Thursday, May 31, 2012
Slawik reflects on the 2012 legislative session, shares frustrations and says 'thank you' to residents.
The 2012 Legislative Session adjourned in mid-May, brining an end to potentially the most frustrating biennium in my time at the legislature. I want to provide you with some information about the session, and as a retiring member, a little perspective on where Minnesota needs to go if we want our state to continue to be a great place to live, work, and raise a family. The Vikings Stadium debate stole the attention near the end of the session, but it’s important to focus on the big picture. Our state is facing tremendous challenges and unfortunately, our state leaves the biennium the same way we entered it, with massive debt and deficits, an economy that’s recovering too slowly, skyrocketing property taxes, struggling schools, and a …
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Passionate pleas for a contract, approval of sabbatical and the presentation of a posthumous School Board Achievement Award.
Upwards of 50 teachers from the North St. Paul-Maplewood-Oakdale school district turned up to Tuesday's meeting wearing all black—and saying nothing—to protest the school board's failure to renegotiate their contract. During the public comment portion of the meeting, teachers union board member Dennis Fendt had a pointed message for the school board. "I come as a friend," Fendt said. "Please take note of and hear the silence of our teachers this evening ... they want nothing more than to be respected and appreciated for all the work they do." One teacher said morale among the teachers was as low as she had ever seen it in her 20-plus years, and District 622 staffer Candy Peterson, who isn't a teacher, said she sided with them. "I don't …
Monday, May 30, 2011
The state's last shutdown was in 2005.
Eventually Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican leadership in the state House and Senate will reach a compromise, Oakdale’s legislators said. The question is when. “It is going to take significant time and pressure to get (the Republicans) to move to the middle,” said Rep. Nora Slawik (DFL-Maplewood). The Legislature adjourned last week with no budget deal. If budget bills aren’t passed by July 1, all state government workers whose roles are deemed non-essential could be told to stay home. Slawik said a few “lights on” bills, which would put temporary measures in place to keep government operations running while a deal is negotiated, have been introduced, but they haven’t been discussed in the House Ways and Means Committee, which she…
Jim
10:29 pm on Thursday, May 31, 2012
Much like Lake Saint Croix, nobody cares if Nora retires. She never did anything spectacular in the Legislature anyway. Now Senator Wiger is a stand out with many accomplishments. more ›