There was a time when a Republican and Democrat could respectfully disagree with one another on a topic and move on with life Let’s review just a handful of things we’ve seen in the past year We watched as President Trump was called “literal Hitler” and labeled “a threat to democracy,” and was eventually shot We’ve watched Teslas set on fire at dealerships because a certain segment of society hates Elon Musk People who own the vehicles are also being targeted as their Teslas are being keyed or spray painted well known conservative journalists have been “swatted” (which is when a fake 911 call is made and directs law enforcement to their house believing that a terrible crime is happening – creating a situation potentially dangerous for the person living at the house as well as putting police at risk) Democrat Governor Shapiro from Pennsylvania woke up at 2:00 a.m to find out an arsonist set fire to his mansion while he and his family were sleeping At what point did violence and criminal behavior become acceptable responses to personal and political disagreements We are a divided country and a divided state and we’re not going to agree on every topic But it wasn’t all that long ago where we could debate something without people raging at one another I think it’s time we turned the political temperature way down I wrote about my coffee and conversation with “Democrat Dave.” He contacted me a lot when I first took office and it was clear from his emails we weren’t aligned politically Rather than continue the written back-and-forth I asked if he’d go to coffee with me and have a nice I told Dave we probably agreed on 80% of life’s topics I think this country has become so polarized that many believe people from the opposite political party are truly “evil” or “crazy.” I believe if more people on both sides just sat down and talked with each other they’d find they have much more in common than they don’t we all want the same things: safe communities good education for our children and the opportunity to work and make a decent living but how Republicans and Democrats get to these goals may be slightly different With all of that in mind, I am once again reaching out to local liberal residents. Join me in trying to turn down the political temperature. Please email me at rep.pam.altendorf@house.mn.gov and let’s get coffee and have a respectful conversation my next month could be a bit hectic with the end of session coming up but we will find a time as I’m serious about making local connections and having open and honest discussions I am convinced that if we have the goals of seeking truth and that moving forward to a better future is a priority then we will see that we have more in common than not Anyone paying attention to political news both nationally and in the State of Minnesota this last month is being forced to see a shocking amount of our tax dollars being wasted due to fraud and abuse As people are struggling with high property taxes and grocery and gas costs seeing that our government systems have been running seemingly unmonitored unchecked and in extremely inefficient ways is frustrating in Minnesota’s state government at least $640 million but more likely over $1 billion has been stolen from taxpayers Yet we don’t see the Governor Walz administration holding people accountable or implementing new systems to avoid the continuation of this waste of dollars American Experiment is a great resource for local Minnesota news and you can find their fraud tracker here.  No business could operate this inefficiently and yet this week every Democrat on the state government committee voted against a bill requiring state employees to report suspected fraud The disconnect of the elected Democrats is startling House Republicans did advance two bills that take a series of steps to stop fraud that's running rampant in Minnesota. Learn more here. SEEKING TO HELP OUR SCHOOLS AND OUR STUDENTS Recently I joined other lawmakers at a meeting of southeastern Minnesota school superintendents The overall message we heard from them is that they are struggling Schools are feeling the pinch of more than 65 new mandates that were approved by Governor Walz and an all Democrat-led legislature last session They’re also seeing far too many students falling through the cracks Less than half of Minnesota’s students can read at grade level Statewide proficiency in science and math is even worse which is why I’m supporting an education reform proposal that ensures schools have the tools they need to succeed and the time needed to focus on core academic subjects the plan addresses literacy by improving the recently enacted READ Act which is over regulated and underfunded It would repeal some of the new requirements that were included in the 2024 session that have political or ideological purposes that distract from the core mission of education The proposal also restores the expectation that our teachers are not only properly prepared to provide reading instruction grounded in the science of reading but that ability is verified by teacher assessment the bill focuses on empowering schools to be innovative The revisions we propose will shift the mindset from one of schools always forced to seek permission from the state to a mindset of trusting our locally elected school boards the legislation would provide flexibility for school boards in both funding and relief from the more than 65 new mandates imposed on our schools in the previous biennium school boards would be allowed to transfer any funds that are not otherwise encumbered or limited by federal law so long as the transfer does not inadvertently trigger additional state aid or increase a local levy It also would allow school boards to delay implementation of many of the new mandates imposed during the 2023-24 legislative biennium Governor Walz’s education plans include cuts to teacher pay professional development and services to children with special needs It would also deny certain textbooks to school-age children yet it would give more money to state bureaucrats to micromanage our schools Statewide education needs to allow flexibility and innovation It needs to empower local schools and local control it needs to focus on the core priorities of learning – reading and helping every student become proficient in these subject areas expect House Republicans to continue focusing on solutions that will prioritize the needs of students and local schools – not an already bloated state government It was fun to meet up with a large group of Red Wing students with Rise Up in St Bailee O’Reilly was also in town for Physical Therapy Day at the Capitol Sign up and help support a great organization in Red Wing First Choice Clinic provides assistance to moms and families who need extra help during their pregnancy I was pleased to take part in a ribbon cutting event in Red Wing that celebrated a partnership between 3M and the Red Wing High School 3M invested nearly $300,000 to transform two underutilized classrooms into engineering labs This is a fabulous partnership between a local company and local students and teachers the House capital investment committee heard my bill that would help realign and re-route Highway 60 in Wabasha from Wisconsin cross the bridge and enter Wabasha on a daily basis They immediately have to make a 90 degree turn and travel through town on a road that can be susceptible to flooding The $2.894 million plan would eliminate the dangerous T-shaped intersection by the bridge and activate land that can be used for housing and commercial development in Wabasha The City of Wabasha is to be commended for creatively putting this $12 million package together federal and state transportation funds for the project but if it does not receive the remaining funds and work has not begun by 2027 it is in danger of losing its $5 million in federal funding Another local capital investment plan would help fund the North Zumbro Sanitary Sewer District and the Prairie Island Indian Community by having a centrally located wastewater facility in Zumbrota taxpayers would save roughly $50 million as the need for individual sanitary sewer systems in each community would be eliminated we have five communities working together to cut costs It’s a benefit not only for impacted residents but for taxpayers overall when you consider long-term expense savings These are the kinds of projects we should be supporting as a state plans that address broken and outdated infrastructure in our cities that local government would never be able to afford I’m hopeful both of these proposals will be included in a future capital investment plan Cannon Falls High School student Zane Beck was selected to take part in the Minnesota House High School Page Program where he participated in a House floor session and learned all about the political process at the State Capitol You can help Minnesota by TALKING to others and SHARING conservative messages on your social media! Follow me on Twitter, Youtube, and Rumble. It’s an honor and privilege to work for you at the Capitol Don’t hesitate to contact my office at any time this session to share your thoughts Congratulations to Lisa Demuth – elected Speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives House Democrats finally showed up for work After nearly three weeks of shutting down the Minnesota House Democrats finally reached an agreement to come back to St taxpayers paid Democrats nearly $220,000 for their refusal to take part in legislative activity at the State Capitol Much was made about negotiations and how Democrats kept trying to work something out with Republicans in order to begin session The reality is their offer didn’t change until this week when I believe they were under an enormous amount of public pressure to end their shutdown Republican Lisa Demuth will serve as Speaker of the House for both the 2025 and 2026 legislative sessions Republicans will also hold a minimum of a one seat advantage on all House committees at least until the results of a special election for an open House seat near Roseville This will allow Republican bills and priorities to move forward without roadblocks in the Minnesota House for at least six weeks A much-needed new House committee that’s designed to shine a light on years of fraud within state government will also be put in place the Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee will begin holding hearings into the massive fraud issues that have run rampant during Governor Walz’s tenure With more than $1 billion – that we know about – being stolen due to fraudulent activity in our state Republicans and Democrats alike should celebrate that we are taking a significant step to root out fraud and hold criminals accountable With the new organizational agreements happening this week I look forward to getting to work on Minnesota’s top legislative priorities and our committee work starting next week Recently I was pleased to have been named as lead for the GOP Legislative Rural Caucus which is made up of House and Senate members who prioritize the needs of Greater Minnesota I have prioritized attending these once per week meetings as it was a unique group in which the Senate and House GOP members collaborate One of my new initiatives with co-leading this group is to work on doing short informative videos that members can use on social media or in their newsletters to help spread our message of common sense and Minnesota priorities Recently I joined other Republican lawmakers at a meeting of southeastern Minnesota school superintendents and we are trying to listen to their concerns and do what we can to assist Riley Gaines joined us at a Minnesota Capitol rally for girls sports this week Gaines is a 12-time NCAA