Minnesota News Network

Do something about high prescription drug prices, say citizens at the State Capitol before tonight’s Minnesota House vote on a major health and human services funding bill. Claire Henn from Saint Paul, who has severe rheumatoid arthritis, says her medication co-pay went from 60 dollars a month to 14-hundred. “While I was off the medication I was in extreme pain,” she says. “I had to walk with a cane. I lost so much strength I couldn’t cut a peanut butter sandwich.”

House Democrats say their bill starts to rein-in “pharmacy benefit managers” which are making a lot of profit. They say there’s also a prescription drug program using the state’s buying power to reduce costs. It would start with public programs and later be available to everyone.

Family members looked on from the gallery as the Minnesota House today honored D-N-R Conservation Officer Eugene Wynn. Lawmakers paused for a moment of silence as an honor guard entered the House Chamber. Colonel Rodmen Smith says its a sad time for conservation officers. “When we get a call of somebody that’s in need, we put that person’s benefit first and we just go. And Gene was doing what he loved. Gene — Officer Wynn — was a true community service person,” Smith says.

Officer Wynn was investigating a report of a possible body on Cross Lake in Pine City when he and a sheriff’s deputy were thrown from their boat into the water. The deputy was rescued but Officer Wynn apparently drowned. Visitation and funeral services are Friday in Pine City.

Value-added agriculture, farm mental health, and more options for affordable housing — features Republicans highlight in a 258-million-dollar agriculture/rural development/housing bill the Minnesota Senate passed Tuesday night. There’s also money for expanding broadband Internet access in Greater Minnesota and Elbow Lake Senator Torrey Westrom says, “30 million dollars is a strong investment. The governor’s got 70 million [in his proposed budget], but that’s only coupled with significant tax increases. And so we don’t have tax increases to back-fill further investment. We use existing funds.”

Westrom says the bill also includes loans and grants to help small farms upgrade technology, and funding for a “soybean innovation campus” in Crookston.

Democrats in the Minnesota House drew official battle lines with the Senate Tuesday night, passing a major funding bill that would give public schools a significantly larger increase than Republicans propose. House Speaker Melissa Hortman says the Senate has an “austerity budget” when it isn’t needed. “Minnesotans are not asking for that. Minnesotans are asking for us to invest in our education for all the kids,” Hortman says.

But Little Falls Republican Ron Kresha (KREE-shaw) says about House Democrats’ plan: “We all support making sure schools are funded and that they have the resources they need, but this bill simply is unrealistic.” Kresha says Governor Tim Walz and Democrats want to raid transportation funding to pay for schools, then fill the gap with a gas tax increase.

More than a million dollars to the U-of-M to help fight chronic wasting disease… and funding for state parks is maintained at current levels — among notable features of an environment program appropriations bill the Minnesota Senate passed Tuesday night. Two-line angling would be allowed, but Alexandria Republican Bill Ingebrigtsen says the harvest won’t increase so much that the D-N-R has to reduce limits. “Still one limit. You may get there a little bit quicker, but you still have one limit — if you get there,” Ingebrigtsen says.

The state Pollution Control Agency’s budget would be reduced, but Ingebritsen says it would be less than two percent and money in their accounts can cover the shortfall “without a problem.”

Republicans tried unsuccessfully to delete a requirement that all Minnesota school districts have comprehensive sex education programs, during today’s Minnesota House floor debate on a major public school funding bill. Democrat Todd Lippert from Northfield argues we can trust youth with information which will delay the onset of sexual activity. “If we provide accurate information to young people, they have more information to make good decisions about their sexual behavior and they reduce their risky behaviors,” Lippert says.

But Republican Eric Lucero from Dayton warns Planned Parenthood is behind the proposed curriculum for children as young as elementary school age. “I just can’t believe this is even up for debate. This is perversion for our young people,” Lucero says.

Debate on the education funding bill could go into the evening.

A child care site manager at Scandia Elementary School is suing Teamsters Local 320, alleging the union is not allowing her to drop her membership. Attorney Doug Seaton says the U-S Supreme Court, in the highly-publicized Janus case, affirmed workers’ rights to leave a union without impediments and stop paying dues — but Seaton says many unions still have time windows when members can do that. “Nobody knows these dates, nobody has copies of these documents and, if you ask for them, you get often, frankly, a runaround so that you never do know when the window is,” Seaton says.

The Education Minnesota teachers union calls the lawsuit a national strategy supported by right-wing billionaires to undermine labor unions. President Denise Specht says the suit claims, “a little insultingly, that people… can’t read and understand a membership agreement.”