Dear Neighbors,
Thank you to everyone who attended our recent town hall with Rep. Katie Jones and Sen. Scott Dibble. It’s always rewarding to have the opportunity to connect with our neighbors, and we enjoyed recapping the session, answering your questions, and listening to your priorities for the future.
Tackling the Cost of Child Care
Minnesota's child care crisis – with far too few slots, high costs, and difficulty recruiting and retaining staff and educators – is putting pressure on families, providers, and employers while impacting local and regional economies. Last week I had the opportunity to visit Bethel Child Care Center in Bemidji to hear directly from parents and staff about the challenges they're facing.
Parents shared how child care costs are rising faster than wages, while providers talked about the need to better support and retain the workers who make quality care possible. This summer and fall, my colleagues and I will be visiting other centers around the state to hear about the barriers providers and parents are facing, as well as solutions to tackle this problem. These conversations will help shape our work next session to make child care more affordable, strengthen our workforce, and ensure every family has access to affordable, high-quality care in their community.
Paid Family Leave is Helping Minnesotans
When Minnesotans welcome a new child, recover from a serious illness, or care for a loved one, they shouldn't have to choose between being there for their family and earning a paycheck. That's exactly why DFL lawmakers created Paid Family & Medical Leave, and the results are already showing how big of a difference this overdue benefit is making for families.
In the first six months since Paid Leave launched on January 1, more than 75,000 Minnesotans have been approved. Paid Leave supports working families, strengthens our communities, and helps employers retain workers. Overall, this benefit will become a pillar of our state economy, empowering families to thrive.
ICE Continues Overreach Beyond Minnesota
The recent fatal shootings at the hands of ICE agents in Maine and Texas are deeply troubling and bring the trauma our state experienced earlier this year back to mind. They’re reminders of what ICE’s aggressive enforcement campaign under Donald Trump is capable of, and its complete disregard for transparency and accountability, on top of unnecessary overreach that harms human beings and tramples over their constitutional rights.
Here in Minnesota, we know the consequences of aggressive federal immigration enforcement all too well as a result of what we experienced during Operation Metro Surge. Our communities saw unmarked vehicles, masked federal agents, and tragic shootings that left Minnesotans demanding answers and accountability. This week, while six months too late, we finally saw some evidence from the tragic killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti turned over to local prosecutors.
No matter how intense Donald Trump ratchets up his retribution campaign, DFLers will continue fighting to protect both public safety and the civil liberties of every Minnesotan.
New Laws
On July 1, many of the laws passed during the 2026 legislative session officially took effect. Some of the new laws include helping schools establish anonymous threat reporting systems so students and families can safely report concerning behavior, requiring social media platforms to display mental health warning labels (though Big Tech is trying to block it), and other important changes.
While I'm proud of the progress we made, particularly in such a closely divided legislature, there are many opportunities we missed because Republicans stood in the way. We could have provided a legal remedy for Minnesotans whose constitutional rights are violated by federal agents, prohibited the use of masks and unmarked vehicles by ICE and kept them off school and hospital grounds, prevented gun violence by banning assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and more. There are plenty of priorities to keep fighting for to help families live a better life when we return to the Capitol in 2027.
Last Update
We’re about to enter a blackout phase when newsletters like this one cannot be sent during an election period. Therefore, this will be my last email update until later this year. In the meantime, don’t hesitate to reach out with your viewpoints and ideas, or if I can ever be of assistance. You’re invited to follow me on Facebook, too!
Have a great summer. It’s an honor to represent you at the Capitol.
Sincerely,
Rep. Jamie Long
DFL Floor Leader, Minnesota House of Representatives