All-American swimmer and perhaps the nation’s leading girls' sports advocate the Minnesota House debated the Preserving Girls Sports Act and Gaines traveled here to share her support The Preserving Girls Sports Act would help maintain fairness and safety in girls’ athletics by prohibiting boys from playing in girls’ sports in Minnesota Title IX gives women athletes the right to equal opportunity to compete in athletics and allowing biological males to compete in girls’ sports destroys that opportunity.” The bill specifically states that only students of the female sex may participate in an elementary or secondary school athletic team or sport that an educational institution has restricted on the basis of sex to women or girls a student must present a signed physician’s statement indicating the student’s sex is based solely on the student’s internal and external anatomy and an analysis of the student’s chromosomes Minnesota State High School League record books find significant differences between top scores in the boys and girls divisions such as an 11-foot difference in the shot put and a 32 second difference in the swimming 500-yard freestyle There have been numerous examples across the country where girls have had teeth knocked out or suffered other injuries at the hands of biological boys playing in a girls’ sporting event It’s not controversial to say boys and girls are born differently This is why we have boys and girls divisions in sports Knowing a number of female athletes locally I understand the amount of dedication it takes to earn a spot on a team It is senseless to allow biological males to participate in girls’ sports and potentially trample these dreams all Republicans voted in favor of the bill Because not one reasonable Democrat could vote yes Some procedural motions were made after the vote so the bill could be revisited by the House in the weeks ahead the Minnesota House Children and Families Finance and Policy Committee approved House File 1 which would create an Independent Office of the Inspector General to reign in the rampant fraud and misuse of taxpayer dollars by the state government Minnesota has had $610 million – that we know about – stolen from taxpayers thanks to fraud occurring in Governor Walz’s agencies If state lawmakers are serious about protecting taxpayers and ending the rampant fraud in this state they will support this bill when it arrives on the House floor I was pleased to meet with visitors from Red Wing this week who support the arts The Minnesota House of Representatives will return to full capacity on Monday a special election was held in Roseville to fill the remaining open seat in the Minnesota House of Representatives The House had been operating with 67 Republicans and 66 Democrats Despite Tuesday’s election results bringing the House into a tie and our committees will continue moving ahead Setting a state budget remains our top priority We took full advantage of the five weeks in which the House Republicans had the majority and used that to communicate and push out our key messaging points highlighting the striking differences and how we would legislate “Well done my good and faithful servants!” Matthew 25:21 I’m so proud of my friends and State Representatives Krista Knudsen and Natalie Zeleznikar who presented these Bills HF 24 (Born Alive Act) and HF 25 (Supporting Women Act) on the House floor Thursday night The “Born Alive Act” was very simple and reinstated language that in the case of a baby being born alive during an abortion there would be a legal requirement to give that baby life-preserving medical care the Democrats changed the wording of this law to give “comfort care” “Supporting Women Act” – also was a simple ask it was reinstating funding to pregnancy centers around Minnesota which the Democrats stripped away in 2023 with their trifecta if they want to call themselves the party of “Pro-Choice” then they should be required to live up to that title that they have given themselves they have stripped away all “choices” for a new mother and an unplanned pregnancy except for one single choice Minnesota Democrats provide Planned Parenthood $24 million per year pregnancy centers received $4 million and instead of allowing this funding to be restored and to given women real choices the Democrats on the House floor vilified these Pregnancy Centers who do so much good work caring for mother’s and providing material things such as car seats and diapers serves as a Board Member on the First Choice Clinic out of Red Wing and it was disgusting for me to hear how they insulted the good and honorable work that these clinics provide for local families Click here to watch my speech on the House Floor speaking about this legislation. I think you will pick up on my level of disgust. The majority of Minnesotans (over 80%) support common sense legislation around abortion and other options the radical elected MN Dems showed once-again they don’t stand with the majority but choose to stand with their large campaign donors like Planned Parenthood who profit from the only choice being “abortion” (So sad!!!) I look forward to a future in that we change our culture to love an all Democrat-led legislature and Governor Walz made the reckless decision to waste our $18 billion budget surplus and grow government spending by almost 40% Who could have guessed these decisions would send Minnesota spiraling into a future deficit (Hint: every Republican lawmaker that served in the legislature last session Minnesota’s financial experts gave us some sobering news recently and the numbers show our economy continues to decline The latest projection found our state will see a $456 million budget surplus for the upcoming budget cycle budget analysts thought we’d see a $616 million surplus they thought we’d have a $1.7 billion surplus But it’s the next budget cycle that is disastrous the projected budget deficit has grown significantly from a $5.1 billion projection in December to what is now a $6 billion deficit if not exceed the largest deficit in our state’s history The Democrats are claiming that this is somehow President Trump’s problem This despite the fact that a $5.1 billion deficit was projected in early December so it was clear the majority party already had us on the path of destruction Just laugh at this Democrat attempt to shirk responsibility Democrats acted like kids with money burning a hole in their pants pocket an $18 billion surplus has been turned into a $6 billion deficit in just two years Last year when Democrats were in complete control of government they refused to investigate any of the numerous fraud issues that have come to light Minnesota taxpayers have had more than $610 million stolen from them through fraud and some estimate the total is well above $1 billion Votes taken this week on the House floor show they still are in denial over the fraudulent activity taking place repeatedly in this state One bill debated this week would establish “fraud notes,” providing legislators with an evaluation of potential fraud risks before enacting any new program or policy It would also add additional accountability to agencies to ensure they are following through with recommendations made by the nonpartisan Legislative Auditor to address matters of waste and it failed to pass the House by one vote A separate proposal adding protection for whistleblower state employees who come forward to expose government fraud and mismanagement also failed by one vote after every House Democrat voted against it Instead of standing with those who are working to safeguard taxpayer dollars Democrats are refusing provide safeguards that would increase transparency and accountability It was good to visit with local school officials Ariana Wright Michelle Larson and Terese Bjornstad at the Capitol this week It’s amazing how many people turn to crime when they don’t agree with something We see it at “mostly peaceful protests” when windows are shattered and stores are looted We’re seeing it happen with Teslas as people who don’t like Elon Musk are spray painting the vehicles And we’re seeing it with religion right here at the State Capitol a cross and sign honoring the Ten Commandments were placed outside of the State Capitol as the Easter holiday is quickly approaching This apparently was extremely troublesome to someone or some people as the Commandment display disappeared and the cross was destroyed There has been basically no news coverage of this at all let’s remember what happened last Christmas where followers of Satan brazenly put up a satanic display in the State Capitol before the holiday began and understood most likely the group’s main goal was to get attention in this country we have gone to great lengths and endured great sacrifice to protect our constitutional rights Although we might not like something and we certainly did not like the satanic display that was up for weeks during advent we chose to recognize their right to free speech Nearly every news organization turned this into a story who would have immediately been labeled a “far-right MAGA supporter” had taken a baseball bat to the satanic display But the destruction of a Christian display This has been disturbing to me and I hope to others as well the satanists have put up another display in the Capitol This one is to thank Governor Walz “for not standing in the way of spreading Satanism at the State Capitol Building I posted about this on both Facebook and my X accounts I find it my obligation to report on things that the mainstream media does not my Facebook post has had over 9,200 shares and over 450,000 views I had some people question if this was “fake” or even asked if this was an April Fool’s joke Let me reassure you that this display is registered with the Minnesota State Capitol and is on the calendar to be there for a 2-week period I have absolutely no doubts that he could take this down If this was a prank – he could take this down The sad truth is this is real and quite disturbing to many DEMOCRATS TRASHING COMMON SENSE LUNCH SOLUTIONS I serve on the K-12 Education Finance Committee and Republicans have been bringing forward a number of common sense bills that aren’t moving forward due to complete Democrat opposition every Minnesota student can receive a free breakfast and lunch at school Whether you make $100 a year or $1 million We have heard reports from many who work in the lunchrooms of the increasing amount of food waste that is taking place a student may just want the carton of milk from the free meal as they may bring their lunch from home Milk is included in the free breakfast and lunch program One problem: Minnesota forces you to take the entire breakfast or lunch even if you just want the milk walks it over to the trash can and dumps it legislation was brought forward that would allow a student to just take a milk from the lunch line without taking the meal the Minnesota Department of Education thinks this common-sense change in law would cause extra work within the agency The representatives told us in committee that the department would need $10 million every two years – and a brand-new full-time employee – to create a statewide program allowing a child to only take a carton of milk MORE SCHOOL SOLUTIONS OFFERED ONLY TO MEET FIERCE DEMOCRAT OPPOSITION Andrew Myers was thinking outside of the box: looking at our schools and their financial challenges and trying to look for new and creative ways to provide the funding that our schools need Because our schools are struggling under the more than 65 mandates imposed upon them by a Democrat-led legislature and Governor Walz last session and in many cases are laying off staff and teachers to make ends meet Republicans came up with a new