Carver County Fair & Celebrating Suni Lee!

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August 10, 2021

Carver County Fair! 

Wednesday is the first day of the 109th Carver County Fair! It's always such a great time to catch up with friends, family, and neighbors — and play a few games...

Word of the Day year 7! I'll be doing the “Word of the Day” again this year.

Stay tuned, you’ll see the video each day of the Fair and you simply need to find me on the Fair grounds, give me the word and get free ice cream!

Advanced Sale Gate Tickets, Ride Tickets and Demolition Derby tickets are now available online or in the Administration Building at the Fairgrounds.

Celebrating Suni Lee! 

I was very proud and fortunate to represent my MN House colleagues in delivering a House Proclamation to Olympic Gold Medalist Suni Lee at a tremendous home coming event for her! Her amazing effort in Tokyo brings great honor to the USA, MN, and our Hmong community.

I’m fortunate to serve as a board member of the Asian Pacific Islander Council and was thrilled when I was asked to chief author this by the council and by the planning committee for Suni’s homecoming event!

She’s just astounding and we have much to be proud of as Minnesotans.

Photo courtesy of BoostLeekd Media

Star Tribune Housing Report 

Saturday's report in the Star Tribune underscores what I’ve been saying for years. Homeownership is the North Star for many Minnesotans. Unfortunately, too many are unable to attain it because of outdated zoning policies. The bicameral, bipartisan Housing Affordability Commission was created in 2019 to address issues such as these. As a member of this commission, I am calling on us to help more Minnesotans achieve the dream of homeownership and address these discrepancies."

I sent a letter requesting the Housing Affordability Commission Convene in light of the article on Saturday.  

Also, on Tuesday, I was named one of the recipients of the 2021 Housing Leadership Award by Housing First Minnesota. Previously, I was also named the 2019 Legislator of the Year by Housing First Minnesota for his efforts to promote housing affordability and ownership.

As I read the heavily researched Star Tribune story on housing, I noticed so many aspects of the story are things I’ve been advocating for at the Capitol for years. Home ownership should be an attainable dream for all Minnesotans and we need to take a comprehensive look at the multiple inputs that drive costs to skyrocket. Zoning, land use, required elements for decorative aspects of homes by a city, inspection fees, impact fees and many others.

I’ve said all along that the solution is like solving a quadratic equation in algebra class: so many integers that need to be worked on separately in order to pull together the entire answer for the problem. Everyone deserves a 'North Star' to head towards, and that comes with the safety and security of homeownership.

MN Social Studies Standards

The second draft of the Department of Education’s social studies academic standards has been released.

Our education system works best when families and parents are involved in the decision-making process. With this in mind, I strongly encourage you to review the education standards being proposed by the Department of Education, provide your input in an online survey and contact your local school officials.

A link to the full second draft is available here. A FAQ in this issue is available here.

And to participate in the standards survey click here. The survey closes at 4 p.m. Aug. 16.

Please Contact Me

Please feel free to reach out to my office if there is any way I can be of assistance. My phone number is 651-296-4282, I am here to serve you!

Have a great weekend!

Jim

349 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, MN 55155
ph: 651.296.4282