Legislative Update

Greetings,

First, please allow me to sincerely thank all of you for stopping by the Steele County Free Fair to wish me well and discuss all of the issues important to you. I’m still working through several responses, but I should have most of them very soon.

Rep. Patty Mueller and I at the Steele County Free Fair

In addition, the Steele County Republicans did a fantastic job of hosting us in their booth and I was very glad to be there visiting with everyone who stopped in.

It has been a busy week following the fair. My recovery from hip replacement surgery is going well, but patience is not one of my best virtues. I pushed things a little too hard the other day and suffered a slight setback. As I write this update, I am feeling much better and looking forward to longer walks and increased flexibility.

Quilts of Valor

On Monday night, four of us from the Waseca American Legion received our Quilts of Valor from the Quilts of Valor Foundation. You may notice that none of us are smiling in the first photograph. We are all listening to a very solemn poem that is actually putting tears in our eyes as our service is being recognized by the Quilts of Valor Foundation representative Beth Birch, Post 46 American Auxiliary Legion President. All four of us are very humbled by this event and the gift of a very precious handmade quilt.

During the Quilts of Valor Presentation

My wife, Jeanne, and I after the program.

AURI

Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit the AURI (Agricultural Utilization Research Institute) Bio Innovation Center in Waseca and the Hometown Bioenergy Facility in Le Sueur. During the tour, I was joined by Representative Dave Baker who stopped in learn more about the great work AURI is doing to promote new opportunities and new uses for our agricultural products. You can read Alan Doering's biography here.

Mr. Alan Doering explaining the research and research equipment fabricated to help test various agricultural products for new applications

A Couple of Notes

During the Steele County Free Fair several constituents asked me if I had any follow-up on the Federal One Big, Beautiful Bill and how it impacts the State of Minnesota. As you recall, in my July 25th newsletter, I mentioned the initial impacts of the federal spending reduction as $259 million over the 2026-2027 Minnesota Fiscal Budget years. In addition, I stated that $259 million only represents 0.39% of our General Fund Budget for 2026-2027. I also said that I would provide any additional follow-up information from Governor Walz staff as soon as they presented it to us. Thus far, they have not provided us any new information. Furthermore, as you may have seen, our First Congressional District Representative Brad Finstad was in Waseca and Owatonna recently addressing the same set of issues. Unfortunately, I missed his visit due to prior commitments in St. Paul. Hopefully, I can attend a separate update very soon.

On another note, this is the time of year when we can work on future legislation prior to coming into session in February 2026. I am already working on a couple of items applicable to my role on the Energy Committee, but I am open to other ideas too.

Coffee with Tom

Please feel free to join me for Coffee with Tom on September 5th at the Owatonna Chamber of Commerce from 12:00pm-1:00pm and on September 12th, 2025 at the Waseca Chamber of Commerce from 12:00pm-1:00pm. As a reminder, the Waseca Chamber of Commerce is now located in the Suburban Furniture building (East Side), 105 22nd Ave NE, Suite A, Waseca, MN 56093.