funding solution The plan would reduce state spending on school lunches and redirect that $85 million per year back to schools through Local Option Revenue that $85 million would be replaced by reinstating lunch meal fees on families who earn $150,000 or more each year I would challenge anyone who is concerned about our public schools and the financial direction they are going to watch this committee discussion. You can find it here. It is shocking to see the contrast of the Republicans working to help our schools and the inability of the Democrats to let go of any of their power and control and allow our schools to have any local control that they are begging for Not a text I thought I would ever receive doing this job but I received that from a constituent regarding the satanic display and the video I did to report it to the public We are living in unique and challenging times I am grateful and humbled to be able to serve and will continue to do all I can to expose the truth Minnesota does seem to be the epicenter of a spiritual battle Goodhue Superintendent Evan Gough testified in my Elections Finance Committee this week Pam Bondi is the new United States Attorney General She heard an urgent plea from Minnesota this week Due to the Governor Walz administration’s complete inattention to the fraud that is running rampant in state government Minnesota House Republicans sent her a formal request Monday We are urging the Department of Justice to launch a comprehensive investigation into the mismanagement that has cost taxpayers at least $610 million we have watched Governor Walz do nothing to combat fraud We have watched Democrat leadership in the House and Senate refuse to even hold a legislative hearing after documented proof of fraud was reported in news articles There is no accountability from state agencies and Democrats have been more than happy to not draw any attention to this problem even though every taxpayer in this state is getting ripped off and it’s my hope Attorney General Bondi will help provide it With the Democrat shutdown now behind us, we had our first full week of activity in the Minnesota House, and committee hearings are in full swing. Republicans are in control of the agenda right now. That means we get to decide what bills are being heard in our committees. This creates a great opportunity for us to promote important issues this week.  You can follow along and watch these hearings online by clicking here.   there was a vote taken this week to remove the tax on Social Security a priority that we know the majority of Minnesotans want to see happen That ended with all Republicans voting for it and all Democrat members voting against it In the elections committee on which I serve Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon made a presentation and then abruptly left without taking questions we were simply asking about funding for the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) and they couldn’t provide answers I asked about election results data not arriving to the Secretary of State’s Office until January 14 - we were sworn into office January 14 and this is why: if Minnesota’s election system is so impeccably run why is there so much secrecy and why can’t we get answers as to why rules aren’t followed Secretary Simon said his goals for elections were “high turnout and low drama.” Yet last session the Democrat party approved things like pop-up booths voting at a college and voter eligibility without an address These are not the types of actions that build trust in our elections and only makes more people question the validity of the results I look forward to the day that those in charge of our elections care more about election integrity transparency and accuracy versus “high turnout."    the Minnesota Department of Education was on hand in the education finance committee to discuss the Feeding Our Future travesty that bilked state taxpayers out of $250 million the biggest COVID-19 fraud scheme in our nation’s history I was proud to support all of our Minnesota girl athletes by signing onto this letter asking the Minnesota State High School league to protect girls who work hard to compete in high school athletics Minnesota is one of only two states being federally investigated the Department of Education for not complying with President Trump’s executive order. Click here to learn more It was a busy week at the Capitol with committees in full swing and meeting with constituents who made the trip to Saint Paul Goodhue County Sheriff Marty Kelly was here As were Wabasha representatives to discuss their Highway 60 road project K-12 Education has been receiving a lot of Capitol chatter lately a Democrat-led majority and Governor Walz approved 65 costly mandates on all Minnesota school districts The result is that districts are now struggling to keep their heads above water and are having to eliminate teaching and staffing positions within the schools in order to survive Governor Walz recently updated his budget recommendations and they include $200 million in cuts to K-12 Education In response to this growing financial problem a Capitol press conference was held in support of saving our schools from the overbearing government mandates Democrats ushered into law last session House Republicans are offering a number of solutions that wouldn’t cost districts anything while trying give back local control Creating opportunities to innovate locally allowing schools to temporarily transfer funds between budget accounts and letting schools delay implementation of these new mandates for up to three years if their school board agrees are among the changes we’d like to make Click here to watch the education press conference House Republican leaders announced the creation of a new secure website for whistleblowers to confidentially report suspected fraud within Minnesota state government MNFraud.com is designed specifically to collect tips from individuals who have firsthand knowledge of waste or abuse in state agencies or publicly funded programs Information submitted through the site will be reviewed by the staff of the House Fraud Prevention and State Agency Oversight Committee including the identities of whistleblowers is protected much as it would be on a secure-payment processing website REPUBLICANS WILL NOT SUPPORT GOVERNOR WALZ’S PROPOSED NURSING HOME CUTS With a $6 billion deficit looming for the next budget cycle thanks to the Democrats wasting your $18 billion surplus last session and raising taxes another $10 billion Governor Walz has come out with a revised budget he wants to cut funding for nursing homes and disability services Governor Walz’s proposed budget would cut an estimated $700 million in funding for nursing homes over four years the Walz administration previously ordered the closure of nursing homes in Cannon Falls and Red Wing so the situation in our district is already dire Here is how much local nursing homes would stand to lose over the next four years if Governor Walz’s plans became law: Lake City Med Ctr Mayo Health System – Lake City: $1.895 million Crispin Living Community Care Center – Red Wing: $1.506 million Elizabeth Nursing Home and Health Care Center – Wabasha: $2.983 million the State of Minnesota has plenty of money to spend on government programs we just need to right size what we already have I can come up with at least a dozen ways to reduce spending – such as eliminating free college tuition and health care for illegal aliens – as opposed to cutting services that assist our elderly and disabled residents While it’s clear Governor Walz does not believe nursing homes are a top statewide priority We will not be supporting a budget that cuts funding for nursing homes we honored the Minnesota Frost on the House floor You may recall that the Frost won the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) championship last year so it was great to have them on hand so we could recognize their historic season I was among those who read a House resolution in their honor who was born in Lake City and attended Red Wing High School Bishops Day at the Capitol took place this week and I was able to meet with Archbishop Bernard Hebda Mark Hollis from Moose Lake traveled all the way down to St Paul to testify in favor of my bill which deals with residence issues for voting purposes Amber with her Doctorate in Dentistry from the University of Minnesota Aliza with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Wisconsin ONE-PARTY RULE – CHAOS REIGNS IN MINNESOTA orchestrated under the same Democrat one-party control in Minnesota In January 2023 the legislature started seeing large controversial bills arriving on the House floor The extremist abortion-to-birth was introduced as the Democrats’ top legislative priority we debated the blackout bill (aka carbon free energy) Democrats prioritized making Minnesota a sanctuary state for transgenders allowing our state to pay for children to transition and going as far as removing parental rights House and Senate Democrats and Governor Walz agreed to spend a nearly $18 billion budget surplus They also agreed to new laws that allow abortion until birth health insurance and drivers’ licenses to illegal immigrants Many were shocked last year by the large number of awful new laws that raised taxes The Democrats showed they had the capability of passing large controversial bills and doing it month after month This was due to a significant logjam of more controversial bills seeking passage Any serious person could understand that these bills could not be debated based on the time left on the clock with less than an hour to go before the 2024 legislative session was mandated to adjourn numerous omnibus spending proposals were unfinished This was due to the complete mismanagement of the session agenda by Democrats who waited until the last day to try and approve their preferred partisan legislation before tackling their budget bills The bills on our calendar included stopping schools and governments from removing gay and lesbian rainbow pride symbols (ultimately did not receive a floor hearing); ranked choice voting for local governments (received bipartisan opposition and was defeated on the House floor); a Constitutional Amendment that would codify abortions in Minnesota all the way until the baby’s birth (approved in the House by 1 vote Because Democrat leadership was unable to control the radical activists in their own caucus who pushed these controversial bills legislation that actually impacted state government were left until the final weekend of session The Minnesota Senate recessed all day as the majority tried to strike a deal on the Uber/Lyft situation a problem that came about due to the actions of the radical leftists sitting on the Minneapolis City Council So as the left was negotiating with the far left regular legislative business took a back seat All of this led to chaos in both chambers as the legislative clock was winding down Sunday night As the Democrats were unable to pass their budget bills during the final hour they combined all of them into one mammoth extortion bill yet not available to read online or on paper We were literally told the bill contains provisions relating to taxes scope of practice and a binary trigger ban for firearms Despite Republican objections, we were ordered to vote. Like Nancy Pelosi once said, “we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.” Watch some of the nonsense by clicking here. the deciding vote as to whether this monstrosity was sent to the governor was made by a Democrat senator who is charged with burglary Democrats had two years to pass anything they wanted under one-party rule Yet they’ll point the finger at anyone but themselves