End of Session Recap: State Senator Paul Anderson
Republican State Senator Paul Anderson of Plymouth says one of the successes in the recent legislative session is money approved for Second Harvest Heartland to help end hunger in Minnesota.
Second Harvest Heartland is a nonprofit that supplies food to food shelves across the state. The organization is in need of a larger facility. It will soon move into a facility near the CCX studios along Winnetka Avenue in Brooklyn Park.
“Second Harvest Heartland is building a new distribution center in Brooklyn Park, right in the heart of CCX land,” says Paul Anderson.
“You’re talking about a statewide impact that few bonding projects actually have. This is an $18 million project in the bonding bill, but overall, it’s a $50 million project that touches cities from Ada to Zumbrota. It touches all 87 counties in the state and all those food shelves,” says Anderson.
Rockford Road Bridge Replacement & Highway 12 Dedication Listed as Successes
Anderson says another success from the past legislative session is the $9.72 million in the state bonding bill to replace and rebuild the Rockford Road bridge. The bridge goes over I-494 in Plymouth.
The Plymouth lawmaker cites the passage of a bill that dedicates Highway 12 in Wayzata to Officer Bill Mathews as another success. Wayzata Police Officer Bill Mathews died on the job by a distracted and impaired driver. Highway 12 through Wayzata is now Officer Bill Mathews Memorial Highway.
Upcoming Priorities
Upcoming priorities for Senator Paul Anderson include tax conformity and addressing the state’s workforce shortage.
“We’re seeing this in many industries, especially when it comes to precision manufacturing, in healthcare, in IT, and in agriculture,” says Anderson.
“You’re seeing about 20 to 30 percent vacancies in a lot of these jobs,” says Anderson. “We have to step-up in public education, both in E-12, higher education and technical schools, in our trades, in our industry, in our organizations to come together and find ways to recruit people into these jobs.”
Coming up on Monday, June 4, we will hear from DFL Representative Mike Freiberg of Golden Valley.
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