Hello from the State Capitol,
I am always grateful for strong agricultural voices at the Capitol. I’d like to thank Jake Wildman for taking the time to testify on HF 3236 and for bringing a real-world, farmer’s perspective to the conversation. Hearing directly from those working the land every day matters, and it makes this process better.
I’m proud to carry HF 3236 and to advocate for farmers who are asking for something simple: practical, science-based agricultural policy that actually works on the ground. This bill is about providing certainty—so farmers can plan, invest, and make decisions with confidence instead of navigating shifting expectations.
It also takes a thoughtful approach to cover crops, recognizing both their benefits and the real challenges farmers face in implementing them. We need policies that encourage good practices without creating unintended burdens.
At the end of the day, good policy comes from collaboration. I appreciate the opportunity to work alongside farmers like Jake to make sure their voices are heard and respected.
Read more here.
PROHIBITING BOYS FROM PLAYING IN GIRLS SPORTS
Recently the State of Minnesota was sued by the U.S. Department of Justice for failing to adhere to Title IX, which prohibits the prohibits discrimination based on sex in education programs and activities that receive federal financial assistance.
This week, the Minnesota House of Representatives attempted to end this illegal practice by debating the Preserving Girls Sports Act on the House floor. The bill would prohibit boys from playing in girls’ sports in Minnesota. I voted for the bill.
It’s embarrassing we even have to debate this. Minnesota continues to be one of only a handful of states that thinks its fine for a someone who was born as a boy to play in a sport with girls. It’s not fair and it’s not safe for our female athletes.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice complaint, Defendants Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) and the Minnesota State High School League (MSHSL) have engaged in sex-based discrimination by requiring girls to compete against boys in athletic competitions that are designated exclusively for girls and allowing boys to invade intimate spaces designated exclusively for girls, such as multi-person locker rooms and bathrooms.
The Preserving Girls Sports Act specifically states that only students of the female sex may participate in an elementary or secondary school athletic team or sport that an educational institution has restricted on the basis of sex to women or girls. If there is a dispute, a student must present a signed physician’s statement indicating the student’s sex is based solely on the student’s internal and external anatomy, natural occurring level of testosterone, and an analysis of the student’s chromosomes.
The bill received a full vote of the Minnesota House on April 7. All 67 Republicans voted for the proposal, and all 66 Democrats voted against it. Because 68 votes are needed for legislation to be approved in the Minnesota House, the Preserving Girls Sports Act failed to pass by one vote.
ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER FRAUD: MORE INELIGIBLE RECIPIENTS RECEIVING STATE FUNDING
This week, we learned about fraud happening within the Minnesota Promise Act, a $100 million grant program that was passed by the Democrat-led legislature in 2023. It is designed to support businesses impacted by civil unrest and racial discrimination. Recipients can access up to $50,000, and apparently guardrails to the program are nonexistent.
A KSTP report found “several recipients appear to be operating miles outside of eligible neighborhoods, and that other businesses may not be operating at all.” State officials are refusing to release the grant applications, so investigative journalists are left to analyze public records in order to connect the dots. As recently as a month ago, the Democrat author of the bill assured the public there was no fraud in the program. Yet here we are. Again.
To view Channel 5’s story, click here.
WHY CUT SPECIAL EDUCATION?
The frustration with the Walz administration continues. Even though he and a Democrat legislative majority agreed to spend an $18 billion surplus and raise taxes by $10 billion in 2023, we now apparently have to cut special education funding for our schools.
Governor Walz has charged a Blue Ribbon Commission with finding $250 million in special education reductions by the end of the 2026 legislative session. If it cannot, the Minnesota Department of Education is required to make these cuts. This session the governor also recommended an additional $50 million in special ed reductions in his supplemental budget.
Schools aren’t asking for this, just like they didn’t ask for 65 new mandates back in 2023 – many of them unfunded.
The House Education Finance Committee is set to debate a bill would restore the $250 million that’s been targeted for elimination, and I think it’s a great idea. In 2023 the Democrats chose to add nearly 50 new bureaucrats to the Department of Education, while House Republicans proposed none. Instead, we focused on 5% and 5% increases to the per pupil funding formula. That would have been real money schools could have used instead of dealing with special ed cuts.
If we need a funding source to keep special education funding whole, trimming the fat at the Department of Education is the perfect place to start.