for their dereliction of duty – and have no shame doing it out-of-touch Democrat extremism for the past two years How could anyone be surprised that they gave us one more for the road VICTORY: ABORTION UNTIL BIRTH WILL NOT BE ON THE BALLOT THIS FALL With a Democrat trifecta in state government Republicans need to celebrate the wins when they happen Defeating a bill Democrats called “equal rights” that actually would have erased women’s rights had no protections for age nor religious faith and codified abortions until birth in our state’s Constitution qualifies as a significant and major accomplishment Republicans and many supporters across the State of Minnesota amendments and long floor debates defeated this awful bill Below is a response received by my colleague Hearing the relief and joy of our constituent base is all we need to keep fighting for Minnesota “we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it.” and now Kamala Harris could become the first Black woman and the first person of South Asian descent to head a major party's presidential ticket if Democrats nominate her after President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid A man who got himself trapped in a Virginia State Police child predator sting operation last year was ordered Monday in Stafford Circuit Court to serve 10 years in prison was previously convicted in Stafford of six counts of using an electronic device to solicit a minor Judge Michael Levy sentenced him to a total of 55 years but 45 years were either suspended or allowed to run concurrently with each other State police were conducting a sting operation in Stafford in March of last year using an agent who was posing online as a 14-year-old girl Gibbs quickly started sending the fake girl pictures of his private parts and making sexually suggestive comments email account and pictures of the hotel room in Maryland where he was staying at the time Following his arrest and even after his convictions Gibbs insisted that he was the victim of identity theft and that his phone had been hacked He denied being the person in the pictures that were sent to police though police said that it was clearly him in the pictures He claimed he’d only been communicating with an adult woman and said he’d never seen the picture of a teenage girl that was sent to him during the sting operation Both the jury and Levy rejected those claims Gibbs was one of two men who received prison time Monday in Stafford as part of state police internet predator investigations was ordered to serve two and a half years in prison for downloading child pornography from the internet Police executed a search warrant at Altendorf’s home on Winslow Road last year and seized a laptop and an external hard drive containing thousands of images and videos featuring child pornography Court records state that when Altendorf’s wife asked why they had come to the home Altendorf volunteered that “they are here because of my porn.” kepps@freelancestar.com Get the latest in local public safety news with this weekly email Email notifications are only sent once a day and now Kamala Harris could become the first Black woman and the first person of South Asian descent to head a … Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device Account processing issue - the email address may already exist Invalid password or account does not exist Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account My daughter Amber Altendorf stopped by for Dental Day at the Capitol She’s a senior at the University of Minnesota and soon will be the first doctor in our family And just a quick update on my grandson Louie which my dental daughter is very excited about Democrats passed a bill giving gender identity its own category under the Minnesota Human Rights Act instead of including it within the definition of sexual orientation there was no corresponding religious exemption added which leaves faith-based schools and religious organizations open to claims of gender identity discrimination Such an exemption would ensure that religious organizations and faith-based schools can hire teachers and ministers consistent with their mission and values One faith-based school is already facing a complaint at the Department of Human Rights because of this lack of an exemption There is a diverse coalition of religious groups that have come forward with serious concerns Democrats on the committee voted the amendment down Please click on the picture below to watch a video made by my colleague Your religious constitutional rights are now under attack and the actions by House Democrats prove this was intentional INCOMPLETE UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE INFO LEADS TO A DEMOCRAT VICTORY LAP In our House Education Finance Committee recently Democrats patted themselves on the back for their recent unemployment insurance (UI) legislation that is going to cause significant financial harm to our schools They pointed to data showing that schools have only spent 1/3 of the of the expected amount of UI cost estimates Problem: they didn’t bother to mention that many of the schools have not reported their UI expense leaving a “0” in their column which obviously drives down the totals I spoke to a local school district recently and was told that next year it will spend at least three times as much as the state estimate Hardly the wild success Democrats are claiming Click on the picture below to hear my committee comments on the unemployment insurance fiasco LATEST DEMOCRAT ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT BILL WOULD MAKE MINNESOTA A SANCTUARY STATE On the heels of Minnesota Democrats giving illegal immigrants free drivers’ licenses comes news that they’re not finished catering to those who are not in this state legally The latest Democrat brainchild would make Minnesota a sanctuary state prohibiting local or state law enforcement from assisting federal agencies in immigration cases Let’s review why this radical idea is giving many lawmakers heartburn when President Biden rolled back many President Trump-era restrictions at the border crossings by illegal immigrants skyrocketed the number of people taken into custody by the U.S Border Patrol has reached the highest levels in the agency’s 100-year history And that only includes the number of illegals the agency was able to count Heaven only knows how many thousands or millions have entered during President Biden’s tenure without a second glance And it’s not just poor families from Mexico looking for better lives The overwhelming majority are men who are crossing without family members as Chinese and Russian aliens have also been spotted at the southern border many of them are being shipped to sanctuary cities and states in other parts of the country and they have struggled with the surge in illegal immigration It has caused tremendous strain on their housing Democrats want to make Minnesota a haven for illegal immigrants at a time of crisis with our southern border hemorrhaging according to the Minnesota Department of Health fentanyl is now involved in 92 percent of all opioid-involved deaths and 62 percent of overdose deaths in Minnesota We need to work with federal authorities to stop the flow of drugs like fentanyl across our borders and making Minnesota a sanctuary state would undermine those efforts Minnesotans do not support this extreme policy A recent KSTP/Survey USA poll found making Minnesota a sanctuary state was opposed by 54% of respondents With – at least – 8 million new illegal immigrants taking advantage of President Biden’s chaotic border policies it’s time for Minnesota Democrat lawmakers to recognize enough is enough when it comes to their prioritization of residents who shouldn’t be here in the first place Minnesotans want immigrants vetted so we know who is moving into our neighborhoods Minnesotans are already strained as one of the highest taxed states and cannot afford this expansion of government Minnesotans overwhelmingly do not want their state turned into a magnet for illegal immigration that failed elsewhere Please let your voice be heard on these important issues Dave Lewey of Lake City was here as a representative of the Minnesota Educational Facilities Management Professionals Association Members of the Wabasha & Goodhue County Soil & Water District also visited Day at the Capitol brought motorcyclists from the Lake City chapter Joe Garten of Cannon Falls was here to discuss trapping issues As well as representatives of the Red Wing School District — A Minnesota state senator and representative condemned “political violence” after a man was cited for allegedly causing property damage at a Trump store earlier this week The citation alleges that Broderick Watson entered the parking lot of the merchandise store — located at 1320 Old West Main St yelled and swore and then damaged a 'Trump' flag," the citation said The Red Wing Police Department said in a statement that after the man damaged the flag he threw a piece of metal from the flag across the parking lot Republican State Rep.Pam Altendorf and Sen Steve Drazkowski said there is “no place for political violence of any kind in Red Wing or any community and we condemn all of it.” The statement also referenced the two assassination attempts on former President Donald Trump "It wasn’t that long ago that we had two political parties that could disagree civilly without fear of retribution," the statement said we are now at a place where people are being targeted and fear for their safety over their support of a political candidate Watson was cited with a misdemeanor count of fourth-degree intentional property damage and will be arraigned on Nov A statement from the Red Wing Police Department said Watson will also be issued a formal trespass order from the store According to the statement from Red Wing Police Department Watson is also a suspect in other thefts of signs The City of Red Wing has received multiple complaints about political signs containing profanity on private property "Every citizen should respect each other regardless of which candidate or person they support as we are all American citizens and our country is built on democracy Stealing a sign or vandalizing property is not going to change the election results," Red Wing Police Chief Nick Sather said in the statement "Criminal behavior will not be tolerated within the City of Red Wing thefts or damage in relation to people expressing their constitutional rights will result in criminal charges or an arrest.” Last Saturday I helped volunteer at a “Daddy Daughter Dance” in Red Wing It was a fundraiser for First Choice Clinic 130 dads attended along with their daughters it was simply one of the best events I’ve ever attended This means a committee must act favorably on a finance bill by today in order for it to continue moving forward this legislative session our committee work will decrease significantly while our time debating bills on the House floor will increase ANOTHER SOLUTION IN SEARCH OF A PROBLEM: RANKED CHOICE VOTING I serve on the elections committee in the Minnesota House One of the guidelines I’ve tried to adopt here is “make it easy to vote and make it difficult to cheat.” House Democrats approved their omnibus elections bill It includes the very confusing ranked choice voting program which would only apply to local races if the local government chose to implement the program multiple candidates for a particular office appear on a ballot and voters rank them in order of their preference If no candidate receives more than half of the first-choice votes the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and those who ranked them first instead have their vote go to their second choice The process