Dear Neighbors,
Here’s an update from another active week at the State Capitol.
Recent Town Hall
Thank you to everyone who attended my recent Virtual Town Hall and Community Conversation. I’m grateful for all the engagement and questions. We discussed a series of topics including the budget surplus, public safety, taxes, economic opportunity, financial literacy education, hemp development, the arts, support for seniors, and many others.
If you couldn’t join us, video is available for playback at any time on my Facebook page. Thanks also to Hibbing Public Access TV for broadcasting the event on cable and their streaming outlets. I plan to hold another similar event in April. Stay tuned for details!
New Boys and Girls Club in Hibbing
This week, the House Workforce and Business Development Committee considered my bill to invest $250,000 each of the next two years in the new Hibbing chapter of the Boys and Girls Club of the Northland. The funding will support the club’s afterschool and summer programming for area youth, including academic and career exploration opportunities.
Hibbing currently lacks any sort of meaningful afterschool programming for young people, and kids who age out of daycare in particular need options for supervised, valuable programming, and the new chapter of the club – set to launch this coming fall – will help fill that gap. We know the dangers for children when they’re bored and left on their own, including attraction to mindless or harmful activities we prefer they’d avoid. Positive, healthy programming, such as the academic and career exploration opportunities we’re funding under this legislation – led by mentors and role models in the community – is likely to lead to more positive outcomes for young people in the area. These investments would make a tremendous impact for students and families in and around Hibbing.
Thanks to Hibbing School Board member Kim McLaughlin, Greenhaven Elementary Principal Carrie McDonald, and Ruvarashe Tsoka, a Lead for Minnesota Fellow with the City of Hibbing – all Boys and Girls Club Advisory Members – for joining me to present the bill!
Drought Relief
The severe drought that began last spring has devastated Minnesota’s agriculture industry. Farmers had difficulty maintaining their crops and livestock producers had a tough time finding hay and forage. Agriculture is a major part of our state economy, but more important than that, we all count on farmers for plentiful, healthy food. Last week, the House approved a sizable drought relief package including grants, loans, and other direct relief for farmers with the funding targeted to small operations unable to access federal crop insurance. Snow is melting and the growing season is just around the corner, so it’s critical we deliver these resources soon.
The drought also hit Minnesota’s forests hard, with many trees and seedlings being destroyed. The bill also included $5.5 million to replace seedlings on DNR-managed lands that were killed by the drought and to help private forestland owners and tribal and county governments replace seedlings on their lands. Down the road, our state’s timber and forest products industries will experience the benefit from these investments.
Standing with Ukraine
The images from Ukraine have been heartbreaking to watch, with atrocities continuing as a result of Russia’s violent invasion. Just yesterday we learned of a native of the Iron Range – Jim Hill, originally of Eveleth – being killed as he was out trying to get food.
A bipartisan group of legislators from the House and Senate have introduced a bill to divest Minnesota’s state pension fund from Russia and codify Governor Walz’s Executive Order barring the state from contracting with Russian companies. Prior to the invasion of Ukraine, the estimated worth of Minnesota's state pension fund investments in Russia was approximately $53 million. The legislation will also sanction Belarus for its complicity in the Russian invasion.
In advancing this bill, Minnesota is joining numerous other democracies in a similar action. It’s important for Minnesota to do its part to stand with Ukraine and add to the international pressure that will hopefully soon lead to peace.
Keep in Touch
Please continue to contact me with your input, ideas, or if I can ever be of assistance. You can contact me by phone at 651-296-0172 or email at rep.julie.sandstede@house.mn. You can also follow me on Facebook. It’s an honor to represent you.
Together,
Julie Sandstede
State Representative