ST. PAUL, Minnesota, Feb. 26 -- The Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus issued the following news on Feb. 25, 2024: A bill authored by Senator John Jasinski (R-Faribault) proposing $350,000 in funding for water and wastewater operator training programs had its first hearing in the Minnesota Senate on Wednesday. Senate File 3411 would provide a one-time appropriation to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development for a grant that would be used to develop customized training p  more

ST. PAUL, Minnesota, Feb. 26 -- The Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus issued the following statement on Feb. 25, 2024, by State Sen. Rich Draheim, R-Madison Lake: * * * There is a really easy fix for the ongoing SRO issue: we can simply repeal last year's bad law that caused SROs to be removed from schools, and go back to the way things were. The old law was working well - even the governor and some Democrats acknowledged there were no reported incidents of SRO misconduct. Unfortunately, Dem  more

ST. PAUL, Minnesota, Feb. 26 -- The Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus issued the following newsletter on Feb. 25, 2024, by State Sen. Justin Eichorn, R-Grand Rapids: * * * Friends and neighbors, The Senate took important action on Thursday to begin the process of fixing mistakes that Democrats made during last years rushed, chaotic session. To begin with, last year's tax bill included a number of errors that would cause more than $360 million in tax increases on Minnesotans. Last summer, th  more

ST. PAUL, Minnesota, Feb. 26 -- The Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus issued the following newsletter on Feb. 25, 2024, by State Sen. Glenn Gruenhagen, R-Glencoe: * * * Friends and neighbors, A couple of weeks ago, Gov. Tim Walz's administration announced a new proposal for a public health insurance option. If you don't know what this term means, it is pretty simple: it is government-run healthcare. The Walz plan would allow people to buy into the state's MinnesotaCare program or require ins  more

ST. PAUL, Minnesota, Feb. 26 -- The Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus issued the following newsletter on Feb. 25, 2024, by State Sen. Glenn Gruenhagen, R-Glencoe: * * * Friends and neighbors, I hope you will all join me in prayer for the three first responders who were murdered in Burnsville over the weekend. It is a tragedy in every sense of the word, and I hope their families find peace. In the last few days, we have learned some disturbing details about the shooter. He was a man with a h  more

ST. PAUL, Minnesota, Feb. 26 -- The Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus issued the following newsletter on Feb. 24, 2024, by State Sen. Mark Koran, R-North Branch: * * * Dear Friends and Neighbors, While many had the opportunity to take Monday off for the President's Day holiday, the capitol complex was just as busy as any other day of the week during session. As the Minority Leader of the Elections Committee, I kicked off the week with ensuring thorough attention and discussion is taking place  more

ST. PAUL, Minnesota, Feb. 26 -- The Minnesota Senate Republican Caucus issued the following newsletter on Feb. 25, 2024, by State Sen. Bill Lieske, R-Lonsdale: * * * Friends and neighbors, A bill moving through the Senate this year would effectively eliminate the vaccine conscientious objection policy for daycare centers. Senate File 610 would allow childcare providers to adopt policies prohibiting enrollment, or continued enrollment, of children over 2 months old who are not fully vaccinate  more