Minnesota Channel on Monday at 7:30 p.m. and live streamed on TPT’s website. I hope you have a safe and relaxing Memorial Day weekend, and please take some time to remember our fallen soldiers.

Virtual Town Hall – Wednesday

Please join me this coming Wednesday at noon for a Virtual Town Hall Meeting to recap the recently concluded legislative session. We will meet using the videoconferencing platform Zoom, which you can download here. To join, you can click here just prior to the meeting getting underway. Everyone in the community is welcome to join us, and I look forward to answering your questions.

WHAT: Virtual Town Hall Meeting

WHO: Rep. Liz Olson, Duluth neighbors

WHEN: Wednesday, May 27; noon

WHERE: Zoom; meeting ID: 959 6919 9376, password: 136068

(To access the meeting by phone, call 312-626-6799 and enter the meeting ID and password when prompted).

Legislative Session Adjourns

Sunday night, the 2020 Minnesota Legislative session adjourned for the year. Overall, I’m proud that lawmakers worked together to quickly respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, with funding for public health, resources for health care workers, aid for child care, housing and food security measures, small business assistance and more. We also enacted some other important legislation such as the Alec Smith Emergency Insulin Act, the Prescription Drug Price Transparency Act, Tobacco 21 legislation to prevent youth smoking, and a bipartisan bill to protect the safety and security of elections.

Unfortunately, Republicans blocked other key priorities important to Minnesotans and their communities, including our Jobs and Local Projects Plan – which contained many critical projects in the city of Duluth, a measure to ensure hourly school employees receive compensation, housing assistance for renters and homeowners, loans for small and minority-owned businesses, and a wage increase for personal care attendants. All Minnesotans deserve economic security, and House DFLers and I remain committed to ensuring everyone has the opportunity to succeed and thrive, during this pandemic and beyond.

For up-to-date information about COVID-19 in the state of Minnesota, visit the COVID-19 Dashboard or the Minnesota House’s COVID-19 website. If I can be of any assistance, email me at rep.liz.olson@house.mn or call me at 651-296-4246.

Wishing wellness, safety, and good health to you and your family.

Sincerely,

Liz Olson
State Representative