Friends and neighbors,  

It’s been a busy couple of weeks here in Saint Paul as we ramp up committee work and introduce bills to help Minnesotans in all aspects of life. I’ve introduced several bills to help us make Minnesota the best place to raise a family (of which Governor Walz announced this week that we rank number two!) One bill provides much-needed funding for head start programs, and the other establishes a grant program for children’s mental health providers to expand access. We know that we all do better when we do better for our kids.  

While I’m excited to be back in committee, the temporary Republican control of the House is off to a rough start as they introduce dangerous bills that would seriously harm Minnesotans. Republicans have already introduced several bills that would be incredibly dangerous for our students, neighbors, health care systems, reproductive freedoms, transit, and communities.  

Some of these bad bills include gutting the Read Act that we passed last year to improve student literacy rates, halting Paid Family Leave from going into effect, banning trans youth from sports, tearing down gun permiting safety measures, requiring local law enforcement to turn over data on undocumented people to ICE, giving money to anti-abortion organizations, stripping the Governor’s power, and rolling back DEI & ethnic studies requirements in schools – and that’s just the first 30 bills introduced out of hundreds.   

Thankfully, no bill can pass off the House Floor without bipartisan support since, constitutionally, 68 votes are required. This was on display last night when the first GOP bill failed to pass on the House Floor. While DFLers will block these bad bills, this is clearly a display of the Trump playbook right here in Minnesota – and a clear statement of what Republicans would do if they were to win majorities in our Legislature. It’s also a pre-cursor to what we are up against later in the session when it comes time to negotiate and pass a state budget. I hope that Republicans will work with us in good faith to deliver for the state, but I want to be clear: Democrats refuse to allow it to cost of the liberties and rights of Minnesotans. 

I will continue to keep you updated as things progress.  

PACER Center is offering a series of five training sessions, aimed to empower parents to tell your personal story and influence meaningful change in school, community, and statewide procedures and policy for students with disabilities and mental health needs. If you’d like to attend, please complete one registration form for access to all five training sessions. You'll receive a Zoom link the day before each session. Each session takes place from 4-6 p.m. CST.  

• Feb. 18 - Minnesota history in progress: Parents leading for change in our schools and institutions  

• Feb. 20 - Intersectionality and parent leadership  

• Feb. 25 - Special Education Advisory Councils: Your superpower connection to district-level advocacy  

• Feb. 27 - Children’s mental health: Leadership for change in systems of care  

• March 4 - Telling your story to advocate for systems change 

If you’re like me, the news coming out of Washington has been overwhelming lately. In between calling my congressmembers and working to protect our progress here in Minnesota, one thing that keeps me going is gathering with my family around a good meal at the end of a long day. Food connects us, comforts us, and fuels us to continue to fight extreme MAGA policies that threaten our democracy. In the name of community and longevity of our fight, I want to share some of my favorite recipes that are staples in our household.  

First up is a veggie-packed pasta salad (that your kids will actually eat!) This has been a busy-season staple in my house, and I hope you and your family love it as much as we do. You can download the recipe card here!