Secure Your Child's Safety: School Bus Safety Now! Again, this year we are tackling the issue of increasing school bus safety. According to the Department of Safety, officers cited 4,652 drivers in Minnesota for school bus stop arm violations from 2017 – 2021. When the lights are flashing don't be passing graphic Reckless disregard for our children’s safety on the roads must stop, and people need to be held accountable. A bill moving through the legislative process would require school buses to be equipped with a stop-signal arm extension that extends a minimum of 6 feet from the bus. School buses would still be equipped with the standard 18-inch stop sign when snow-covered streets become narrower in winter. In [...]

Priority: Road SafetyThis session, I am fighting to secure critical funding to improve safety along the Chisago County I-35 and Hwy 8 interchange. There have been several serious crashes in recent years, including 5 fatalities. Chisago County has already garnered over half the money needed for the project, and securing the rest to improve road safety is a top priority!Driver's Licenses for All A bill to make driver’s licenses available to all Minnesotans, including illegal immigrants, is moving through the legislative process at an alarming rate. In the Senate, it has skipped critical committee jurisdiction this legislation will impact.The reality is illegal immigrants are on our roads right now. They are involved in our community, driving to work and [...]

Our Controversial Flag Last week, the State and Local Government Committee heard a bill authored by Democrat Senator Mary Kunesh that would redesign the Minnesota State flag. Democrat Rep. Frieberg, said our flag, "depicts a Native American riding on horseback into the distance as a white farmer tills the land, which has racist undertones". The legislation would establish a commission to develop a new design. Under the Democrats current plan very few members of the public will be involved in the process of designing our new flag. The commission should include every Minnesotan and represent every part of Minnesota. Not just the select few hand-picked from St. Paul. Bi-Partisan Calls to Eliminate Social Security Tax You read that correctly! [...]

Complete Disregard for the Sanctity of Life On Saturday, January 28, Senate Democrats passed a bill known as the PRO Act, or "Protect Reproductive Options." They claim it is meant to codify Roe v. Wade in state law, but it goes much further. We debated the bill on the Senate floor for over 15 hours, and despite our best effort and appeals for compassion and human dignity, every one of our amendments was rejected on party-line votes. Including: Requiring abortions performed in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters to be done in the hospital, Ensuring doctors do what they can to save the baby's life if it is born alive after a failed abortion. Using anesthesia for babies after [...]

Making Sure Our Elections are Safe and Secure This year I will have the privilege of serving as the Republican Lead on the Senate Elections Committee. Our committee will oversee the Secretary of State's office's budget and all election laws here in Minnesota. Last week, we heard a bill allowing felons to vote while on probation. Currently, 21 states automatically restore voting rights to felons upon release from prison. 17 states, including Minnesota, automatically restore voting rights upon sentence completion, including prison, parole, and probation. 3 states never revoke the right to vote. This legislation will be an engaging topic as it moves through the committee process, and I am interested to hear your thoughts on the issue! [...]