Capitol Update: March 24, 2026
Friends and neighbors, The Senate's pace of legislation is ramping up as we begin to approach legislative deadlines. Our first two deadlines are 5:00 p.m. on March 27, which means that most standalone bills must…
Lang: Week 6 Legislative Updates
Friends and neighbors, I talk a lot about what’s happening in St. Paul, but this week, I want to focus on our District. In this newsletter, I'm sharing an incredible achievement at a local college,…
Holmstrom Week 5 Legislative Updates
Friends and neighbors, Last fall, Wright County announced its plan to transition from state-supervised probation to a county-supervised program. This move saves taxpayers money and improves public safety. Unfortunately, the state Department of Corrections dragged…
Draheim: Week 5 Legislative Updates
Friends and Neighbors, A few weeks ago, I sent direct letters to Governor Walz and every state agency commissioner asking for answers on Minnesota's ongoing fraud crisis. You may have heard that the federal government…
Lieske: Senate Republican education plan: Safe and Smart kids
Friends and neighbors, This week, my Senate GOP colleagues and I rolled out an education package aimed at making schools safer and helping get overall student performance back on track. Our plan would fund hard…
Lieske: Another scathing audit of the MN Human Services Department
Friends and neighbors, Minnesota has a program that pays for therapy and support services for kids under 21 with autism. It's called EIDBI, and spending on it grew from $38 million in 2020 to $325…
Jasinski: Transportation committee discusses the future of self-driving cars
Friends and neighbors, The Senate Transportation Committee has been working through several proposals about how Minnesota should handle autonomous vehicles, which let cars operate without a human driver. It is looking increasingly likely these vehicles…
Jasinski: A fraud report you paid for that taxpayers can't read
Friends and neighbors, Late last year, in an effort to appear like he is taking action on fraud, Gov. Walz hired a consulting firm called Optum to dig through $9.4 billion in Medicaid claims across…
Heintzeman: Senate Republicans announce education package
This week Senate Republicans unveiled our comprehensive education proposal focused on two overarching priorities that have been lacking in recent years: keeping kids safe and helping them succeed academically. The package covers both safety and academics. It…
Heintzeman: Audit finds DHS refused to investigate kickbacks
Friends and neighbors, Minnesota's Office of the Legislative Auditor released a major report on kickbacks in the state's EIDBI program, which is the Medicaid-funded program that provides services to children with autism. A kickback, in…
Heintzeman: Democrats attempt to strip parental rights away
Friends and neighbors, This week, Democrats advanced SF 3439, a bill that would eliminate the "conscientiously held beliefs" exemption for the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. I've heard from parents in our district who…
Gruenhagen: A $40 million handout to pay people’s past-due rent
Friends and neighbors, Recently the Senate passed a $40 million bill to pay the overdue rent and utilities of Minnesotans who chose not to go to work the last few months. There are many reasons…
Westrom urges the passage of the SAVE America Act
State Sen. Torrey Westrom (R-Alexandria) is urging the United States Senate to take immediate action on the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act. The legislation would require proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to…
Holmstrom introduces bill to protect public safety and local control by removing roadblocks for counties taking over probation
Senator Michael Holmstrom (R–Buffalo) today introduced bipartisan legislation to improve public safety and restore local control to counties across Minnesota. Senate File 4265 would ensure that when a county takes over felony probation services from…
Senator Dahms, Senate Republicans roll out a plan for safe and smart kids
On Tuesday, March 17, Senate Republicans announced their “Safe and Smart Kids” education plan. Through both policy changes and funding priorities, the bills focus on student safety, reinforcing academic performance in the classroom, and increasing school…
Addressing Minnesota’s Lack of Affordability
Addressing Minnesota’s Lack of Affordability by Senator Jason Rarick For a long time, I’ve heard one resounding complaint from folks across the state and in our district: Minnesota families are tired of how unaffordable things…
Sen. Dornink: Protecting taxpayers, fighting fraud
Friends and neighbors, Spring is being felt by all of us. Warmer temperatures, hopefully the last snowstorm, and the excitement of March Madness. At the Capitol, spring also brings a sense of urgency. Committee deadlines…
OLA Report shows another failure by DHS in protecting taxpayer dollars, enabling fraud in another program
The Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) today released a special review of the Department of Human Services work investigating Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention (EIDBI) Program for allegations of kickbacks. The report noted several…
Utke responds to new OLA Report showing DHS's repeated failures in protecting taxpayer dollars and enabling fraud
The Office of the Legislative Auditor (OLA) this week released a special review of the Department of Human Services work investigating Early Intensive Developmental and Behavioral Intervention (EIDBI) Program for allegations of kickbacks. The report…
Mathews pushes back against Democrat bill to eliminate religious exemptions for MMR vaccine
Minnesota Democrats this week introduced legislation that would eliminate the “conscientiously held beliefs” exemption for the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine. In Minnesota, religious objections currently fall under this exemption. Senator Andrew Mathews (R–Princeton)…