Dear Neighbors, I wanted to get you an update on what I've been doing during this interim period. Before I do that, I wanted to please ask you to pray for the families of the Chisago Lakes students whose lives were lost or altered in this terrible accident on Saturday morning. Our hearts go out to those families and this unspeakable tragedy. It's been a really busy latter half of Summer and Fall here in Chisago County. I continue to take meetings with constituents about local issues and how I can be a support at the Statewide level. One of those issues recently was the Minnesota House Bonding tour. North Branch was featured on this tour for the potential intersection at Interstate Hwy 35 and 400th Street. With road safety and congestion at the forefront, it was a big deal for this project to get included on the tour. I'm hopeful, if and when Minnesota gets its fiscal house in order, that a project like this will help keep streets safe and less congested in North Branch.  I continue to meet with local stakeholders in regard to education in Chisago County. Last month, I had the privilege of getting to know the administration at TRIO WolfCreek Online High School in Chisago City. EVERY avenue of education is valuable - and I'm grateful they're in our area to provide different avenues of learning. Recently, I paid a visit to Anderson & Koch Ford to learn about their partnership with North Branch Area High School. It's an innovative partnership providing real-life skills and technical certifications that launch students into great careers. Our state and country are starved for service jobs, and through this partnership, students are able to get their Ford Tech certification. Sometimes traditional 4-year college is the right route, but it's been great to see our schools are also preparing students for careers that don't require it.  I also had the opportunity to visit Chisago Lakes High School 3rd Annual Career Fair - where that same theme of technical education was front and center. Businesses throughout our community showed up to let these students know about apprenticeships and new career paths. They also gave me the low-down on their various Career Technical Education offerings after meeting the different businesses and post-secondary schools that were there.  Lastly, on education, I was invited to participate St. Croix River Education District's Legislative Forum. It was a great discussion, revolving around funding flexibility for schools (letting school districts use the money how they see fit), making sure rural schools are fairly funded in comparison to metro schools, and building skills in the next generation.  Beyond focusing on education, local projects, and meeting with constituents, I've also had the opportunity to pay our local businesses a visit and get to know what they contribute to Chisago County. I recently took tours of Rinker Materials in Stacy and Polaris in Wyoming. |