|
Dear Friends and Neighbors,
Happy May! It seems that the year is moving at lightning speed, with just a little over two weeks left in the legislative session.
Yesterday was a day of hope and inspiration as we took part in the National Day of Prayer services at the Maple Grove Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast (pictured right) and the State Capitol. I am thankful for everyone who gathers to pray on this day and who pray regularly for all of our leaders in federal, state, and local government as well as the leaders in public safety, schools, business and community organizations.
The Building & Construction Trades & LIUNA were also at the Capitol this week to advocate for a bonding bill, permitting reform, and good jobs that build Minnesota’s future. It was nice to get a chance to chat with them about their priorities on the steps of the Capitol.
Three Rivers Park District, which has many amazing parks in our area, was at the Capitol on Wednesday. They gave demonstrations to highlight some of the great conservation work they do, as well as brought baby lambs from Gale Woods Farm, which are always a hit with members and staff!
|
|
|
 Three Rivers Park District Day on the Hill
|
 Robbins with Mayor Kent Koch and Fire Chief/Councilman Jeff Leuer after testifying on bonding provision.
|
 Photo with Robbins and Teamsters member during their day on the hill.
|
|
Executive Summary
-
Bonding Bill Hearing
-
Spring is here! Go Enjoy Minnesota’s Great Outdoors
-
Bill Update: Progress Made this Week
-
Concerns about Minnesota Student Survey
-
Fraud Committee Update
-
Photos
|
|
Bonding Bill Hearing
I had the opportunity to present a bill with Loretto Mayor Kent Koch and West Suburban Fire District Chief/Council Member Jeff Leuer this week. They have two different bills requesting state bonding money for essential upgrades to the city’s water main and wastewater treatment system and storm pond improvements. Thank you for coming to the Capitol to advocate for the projects!
Sen. Limmer and I are carrying several bonding bills for our district again this year and we hope to get many of them over the finish line. At this point, we are hoping a bonding bill will be able to pass the House and Senate, but the bonding “targets” for each body are quite far apart and it is unclear if an agreement will be reached.
We generally do a bonding bill in the second year of the biennium, but since it fell apart last year, I do think we should get one passed this session. Many communities cannot wait another year to get started on critical projects and these projects also create great jobs in our communities. I will continue to encourage my colleagues to try to get a bonding bill done this year.
|
|
Spring is here! Go Enjoy Minnesota’s Great Outdoors!
As the weather warms and families look forward to summer adventures, I want to make sure you’re aware of the many wonderful camping opportunities right here in Minnesota! Our state parks and recreation areas offer some of the best spots in the country for hiking, relaxing, and enjoying nature.
The Minnesota DNR has made it easy to plan your getaway. Whether you prefer tent camping, camper cabins, or RV sites, you can explore availability and make reservations through their online system. Many of our parks fill up fast, especially on weekends and holidays, so early booking is highly recommended.
Plan your trip or reserve a site here: www.dnr.state.mn.us/camping
From the scenic bluffs of southeast Minnesota to the beautiful lakes of the Northwoods, I hope you and your family find time to get outdoors and enjoy all that our beautiful state has to offer.
The Governor’s Fishing Opener is also quickly approaching. The long-standing tradition in Minnesota will take place in Crosslake on May 10–11. May 11 marks the start of walleye and northern pike season for anglers across the state. It’s a fantastic time to introduce kids to fishing or gather with friends at the lake.
Make sure your fishing license is up to date, check local regulations, and enjoy this treasured Minnesota pastime!
Learn more: www.exploreminnesota.com/fishing-opener
|
|
Bill Update: Progress Made this Week
With just two weeks left in the 2025 session, I remain hopeful we can finish by our Constitutional adjournment date of May 19th. We passed several budget and policy bills out of the House and on to the Senate this week and the first Conference Committees were just appointed last night.
Some bills are still being negotiated, the agreement on the Education bill seems to have fallen apart. This week the House Democrats decided to pull their support for the education bill, even though a deal had been signed by both Chairs on April 23rd. This puts school funding in jeopardy and also could potentially unravel other deals that have been signed. If Chairs go back on their word, it will be hard to get anything out of the 67-67 House, as everything fails on a tie.
