Hello Friends and Neighbors,
Happy Friday! I hope you’ll enjoy the long weekend (despite the cold), and spend a minute to reflect on the enormous impact Martin Luther King Jr. made in advancing the civil rights movement in our country. His birthday and national holiday remind us one person can make a significant change for a just cause.
In this email, I wanted to give you an update on workforce issues, a recent tour here in Red Wing, and keep you up to date on one of our local athletes.
Workforce and Skill Gap:
As you know, one of my priorities as a legislator is building the workforce and helping people (especially our students) gain needed skills to fill open technical jobs. I recently spoke with Housing Industry News about this topic, and you can read my full interview here (click ahead to page seven).
In the legislature, we’ve combined tax policy, education reforms, and higher education investment to create a climate more conducive to filling the labor market. We have low unemployment, and we continually see good-paying jobs that aren’t filled because there aren’t enough skilled workers.
Part of the education reform involves having our high school students take part in skills training and apprenticeships while they’re still in school. While a four-year college is an ideal fit for some, many other young people want to work with their hands and we should encourage them to find a career that fits that skillset. This is something we’ll continue to work on this session, which makes me especially excited to start again in February.
3M/Capital Safety Tour:
On Tuesday, I was fortunate to tour 3M/Capital Safety with the Red Wing Area Manufacturer’s Association. It was interesting to see the wide variety of fall protection equipment that is manufactured right here in Red Wing and shipped all over the world. I appreciate touring local businesses and organizations, and always make time to see what’s happening inside our local industries.
Team USA:
I mentioned in my last update that Lake City’s Taylor Heise is captaining the USA Women’s U-18 team at the U-18 World Championships in Russia. Just this morning, Taylor and Team USA rallied from two goals down in the third period to force overtime, eventually beating Canada in a shootout! We now move on to the gold medal game. Good luck, Taylor and Team USA!
Staying In Touch:
If you ever have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding anything related to state government, please do not hesitate to contact me at rep.barb.haley@house.mn or 651-296-8635.
Sincerely,