continues until one candidate achieves the required 50% If you make a mistake the possibility exists that your votes will be thrown out It also slows down the process of counting the votes To watch my committee comments on ranked choice voting, click here. CALL TO ACTION ON EMERGENCY SERVICES FUNDING House Republicans held a news conference to address the critical need to adequately fund emergency medical services (EMS) statewide $120 million is critically needed to keep our rural EMS providers operational I am co-author of legislation that would provide this funding Governor Walz and legislative Democrats have proposed only $16 million they had no problem spending $730 million on a new building for lawmaker office space – a palace for politicians To watch the press conference, click here. ROCHESTER SCHOOLS TRANSGENDER POLICY IMPLEMENTED WITHOUT PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE one of the worst things you can do if you are serving some role in government is to be sneaky about implementing a policy It gives credence to the argument that you must have something to hide which is why you are choosing not to be transparent Let’s look at the Rochester Public Schools (RPS) as the latest example I met with this courageous school counselor, Christina Barton, who was interviewed by Alpha News. According to this news report, Rochester Public Schools Superintendent Kent Pekel implemented guidelines as they relate to transgender students Christina said she “had consulted with RPS personnel who had warned me against making this guideline public and that there is a risk of job retaliation up to disciplinary action or termination if I speak to the board or am noncompliant regarding these guidelines.” Superintendent Pekel’s guidelines were put in place in September 2023 and were apparently done without knowledge of the school board The guidelines state they “will remain in effect until the school board ‘develops and approves a policy and/or procedures to support transgender and gender-expansive students.” the Rochester School Board apparently knew nothing about these guidelines so why would it feel compelled to develop a policy and rid itself of Pekel’s mandate I’ve learned Rochester’s teachers found out about this in February the guidelines detail how students must be referred to by their preferred name and pronouns and allowed access to bathrooms and sporting activities in accordance with their gender identity District staff who fail to comply with the guidelines such as by refusing to use a student’s preferred pronouns A section on “parent access to information” stipulates that parents will be provided with information about whether their child is “transgender or whether their child has asked to use a name or locker rooms based on the child’s gender identity rather than sex assigned at birth” only if they request such information if the parents have no knowledge of their child’s transgender information It seems pretty clear that Superintendent Pekel implemented this language on his own If a child is going through a gender transition activity or is feeling uncomfortable about their birth sex parents will not be notified about this unless they call the school and ask specifically about it Kids can’t get their ears pierced without parental consent But when it comes to doing something that will cause irreversible impacts and does not “follow the science,” then it’s OK to keep parents in the dark I cannot understand who would argue against transparency and against the protection of children mind you - to be threatened with their jobs if they did not follow these rules that were unknown to the school board or parents is disgusting Again, to learn more about the Rochester Public Schools transgender guidelines debacle, click here. It was great to see members of Rise Up Red Wing in St They even sat in my Education Finance committee meeting Veterans Day at the Capitol took place this week — Northwood Municipal Airport-Vince Field is moving forward on its 20-year plan with the next step — a new general aviation terminal building — at hand following funding from the Federal Aviation Administration paired with those finished in recent years is the start of preparing the airport for the future “This is just the beginning of it,” he said The FAA recently doled out grants for terminal expansion projects Northwood received $950,000 for an approximately 650-square-foot general aviation terminal building to meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements The announcement of the funding came from Sen said in the release that both projects will ensure state residents can fly safely and efficiently “The Fargo-Moorhead and Northwood regions are rapidly growing both in terms of population and in economic activity,” Hoeven said “That means greater demand for air service and the need for updates and added facilities at Hector International and Northwood airports.” Altendorf said he’s seen air traffic pick up throughout the state and North Dakota is starting to come around on spending more money on airports rural airports have had projects going on recently “We keep the engineers and contractors busy somewhere in the state,” he said People moving close to Grand Forks Air Force Base and wanting to have airplanes and places to store them has probably been a contributing factor as well as people wanting to fly outside of the Grand Forks air space due to the region's high volume of student aviation traffic Northwood and Hillsboro are prime candidates for expansion include a ramp expansion for additional aircraft parking runway reconstruction with added lighting and a precision aircraft position indicator system Other projects in discussions include an office The new terminal building doesn’t have a set project timeline but a meeting has been scheduled for early November to discuss the project Having a project plan in place and seeing it begin to roll out has been great and it will prepare Northwood for the future “We have to have a plan for the future,” he said “We’ll be pretty well set for a long time.” Last Friday was the date of our 2nd legislative deadline This is the date when House committees must act favorably on bills that met the first legislative deadline (March 10) in the Senate this means many bills are being heard in all of our committees these days especially in our finance committees as this is a budget year and the Democrats are looking to spend plenty of money and Speaker of the House – all Democrats – unveiled a budget target agreement that would add $17.9 billion in new spending to the state’s next two-year budget a 35 percent increase from the current $52 billion general fund spending plan Most of the Democrats spending priorities will be permanent Their plan includes a laughable $3 billion dedicated to tax relief You’ll recall we have a nearly $20 billion budget surplus if you don’t take inflation into account I’ll have more on the Democrats’ spending spree in the weeks ahead as their specific priorities become available But know they have shown their true colors; they prioritize growing government far more than they prioritize giving you your money back and helping you pay your rising bills READING RESET AIMS TO IMPROVE STUDENT LITERACY Science of Reading “IT WORKS” – listen to Principal Ben Bakeberg from Jordan, MN explain: “there is NO Blame Are you aware that only 50 percent of Minnesota’s students are grade level proficient in reading This is unacceptable and has truly become a crisis Recently I joined a number of other lawmakers at a press conference to announce legislation that would address the issue based on a renewed focus on the Science of Reading program Reading RESET is a focused plan that includes strategic funding Our plan establishes a special revenue fund from which schools can apply to cover costs related to aligning their curriculum and instructional practices to the Science of Reading The RESET Fund includes three primary components: and struggling readers should understand that no one is blaming any of you for the low student reading proficiency rates The goal of this legislation is to recognize the problem and provide the tools and resources necessary in the future for all to succeed Check out the FULL Republican Reading Reset Press Conference here. The abortion debate has gone off the rails in so many ways this session but the worst might be a plan that would shut down crisis pregnancy centers It’s been reported that the governor’s proposed budget would eliminate $3.4 million every year to the 33 sites that utilize the funding It’s hard for me to understand why some extreme Democrat lawmakers don’t even want a conversation to happen with a pregnant woman that lays out her options – which include giving birth and giving the child up for adoption its literally get an abortion and that’s that these pro-choice liberals are doing all they can to ensure a mother is prevented from learning about all of the pregnancy “choices” that are available to her and discussing those options with compassionate professionals who want this woman to make an informed decision Do you find it difficult to make up your mind when you go to vote the Democrats now want to ensure you have to put more unnecessary thought into casting a ballot as they now have legislation that would implement ranked choice voting in Minnesota We recently discussed the issue in our elections committee Testifiers said it would be great because we need more people running in our elections which would eliminate all “minor” political parties from the ballot unless a candidate had received 10% of the vote in the previous election on one hand they are arguing for a new election system in order to put more people on the ballot and not 10 minutes later they are trying to make it much more difficult for an outside political party to put a candidate on the ballot which automatically means fewer people can receive votes Election bills are supposed to be nonpartisan and there is zero Republican support for either of these if the Democrats are bringing forward election bills these days it’s not because it’s in Minnesota’s best interests but is very likely in the DFL Party’s best interests To watch my comments in committee on ranked choice voting, click here, and on raising the ballot threshold, click here. It was good to visit with Robert and Henry Cushman who were at the State Capitol recently to participate in the Minnesota House High School Page program I also had the pleasure to meet with people from Great River Homes recently as they visited the Capitol to take part in Disability Services Day I was also pleased to visit with Sadie Keller and Ryan Marking with Wabasha Ambulance Services I spent some time in the district this week getting a tour of the Red Wing Waste Campus with Red Wing City Council Members Being on the Minnesota House Energy Committee Jeff Schneider is the Director and is doing an impressive job managing this facility the Xcel Energy Red Wing Steam Plant Superintendent He gave us a tour and an up close look at how garbage that was sorted and shredded is now burned for energy This is such a smart and well-run operation These are the kinds of energy projects we should be promoting and prioritizing as they are also keeping garbage out of Minnesota’s landfills the House Democrat majority finance committees are wrapping up their work approving their expensive spending proposals and sending them to the House floor for a full debate the Senate majority leader and the Speaker of the Minnesota House – all Democrats - recently agreed to waste the overwhelming majority your $17 billion budget surplus and raise government spending by 35% they agreed to spend $70 billion on state government programs over the