I hope my colleagues will reconsider this decision and decide to honor the carefully crafted agreement. We are running out of time and Members have to know each side will keep their word.
Here’s a quick recap of what was passed in the House this week:
Higher Education
The Higher Education bill keeps overall spending flat while tackling a shortfall in the State Grant program. Instead of increasing spending, we reallocated $36 million in savings by cutting waste and pulling back funds from programs that weren’t delivering. This means more help for students without increasing taxes.
Transportation
Our bipartisan transportation bill reinvests in roads, bridges, and public safety, not empty commuter rail cars. It repurposes $99 million into ready-to-go road projects, ensures EVs contribute to road maintenance costs, and improves safety across the state.
Most importantly for our district, the House bill includes funding to help fix the bridge on Maple Grove Parkway over 169, which was significantly damaged in an accident last year. This has caused significant disruption to residents and to the trucks that need to leave the gravel mining area to deliver gravel around the metro for other construction projects. Getting this bridge safely repaired and back to full operational capacity is a top priority for Maple Grove, Brooklyn Park and the entire region.
Housing
This bill is largely focused on building more houses and addressing high housing costs. 60% of the bill's funding goes to construction, including $10 million for workforce housing to help rural communities grow. There are no new entitlement programs in the bill, just smart investments that expand supply to address housing shortages and build housing that is affordable to first-time buyers.
Veterans
We unanimously passed a strong veterans bill that expands mental health care, ensures pension fairness for National Guard members, and honors Gold Star and Blue Star families with a new Capitol memorial. It’s a meaningful step in supporting those who’ve served our country.
I was disappointed we haven’t been able to do more for our Veterans. I am still hoping to get an increase in the Disabled Veteran Homestead Tax Credit and tax relief on charitable gaming for Veterans done in the Tax bill.
Commerce
The Commerce bill reflects $10 million in savings, thanks to leadership agreements to scale back unnecessary spending. I'm especially glad it does not include harmful proposals like a government-run auto insurance plan or price-fixing mandates on Minnesota grocers.
State Government and Elections
Minnesotans deserve confidence in our democratic process. This year’s State Government bill includes key reforms to promote transparency, improve election security, and ensure bipartisan representation in our election system.
The state gov bill also includes several major fraud prevention bills I’ve been advocating for throughout the year. These include:
- Requiring state agencies and grant recipients to publicly post their organizational charts.
- Allowing agencies to withhold payments if there’s a credible allegation of fraud.
- Requiring state employees to report suspected fraud promptly.
- Strengthening the OLA’s ability to investigate waste, fraud, and abuse.
- Creating a new Medicaid Fraud Unit.
- Adding new whistleblower protections for state employees who report waste, fraud, and abuse.
- Launching SAVI—an initiative to reduce waste and reward cost-saving innovations within government.
- Funding for four new fraud investigators at the OLA and House File 3 (the fraud notes bill).
|
|
Concerns about Minnesota Student Survey
Recently, someone sent me a copy of the “Minnesota Student Survey,” which is given every 3 years to all Minnesota public school students in grades 9-12. The goal of the survey is to assess the needs and general attitudes of our state’s students.
Many of the questions are inappropriate for schools to be asking or tracking and parents have often expressed concerns over the years. Despite this, the MN Dept. of Education continues to require the survey, which it has been doing since 1989.
Parents are particularly concerned about invasive questions about students’ identity, mental health and sexual activity. Questions on the survey include: “What is your sex assigned at birth?" or “What is your gender identity?" Other questions raise similar concerns such as questions 119-124 which ask students about their sexual habits, or questions 69-71, 86, 91, 106, 110, and 113 which ask about student self-harm, drug use, and what their parents think about certain things they may or may not be doing. You can see the entire survey here.
The survey used to be conducted with pencil and paper and students turned it in anonymously. In recent years, it has been conducted online, which has led to new concerns about students’ privacy. MDE claims the responses are anonymous but concerns have been raised about whether the data is tied to the students’ emails and how the data is shared or stored.
Despite many parents expressing concern about the questions and their students’ privacy, many other parents are simply unaware that this survey is being given to their children.
