Sen. Nelson says in a column on this page, the Minnesota Legislature has gotten off to a fast start for the 2024 session. Some of the first things to be considered seem to be benefitting from at least an attempt at bipartisanship.

It has been a busy couple of weeks in Saint Paul! This year looks quite different from the previous session, as our massive $19B budget surplus has been spent, and the recent announcement of a projected structural budget deficit looms for 2026-2027. Recently, the office of Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) released its annual February economic forecast.

For the past five months, this newspaper has been battling a thorny issue of legal publication involving mostly a local school district and a pair of newspapers and to a lesser extent some local government entities.

Factory farm water pollution has made headlines in Minnesota for months. Unfortunately, things are moving in the wrong direction. The latest U.S. Department of Agriculture’s twice-a-decade census of agriculture, released in February, finds that Minnesota’s factory farms are raising more animals than ever before. Much of that manure ends up in the water, exacerbating the state’s clean water woes.

The 2024 Legislative Session is underway. It was great to be back in Saint Paul representing your voice at our Minnesota State Capitol.
It was a joy to be joined by my granddaughters, Winter and Piper, my son, Joshua, and his wife, Chelsea, and my husband, Terry, as we gaveled into the 93rd Legislative Session.