Dear Neighbor,
Greetings from St. Paul as we near the end of Week 2 in the 2024 session. Here are some of the latest news and notes:
Sheriffs Day on the Hill
It was great meeting with Cass County Sheriff Bryan Welk and Itasca County Sheriff Joe Dasovich this week during Sheriff's Association Day on the Hill at the Capitol (above). A sincere thank-you to these gentlemen and other sheriffs around our state for the great work you do to keep us safe.
Coincidentally, our local sheriffs have been very helpful in gaining bipartisan support for a bill I have authored to bring some common sense and consistency to search-and-rescue efforts. I mentioned this bill in my last email but, the way it is now, the state provides local law enforcement agencies with partial reimbursements for water rescues. The state does not, however, reimburse those same agencies for rescues on ice.
In other words, two rescues taking place on the same body of water just weeks (or even days) apart could be treated differently, with reimbursement provided for an October mission but not for one in, say, November. This is a burden for our local outfits, especially during winters such as this one where ice may be less safe.
I’ve been working with sheriffs in our region and beyond to get legislation in order to resolve this inconsistency. The bill is HF3796 and I look forward to continuing building bipartisan support.
Precinct caucuses next week
This year’s precinct caucuses will take place at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 27. These meetings provide Minnesotans with the opportunity to decide what policies are important in national, state and local government – along with electing local leaders.
The more people we have involved in this process, the better and I hope you can attend. Feel free to bring friends and family as well to participate in this important part of our political process.
The Minnesota Secretary of State website has a statewide Caucus Finder page to help citizens find their meeting locations.
National FFA Week
This is National Future Farmers of America week, a great time to share what FFA is and the impact it has on members every day, preparing students for successful careers in the global agriculture, food, fiber and natural resources systems.
Agriculture is the foundation of Minnesota's economy. The Minnesota Department of Agriculture indicates our state ranks No. 6 in the nation in agricultural production, with $26 billion in agricultural sales per year. Minnesota’s combined agriculture, food processing, and forestry industries contribute over 15 percent of Minnesota’s total economic activities and support over 10 percent of all jobs. The overall impacts of Minnesota’s agricultural production, processing, and forestry industries generate nearly $106 billion annually in total economic impacts and support 388,134 jobs.
Have a good weekend. A new state economic forecast is set to be issued next week so I am sure there will be much to share regarding that subject.
Sincerely,
Ben