The Tragic Death of George Floyd
Last week, we all saw the news of the tragic death of George Floyd. This week has been incredibly painful for many, and we stand united in our grief, and in our prayers for the Floyd family. Over this past week, thousands of Minnesotans engaged in peaceful protests in cities and towns across our state. Last week, however, some individuals instead committed criminal acts including looting, damaging and burning down businesses, and causing significant destruction to neighborhoods.
We must allow people to engage in Constitutionally protected behavior, including peaceful protests. People have a right to be heard and express their grief. We also must ensure that our communities are safe. I want to thank law enforcement and our National Guard, some of whom are from our very own community, who restored order in our state’s largest cities, protecting the peaceful and stopping those who would do harm.
As a member of the Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee, I expect that a lot of focus will be on police training and how the law affects the treatment of police charged with using excessive force. I would invite you to share your thoughts, so that I can bring a fuller understanding of our community’s perspective about the path forward as we consider these issues at the Legislature.
I will be organizing a food and supply drive for those who would like to donate to the affected communities. Date, time, and place will be announced in a future update, but I would encourage you to start collecting supplies now. Some of the biggest needs are listed below. Our community is incredible at supporting those in need, and I know we can come together again for those affected by the events of the last week.
 More Businesses Open This Week
On Monday, June 1, more businesses were allowed to open under the governor’s new phase of COVID-19 response. As of this week, restaurants are allowed to open for outdoor dining with a limit of 50 people and additional safety measures in place, and personal services such as barbershops and salons are allowed to open at 25% capacity. I would encourage you to enjoy the beautiful weather coming up outdoors at a local restaurant, and support our small businesses!
Community Celebrations
On Memorial Day, there was a very moving ceremony in the Maple Lake city park across from my home, with a 21 gun salute and prayer. Due to COVID-19 precautions, it was socially distanced and simpler than it would otherwise be, but I’m glad we could come together as a community to honor those who have died serving our country.
Last week, I had the honor to watch the graduation parade for Maple Lake’s Class of 2020. We had all of our graduates, each in a vehicle with family members, parade through the residential streets of Maple Lake, with our local fire department leading and closing the parade. It was so great to personally congratulate each graduate from my porch and see our community coming out to support our graduates, and to be able to creatively celebrate their incredible accomplishments.
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