Minnesota relies on the strength of our state’s rural communities and farmlands. As your Senator and as one of the leaders of the Senate Agriculture Committee, it’s important to me to hear directly about the challenges you are facing. Every year I go to all 87 of Minnesota’s counties, and last month, I went on a 19-county tour to visit farms, small businesses, and other organizations throughout rural Minnesota.

May is National Foster Care Month, a time to recognize and honor the critical role that foster parents play in the lives of children and youth in care. Across the country, thousands of individuals and families open their homes and hearts to children who have experienced abuse, neglect, or trauma. These foster parents provide not only shelter and safety, but also compassion, stability, and a path toward healing and hope.

Triton High School’s Business Professionals of Amera (BPA) chapter continued to shine at the 2025 National Leadership Conference in Orlando, Florida from May 7-11, where six of the 13 students who won trips claimed the title of National Finalist, and Abigail Wirkus walked away as a National Runner-Up in Health Administration Procedures.

Our Cozy Corner, a live sales business based in Byron, donated $15,000 to a Rochester family in need on May 14.  Jen and Jefferson Webster were nominated by their friend, Shurie Madery, after the family went through many hardships over the past several years. Jen was pregnant with twins when she found out one didn’t have a heartbeat and the other would have down syndrome and severe heart defects.

More than 450 residents of the Byron school district have already completed a survey regarding the upcoming levy referendum in the district, Supt. Mike Neubeck told the school board Monday night.

Arnold "Abe" Charles Abrahamson passed away on Friday May 16th, 2025, after an illness of cancer. He was born on July 4,1945 in Chariton Iowa to Pearl and Dorothy Abrahamson.