Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page.  WHAT'S NEW? In the past, I have discussed the topic of data centers and urged local communities to truly investigate whether they think a construction in their town is a good idea. This week we learned that the City of Pine Island reached a deal with Google to have a data center built along Highway 52. Read about it, and other statewide data center plans here. Also, congratulations to Lake City’s Taylor Heise for winning the gold medal for Team USA’s women’s hockey! We are all so proud! LEGISLATION HIGHLIGHTSDEMOCRATS ARE COMING FOR YOUR GUNS We’ve known for a while that Democrats are frightened of guns. Bills brought forward in the public safety committee proves it. The first would ban the sale, transfer, and possession of almost all semi-automatic rifles in Minnesota. The second limits magazine capacity for firearms to 10 rounds. Don’t want to comply? No problem, you’ll just be thrown in prison then for up to 5 years. Think about that. You’ve got an empty magazine that can hold 15 rounds lying in your basement, and if you don’t get it out of your possession you can sit in prison with people who have committed murder. By comparison, state law provides a sentence for up to 90 days in the county jail for committing domestic assault. These bills are coming forward because we have a tie in the House – 67 Republicans and 67 Democrats, which means co-chairs of each committee. On the day a Democrat leads the hearing, they bring forward the bills they want to talk about. And they want to talk about guns. Unconstitutionality aside, because there’s a tie in the House, these bills are going nowhere. But it should give you something to think about. Democrats are showing you exactly what they’d do, and what they’ll prioritize, if given the chance. If they have a majority in the Minnesota House next year, these bills will not only come forward, but they will pass. And if we see a Democrat trifecta again (House, Senate and Governor’s Office controlled by Democrats) bills like this are becoming state law. Long story short, if they’re in charge and you’re a law-abiding gun owner, they want to make you a criminal just for exercising your 2nd Amendment rights. On guns and many other topics this session, the Democrats are showing you exactly who they are. Instead of holding violent criminals accountable or offering solutions to flag mentally ill individuals, Democrats just want to ban guns and criminalize law abiding gun owners, because they are scared by them. Do not ignore their playbook this session, as they are showing you what they want to accomplish in the future. Click here for more. ADDRESSING FRAUD IN AUTISM SERVICES PROGRAMS This week, a pair of House committees heard about a recent Optum report that suggests that 90% of claims made to pay for autism services may be fraudulent. Of course, it’s difficult to truly dive into the information when the Walz administration blacks out 90% of its contents and chooses not to implement any of the recommendations.  Among the facts that weren’t redacted, the analysis found the number of autism service providers jumped from 41 to 328 over a five-year span. Some of these providers were missing very basic information, such as phone numbers or websites, yet were routinely sending bills to the State of Minnesota. And then there’s this: autism spending has grown from $1 million in 2017 to more than $343 million in 2024. That’s a 34,200% increase. It never ends in this state, yet another example of unbelievable activity that has contributed to at least $9 billion being stolen by people who seek to scam our system. And it is another example of limited transparency, and even less accountability, from the Walz administration. COME OUT FOR BREAKFAST! Please join me at the Farmer’s Share Breakfast in Cannon Falls tomorrow morning! You only pay what farmers get for their products. All are welcome! Details below.  FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER - YOUTUBE - RUMBLEYou can help Minnesota by TALKING to others and SHARING conservative messages on your social media! Follow me on Twitter, Youtube, and Rumble. PLEASE CONTACT MEIt’s an honor and privilege to work for you at the Capitol. Don’t hesitate to contact my office at any time this session to share your thoughts, concerns or ideas. I am here to serve you! |