Parents who find the content objectionable have the right to opt their student out. The 2025 survey was already administered in January, so I encourage you to ask your kids about it. You can also request to see the results from your school principal. Results are not distributed but may be viewed in the school office. If you want to opt your children out in the future, the survey is usually administered in January and the next survey will be sent out in 2028.
|
|
Troubling Student Survey Discovered
Fraud Committee Update
This week in the House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee, we delved into the Feeding Our Future scandal, the largest COVID-era fraud scheme in the country. We examined a newly surfaced audio recording of a December, 2021, meeting between Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and a group that included individuals later charged or convicted in the case.
The audio recording had been submitted as a defense exhibit by Aimee Bock, the head of Feeding our Future, but was not played during her trial. The nearly hour-long recording, portions of which were played during our hearing, revealed troubling comments from the Attorney General.
At the time of the meeting, his office was representing the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) in a lawsuit involving Feeding Our Future. Yet in the tapes, the Attorney General appears to side with the very individuals suing the state.
Among the most concerning excerpts:
-
In one clip, Ellison tells the group, “We are in the middle of a battle with the agencies,” despite the fact that his duty was to represent those agencies in court.
-
In another, he encourages participants to send him names of those in urgent need of payments and pledges to “demand explanations” from state leadership.
-
A third clip includes a striking exchange where Ellison responds to a speaker pledging organized political support by saying, “Let’s go fight these people.”
Unfortunately, many of the Attorney General’s responses were vague and repetitive. He downplayed the meeting as a routine constituent interaction and denied he knew at the time that these groups were under investigation or suing his client, the MN Dept. of Education.
These statements directly contradict other public statements he and his office have made regarding their involvement in investigating and prosecuting Feeding our Future. Indeed, a statement put out by his office in September, 2022, claims he had been “deeply involved” in the case and had been instrumental in “jump-starting” the investigation back in 2020.
Read this X thread for a full summary of the entire hearing.
During the hearing, I pressed the Attorney General on these contradictions and raised questions about why his office opposed our bill (HF20) to bring more transparency to the operations of the Attorney General’s Office (ends at 44:49)
Minnesotans deserve to know how cases are resolved once they are closed but, under current law, most of that data is still considered “private” when the case involves the Attorney General’s Office. Cases from other state and county prosecutors are generally public data once they are resolved.
At the end of the hearing, I asked the Attorney General if the meeting participants in clip three ever followed up with him with a list of names to bring to DHS Commissioner Harpstead. The Attorney General responded, saying to the best of his knowledge, he never received such an email.
I followed up by asking if he ever called the commissioners on behalf of the meeting participants, and he said no.
Finally, I asked if he received any donations to his campaign from those in the meeting, since in the recording, they say they will back him financially. He responded, saying he didn’t receive any donations from anyone at the meeting, but did receive checks from people connected to Feeding Our Future, which he says, if he knew the donation came from someone involved, he sent those checks “elsewhere.”
You can watch that full interaction here.
I look forward to receiving the follow-up responses to my questions in the coming weeks.
|
|
Photos
 I was honored to attend the Vietnamese Community of Minnesota - Cộng Đồng Người Việt Minnesota 50th Commemoration of Black April & the end of the Vietnam War. The Vietnamese fought bravely beside US troops & suffered greatly during & after the war. We honor & remember your sacrifices to fight for freedom! With Martino Nguyen for Civic Engagement and Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans
 Always love going to the West Suburban Fire District Pancake Breakfast in Loretto! So happy to see a new recruit to the Dept - a remarkable young man from an amazing family I have known for years! Not surprised he chose to volunteer to serve our community as soon as he could!
|
|
Please Contact Me
Many of you have already been in touch to discuss your thoughts on the issues that matter most to you. Thank you for sharing your ideas! Please continue to contact me to discuss any matters to which I can be of assistance.
The best way to reach me is by email: rep.kristin.robbins@house.mn.gov. For occasional updates, you can follow my Facebook Page at @RepKristinRobbins. You can also leave a voicemail on my office number, 651-296-7806, which is checked every weekday while we are in session.
Of course, if you are coming to the Capitol, I’d love to meet you! Please reach out if you would like to set-up an in-person meeting.
Have a great weekend!
Kristin
|
|
239 State Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Saint Paul, MN 55155
ph: 651.296.7806 |
|
|
|
|
