Capitol Newsletter from Rep. Andrew Myers

Dear Neighbors,

Congratulations to the Minnetonka boys hockey team for their victory over Edina in the state high school hockey tournament championship game last Saturday! It was so exciting to watch the Skippers make their way through the state tournament all the way to the championship. The entire community is so proud of you! Way to go!

Keep it Clean Act

Late last week, I introduced a bill to protect Minnesota lakes from waste and garbage left behind after the ice fishing season. My bill, House File 2745 has several bipartisan co-authors and would prohibit storing or depositing waste and garbage on the ice of any of Minnesota’s state waters.

An all-too-common example of waste left behind when an icehouse is removed for the season

Lake Minnetonka is the crown jewel of Our Backyard, and we have a responsibility to protect and preserve it for future generations.

This bill is about honoring that commitment not only for Lake Minnetonka, but for every body of water in Minnesota. As ice fishing becomes more and more popular, we have seen a dramatic increase in the amount of garbage, waste, and sewage left behind by anglers on our frozen lakes. Clearly spelling out in state law that this is prohibited and establishing penalties for this behavior will help keep our waters clean now and into the future.

Stay tuned for more on this bill as the legislative session continues.

Strengthening our Schools

Thanks to the commitment of school boards, parents, teachers, administrators, and more, our communities have some of the best school in the entire state of Minnesota.

With your help and support, I am committed to continuing to build on our local schools’ success and make sure that the high standards we’ve set are met and exceeded.

Members of the Wayzata School Board Visited this Week

Thanks to Orono parents and School Board Members for Visiting!

That’s why I continue working hard to empower local school boards and superintendents to make decisions that work best for their staff, teachers, parents, and the communities they serve.

This also includes providing funding to meet the needs of our schools. That means increased funding and addressing the special education cross subsidy gap. The cross subsidy is?the amount of money from a school district’s General Fund used to pay the un-reimbursed cost of providing services like special education or English Language Learning (ELL). Replenishing school districts’ general funds by covering this funding gap at the state level would be a huge help for schools in Your Backyard.

Attention Students!

Reminder that I am inviting all local students to participate in a coloring contest this spring hosted by my legislative office! Students in elementary, middle, or high school can draw, color, or paint, a picture of the Minnesota State Capitol building. Submissions will be displayed in my office at the State Office Building in St. Paul for all to see! When we close the submission date in 2-3 weeks, I will have folks vote on the pictures.

Check out the photo below for all the details!

Staying in Touch

If you plan on being in St. Paul sometime soon, I encourage you to reach out to my office to set up a time to meet and chat! It is always my goal to be as responsive as possible to the needs and priorities of you and Your Backyard.

Please do not hesitate to contact me. I can be reached by phone at 651-296-9188 or via email at rep.andrew.myers@house.mn.gov.

Have a great day,

Andrew