next two years the Democrats approved their Legacy funding and higher education spending bills More egregious agency spending proposals and plenty of misplaced priorities will be arriving on the floor in the next week or two nursing homes are not a House Democrat budget priority the word “crisis” is often thrown about liberally and without context But when discussing our nursing homes and the overwhelming challenges they are facing in the State of Minnesota the word “crisis” is the only description that can be used the number of Minnesotans aged 65 or older is now more than 1.3 million Many of these residents will eventually need the skilled caregiving that a nursing home can provide yet our nursing homes are struggling mightily to meet the needs of our elderly 11,000 senior citizens were turned away from long-term care settings almost 2,600 nursing home beds have been taken out of service That is the equivalent of more than fifty 50-bed nursing homes 15 nursing homes have also closed permanently during this time frame including a facility in Crookston that announced its closure just last month pay challenges with wages rising faster than what had been budgeted and a workforce shortage that is estimated at 20,000 nursing homes have been forced to take out loans in order to make ends meet and now they are at the point where they can no longer receive credit The inability to fully staff our nursing homes also creates unwanted stress on our hospitals as nearly 20% of their bedspace is being taken up by people who should be recovering in nursing homes or assisted living facilities I have yet to hear from a nursing home that is currently operating at full capacity a facility in Cannon Falls recently shut down due to a leak in its roof I've reached out to the nursing homes in our district to discuss the challenges they are facing This includes the Bay View Nursing Center in Red Wing which is one of only two nursing homes in Minnesota that offers specialty care for traumatic brain injuries and other high-level needs The message from all of them is nearly identical: We are facing a crisis and we need help we are in a position to take care of our nursing homes once and for all in the health and human services budget bill recently brought forward by the House Democrat majority a piddly $3.9 million in new funding was offered to address this statewide emergency House Democrats did find $40 million to allocate for Hollywood producer credits and $194 million to fund a high-speed train to Duluth These continued misplaced Democrat priorities would almost be laughable if the end game for our nursing homes wasn’t so serious Hospital care is far more expensive than what is charged in nursing homes so would it not make sense to do right by our nursing homes for all involved It's financially wise to fund our nursing homes prioritize our elderly and disabled residents and entice more of our workforce to consider a career in these facilities Before Democrats waste this historic $17 billion budget surplus on new and expanded government programs they should join Republicans in advocating for our senior citizens and those who care for them by ending this nursing home funding crisis For those passionate about your 2nd Amendment Rights – this was my speech that I gave at the State Capitol with the Minnesota Gun Owner’s Caucus.  FACTS OVER FEAR! Click here to watch I am honored to be a voice for all the people in our district and in Minnesota and I will keep fighting for our freedoms and Constitutional rights It’s always enjoyable to meet with residents in our district This week I was able to meet with members of the Lake City VFW Pictured are Lake City VFW Commander Tom Brown and member Jeremy Nelson One of the topics of discussion I had with these VFW members centers on the Democrats’ proposal of eliminating electronic pull tabs as we know them In 2022 alone they generated almost $2 billion in revenue Electronic pull tabs have been a godsend for VFW’s and the local organizations and charities who receive charitable gambling proceeds from them Language in the House Democrat omnibus tax bill eliminates the “open all” feature that has been in use in electronic pull-tab games for years They want players to “open one line at a time.” This change is expected to dramatically decrease the revenue from electronic pull tabs and significantly reduce the amount of money that is collected and allocated to local charities and organizations The legislation did not travel through committee and did not follow the proper legislative process the public was not given a fair and adequate opportunity to testify and weigh in on this important matter Republican House members were also not given the opportunity to work with Democrats to find any kind of compromise on this subject – such as significantly lowering the tax paid to the state to make up for the expected lost revenue I voted against this plan and will not support this change The charitable revenue that is distributed locally thanks to electronic pull tabs is critically important to the organizations receiving it It’s unfortunate that House Democrats are now putting unnecessary stress on area charities COSTLY EMPLOYEE LEAVE PROPOSAL APPROVED BY HOUSE DEMOCRATS Another far-left plan that creates a mandatory, government-run paid leave program funded by tax increases on employers and employees has been approved in the Minnesota House. To watch my video on this proposal, click here. The nearly $3 billion program will be paid for by a brand-new tax on employers and employees and it expands employers’ leave obligations to part-time and temporary workers The House Democrat plan would require virtually all Minnesota employers to provide employees with up to 12 weeks of paid leave benefits for qualifying family care and up to 12 more weeks for qualifying medical reasons per year If you own a Main Street business and have only one employee – this will impact you as many as 400 new full-time employees will need to be hired just to develop and administrate the statewide program many businesses are already struggling to hire workers and stay open This bill would devastate every Minnesota employer Common sense tells us that implementation of this paid leave mandate on even our smallest employers will ultimately cause a number of businesses to close Companies can offer 12 weeks of paid leave on their own if they see the benefit of providing it to attract and retain the workforce they need Another extreme – and expensive – government mandate forced upon them is going to be troublesome and problematic The bill now heads to the Minnesota Senate THOUGHT POLICE MAY SOON MONITOR WHAT YOU SAY AND WRITE What would you think if I told you state government may be about to create a division of ‘thought police,’ which would monitor things people say or write that are not criminal or violent in any way but might offend someone who could then claim you were speaking with bias far-left attempt to muzzle your First Amendment right to speak freely has actually been approved by Minnesota House Democrats as a provision in its judiciary/public safety bill The bill would allow the Minnesota Department of Human Rights to send employees into communities to solicit “bias incidences” and collect data on individual speech that is not criminal but believed by someone to be biased and concerning receive and compile reports from community organizations school districts and individuals regarding incidents a community member believes are motivated by bias That data will be stored and analyzed and could be sought after by the state – an actual government bias registry if someone is offended by something you said or wrote and believed it was biased they could then report you to a state agency which could then keep that file on record So what kind of talk could get you in trouble a question was asked of the bill author if a written article claiming or arguing that COVID-19 is a Chinese bio-weapon that leaked from a lab in Wuhan should be put in the bias registry The answer was it can be considered a hate or bias incident The bill author was then asked if someone wearing an “I love J.K Rowling” shirt could also be put on the bias registry and she stated that circumstance would be something for lawyers to decide To view the discussion, click here and begin watching at 1:28:20. The New York Post also has an article which you can read here. I have yet to see this news covered by any local TV station or newspaper this provision is designed to make you scared to speak freely to think twice about writing a letter to the editor because you disagree with something to hesitate before hitting the post button on Facebook to walk away instead of having a potentially uncomfortable conversation with someone none of this has anything to do with speech that was made in relation to a hate crime or violent activity your antics would be reported to the police Because this assault on your First Amendment liberties was included in an omnibus judiciary/public safety bill it will head to a joint House/Senate conference committee where 5 representatives and 5 senators will decide whether it should stay or go Let’s hope in the end common sense prevails Harry Niska for all they did to expose this legislation that the Democrats were trying to slide through You really need to see this interview with Fox News to believe what is happening in Minnesota To view the Fox News interview, click here, and to view his interview with Fox and Friends Weekend, click here. Thank you for the prayers for our State and our Country «Sparkasse Schwyz» is expanding into the tax-friendly Altendorf SZ on the Obersee it aims to tap into the potential of this lucrative market area Sparkasse Schwyz will open a new branch in Altendorf on the Schwyz shore of the Obersee at the end of the year, according to a statement from the regional bank on Friday The new branch will be managed by Roger Koepfli (pictured below) The 51-year-old has extensive experience in managing bank branches and is considered a specialist in financing he is locally rooted and described by the bank as a «banker with passion.» Roger Koepfli , Branch Manager of Sparkasse Schwyz in Altendorf SZ (Image: zvg) Koepfli has most recently worked for around three years at Valiant Bank as a private and business client advisor. He began his career at the Schwyz Cantonal Bank with a banking apprenticeship. Following this, he held positions at Zuercher Kantonalbank, Credit Suisse, Schwyz Cantonal Bank, Glarus Cantonal Bank, and Bank Linth, as per his LinkedIn profile Sparkasse Schwyz aims to enhance the external perception of its brand The region around Altendorf has experienced strong growth at all levels in recent years and the bank wants to leverage this potential as other banks have withdrawn from the region and closed their branches.» The new branch will feature a reception area and a 24-hour zone approximately three employees are expected to be on site Sparkasse Schwyz operates six branches located in Brunnen finews.com publishes on its own Web-TV-Channel interviews with well-known figures of Swiss finance. + More on this topic + More on this topic + More on this topic Matthias Altendorf is CEO of Endress+Hauser Group He started his career with Endress+Hauser with vocational training as a mechanic This led to several positions within the company until he took over as managing director of the Group’s largest production center He joined Endress+Hauser’s Executive Board in 2009 and then took the helm as CEO in 2014 Matthias Altendorf is a member of the extended board of the ZVEI (German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturer’s Association) as well as of the advisory board of the Baden Economic Association of