Wishing You a Happy and Healthy Holiday Season

Dear Neighbors,

I hope you and your loved ones have a happy and healthy holiday season. As many of us prepare to gather in the coming days, a quick reminder that vaccines, boosters, and testing are the best tools at our disposal to ensure that we can all start the new year in good shape. One of my wishes for the new year is that we make ongoing improvements in our pandemic response and that life can continue to shift more toward “normal.” When we work together and take care of each other, there’s nothing we can’t do.

As has been the frustrating case for much of this year (and last), the pandemic is not yet behind us. Though we have the necessary tools that give many of us the peace of mind to see loved ones that we may have missed last year, our state also recently passed the grim milestone of over 10,000 COVID-19 deaths, and leaders from Minnesota’s health care systems published a full-page newspaper ad pleading with Minnesotans to do their part to help end this crisis. 

The best gift we can give healthcare professionals this holiday season is to follow the public health guidelines that will keep us safe and help to stop the spread of COVID-19.

2021 Accomplishments and the Work Ahead

Despite being one of the only divided state legislatures in the nation, Democrats and Republicans came together and accomplished much for Minnesotans this year. While I’m proud of what we were able to deliver, we’ll still have a whole host of issues to address when we return for the 2022 Legislative Session in January. 

Here’s a quick recap of the work we did this year:

There are several key components that’ll be impacting our work next session, whether it’s the incoming funds from the federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, or how we’ll work with the state’s $7.7 billion surplus. Many signs are pointing to an ongoing economic recovery for Minnesota, but we know it’s not a recovery that’s being felt by everyone in our state.

Next session, we need to fight for the working families and small business owners who are driving our recovery, address the needs in education from our littlest learners to our college students, and ensure all Minnesotans have the resources and support they need to thrive.

What else do you think we should focus on? Click here to fill out a quick survey on priorities for 2022.

Stay Connected

If you have any questions, concerns, or ideas for how to improve Eden Prairie and our state next year, please feel free to reach out to me. The Minnesota House will continue to operate remotely next session, at least at first, meaning much of our staff will continue to work from home, and our hearings and floor sessions will be available virtually. 

The best way to contact me is at rep.carlie.kotyza-witthuhn@house.mn or 651-296-7449. As we continue remote operations, email is the quickest way to get in touch. I look forward to hearing from you and hopefully seeing you in person soon. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

All my best, 

Carlie Kotyza-Witthuhn

State Representative