While we certainly missed our usual in-person festivities, we were delighted that nearly 180 city leaders from across Greater Minnesota joined us on Zoom yesterday for our virtual Legislative Action Day! Thank you to everyone who participated.
The day kicked off with a welcome from CGMC President and Little Falls Mayor Greg Zylka, followed by an update on the 2021 legislative landscape from CGMC Executive Director Bradley Peterson. CGMC staff then provided information on some of our top legislative priorities relating to Local Government Aid, wastewater funding and economic development.
Watch here:
The event also featured a panel discussion featuring Assistant Senate Majority Leader John Jasinski (R-Faribault), Senate Minority Leader Susan Kent (DFL-Woodbury), Assistant House Majority Leader Dan Wolgamott (DFL-St. Cloud) and House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt (R-Crown). The leaders discussed the challenges of governing during a pandemic, the state budget, and goals for the session. When asked about LGA, the panelists said there has been no talk of cutting LGA this session, but Rep Daudt also noted that an increase is unlikely given the current budget situation. The panelists also expressed interest in passing a bonding bill this session that focuses on critical infrastructure needs of regional or statewide significance, though the size of the bill has not yet been discussed.
Watch here:
In the afternoon, city leaders were encouraged to meet with their legislators via Zoom, phone or other methods to talk about the issues that are important to Greater Minnesota communities. The CGMC information packet that can be used to assist in lobbying efforts can be found here.
We capped off the day with a fun “pub style” trivia game where two teams competed in a test of their knowledge of Minnesota Legislature and Capitol history. You can see the trivia questions and answers here.
