Heintzeman: Wildfire Resources
Friends and neighbors, By now you have certainly heard about the Flanders Fire burning near Breezy Point, Crosslake, and Mission Township in Crow Wing County. It has rapidly grown in size, and this morning Gov.…
Senator Lang Capitol Update May 11, 2026
Friends and neighbors, It’s the last week of session, and the issue I’ve heard the most concern and outrage about from constituents all session long is fraud. Today in the Senate, we took a major…
Kreun bill seeks to limit harmful effects of social media - passes Senate unanimously
Today with unanimous bipartisan support, the Senate passed a bill authored by Senator Michael Kreun (R-Blaine) that seeks to protect children from the harms of addictive social media. This bill creates a new law…
Gruenhagen: Minnesota Democrats’ inflammatory rhetoric is responsible for immigration enforcement chaos
Friends and neighbors, Nobody is happy about the chaos of the federal immigration raids. But that chaos was caused by Democrat leaders' inflammatory rhetoric and their lack of cooperation with the federal government. It was…
Assistant Leader Coleman, Senate Republicans deliver tab fee tax cut for Minnesota
On Wednesday night, Assistant Republican Leader Senator Julia Coleman (R–Waconia) and Senate Republicans announced they delivered a quarter-billion-dollar tab fee tax cut for Minnesotans as part of end of session negotiations. In exchange for an…
Senator Carla Nelson announces retirement from Minnesota Senate
State Senator Carla Nelson (R-Rochester) announced today that she will not seek re-election, bringing to a close a public service career that has spanned three decades. Sen. Nelson, who has represented communities in Olmsted and…
Republicans negotiate tab fee tax cut for end of session deal
Legislative leaders and the Governor came to an agreement Wednesday evening to reduce tab fees, pass a bonding bill, implement fraud prevention measures, bail out Hennepin County Medical Center, and provide property tax rebates. Republicans…
Senate Republicans deliver tab fee tax cut for Minnesotans
On Wednesday night, Senate Republicans announced they delivered a quarter of a billion-dollar tab fee tax cut for Minnesotans as part of end of session negotiations. In exchange for an infrastructure bill, along with commonsense…
Nelson: Senate unanimously approves bill to increase penalties for impersonating police officer
The Minnesota Senate voted on Wednesday to increase criminal penalties for impersonating a law enforcement officer, sending the bill to Governor Tim Walz for his signature. The measure passed by a unanimous 67-0 vote. The…
Gruenhagen: If there is fraud, people need to be fired!
Friends and neighbors, Minnesota’s fraud problems have been building for a long time, and so has the pattern of Gov. Walz and Democrat leaders looking the other way. There have been numerous reports of DHS…
Heintzeman: Democrats choose hyper-partisanship again
Friends and neighbors, I am sure you have seen the headlines by now, but on May 4, Senate Democrats passed a sweeping and probably unconstitutional gun control bill. As you can probably guess, I voted…
Senate Republicans Urge Cooperation and Coordination on Immigration Enforcement
Senate Democrats today passed a bill that would create safe harbor for illegal immigrants in Minnesota and attract the most dangerous criminals to the state. The highly partisan measure is likely unconstitutional and has no…
Sen. Draheim co-authors anti-fraud office bill headed to governor’s desk
Today the Minnesota Senate passed an updated version of the bill to establish an Office of Inspector General (OIG) in response to the state’s fraud crisis. The Senate previously passed a version of the bill…
Lieske: Rescuing Family Residential Service providers
Friends and neighbors, Minnesota has a resource that most people have never heard of called Family Residential Services, or FRS. I know it probably sounds like a mouthful of government jargon, but it is actually…
Sen. Koran applauds passage of independent anti-fraud office he first proposed in 2019
Today the Minnesota Senate passed an updated version of the bill to establish an Office of Inspector General (OIG) in response to the state’s fraud crisis. The Senate previously passed a version of the bill…
Governor signs HF 4052 into law, marking major step toward modernizing Minnesota telecommunications regulation
On Thursday, May 7, Governor Tim Walz signed HF 4052 into law, representing the first major modernization of Minnesota’s landline telephone regulatory structure in more than 40 years. The legislation updates a regulatory framework originally…
Senate sends bill to establish Office of Inspector General to Governor
Today the Minnesota Senate passed an updated version of the bill to establish an Office of Inspector General in response to the state’s fraud crisis. The Senate previously passed a version of the bill more than a…
Senator Holmstrom Capitol Update May 8, 2026
Friends and neighbors, Earlier this week, Senate Democrats decided to pass an all-out attack on the Constitution in the form of a bill that bans Second Amendment rights. During the floor debate, I stood up and said that I would not comply…
Senator Draheim Capitol Update May 8, 2026
Friends and Neighbors, As the legislative session enters its final stretch, debates at the Capitol continue to highlight two very different visions for accountability and transparency in state government. This week, Minnesotans got another clear…
Westrom participates in autonomous vehicle showcase, takes first-ever “drive” in Waymo self-driving car
On Wednesday, May 6, Sen. Torrey Westrom (R-Alexandria) took part in a self-driving autonomous vehicle showcase and had the opportunity to take his first-ever “drive” in a Waymo. Westrom released the following statement on his…