 On Wednesday, Governor Walz, Lieutenant Governor Flanagan, the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, and the University of Minnesota celebrated the land transfer of 3,400 acres from the University's Cloquet Forestry Center back to the Tribe.
“Today, Minnesota is rightfully returning this land to its original owners - the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa,” said Governor Walz. “This joint effort between the state, the Tribe, and the University is a shining example of what good government-to-government partnership can look like.”
On Tuesday, Governor Walz signed HF 4138, to amend the Stop Harms From Addictive Social Media statute and establish new protections for children using social media, limiting addictive platform features, strengthening privacy safeguards, and increasing parental controls.
“As a teacher and a dad, I’ve seen firsthand how new and emerging technology can impact our children,” said Governor Walz. “As social media becomes more advanced, we need to make sure our families don’t fall victim to the powerful companies that use kids as a testing ground to make algorithms more addictive. Privacy and safety have to come first. This bill puts families back in the driver’s seat and makes sure technology works for our kids, not the other way around.”
The bill requires social media platforms to obtain verifiable parental consent before allowing children under 16 to create or maintain accounts. The bill also mandates that child accounts default to the highest privacy settings and provides parents with tools to monitor and limit their child’s usage.
 Last week, Governor Walz visited Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC) to thank employees and announce a historic, bipartisan investment in the hospital amid ongoing uncertainty caused by the federal government's cuts to health care.
“HCMC is a cornerstone of our health care system and a critical safety net for Minnesotans across the region,” said Governor Walz. “We’ve been hard at work in Minnesota to keep critical access hospitals open, but the federal government needs to uphold their part of the deal.”
Governor Walz and legislative leaders reached an agreement to provide $205 million in stability funding to HCMC over the next five years and the creation of a $500 million Hospital Stabilization Reserve Account.
|