Industrial Companies (wvib); and is also on the board of directors of the Swiss Kistler Group Matthias Altendorf has a keen interest in management theory especially the topics of innovation and cooperation restoring vintage motorcycles and working his own piece of forest MATTHIAS ALTENDORFCEOEndress+Hauser Group What are three key things that a machine builder system integrator or manufacturer should know about Endress+Hauser we are a leading value and technology supplier for process automation equipment with a wide high-quality and innovative product basket through process automation equipment in production or machines I think this describes in a nutshell what the people for process automation are What new technologies are driving your product development at Endress+Hauser I think there are a few elements I can share I think one element is everything that has to do with digitalization And this can be in all that you have wireless communication protocols or cloud services; this might be IT securities Everything around that area plays a role basically in our daily lives today from seamless integration in any kind on platforms cloud base or even fully digital engineering tasks is everything that has to do with optical measurements in any kind of applications specifically we use this for the process analytical world the radar and free space radar ultrasonic or optical waves play a significant role for future technologies I would say more basic sense technologies which is focused on determining through RNA or DNA or molecule to specific behavior of biochemical reactions which can determine or detect lactate levels in a cell And this is really important for future genetically engineered type products And those four elements are at the moment where we are working on and gets a lot of attentions and priorities Can you explain how Endress+Hauser helps machine builders and system integrators to raise their efficiency I guess there are several steps where we can support them with the Endress+Hauser ecosystem of products The easiest part is the selection of the right purpose product Everybody who wants a product for a certain application can easily select it and it’s the right technology for the right application it’s the fully digital capabilities of the engineering process This saves you time and gains sufficiency on that area We are open for any kind of digital integration needed and we ensure through intensive tests that it works with other automation components through our partnership program that we established if you use a PLC from A and you use a product from B and we also align ourselves as a preferred partner with Rockwell when you buy a Rockwell PLC and a Endress+Hauser equipment they perfectly match and this saves time on the integration part for both parties But we also have this for other automation components suppliers we have easy installation routines on both sides And we try to make everything fast and also limit the number of mistakes when you integrate products in higher level systems our competence and logistics in product management allows us to provide applications solutions and become a main implementation vendor for our customers he can buy things out of one hand and he can be assured that it will work How does the Industrial Internet of Things figure in your business strategy either as part of your own production or as part of the technology you’re including in your products let’s start with our own products and logistics chain our whole production network around the world that has developed the logistic chain they couldn’t manufacture buildings on variations just in time and build to order if we wouldn’t have implemented over the past 20 years this kind of technologies in all factories and with a high integration into our own IT and ERP systems we cannot produce it without those systems because they help us to trace the right materials at the right time It helps us to lead and guide colleagues in the manufacturing environment and it allows us to build on order in real time to deliver this value through our products and services to our customers by providing basically the digital twin right from the birth of the order Right from the birth of the order we start to establish the digital twin for our customers And it ends basically in the lifecycle when the product would become out of order This is a key element of all aspects of what we are doing in product design but as well as in the sales and engineering area we use this and we believe that this generates a lot of advantages for our customers by either being faster either being more secure and more safe at the end of the day or helping him be transparent to improve the processes that he has and we want to have transparency in the process to improve the processes where the customers benefit from How will machine automation and controls alter the way you or your customers staff their operations in the future the digitalization will change how we control the process and how we use humans to do it part of the change is the way machines or manufacturing processes will be designed And I think we had a real example in the COVID-19 story we had up to 10,000 people in the home office and still the company was running and working from that point of view this new work will change the landscape in the office or in the engineering landscape and work but it will also change the landscape inside the manufacturing world where people really assemble and produce the products One example is in finding out what problem a machine or a process has; nobody needs to be close to a machine anymore You could do this electronically; you could do this remotely less cost and less time and more efficient and we really did this now during COVID-19; we can even help people over the smartphones to detect the problem and even solve the problem from that point of view I think it will also be more data and fact-based because we have more data and then we can locate a problem more on the facts It might be that we need less experts out in the field and they can support other experts which might not have the detailed knowledge yet I think we can be more predictive; we can be fast in analyzing and the connection between other suppliers and customers is possible And I think an ecosystem becomes decisive for the way of doing business in the future and this ecosystem has to be somehow digitally and emotionally connected All this leads to new capabilities around remote servicing What we call the RealWear glasses or even new smart commissioning We have a new smart commissioning app which you can use with the Endress+Hauser utility cloud As engineering and IT continue their convergence which one is and/or will be leading the direction of future automation and technology at Endress+Hauser I think they are coming together because I believe IT in the pure way like within our private life can most likely never overcome the domain of process knowledge that machines or manufacturing processes have And this is partly because it is embedded software its specific mechanical designs or even electronic hardware based and this is specific to what the application task is This will remain somehow specific and will not become generic and therefore does not go to the mainstream IT world And this is in the interest of the customer and of course it is in the interest of the supplier but also from a performance perspective this is critical where those applications run if it is in an embedded environment or the device itself doesn’t matter so much in the future anymore And then I believe standard IP security mechanisms Wi-Fi or Bluetooth will become standard like we know it today in our private world from IT technology because it’s cheaper And we can assume that bandwidth will be almost unlimited wherever we go and therefore this changes the way of connectivity too So I believe that both worlds will come together as long as you have dedicated abdications real-time aspects there will be always a specific process automation world the broader perspective of IT will convert into the process automation world And we use better components from the IT world because the IT network basically extends itself into the process automation world How has Endress+Hauser invested in its U.S business over the past few years and what are your plans for future investments and technology In that path we have invested more than $150 million in the States And last year we inaugurated the new plan in Ann Arbor for the process analyzers we are in the process of finishing in Pearland a new sales and training center for the South basically And if I sum this up in the last five years I would like to mention we invest as well in the next generation We always invest in the next generation of people because we must be able to connect with students of all different ages through our programs and the events we host Some of these events and programs have originated at the U.S Others are more in the regions at the end of the day and we take a lot of effort and we ought to take a lot of pride to develop the young human beings as they become part of the process automation community And we invented also a few things; we brought the European apprenticeship program over to the States because we had good experience in Switzerland and Germany what we call a “rotational engineering program,” and we also participate in community career and education forums for me it is also important not just in the physical world we invest we also invest in the capability world of educating young people which we established in the Houston area for the Gulf region base we try to be very close and have a close proximity to our customers there in the Gulf regions We will have process training units because we believe also education for the existing customer base is really important and we network that And we also will do this together with our partner Vectors Control and the Automation Group And first time we also implemented a laboratory so we can build a bridge between the lab and the process and that is what we are doing also for the first time in the Houston area you ask about what is the future investment and of course this always depends on how the business is growing But we are prepared to invest even further because as soon as we need space to expand and we have enough space in Ann Arbor and most likely on the long run we will have to do something more in California Mike Bacidore is the editor in chief for Control Design magazine. He is an award-winning columnist, earning a Gold Regional Award and a Silver National Award from the American Society of Business Publication Editors. Email him at [email protected] ExpandCary-Grove athletic director Jim Altendorf (middle) has a picture with four of his former players at a recent Trojans girls basketball game. Altendorf is the former C-G girls coach. From left: Amy Kaplan Johnson (and daughter Camryn), Kendra Petrie Kulans, Altendorf, Krista Petrie Diehl, Anna Ashley Pierce and C-G assistant AD Tim Garis. (Photo provided) Unlike his successor, Jim Altendorf started his teaching and coaching career at Cary-Grove with no aspirations of becoming athletic director. But after working as assistant AD under Bruce Kay for 10 years and learning the inner-workings of the department, that was what materialized for Altendorf in 2011. Ryan Ludwig, on the other hand, has been eyeing the AD position since he came to C-G as a special education teacher, before he became a dean of students. So it worked out well for Ludwig, 35, that Altendorf is looking to step back into the classroom for his final three years in education, leaving the AD position open to Ludwig. Altendorf will find out later this semester at which District 155 Wellness Department (physical education, health and driver education) he will be teaching. Ludwig will prepare and learn this semester from Altendorf before taking over next year. “I’m excited about finishing with the kids and coaching and teaching again,” Altendorf said. “The AD thing I really never thought I would do that. Bruce asked me to be assistant AD and next thing I know, I’m in line for the AD position. And (former C-G principal) Jay Sargeant really wanted me to do it, so I did.” Altendorf has spent all but one semester of his teaching career at C-G. He taught one semester at Genoa-Kingston. Altendorf was head girls basketball coach from 1998 through 2006. He also worked as an assistant coach in boys basketball, football, baseball and golf. Ludwig is a 2004 Prairie Ridge graduate, who competed in football, wrestling and track and field in high school. He has worked as one of Altendorf’s assistant ADs for the last two years. Ludwig and his wife Jessica have a son (Maxwell, 8) and a daughter (Madelyn, 5). “When I started at Cary, I set three goals,” Ludwig said, “I wanted to be head freshman football coach, head (varsity) wrestling coach and I wanted to be athletic director. I pretty much knew coming in my long-term plan was I wanted to be the athletic director.” Altendorf’s office is adjacent to Ludwig’s, which allows the two to constantly communicate throughout the day. Altendorf likes that Ludwig always has questions. “He has so much energy. He’s a high-energy guy, he’s positive and he’s a go-getter,” Altendorf said. “And that’s what we need right now. “He has a lot of challenges ahead of him and he’s the kind of guy who will take those challenges on. He’s not afraid to come in and ask questions and he’s not afraid to do his thing.” Altendorf said one sign of a strong AD is an ability to say, “No.” “And not being afraid of making tough decisions,” he said. “It’s a job where every decision you make, half the people will think one way and the other half will think another way. Just knowing you’re making a decision that’s kid-based first. Cary-Grove athletic director Jim Altendorf and his wife Lauralee. "She's been amazingly supportive of me," said Altendorf, who is retiring as AD after this school year. “We used to have a motto ‘Doing what’s right for kids.’ I always think about ‘Is that what I’m doing?’ " Ludwig said he wants to provide the best athletic experience for the kids, support coaches and honor the community by doing both of those things. Ludwig’s views of C-G have changed dramatically since he was competing at a rival high school. “I never in a million years thought I’d end up at Cary-Grove,” Ludwig said. “In high school, I didn’t like Cary-Grove. I got the teaching job here and saw how we did things and fell in love with what we do here. “It’s humbling because there is so much good stuff going on here already. I feel a huge part of my job is to keep things going. Jim and the athletic staff and coaches, there are so many amazing things going on. I look at my role to keep those things going and then to look at ways we can improve and get better. In athletics, that comes down to wins. And continuing to develop great young people.” Altendorf will look back on his 11-year run as AD with many good memories. The Trojans have experienced great success in many sports, particularly football, where C-G just won its third Class 6A state championship in 2021. “I don’t know that I have a best memory,” he said. “Those state championships (2018 and 2021) sure were fun, but I have so many good ones. My biggest memories will be working with (AD assistant) Donna (Ganshaw) and (assistant AD) Tim (Garis) on a daily basis.” Copyright © 2023 Shaw Local News Network Please select what you would like included for printing: Copy the text below and then paste that into your favorite email application Enter your phone number above to have directions sent via text This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply Service map data © OpenStreetMap contributors Pam Altendorf (R-Red Wing) posted a video on X (formerly Twitter) criticizing a Target store for building more pick-up parking spaces and starting a “fear campaign.” Altendorf insinuated that Target is preparing for something by building 24 more pick-up spaces so customers don’t have to go into the store and instead use curbside pickup She expressed concern because the four spots that the store already has “don’t seem to be utilized right now.” you know something to think about as we move into the fall here,” Altendorf said in the video we’re starting to hear a lot of things reported — Rep. Pam Altendorf (@PamAltendorf) August 22, 2023 Altendorf’s office did not immediately respond to clarify her comments in the post she also urged people to “question what they’re planning for.” This excerpt is from a note dated January 9 This excerpt is from a note dated August 5 This excerpt is from a Christmas letter in 1939 This excerpt is from a note dated February 28 This excerpt is from a note dated January 31 This excerpt is from a note dated October 1 This excerpt is from a Christmas letter in 1944 This excerpt is from a note dated September 1 A photo of the original wax model of the Bye-Lo Baby doll The house in North Sea where Joan Weingartner grew up She still owns the cottage and spends time there when she is able The front and back covers of "Affectionately Yours – Grace Storey Putnam: Letters from the Designer of the Bye-Lo Baby" by Joan Weingartner The cloth head Bye-Lo Baby doll that Grace Storey Putnam gave to Joan Weingartner as a child Joan Weingartner holds her newest and oldest Bye-Lo Baby dolls Siblings John Anderson and Joan Weingartner John Bradford Anderson and Belle Perry Anderson Joan Weingartner holds the Bye-Lo Baby doll that its maker gave her when she was a child growing up in Southampton Weingartner would write a book compiling the letters that Putnam sent to her parents Through the young eyes of Joan Weingartner Grace Storey Putnam was a spectacular woman open jacket — a rebellious outfit of choice in the 1920s She kept her white and gray hair in a fashionable bob of the time She lived in a large brown house in Sag Harbor and listen to music on a large polyphon disc-playing music box Putnam took the young girl into the woods behind her home she swears she saw a tiny fairy drinking from an acorn when she opened a box stuffed with letters They were addressed from Putnam to Weingartner’s parents the harsh realities of her life that Weingartner couldn’t have understood as a child She didn’t know that when Putnam made them tea she would melt snow on her Bunsen burner not for fun but because the electricity had been turned off due to an overdue payment Or that the clay she played with had been dug up from the ground Or that the house they visited had been purchased when Putnam was doing well financially which was a sensation and launched her as one of the most well-known doll designers of all time But Putnam had lost her wealth during the Great Depression Weingartner — who is now 95 years old — explained during a recent telephone interview from her home in Maryland “We never thought of her as being poor because she didn’t act like she was poor I know more from the letters than I remember as a child,” said Weingartner “Because of her wonderful attitude toward life Grace Storey wanted to be an artist since age 8 She was an art school student when she met sculptor Arthur Putnam he began experiencing neurological problems which led to a brain surgery and subsequent stroke She had two children — she moved away with her children Putnam started giving painting and drawing lessons she visited a Salvation Army day nursery in Los Angeles where she studied a 3-day-old infant she quickly worked at the baby’s side to sculpt its likeness aiming to make the doll as lifelike as possible While most dolls of the 1920s had a prettier Putnam’s doll — which would become known as the Bye-Lo Baby — was more realistic and wildly successful prompting retailers to dub it the “Million Dollar Baby.” And though it was the Bye-Lo Baby that propelled Putnam to stardom she barely referenced it in her letters to Weingartner’s parents shortly after the artist married another sculptor in 1927 in New York — and they moved out to the East End but he told her about my mom — she was an artist,” Weingartner said the Andersons had moved from Connecticut to a cottage in North Sea abandoning painting until later in life — though she scratched that artistic itch by making paper dolls for her daughter Joan Weingartner fondly remembers her childhood on the East End — reading swimming in the ocean with her father after work having picnics and building bonfires on the beach would become one of her most prized possessions “That was the doll that she originally worked on,” Weingartner said visited a historical museum and wandered up to the top floor where they were met with a doll collection ‘You know the Bye-Lo doll?’” Weingartener recalled my parents were friends with Grace Storey Putnam.’ Well The museum curator immediately invited her to give a series of talks about the doll and its creator Weingartner dove back into the box of letters often reading excerpts from them during her lectures Putnam vibrantly expresses her opinions on women’s issues her relationships with her children and even the local gossip and it gave Weingartner greater perspective on her own life “the relationship of what it was like for these two women who were artists who were very isolated and how they encouraged one another respectively in what they were pursuing.” Weingartner passed off the letters to her daughter who transcribed and formatted them among photos and paintings that tell Putnam’s story “Affectionately Yours — Grace Storey Putnam: Letters from the Designer of the Bye-Lo Baby.” “They come alive because you see what’s going on “You realize that you have shared in her life,” her mother said having divorced her second husband in 1941 “She really wanted my mother — she felt she had the potential of being a great artist — to move there and they would paint together and so forth,” Weingartner said “My mother did end up painting beautiful pictures She had one picture that was in an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art at one point.” Weingartner travels to the East End to stay at her childhood home or see fairies in every acorn on the ground and hopes to someday share her book with local audiences in person “I would hope they would come about thinking that anything is possible — really dream about doing something,” she said of future readers but I feel there’s such an inspiration of a person who had a lot at one point and had nothing You've read 4 of your 7 free articles this month Please log in or create an account to continue reading This work, Chief of Engineering and Construction for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers visits Tinker Air Force Base, by Stacey Reese, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright Dr. Peter Selders takes over as CEO of Endress+Hauser The 54-year-old Selders holds a doctorate in physics has been with the company since 2004 and was previously managing director of the competence centre for level and pressure measurement technology in Maulburg He is only the fourth CEO in the family-owned company’s 70-year history is moving to the supervisory board after 10 years at the helm He is now replacing the 75-year-old Endress as president of the supervisory board two members of the third generation will represent the interests of the shareholder family Peter Selders has been succeeded at Endress+Hauser Level+Pressure by Dr Dirk Mörmann (50) who was previously head of technology and a member of the management board.